SPANFELLER MEDIA GROUP SECURES $5 MILLION IN SERIES C FUNDING
Positions Itself for Profitability and New Launches
New York, NY (February 8, 2013)—Spanfeller Media Group (SMG), led by renowned digital content innovator Jim Spanfeller, today announced that it secured $5 million in Series C funding at the end of 2012. This latest round was led by iNovia Capital, with participation from existing investors. SMG launched its first property, The Daily Meal (www.thedailymeal.com), in January 2011 and since then the property has become the fastest-growing culinary site of all time, now with over 7 million unique monthly visitors. SMG’s second digital platform, The Active Times (www.theactivetimes.com), launched in June 2012 and already draws more than 1 million unique visitors each month.
As SMG drives toward profitability, the new investment capital offers several avenues for growth, including increased development of both The Daily Meal (www.thedailymeal.com), and The Active Times (www.theactivetimes.com), as well as breaking into even more verticals by way of forthcoming launches. The recipe for each site’s success is largely reflected in the SMG business model: producing a wider selection of quality content at a faster pace than anyone else.
“iNovia has provided funding for a selection of other leaders in lifestyle media, including: Babble, Beyond the Rack, Bomoda and Well.ca”, said Geoff Judge, partner at iNovia Capital, who now joins the company’s board. “Investing in such a rapidly emergent company like SMG was a natural move for us, and further strengthens our client landscape and reach.”
“We are thrilled to work with iNovia, whose portfolio of entrepreneurs encapsulates much of the same focus on delivering robust content and effective solutions to consumers and marketers alike,” said Spanfeller. “As ad technology recedes into the background, it becomes clearer and clearer that quality content is re-centering itself as the most vital component in the media world.”
To date, SMG has raised over $12.5 million in venture capital. The initial rounds of funding were led by VantagePoint Capital Partners, SoftBank Capital NY, Tribeca Venture Partners, Lerer Media Ventures, and RRE Ventures, as well as a group of angel investors.
Tim McGeever
646.459.0604 ext. 561
TMcGeever@Spanfellergroup.com
About Spanfeller Media Group
Founded in mid-2010 by Jim Spanfeller, the Spanfeller Media Group brings media into the digital age through premium subject-specific digital destinations. Its first site, The Daily Meal launched in January 2011 and is already among the largest food sites on the Web. Launched in June 2012, The Active Times is the second vertical content site of the venture-backed company.
About iNovia Capital
iNovia partners with exceptional entrepreneurs to build successful companies in high-growth sectors. The team is comprised of entrepreneurs and sector experts focused on Mobile, Internet and Digital Media. iNovia has $275M under management across three seed and early-stage funds. For more information, visit www.iNovia.vc or follow iNovia on Twitter at www.twitter.com/iNovia.
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