Exclusive: BlogHer Nabs $7 Million in New Funding
by Kara Swisher
Posted on May 13, 2009 at 4:00 AM PT
BlogHer, which bills itself as “the community for women who blog,” has gotten $7 million more in a Series C funding, which will bring the total investment in the site to about $15.5 million.
The new round includes a return by two existing investors, Venrock and Peacock Equity, a fund run by GE (GE) and its NBC Universal unit. Azure Capital is joining as a new investor.
In an interview with BoomTown, BlogHer CEO Lisa Stone said the site’s recent fast growth was the impetus for the new round, in order to improve tools offered to its 2,500 vetted bloggers as well as investing in better research and advertising technology.
“This is a true grassroots effort that shows the growing influence of women in social media,” said Stone. “We want to focus on taking advantage of that growth and momentum with this new funding.”
According to the start-up–which was founded in 2005 by Stone, Elisa Camahort Page and Jory Des Jardins and now has 30 employees, located mostly in Silicon Valley–the BlogHer Network reaches more than 14 million unique visitors a month.
Besides the site, BlogHer also runs a popular conference and is hoping to expand its suite of social-networking tools as well as its publishing and advertising network.
“We have been trying to create a place for women to participate in social media with civil respect and also to engage readers,” said Stone.
While it is not yet profitable, Stone added, BlogHer is ahead of its internal financial projections, and “I hope next year I can raise a glass of champagne to meeting that goal.”
