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Freewebs.com, the
free do-it-yourself Website publisher, recently announced it has
secured an $11 Million Series A investment co-led by Columbia
Capital and Novak Biddle Venture Partners.
Freewebs is
improving the Web experience for over 11 million people globally by
making it incredibly easy for anyone with an Internet connection to
build a free, high-quality Website.
Freewebs enables
users to establish a complete Web presence that unifies a broad
range of services including Websites, photo albums, blogs, profiles,
videos, live chat, e-commerce and more. Freewebs members benefit not
only from its powerful Web publishing tools, but also from a vibrant
community of millions of others creating and sharing on Freewebs.
With these new
funds, Freewebs will continue adding to its talented team of
developers to enhance its members’ experience, and build out its
sales, marketing and product teams.
“When my brother
Zeki and I founded Freewebs in 2001, we set out to create a service
that even our mother could use,” said Haroon Mokhtarzada, co-founder
and CEO. “We’ll never lose sight of that, and are indebted to the
invaluable feedback of our members who continue to define the
product.”
“The progress
made by Freewebs since its inception at the nadir of the technology
recession—a transformation from simple Web-building tools
bootstrapped by two recent college graduates to a major global
community of more than 11 million users—has been inspiring,” said
Shervin Pishevar, president of Freewebs. “Freewebs is an innovation
company and we are fully committed to helping invent new
technologies and services that push the Web forward. This investment
will allow us to build a better Freewebs that stays true to its
roots.”
Since its
inception, Freewebs has been operationally funded by selling premium
services, domain names and banner ads. As part of a shift that gives
more power to users, the company will also use this investment to
continue cultivating and expanding partnerships with the advertising
community.
“Advertisers are
searching for more innovative ways to connect with a broader range
of consumers on-line, beyond just 15-25 year olds in the US,” said
Arun Gupta at Columbia Capital. “Freewebs is a new media company
that is in the right place to capitalize on this shift. Its
expansive, global community of user generated web sites opens an
entirely new dimension for brand awareness and loyalty. It provides
a powerful, targeted platform for users to share and sponsor brands
to their network through a site they have created.”
“The marketplace
is cluttered with Web 2.0 companies but Freewebs is unique because
its versatile publishing platform ties them all together,” said Phil
Bronner, partner at Novak Biddle Venture Partners. “Freewebs allows
Internet users to centralize their Web presence on one, high-quality
site, freeing them from the hassle of managing multiple sites. Our
investment in the company is a testament to the strength of Freewebs’
service offering, market opportunities and growth strategy.”
As part of the
investment, both Arun Gupta and Phil Bronner will join Freewebs’
board of directors.
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