• Wanderful Media

  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.

• Collective

  Led · Equity · Jul 2013

  Collective, formerly known as Collective Media, offers a multi-format advertising platform that lets marketers reach consumers seamlessly across computers, mobile devices, and connected televisions—a strategy it brands as “Wherevertising.” The company leverages big-data analytics to give advertisers a unified, actionable view of their target audiences, aiming to cut waste and improve return on investment. Headquartered in New York City, Collective operates additional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and India. Its core product is an ad network that integrates data instead of relying solely on content to drive targeting decisions. Leadership emphasizes that the platform’s cross-screen coordination is designed for brand-conscious advertisers navigating a fragmented media environment. Financially, the firm has now attracted $44.9 million in equity capital since inception and secured an additional $30 million in debt financing. While no revenue or user figures were disclosed, the fresh capital is positioned to support ongoing product expansion and market penetration efforts.

• Skyword

  Led · Equity · May 2013

  Skyword offers a content marketing software and services platform that helps brands produce, optimize, manage, and promote content across formats including articles, video, images, infographics, podcasts, and animations. The company provides access to a community of thousands of freelance writers and videographers plus an editorial team and program managers to support clients’ content programs. Customers have created and published more than one million original stories on the platform. Clients include Abbott Laboratories, ADP, AutoTrader, GE Health, Groupon, HP, IBM and other B2B and B2C brands. Skyword was founded in 2010 and is led by CEO Tom Gerace; its technology center is located in Pittsburgh, PA and the company is based in Boston, MA. The company said it will use the funding to accelerate growth and product innovation. Skyword offers a content marketing platform alongside professional services and access to a community of thousands of freelance writers, videographers, an editorial team, and program managers. The company combines software and services to help brands create and distribute original stories across formats including articles, video, images, infographics, podcasts, and animations. Brands have authored and published more than one million original stories on the Skyword Platform, which have been viewed over 1.5 billion times, and Skyword has paid freelance creatives more than $20 million. Its customer base in 2017 included B2B and B2C brands such as Abbott Laboratories, Lahey Health, HortonWorks, GE Health, Glenmede, and Groupon. Skyword is privately held and headquartered in Boston, MA, with a technology center in Pittsburgh, PA, and investors that include Cox Media Group, Allen & Company, Progress Ventures, and American Public Media Group. The company said it will use new financing to support revenue momentum and provide capital to reach profitability in 2018 while continuing to invest in growth. Skyword provides a proprietary content marketing platform that helps brands produce, optimize, and promote original storytelling at scale. The platform is complemented by access to a community of freelance writers and videographers, an editorial team, and program managers who support clients’ content programs. Skyword positions itself to liberate brands from ineffective marketing practices and to create deeper audience connections. The company is privately held and headquartered in Boston, Mass., with offices in Miami, Palo Alto, and New York and a technology center in Pittsburgh. Investors in Skyword include Cox Media Group, Allen & Company, Progress Ventures, and American Public Media Group. Skyword received a $5.5 million venture loan to support working capital as it pursues domestic and international expansion. Skyword is a Boston-based provider of a platform for original content production at scale. Led by founder and CEO Tom Gerace, the platform streamlines and automates steps in the content creation and publishing process and provides marketers and publishers with content intelligence. Features include an SEO scorecard assessment, content promotion across social channels, and the ability to track real-time search engine referral information to map content strategies to trending topics. The company also provides access to a community of more than 20,000 professional writers. Skyword intends to use the $6.7M growth financing to expand its team and scale operations. The company previously closed a $6M financing in December 2011. Skyword markets a digital content platform that provides brands and media companies a way to buy search‑engine‑ and social‑network‑friendly articles written by so‑called Skywriters. The company positions itself as a source of original, high‑quality content designed to reach large audiences across the internet. Articles on the platform are offered at very low cost, according to the reporting. Skyword is described in the coverage as a fledgling content farm. The company serves both brands and media organizations as customers. Financially, the only disclosed transaction in the article is a $6 million investment from Cox Media Group.

• iHigh

  Led · Equity · May 2012

  iHigh offers free web-based tools and live video streaming capabilities that enable local high schools, youth groups and national organizations to broadcast live content to PCs, smartphones, tablets and other internet-connected devices. The platform was developed initially to support high school athletics and has expanded to colleges and other affinity groups, serving students, coaches, boosters, parents, communities and advertisers. iHigh counts national partners such as USA Swimming, USA Wrestling and the National Junior College Athletic Association. The company is led by chairman and CEO Jim Host and is operating in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and seven countries including Canada. iHigh intends to use the new funding for product development and corporate expansion. The company is currently valued at nearly $60M following the investment.

No current team members are available.