The Venture Codex

Participated · Equity · Apr 2014

Wanderful Media aggregates newspaper circulars, coupons and local retail advertising for delivery on mobile devices and in shopping tabs on newspapers' websites. The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company launched in 2013 with an iOS app and has since released its Find&Save app for Android while rolling out location-based services for both platforms. It was formed with a $22 million investment in 2012 and has attracted additional funding from large media owners. The company manages national retail advertising relationships while regional newspapers handle local and regional retailer relationships and placement. Since launch Wanderful has generated less than $10 million in revenue but places content in front of about 100 million monthly uniques. CEO Ben Smith says the company focused on mobile and tablet to reach audiences and modernize the circulars experience. Wanderful Media’s core product is Find&Save, a local deal service that aggregates offers from newspaper circulars, retailers, and other data sources. The company recently relaunched Find&Save with added personalization and social features, including shopping lists and the ability to follow retailers and other users. The relaunch followed Wanderful’s acquisition of Travidia, the print-to-digital conversion company that started Find&Save. Find&Save integrates with newspaper sites (for example the San Francisco Chronicle) and the company says its network reaches 100 million unique visitors each month. Executives report positive response to the relaunch and plan to use new funding to increase distribution and to launch mobile and tablet apps as a next step. Financially, Wanderful has raised an additional $9 million in the latest round, bringing total funding to $36 million. Wanderful Media digitizes newspaper circulars and local retailers' coupons via its Find n Save platform. Find n Save powers deals and shopping sections on newspaper websites in more than 250 markets and the company planned to expand to 600 sites in 2013. Wanderful acquired Travidia to convert print coupons to digital and operates a conversion center in Chico, Calif. The company raised $22 million from 12 newspaper publishers, who also serve as key distribution partners. CEO Ben T. Smith IV said retailer adoption drove publisher partnerships and that tablet and smartphone apps were imminent, with the tablet positioned as the core discovery-shopping experience and phones for in-store alerts. Management plans to extend the underlying technology beyond Find n Save into other industries over time.