CrowdGather, a company that says it owns more than 65,000 online forums, has just completed a $7.85 million round of funding through a private placement.
Chief executive Sanjay Sabnani said the money should help the startup continue acquiring more forums. He&'s open about the fact that his strategy isna4a4t focused on technology but rather is a a4Aroll upa4 of existing sites. With investments and valuations climbing in the startup world, Sabnani said he felt a little more urgency to raise the money so he can close some deals before theya4a4re out of his price range.
Forums arena4a4t exactly a sexy topic right now &8212' in a recent interview with the New Tech Post site, Sabnani was asked, a4ABut havena4a4t social media sites subsumed the role of forumsa4 He discussed the question in-depth, but he also gave me a more succinct answer yesterday.
a4AEveryone&'s trying to chip away at this &8212' Yelp with reviews, Facebook with chitchat, Quora with Q&'A,a4 Sabnani said. a4ABut if you&'re into coins, you want to go to a site called CoinTalk.a4
For another example of forum sites growing and evolving, you can read my coverage of how Topix is refocusing on politics.
The Woodland Hills, Calif. company launched in 2008, but it has been publicly-traded since April of that year. Sabnani said that with his connections at the time, it made more sense to raise money through the public markets rather than venture capital &8212' although that decision looked a little less smart after the market crash in the fall of 2008. In addition to funding acquisitions, Sabnani said the new capital will put CrowdGather in a better position as it applies to one of the national listings. (Sabnani wona4a4t say which one, but those listings include NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange, and an American Stock Exchange.)
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Companies: CrowdGather
People: Sanjay Sabnani
Companies: CrowdGather
People: Sanjay Sabnani
Anthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining the site in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.
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