Viral video marketing startup ViralGains has raised $2.3 million of a nearly $3.3 million round of funding, according to an SEC filing dated July 30. The MassChallenge 2013 and 500 Startups alum will use the newfound capital to grow the demand and supply sides of its business and move into new markets in New York City, Chicago and Southern California.
The round was led by Hub Angels, with participation from around 45 investors, including 500 Startups’ Dave McClure, Chicago-based Pallasite Ventures, Boston’s LaunchCapital and local high-profile angels Ty Danco, Joe Caruso, Jay Batson and Semyon Dukach. ViralGains Co-founder and CEO Jay Singh told BostInno that rapper Nasir “Nas” Jones also wrote the Boston startup a check.
ViralGains offers a viral marketing platform, recently named Praxis, that seeds YouTube and video content. The company counts high-profile brands like Coke, Sony, Paramount Pictures, AT&T, Exxon, Showtime and Nestlé among its clients.
“When we came along, our DNA was in this idea of viral marketing,” explained Singh. “We look at all the social behaviors and social reactions to a piece of video content, and make decisions in real-time to drive shares of the campaign.”
ViralGains saw revenue of $1.2 million in 2013, its first full year on the market. This year, Singh shared that the company should hit $3 million in revenue. Come 2015, ViralGains is aiming for $10 million.
“This round is to really scale up on the demand and supply side, and bring on more advertisers who come in and buy ads from us, and more publishers that we place them on,” said the chief executive.
The company was dubbed one of MassChallenge’s Diamond winners, and subsequently won a $100,000 check from the South Boston accelerator last October. ViralGains announced the team has since grown from three to 25, and is currently working out of Communispace’s Congress Street space. By 2014’s close, Singh expects ViralGains will employ 40.
Writer’s note: The article has been updated to note that Hub Angels led ViralGains’ round.
