PRESS RELEASE: “CHARGED.fm Secures $1M in Angel Financing: Private Investor & Goldman Sachs Financial Partner back CHARGED.fm to Lead Social Commerce Ticketing Sector
Brooklyn, NY — October 1, 2012- CHARGED.fm, a leading social commerce platform that allows anyone to discover, share, create, and sell tickets for events, today announced that it has secured funds from two investment sources. A commitment of $1M will assist the company’s growth plans in the areas of marketing, personnel, business and product enhancement.
The DUMBO-based early stage company was selected by Goldman Sachs’ Urban Investment Group and Seedco Financial as part of their 10,000 Small Business Initiative for an investment of $250k. An additional angel round of $750k was provided to CHARGED.fm by a private high networth investor. CHARGED.fm is currently organizing a Series A financing round of $3M+.
CHARGED.fm’s founder and CEO, Yves Darbouze personally subsidized an initial $3M in for the development of software applications and the patented social ticketing functionality at the outset of the company’s start four years ago.
“Based on the enthusiasm and industry research completed by our investors, CHARGED.fm is an outlier in the investment community and the social commerce ticketing space,” said Yves Darbouze, founder & CEO CHARGED.fm. “Our system is more powerful than any other social commerce ticketing offering in the marketplace and the investment support obtained thus far demonstrates that our brand and solution exceeds the features of competitors,” added Darbouze.
“Unlike typical early stage companies, CHARGED.fm’s core technology is complete and has already demonstrated proven success by venues that utilize their patented social tools to sell tickets more effectively,” said Steve Sallion, Managing Director at Carthage,the financial advisor for CHARGED.fm. “We are approaching the investment market with a milestone driven approach, selectively securing capital based on growth projections backed by secured contracts and a significant pipeline leading into 2013. The industry is ripe for a “technology led” company to address the $32B ticketing industry,” added Sallion.
About CHARGED.fm
CHARGED.fm is a leading social commerce platform that allows anyone to discover, share, create, and sell tickets for any event, anywhere. CHARGED.fm empowers everyone, including artists, fans, venues or events of any size, with the most powerful tools to buy and sell their tickets online. We believe that competitors’ fees are unfair and developed CHARGED.fm as a powerful alternative. CHARGED.fm makes it easier to connect with people in your area with social tools that put any event, small or super-sized, on the map. CHARGED.fm’s exclusive seller tools bring a world of options to your fingertips. With our viral video player and viral flyer, CHARGED.fm maximizes ticket sales unlike any ticketing system in the industry. Whether you’re buying or selling tickets, CHARGED.fm helps everyone get what they want – without the extra costs. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in New York City. The company maintains a website at www.charged.fm.
About Carthage Capital Group
Carthage Capital Group is a private equity and advisory firm with offices in New York and Atlanta. Carthage provides equity capital to middle market growth companies, with a focus on EBITDA between $1.5 and $6M. Areas of interest include Telecom/ IT Managed Services, Internet/ Social Media, Franchises/ Retail and consumer products. Carthage provides support to emerging early stage companies from capital advisory to taking interim management roles.
