Company: Moonit
Website: www.moonit.com
Headquarters: New York City
Year Founded: 2010
Founders: Dana Kanze and Mason Sexton, Jr.
Employees: 6
Company Description: Moonit is a social engagement tool that provides users to with a new way to analyze their relationship compatibility and introduce friends.
By Dana Kanze, CEO, and Mason Sexton, Jr., President
Product Overview
Moonit is a social optimization resource that provides insights into Generation Y users’ relationships. The core offering allows users to enhance their romantic, platonic and professional relationship connections by running compatibility assessments based on astrological underpinnings, while receiving relationship guidance based on psychological guidance.
Through a personalized “Mooniverse,” users are able to run comprehensive relationship compatibility assessments; track their relationships via daily relationship horoscope alerts; play matchmaker by setting up their friends; obtain expert and peer advice via “The Couch” feature; and get the scoop on celebrity matchups and breakups via “The Stars” feature, while sharing their relationship stories and opinions in the form of blog posts and community contributions. Moonit is integrated with Twitter and Facebook, allowing users to import contacts and broadcast relationship status and compatibility ranking updates.
Founders’ Story
The Moonit story began at The University of Pennsylvania, where we met as undergrads. After graduating, we both forged our careers separately: prior to founding Moonit, I [DanaKanze] started my career in investment banking and equity research at Citigroup and most recently worked as a director for the Winterberry Group, where I advised a number of digital media and private equity clients. Mason worked as a buy side equity analyst at Tocqueville Asset Management, evaluating various investment opportunities.
We both had a passive interest in astrology and had always wanted to collaborate on a creative effort. A few years ago, we did some digging online and recognized a lack of tangible relationship advice based on astrology. At the same time, our friends were finding difficulty leveraging all of the relationship connections they were amassing on social networks like Facebook.
We soon set out to create a social optimization tool that enabled Gen Y users to get the most out of their relationships using astrology, enlisting the expertise of a third co-founder and chairman, Mason Sexton, Sr. A seasoned investment manager, Sexton Sr. gained fame as the “Moon Man” after applying astrological principles to predict the 1987 stock market crash more accurately than anyone else in print.
Business Model/ How the Company Is Earning Money
Moonit users receive 50 Moon coins (Moonit’s virtual currency) upon sign-up, which are depleted as they unlock content on the site. They can earn coins by playing matchmaker and inviting friends, or they can purchase coins outright via PayPal, credit card or their cell phones through our integration with Zong.
In addition to viewing content on the standalone site, via email alerts and Moonit’s mobile-friendly site version, users will soon be able to receive premium SMS alerts (for $9.99/month) and download Moonit’s geo-location enabled iPhone application. The iPhone app allows users to view compatible matches nearby for romantic, friendship or business purposes when they’re out at a bar, party or networking event. Moonit also derives revenue from digital advertising through display, sponsorship and lead generation-based offerings.
Current Needs
Moonit has two full-time senior development resources and part-time front-end design and copywriting support, but we are always on the look-out for talented individuals to join the team. We have raised a round of bridge financing and are in the early stages of reaching out to seed capital and early stage funds for a Series A round of financing, targeting a Q1 2011 close.
Moonit – www.moonit.com
