Madrona and Trilogy Fund Bevy™, Inc. to Address Social Merchandising Market
Bevy closes first institutional round of $1.2 Million
SEATTLE, WA — May 5th, 2008 – Bevy™, Inc., a new company developing a revolutionary approach that helps people discuss and discover products with people they trust, today from the Facebook Developer Garage, announced that it has closed a $1.2 million seed round of venture financing. The round was lead by Madrona Venture Group and the Trilogy Partnership.
Proceeds from the seed round of funding will be used to hire the team to build and launch the company’s services focused on the fast-growing social merchandising marketplace. Bevy was founded by Kevin Foreman, while he was an Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Madrona Venture Group. Previously, Foreman spent nine years at RealNetworks where he lead Real’s source code community and mobile infrastructure businesses.
In conjunction with the closing of the financing round, Bevy added two technology business veterans to its Board of Directors, Tom Alberg, Managing Director at Madrona and Theresa Gillespie, Managing Director, at the Trilogy Partnership. To further assist with the company’s growth, Bevy has also formed a Board of Advisors, including Kim Rachmeler, former Amazon.com Vice President of Discovery and Personalization; Greg Slyngstad, former Microsoft and Expedia executive and co-founder of Vacationspot; and Michael Schutzler, former Senior Vice President of RealNetworks, Senior Vice President of Monster Worldwide, and CEO of Classmates.com.
Bevy was created to address the rapidly growing social merchandising marketplace. In 2007, nearly $260 billion was spent online in the United States. “The vast majority of online merchandise is purchased in solitude with little or no help from friends or other consumers who share similar characteristics.” said Kevin Foreman, founder and CEO of Bevy, Inc. ‘There is a huge opportunity to combine social networking with the online shopping experience. We have a strong team backed by experienced investors and advisors to focus on the many opportunities that lie in front of us.”
Social merchandising is the integration of social networking and product discovery. According to comScore®, a leading Internet measurement firm, the number of worldwide visitors to social networking sites has grown 34 percent in the past year to 530 million, representing approximately 2 out of every 3 Internet users. MySpace® and Facebook® are in a tight battle for the global leadership position, each attracting more than 100 million visitors per month.
Research firm eMarketer projects that US companies will spend $1.6 billion to advertise on social network sites in 2008, up 70% from 2007. "Social e-commerce and social merchandising have strong potential, and leading-edge marketers that are willing to take risks will benefit by being involved,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst.
“Bevy has quickly evolved from concept to imminent launch,” said Tom Alberg, Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group “Madrona has a strong track record of working closely with new companies in rapidly growing marketplaces. Bevy is another example of the magic that can happen when the alumni talent of leading Pacific Northwest high-tech pioneers comes together.”
“Trilogy invests in people and market opportunity. Bevy has already built a solid team of men and women who comprise over 45 years of experience from leading firms such as Amazon, Eddie Bauer, Expedia and RealNetworks.” said Theresa Gillespie, Managing Director, Trilogy Partnership, “Trilogy looks forward to continuing to provide Bevy with our support in the years to come.”
About Madrona Venture Group
Madrona has been investing in early-stage technology companies in the Pacific Northwest since 1995 and has been privileged to play a role in some of the region’s most successful technology ventures. The firm invests predominately in seed and Series A rounds across the information technology spectrum including consumer Internet, commercial software and services, digital media and advertising, networking and infrastructure, and wireless. Madrona currently manages over $425 million and was an early investor in companies such as AdReady, Classmates.com, Farecast, Redfin, and ShareBuilder. To learn more, visit www.madrona.com.
About Trilogy Partnership
Trilogy Partnership was founded by successful veterans of the wireless industry, including the executive team that founded Western Wireless and VoiceStream. Trilogy's partners have started new companies in emerging industries and have built enduring businesses across four continents. Trilogy's portfolio companies benefit from its operational expertise and its global network of relationships in addition to its financial investment.
About Bevy
Bevy is a social discovery service where people discuss and discover products with their friends and other members who have similar characteristics. Based in Seattle, Washington, Bevy is a privately held and is funded by two of the Pacific Northwest’s premiere venture capitalists: Madrona Venture Group and the Trilogy Partnership. For more information, please visit www.BevyInc.com
Bevy™ is a trademark of Bevy, Inc.