Hearst, Trident Capital and TL Ventures Invest $9 Million in Spire.com, the Leading Social Resource for Affluent Consumers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Spire.com, the leading social resource for affluent people, today announced it has closed a $9 million Series A round of financing. Funds will be used as working capital to support the execution and expansion of Spire.com, the first of its kind social resource to target an affluent demographic. Lead investors include Hearst Corporation, Trident Capital, TL Ventures and several private investors.

“As the first lifestyle resource aimed toward this highly targeted affluent demographic, Spire.com is in the enviable position to capture significant market share”

The first funding initiative was the acquisition of London-based Suzanne’s Files (www.suzannesfiles.com) — the market leader and premier source of vetted content for high net worth individuals. Through the acquisition, Spire.com gained access to a targeted member base of 55,000 highly affluent individuals with an average income of $250,000 and assets in excess of $1 million. Suzanne’s Files founder, Suzanne Aaronson, has spent the last 15 years cultivating an international network of discerning people to curate content not found anywhere else on the web. Suzanne’s Files content is now branded The S-Files on Spire.com and Aaronson will remain curator of the site’s content.

Spire.com co-founders Janet Kraus, formerly of Boston-based Circles and Aaronson acknowledge they are at the forefront of an emerging trend to target high net worth individuals on the internet. Spire.com is an innovative site that blends vetted lifestyle content with members’ perspectives to provide in-the-know insight™ that is impossible to source elsewhere.

“As the first lifestyle resource aimed toward this highly targeted affluent demographic, Spire.com is in the enviable position to capture significant market share,” said Spire.com CEO, Janet Kraus. “Suzanne’s cultivated expertise gives us a unique advantage in the market and with our financial resources now in place, we are poised to grow a dynamic social resource where these savvy people can connect, share and source anything and everything that’s important to their worlds.”

“Affluent consumers are demanding topical information they can use in their everyday life and Spire.com is uniquely positioned to provide it in a way this niche consumer understands and values,” said Kenneth Bronfin, President of Hearst Interactive Media. “Hearst has always served this group in traditional mediums and sees Spire.com as a natural evolution of the marketplace.”

“At Trident Capital, we always seek to invest in partners with talented management teams looking to build world-class businesses”, states Peter Meekin, Managing Director, Trident Capital. “Having worked with Janet Kraus when she was at Circles, we knew the Spire team had a proven track record of building a successful business targeted toward the affluent consumer.”

For more information, go to www.Spire.com or email inquiries@spire.com.

About Hearst Interactive Media

Hearst Interactive Media (www.hearst.com/interactive_media/), a unit of Hearst Corporation, manages a portfolio of strategic investments in development-stage companies focused primarily on emerging media and interactive technologies. Investments have included iVillage, Netscape, XM Satellite Radio, Broadcast.com, Exodus, Sling Media and Brightcove. Since 1995, Hearst Interactive Media has invested in over 45 companies. Throughout the Corporation, Hearst Interactive Media provides strategic guidance and advocacy for a wide range of technology-driven operational and development activities.

About Trident Capital

Trident Capital is a leading growth-oriented private equity firm committed to empowering entrepreneurs to build innovative and industry leading businesses. Founded in 1993, the firm manages over $1.6 billion of capital in a focused effort to develop world class information services and software business. Our team has invested in more than 100 companies since inception, including market leaders such as Resolution Health, CSG Systems, Viant, Mapquest and iRobot.

Trident invests in companies independent of size or stage of growth. We leverage our experiences, industry expertise and contacts to guide talented entrepreneurs to market success.

About TL Ventures

TL Ventures is an established venture capital firm with over $1.4 billion under management. Focused on investing in category-defining, early-stage companies in information technology, communications and biotechnology, the Firm provides portfolio companies with operational, entrepreneurial and financial expertise and a global network of resources and contacts. TL Ventures has offices in Philadelphia, Austin, Dallas, and Los Angeles.

About Spire.com

Spire.com is the leading social resource for affluent people. Spire.com’s members have an average income of greater than $250,000 and assets in excess of $1 million. Spire.com blends vetted lifestyle content with members’ perspectives to provide in-the-know insight™ that is impossible to source elsewhere. Spire.com is the only place in the world where in-the-know insight for affluent people is one click away. Spire.com was co-founded by serial entrepreneurs Janet Kraus, co-founder of Circles and Suzanne Aaronson, founder of Suzanne’s Files. Spire.com is privately-held and based in Boston, MA. For more information, go to www.Spire.com.