A social media tool developed by two NRL fans looking to help teams develop content is going global with a $2 million capital injection.

Damien Mahoney and Peter Cassidy formed Stackla in Sydney in 2012 after hitting on an idea now used to help brands aggregate and curate social media content.

The $2 million first round funding will support international expansion in the US and Europe. Venture capital fund rampersand and a consortium led by business leaders Tony Faure and Grant McCarthy are joined by business commentator Alan Kohler and Sam Mackay, chairman of kikki.K and former chief executive of Jurlique.

Its more than 300 clients now include adidas and Kathmandu, as well as ANZ, Telstra, Disney, Qantas, McDonalds and “most major Australian sport organisations”.

The platform allows brands to discover and showcase the best brand mentions from across the social web, with social ‘catalogues’, content crowdsourcing and curated social media hubs for brand websites.

Mahoney says the capital injection allow staff to be doubled mainly in its new US and UK offices. “With a footprint to build in the US and UK and over 30 staff to hire, the work has only just begun,” he says.

“Social media is a mainstream activity marketers engage in every day, and we believe our software will become a key part of every marketer’s daily workflow.”

Fans and customers recommending brands and products to their friends on social media are “money-can’t-buy” endorsements which Stackla helps marketers capture, Cassidy says. “It's exciting because there are so many applications for the technology. Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Australian Rugby Union, National Rugby League and Wembley Stadium have been using Stackla to engage and entertain sporting crowds.”

On our homepage: (from left) co-founders Mahoney, Semin Nurkic (chief technology officer) and Cassidy