NetShelter Technology Media brings together a publisher network of over 150 tech content sites alongside owned-and-operated programs to offer marketers a highly integrated, customizable platform to directly engage with affluent and passionate tech audiences. The media start up, which has been profitable since inception in 1999, had only needed $1.5 million in seed funding to assemble the largest technology audience in the US (versus hundreds of millions of dollars estimated to have been spent by legacy tech media companies such as CNET and IDG). The company has recently opened offices in New York and San Francisco.
"NetShelter Technology Media has experienced 900% growth in audience size in the past 2 years to become number one for reaching tech audiences online," says Peyman Nilforoush, NetShelter's CEO and Co-Founder. "The efficiency and profitability of our Open Media model has enabled us to beat all established traditional tech media companies including CNET, IDG, Ziff Davis and CMP with very limited resources and outside funding. Our ability to attract three of the county's top venture funds in an economic downturn highlights the size of the opportunity the management and our investors see ahead for the company. We are very pleased and excited about our new investor partners."
"What NetShelter has accomplished since launching its branded network just two years ago is nothing short of spectacular," says Jeff Grammer, Partner in Rho Canada. "They have helped advertisers solve the tech audience fragmentation problem by aggregating niche sites which attract highly passionate buyers. They can provide the web's largest audiences of tech buyers of everything from mobile devices to cameras, to games to high end enterprise-level systems. Peyman, Pirouz and their team have a brilliant future."
"NetShelter has disrupted the technology media landscape with its innovative, open business model and has quickly established itself as a leader in the industry," says Tim Lee, SVP Investments, GrowthWorks. "We are pleased to be joining with strong funding partners like Rho Canada and JLA Ventures and we are looking forward to helping NetShelter continue their impressive growth."
"JLA Ventures is very pleased to be part of this financing," says Rick Segal, Partner at JLA Ventures. "NetShelter's transformation towards the model of an online-era media company is well on its way as they help tech marketers manage the tech purchasing cycle and gives them BACK control to over what's being said about their brand or products or services."
In conjunction with the investment, Jeff Grammer, Partner at Rho Canada, Roger Chabra, Investment Manager at GrowthWorks Capital and Rick Segal, Partner at JLA Ventures have joined NetShelter's board of directors.
NetShelter Technology Media which reaches 9.3 percent of the total U.S. online audience and 17.7 million unique visitors a month according to comScore, has experienced more than a 900% growth in traffic -- growth matched only by social media networks such as Facebook and YouTube -- since the launch of its branded network in May 2006. The company has doubled its revenue every year since the inception of its branded network in 2006. This has been a year of extraordinary growth for the company with record revenue growth as it has entered comScore Top 100 in September, surpassed established traditional media companies such as CNET, IDG and Ziff Davis in size of audience and completed a number of key executive hire. The company also launched a number of owned and operated programs starting with TopTechGifts.com and LastGadgetStanding.com and formally launched its Open Media Platform enabling marketers to integrate their brand and products in key communities and purchasing resources for passionate tech audiences.
"NetShelter Technology Media has fundamentally changed the way tech content is created, distributed and monetized," says Pirouz Nilforoush, NetShelter's President and Co-Founder. "We are the new model for technology publishing online, assembling and empowering the best and brightest voices in tech and integrating marketers into the overall experience through unique programs such as TopTechGifts.com and Last Gadget Standing. Thanks to the funding from our partners, you will see NetShelter redefine what it means to be a technology media company for the internet era."
