lonelygirl15 team gets $5 million in venture capital
The team behind lonelygirl15 has scored $5 million in venture capital from venture capitalists including Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen.
Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried, the creators of Internet video shows lonelygirl15 and KateModern, have raised the money for EQAL, a social entertainment company which says it is dedicated to “changing the way content is consumed.” Their focus is on the Internet, where interactivity trumps passive viewing.
Spark Capital led the first-round financing. Additional investors include Conrad Riggs, Ron Conway, Andreesen and Georges Harik [disclosure: Harik is an investor in VentureBeat]. The company plans to launch new online shows and build online communities that engage users.
lonelygirl15, created in June 2006 by Miles Beckett, Greg Goodfried, and Mesh Flinders, became a huge sensation on YouTube. Including KateModern, which launched on Bebo in 2007, the shows have been viewed over 150 million times. The lonelygirl15 show stirred controversy when Silicon Valley Watcher’s Tom Foremeski’s son, Matthew, uncovered the identity of the anonymous 15-year-old girl, Bree, as an actress — not the amateur most had assumed. The show was basically a video journal of a teen-age girl’s angst.
The company was formerly known as LG15 Studios/Telegraph Ave. Productions. The new company name means that the community built around the property is as important as the characters in the show. That means that people who leave comments about plot points shouldn’t be surprised if the show actually takes them up on their suggestions. It also suggests that outsiders have a chance in Hollywood. Beckett, a former surgeon, will be CEO.
In an interview with Business Week, the founders say they have steered clear of aligning with major media companies. “We’ve talked with all of them,” says Beckett. “We’ve talked to MySpace ( NWS) and Bebo, everyone, and we’d rather stay independent and pursue our own vision.”
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About the Author, Dean Takahashi
Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.