Led · Equity · Nov 2019

Octopus supplies rideshare drivers with tablets that run a 13-minute loop combining games (including sponsored cash-prize games), ride information (maps and weather) and advertising. The product is designed to keep passengers entertained, allow drivers to earn extra money, and potentially improve driver ratings by occupying riders during trips. The company deploys targeting and measurement technology such as geofences to adjust ad frequency, real-time analytics for advertisers, and seat monitoring to confirm a passenger is present when an ad plays. Octopus launched in 2018 and currently reaches more than 3 million people each month across about 10,000 screens in markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C. By working with Sinclair Digital Group — an affiliate of Sinclair Broadcast Group — Octopus can bring local TV station content onto its platform and scale its content offering. The startup touts its captive, buckled-in audience as an untapped medium for advertisers.

Led · Seed · Nov 2016

Ad Lightning builds software to help publishers and ad exchanges monitor and remove bad ads that slow web pages and disrupt user engagement. The company was spun out of Pioneer Square Labs and was founded last year. It operates from Seattle with an 11-person team; several employees will shuttle to New York for accelerator activities. Ad Lightning was named to Verizon Ventures’ inaugural Media Tech Venture Studio and will spend three months in New York City while receiving a $100,000 investment and mentorship. The $100,000 investment is made by R/GA Ventures (co-owned by Verizon and R/GA), which also holds a pro‑rata right to invest in future rounds. The startup raised $1 million last month and previously closed a $2 million seed round led by Sinclair Digital Ventures. Ad Lightning is preparing to raise a Series A later this year and is pursuing business development with Verizon media properties including AOL and Yahoo. Ad Lightning provides a proprietary intelligence tool that gives digital publishers insights to manage programmatic advertising creative, preserve brand integrity, and protect audience experience. The product helps publishers recover revenues lost to slow-loading and non-compliant digital ad units and aims to begin reversing consumer adoption of ad-blocking software. Founded in 2016 as a spin-out of startup studio Pioneer Square Labs, the company is led by digital publishing veteran Scott Moore. Ad Lightning is based in Seattle, WA and targets publishers and advertising platforms seeking to improve ad performance and user experience. The company completed a $2M seed financing to support its growth and product development. Kevin Cotlove of Sinclair Broadcast Group joined Ad Lightning’s board in conjunction with the funding.

Led · Seed · Apr 2015

ScoreStream operates a crowd-sourcing mobile platform that captures and syndicates live local sports content to consumers and media companies. Its mobile app engages fans through crowd-sourced scores, photos, video and chat, covering over 10,000 games per week worldwide. The company received a funding round of undisclosed amount and said it will use the proceeds to create new product enhancements and extend its platform capabilities. Backers in the round included Intel Capital (Intel’s strategic investment and M&A organization), Avalon Ventures, Sinclair Broadcasting, R/GA and Verizon Ventures. ScoreStream has a business collaboration agreement with Intel Corporation to collaborate on specified technical, marketing and sales activities. The company also maintains partnerships with most major broadcast television groups, iHeartMedia and the Associated Press. ScoreStream provides a crowdsourcing platform for real-time local sports scores, photos and conversations to consumers and television, newspaper, radio and Internet properties. Led by CEO Derrick Oien, the company aggregates fan-submitted content to engage local sports audiences. It supplies content to media partners across television, newspapers, radio and online outlets. In December 2015 ScoreStream completed a $2M seed financing. The round was led by Sinclair Digital Ventures (a division of Sinclair Broadcast Group) with participation from Avalon Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Sagamore Ventures and Paul Palmieri. The company intends to use the funds to expand its platform.