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<title>Haaze.com / aviastewart / Published News</title>
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<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
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<title><![CDATA[Shopping startup EcoMom raises $2M from Facebook exec and others]]></title>
<link>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=shopping-startup-ecomom-raises-2m-from-facebook-exec-and-others</link>
<comments>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=shopping-startup-ecomom-raises-2m-from-facebook-exec-and-others</comments>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
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<guid>http://www.haaze.com/story.php?title=shopping-startup-ecomom-raises-2m-from-facebook-exec-and-others</guid>
<description><![CDATA[EcoMom, a site where moms can shop for healthy and environmentally-friendly goods, just raised $2 million in a first round of funding.The Los Angeles startup first announced $1.1 million of financing in October, but by the time the round closed last week, the amount of money had nearly doubled. New backers include Facebook vice president Chamath Palihapitiya and Google evangelist Don Dodge.The site first launched in February 2009 under the name SproutBaby, then in May of this year the company rebranded as EcoMom. It sells baby food, diapers, toys, clothing, and more.In discussing the site, co-founder and chief executive Jody Sherman compared it to Zappos, the popular shoe shopping site that was eventually acquired by Amazon. Just as Zappos differentiated itself from other shopping sites by providing a high-end experience around shoes, Sherman said EcoMom can compete against retailers like Diapers.com by offering a4Areally thoughtful curation of our site and deep, deep understanding of our product.a4In other words, when a parent visits EcoMom, they know that every product is going to be safe for their family, Sherman said. He added that while environmental consciousness is still part of the companya4a4s branding (hey, ita4a4s in the name), hea4a4s putting a bigger emphasis on safety, health, and affordability, which allows him to reach a broad audience of shoppers.Sherman said investors were attracted, in part, by EcoMoma4a4s numbers. The site receives around 40,000 unique visitors each month. More than 10 percent of those visitors converting into actual purchases, and 30 percent of the purchases each month come from return visitors. Word is spreading about the site, because there are more than 1,500 bloggers regularly reviewing EcoMom products.For the funding, Sherman said he was particularly interested in bringing on investors with connections to Facebook, Google, and Twitter &amp;8212' in part because thata4a4s where he can find new shoppers, but also because EcoMom plans to launch a new version in February featuring more social features.Other investors include Cyan and Scott Banister, 500 Startupsa4a4 Dave McClure, Paige Craig, Sizhao Yang, Kima Ventures, David Pell, Fabrice Grinda, Jose Marin, and an unnamed venture fund that Sherman said will be announced in January.[image via Flickr/jencu]Next Story: Viacom ditches Rock Band, Dance Central after selling off music game developer Harmonix Previous Story: Calling all developers &amp;8212' we want your apps for VentureBeat&amp;'s Mobile App SpotlightPrintEmailTwitterFacebookGoogle BuzzLinkedIn      DiggStumbleUponRedditDeliciousGoogleMore&amp;8230'          Tags: e commerceCompanies: ecomom, Kima VenturesPeople: Chamath Palihapitiya, Cyan Banister, Dave McClure, David Pell, Don Dodge, Fabrice Grinda, Jody Sherman, Jose Marin, Paige Craig, Scott Banister, Sizhao Yang          Tags: e commerceCompanies: ecomom, Kima VenturesPeople: Chamath Palihapitiya, Cyan Banister, Dave McClure, David Pell, Don Dodge, Fabrice Grinda, Jody Sherman, Jose Marin, Paige Craig, Scott Banister, Sizhao YangAnthony 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.VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters.  Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.<br/><br/>0 Vote(s) ]]></description>
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