Startup Businesses - December 23, 2011
Each year, a number of new business ventures come to prominence, and 2011 was no different. A few businesses garnered great attention from investors and became the hottest startup financing success stories of the year, according to Business Insider.
Pinterest, a photo sharing and design website, was one of 2011's funding all-stars. The company, founded by Ben Silbermann, Evan Sharp and Paul Sciarra, raised $27 million after being valued at an estimated $200 million.
Another web-based startup, Fab, made major waves in 2011. At the beginning of the year, the business was marketed as a Groupon-esque daily coupon site geared toward the gay community. However, founder Jason Goldberg realized that the idea wasn't quite working and six months ago, the site was retooled as a home decor flash sales site similar to Rue La La. The business quickly racked up 1.2 million subscribers and its annual revenue run rate grew to approximately $50 million, says the news source. During the summer of 2011, Fab raised $7 million in startup financing and the company recently announced a new round valued at $40 million.
With 15 million users, the mobile-social hybrid application foursquare was another funding all-star in 2011. Over the summer, the business was valued at $600 million and collected $50 million in a round financing.
The company also survived Facebook's implementation of a check-in feature, even though some experts thought this would lead to the death of foursquare. Facebook had even offered to acquire foursquare, but co-creator Dennis Crowley turned the offer down, explains Business Insider.
Many consumers may not be familiar with the name Rovio Mobile, but most are certainly acquainted with their signature product - Angry Birds. The mobile startup is nearly a decade old, but the launch of the wildly popular gaming app made Rovio one of the most profitable ventures of 2011. The company raised $42 million in the spring and may consider an initial public offering.
The internet is synonymous with music sharing today, and 2011 saw a new player enter the field. Spotify, which allows users to stream selected music and share what they've listened to with friends, entered into a partnership with Facebook this year and raised $100 million in June, Business Insider reports. Currently, the startup is valued at $1 billion.
Although most of the startups that made Business Insiders' list were mobile- or web-based ventures, The Next Web reports that healthcare and energy startups are "the hottest industries to seed investors," alongside tech and internet businesses.