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Viewpoints Press Release to Announce Series A Round

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Jill Schmidt                            

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Viewpoints.com Closes $5 Million "Series A" Financing

New Company Receives Commitments From Leading Venture Capitalists,

Successful CEOs and the Illinois Innovation Accelerator (i²a) Fund

CHICAGO, IL – (June 18, 2007) – Viewpoints.com, a new ratings and reviews Web site that draws upon personal experiences of its user community to help consumers make smarter more informed purchase decisions, today announced it has closed its "Series A" round of corporate financing. The investor group includes Chicago area venture capitalists, successful CEOs and the Illinois Innovation Accelerator (i²A) Fund, a new public/private venture capital fund. i²A's investment, its first, brings to $5 million the total amount of first-round capital raised by Viewpoints.com.

In addition to the i²A investment, other "Series A" investors in Viewpoints.com include Joe Mansueto, founder & CEO of Morningstar Inc.; Michael Alter, president of The Alter Group; Matt McCall, co-founder and managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson & Portage Venture Partners; Lon Chow, general partner with Apex Venture Partners; and J.B. Pritzker, founder and partner of New World Ventures and CEO of The Pritzker Group.

   

Launch Press Release

Love To Write Or Read Reviews?

Viewpoints.com Is Ultimate Online Destination

New SIte Lets People Post Reviews Across Most Comprehensive Range of Categories Anywhere; Innovative Profiling/Feedback System Fosters Highly Personal & Reputable Reviews

CHIAGO, IL– May 22, 2007 – Opinions are like noses, they say—everyone has one. And for those of us who have way more than one (opinions, that is, not noses), there’s now an online home just for you.

Viewpoints.com, a recently-debuted Web site, gives people who enjoy reading or writing reviews a one-stop outlet for topics ranging from laptops to hotels, blenders, even hospitals and schools. Nearly 700 categories, in fact, make Viewpoints.com the most comprehensive “citizen review” resource on the Web.

 

“Through more than 100 hours of interviews with people who like the review process, we discovered two major sources of frustration,” said Matt Moog, founder and CEO of Viewpoints.com. “First, reviewers are frustrated that there is no single web site where they can build their reputation by reviewing products and services across a broad set of categories.  Second, while most people favor user reviews, they would like to know more about the reviewers.” 

 

Article in WSJ today about Local Reviews

Local Search Draw Users' Interest

By JESSICA E. VASCELLARO
March 1, 2007; Page B4

When Dave Kim moved to Sunnyvale, Calif., the 32-year-old manager for a software company was looking for a new place to get a haircut. He didn't like the results he got at several barber shops he wandered into and a handful of large online search sites didn't offer any useful suggestions.

Video Interview with Business POV

I have felt for a while that the combination of broadband and video editing was bound to change the way short form video is produced and consumed. The line between newspapers and traditional broadcast is clearly starting to blur when major print outlets start to produce their own video for their web site.  A great example of a trail blazer in this area is Mark Scheffler at Business POV here in Chicago.  Mark was a former Crain's Chicago reporter and has struck out on his own.  Check out his site at http://www.business.pov.

He was nice enough to stop by the office and listen to me go on for a while about our business.

View this photo

Appearence on the Steve & Johnnie Show

Last night I went to bed around 10pm, but set my alarm for 11:15.  I jumped in the car and went down for a scheduled late night interview with Steve & Johnnie the husband and wife duo that host the late night talk show on WGN Radio - AM 720.    They had read the Sun Time article and were interested to talk about both Viewpoints.com and my dad, Robert Moog.

I have to say, I really enjoyed meeting them and talking for the better part of an hour about the idea and how it might grow and evolve.   It was fun and I hope to go back after we launch and talk to them about it some more.

Fortune Small Business Cover Story

We got a nice mention in this month's Fortune Small Business. 

We are flattered to not only be mentioned but also included on the cover. 

A few small corrections.  We raised $4.8mllion from about 10 investors, not the $700,000 the article mentions.  Also, as you know because you are here, our web address is www.viewpoints.com. 

In any case, for a company that has not launched its first products, we are honored.

Chicago Sun Times article about Viewpoints

A great article appeared today in the Chicago Sun Times profiling the company.  We are really pleased Howard wrote the story and I am touched that he profiled my father as well.  We had lots of positive feedback about this article and have had several people contact me about my dad as well.

Viewpoints Network Press Blog

Welcome to our press room.  We will use this space to update our friends in the media about our progress, post press releases, and comment on stories and issues that have an impact on our business.