Zooey Deschanel founded HelloGiggles in 2011. The site has grown in popularity and currently has a reported 16 million monthly users.
HelloGiggles announced on Monday that it has been purchased by Time Inc., where it will join brands like People and Entertainment Weekly.
HelloGiggles is now part of the @TimeInc, @people and @EW family! We could not be more excited: http://t.co/NLbe78VPjc
— HelloGiggles.com (@hellogiggles) October 19, 2015
So proud of our wonderful @hellogiggles family- this is truly amazing. Cc: @sofifii @molls https://t.co/YlNMDH86Mq
— zooey deschanel (@ZooeyDeschanel) October 19, 2015
Business Insider reports, citing a source with knowledge of the deal, that the price was about $30 million.
Business Insider’s Alyson Shontell comments, “Not bad considering the startup only raised a small seed round in 2014, and investors are getting about a 5X return. Those investors include Michael Pierce, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and Third Wave Digital.”
“With its passionate, highly-engaged audience and quality editorial voice, HelloGiggles is a great fit for our entertainment portfolio, which includes People and Entertainment Weekly,” said Time Inc. Chairman and CEO Joe Ripp. “We see the opportunity for HelloGiggles to continue to evolve and grow as a multimedia content business. The site provides strategic benefits including a contributor network that unlocks access to a new pool of editorial and creative talent, an expansive audience of highly-engaged consumers and experience in branded and native content solutions.”
“Joining Time Inc. is an amazing opportunity to grow our brand and expand our message,” commented Rossi. “Becoming a part of the iconic People and Entertainment Weekly family is an extremely exciting step for us. Together we will strengthen our connection to an engaged community of women and be well-positioned to build a truly 360 lifestyle content brand for the millennial generation.”
Deschanel said, “With Time Inc. as our partner, we’ll be able to expand the HelloGiggles mission and inspire and support even more young women with a safe and positive media platform.”
HelloGiggles refers to itself as “a platform for writers and artists to create and share.”