As the nature of content evolves and social platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn increase their focus on content discovery and consumption, influencers or ‘brands of one’ have become a popular way for audiences to learn about a particular area of interest – from happiness and habit hacking to understanding how neuroscience contributes to better business. Driving these ideas are a new generation of thought leaders, many of whom have a large and loyal social media following. But, as audiences increasingly migrate from mastheads to personality-driven content, a platform that pulls together content from top influencers, and allows those influencers to market and monetize their fan bases, has yet to emerge.
Enter Heleo - a platform to discover and interact with the influencers and thought leaders of today.
As a recent Comcast Ventures seed investment, Heleo recently launched with top influencers, including habit hacker Charles Duhigg, introvert expert Susan Cain, and happiness evangelist Gretchen Rubin. They have made initial contributions to the platform with stories such as 13 Lifehacks for Forming Useful Habits, How Orchids and Dandelions Can Help You Understand Your Quiet Child and Why The Pursuit of Happiness Isn’t Selfish. In the future, the platform will feature various forms of premium content, much of which will be exclusive to Heleo.
In seed investing, people matter most. Heleo’s team starts with seasoned entrepreneur Rufus Griscom, who founded Babble, an online magazine and blog geared toward young, urban parents, which was successfully acquired by Disney. His expertise in building a content business and growing a successful team is unparalleled. The company has also brought on key advisors including Bryan Goldberg, the founder of Bustle, Eli Pariser, the CEO of Upworthy, and Jacob Weisberg, the Chairman of the Slate Group. From an investor standpoint, Rufus is excited to partner with Comcast Ventures in his new venture.
"Everything about our interactions with Andrew, Daniel, Sam and other members of the Comcast Ventures team has been fantastic from day one. We can't imagine a better group of people to partner with to build this business."
Comcast Ventures is joined by other leading investors, including BDMI, Betaworks, Bloomberg Beta, Funders Guild, Greycroft, Greylock Partners, Inovia Capital and The New York Times, in Heleo’s Seed financing round.