Most companies grow in steps. They operate at one level for a while, make good progress, then take a step up, and start operating at a new level.
In the past month, our portfolio company has stepped it up on a number of levels. First and foremost, Mark Josephson joined as CEO and founder Steven Johnson became Executive Chairman. This step had been planned as far back as our original investment, as Steven is a wonderful author who really enjoys writing books, typically one every year. He took a break from that schedule last year but really didn’t want to do it again this year. With Mark in the CEO job, Steven will be able to continue to do the things for Outside.in that he does best; plot strategy, evangelize, and think of new products and services. Mark comes from Seevast/Kanoodle where he was President and before that About.com where he held a number of leadership roles. We think it’s a great fit for Mark and Outside.in and are excited by his decision to join and lead the Company to the next level.
In addition, Outside.in raised a third round of financing, the first of any magnitude as the first two were really seed style financings. This time the Company raised $3 million from the existing investors who have been eager to put more money in the Company as well as several newcomers, most notably the New York City Investment Fund.
The combination of a stronger management team and a full tank of gas takes Outside.in to a new level of operating capacity, just in time to roll out a series of new services that they have been working on for the past six months. Techcrunch and Alley Insider have the details on one of those services, called Radar, and are offering a limited number of alpha invites on their blogs.
If you can’t get an invite to Radar from TechCrunch or AlleyInsider and want one, leave a comment on this blog and we’ll try to get you one. We can’t promise it though.