By Brian Kovalesky, StartUp Beat Editor
Today’s early-stage startup funding and acquisitions news:
It’s a slow day in the world of startup funding and acquisitions—no doubt because of the Fourth of July holiday in the U.S.—with no early-stage (Seed or Series A) funding news, and only one acquisition of note: Quarterly’s purchase of startup 12Society. Yes, Yahoo bought email inbox app Xobni for anywhere from $30-$60 million, according to reports, but Xobni had raised $42 million in equity funding, and is far from being an early-stage startup. But back to Quarterly and 12Society. Quarterly offers a curated subscription gift box service. The West Hollywood, California-based company was founded in 2011 and raised $1.25 million in Series A funding in March of 2012. Its gift boxes are curated by ‘influencers’ from various walks of life. 12Society, on the other hand, was founded in 2012 and is also based in West Hollywood. It offers a similar monthly curated ‘box’ service. However, its curators are exclusively celebrities. In fact, its co-founders include rapper Nas, actor and comedian Nick Cannon, NBA stars Blake Griffin and Kevin Love, San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum, and former NFL star Micheal Strahan. Terms of the deal haven’t been revealed, but it seems like a natural fit, and could be the start of some serious consolidation in the curated commerce space.
(Sources: Quarterly, 12Society, TechCrunch)
