h3. GoViral distributes branded video content across its proprietary publisher network, creating a unique online presence for brands.
London, March 24, 2009 – Kennet Partners, the technology growth investor has announced a €6.5 million investment in GoViral, a global online distributor of branded video content.
GoViral launches branded video content across its proprietary online publisher network, ensuring high brand engagement and maximum viral exposure to the relevant demographics. GoViral’s unique positioning within viral marketing and video distribution ensures high-volume, targeted and high return-on-investment campaigns. These content-based campaigns are distributed in local languages, on local sites and with local publishers. Recognized as a leader in the segment, the company’s Seed&Track solution helps marketers reach Internet users in more than 80 countries. GoViral is based in Copenhagen, with offices in London, Frankfurt and Paris.
According to Jupiter research, online video will grow faster than any other creative type in Europe, increasing more than tenfold from €87 million (four percent of display ad spending) in 2006 to €929 million (20 percent of display ad spending) in 2012.
“We are excited about the prospects for GoViral.” said Michael Elias, Managing Director of Kennet. “Jimmy Maymann and his team have developed a first-mover advantage in a significant new market that is transforming media and advertising consumption. GoViral is an established business, fast-growing and profitable, with a global market opportunity. It is capital-efficient and highly responsive to the evolving requirements of its customers. The combination of strong market opportunity, innovative technology and effective management team makes this a very promising investment for Kennet and we are pleased to be the first institutional investor in the company.”
Jimmy Maymann, CEO of GoViral added, “We believe that the Kennet team, and Michael in particular, can add a lot of value to the business in the coming years. We have a shared vision for the business - the belief that video advertising is a key consideration that will help the online channel become the most important advertising medium in the future. GoViral already has a leading position within the digital advertising space, and this investment positions us well to scale the business to respond to the opportunity.”
As part of the investment, Michael Elias from Kennet will join the board of GoViral.
h2. About Kennet Partners
Kennet is a leading international private equity firm that invests in growth companies in Europe and North America. Kennet supports entrepreneurial technology businesses with expansion capital to accelerate growth and build exceptional shareholder value. Kennet is an experienced investor with more than $500 million in funds under management.
For more information: www.kennet.com. Kennet Partners Limited is authorized and regulated in the U.K. by the Financial Services Authority
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European media enquiries:
Kennet - Su Johnston, +44(0) 20 7839 8020, sjohnston@kennet.com
US media enquiries:
Accelent Marketing - Theresa Maloney, +1 925 287 1509, theresa@accelentmarketing.com
h3. Business knowledge and experience with growth capital is an ideal fit for Kennet.
London, March 19, 2009 — Kennet, a leading growth equity investor in Europe and North America with funds under management in excess of $500 million, today announced the addition of Hillel Zidel to its London team.
Hillel joins Kennet from ETV Capital, a provider of debt and equity-based capital to technology and biotech companies. At Kennet he will be working with the founders and management teams of European technology companies to exploit growth opportunities, including addressing new markets and geographies, and undertaking business development activities.
“We are delighted to have Hillel join us at Kennet” said Michael Elias, Managing Director. “His business knowledge and experience with growth capital in particular is an ideal fit for us. Kennet is seeing an increasing number of investment opportunities in both Europe and the U.S., so there is a good deal for him to do here.”
Hillel Zidel added: “This is an exciting time to be making European growth equity investments. The current climate has created opportunities as well as challenges for many high-tech entrepreneurs, and the value that Kennet provides in helping its portfolio companies to capitalize on opportunities and deal with challenges is an important differentiator in a difficult economy. Kennet has a great team of investment professionals with a great track record and I very much look forward to being part of the team.”
Kennet closed its third fund, Kennet III, in June 2008 and is actively investing in technology and technology-enabled businesses. Seven investments have already been made from the fund including: Spreadshirt, the online marketplace for customized apparel; Go Internet Media, the online lead generation specialist; and Schoolwires a U.S.-based provider of communications platforms for schools and their communities.
h2. About Kennet Partners
Kennet is a leading international private equity firm that invests in growth companies in Europe and North America. Kennet supports entrepreneurial technology businesses with expansion capital to accelerate growth and build exceptional shareholder value. Kennet is an experienced investor with more than $500 million in funds under management.
For more information: www.kennet.com. Kennet Partners Limited is authorized and regulated in the U.K. by the Financial Services Authority.
h3. Mass customization apparel company secures growth funding
Leipzig (Germany) and Boston, MA (USA), February 23rd, 2009 — Spreadshirt, the world’s creative apparel platform, today announced an investment of €10 million by Kennet Partners, a leading private equity firm, and existing investor Accel Partners.
Spreadshirt is a leading company for online mass customization, where goods can be easily personalized by consumers to make them more relevant and valuable, with a minimum order of one. Spreadshirt extends this capability to partners, large and small, who want to offer personalized shirts and other apparel to their communities and customers. Partners range from individuals with a blog, to the world’s largest brands.
Spreadshirt will use the funding to add new products and capabilities to its online platform, to strengthen its international footprint, and for innovative messaging to the massive market of people who wear clothes.
“Spreadshirt mixes an online ‘Web 2.0’ platform with the offline worlds of fashion, mass customization, and real-time manufacturing. Combining this with our global coverage means we require a financing partner with a range of experience to contribute more than simply cash,” says Jana Eggers, CEO of Spreadshirt. “Kennet, and specifically Managing Director Max Bleyleben, demonstrated their partnership mindset, and past results. We were sold.”
“Spreadshirt is an example of a capital-efficient business that has built not only a strong leadership position in Europe, but also quality leadership in North America,” comments Mr. Bleyleben. “The entrepreneurial team behind Spreadshirt — founder and Chairman Lukasz Gadowski, founder and CTO Matthias Spiess, and CEO Jana Eggers — have built a dynamic, innovative business for mass-customized eCommerce.” Mr. Bleyleben was elected to join Spreadshirt’s board.
"As a post-bubble entrepreneur, it is great to see our idea come to this stage of growth financing," said Lukasz Gadowski, Chairman of Spreadshirt. "I am looking forward to working with the Spreadshirt team, Accel and Kennet to take personalization and self expression to new heights."
Accel Partner Harry Nelis underlines the fit with Kennet, pointing out its experience with businesses that want to accelerate growth: “Since 2006, Accel has supported Spreadshirt’s development as it has become the market leader for creative apparel in Europe, and established itself in North America. With Kennet joining the shareholder group, we have additional expertise to take Spreadshirt across the chasm into the mainstream on both sides of the Atlantic.”
h2. About Spreadshirt
Spreadshirt is the “things you wear” answer to the growing desire for personal branding — letting customers quickly create one-of-a-kind, high-quality, expressive apparel. Our customers are:
Buyers. Like tattoos, phone skins and MySpace or Facebook pages, Spreadshirt lets customers show who they are with what they wear, be it customized t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, bags, or accessories. If consumers don’t immediately have their own ideas, they are supported in finding what’s right for them with hundreds of thousands of top-quality designs from Spreadshirt’s extensive design community.
Sellers. Spreadshirt’s online platform supports some of the world’s largest corporations, like CNN, Holiday Inn Express, and Nissan, along with individual designers, bloggers and hobbyists, to offer unique, expressive clothing for their brand without worrying about demand management, inventory, manufacturing, logistics, payments or customer service. A basic Spreadshirt shop is free to set up and to operate.
Designers. Each week designers compete for fame and monetary prizes at laFraise, Europe’s largest t-shirt design competition and a Spreadshirt brand. The community votes, the designers get immediate feedback on their work, and limited edition t-shirts are printed and sold. laFraise also works with top brands like Celio, Greenpeace, and Sony to offer unique, crowd-sourced t-shirt designs to their communities and customers.
Spreadshirt was founded in 2002 in Leipzig without any outside capital and now employs more than 300 people in Europe and the United States. Spreadshirt has millions of individual consumers as customers, and over a half million shop partners worldwide. Meet Spreadshirt and its people at the Spreadshirt Blogs, Twitter, Flickr or Facebook, CEO Jana Eggers blogs at lifeonashirt.com.
For more information: www.spreadshirt.net
h2. About Kennet Partners
Kennet is a leading international private equity firm that invests in growth companies in North America and Europe. Kennet invests in technology and technology-enabled business services, offering expansion capital to businesses that want to accelerate growth and build exceptional shareholder value in partnership with an experienced investor. Kennet has funds under management in excess of $500 million and acts as an advisor to Kennet II and Kennet III.
For more information: www.kennet.com. Kennet Partners Limited is authorized and regulated in the U.K. by the Financial Services Authority.
Max Bleyleben blogs about technology and entrepreneurship at maxbley.typepad.com.
h2. About Accel Partners
Founded in 1983, Accel Partners has a long history of excellence and innovation in the venture capital business and is dedicated to partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class companies. Accel today invests globally using dedicated teams and market-specific strategies for local geographies, with offices in Palo Alto, California; London, UK; and Bangalore, India; as well as in China via the IDG-Accel Partnership.
With over $6 billion under management, Accel has helped entrepreneurs build over 300 successful category-defining companies including: Actuate, Alfresco, AMCC, Arrowpoint, Baidu, BBN, Brightcove, ComScore, Etsy, Facebook, Focus Media, Foundry Networks, Gameforge, GlamMedia, Imperva, Infinera, Interwoven, JBoss, Kayak, Macromedia, metroPCS, Mu Sigma, Polycom/PictureTel, Portal Software, QlikTech, Rapt, Real Networks, Redback Networks, Riverbed, Sohu.com, UUNet, Veritas, Walmart.com, Webroot, XenSource, and Zimbra.
For more information, visit the Accel Partners web site at www.accel.com.
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European media enquiries:
Spreadshirt - PR-Manager, Eike Sievert, +49 341 594 00 5382, eike.sievert@spreadshirt.net
Kennet - Su Johnston, +44(0) 20 7839 8020, sjohnston@kennet.com
US media enquiries:
Accelent Marketing - Theresa Maloney, +1 925 287 1509, theresa@accelentmarketing.com
h3. Capital will Accelerate Growth and Product Innovation; Eric Filipek Joins Board
State College, Pennsylvania, 14th January 2009―Schoolwires, one of the nation’s leading providers of strategic website and community management solutions for building stronger school communities, more effective schools and greater student success, announced today that it has secured $12 million in growth-stage funding. Global growth equity firm Kennet Partners led the financing, which is the company’s first institutional round. Eric Filipek, Principal at Kennet has joined the Board of Directors.
The financing will enable Schoolwires to leverage its leadership position, intensify growth activities and accelerate plans to deliver powerful new solutions forged by changing K-12 market demands. It will also make Schoolwires the strongest and safest choice for strategic website and community management solutions offered to K-12 districts throughout the United States.
“We firmly believe that strategic online solutions will play a major role in transforming education,” said Edward S. Marflak, founder and CEO of Schoolwires. “We are leading the market in helping students and school districts to achieve more. In the process, we are blessed and gratified to be building one of America's fastest-growing and most respected education technology companies."
“A rare combination of sustained, rapid sales growth coupled with extremely strong customer satisfaction initially attracted Kennet to Schoolwires,” said Eric Filipek. “We were impressed by the company’s talent, commitment and sustainable track record. We believe that the company has an exponential growth opportunity as it scales to address a $1 billion+ market. Kennet believes that Schoolwires is well positioned to play a role in addressing one of our nation’s top priorities: Education. Under President-elect Barack Obama’s education agenda, we anticipate an intensifying trend taking shape as private sector investment supports the build-out of this nation’s educational infrastructure.”
Schoolwires will also expand customer success programs designed to help them reach their full potential.
h3. Schoolwires Delivers Strategic Solutions to Address Changing K-12 Demands
The new demands of accountability, shifting demographics, ensuring student safety, enfranchising parents as part of the educational process, bringing together all community constituents, managing budget shortfalls and, most importantly, driving academic success are intensifying the pressure on America’s schools and their administrators.
By listening to the needs of the K-12 education market, Schoolwires has developed powerful solutions to address the strategic challenges facing our nation’s school districts. The company takes great pride in providing new innovations that help its customers better inform, engage and energize their K-12 communities.
“With an impressive track record of investing in respected and strategically-positioned companies experiencing significant growth, Schoolwires is excited to partner with Kennet,” said Marflak. “The management team is extremely insightful and delivers a level of expertise in growing businesses like ours that will be a major benefit as we accelerate expansion and deliver powerful market innovations.”
h2. About Schoolwires, Inc.
Schoolwires Inc. is headquartered in Pennsylvania, USA.
Schoolwires provides strategic online communication, community-management and productivity solutions to the K-12 education market. The company’s core product is Schoolwires Centricity™, which brings together robust and flexible website management, community management and web 2.0/social network capabilities in a single, user-centric solution. Schoolwires also delivers Schoolwires Synergy™, a digital file sharing solution, Schoolwires Assist™, a service request solution, and Schoolwires Share™, an exclusive online client community and support center.
Schoolwires is recognized in the Inc. 500 as one of the fastest growing private companies in the nation. The company’s on-demand solutions are deployed at nearly 4,000 schools serving an estimated four million students, parents, teachers and administrators throughout North America.
h2. About Kennet
Kennet is a leading international private equity firm that invests in growth companies in North America and Europe. Kennet invests in technology and technology-enabled business services, offering expansion capital to businesses that want to accelerate growth and build exceptional shareholder value in partnership with an experienced investor. Kennet has funds under management in excess of $500 million and acts as an advisor to Kennet II and Kennet III.
For more information visit www.kennet.com.
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US media enquiries:
Schoolwires, Inc - VP of Marketing, Jacqueline Martini, Cell +1 484 678 4199, jmartini@schoolwires.com
Accelent Marketing - Theresa Maloney, +1 925 287 1509, theresa@accelentmarketing.com
European media enquiries:
Kennet - Su Johnston, +44(0) 20 7839 8020, sjohnston@kennet.com
h3. Profitable, high-growth technology leader secures first round of external funding to support growth initiatives for AcademixDirect and RevenueLoop.
Santa Clara, Calif. (January 13, 2009) - Go Internet Media, Inc., an Internet Advertising Network specializing in customized consumer acquisition services for vertical markets, announced today that it has secured US $10 million in Series A equity financing led by Kennet, a private equity firm that provides growth equity to technology businesses in the United States and Europe.
The financing will be used to fund Go Internet Media’s continued rapid growth by expanding its sales force and strengthening its balance sheet. Javier Rojas and Gustavo Alberelli from Kennet will join Al Abhari, Founder and President of Go Internet Media, Inc., on the Board of Directors.
Go Internet Media was founded in 2004 with the mission of building practical and resource-rich vertical-market portals to help consumer marketing companies, such as post-secondary education institutions, reach and acquire highly qualified customers. Today, the company operates two profitable divisions: AcademixDirect and RevenueLoop. Popular sites include www.searchbydegree.com and www.freeeducationguide.com.
“Internet Media is a great example of a founder-led business that has been bootstrapped profitably to a sizable revenue base. Enthusiasm for the company’s services has been exceptional,” said Javier Rojas, Managing Director of Kennet.
AcademixDirect supports over 1,000 nationwide colleges’ and universities' advertising efforts by offering relevant information to their target audiences. The students are matched up with the school(s) that best fits their interests. In a matter of seconds, the lead is delivered to institutions, allowing the two to connect. This model increases appointment rates, exposure for the academic institution and ultimately, enrollment rates.
RevenueLoop is an online advertising network for publishers and advertisers. This division uses ‘crowdsourcing’ to tap a broad network of online marketing experts for selected customer acquisition programs supporting national organizations.
“The redirection of advertising budgets towards more performance-based solutions combined with the company’s innovative technology and strong customer focus have allowed Go Internet Media to experience tremendous growth despite the current economic environment,” said Gustavo Alberelli, Director at Kennet.
Al Abhari, Go Internet Media President, added, “We are confident that the alliance with Kennet and new infusion of capital will fuel the continued growth of our organization. It will allow us the opportunity to take a leading position within the Post-Secondary Education interactive marketing and Cost Per Action (CPA) affiliate marketing industries.”
h2. About Go Internet Media, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Go Internet Media has gained traction as an industry leader in lead generation for the education market. The combination of exclusive offerings, extensive industry background and strong ROI-focused philosophy uniquely positions Go Internet Media for growth. Founded in 2004, Go Internet Media operates two business units: AcademixDirect and RevenueLoop. AcademixDirect is a rapidly growing technology leader in online marketing, poised to gain market share in the post-secondary school sector, while RevenueLoop expands the company’s market reach beyond the education industry to affiliate-based online advertising. RevenueLoop.com is a 100% CPA, performance-based advertising network that matches advertising campaigns with successful publishers to drive exposure and lead generation to exclusive campaigns. The company is funded exclusively by Kennet. For more information please visit www.gointernetmedia.com
h2. About Kennet
Kennet is a leading international private equity firm that invests in growth companies in North America and Europe. Kennet invests in technology and technology-enabled business services, offering expansion capital to businesses that want to accelerate growth and build exceptional shareholder value in partnership with an experienced investor. Kennet has funds under management in excess of $500 million and acts as an advisor to Kennet II and Kennet III.
Kennet Partners Limited is authorized and regulated in the U.K. by the Financial Services Authority. For more information visit www.kennet.com.
US media enquiries:
Go Internet Media - Jamie Claire, +1 408 988 9989 ext. 801, jclaire@gointernetmedia.com
Kennet - Javier Rojas, +1 650 573 8700, jrojas@kennet.com
Accelent Marketing - Theresa Maloney, +1 925 287 1509, theresa@accelentmarketing.com
European media enquiries:
Kennet - Su Johnston, +44(0) 20 7839 8020, sjohnston@kennet.com
h3. Capital to accelerate global sales growth and enable acquisition strategy.
San Francisco, 7th October 2008 – Recommind, a leading provider of search, email management and eDiscovery systems for enterprises announced today that it has secured the first institutional funding in the company’s history. Global growth equity firm Kennet Partners led the financing of the business.
Recommind’s solutions enable Fortune 500 enterprises and professional services firms to organize, access and analyze data and expertise across the organization to maximize the value of enterprise information while efficiently mitigating the risks associated with litigation, regulatory compliance and investigations. In particular, Recommind’s eDiscovery platform dramatically improves the accuracy, consistency and speed of document review during litigation and investigations.
In the past year, the company has also launched its email management tool, DecisivTM Email, which automatically tags, files and deduplicates all email-borne information to help firms better meet their records management and litigation preparedness needs.
Recommind has experienced sustained and rapid growth across all product lines and geographies. The company plans to use the new capital to accelerate global sales growth and to acquire additional product and market breadth through acquisition.
“At Kennet Partners, we focus on well run, capital efficient companies with strong franchises that have shown a consistent track record of sustained revenue growth. Recommind is directly in our sweet spot and we are pleased to be the first institutional investors in the company,” said Eric Filipek, Principal at Kennet Partners. “Recommind is following a similar path taken by some of the most successful technology companies to date by becoming a key supplier of strategically critical technology to a rapidly expanding vertical industry. The skill sets required to build and maintain an extremely loyal customer base in legal technology positions the business perfectly to deliver best-of-breed solutions to the broader and rapidly changing document management market. We are excited to be a part of what is a tremendous success story that continues to gain momentum, even in turbulent times such as these.”
“We are very proud of Recommind’s track record of strong, organic growth and profitability. Our high-growth rate is a testament to the dedication, focus and capabilities of our employees – not to mention the strong support of our customers. With the tremendous demand we have experienced, which has only accelerated with the recent financial market crisis, access to significant capital will be a key ingredient of our ability to fulfill demand going forward,” said Robert Tennant, CEO, Recommind. “With a successful track record of investing in well-established, strategically positioned companies experiencing significant growth, Kennet Partners is an ideal partner that shares our vision of making Recommind the leading provider of information risk management solutions to enterprises.”
As part of the investment, Eric Filipek from Kennet Partners will join the board of Recommind.
h2. About Kennet Partners
Kennet Partners is a leading international private equity firm that invests in growth companies in Europe and North America. Kennet invests in the technology and technology-enabled business services sectors, offering expansion capital to businesses that want to accelerate growth and build exceptional shareholder value in partnership with an experienced investor.
Kennet Partners has over $600 million under management and acts as an advisor to Kennet II and Kennet III.
Kennet Partners Limited is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. For more information: www.kennet.com
h2. About Recommind
Recommind’s enterprise search and categorization platform automatically organizes, manages, and distributes large volumes of information from multiple sources. With faster access to the right information, organizations can save time, enhance the quality of work product, increase the value of information assets, and improve competitiveness and profits. Recommind customers include Bertelsmann, BMW, DLA Piper, Novartis, Lewis Silkin, Shearman & Sterling and Simmons & Simmons. Recommind is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington DC, London, and Bonn, Germany.
For more information, email info@recommind.com, or go to www.recommind.com.