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Maveron backs Hollywood niche publication TheWrap.com
Maveron has one of the more eclectic portfolios of any venture capital firm we know. Over the years, it has backed an online university (Capella); a luxury airline (EOS), a pet insurance startup (Trupanion) and a retailer of frozen yogurt (Pinkberry).
Now, the venture firm founded by Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz and former investment banker Dan Levitan is bankrolling TheWrap.com, a new online niche publication covering the ins and outs of the entertainment business.
"We believe that TheWrap.Com is an exciting new business model for information in the age of the Web. There is a real need for superior journalism about the entertainment world that breaks news at the speed of the Internet, and also offers interaction between industry leaders and others," said Levitan in a statement today.
TheWrap.com was founded by Sharon Waxman, who previously served as Hollywood correspondent for The New York Times. It also will feature contributors who previously worked at media outlets such as Defamer, variety and The Los Angeles Times.
The media landscape is fracturing, creating opportunities for a number of new players to emerge. TheWrap joins other new media outfits -- including Politico, Huffington Post, GigaOm and others -- that are attempting to take advantage of the shift.
The amount of funding provided by Maveron was not disclosed. The company, which offers a daily email newsletter, has already signed up British Airways and the Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills as anchor sponsors.
About John Cook
John Cook is co-founder and executive editor of TechFlash. He has been covering the technology beat for nearly a decade, writing about startups, entrepreneurs and venture capital, most recently serving as a reporter/blogger at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
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