Echoecho said it closed $750,000 in seed funding from Google Ventures and UK-based venture firm PROfounders Capital. The company is developing a mobile location-based service and says the funding will be used for product development, hiring and scaling its operations.
PRESS RELEASE
Echoecho Secures $750K in Seed Funding From Google Ventures and PROfounders Capital
Mobile App Comes out of Beta; Launches with Meeting Places, Chat and Faster Service
Los Angeles, CA – September 8, 2011 – Echoecho, the simple location-based mobile application for finding friends in the real world, today announced it has closed $750,000 in seed funding from Google Ventures and UK-based venture firm PROfounders Capital. The new funding will be used for product development, hiring and scaling operations.
Echoecho gives you a quick and easy way to find a friend, family member or colleague and help them find you. The app works anywhere in the world across multiple platforms including Android, iPhone, Blackberry, and Nokia.
“Where are you?” is one of the most common text messages we send and receive over smartphones, but it can rarely be answered in a simple way. With echoecho, in just two clicks you can ask anyone in your address book, “Where are you?” As soon as your friend accepts the request, you both see each other on a graphical map. You remain in control of what you share, when you share it, and with whom you share it.
The echoecho application offers new features and enhancements including:
• Meeting Places – Select a place to meet anywhere in the world. Example: “Check out this new Starbucks.”
• EchoChat – Discuss plans with friends following any sharing request (aka: “an echo”). Example: “Great! I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”
• WebEcho – Share your location and find your friends, even if they haven’t downloaded the app.
• Design Overhaul – Get started faster and more easily than ever. See who from your smartphone’s address book is already using echoecho.
“We’ve all been in a situation when we’re near our friends, but can’t actually find them. We wanted to create an app for that and we wanted one that people would actually use – that doesn’t destroy the battery life of your phone, broadcast your location to everyone in the world or force you to join yet another social network,” said echoecho co-founder and CEO, Nick Bicanic. “We already carry around our real social network in the address books of our smartphones and that’s the social network that really matters.”
Here are some of the ways echoecho can help make life easier:
• Get your friend’s ETA, if they’re running late or let them know if you are
• Check to see if someone arrived before you – they might just be in the back corner of a busy restaurant
• Let friends know you moved to a different venue down the street
• Find your friend’s current location within a wide open space, such as at a concert or on a ski slope
• Find someone you’re picking up (this comes in really handy at the airport!)
• Rejoin family and friends while traveling in a different city or country
• Catch up with where your children are throughout the day
“Echoecho is in a growing space where consumers are using their mobile devices for everything social in their daily lives,” said Wesley Chan, partner at Google Ventures. “The team has developed a compelling solution to handle the problem of privacy, permission and preference that burdens other location-based mobile applications, and we are excited to be working with them.”
About echoecho
Echoecho is the simple location-based mobile application for finding friends in the real world. In just two clicks you can find your friend’s current location, while sharing yours. You’re in control of what you share, when you share it, and with whom you share it. People are using echoecho to help find a friend whether they’re in the same restaurant, out on a ski slope or even in a different country. The service works anywhere in the world across multiple platforms including Android, iPhone, Blackberry, and Nokia. An echoecho API is available to developers.
Launched in August 2011, the company is backed by Google Ventures and PROfounders Capital and has offices in Los Angeles and London. To learn more about echoecho, visit the site at www.echoecho.me
About Google Ventures
Google Ventures is the venture capital arm of Google Inc. We seek to discover and help develop great companies, and believe in the power of entrepreneurs to do amazing things. Our investments range from seed to late stage, across a broad range of industries, including consumer Internet, digital media, software, hardware, and biotechnology. We embrace the challenge of helping young companies grow from the proverbial garage to global relevance. For more information, visit www.googleventures.com.
About PROfounders Capital
PROfounders Capital is a London-based, early-stage, venture capital firm backed by successful entrepreneurs. With a focus on the digital media and technology space, PROfounders’ investors number some of the best-known players within the European Internet space, including Michael Birch (Bebo), Brent Hoberman (lastminute.com), Mike Danson (Datamonitor), and 19 other founders. The fund’s aim is to invest in and support new businesses with capital plus proactive advice and expertise in order to create long-term value and promote entrepreneurism. PROfounders investments include Tweetdeck (acquired by Twitter), Made.com, Applifier, OneFineStay, and Mangahigh.com.
www.profounderscapital.com
