bobkubecka
6 years ago
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/894871/000114420418015662/tv488836_8k.htm
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 13, 2018
THEMAVEN, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
DELAWARE 1-12471 68-0232575
(State or Other Jurisdiction of
Incorporation) (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.)
2125 Western Avenue, Suite 502 Seattle, WA 98121
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 775-600-2765
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction .2. below):
¨ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
¨ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
¨ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
* Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter)
Emerging growth company ¨
If any emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨
Item 1.01 Entry into Material Definitive Agreement.
On March 13, 2018, TheMaven, Inc. (the “Company”), HubPages, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“HubPages”), HP Acquisition Co., Inc., a Delaware corporation (“HPAC”), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and Paul Edmondson, solely in his capacity as Securityholder Representative, entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), pursuant to which HPAC will merge with and into HubPages, with HubPages continuing as the surviving corporation in the merger and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Merger”).
The Merger Agreement provides that all issued and outstanding common stock and preferred stock of HubPages, along with all outstanding vested stock options issued by HubPages will be exchanged for an aggregate of $10 million in cash (the “Merger Consideration”). The aggregate Merger Consideration to be issued at closing shall be reduced by (i) $1.5 million to be held in escrow to satisfy any indemnification obligations due under the Merger Agreement and (ii) to the extent that a seller-side representation and warranty insurance policy is obtained and bound at closing, 50% of the total premium, underwriting costs, brokerage commissions and other fees and expenses of such policy.
In addition, the Merger Agreement provides that all outstanding unvested stock options issued by HubPages will be cancelled for no additional consideration and that at closing certain Key Personnel (as that term is defined in the Merger Agreement) will receive an aggregate of 2.4 million shares of the Company’s common stock, subject to cut-back and vesting as set forth in the Merger Agreement.
Based on information provided by HubPages, for the year ended December 31, 2017, HubPages reported total revenues of $4,904,759, a net profit of $575,963, cash and cash equivalents of $981,173 and net working capital of $1,274,069. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, all cash and cash equivalents held by HubPages on the closing date shall become the property of the Company. Assuming the Merger closes on June 1, 2018, the Company plans to consolidate HubPages prospective financial results from the date of closing.
The Merger Agreement contains typical representations and warranties by HubPages about its business, operations and financial condition. Consummation of the Merger is subject to certain customary closing conditions. The Company will have to obtain financing for of the Merger Consideration, and there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to obtain the necessary funds on terms acceptable to it or at all. Accordingly, there is no assurance that the Merger will be completed as contemplated.
Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all closing conditions, and obtaining the necessary financing, the Company expects to consummate the Merger by June 1, 2018. Should the Company not be able to consummate the Merger by June 1, 2018 due to its inability to obtain the funds necessary to pay the Merger Consideration, the Company shall be obligated to pay HubPages a termination fee of $1 million.
The foregoing is only a brief description of the respective material terms of the Merger Agreement, does not purport to be a complete description of the respective rights and obligations of the parties thereunder and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Merger Agreement that is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated by reference herein.
Item 8.01 Other Events.
On March 19, 2018, the Company issued a press release announcing the execution of the Merger Agreement.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit No. Description
10.1 Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of March 13, 2018, by and among TheMaven, Inc., HP Acquisition Co., Inc., HubPages, Inc. and Paul Edmondson as the Securityholder Representative
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
THEMAVEN, INC.
Dated: March 19, 2018 By: /s/ Martin L. Heimbigner
Name: Martin L. Heimbigner
Title:
Chief Financial Officer
TallTrader
7 years ago
Not An Ad Network: What The Heck Is James Heckman Up To With Maven?
by Sarah Sluis // Thursday, June 8th, 2017 – 7:00 am
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Don’t call the latest venture from ad vet James Heckman, Maven, an ad network. It’s a tech platform for niche publishers that also handles monetization and subscriptions.
“We’ve tested this model several times over the past 20 years and it’s never not succeeded,” Heckman said.
Heckman’s history goes back to the dot-com boom and includes time as a founder of Rivals.com as well as stints at once-greats like MySpace. In 2011, he sold the ad network 5to1 to Yahoo for $28 million, after raising almost half that much in funding.
Most recently, he led Scout, a publisher that filed for bankruptcy shortly after Heckman left under a cloud of accusations from investors. Heckman did not address the bankruptcy, but maintains those projects created lasting value. “Rivals and Scout both succeeded,” he said.
Instead of going the VC-backed route to get Maven started, Heckman did a reverse recapitalization with a public shell company called Integrated Surgical Systems and renamed it Maven. The move allowed the startup to go public without working through the complex IPO process.
This workaround pays Heckman and his team generously even though Maven is pre-revenue.
The reverse recapitalization gave Maven access to $2.1 million in assets it used to launch the business. Of that total, $1.7 million went to administrative expenses last year, including toward the C-suite’s salaries.
Heckman gets paid $300,000 a year, according to an SEC filing. The COO and CTO receive salaries of $250,000 a year, with additional stock grants.
Eighteen percent of the investment, or $411,000, went to research and development and building out the Maven platform.
Because Maven trades on an over-the-counter bulletin board for less than $5, the SEC defines it as a penny stock. But its small size opens it up to a wide range of investors, Heckman said.
Since launch, the stock has risen from 15 cents to $1.83, giving the stock a market cap just under $50 million and making Heckman’s 15% stake in the company worth millions.
“With venture capital, employees and founders miss out on the most important equity gain,” Heckman said. “We decided to bring it public before launching, therefore rewarding founders with equal equity.”
“Most entrepreneurs in their twenties don’t have public company experience,” he added. “We are all very comfortable operating within the structure and requirements of a public company. VCs would not allow an entrepreneur to do that. [The company structure] is highly unusual but incredibly powerful.”
Heckman has convinced others with ad tech experience to join him. Ross Levinsohn, a friend and fellow Yahoo vet, serves at the company’s director.
Most recently, Heckman brought aboard Josh Jacobs, former CEO of Omnicon trading desk Accuen, to serve as executive co-chairman.
Jacobs at first was skeptical about the model, a tech-driven spin on the ad network. (“I did Glam for a while and have seen the traditional publisher ad network model rise and fall,” he said.) But he decided to join for a couple of reasons.
“We are asking people to move this whole business onto a different platform that involves content management, community management and publishing infrastructure,” Jacobs said. “These are huge time and cost sinks that prevent [small publishers] from growing the content side of the business.”
Jacobs recently had a “light bulb” moment when a small hip-hop publisher wanted to talk header bidding, not music.
“Programmatic has become a big-player world, with direct IDs and header integrations,” he said. “This guy can’t ever optimize the waterfall enough to change the trajectory of the business.”
The first eight publishers to move onto Maven’s platform include the Black Wealth Channel, TheChocolateLife, iREIT Investor and the Fathers’ Rights Movement. Maven said another “several dozen” are expected to sign on in coming months. Heckman wooed some publishers by holding a summit at his lakefront house on Bainbridge Island in Seattle.
Publishers also will receive stock that vests over a three-year period.
“Heckman was the one that really sold me, that they have the background to pull this off,” said Boyce Watkins, the founder of Financial Juneteenth, a six-year-old personal finance site for African Americans.
He said Maven’s pitch centered on freedom of the press and ethical monetization – though it’s not entirely clear what that means. Maven doesn’t say how it might use programmatic for “ethical monetization.”
In fact, no ads run on any of the sites in Maven’s network. Nor does Maven promote any special features for mobile publishing or social distribution.
While Heckman claims that the sales-driven tech and monetization model has worked consistently for him for the past two decades – including for the bankrupted Scout – even competitors have been challenged succeeding on this model.
Medium tried providing monetization and a CMS to publishers in 2016, and its clients included The Awl, The Ringer (which just moved to Vox) and ThinkProgress. Less than a year later, Medium laid off a third of its staff and CEO Ev Williams declared ad-supported journalism didn’t work. “The broken system is ad-driven media on the internet,” he said at the time.
Maven is betting the opposite, that well-executed programmatic advertising will help publishers.
“Medium is not our model. It’s a single destination,” Heckman said.
If there is a difference between the platforms, it’s that Medium, with its intuitive and clean layout, likely spent far more than $411,000 designing the platform. By contrast, Maven uses tiles with snippets of original content and ones sourced from the web.
Heckman is optimistic about the challenges ahead: “Putting this company together is the same thing I’ve been doing since the ’90s.”
And he and his team get to draw a paycheck – and own millions in stock – while Maven sets out on its mission to transform the publishing industry.
Not bad for a publishing platform with zero revenue.
https://adexchanger.com/platforms/not-ad-network-heck-james-heckman-maven/
TallTrader
7 years ago
New content provider - Boyce Watkins
Boyce Watkins, Leading Voice on African American Economic Empowerment, Brings His Entire Digital Media Network and Facebook Pages to Maven
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dr. Boyce Watkins, the highly acclaimed author and scholar focused on economic empowerment and education in the African American community, is re-launching his digital empire of more than 50 properties to the Maven Network (MVEN), the Seattle-based startup launching in beta this month.
Watkins is considered one of the founding fathers in the field of financial activism – with the objective of creating social change through the use of conscientious capitalism – and has written numerous books and articles on finance, education and black social justice. He is a regular guest on CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, BET, NPR and other national networks.
Between social media and subscribers to his numerous websites, Watkins built a regular following of more than four million people.
“I am very excited about this partnership, and have tremendous respect for James Heckman and his team for creating this brilliant, state-of-the-art business platform for independent media brands,” Watkins said. “From the first conversation, he impressed me as a person who wants to use his resources to better all of humanity through cutting-edge technology. I’ve chosen to be a first-mover and leader in this extraordinary project, as we continue our goal of developing black economic and political strength throughout the world.”
Heckman, Maven CEO, calls Watkins an “intellectual giant and brilliant communicator who will amplify his message through our advanced publishing technology, new community platform and seamless integration with social media.”
“Boyce is authentic, smart and more than anything, courageous,” he added. “We will continue to reserve our technology and resources for hand-picked, inspiring, independent content and community leaders. Boyce is all that and more, tackling real issues with innovative ideas and thoughtful social commentary - we’re honored to be his partner.”
Maven provides a select group of content leaders an end-to-end digital media business platform within a cooperative - sharing technical resources, distribution and monetization. Dozens of award-winning journalists, best-selling authors, top analysts, important global causes, and foundations have already joined the coalition.
Watkins plans to organize his numerous websites into four main channels on Maven: Black Wealth, Black Men United, Black Women United, and Black America.
Among his signature initiatives are The Black Wealth Bootcamp, The Black Business School, and The Black Millionaires Of Tomorrow program which introduces young people to finance and entrepreneurship. He also has produced two critically acclaimed documentaries: "Resurrecting Black Wall Street" and "The Secrets Of Black Financial Intelligence.”
Maven is an expert-driven, group media network, whose state-of-the-art platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel partners. By providing broader distribution, greater community engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs. Maven enables partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business: creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with the communities and constituencies they serve.
Based in Seattle, Maven is publicly traded under the ticker symbol MVEN. For more information, visit themaven.net. Key members of the team include:
Founder and CEO James Heckman has extensive experience in digital media, advertising, video and online communities for major public companies and several times as founder. He served as Head of Global Media Strategy for Yahoo!, leading all significant transactions and revenue strategy under Ross Levinsohn’s tenure. As Chief Strategy Officer at Fox Digital, he architected the first programmatic social advertising platform, as part of the market-changing, $900 million ad alliance between Google and Myspace and was instrumental in Hulu’s formation. Prior to Yahoo!, Mr. Heckman was founder/CEO of 5to1.com (sold to Yahoo!), CSO of Zazzle.com, Founder/CEO of Scout.com (sold to Fox), Founder/CEO of Rivals.com and Rivals.net (sold to Yahoo!, post tenure and 365-Sports, respectively) and held the position of President and Publisher of NFL Exclusive, an official NFL publication network. Heckman holds a BA in Communications from the University of Washington.
Co-founder and COO William Sornsin ran MSN's Core Technology team before joining Rivals as co-founder and CTO in 1999, co-founded Scout.com as CTO/COO; was VP Engineering & Operations at Fox Interactive Media after Scout acquisition. Earlier, Sornsin held a variety of product and program management roles at Microsoft. He holds a BS Electrical/Computer Engineering from the University of Iowa and an MBA from UCLA.
Co-founder and CTO Benjamin Joldersma’s career spans nearly two decades of large-scale platform development, including CTO and chief architect of Scout.com. Ben held the role of Senior Software Engineer, Geo/Imagery at Google, was a Principal Software Engineer at Yahoo!, Chief Architect at 5to1 and held senior engineering roles at aQuantive, Rivals.com and Microsoft. Ben studied Computer Science at University of Puget Sound.
Director Ross Levinsohn is a leading industry figure who has long focused on the convergence of technology and media. He served as CEO at Yahoo in 2012 and prior to that role was Executive Vice President, Americas and Head of Global Media from 2010 to 2012. Levinsohn served as President of Fox Interactive where he helped create one of the largest digital businesses amongst the traditional media companies, and was instrumental in the formation of what is now Hulu. He serves on several public and private media and technology boards, including Tribune Media, mobile advertising marketplace YieldMo, Vubiquity, Zefr, and the National Association of Television Program Executives. He was Executive Chairman and Director of Scout Media, Inc. from 2014-2016, previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Guggenheim Digital Media and co-founded 5to1 Holding Corp, serving as its Executive Chairman. He co-founded Fuse Capital in 2005 and served as its Managing Director and Managing Partner. He served as General Manager at AltaVista Network and Vice President of Programming and Executive Producer at CBS Sportsline. Mr. Levinsohn received a BA in Broadcast Communications from American University, and is a trustee there.
Contacts
Maven Network Inc.
Gretchen Bakamis, 206-715-6660
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170505005776/en/Boyce-Watkins-Leading-Voice-African-American-Economic
TallTrader
7 years ago
New content provider-Global Political Movement, Students For Liberty
Global Political Movement, Students For Liberty, to Launch Media Network Across Nearly 3,000 College Campuses, Using TheMaven’s New Digital Media Platform
April 04, 2017 06:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--One of the most significant student-led political organizations in the world, Students For Liberty, will join dozens of political causes, foundations and award-winning journalists in operating its home channel on the new digital media network, TheMaven.
“We’re encouraged by TheMaven’s politically inclusive and courageous mission”
The invite-only network -- itself non-partisan when it comes to politics -- is building a coalition of elite content channels and groups and will continue to announce founding partners on all sides of the political spectrum.
Students For Liberty has used the Web and social media to promote its mission, leadership training programs and academic resources for nearly a decade and will now harness the distribution power of TheMaven to amplify passionate student voices.
“We’re encouraged by TheMaven’s politically inclusive and courageous mission,” said Wolf von Laer, CEO of Students For Liberty. “For our movement, publishing and promoting our vision along with community-building in the U.S. and worldwide is our priority.
“Joining a global community of elite thinkers and their passionate followers from all sides will help us stand above the online clutter anger and amateurism that seems to permeate today’s media landscape. We will relaunch StudentsForLiberty.org early this summer, which will reach thousands of campus chapters, on TheMaven’s new digital media network platform.”
TheMaven provides a select group of media professionals an end-to-end digital platform within a cooperative, sharing resources, distribution and monetization. Dozens of award-winning journalists, best-selling authors, top analysts, important causes, and foundations have already joined the coalition of professional journalists.
“Students For Liberty presents an opportunity for all of us to learn from brilliant, passionate young minds,” said James Heckman, the founder and CEO of TheMaven. “We may not agree with their message, but young people from all sides need a voice -- without censorship, algorithmic manipulation or restrictions -- and we should listen. It seems like we’ve all been manipulated into a polarizing, hateful world of intolerance and so we hope our platform unlocks new hope for brilliant, passionate leaders to create an environment of education, civil communication and community.”
Students For Liberty, founded in 2008 on the cornerstones of academic depth and activism, aims to educate young people about the philosophy of liberty, where the rights of all people in all areas of their lives are respected. Students For Liberty accomplishes this by helping young people learn about the principles of a free society, and by identifying those young people who are already supportive of liberty and providing them with resources to spread the ideas.
Every year, Students For Liberty trains thousands of students to become active on campus, organizes hundreds of events, and brings in tens of thousands of attendees, all with the goal of bringing about a freer society.
TheMaven is an expert-driven, group media network, whose state-of-the-art platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel partners. By providing broader distribution, greater community engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs, TheMaven enables partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business: creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with the communities and constituencies they serve.
TheMaven Network will launch this quarter in beta as channel partner signings continue to be announced. For more information, visit themaven.net.
Based in Seattle, TheMaven is publicly traded in the OTC Markets Group, under the ticker symbol MVEN. Key members of the team include:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170404006506/en/
TallTrader
7 years ago
New content provider-Bob Brooks/PrudentMoney.com
Bob Brooks and PrudentMoney.com Joining Digital Media Network TheMaven
March 24, 2017 05:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Financial planning analyst, money manager, author and radio talk show host Bob Brooks is moving his online home and quarter-century of money management expertise to the new digital media network, TheMaven (symbol MVEN). Brooks is one of dozens of award-winning journalists, best-selling authors, top analysts, important causes and foundations who are joining TheMaven’s coalition of elite content channels.
“James Heckman and the entire leadership team at TheMaven are proven winners in the world of digital media and information and so I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to be a founding partner in something we believe will be transformational.”
Brooks, who is president of Dallas-based Prudent Money Financial Services, has been sharing his money management insights with the world since launching a daily radio talk show in 2002 and then expanding with a weekly newsletter and financially focused online channel, PrudentMoney.com, which is joining TheMaven Network this spring.
“I joined TheMaven’s elite content coalition to expand my audience beyond radio, and teach people about personal finances and stewardship on a much larger, state-of-the-art platform,” Brooks said. “James Heckman and the entire leadership team at TheMaven are proven winners in the world of digital media and information and so I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to be a founding partner in something we believe will be transformational.”
Heckman, the founder and CEO of TheMaven, noted that Brooks exemplifies the mission of TheMaven. “He’s not just an expert producing content in his field -- he’s passionate about helping people improve their lives. The authenticity from our founding content partners is evident by the loyal following they bring.
“Consumers shouldn’t tolerate algorithmic, commodity-produced content feeds, filled with ‘link-bait,’ ‘ad-farms,’ or intellectually insulting list-gimmicks -- it’s just pure and simple profiteering, not journalism. Bob and our partners are elite thinkers and leaders in their fields and our mission is to improve their ability to connect and engage directly with their audiences in a way that sets a new standard of quality and community,” Heckman added.
TheMaven provides independent publishers an end-to-end business home, where they can continue to distribute on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter but as part of a fully integrated, unified approach.
TheMaven welcomes passionate, market-leading professionals from all sides of the political and spiritual spectrum and in that regard, Brooks represents a unique approach to his work. He encourages listeners to “stay on the road of prudent stewardship” by teaching Biblical principles of money management. His advice encourages people to think for themselves and not just accept the beliefs of what he calls “Pop Culture Finance.”
Brooks also is the author of the book Deceptive Money, a step-by-step guide to eliminating credit card debt. Bob is TheMaven’s third new channel partner operating in the finance category, joining Brad Thomas, who focuses on real estate investment trusts, and Neale Godfrey, who specializes in financial planning for Baby Boomers and Millennials.
TheMaven is an expert-driven, group media network, whose state-of-the-art platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel partners. By providing broader distribution, greater community engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs, TheMaven enables partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business: creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with the communities and constituencies they serve.
TheMaven Network will launch this quarter in beta as channel partner signings continue to be announced. For more information, visit themaven.net.
Based in Seattle, TheMaven is publicly traded in the OTC Markets Group, under the ticker symbol MVEN.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170324005653/en/
TallTrader
7 years ago
New content provider-Scotty Kilmer Car Care Expert
Emmy Award-Winning Car Care Expert and Internet Video Sensation Scotty Kilmer Joining Digital Media Network TheMaven
March 09, 2017 11:50 AM Eastern Standard Time
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scotty Kilmer, the Emmy Award-winning car care expert so facile with both the wrench and spoken word that he turned The Scotty Kilmer Channel into a YouTube phenomenon, is bringing his wildly successful show to the new digital media network TheMaven (symbol MVEN).
“I joined TheMaven because I saw an opportunity to reach even more people and help them out,” said Kilmer, whose massive following has generated more than 160 million video views. “After meeting with TheMaven team, I was impressed from the top down by the professional grade of all involved.
“TheMaven is a perfect match for me, as part of their expert-only network. Their business model allows me to do my thing, while they handle technology, distribution and advertising - and they bring serious internet executive experience. It's hard enough for me to stay ahead of emerging car technology, so I appreciate them ensuring my media technology is out front as well. This is a perfect Yin/Yang relationship,” he added.
TheMaven is a growing coalition of elite, independent reporters, analysts, experts and cause leaders across multiple subject categories. Kilmer plans to launch “On The Road With Scotty” on TheMaven this spring.
A mechanic for the last 49 years, Kilmer uses expertise and wit to make informative and entertaining videos. The Houston Press dubs him “the Guru of Gasket.”
“Bringing Scotty Kilmer onto our network, brings an intense auto audience within the automotive vertical,” said James Heckman, the founder and CEO of TheMaven. “His following is phenomenal and he has a history of partnering with manufacturers who seek the opportunity to have their products spotlighted by someone with an authentic expertise respected by their customers. On top of being the most knowledgeable and professional mechanic in media, Scotty’s sense of humor and unique personality also help him connect with his audience on a genuine level. We’re proud to have him as a founding partner with TheMaven.”
TheMaven is an expert-driven, group media network whose state-of-the-art platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel partners. By providing broader distribution, greater community engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs, TheMaven enables partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business: creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with the communities and constituencies they serve.
TheMaven Network will launch this quarter in beta as channel partner signings continue to be announced. For more information, visit themaven.net.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170309006010/en/
TallTrader
7 years ago
New content provider-Bryan Suits, Decorated Combat Veteran
Bryan Suits, Decorated Combat Veteran, Military Expert, and L.A. Radio Talk-Show Host, Will Move His Online Home to the New Digital Media Network, TheMaven
March 07, 2017 03:01 AM Eastern Standard Time
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TheMaven Network’s growing coalition of independent journalists is expanding into defense, intelligence and foreign affairs with the addition of Bryan Suits, a radio talk-show host, Fox Business regular and decorated combat veteran whose cutting-edge information and analyses offer unparalleled insight into events around the globe.
“TheMaven is the advanced platform I’ve been waiting for,” said Suits, who is a mainstay on Los Angeles’ KFI Radio, the most-listened-to station in America. “I’ll now be able to seamlessly blend my work as a reporter and analyst with my podcast and social media following.”
“TheMaven reflects how the world of communication has evolved in the way we use social media and smartphones to consume, share and create. My program on TheMaven will bridge professional analysis with group interaction on a platform for the modern age.” Expanding on the “Dark Secret Place” brand that he has built at KFI Radio, Suits plans to launch his own channel on TheMaven (symbol MVEN) in April.
Suits’ ability to quickly gather and analyze intelligence from war zones and conflicts around the world has been praised by an array of special operations forces personnel and he has become a sought-after analyst by major media outlets. His predictive analyses of events in Syria, Libya and Yemen, among other places, have proven spot on. He uses a combination of high-tech social media filtering and traditional sources around the globe to secure real-time information.
“Consumers have become the targets of unapologetic, link-bait profiteering instead of actual journalism. So we’re focused on building a coalition of elite, authentic, independent media reporters, analysts and conversation leaders,” said James Heckman, CEO and founder of TheMaven. “With this goal in mind, Bryan works only in facts, his information-gathering skills are extraordinary, and he possesses a unique ability to analyze events and share his insights in a clear, powerful way. He’s also downright witty and entertaining to listen to.”
Suits is a decorated combat veteran who served our nation in three conflicts: Desert Storm, Bosnia, and Iraqi Freedom and was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart while serving in Iraq. He began broadcasting on KFI in Los Angeles in 2007 following previous stops in San Diego, Seattle, Portland and Salt Lake City.
TheMaven is an expert-driven, group media network whose state-of-the-art platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel partners. By providing broader distribution, greater community engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs, TheMaven enables partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business: creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with the communities and constituencies they serve.
TheMaven Network will launch this quarter in beta as channel partner signings continue to be announced. For more information, visit themaven.net.
Based in Seattle, TheMaven is publicly traded in the OTC Markets Group, under the ticker symbol MVEN. Key members of the team include:
Founder and CEO James Heckman has extensive experience in digital media, advertising, video and online communities for major public companies and several times as founder. He served as Head of Global Media Strategy for Yahoo!, leading all significant transactions and revenue strategy under Ross Levinsohn’s tenure. As Chief Strategy Officer at Fox Digital, he architected the market-changing, $900 million social media ad alliance between Google and Myspace and was instrumental in Hulu’s formation. Prior to Yahoo!, Mr. Heckman was founder/CEO of 5to1.com (sold to Yahoo!), CSO of Zazzle.com, Founder/CEO of Scout.com (sold to Fox), Founder/CEO of Rivals.com and Rivals.net (sold to Yahoo!, post tenure and 365-Sports, respectively) and held the position of President and Publisher of NFL Exclusive, official publication for every NFL team. Heckman holds a BA in Communications from the University of Washington.
Co-founder and COO, William Sornsin ran MSN's Core Technology team before joining Rivals as co-founder and CTO in 1999, co-founded Scout.com as CTO/COO; was VP Engineering & Operations at Fox Interactive Media after Scout acquisition. Earlier, Sornsin held a variety of product and program management roles at Microsoft. He holds a BS Electrical/Computer Engineering from the University of Iowa and an MBA from UCLA.
Co-founder and CTO Benjamin Joldersma’s career spans nearly two decades of large-scale platform development, including CTO and chief architect of Scout.com. Ben held the role of Senior software engineer, Geo/Imagery at Google, a Principal Software Engineer at Yahoo!, Chief Architect at 5to1 and held senior engineering roles at aQuantive, Rivals.com and Microsoft. Ben studied Computer Science at University of Puget Sound.
Director, Ross Levinsohn is a leading industry figure who has long focused on the convergence of technology and media. He served as CEO at Yahoo in 2012 and prior to that role was Executive Vice President, Americas and Head of Global Media from 2010 to 2012. Levinsohn served as President of Fox Interactive where he helped create one of the largest digital businesses amongst the traditional media companies, and was instrumental in the formation of what is now Hulu. He serves on several public and private media and technology boards, including Tribune Media, mobile advertising marketplace YieldMo, Vubiquity, Zefr, and the National Association of Television Program Executives. He was Executive Chairman and Director of Scout Media, Inc. from 2014-2016, previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Guggenheim Digital Media and co-founded 5to1 Holding Corp, serving as its Executive Chairman. He co-founded Fuse Capital in 2005 and served as its Managing Director and Managing Partner. He served as General Manager at AltaVista Network and Vice President of Programming and Executive Producer at CBS Sportsline. Mr. Levinsohn received a BA in Broadcast Communications from American University, and is a trustee there.
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170307005644/en/
TallTrader
7 years ago
New content provider - Brigitte Perreault
Environmental Activist and Human Rights Award Recipient Brigitte Perreault to Debut New Web Channel, “The Global Lead,” on New Digital Media Network, TheMaven
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Global Lead, an environmental, wildlife conservancy and human rights-focused channel founded by Brigitte Perreault, will launch and build its new home on the TheMaven Network, a coalition of world-class journalists, global causes and foundations and professional group leaders.
The Global Lead is a brand expansion of her global and digital publication Perreault Magazine.
“We are extremely honored to be a Founding Channel Partner of TheMaven Network and to benefit from their expertise and technology,” said Perreault, founder and editor-in-chief of Perreault Magazine.
“TheMaven’s team shares our vision to inform and empower and our mission is to inspire advocacy, participation, and the opportunity to have an impact on humanity,” she added. “This partnership will help to attract a wider global audience by allowing us to easily and swiftly publish daily digital content and call-to-action for social change in different corners of the world, offering sustainable information about today’s complex issues.”
The Global Lead is set to formally launch later this month.
James Heckman, founder and CEO of TheMaven Network, calls Perreault and her organization “a voice with global reach” on an array of critical issues. “We’re proud to add The Global Lead and their inspirational founder to the growing list of award-winning, professional organizations and journalists.”
“Today’s digital news content has devolved sadly into a confusing array of profiteerism, fear-mongering and amateurism, so our boutique, we believe, definitely serves a need. Ms. Perreault’s class represents everything we hope to empower within our vision and it’s an honor Brigitte was actually the first to join our coalition.”
Perreault is a social entrepreneur, Human Rights Award recipient, environmental activist, and author of “Why Is The Sky Blue?” -- a book that uses science to make the case for prudent environmental stewardship.
Since launching the cause-driven digital publication Perreault Magazine, she has partnered with organizations ranging from the United Nations Foundation to Justice Rapid Response, Rock Against Trafficking to Carlos Santana’s Milagro Foundation. In addition, The Global Lead recently announced a new alliance with Sea Shepherd Global, which will have its own section on The Global Lead Channel.
Issues covered by The Global Lead will include climate and energy, ocean conservancy, at-risk eco-systems, youth leadership, gender equality, human trafficking, corporate responsibility and more. The channel, based out of Los Angeles, will offer a sophisticated video platform and an entirely eco- and cause-driven e-commerce marketplace showcasing products from around the world.
“Our Global Lead Eco-Store is an online marketplace for brands on a mission to build a more sustainable, fulfilling and lasting world. We are committed to using the power of business to help create a better world through both of our platforms,” Perreault said.
TheMaven is an expert-driven, group media network whose state-of-the-art platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel partners. By providing broader distribution, greater community engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs, TheMaven enables partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business: creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with the communities and constituencies they serve.
TheMaven Network will launch this quarter in beta as channel partner signings continue to be announced. For more information, visit themaven.net.
Based in Seattle, TheMaven is publicly traded in the OTC Markets Group, under the ticker symbol MVEN.
Contacts
TheMaven Network Inc.
Gretchen Bakamis, 206-715-6660
TallTrader
7 years ago
New content provider-Neale Godfrey
Best selling Author and Forbes Contributor Neale Godfrey to Launch Financial Planning Channel on New Digital Media Network, TheMaven
February 28, 2017 03:01 AM Eastern Standard Time
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Neale Godfrey, a New York Times No. 1 best-selling author and award-winning financial expert best known as “the financial voice for Baby Boomers, Millennials and their offspring,” will soon launch a channel on TheMaven Network, specifically aimed at empowering families to take charge of their financial lives.
"TheMaven is offering a cutting-edge platform for top-of-their-field experts and so I’m thrilled to join them as a founding partner in this network. I plan to soon launch what will be the trusted, go-to place for real family financial advice. My plan is to be with people every step of the way, as they deal with money issues in their lives,” said Godfrey, who has written 27 books and is considered one of the first senior female banking executives in the nation.
Godfrey is the second finance expert to be announced by TheMaven (symbol MVEN) this month, following Brad Thomas, a top REIT investment analyst.
“Neale Godfrey represents exactly what TheMaven stands for,” said James Heckman, CEO and founder of TheMaven Network. “Neale is not only a brilliant communicator of original content, she’s an expert and active participant in her field whose credentials as an advocate for American families are unmatched. In a world of click-bait and commodity news, TheMaven is solely focused on partnering with authentic, passionate, elite experts -- and Neale is all of those things.”
Godfrey is a familiar face on television. She appeared on Oprah more than a dozen times and has been a guest on the Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox, CNN, CNBC, NBC, ABC and more. She is a regular contributor to Forbes.com and the Huffington Post and an executive-in-residence at Columbia Graduate School of Business. She previously wrote a syndicated column for The Associated Press and participated in the White House Health Care Task Force.
“Who can you talk to about designing a healthy approach to money, manage your kids’ ‘wants’, discuss money problems with your partner -- or your ex!?” asks Godfrey. “Need to fix your credit, provide for aging parents, your own death? I’ll be there no further away than your mobile device as a personal coach, so you can to fulfill your dreams.”
Added Heckman, “The big difference Neale will offer, as will all partners in TheMaven, is professional interaction and community -- in a structured, organized way. Neale’s personality and brilliance we believe will thrive within this tactic.”
TheMaven is an expert-driven, group media network whose state-of-the-art platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel partners. By providing broader distribution, greater community engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs, TheMaven enables partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business: creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with the communities and constituencies they serve.
TheMaven Network will launch this quarter in beta as channel partner signings continue to be announced. For more information, visit themaven.net.
Based in Seattle, TheMaven is publicly traded in the OTC Markets Group, under the ticker symbol MVEN. Key members of the leadership team include:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170228005794/en/
TallTrader
7 years ago
New content provider - Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist, Emmy-Nominated Filmmaker and Immigrants Rights Activist Jose Antonio Vargas to Join TheMaven Network
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jose Antonio Vargas, founder of the non-profit organization Define American and the media start-up #EmergingUS, is bringing his insights about race, immigration, identity and citizenship to the new digital media network TheMaven (symbol MVEN).
“Jose is a bold and compelling journalist, filmmaker and advocate for the underdog,” said James Heckman, CEO of TheMaven. “This is the meeting of his brilliant mind and unique point of view, with our state-of-the-art platform.”
Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and media entrepreneur whose work centers on the changing American identity and elevating the conversation around immigration and citizenship. His channel on TheMaven, launching this spring, will have a similar focus.
“I am thrilled to be a partner in what promises to be a pioneering media company,” Vargas says of TheMaven. “James and his team have an unimpeachable track record in building digital properties. In a crowded media ecosystem, I am confident that TheMaven will make its mark and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
A former Washington Post reporter and Huffington Post editor, Vargas is the CEO of Define American, which he launched in 2011 with the aim of using powerful, real-life storytelling to advocate for immigrants and their families and promote an environment in which they are seen as human beings. In 2011, the New York Times Magazine published a groundbreaking essay Vargas wrote in which he revealed and chronicled his life in America as an undocumented immigrant. A year later, Vargas appeared on the cover of Time Magazine alongside other undocumented immigrants, with the headline “Not Legal, Not Leaving.” In one of the rare instances in the history of Time, Vargas wrote the cover story himself.
In addition to his advocacy work, Vargas is also a media entrepreneur, producing original video content through #EmergingUS. He has produced three documentaries, including the autobiographical “Documented,” which received a 2015 NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Documentary, and “White People,” an MTV special that was nominated for an Emmy Award.
“As ad and social platforms evolve, TheMaven provides independent leaders, like Jose, an end-to-end business home, to continue to distribute on platforms like Facebook and Twitter but as part of a fully-integrated, unified strategy, which includes advertising, technology and distribution,” added Heckman. “Our business model has always been to hand-pick and invest in the elite, independent content leaders in a particular category and Jose certainly is the leader in his space -- and the timing couldn’t be more appropriate. We’re proud to include his passion and brilliance with the rest of our inspiring leaders.”
TheMaven is an expert-driven, group media network whose state-of-the-art platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel partners to provide broader distribution, greater community engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs. TheMaven enables channel partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business: creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with the communities and constituencies they serve.
TheMaven Network will launch this quarter in beta as channel partner signings continue to be announced. For more information, visit themaven.net.
Based in Seattle, TheMaven is publicly traded in the OTC Markets Group, under the ticker symbol MVEN. Key members of the leadership team include:
Founder and CEO, James Heckman, has extensive experience in digital media, advertising, video and online communities for major public companies and several times as founder. He served as Head of Global Media Strategy for Yahoo!, leading all significant transactions and revenue strategy under Ross Levinsohn’s tenure. As Chief Strategy Officer at Fox Digital, he architected the market-changing, $900 million social media ad alliance between Google and Myspace and was instrumental in Hulu’s formation. Prior to Yahoo!, Mr. Heckman was founder/CEO of 5to1.com (sold to Yahoo!), CSO of Zazzle.com, Founder/CEO of Scout.com (sold to Fox), Founder/CEO of Rivals.com and Rivals.net (sold to Yahoo!, post tenure and 365-Sports, respectively) and held the position of President and Publisher of NFL Exclusive, official publication for every NFL team. Heckman holds a BA in Communications from the University of Washington.
Co-founder and COO, William Sornsin, ran MSN's Core Technology team before joining Rivals as co-founder and CTO in 1999, co-founded Scout.com as CTO/COO; was VP Engineering & Operations at Fox Interactive Media after Scout acquisition. Earlier, Sornsin held a variety of product and program management roles at Microsoft. He holds a BS Electrical/Computer Engineering from the University of Iowa and an MBA from UCLA.
Co-founder and CTO, Benjamin Joldersma’s career spans nearly two decades of large-scale platform development, including CTO and chief architect of Scout.com. Ben held the role of Senior software engineer, Geo/Imagery at Google, a Principal Software Engineer at Yahoo!, Chief Architect at 5to1 and held senior engineering roles at aQuantive, Rivals.com and Microsoft. Ben studied Computer Science at University of Puget Sound.
Director, Ross Levinsohn is a leading industry figure who has long focused on the convergence of technology and media. He served as CEO at Yahoo in 2012 and prior to that role was Executive Vice President, Americas and Head of Global Media from 2010 to 2012. Levinsohn served as President of Fox Interactive where he helped create one of the largest digital businesses amongst the traditional media companies, and was instrumental in the formation of what is now Hulu. He serves on several public and private media and technology boards, including Tribune Media, mobile advertising marketplace YieldMo, Vubiquity, Zefr, and the National Association of Television Program Executives. He was Executive Chairman and Director of Scout Media, Inc. from 2014-2016, previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Guggenheim Digital Media and co-founded 5to1 Holding Corp, serving as its Executive Chairman. He co-founded Fuse Capital in 2005 and served as its Managing Director and Managing Partner. He served as General Manager at AltaVista Network and Vice President of Programming and Executive Producer at CBS Sportsline. Mr. Levinsohn received a BA in Broadcast Communications from American University, and is a trustee there.
Contacts
TheMaven Network Inc.
Gretchen Bakamis, 206-715-6660
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170217005188/en/
TallTrader
7 years ago
TheMaven announces first content partner...
TheMaven Announces Brad Thomas, Forbes Analyst and Top REIT Financial Adviser, to Join the New, Expert-Led Digital Media Network
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Brad Thomas, a current Forbes financial analyst and leading expert on real estate investment trusts (REITs), is bringing his research newsletter, podcast and premium website, iREITinvestor.com, to TheMaven (Symbol: MVEN).
“Brad is our first publicly announced channel partner and absolutely emblematic of our focused network of elite journalists in each field, bringing their authentic, passionate voices and loyal followers from multiple content segments,” said TheMaven CEO and founder James Heckman, a former News Corp and Yahoo! senior executive.
In addition to Forbes, Thomas is a frequent contributor to Fox Business, is the No. 1 analyst on the stock tips site Seeking Alpha, and recently published two books: “The Intelligent REIT Investor” (with co-author, Stephanie Krewson-Kelly) and “The Trump Factor: Unlocking the Secrets Behind the Trump Empire.” Brad has lectured at Cornell, North Carolina, Clemson and Presbyterian universities and has been featured by Kiplinger’s, US News & World Report, Money, NPR, Institutional Investor, GlobeStreet, CNN, NewsMax, and Fox. He also hosts a weekly online radio show, “The Ground Up,” originating in Greenville, S.C., on 94.5 FM.
“I’m honored to partner with TheMaven,” said Thomas. “James Heckman, director Ross Levinsohn and the senior executive and product team have decades of experience building professional media platforms for both start-ups and major media companies. The intellectual assets, combined with their partner-focused business model, provide a unique opportunity for the fortunate, independent publishers invited into their coalition. TheMaven brings proprietary value for me in three areas: superior technology I could never build, access to sponsors otherwise unreachable and network distribution not available to independent journalists. TheMaven’s end-to-end platform strategy has helped them amass exclusive partnerships with some of the best independent journalists in the industry.” Thomas also noted that he and his family are now shareholders in TheMaven.
TheMaven is an expert-driven, group media network whose state-of-the-art platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel partners to provide broader distribution, greater community engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs. TheMaven enables channel partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business: creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with the communities and constituencies they serve.
TheMaven Network will launch this quarter in beta as channel partner signings continue to be announced. For more information, visit themaven.net.
Based in Seattle, TheMaven is publicly traded in the OTC Markets Group, under the ticker symbol MVEN. Key members of the leadership team include:
Founder and CEO, James Heckman, has extensive experience in digital media, advertising, video and online communities for major public companies and several times as founder. He served as Head of Global Media Strategy for Yahoo!, leading all significant transactions and revenue strategy under Ross Levinsohn’s tenure. As Chief Strategy Officer at Fox Digital, he architected the market-changing, $900 million social media ad alliance between Google and Myspace and was instrumental in Hulu’s formation. Prior to Yahoo!, Mr. Heckman was founder/CEO of 5to1.com (sold to Yahoo!), CSO of Zazzle.com, Founder/CEO of Scout.com (sold to Fox), Founder/CEO of Rivals.com and Rivals.net (sold to Yahoo!, post tenure and 365-Sports, respectively) and held the position of President and Publisher of NFL Exclusive, official publication for every NFL team. Heckman holds a BA in Communications from the University of Washington.
Co-founder and COO, William Sornsin, ran MSN's Core Technology team before joining Rivals as co-founder and CTO in 1999, co-founded Scout.com as CTO/COO; was VP Engineering & Operations at Fox Interactive Media after Scout acquisition. Earlier, Sornsin held a variety of product and program management roles at Microsoft. He holds a BS Electrical/Computer Engineering from the University of Iowa and an MBA from UCLA.
Co-founder and CTO, Benjamin Joldersma’s career spans nearly two decades of large-scale platform development, including CTO and chief architect of Scout.com. Ben held the role of Senior software engineer, Geo/Imagery at Google, a Principal Software Engineer at Yahoo!, Chief Architect at 5to1 and held senior engineering roles at aQuantive, Rivals.com and Microsoft. Ben studied Computer Science at University of Puget Sound.
Director, Ross Levinsohn is a leading industry figure who has long focused on the convergence of technology and media. He served as CEO at Yahoo in 2012 and prior to that role was Executive Vice President, Americas and Head of Global Media from 2010 to 2012. Levinsohn served as President of Fox Interactive where he helped create one of the largest digital businesses amongst the traditional media companies, and was instrumental in the formation of what is now Hulu. He serves on several public and private media and technology boards, including Tribune Media, mobile advertising marketplace YieldMo, Vubiquity, Zefr, and the National Association of Television Program Executives. He was Executive Chairman and Director of Scout Media, Inc. from 2014-2016, previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Guggenheim Digital Media and co-founded 5to1 Holding Corp, serving as its Executive Chairman. He co-founded Fuse Capital in 2005 and served as its Managing Director and Managing Partner. He served as General Manager at AltaVista Network and Vice President of Programming and Executive Producer at CBS Sportsline. Mr. Levinsohn received a BA in Broadcast Communications from American University, and is a trustee there. -end
Contacts
TheMaven Network Inc.
Gretchen Bakamis, 206-715-6660
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170209005612/en/
TallTrader
7 years ago
Digital Media Pathfinder Elizabeth Thompson Joins TheMaven Network as Vice President of Network Development
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Elizabeth Thompson, a long-time digital media executive from Glam/Mode Media who headed partner strategy and operations for more than 5,000 independent publishers, has joined TheMaven Network (Symbol: MVEN) as vice president of network development.
“Our strategy is to offer full platform integration, focusing on quality content partners over quantity. Liz will help grow and manage our elite group of channel partners, including many of her hand-picked former partners from Glam/Mode, who we believe will benefit from a more complete and sustainable business model.”
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“Liz is highly respected within the industry and ideally suited to build our network,” said TheMaven Network founder and CEO James Heckman. “Our strategy is to offer full platform integration, focusing on quality content partners over quantity. Liz will help grow and manage our elite group of channel partners, including many of her hand-picked former partners from Glam/Mode, who we believe will benefit from a more complete and sustainable business model.”
Thompson calls TheMaven's entrance into the market "perfectly timed, given the evolution of how people consume information and the proliferation of highly professional experts, focused on very specific topics.” As distribution, social, video and advertising technology have rapidly advanced, it’s no longer practical for independent content professionals to operate their own platform, she added, noting, “They need an end-to-end business partner with great technology, which is what TheMaven delivers.”
Thompson helped build Glam/Mode’s women’s lifestyle brand into one of the world’s largest digital publishers. But where Glam/Mode was built on the ad-network model, TheMaven provides a fully integrated media platform, perfected by its founders in past ventures over the last two decades.
Heckman explained TheMaven’s growth strategy: “The key to our model has always been and will continue to be focused on independent category leaders. We’ll only open our platform to experts and we’ll never compete against major social networks. This strategy allows us to provide a more efficient service for a manageable number of professionals, so they can thrive in our network.”
“Liz is a seasoned executive who chose to bring her relationships and skills to TheMaven," said Heckman. "Publishers, marketers and investors rave about her talent and we're thrilled to welcome her into our family who’ve worked together now for two decades."
TheMaven, based in Seattle, is an expert-driven, group media network featuring premium, vertical content across multiple categories.
Last week, the Seattle-based company announced it had signed more than two dozen publishers, with more coming, and plans to launch in beta later this quarter. TheMaven’s team includes former senior executives and veteran engineers from Google, Microsoft, Amazon, News Corp, Yahoo!, Rivals.com, Scout, thePlatform and the NFL, including digital media pioneers James Heckman and Ross Levinsohn, and technology innovators Bill Sornsin and Ben Joldersma. For more information, visit themaven.net (Symbol: MVEN).
Contacts
TheMaven Network Inc.
Gretchen Bakamis, 206-715-6660
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170206005389/en/
TallTrader
7 years ago
Done deal.
From today's 8K filing:
"The Merger was consummated on November 4, 2016, as a result of which theMaven became a wholly owned subsidiary of Integrated (the “Closing”)."
Other items:
theMaven Business
Although theMaven was founded in 2016, its founding team worked on a variety of digital media platforms, with the common thread of achieving economies of scale by assembling a network of publishers, covering particular niche media interests, on a unified technology and business platform. One of the founders and the Chief Executive Officer of theMaven, Mr. James C. Heckman, created the first version of this model in 1991, leveraging early digital technology for NFL teams for “NFL Exclusive,” and later founded Rivals.com, which is still operated today by Yahoo!. theMaven’s founders have worked together since 1999, building many different socially focused, single platform media models, including Scout.com, Rivals.com, Rivals.net (Europe), Zazzle, and 5to1.com.
Based on their prior experience, the founders established theMaven as an entirely new enterprise to build and operate an exclusive network of professionally managed media channels and interest groups, each operated by a hand-selected group of experts, reporters, group evangelists and social leaders as “Channel Partners.” These Channel Partners will be able to leverage theMaven’s proprietary, socially-driven, mobile-enabled, video-focused technology platform to engage niche audiences within a single network (“theMaven Platform”).
We believe that our media model will appeal to the users and subscribers of theMaven Platform in a way similar to how the model has previously appealed to sports fans in its founders’ previous ventures. theMaven Platform intends to appeal to professional publishers who currently struggle to monetize on their existing platforms, or are operating with less-than-world-class features in one or more areas (mobile, video, community, etc.). The consumer-facing product of theMaven Platform will be made available on the web and as iOS (Apple) and Android mobile applications.
Once launched, we believe that there will be two primary revenue sources, one of which will be online advertising/sponsorships and one of which will be paid memberships (subscriptions). We expect that advertising/sponsorships will be sold primarily by theMaven and/or major media partner(s) to companies to promote their brands, products and services, amplify their visibility and to target an audience based on the professionally managed media channels and interest groups on theMaven Platform. At this stage of the company’s development, operations primarily consist of software development, building a “target” list of selective, invite-only “Channel Partners,” and reaching out to those “Channel Partners” for discussion. The management team has extensive experience in the past building partner networks, but it will take time and further development of the technology platform to begin securing these partners.
Currently, we do not have any customers as we are still in the development stage of our business and establishing a customer base.
Technology and Intellectual Property
We plan to incorporate state-of-the-art mobile, video, communications, social, notifications and other technology into its theMaven Platform, including modern DevOps processes with continuous integration/continuous deployment and an entirely cloud-based back-end. The software engineering team is experienced at delivering service at extreme scale, drawing upon years of experience at GoogleTM, Yahoo!TM, and Microsoft TM among other companies. We plan to develop theMaven Platform software by combining proprietary code with components from the open-source community, plus select commercial services. To the extent it is able and given the limited financial resources at its disposal, management is investing in core technical competencies to be able to do more product development.
We believe that innovation is one of the keys to its competitiveness and will be necessary for future sustained growth. Currently, theMaven relies on the confidentiality of its operations, proprietary know-how and business secrets. All theMaven employees have entered into confidentiality agreements and it considers its employees’ work to be proprietary and owned by theMaven. There can be no assurance that theMaven will be able to enforce its rights if they are improperly taken by theMaven’s employees or adopted by its competitors without the approval of theMaven.
In the future, when necessary, we will take additional steps to protect its intellectual property interests under the laws of the United States and the jurisdictions in which it intends to operate. In the future, we plan to protect theMaven intellectual property in appropriate market segments. As the business develops, we plan to develop specific trademarks for our products and seek registration of those marks with government authorities for their protection. We also plan to seek opportunities to obtain patent protections. We do not currently hold any registered trademarks or patents.
Seasonality
Once we are providing services to our customer base, we do not expect to experience any seasonality in our operations, other than typical media company ad/sponsorship sales seasonality, which is strong in the fourth quarter and slower in the first quarter.
Competition
Currently theMaven believes that there are dozens of competitors delivering niche media content on the web and on mobile devices. All those competitors use mobile alerts, invest heavily in video and leverage social media. We believe that theMaven has developed distribution, production and technology tactics that have proven in the past to be highly engaging and effective for its particular model, which organizes channels into interest groups, led by its expert partners – the “Channel Partners.”
The web provides unlimited access to the market by niche or general media companies, so there are a large number and variety of direct competitors of theMaven competing for audience and ad dollars. The general business of online media, combined with some level or method of leveraging community attracts many potential entrants, and in the future there may be strong competitors that will compete with theMaven in general or in selected markets. These and other companies may be better financed and be able to develop their markets more quickly and penetrate those market more effectively. Below if a list of possible competitors/substitutes and categories:
· Vice – niche content, leveraging social, mobile and video
· Buzzfeed – socially enabled content
· Business Insider – expert, niche content, leveraging social, mobile and video
· WordPress, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook – open platform to all, also includes experts and professionals
· Medium - publishing
· Reddit – community, UBC focused, including delivery of niche content
· Affiliate “networks” such as Liberty Alliance – publishing, advertising
· Fortune, CNN, Yahoo!, Google, et al - all major media companies are investing in deep content for users and leveraging social media in their own way, to reach and engage users more effectively
We anticipate that theMaven will compete on the basis of its technology, ease of use, value delivered to both consumers and “Channel Partners,” and platform evolution through a continuing development program. We believe that theMaven methods, technology and experience will enable it to compete for a material amount of market share of media dollars and subscription revenue. We also believe theMaven will rapidly establish a reputation for its business, distribution and technology methods within selected initial markets, which can be enhanced over time as theMaven gains customer awareness and channel partner success. Concurrent with the growth of its customer base, we believe theMaven will develop brand awareness, which translates to sponsorship support, and will obtain data from its users that will allow theMaven to expand our its content and advertising offerings.
The competitive position of theMaven may be seriously damaged if it cannot maintain and obtain patent protection for important differentiating aspects of its products or otherwise protect its intellectual property rights in its technology. theMaven relies on a combination of contracts, patent and trade secret laws to establish and protect its proprietary rights in its technology. However, it may not be able to prevent misappropriation of its intellectual property, its competitors may be able to independently develop similar technology and the agreements it enter into to protect its proprietary rights may not be enforceable.
Research and Development
We believe that innovation is one of the keys to our competitiveness, and innovation will be necessary for future sustained growth. To the extent it is able, given the limited financial resources at our disposal, the company is investing in core technical competencies to be able to do more product development. Furthermore, we will file to protect our intellectual property in appropriate market segments.
In the period since its inception on July 22, 2016 through September 30, 2016, theMaven has spent $307,102 on research and development, and it expects that in future periods it will continue to use a substantial amount of its financial resources for research and development of its platform and products.
Employees
At the time of this report, the company had sixteen full-time employees, of which four were in senior executive positions, eight were in software development/test/operations, two were in business/network development and one was in user experience/design. None of the employees are covered by any collective bargaining agreement. In the future, theMaven expects to expand its management employees for financial compliance, and add operational employees as the channel partner network expands. Its future success will depend in part on its ability to continue to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified technical and management personnel.
Government Regulations
Our operations, once commenced in the public sphere will be subject to a number of U.S. federal and state laws and regulations that involve privacy, rights of publicity, data protection, content regulation, intellectual property, or other subjects. Many of these laws and regulations are still evolving and being tested in courts and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business. In addition, the application and interpretation of these laws and regulations often are uncertain, particularly in the new and rapidly evolving industry in which we operate.
A number of government authorities, both in the United States and abroad, and private parties are increasing their focus on privacy issues and the use of personal information. Most states have enacted some form of data privacy legislation, including data breach notification laws, and laws penalizing the misuse of personal information in violation of published privacy policies. Certain states have also enacted legislation requiring certain encryption technologies for the storage and transmission of personally identifiable information, including credit card information, and more states are considering laws for or have enacted laws about information security regulations and may require the adoption of written information security policies that are consistent with state laws if businesses have personal information of residents of their states. Data privacy and information security legislation also is being considered at the federal level, among other statutes and regulations concerning privacy of individuals and use of internet and market information. In the United States the FTC and attorneys general in several states have oversight of business operations concerning the use of personal information and breaches of the privacy laws under existing consumer protection laws. In particular, an attorney general or the FTC may examine privacy policies to ensure that a company fully complies with representations in the policies regarding the manner in which the information provided by consumers and other visitors to a website is used and disclosed by the company and the failure to do so could give rise to a complaint under state or federal unfair competition or consumer protection laws. We will have to review our privacy policies and our overall operations on a regular basis to assure compliance with applicable U.S. federal and state laws, and to the extent applicable, any foreign laws. Our business could be adversely affected if new regulations or decisions regarding the storage, transmission, use and/or disclosure of personal information are implemented in such ways that impose new or additional technology requirements on us, limit our ability to collect, transmit, store and use the information, or if government authorities or private parties challenge our privacy practices that result in restrictions on us, or we experience a significant data or information breach which would require public disclosure under existing notification laws and for which we may be liable for damages or penalties.
The United States Congress enacted the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, or CAN-SPAM, regulating “commercial electronic mail messages” (i.e., e-mail), the primary purpose of which is to promote a product or service. The FTC has promulgated various regulations applying CAN-SPAM and has enforcement authority for violations of CAN-SPAM. Any entity that sends commercial e-mail messages for itself and clients, and those who re-transmit such messages, must adhere to the CAN-SPAM requirements. Violations of its provisions may result in civil money penalties and criminal liability. Compliance with these provisions may limit our ability to send certain types of e-mails on our own behalf and on behalf of our advertising clients. While we intend to operate our businesses in a manner that complies with the CAN-SPAM provisions, we may not be successful in so operating. If it turns out we have violated the provisions of CAN-SPAM we may face enforcement actions by the FTC or FCC or face civil penalties, either of which could adversely affect our business.
In addition to the federal CAN-SPAM regulations, many states have comparable legislation. There have been a number of cases brought as class actions based on the federal and state statutes. At the state level the courts have tended to decide in favor of the plaintiffs and awarded substantial damages. An award of damages, at either the federal or state level could have a detrimental impact on our financial results.
Social networking websites are under increased scrutiny. Legislation has been introduced on the state and federal level that could regulate social networking websites. Some rules call for more stringent age-verification techniques, attempt to mandate data retention or data destruction by Internet providers, and impose civil and/or criminal penalties on owners or operators of social networking websites.
The FTC regularly considers issues relating to online behavioral advertising and has issued reports containing a new set of “guidelines” for industry self-regulation. The FTC’s reports and issue consideration may result in future regulation at the federal and state levels of the collection and use of online consumer data, which could potentially place restrictions on our ability to utilize our database and other marketing data on our own behalf and on behalf of our advertising clients, which may adversely affect our business.
Legislation concerning the above described online activities has either been enacted or is in various stages of development and implementation in other countries around the world and could affect our ability to make our websites available in those countries as future legislation is made effective. It is possible that state and foreign governments might also attempt to regulate our transmissions of content on our website or prosecute us for violations of their laws.
Governments of states or foreign countries might attempt to regulate our transmissions or levy sales or other taxes relating to our activities even though we do not have a physical presence and/or operate in those jurisdictions. As our platforms, products and advertisement activities are available over the Internet anywhere in the world, multiple jurisdictions may claim that we are required to qualify to do business as a foreign corporation in each of those jurisdictions and pay various taxes in those jurisdictions.
Property
theMaven currently subleases approximately 1,500 square feet for its executive offices and operational facilities on a month-to-month basis at 5048 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105. Management, software development and operations activities are conducted at 200 1st Ave. West, Suite 230, Seattle, WA 98119. The annual lease payments aggregate to approximately $54,000. The company believes that the rates it is paying under its property lease are competitive in the Seattle real estate market, and it would be able to find comparable lease properties in the event it changed locations.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/894871/000114420416131889/v452130_8k.htm
TallTrader
8 years ago
Shares subject to 1 year lock-up...
All of the newly issued Exchange Shares will be subject to a one-year lock-up and do not have any registration rights. The Share Exchange will made on the basis of its being a private placement under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”). After the Closing, theMaven will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Integrated and Integrated will cease to be a “shell company” (as such term is defined in Rule 12b-2 under Securities Exchange Act of 1934).
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/894871/000114420416128367/v450609_8k.htm
Section 2.9 Lock Up Agreement. The Shareholder hereby agrees not to sell, make any short sale of, loan, grant any option for the purchase of, or otherwise dispose of any of the Shares of Integrated Stock however or whenever acquired (other than those shares of Integrated Stock acquired in a public offering or on the open market) without the prior written consent of Integrated, as decided by the board of directors of Integrated, acting by majority vote, for a period of one year from the Closing (the “Restricted Period”), and to the extent requested by the underwriter of any public offering by Integrated after the Closing, each Shareholder shall, at the time of such offering, execute a separate, additional agreement reflecting these requirements binding on the Shareholder that are substantially consistent with this Section; provided, however, that if during the last seventeen (17) days of the Restricted Period Integrated issues an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to Integrated occurs, or prior to the expiration of the Restricted Period Integrated announces that it will release earnings results during the sixteen (16) day period beginning on the last day of the restricted period, then, upon the request of the managing underwriter for an offering by Integrated, if any, to the extent required by any FINRA rules, the restrictions imposed by this section shall continue to apply until the end of the third (3rd) trading day following the expiration of the fifteen (15) day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event (collectively the “Lock Up Period”). In order to enforce the restriction set forth above or any other restriction agreed by Shareholder, including without limitation any restriction requested by the underwriters of any offering by Integrated agreed by the Shareholder, Integrated may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to any security acquired under or subject to this Agreement until the end of the applicable Lock Up Period. The underwriters of Integrated shall be third-party beneficiaries of the agreement set forth in this section.
The Shareholder agrees that prior to the expiration of the Lock-Up Period it will not transfer securities of Integrated unless each transferee agrees in writing to be bound by all of the provisions of this section. If the Shareholder is permitted to make any transfer of the Shares of Integrated Stock subject to this Agreement during the Lock-Up Period, it shall be a condition to the transfer that (A) the transferee executes and delivers to Integrated not later than one business day prior to such transfer, a written agreement, in substantially the form of this provision and otherwise satisfactory in form and substance to Integrated, and (B) if the Shareholder is required to file a report under Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, reporting a reduction in beneficial ownership of common stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common stock by the Shareholder during the Lock-Up Period, the Shareholder shall include a statement in such report to the effect that such transfer or distribution is not a transfer for value and that the transfer is being made as a gift or by will or intestacy, as the case may be.
Integrated Lock Up Agreements; Registration Rights Agreement. Integrated shall have received a fully executed one-year lock-up agreement from each of Christopher A. Marlett, MDB (and any designees of MDB holding shares of common stock or the right to acquire common stock of Integrated), Gary Schuman, Robert Levande and Peter Mills with respect to their shares of common stock of Integrated which they hold or have the right to obtain through the exercise of any options or warrants, all held or to be issued as of the date of the Closing and a fully executed registration rights agreement for the same persons.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/894871/000114420416128367/v450609_ex10-1.htm
I HOLD SHARES IN ISSM PURCHASED IN THE OPEN MARKET. I MAY SELL AT ANY TIME.
TallTrader
8 years ago
New Digital Media Network, "theMaven," Announced by James Heckman and Former Scout Executive Team; Sign Acquisition Agreement to Become a Public CompanyBusiness Wire theMaven Network, Inc.
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
James Heckman, former News Corp and Yahoo! senior executive and founder and CEO of two of the most successful professional publisher networks, Rivals.com and Scout.com, in collaboration with his veteran team of executives and engineers are launching an expert-driven, group media platform, theMaven Network, Inc., which will feature premium, vertical content across multiple content segments. The product launch is planned for the first quarter of 2017.
Heckman will serve as CEO of theMaven Network and is joined by Rivals.com co-founders and the entire executive team from Scout, including the CTO, COO, senior engineering team and its former chairman, one-time Yahoo! CEO Ross Levinsohn - who is rejoining Heckman as a board member of theMaven company.
“The collective knowledge and power of this team puts it in an enviable position day one,” said Levinsohn. “TheMaven team managed to develop a business plan, design a state of the art platform from scratch, secure funding and are on-boarding high quality publishers, all within 100 days of inception – this speaks to their passion, loyalty and commitment as a team.”
TheMaven also announced today that it entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by a public trading acquisition oriented company, Integrated Surgical Systems, Inc. (ISSM), backed by MDB Capital Group. Post-acquisition, the name will change to theMaven Network, Inc. A formal 8-K was filed by ISSM with the SEC this week.
“Moving to become a public company so soon after inception is certainly bold, but it is consistent with our confidence in this team, the platform we are building, and the business plan we have fine-tuned and have dreamed about over the past two decades," Heckman said today. “And the backing of MDB Capital gives us the confidence we will have the necessary resources to execute on our aggressive strategy. We always believed the model will work in other categories and recent events gave us the motivation to pursue this long-held idea. TheMaven will be our sixth venture together for much of this team.”
The acquisition transaction in which ISS will acquire theMaven company as a subsidiary is being led by MDB Capital and its CEO, Christopher Marlett, a long-time collaborator of Heckman’s. Marlett commented by saying, “We first met James in 2004 while he ran Scout.com and believed that professional publisher networks would be a big part of the future of journalism and the best method for passionate interest groups to collaborate. We feel fortunate to be backing James, who is effectively the father of the industry in this new endeavor to bring the right platform at the right time to these enormous groups that exist but don’t have a great platform for their content.”
Notable executives rejoining the team include CTO Ben Joldersma, recent Google senior engineer and former lead architect at Rivals, Scout and 5to1; COO Bill Sornsin, former head of MSN Core Technology, and co-founder/CTO at Rivals and Scout; and a dozen of the most highly skilled digital engineers in the industry - all based in Seattle. Veterans from Yahoo!, Google, Amazon, MSFT and ThePlatform all joined theMaven, within days of their departure from Scout.
Co-founder and CTO Joldersma outlines the vision of theMaven platform: “We studied what made our previous media networks so vibrant over the years, and we believe it comes down to communities of dedicated followers with deep trust in market-area experts. So, this time we are going even deeper on tooling to help these mavens communicate with, manage, serve and grow their groups even better. The challenges and opportunities presented by mobile devices, social networks, multimedia, monetization, audience extension, search and social discovery can be prohibitive to the success of small to medium sized publishers. Thus, we are building a best-in-class service that continually improves to address new market opportunities and shore up against emerging vulnerabilities.”
Co-founder Sornsin added, “Because we take care of the technology and business platforms, theMaven is free to focus on discovering, creating insights, and interacting with their communities. People are passionate about politics, art, autos, technology and other subjects, and when these categories are led exclusively by a motivated expert or journalist, the passionate engagement will be at least as strong as for sports -- and in some cases, at larger scale. We believe this model is a great way to provide professional content that major media brands are no longer able to provide efficiently.”
Bios of key members of theMaven team:
Founder and CEO, Mr. James C. Heckman, Jr. has extensive experience in digital media, advertising, video and online communities for major public companies and several times as founder. He served as Head of Global Media Strategy for Yahoo!, and led all significant transactions and revenue strategy under Ross Levinsohn’s CEO tenure. He held the CSO role at Fox Digital/Myspace where he architected and negotiated the market-changing $900 million social media ad alliance between Google and Myspace and was instrumental in the formation of Hulu. Prior to Yahoo!, Mr. Heckman was Founder/CEO of 5to1 (sold to Yahoo!), CSO of Zazzle.com, Founder/CEO of Scout.com (sold to Fox in 2005 - then repurchased by Heckman-led group from 2013-2016), Founder/CEO of Rivals.com and Rivals.net (1997-2000 - sold to Yahoo! and 365-Sports, respectively) and President of NFL Exclusive, official publications for all NFL teams (1992-1998). He holds a BA in Communications from the University of Washington.
Co-founder and COO, Mr. William C. Sornsin, Jr. ran MSN's Core Technology team before joining Heckman in 1999 as co-founder and CTO of Rivals.com. He was then co-founder and CTO/COO for the original Scout.com; VP Engineering & Operations at Fox Interactive Media after Scout's 2005 acquisition; and rejoined Scout from 2013-2016 as CTO and later COO. Earlier, Sornsin held a variety of product and program management roles at Microsoft. He holds a BS Electrical/Computer Engineering from the University of Iowa and an MBA from UCLA.
Co-founder and CTO, Mr. Benjamin G. Joldersma’s career spans nearly two decades of large-scale platform development, most recently as CTO of Scout. Prior roles were at Google (senior software engineer Geo/Imagery), Yahoo! (Principal Software Engineer), 5to1, aQuantive, Rivals.com and Microsoft. Mr. Joldersma has developed a deep expertise in large-scale systems, rapid development and online product innovation. He studied Computer Science at University of Puget Sound.
Director, Mr. Ross B. Levinsohn is a leading industry figure who has long focused on the convergence of technology and media. He served as CEO at Yahoo in 2012 and prior to that role was Executive Vice President, Americas and Head of Global Media from 2010 to 2012. Levinsohn served as President of Fox Interactive where he helped create the largest digital businesses amongst the traditional media companies, and was instrumental in the formation of what is now Hulu. He serves on several public and private media and technology boards, including Tribune Media, mobile advertising marketplace YieldMo, Vubiquity, Zefr, and the National Association of Television Program Executives. He was Executive Chairman and Director of Scout Media, Inc. from 2014-2016. He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Guggenheim Digital Media. He co-founded 5to1 Holding Corp. in 2008 and served as its Executive Chairman since December 9, 2010. He co-founded Fuse Capital in 2005 and served as its Managing Director and Managing Partner. He served as General Manager at AltaVista Network. He served as a Vice President of Programming and an Executive Producer at CBS Sportsline. He has been a Director of FatTail, Millennial Media, Publish2, social travel site Minitime, DramaFever, Timeline Labs, Fuse+Mediam, BBE, TrueSlant, VSIDE, Doppelganger, Freedom Communications, Fabrik, Napster, Radar Networks and Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research Program. Mr. Levinsohn received a BA in Broadcast Communications from American University, and is a trustee there.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/digital-media-network-themaven-announced-112200741.html
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