Shotcall
Seed Round in 2020
Shotcall, Inc. is an online platform based in Atlanta, Georgia, that facilitates engagement between streamers, content creators, and their fans through paid opportunities. Founded in 2018, Shotcall allows players and fans to connect via various social media platforms, enabling streamers to organize private competitions, coaching sessions, and charity tournaments. The platform empowers creators to monetize these events by setting session lengths, lobby sizes, and pricing, thereby generating new revenue streams. By providing a marketplace for community events, Shotcall enhances social interactions among gamers and offers creators a means to cultivate a more engaged fan base while producing shareable content.
Radiate
Venture Round in 2020
Radiate develops a festival-specific social media application that connects users through shared experiences. Its platform enables users to meet new people, create events, join groups, ask questions, and find dates within a dedicated community.
Fishbowl
Seed Round in 2019
Fishbowl is a social networking platform designed for professionals to engage in open discussions about workplace topics. It facilitates candid conversations on industry news and career advice among peers and senior leaders, fostering a positive and supportive environment. The platform is free for all users and has gained substantial traction across various industries, including law, consulting, finance, advertising, healthcare, technology, sales, and accounting. In addition, Fishbowl is recognized as a leading provider of guest marketing products and services specifically tailored for the restaurant sector.
Genies
Venture Round in 2018
Genies empowers individuals to create personalized digital avatars for expression across social media and messaging platforms. It offers tools for users to design avatars, avatar fashion lines, worlds, and interactive experiences, enabling brands to drive engagement through exclusive digital goods.
Crypt TV is a media production house specializing in the creation and distribution of horror-themed video content. The company operates an online platform that produces short scary movies, which are accessible on mobile devices and tablets. By leveraging social media and streaming platforms for promotion, Crypt TV aims to engage audiences with immersive horror stories and experiences. Through its innovative approach, the company has established itself as a notable player in the entertainment sector, catering to fans of the horror genre.
Group Nine Media
Venture Round in 2017
Group Nine Media, Inc. is a digital media holding company founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York City. It focuses on creating content across several key areas, including food, drink, entertainment, news, and science. The company operates four primary brands: The Dodo, which specializes in animal-related content; NowThis, a video news publisher tailored for social media; Thrillist, which covers lifestyle topics including food, drink, travel, and entertainment; and Seeker, a platform dedicated to science and exploration. Group Nine Media engages a young audience, particularly millennials, through its video-centric, socially-driven approach, generating nearly 4 billion video views each month and providing services such as data insights, creative strategy development, and branded content.
Brit + Co is a media company serving a large online audience of women with a creative spirit. It operates a digital platform and related experiences that combine editorial content, tutorials, and shopping, connecting users with makers, designers, chefs, and inventors to foster creativity. The company offers do-it-yourself project kits and a curated line of products, with content distributed via its app, website, and social channels to inspire, educate, and entertain a digitally connected community.
Fishbowl
Seed Round in 2017
Fishbowl is a social networking platform designed for professionals to engage in open discussions about workplace topics. It facilitates candid conversations on industry news and career advice among peers and senior leaders, fostering a positive and supportive environment. The platform is free for all users and has gained substantial traction across various industries, including law, consulting, finance, advertising, healthcare, technology, sales, and accounting. In addition, Fishbowl is recognized as a leading provider of guest marketing products and services specifically tailored for the restaurant sector.
Crypt TV
Seed Round in 2017
Crypt TV is a media production house specializing in the creation and distribution of horror-themed video content. The company operates an online platform that produces short scary movies, which are accessible on mobile devices and tablets. By leveraging social media and streaming platforms for promotion, Crypt TV aims to engage audiences with immersive horror stories and experiences. Through its innovative approach, the company has established itself as a notable player in the entertainment sector, catering to fans of the horror genre.
Ense operates a social platform that connects human voices to listeners by enabling the real-time capture and sharing of audible content. The company's content-sharing platform records audio instantly, allowing users to share melodies, conversations, and voice memos as they happen, thereby facilitating immediate, multimedia communication among members.
Group Nine Media
Corporate Round in 2016
Group Nine Media, Inc. is a digital media holding company founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York City. It focuses on creating content across several key areas, including food, drink, entertainment, news, and science. The company operates four primary brands: The Dodo, which specializes in animal-related content; NowThis, a video news publisher tailored for social media; Thrillist, which covers lifestyle topics including food, drink, travel, and entertainment; and Seeker, a platform dedicated to science and exploration. Group Nine Media engages a young audience, particularly millennials, through its video-centric, socially-driven approach, generating nearly 4 billion video views each month and providing services such as data insights, creative strategy development, and branded content.
Social Sentinel
Series A in 2016
Social Sentinel, Inc. is a provider of social media threat intelligence solutions aimed at enhancing safety on college campuses, K-12 schools, and within public safety sectors. The company's platform specializes in monitoring social media for potential threats, enabling community leaders and safety officials to respond effectively to risks such as self-harm, severe weather, or public disturbances. Social Sentinel also offers a white label mobile safety application designed to improve communication and resource management during critical situations. Established in 2011 and based in Burlington, Vermont, the company was previously known as Campus Sentinel, Inc. In 2020, it became a subsidiary of Navigate360, LLC, further expanding its capacity to deliver innovative safety solutions.
Janus VR
Venture Round in 2016
Janus VR, Inc. is a company that specializes in developing a virtual reality web browser system, enabling users to experience the internet in a three-dimensional (3D) environment. Through its platform, janusVR, users can create and navigate multi-dimensional spaces, utilizing traditional gaming controls, touch, teleportation, or 3D hand gestures. The system allows for content creation using existing 3D modeling tools alongside extended HTML and JavaScript, facilitating rich interactions such as chatting and visual engagement in 3D. Janus VR also provides installations compatible with Windows, OSX, and Linux operating systems. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Janus VR combines the capabilities of the internet with immersive virtual reality experiences, transforming traditional websites into collaborative and interactive spaces linked by portals.
The Dodo is a digital media company based in New York that focuses on animals, providing a blend of news, entertainment, and advocacy. It aims to be the leading online community for animal lovers, offering engaging stories and videos that highlight animal-related issues and promote animal activism. The Dodo also facilitates connections between its audience and animal welfare initiatives, encouraging care and awareness for various species. Through its content, the company seeks to inspire and inform individuals about the importance of animal welfare and the natural world.
Squad is the new way to go out with your friends and meet fun new people tonight.
1. Make a squad with your friends.
2. Swipe through other squads nearby. (Everyone in the squad gets to swipe!)
3. Match when there's interest on both sides!
4. Message your matches in a group chat and meet up in real life!
Bkstg
Venture Round in 2015
Bkstg Inc. is an online platform that facilitates connections between artists and music enthusiasts. Founded by technology and music entrepreneurs in 2013 and based in Los Angeles, California, Bkstg aims to transform the relationship between artists and their fans. The platform allows users to engage with celebrities, including musicians, actors, comedians, and sports figures, fostering a unique and ongoing interaction. Users can access exclusive content such as videos, limited-edition merchandise, and early ticket sales for events. Additionally, Bkstg enables fans to create and share content related to music, enhancing the overall experience of engagement within the entertainment community.
Spoon University
Seed Round in 2015
Spoon University is an online food publication platform founded in 2013 and headquartered in New York, specifically designed to address the needs of college students. The platform serves as a daily food resource, offering a variety of simple recipes, local restaurant reviews, and food-related news tailored for millennials. By providing localized content and lifestyle stories, Spoon University enables college students to discover and share culinary experiences and knowledge, fostering a community centered around food.
Jott
Venture Round in 2015
Seattle based Jott offers a novel and convenient service that lets users speak messages; those can be sent to themselves or others as transcribed emails or voice messages.
Jott has also begun to offer a new service called Jott links. Jott Links are Web pages that receive HTTP posts and write out a text response. They are called Jott Links because they are used to “link†Jott with other services, such as blogging and social networking sites. Jaiku, Blogger, Twitter, Zillow, tumblr, and Amazon.com are some of the Jott Links available. For example, you can call Jott, say the name of the link (“Twitter!â€), speak out loud your blog post, and have the message sent to Twitter. Jott can also read back any responses and send them to you via email or text message.
Companies offering similar services include SpinVox and SimulScribe.
Mic Network
Series B in 2015
Mic Network Inc. is an online news platform based in New York, founded in 2011. The company focuses on delivering news tailored for a mobile and social media-savvy audience, primarily targeting millennials and society's changemakers. Mic Network provides coverage across various topics, including politics, business, culture, science, and the environment, aiming to inform, empower, and inspire its readers. With a monthly audience of 50 million, the platform emphasizes original reporting and diverse perspectives on significant issues, encouraging engagement and challenging conventional thinking. As of late 2018, Mic Network operates as a subsidiary of BDG Media Inc.
PureWow
Seed Round in 2015
PureWow is a digital lifestyle publication for women, delivering daily content across fashion, beauty, home, wellness, money, tech, food, books, travel, and more. The platform provides interest- and location-specific editions to personalize the reader experience, including local editions in major markets such as New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and the Hamptons, as well as topic-driven editions. Readers access content across multiple channels, including its website, mobile, email newsletters, and social and video formats. PureWow aims to elevate everyday life by presenting curated discoveries and practical recommendations that cater to contemporary women's interests.
NowThis Media, Inc. is a digital video news outlet established in 2012 and based in New York City. The company specializes in producing short video news clips tailored for mobile devices and social media platforms, primarily targeting audiences aged 18 to 34. With a focus on engaging content, NowThis delivers daily updates through various channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, and its own applications for iOS and Android. The platform emphasizes key trends in digital consumption, such as social interaction, video format, and mobile accessibility. Co-founded by notable figures from the Huffington Post and Bedrocket Media, NowThis aims to provide original news content that resonates with young adults who increasingly rely on mobile technology and social media for news and commentary. The company is known for its partnerships with prominent digital outlets, further extending its reach and influence in the digital news landscape.
Memoir transforms your photos, the places you go, and your social media into memories that can be relived when they’re most interesting to you. As soon as you request them, the photos your friends choose to share with you become part of your Memoir seamlessly. You can find memories and photos by people, places, dates, context, and more - no tagging or organization required. Memoir discovers photos and memories wherever they were created - iPhone cameras, DSLR's, Instagram, Facebook, Foursquare - even on your computer. With Memoir, all of your photos and memories are backed up securely to the cloud.
Dasher is a messaging platform founded in 2013 and headquartered in the United States. The company's application focuses on enhancing communication among users by offering a variety of features, including live location sharing, map sharing, GIFs, and photos. It also enables users to conduct polls within their groups and delete messages after sending them. Additionally, Dasher integrates peer-to-peer payments through a partnership with Venmo, allowing seamless financial transactions among users. The platform is designed to keep individuals connected with friends and family while providing an array of interactive tools to enrich their social experience.
Storehouse
Series A in 2014
Storehouse is a developer of an online multimedia story-sharing platform that enables users to create and share their narratives through a combination of photos, videos, and text. The company's application provides a user-friendly interface for storytelling, allowing individuals to express their experiences visually and engage with a broader audience. Storehouse has received recognition for its innovative approach, winning the TechCrunch 2015 Crunchie for Best Mobile App and the 2014 Apple Design Award.
Soldsie is a technology company that facilitates social commerce. It enables businesses to sell products directly through Facebook comments. Customers can securely register payment details with Soldsie and then purchase items by commenting on the business's posts. Merchants use Soldsie's dashboard to manage inventory, track sales, and monitor shipping processes. This system increases user engagement, views, and shares for merchants while providing a convenient shopping experience for customers.
Niche is a provider of a social media management platform aimed at engaging and monetizing social media accounts, particularly for the younger generation. The company operates a community of influential social media creators active on emerging platforms such as Vine, Instagram, and Tumblr. Niche offers both software and services that help these creators thrive and interact with their audiences effectively. By collaborating with leading brands, studios, start-ups, and agencies, Niche enhances their partners' social media presence, facilitating user acquisition, audience development, and engagement. Through its comprehensive approach, Niche supports creators in building strong online communities while providing valuable resources for brands looking to generate buzz and foster meaningful connections with their target audiences.
CrowdTangle
Venture Round in 2014
CrowdTangle develops a social media tracking and discovery platform that enables users to monitor public content across multiple platforms. The platform provides tools to follow, analyze, and report on broad trends in public posts, helping users understand how content spreads on social media and identify patterns in engagement and reach.
Mic Network
Series A in 2014
Mic Network Inc. is an online news platform based in New York, founded in 2011. The company focuses on delivering news tailored for a mobile and social media-savvy audience, primarily targeting millennials and society's changemakers. Mic Network provides coverage across various topics, including politics, business, culture, science, and the environment, aiming to inform, empower, and inspire its readers. With a monthly audience of 50 million, the platform emphasizes original reporting and diverse perspectives on significant issues, encouraging engagement and challenging conventional thinking. As of late 2018, Mic Network operates as a subsidiary of BDG Media Inc.
Genies empowers individuals to create personalized digital avatars for expression across social media and messaging platforms. It offers tools for users to design avatars, avatar fashion lines, worlds, and interactive experiences, enabling brands to drive engagement through exclusive digital goods.
BLOGLOVIN
Series A in 2014
Bloglovin' is a platform for marketers and influencers to use influencer marketing technologies. The company offers technology to manage and track social media influencer campaigns in one place, as well as to build deep profiles of influencers, capturing their reach, topics, demographics, and retailer affinities, as well as proprietary performance metrics, to assist marketers in managing, measuring, and analyzing influencer collaborations across all available content platforms.
ACTIVATE Holdings LLC operates as a comprehensive influencer marketing platform specializing in the fashion and lifestyle sectors. Founded in 2007 and based in New York, the company connects users with their favorite influencers while enabling content discovery through personalized recommendations. The platform supports influencer discovery, program workflow, measurement, and analytics, facilitating cross-platform collaborations across social media channels such as Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. With a network of over 150,000 vetted influencers, ACTIVATE allows brands to engage with curated communities and niche groups, utilizing geo-targeting and micro-survey capabilities to refine their marketing strategies. As of August 2020, ACTIVATE operates as a subsidiary of Impact Tech, Inc.
Storehouse
Seed Round in 2014
Storehouse is a developer of an online multimedia story-sharing platform that enables users to create and share their narratives through a combination of photos, videos, and text. The company's application provides a user-friendly interface for storytelling, allowing individuals to express their experiences visually and engage with a broader audience. Storehouse has received recognition for its innovative approach, winning the TechCrunch 2015 Crunchie for Best Mobile App and the 2014 Apple Design Award.
The Dodo
Seed Round in 2014
The Dodo is a digital media company based in New York that focuses on animals, providing a blend of news, entertainment, and advocacy. It aims to be the leading online community for animal lovers, offering engaging stories and videos that highlight animal-related issues and promote animal activism. The Dodo also facilitates connections between its audience and animal welfare initiatives, encouraging care and awareness for various species. Through its content, the company seeks to inspire and inform individuals about the importance of animal welfare and the natural world.
Grouper is a social club that facilitates group outings by connecting two groups of friends, typically consisting of three individuals each from different genders or similar gender combinations. Founded in New York in 2011, Grouper utilizes data from Facebook profiles to match participants, enhancing their social experiences. The company has expanded its operations to major cities across the United States and has facilitated tens of thousands of drinks among its members. The founding team includes Michael Waxman, a Yale graduate with a background in language learning, and Tom Brown, an MIT engineer with experience at MoPub. Grouper was part of Y Combinator's Winter 2012 program, which provided initial funding and support for its growth.
Knozen, Inc. is a New York-based company that develops a personality platform aimed at enhancing interpersonal connections through technology. Incorporated in 2013, Knozen operates a mobile application that allows users to discover and share insights about personalities among friends and coworkers. The app features engaging and interactive social games that facilitate anonymous personality ratings, fostering a positive environment for users to explore and express what makes individuals unique. Knozen positions itself as a pioneer in creating a comprehensive personality API for the internet, striving to empower users with a deeper understanding of human characteristics and relationships.
Frontback
Seed Round in 2013
Frontback is a mobile application based in San Francisco that allows users to capture photos from both the front and back cameras of their smartphones simultaneously. This innovative app combines these dual perspectives into a single image, enabling users to share their experiences more vividly. Users can take a selfie while also showcasing their surroundings, creating a unique visual narrative. The app includes features such as advanced gestures for switching between cameras, options to add captions and locations, and easy sharing capabilities across various social media platforms. By connecting with friends through the app and other social networks, users can enhance their social interactions and storytelling through photography.
Mic Network
Seed Round in 2013
Mic Network Inc. is an online news platform based in New York, founded in 2011. The company focuses on delivering news tailored for a mobile and social media-savvy audience, primarily targeting millennials and society's changemakers. Mic Network provides coverage across various topics, including politics, business, culture, science, and the environment, aiming to inform, empower, and inspire its readers. With a monthly audience of 50 million, the platform emphasizes original reporting and diverse perspectives on significant issues, encouraging engagement and challenging conventional thinking. As of late 2018, Mic Network operates as a subsidiary of BDG Media Inc.
Storybird
Series A in 2013
Storybird Inc. operates an online platform that allows writers, readers, and artists to create, read, and share visual stories. Founded in 2009 and based in Brooklyn, New York, the company curates artwork from illustrators and animators worldwide, inspiring users of all ages to develop their narratives. The platform serves as a storytelling community for families, friends, teachers, students, and both amateur and professional writers. With over 5 million members, Storybird has facilitated the creation of approximately 15 million stories, which have been read for several billion minutes. More than 400,000 educators utilize the platform to foster writing and reading skills among their students. Through its simple tools, Storybird enables users to build digital books quickly, discover new authors, and engage with a vibrant community of passionate young writers and readers.
Brit + Co is a media company serving a large online audience of women with a creative spirit. It operates a digital platform and related experiences that combine editorial content, tutorials, and shopping, connecting users with makers, designers, chefs, and inventors to foster creativity. The company offers do-it-yourself project kits and a curated line of products, with content distributed via its app, website, and social channels to inspire, educate, and entertain a digitally connected community.
Poptip is a conversation analysis platform that helps brands and media fully understand public opinion in real-time and make decisions quickly based on that opinion. The platform simultaneously empowers the public’s voice and turns their opinions into actionable data. Poptip’s clients include L’Oreal, NBA, ESPN, NFL, Spotify, Budweiser and Yoplait. The New York-based company was founded in 2012 by Kelsey Falter. Poptip has raised $2.4 million to date in funding notably from Lerer Ventures, SoftBank Capital and RSE Ventures. For more information, please visit www.poptip.com.
NowThis Media, Inc. is a digital video news outlet established in 2012 and based in New York City. The company specializes in producing short video news clips tailored for mobile devices and social media platforms, primarily targeting audiences aged 18 to 34. With a focus on engaging content, NowThis delivers daily updates through various channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, and its own applications for iOS and Android. The platform emphasizes key trends in digital consumption, such as social interaction, video format, and mobile accessibility. Co-founded by notable figures from the Huffington Post and Bedrocket Media, NowThis aims to provide original news content that resonates with young adults who increasingly rely on mobile technology and social media for news and commentary. The company is known for its partnerships with prominent digital outlets, further extending its reach and influence in the digital news landscape.
Just Sing It
Seed Round in 2013
Just Sing It (formerly of AnyoneGame) lets users sing and share their favorite songs on Facebook/Twitter, apply voice filters to ‘Instagram their voice’ and guess songs with other game players and even potential love interests.
In just two weeks since launching out of beta in the US, Just Sing It has hit #1 in the Music category of the App Store and garnered more than 500,000 songs on the platform with a 5 star rating in the App store.
Users who have downloaded the app continue to build their song library with an average of 5.6 songs recorded per player, proving the singing is a truly sticky phenomenon in the US. Even celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan have shared their favorite songs on Twitter and count themselves as fans.
BuzzFeed, Inc. is a tech-driven media company that specializes in delivering breaking news, original reporting, and entertainment content across various digital platforms. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York, BuzzFeed engages a global audience with its diverse offerings, which include articles, quizzes, videos, and lifestyle content through well-known brands such as Tasty. The company also emphasizes investigative journalism through BuzzFeed News and produces original content for multiple formats via BuzzFeed Studios. Additionally, BuzzFeed Commerce focuses on social commerce products, licensing, and strategic partnerships. With a reach of over 200 million users, BuzzFeed aims to create shareable content that resonates across the social web.
Spindle
Venture Round in 2012
Spindle, Inc. is a payment-processing service provider based in Marco Island, Florida, catering primarily to small and medium-sized businesses. The company utilizes its Catalyst Gateway to facilitate transactions for merchants and also serves as an agent, independent contractor, or referral partner, connecting merchants to various merchant processors and earning ongoing fees based on their processing volume. Additionally, Spindle offers a geo-restricted mobile application that delivers information and updates on public events and locations shared on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
RebelMouse
Seed Round in 2012
RebelMouse, Inc. is a social media aggregator and digital publishing platform founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York City. The platform enables brands, media companies, and individuals to create engaging content experiences that foster community building and audience growth across various social media channels. RebelMouse's innovative approach transcends conventional content management by liberating content across multiple sites, apps, and advertisements. It enhances audience engagement through intelligent recommendations, real-time trending alerts, and social calls to action. The company has been instrumental in generating significant online traffic for various publishers, including Axios and The Dodo, while also revitalizing established brands like PAPER Magazine. Additionally, RebelMouse assists organizations, such as United Airlines, in adopting media-centric strategies to enhance their online presence.
ACTIVATE Holdings LLC operates as a comprehensive influencer marketing platform specializing in the fashion and lifestyle sectors. Founded in 2007 and based in New York, the company connects users with their favorite influencers while enabling content discovery through personalized recommendations. The platform supports influencer discovery, program workflow, measurement, and analytics, facilitating cross-platform collaborations across social media channels such as Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. With a network of over 150,000 vetted influencers, ACTIVATE allows brands to engage with curated communities and niche groups, utilizing geo-targeting and micro-survey capabilities to refine their marketing strategies. As of August 2020, ACTIVATE operates as a subsidiary of Impact Tech, Inc.
Moped
Venture Round in 2012
Moped is a messaging application designed to facilitate communication for users on both desktop and mobile devices. Launched in Berlin, Germany, the platform allows users to send messages and integrates seamlessly with various web services, enhancing its functionality. It caters to small businesses by providing tools that streamline communication, making it easier for teams to collaborate. In December 2013, Moped was acquired by 6Wunderkinder, further expanding its reach and capabilities in the messaging space.
Frontback
Seed Round in 2012
Frontback is a mobile application based in San Francisco that allows users to capture photos from both the front and back cameras of their smartphones simultaneously. This innovative app combines these dual perspectives into a single image, enabling users to share their experiences more vividly. Users can take a selfie while also showcasing their surroundings, creating a unique visual narrative. The app includes features such as advanced gestures for switching between cameras, options to add captions and locations, and easy sharing capabilities across various social media platforms. By connecting with friends through the app and other social networks, users can enhance their social interactions and storytelling through photography.
Airtime is a social platform designed to foster genuine online interactions, aiming to create a welcoming environment for users. Founded by Sean Parker, the platform offers various virtual "rooms" where individuals can engage in live conversations about diverse interests, from music to art and comedy. Unlike traditional social networks that often promote isolation, Airtime encourages community building and real-time engagement. The company is supported by prominent investors, including Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, and Google Ventures, and operates with a dedicated team of over 100 employees across three locations. Airtime focuses on enhancing the quality of online social experiences through its innovative video conversation features.
Neighborland
Seed Round in 2012
Neighborland, Inc. is a public engagement platform that facilitates collaboration between local residents, government agencies, developers, and civic organizations. Established in 2011 and headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, the company allows neighborhood residents to share ideas, support one another, and connect based on shared interests. The platform enables planners and stakeholders to engage in a participatory and equitable manner, providing tools for hosting projects, publishing updates, conducting surveys, and gathering insights from various sources. With over 3 million participants, Neighborland has demonstrated significant social and economic impact through its partnerships, achieving more effective community engagement than traditional outreach methods. As of April 2020, Neighborland operates as a subsidiary of Nextdoor, Inc.
Poptip is a conversation analysis platform that helps brands and media fully understand public opinion in real-time and make decisions quickly based on that opinion. The platform simultaneously empowers the public’s voice and turns their opinions into actionable data. Poptip’s clients include L’Oreal, NBA, ESPN, NFL, Spotify, Budweiser and Yoplait. The New York-based company was founded in 2012 by Kelsey Falter. Poptip has raised $2.4 million to date in funding notably from Lerer Ventures, SoftBank Capital and RSE Ventures. For more information, please visit www.poptip.com.
Newsle is a web application founded in 2011 and based in Mountain View, California. It specializes in aggregating news related to users' social connections, such as Facebook friends, LinkedIn contacts, and notable public figures. The platform employs a news discovery engine that allows users to track and receive updates on publicly available news articles concerning individuals in their social networks. By focusing solely on indexed public content, Newsle provides a tailored news experience that helps users stay informed about the activities and achievements of people they are connected with.
ClassDojo
Seed Round in 2012
ClassDojo, Inc. is an online school communication platform founded in 2011 and based in San Francisco, California. The platform connects teachers, students, and families, fostering close-knit communities that enhance the educational experience. It allows educators to share classroom activities, including photos and videos, and facilitates communication through features like Class Story and private messaging with parents. ClassDojo aims to engage students and their families by providing a space where learning can be shared and celebrated, ultimately enriching the educational environment and promoting collaboration both in and out of the classroom. The company, previously known as Class Twist, Inc., rebranded to ClassDojo, Inc. in December 2017.
Bluefin Labs
Series B in 2012
Bluefin Labs is a social TV analytics company that specializes in providing solutions to brand advertisers, advertising agencies, and television networks. Founded in 2008 and based in Cambridge, MA, with an additional office in New York, NY, the company leverages advanced technology and data analytics to connect social media commentary with the television shows and commercials viewed by audiences. This ability allows clients to access and analyze data at scale, enhancing their understanding of viewer engagement and advertising effectiveness. Grounded in extensive research in cognitive science and machine learning from the MIT Media Lab, Bluefin Labs was acquired by Twitter in 2013.
BuzzFeed, Inc. is a tech-driven media company that specializes in delivering breaking news, original reporting, and entertainment content across various digital platforms. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York, BuzzFeed engages a global audience with its diverse offerings, which include articles, quizzes, videos, and lifestyle content through well-known brands such as Tasty. The company also emphasizes investigative journalism through BuzzFeed News and produces original content for multiple formats via BuzzFeed Studios. Additionally, BuzzFeed Commerce focuses on social commerce products, licensing, and strategic partnerships. With a reach of over 200 million users, BuzzFeed aims to create shareable content that resonates across the social web.
Fullscreen
Seed Round in 2011
Fullscreen Media is a media company based in Culver City, California, that specializes in social-first entertainment experiences. Founded in 2011, Fullscreen provides technology and services that facilitate the creation and sharing of video content, catering to a connected generation. Its offerings include marketing services designed to help companies engage and monetize their social audiences, as well as creative strategies that enhance brand awareness. Additionally, Fullscreen provides merchandise for men, women, and children, along with various accessories available online. The company operates as a subsidiary of Otter Media, focusing on empowering artists, creators, brands, and agencies to effectively connect with and entertain their audiences.
Visual Revenue
Seed Round in 2011
Founded in 2010, Visual Revenue, Inc. is a company that develops a real-time predictive analytics platform aimed at enhancing editorial decision-making in data-driven newsrooms. The platform provides tools that support human editors by delivering real-time recommendations and measuring social media success, thereby facilitating content discovery for media organizations. By reducing the complexity of content management, Visual Revenue enables publishers to engage their audiences more effectively while preserving their unique editorial voice. The company's focus is on empowering editors rather than replacing them, ensuring that editorial judgment remains central to the content creation process. In 2013, Visual Revenue was acquired by Outbrain.
Pulse is an elegant news reading application for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. It incorporates colorful panning story bars and fills them with content from your favorite sources. Pulse redefines news, giving you the opportunity to experience the news you desire from traditional sources, your favorite blogs and social networks all in one beautiful interface.
Pulse is developed by Alphonso Labs.
Canvas Networks
Series A in 2011
Canvas Networks operates as an online community platform that facilitates image sharing and collaboration among users. The platform allows individuals to submit, edit, and share images, fostering a creative environment for users to engage with visual content. Through its software application, Canvas Networks enhances the user experience by enabling easy interaction with various images, promoting a community-driven approach to digital creativity.
Yoke is a Facebook dating app that matches you with single friends of friends. It makes accurate suggestions for potential dates by referencing your Facebook Likes and listening activity against data from Amazon, Netflix, Echnonest, and its own proprietary Facebook Page and college graphs. Users can contact matches via Facebook messages, ask a mutual friend for an introduction, or play matchmaker for their friends.
http://apps.facebook.com/yokeapp
Adaptly, Inc. is a digital advertising solutions provider based in New York City, with additional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, and London. Established in 2010, the company specializes in enabling large advertisers to effectively scale their campaigns across various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Pinterest. Adaptly offers a comprehensive suite of services that includes personalized planning and strategy, media buying, campaign execution, and performance analysis. Utilizing proprietary technology, the firm provides real-time insights and automated optimization to help clients achieve their advertising goals. As of December 2018, Adaptly operates as a subsidiary of Accenture plc and employs over 120 professionals dedicated to enhancing digital marketing effectiveness for its clientele.
Hipster
Seed Round in 2011
Hipster is a technology company based in SOMA, San Francisco, founded in 2010 by Doug Ludlow, Ethan Czahor, and Steffen Hoffman. The company has developed a web platform that allows users to create a real-time, visual public record of various locations by sharing photographic postcards through their mobile devices. These postcards capture users' activities and are permanently linked to the specific locations from which they were sent, making them accessible to others in the future. By combining elements of social networking with location-based services, Hipster aims to enhance the way people interact with and document their experiences in the world.
DailyBooth
Series A in 2011
DailyBooth is a social networking platform that allows users to share photos and status updates in real-time. The service enables individuals to connect with friends by following their activities and sharing visual moments, creating an interactive environment for personal expression and communication. By focusing on real-time updates, DailyBooth provides a dynamic way for users to engage with their social circles through the sharing of images and status messages.
Founded in 2010 by Craig Marks, former top editor of Spin, Blender, and Billboard magazines, Popdust is an online platform dedicated to pop music culture. It connects fans with popular artists through voting competitions, revealing interviews, shareable content, and real-time news feeds. The company is headquartered in New York.
GroupMe Inc. is a New York-based company that develops and operates a group messaging application designed to facilitate communication among users, including those without smartphones. Launched in 2010, the platform allows users to easily connect with friends, family, and coworkers through push notifications or SMS. GroupMe's services include group messaging, conference calling, and location and photo sharing, enabling seamless interaction within social networks. Since its inception, the company has experienced significant growth, processing billions of messages and expanding its team to 25 employees. Acquired by Skype Global, GroupMe operates with a degree of autonomy, maintaining an entrepreneurial culture while aiming to become a primary communications provider for a large user base.
Memoir transforms your photos, the places you go, and your social media into memories that can be relived when they’re most interesting to you. As soon as you request them, the photos your friends choose to share with you become part of your Memoir seamlessly. You can find memories and photos by people, places, dates, context, and more - no tagging or organization required. Memoir discovers photos and memories wherever they were created - iPhone cameras, DSLR's, Instagram, Facebook, Foursquare - even on your computer. With Memoir, all of your photos and memories are backed up securely to the cloud.
BaubleBar
Series A in 2010
BaubleBar is a leading online retailer of fashionable jewelry, offering a wide range of products including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, and personalized items. Founded in 2010 by Amy Jain and Daniella Yacobovsky, the company stands out for its fast speed to market, driven by real-time data analysis and unique sourcing capabilities. BaubleBar's mission is to redefine how women shop for fashion jewelry through on-trend styles, strong editorial references, and a high-touch customer experience.
Hyperpublic
Seed Round in 2010
Hyperpublic is a developer of an open database that focuses on capturing information about people, places, and events associated with specific locations. The platform allows users to contribute data, creating a comprehensive resource that can be utilized by developers to build applications. These applications can feature various types of local information, including recent check-ins, daily deal aggregations, and user reviews. By providing access to this localized data, Hyperpublic enables users to engage more effectively with their surroundings and enhances the development of location-based services.
GroupMe Inc. is a New York-based company that develops and operates a group messaging application designed to facilitate communication among users, including those without smartphones. Launched in 2010, the platform allows users to easily connect with friends, family, and coworkers through push notifications or SMS. GroupMe's services include group messaging, conference calling, and location and photo sharing, enabling seamless interaction within social networks. Since its inception, the company has experienced significant growth, processing billions of messages and expanding its team to 25 employees. Acquired by Skype Global, GroupMe operates with a degree of autonomy, maintaining an entrepreneurial culture while aiming to become a primary communications provider for a large user base.
Fluidinfo
Series A in 2010
Fluidinfo Inc. is a technology company based in New York that specializes in creating a cloud-based platform for managing and sharing data. Founded in 2007, Fluidinfo provides managed services that include a hosted database for metadata and a tag-based schema with a query language. The platform enables organizations to crowdsource public data and collaborate on private data with trusted partners, integrating seamlessly into existing IT infrastructures. By allowing users to create a publicly writable database, Fluidinfo transforms how individuals and businesses interact with data, offering flexibility in organizing, sharing, and augmenting information. Users can control what information to share and with whom, promoting a personalized and collaborative environment. This innovative approach facilitates the development of applications that enhance data sharing and empower users to maintain control over their information, fostering a social aspect to data management.
Canvas Networks
Seed Round in 2010
Canvas Networks operates as an online community platform that facilitates image sharing and collaboration among users. The platform allows individuals to submit, edit, and share images, fostering a creative environment for users to engage with visual content. Through its software application, Canvas Networks enhances the user experience by enabling easy interaction with various images, promoting a community-driven approach to digital creativity.
Bluefin Labs
Seed Round in 2009
Bluefin Labs is a social TV analytics company that specializes in providing solutions to brand advertisers, advertising agencies, and television networks. Founded in 2008 and based in Cambridge, MA, with an additional office in New York, NY, the company leverages advanced technology and data analytics to connect social media commentary with the television shows and commercials viewed by audiences. This ability allows clients to access and analyze data at scale, enhancing their understanding of viewer engagement and advertising effectiveness. Grounded in extensive research in cognitive science and machine learning from the MIT Media Lab, Bluefin Labs was acquired by Twitter in 2013.