Founder Collective

Developer of a content publishing platform through generative artificial intelligence tools, new storytelling formats, and ownership models, designed to offer budding writers a space to showcase their creative skills. The company's platform lets creators make books, comics, games, audiobooks, and everything in between, enabling content creators to rapidly pilot episodic stories and iterate off feedback or metrics to improve performance.

Scroll is a subscription-based service that provides users with an ad-free online journalism experience. Headquartered in the United States, the company aims to present high-quality content to engaged readers while minimizing distractions from advertisements. By allowing users to access articles on participating news sites without ads, Scroll creates a sustainable revenue model that benefits both users and publishers. This approach not only enhances the reading experience but also supports journalism by sharing revenue with the publishers, thereby fostering a more informed and engaged audience. Through its innovative platform, Scroll seeks to address the challenges posed by the distraction economy and filter bubbles, encouraging readers to focus on meaningful content.

Scroll is a subscription-based service that provides users with an ad-free online journalism experience. Headquartered in the United States, the company aims to present high-quality content to engaged readers while minimizing distractions from advertisements. By allowing users to access articles on participating news sites without ads, Scroll creates a sustainable revenue model that benefits both users and publishers. This approach not only enhances the reading experience but also supports journalism by sharing revenue with the publishers, thereby fostering a more informed and engaged audience. Through its innovative platform, Scroll seeks to address the challenges posed by the distraction economy and filter bubbles, encouraging readers to focus on meaningful content.

TrendMD Inc., founded in 2013 and based in Toronto, Canada, operates a content recommendation engine tailored for scholarly publishers. The company partners with notable scientific publishers, such as Elsevier and Oxford University Press, integrating a JavaScript code into their journal websites to display related article links. This service aims to connect readers, particularly medical professionals, with relevant peer-reviewed content, thereby expediting the dissemination of scientific knowledge. TrendMD's platform generates approximately 500 million recommendations monthly for over 60 million readers. Utilizing a sophisticated algorithm, it creates personalized profiles to enhance user experience and engagement. TrendMD is approaching profitability after its recent participation in a prominent startup accelerator.

BookBub is a rapidly growing startup launched by serial entrepreneurs and run by a team gathered from the publishing and tech industries. Every day millions of readers use our service to discover great books, and thousands of leading publishers and authors work with us to drive sales and find new fans. Connecting readers with great deals on ebooks is just the beginning for BookBub. The rise of digital publishing is altering the way books are found, purchased, and read. We’re expanding our team to help address the challenges and opportunities of the publishing industry while continuing to help readers find books and authors they’ll love.

Stanza is an internet company that creates own events calendars, and share with family, friends, and beyond. The company empowers people and organizations to create their own event calendars, subscribe, and share. To date, 6M+ fans have found and synced over 315M events via Stanza. Notable publishers include NBA, NHL, and NFL teams, FOX Sports, Billboard, Warner Brothers, and thousands more. These organizations can also distribute content and video across Stanza’s network of nearly 200M monthly page views. Stanza smart Add to Calendar button is easy to embed in any business' website/mobile app and offers its audience a two-click process to sync future events with any calendar. The product includes a dashboard that lets businesses modify their events on the fly, track links and eventually drive transactions.

Stanza is an internet company that creates own events calendars, and share with family, friends, and beyond. The company empowers people and organizations to create their own event calendars, subscribe, and share. To date, 6M+ fans have found and synced over 315M events via Stanza. Notable publishers include NBA, NHL, and NFL teams, FOX Sports, Billboard, Warner Brothers, and thousands more. These organizations can also distribute content and video across Stanza’s network of nearly 200M monthly page views. Stanza smart Add to Calendar button is easy to embed in any business' website/mobile app and offers its audience a two-click process to sync future events with any calendar. The product includes a dashboard that lets businesses modify their events on the fly, track links and eventually drive transactions.

BookBub is a rapidly growing startup launched by serial entrepreneurs and run by a team gathered from the publishing and tech industries. Every day millions of readers use our service to discover great books, and thousands of leading publishers and authors work with us to drive sales and find new fans. Connecting readers with great deals on ebooks is just the beginning for BookBub. The rise of digital publishing is altering the way books are found, purchased, and read. We’re expanding our team to help address the challenges and opportunities of the publishing industry while continuing to help readers find books and authors they’ll love.

Oyster is a subscription service for ebooks and ebook retailer. Oyster also publishes the Oyster Review, an editorial magazine. Oyster was founded by Eric Stromberg, Andrew Brown, and Willem Van Lancker in 2012 and is based in New York, the United States.

Posterous, founded in the summer of 2008 and incubated by Y Combinator, is a platform dedicated to simplifying the blogging experience. It allows users to create and manage blogs with ease, akin to sending an email, which has attracted over 15 million monthly users. The introduction of Posterous Spaces has enhanced its offering by providing intuitive privacy controls, enabling users to share their content selectively across various platforms. Through its innovative approach, Posterous aims to streamline the blogging process and improve how individuals share their thoughts and experiences online.

Oyster is a subscription service for ebooks and ebook retailer. Oyster also publishes the Oyster Review, an editorial magazine. Oyster was founded by Eric Stromberg, Andrew Brown, and Willem Van Lancker in 2012 and is based in New York, the United States.

20x200 is a New York City-based e-commerce platform that aims to make art collecting accessible to design-minded consumers. The site offers a curated collection of affordable, limited-edition, exhibition-quality prints, each accompanied by an artist-signed certificate of authenticity. Collaborating with a diverse range of artists, from emerging talents to established figures, the platform introduces new exclusive editions weekly, with prices ranging from $24 to $10,000. By focusing on limited-edition prints that utilize archival pigment inks on cotton rag paper, 20x200 enables art enthusiasts to acquire unique, museum-quality works at accessible price points.

Open Places is a company that develops a network of publication-quality information about various locations, created by writers and photographers worldwide. This information is designed to promote neighborhoods, towns, and regions of interest. The company has established social content platforms for both iOS and Android, which harness the enthusiasm of travelers and locals, integrating mobile actions with social media and facilitating communication through email and push notifications. Open Places also offers the Trazzler application, allowing users to discover nearby locations and engage collaboratively with editors to highlight places of interest. The company provides opportunities for writers and photographers to receive assignments, work with editors, and build professional portfolios. Open Places serves a diverse clientele, including nonprofits, public radio stations, parks, schools, and tourism bureaus. Originally known as Trazzler, Inc., the company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

BuzzFeed, Inc. operates as a technology-driven media company that delivers breaking news, original reporting, entertainment, and videos to a global audience. Founded in 2006 and based in New York City, BuzzFeed encompasses several divisions including BuzzFeed Originals, which creates a variety of engaging content such as articles, quizzes, and videos. Its lifestyle brand, Tasty, focuses on social food content, while BuzzFeed News is dedicated to investigative journalism. Additionally, BuzzFeed Studios produces original content for various platforms, including broadcast and digital media. The company also engages in social commerce through BuzzFeed Commerce, which involves product development, licensing, and strategic partnerships. With a reach of over 200 million users, BuzzFeed continues to redefine online content sharing and advertising.

Posterous, founded in the summer of 2008 and incubated by Y Combinator, is a platform dedicated to simplifying the blogging experience. It allows users to create and manage blogs with ease, akin to sending an email, which has attracted over 15 million monthly users. The introduction of Posterous Spaces has enhanced its offering by providing intuitive privacy controls, enabling users to share their content selectively across various platforms. Through its innovative approach, Posterous aims to streamline the blogging process and improve how individuals share their thoughts and experiences online.

Pronoun, Inc., formerly known as Vook, Inc., is a professional publishing platform that enables authors to create and distribute digital books while maintaining control over their creative and financial rights. Founded in 2009 and based in New York, the company offers tools for tracking sales across various retailers, editing metadata and files, and accessing data-driven marketing insights. By leveraging technology and data, Pronoun aims to streamline the publishing process, allowing authors to publish more efficiently and market their work effectively. In June 2015, Vook, Inc. rebranded to Pronoun, Inc., and as of May 2016, it operates as a subsidiary of Macmillan Limited.

20x200 is a New York City-based e-commerce platform that aims to make art collecting accessible to design-minded consumers. The site offers a curated collection of affordable, limited-edition, exhibition-quality prints, each accompanied by an artist-signed certificate of authenticity. Collaborating with a diverse range of artists, from emerging talents to established figures, the platform introduces new exclusive editions weekly, with prices ranging from $24 to $10,000. By focusing on limited-edition prints that utilize archival pigment inks on cotton rag paper, 20x200 enables art enthusiasts to acquire unique, museum-quality works at accessible price points.

Open Places is a company that develops a network of publication-quality information about various locations, created by writers and photographers worldwide. This information is designed to promote neighborhoods, towns, and regions of interest. The company has established social content platforms for both iOS and Android, which harness the enthusiasm of travelers and locals, integrating mobile actions with social media and facilitating communication through email and push notifications. Open Places also offers the Trazzler application, allowing users to discover nearby locations and engage collaboratively with editors to highlight places of interest. The company provides opportunities for writers and photographers to receive assignments, work with editors, and build professional portfolios. Open Places serves a diverse clientele, including nonprofits, public radio stations, parks, schools, and tourism bureaus. Originally known as Trazzler, Inc., the company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.