SAN FRANCISCO, May 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital media company Brit + Co today announced $15 million in new funding led by Verizon Ventures. This brings the company's total funding to $45 million with existing investors including DMGT, Intel Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Oak Investment Partners, and angel investors such as Marissa Mayer and Gary Vaynerchuk. Additionally, former Target CMO and Uber President, Jeff Jones, will join the company as an advisor.
Brit + Co will use this latest round of funding to support the continued diversification of revenue streams including advertising, online classes, and merchandising. The company will also continue its editorial expansion with respect to both new verticals and innovative media formats, with a focus on video. Originally focused on DIY and the "maker movement," Brit + Co has expanded its creative lens across a broader set of women's lifestyle categories including fashion, beauty, parenting, home, food, and news. By taking on new capital, the company sought to strategically secure partners to support growth while remaining authentic to their mission of inspiring women to be more creative.
"Empowering women to be creative has always been at the core of Brit + Co," said Brit Morin, Founder & CEO of Brit + Co. "We understand the importance of staying true to our mission while growing into a 360-degree brand that reaches our audience both on-and-offline. This round of funding will provide the resources to continue to expand beyond media and further into online classes, merchandising, and experiential events, allowing us to become the go-to brand for women who want to live creatively."
The investment follows a strong year of growth for the company which has increased distributed reach by 70%, increased monthly video production 3x year-over-year, expanded into merchandising with multiple lines at Target stores, and doubled the size of its online class revenue year-over-year. Brit + Co projects revenue growth of 300% in 2017.
"Brands seek to work with publishers that reach large audiences through positive, engaging and memorable experiences," said Mark Smith, Executive Director at Verizon Ventures. "The team at Brit + Co develop and deliver creative lifestyle content, classes, and products that inspire and enable millions of women to take charge and shape their lives. We look forward to their continued success."
Brit + Co has an audience of over 125 million online and across platforms. The company currently has over 100 employees in addition to a network of hundreds of contributors. Brit + Co is based in San Francisco with an office in New York.
About Brit + Co
Brit + Co is a digital media company that inspires, educates and entertains real women with a creative spirit. Through inspirational content, online classes, and products, Brit + Co enables their audience of over 125 million to use creativity to shape their best lives. Founded by Brit Morin in 2011, Brit + Co is based in San Francisco. The company has raised $45M in funding from investors including DMGT, Intel Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Oak Investment Partners, Verizon Ventures, and angel investors such as Marissa Mayer and Gary Vaynerchuk.
About Verizon Ventures
Verizon Ventures is the corporate venture capital unit of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) and invests in promising entrepreneurial companies that are tackling some of today's biggest technology challenges. With a collaborative approach to commercialization, Verizon Ventures is focused on helping companies connect financial resources with strategic, non-investment business functions necessary to deliver successful outcomes. Verizon Ventures partners with companies to help them scale substantively to impact society and lead to new markets. Over the last decade, Verizon Ventures has invested in more than 50 companies covering a range of industries and technologies. For more information, visit www.verizonventures.com and follow @verizonventures.
SOURCE Brit + Co
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