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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - September 14, 2006
Dogster, Inc., makers of the wildly popular Dogster.com and Catster.com online communities, today announced it has closed a $1M Series A financing round from a syndicate of Angel investors. The lead investor of this round, Michael Parekh, will join its Board of Directors.
Profitable since July 2005, Dogster decided last June to respond to the repeated interest of the investment community and raised in a just few weeks an oversubscribed Series A round totaling $1M. This financing will allow the company to accelerate the development of new functionality, hire key employees such as a VP of Marketing, and an Art Director, as well as launch additional properties. A roster of successful Internet entrepreneurs and active early-stage Angel investors contributing to this round, include:
- Joshua Schacter - del.icio.us./Yahoo
- Adam Beguelin - Truveo/AOL
- Michael Tanne - Wink
- Jim Young - hotornot
- Mike Arrington - TechCrunch
- Mike Jones - Userplane/AOL
- George Sarlo - Walden Funds
- Frank Caufield - Darwin VC
- Aydin Senkut - Felicis Ventures
- Robert Simon - Alta Partners
- Brad Feld - Mobius Ventures
- Jeff Clavier - SoftTech VC
"While Dogster was created to make an online home for every dog and cat lover, we've also created a vibrant community that has shown incredible organic growth in our first years," said Ted Rheingold, Dogster Founder and CEO. "Adding this investment to our current revenue means we will be able to introduce features at a much faster pace and be able to offer our services and community support to a larger audience," said Rheingold.
In the U.S., 63% of households have a dog or cat, totaling more than 70 million dogs and 90 million cats. "The $36 billion pet industry represents a large and growing market opportunity as multi-billion dollar advertising and direct marketing budgets go online. I'm very pleased to be working with Ted and his experienced team as they build this online business around these large pet communities," said Parekh.
Dogster launched in January of 2004 and Catster launched in August of 2004. They have received numerous awards including the Webby Award for Best Community, South By Southwest People's Choice Award and was named a Time Magazine Site Of The Year in 2005. As a result of the sites' growing success and the loyalty of their users, the company has developed long-term relationships with Disney, Target, PetSmart, Clorox/FreshStep, Gap/Old Navy, Warner Brothers, Nintendo and VPI Pet Insurance.
About Dogster, Inc.
Dogster, Inc., makers of the Dogster and Catster online communities, is the leader in pet-focused online communities. Online since January 2004, their properties are now home to a quarter of a million members from over 150 countries. Dogster Inc. is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. For more information please visit www.dogster.com, or call 1-415-934-0400
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Dogster, Catster and/or the logos and icons associated with each of these names are trademarks of Dogster, Inc. and may be registered in certain jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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