UpOut Graduates from Tandem and Raises $850,000 Seed Funding from Silicon Valley angels led by Sand Hill Angels

SAN FRANCISCO, May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- UpOut, a guide that provides personalized recommendations to offbeat and interesting events, announced today it closed $850,000 in seed funding from leading Silicon Valley angels including the Sand Hill Angels and TEEC Angels. Previously, UpOut participated in Tandem's accelerator program.

UpOut helps locals discover the most interesting events in San Francisco. The technology behind UpOut aggregates thousands of local events and ranks them based on accuracy and preferences, giving users event suggestions that fit their needs. As a companion to the website, UpOut's mobile app, released last year, helps people discover what's going on around them now. Since the launch of their service, UpOut has grown to influence the going out decision for tens of thousands of Bay Area locals.

The company started out as a weekend project in the dorm rooms of Babson College by twenty-one-year old Martin Shen and nineteen-year-old Will King, entrepreneurs who have worked together for five years at their own web design firm and previous startup. Mr. Shen started his first business in high school and has over five years of UX design experience working with enterprises to rappers. Mr. King is a full stack developer that started coding at age seven.

"We thank our seed round investors for believing in our vision," said Mr. Shen, CEO of UpOut. "After the positive feedback of our beta service, we're excited to bring UpOut to all the locals itching to find something interesting to do. In addition to helping locals find things to do, we're helping local business owners drive traffic to their awesome events."

Tandem Entrepreneurs is a leading mobile industry accelerator based in Burlingame, CA that provides companies with six months of full support, guidance and an initial investment. "UpOut has been an early hit with both consumers and merchants," says Doug Renert, Managing Entrepreneur at Tandem. "Martin and Will have the right vision and skills to scale the business and bring UpOut to every city."

Sand Hill Angels, a group of successful Silicon Valley executives that are passionate about entrepreneurialism and disruptive technology, led UpOut's seed funding round. "People have a need to discover their city and have a good time. UpOut is helping people satisfy this fundamental need," said David Koehn, member of Sand Hill Angels. "Their tech is impressive, the timing is good and the team's approach to product design is great. I'm really excited for what UpOut can bring to users and merchants."

About UpOut

UpOut is a discriminating guide to fun and interesting events in your city. The startup uses social signals to help you find out what you're doing tonight. The company was founded in August 2011, is backed by angel investors and is currently based in San Francisco. For more information, visit  http://www.upout.com/sf or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UpOutSF

SOURCE UpOut