Plastic Jungle Secures $4.8 million Series A Financing

Round Includes Investments from Shasta Ventures, Bay Partners, First Round Capital and Harrison Metal

CLOVIS, Calif. Plastic Jungle, the premier Web site to sell, buy and exchange gift cards in a trusted environment, today announced that it has secured $4.8 million in its Series A Preferred Stock Financing, led by Shasta Ventures with investments from Bay Partners, First Round Capital and Harrison Metal. The financing will allow Plastic Jungle to accelerate its growth through key new hires, as well as increased marketing and business development efforts.

“This funding not only allows us to advance our company, but also brings tremendous knowledge and resources through our investors, all of whom have a wealth of valuable experience,” said Gary Briggs, CEO of Plastic Jungle. “We are entering a very exciting phase of our business and remain uniquely poised to create a new and more efficient market where consumers can realize the full benefit of gift cards they receive, and retailers can attract incremental revenue and profit by ensuring gift cards move into the hands of their best and most profitable consumers.”

As part of the round, Plastic Jungle will add two new members to its board of directors, including Tod Francis of Shasta Ventures and Josh Kopelman of First Round Capital. Existing board members include Gary Briggs, Plastic Jungle founder and Chief Operating Officer Tina Henson, and St. Bernard Software CEO Lou Ryan.

About Plastic Jungle

Plastic Jungle makes gift cards more valuable for everyone. The premier Web site for gift card exchange and services — for consumers who want to buy gift cards at substantial savings, sell them for cash, or trade pre-owned gift cards for others — Plastic Jungle guarantees all transactions and offers industry-leading features like gift card replacement protection in case they are lost or damaged, and instant alerts via text or email.

About Bay Partners

Bay Partners is an early stage Venture Capital firm located in Silicon Valley. Bay has been building successful technology companies since 1976, funding over 350 startups. Bay leverages the operating backgrounds of its partners and its extensive network of executives and advisors to help outstanding entrepreneurs create the leaders in new high growth market segments. Notable successes from Bay’s portfolio include Brocade, Concord Communications, Exodus, Sonicwall, Placeware, Informatica, Web Logic(BEA) and NetScaler. Bay is currently investing its eleventh venture fund and has over $1 billion under active management. Bay Partners is on the web at http://www.baypartners.com.

About First Round Capital

First Round Capital is a venture capital firm that specializes in providing seed-stage funding to technology companies. Managed by Josh Kopelman, Chris Fralic, Rob Hayes and Howard Morgan, the Philadelphia-based company typically provides seed-stage investments. First Round Capital seeks to take an active role in the operations of the companies they invest in, often investing in pre-revenue companies. Since its inception in 2004, First Round Capital has backed more than 70 companies, including VideoEgg, myYearbook, Knewton, Wikia, Weatherbill, and Yieldex.

About Harrison Metal

Harrison Metal invests in seed- and early-stage technology companies led by exceptional entrepreneurs, serving the consumer and small business markets. Based in Silicon Valley and led by Michael Dearing and Erik Rannala, Harrison Metal works closely with founding teams to turn technology into high-impact products that power lasting, successful businesses. The team’s investments include Aardvark, AdMob, DocVerse, Lumos Labs, Polyvore, TownMe and Widgetbox.

About Shasta Ventures

Shasta Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in technology-enabled businesses serving consumers and enterprises. Located in Menlo Park, California, Shasta Ventures has $460 million dollars under management. Shasta was formed in 2004 by venture capital veterans and has made 30 investments to date across consumer and business services, infrastructure and software.

Source: Plastic Jungle