JumpStart Invests $250,000 in Sociagram

CLEVELAND, Ohio, March 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sociagram (www.sociagram.com), a Lakewood, Ohio-based company developing a social video messaging platform, has received a $250,000 investment commitment from nonprofit venture development organization JumpStart Inc. (www.jumpstartinc.org). The company's cloud-based, web and mobile platform enables users to create customized personal video greetings.

"People still love sending personal notes—whether through the mail or electronically," says Ryan O'Donnell, Sociagram CEO and Co-Founder. "Video has become an essential part of online interaction and communication, especially where it pertains to self-expression. Sociagram allows customers to integrate video seamlessly with their personal messages, putting a multimedia spin on a traditional gesture."

Online retailers can integrate Sociagram to offer customers the option to create and add a video message as they check out, personalizing a gift. The company already counts 1-800-Bakery, Ashland Addison Florist Company and Māk·a·boo Personalized Gifts among its clients. "As the first-to-market online retailer of personalized, consumer-designed children's gifts, we are known for capitalizing on technology to make the process of gift-giving as engaging and personal as possible," says Māk·a·boo  founder Cindy Teasdale McGowan. "If you can't be there in person, sending a video and letting your loved ones hear and see your good wishes, along with the present you've created on Māk·a·boo, is the next best thing."

Consumers can also use Sociagram as a stand-alone program to create and send unique video greetings to mark milestones such as birthdays, anniversaries or holidays. Thanks to its simple and flexible platform, users can customize the experience, choosing when and how Sociagram delivers their messages; both email and Facebook are options.

"The continued popularity of e-cards, when coupled with how easy it is now for anyone to film high-quality video using their smart phone, makes Sociagram's product a potential game-changer," says JumpStart Venture Partner Lee Poseidon. "Sociagram's intuitive grasp of video's role in complementing communication and e-commerce, as well as its ease of deployment, makes the platform a promising one."

Sociagram will use the investment to validate and complete development of its white-label
e-commerce-integrated product for online retailers.

SOCIAGRAM Founded in 2012, Sociagram is a cloud-based social video platform enabling solutions to automate and personalize how life's most important moments are captured, saved and remembered. Sociagram's flagship product lets consumers record and send custom video gift messages to accompany an online purchase. For more information, visit www.sociagram.com and follow @Sociagram on Twitter.

JUMPSTART INC. JumpStart accelerates the successes of diverse entrepreneurs, their companies and the ecosystems supporting them. Since 2004, the nonprofit development organization has given intensive business assistance to more than 370 entrepreneurial clients and been an investor in 70 early stage Northeast Ohio companies. For more information on the nonprofit development organization, visit www.jumpstartinc.org and follow @JumpStartInc on Twitter.

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SOURCE JumpStart