Highlights from a year of innovation in analytics, onboarding, collaboration, and growth
At SendTurtle, we are on a mission to empower teams with tools that enable them to work smarter and more efficiently.
We ended Q3 2024 with a single brand: Phalanx. Back in Q4 2024, we decided to build a direct-to-user product that complemented what we already built with Phalanx MUZE (now ShieldWolf, but I’ll get to that later). As part of that, Q4 2024 was about pulling out the secure file sharing tool from our already powerful integrative encryption solution. This created a new opportunity for Phalanx, and thus our latest product, SendTurtle, was born. SendTurtle became our key focus for 2025, but ShieldWolf still maintains customers on an enterprise level.
In 2025, we released major updates that strengthen analytics, improve user experience, expand collaboration capabilities, and accelerate customer value. I’m proud to look back at the year past and review what we shipped, what we learned, and how we were able to accelerate SendTurtle to help users do more with less effort.
1. DeepIQ Analytics
Back in April, we launched DeepIQ Analytics and AI, a powerful suite of data and intelligence features that transforms how teams measure performance and make decisions.
With DeepIQ Analytics, users can:
- Explore rich insights into engagement patterns, trends, and outcomes
• Visualize data with intuitive dashboards that surface key metrics
• Use AI-driven recommendations to optimize workflows
• Predict performance outcomes and forecast future results
DeepIQ helps teams move beyond basic reporting so they can understand not just what happened but why it happened and what to do next.
We are first movers in the market to provide this depth of insight. This also created a challenge of appropriate education on what this thing does. People have the problem, but haven’t always realized that they do. They knew they could get light tracking for documents, but deep analytics are an entirely new concept. As such, we are not only continually building on DeepIQ, but also on how we communicate it to the end user.
2. Document AI tools
As part of our suite of DeepIQ Analytics, we launched a suite of AI tools that provide next-step suggestions and summaries for documents and decks sent. We decided our ICP is someone that wants to close a sale, so the added insight and suggestions for that close were necessary.
This update included:
- Contact engagement summaries
• Scoring and ranking for “most engaged contacts
• Summaries on a per-file basis, telling users what the overall engagement of that document was and what to do next
Users who are actively using this feature are increasing insights and therefore closing more deals. We know this through testimonials we’ve received!
3. Phalanx MUZE is now ShieldWolf
Also in April, we decided on a brand evolution. We rebranded Phalanx MUZE to ShieldWolf because we wanted to maintain the culture of bringing a mascot into our branding with a consistent feel between the products.
This update included:
- A new wolf mascot
• Enhanced access control and governance features
• Clearer product positioning that matches customer expectations
• A cleaner UI with unique colors that differentiated ShieldWolf from SendTurtle.
ShieldWolf now better reflects the product purpose and strengthens confidence through a unique branding. It also allows us to avoid confusion from having the parent brand of “Phalanx” as the lead on all our products and communications.
4. Referral Program launched
In May, we unveiled the SendTurtle Referral Program to reward users for inviting colleagues and peers to the platform.
With the referral program:
- Users earn rewards for every successful referral
• Incentives include service credits, swag, and premium features
• Rewards stack up so advocates benefit even more over time
This program reinforces our belief that great products grow through great relationships. We believe that software should be accessible and we feel confident that those that love our product will share it with others.
5. Trial-First onboarding experience
To help new users realize value faster, we introduced a trial-first onboarding experience that spotlights our SendTurtle core value from day one.
The new experience includes:
- Access to all SendTurtle Pro features from day 1 (both for Free and Pro subscribers)
• In-app messages about different features and notifications for trial ending
• Easy upgrade options for Free users
By making the first experience more hands-on and valuable, we help users understand how SendTurtle solves real needs right away.
We know that creating value early is essential for an already-competitive software world. By doing this, we realized engagement and usage increased. By opening the gates on who can use Pro early-on, it also helped uncover the most used features of our Pro plan. This helped us build product-market fit using data, not just assumptions.
6. eSignatures are here
One of our most requested features is now live. We conducted dozens of interviews with our core ICP and relevant users and it was clear that as a document sharing and productivity too, we needed to provide eSignatures. We didn’t want to hear only the loudest voices in the room, so we did plenty of research and decided to make this a core benefit of SendTurtle. It’s now our most-used feature in the product for sales teams.
We also love to now say SendTurtle does everything from “send to close”, meaning we are there for you during the full sales cycle.
eSignatures include:
- Legally binding signing workflows
• Customizable signer roles and order
• Audit trails for compliance
• Easy tracking and reminders
This addition brings full document lifecycle support into SendTurtle and eliminates the need for external signature tools. We are an affordable eSignature tool and have uniquely launched the ability for users to buy “signature packs” of 5, 25, or 50 signatures. Yes, even free users can access this tool à la carte if they want to! We also always have the small business owner/sole proprietor in mind, so we wanted to truly build an eSignature tool that grows with them.
What this means for you
2025 was a year of strategic upgrades designed to help teams extract more insight, collaborate with confidence, onboard with ease, and accelerate outcomes. Each product update reflects our commitment to building tools that scale with your needs.
We are grateful to our community for the ideas, feedback, and enthusiasm that made these launches possible. Stay tuned for more in 2026.
Thanks for a great 2025 – let’s keep it going in 2026!
Ian Garrett
Co-Founder & CEO, Phalanx