Company: Geni
Description: Genealogy social network
Competitors: MyFamily.com, Ancestry.com
Location: Los Angeles
Amount Raised: $1 million+
Round: First
Date Announced: 1/16/07
VC Firms: The Founders Fund
VC Directors: Peter Thiel
Quick Take: I once heard that everyone with the last name 'Jaffe' could trace their heritage back to one guy living back in Turkey in the 15th century. Ever since then, I thought it would be fun to create a web site where all the Jaffes could register themselves with the goal of building one big family tree going back directly to the original Jaffe. Geni's not doing exactly that, but it is applying Web 2.0 social networking technologies to family trees. It's an ambitious idea that could be a phenomenon across generations if the experienced management team can convince older members of each tree to get over their privacy concerns and participate.
Technology (1 out of 10): 3
Market: 5
Management: 8
Chances for IPO: 3
Overall VC Rating: 7
For more on Geni's funding, see:
Lifehacker
Rodrigo A. Sepuldeva Schulz
Tags: geni, genealogy, vc, venture+capital
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