Last week, former Silicon Alley and Inside.com writer Rafat Ali’s “blompire,” ContentNext Media - which operates paidContent.org and MocoNews.com - turned 4 years old.
This week, the company, which has been profitable since Day 1, secured financing from venture capitalist Alan Patricof. I must admit, and I apologize for this, but this is the first time I heard of Mr. Patricof even though he has funded the likes of Apple computer, AOL and New York magazine. Rightfully, Mr. Patricof viewed paidContent as a must-read for industry insiders.
Truth is that Mr. Ali deserves a lot of credit for bootstrapping the operations of PaidContent.org. What started off as a away to boost his profile amongst writers became a full-time gig and company. He projects revenues in the low single digit millions and I believe that right now many companies in old and new media would pay quite a multiple to get their hands on Mr. Ali - and his team - and his properties. And… the more power to him. What he did, when he did it and how he did it was one of the reasons why I decided to venture myself into starting a company.
I also fully get what Mr. Patricof must have seen in Ali, who blends a mix of confidence and brashness that is de rigueur in successful entrepreneurs.
We’ll see what the future of his company holds, but suffice to say that between an investor with Mr. Patricof’s track record and an entrepeneur like Mr. Ali, things can only get better.
Cheers!
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