• Bustle Digital Group

  Participated · Series D · Mar 2017

  Bustle is an independent digital media property for millennial women covering news, celebrity, culture, lifestyle, politics, fashion and beauty. Led by CEO Bryan Goldberg, the site reaches 50 million unique readers a month and works with over 200 major brand advertisers, including Adidas, Smartwater, H&M and Del Monte. The company operates Bustle and its sister site Romper. In January Bustle launched the Bustle Trends Group to collect surveys and primary data on millennial consumers; its first report is scheduled for publication in May. The company plans to use new funding to grow Bustle and Romper's reach among millennial consumers and to expand video, platform strength, and its commitment to news and politics coverage. Bustle is a digital media property led by CEO and founder Bryan Goldberg that targets millennial women. The site covers breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, fashion & beauty, relationships, and related topics. Launched in 2013, Bustle has a global audience of over 45 million monthly unique visitors. The company recently launched Romper, a destination for and written by millennial parents. Bustle will use the funds to accelerate growth and to expand its editorial and video departments. It also plans to continue building its sales and brand offerings. Bustle is a digital news site focused on content for and by women, covering news, fashion, entertainment and related topics. The company was launched in 2013 and is led by Founder and CEO Bryan Goldberg with Kate Ward as Managing Editor. Bustle reports more than 20 million readers. The site plans to use new funding to accelerate growth, expand and invest in its editorial team, and build out its sales and brand offerings. Bustle is based in New York City. Recent financing activity reflects an effort to scale both editorial and commercial operations.

• Giosis

  Participated · Series A · Jul 2015

  Giosis operates Qoo10, a B2C e-commerce marketplace with sites in Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and China. Qoo10 claims 17.6 million registered users and reported $408 million in gross merchandise volume last year. The company plans to boost operations in Asia, with particular expansion into Indonesia and broader Southeast Asia. Planned uses of capital include marketing, deploying independent storefronts for merchants, and improving mobile apps such as messenger QTalk to migrate more traffic to mobile. Qoo10 is also investing in logistics partners to speed delivery, exploring in-store pickup, and pursuing online-to-offline strategies. Singapore Press Holdings will partner with Qoo10 on verticals like advertising and classifieds to support those efforts.

• Playbuzz

  Participated · Series B · Mar 2015

  Playbuzz is a storytelling and real-time analytics platform used by premium publishers and brands to author, distribute and monetize interactive stories that drive audience engagement. The platform offers tools for creating interactive content and measuring engagement in real time. Its branded content business works with Fortune 500 brands to create, distribute and measure native advertising campaigns. The company intends to use the new capital to expand its global presence and to grow its branded content business. Playbuzz has over 150 employees across offices in New York, London, Tel Aviv, Hamburg, São Paulo, Moscow and Los Angeles. Founded in 2012, the company has raised $66M in total funding. Playbuzz offers a proprietary content-engagement platform used by tens of thousands of publishers, brands and content creators to create and distribute interactive formats. Its product formats include slideshows, flip cards, galleries, quizzes, lists and video snaps designed to optimize audience engagement and social distribution. The company was founded in 2012 by Shaul Olmert and Tom Pachys and is headquartered in New York City. Playbuzz employs about 100 people across offices in New York, London, Tel Aviv, Hamburg and Nashville. The company works with leading brands to run native advertising and sponsored content campaigns at scale. It plans to use new funding to further enhance its platform and expand its sponsored content business. PlayBuzz is a NYC-based online content engagement and social distribution platform. It provides publishers, bloggers, marketers and brands tools to connect with audiences through interactive storytelling formats such as quizzes, lists, surveys and rankings on websites and mobile apps. The company plans to use the $16M Series B to expand global operations, opening offices in Asia and Europe, and to broaden the variety of formats on its platform. PlayBuzz also intends to enhance authoring, distribution and monetization capabilities for online publishers. The Series B was led by 83North with participation from Saban Capital, Carmel Ventures and FirstTime Ventures. PlayBuzz was founded in 2012 by Shaul Olmert and Tom Pachys.

• MyCheck

  Participated · Series A · Oct 2013

  MyCheck offers a B2B platform that lets restaurant customers 'check in' and pay via mobile devices while providing analytics and personalized loyalty features to merchants. The company pivoted from an initial consumer app launched in 2011 to focus on enterprise customers in the hospitality sector. Its platform is used by chains such as Busaba and Prezzo in the U.K. and Blockheads and Aroma in the U.S. and combines waiter-free mobile payments with business intelligence to help merchants increase ticket sizes, traffic, and marketing effectiveness. MyCheck already has a market footprint across the U.K., U.S., Israel and Brazil. The company says it will use new capital to accelerate growth, particularly across the U.S. and Western Europe, by investing in marketing and hiring senior business development professionals. MyCheck operates a PCI-compliant, free-to-download mobile payment and checkout app used in hospitality and other sectors. The app is accepted at more than 3,000 places worldwide. The company completed a $6.1M Series A financing to support growth. It will use the funds to expand its presence in existing markets and accelerate user adoption. MyCheck was founded in Israel in March 2011 by Tal Zvi Nathanel. The company has operations in Tel Aviv, London and New York.

• Next New Networks

  Participated · Debt Financing · Dec 2010

  Next New Networks is a New York-based web content producer that manages a network of independent filmmakers and produces its own video channels. The company's core product is original web video channels and a managed creator network. TechCrunch reports the startup has raised $1 million in debt financing, while an SEC filing indicates it is raising a round totaling $1.2 million. Listed investors in the filing include Ross Levinsohn (Fuse Capital), Bijan Sabet (Spark Capital), Goldman Sachs, and Saban Capital Group. Media reports say YouTube is in talks to acquire Next New Networks, which would give YouTube the ability to produce web videos in-house and could bolster ad monetization and Google TV. The article discloses no operating metrics, past rounds, or founding year. Next New Networks is an online TV site that operates a portfolio of 12 themed video networks. Its networks include Barely Political (home of Obama Girl), Channel Frederator (cartoons), ThreadBanger (DIY fashion), and Veracifier (daily news). The company reported 33 million video views in March across its 12 networks. It also announced a distribution deal with AOL to carry its videos. Next New Networks launched in January 2007 and had previously raised $8 million from Spark Capital, Saban Media Group, Pilot Group, and Bob Pittman. The company recently received an additional $15 million investment. Next New Networks is a New York–based online media company that builds internet-based "micro television networks" for targeted niche communities. Each micro-network typically includes one or more shows of 3–11 minutes of programming on a weekly or daily basis, a website, and subscribable feeds (iTunes, My Yahoo), and may also host a channel or homepage on sites like YouTube. The company has launched nine micro-networks so far and plans to expand that number to 30, with examples such as Indy Mogul, Channel Frederator, Fast Lane Daily, Pulp Secret, ThreadBanger, Veracifier, and VOD Cars. Next New Networks signed a distribution deal to place seven of its nine channels on Veoh.com. The company launched in January with $8 million in funding from Spark Capital. The founding team comprises five media and technology veterans (Herb Scannell, Fred Seibert, Jed Simmons, Tim Shey, Emil Rensing) with experience across Nickelodeon, MTV, Hanna‑Barbera, Turner Broadcasting, AOL, and Frederator Studios.

No current team members are available.