LOS ANGELES, June 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Happs, the community-driven live video platform for independent creators, has raised a $4.7 million post-seed funding round led by Bullpen Capital. The round included participation from Crosslink, Goodwater and Corazon, who led Happs’s seed round, and brings total funding to date to $6.2 million. Rob Hayes of First Round Capital and former Instagram head of growth Bangaly Kaba also participated in the round.
Founded by Mark Goldman, David Neuman and Drew Shepard, former media and tech executives from CNN, Walt Disney, 20th Century FOX and Reserve, Happs is the first livestreaming platform that allows creators to collaborate on broadcasts across platforms - for example enabling a YouTube creator and Twitch streamer to team up - and share their content simultaneously with their audiences on multiple channels. While broadcasting on Happs, creators are able to produce and share the same live content for Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch and other social media channels, rather than produce individual pieces for each network, in order to maximize their audience-reach and give critical time back to busy creators.
“Happs seamlessly allows creators to broadcast their best content and meet their fans how they want to be met,” said Happs CEO and co-founder Mark Goldman. “We’ve built a powerful livestreaming platform that facilitates connections and makes collaboration effortless while helping creators find their voice and achieve creative and financial independence.”
“Our emphasis on the creator sets Happs apart,” added co-founder Drew Shepard. “We focus on developing connections between creators and the communities that support them. We foster collective success instead of using algorithms to increase competition among makers for a dwindling share of viewer attention.”
Happs is building an ecosystem for video creators that puts emphasis on its creators. In addition to the technology that enables creators to broadcast to multiple channels simultaneously, Happs has built a platform that allows creators to network, collaborate and produce with each other and provides them with simple options, such as direct payment or monthly sponsorships, that enable creators to monetize their fanbases.
“By providing broadcasters with free tools that make it easy to create and share content on multiple platforms, Happs allows us to really shine,” said Lisa Sansouci, a Happs creator who works as a singer, traveler and livestreamer. “It’s great to finally see a live video platform that lets people monetize without having to reach a follower or engagement count first. With monthly subscriptions and broadcast awards, they’ve given creators a way to share their talent and have the immediate and direct support of their community."
The creator economy took off in 2020 as many workers transitioned out of traditional jobs. Happs’s creator community features an army of livestreamers, including musicians, journalists, crafters and creatives of all types, who all produce live video content for multiple audiences. Happs has already enabled their creators to reach more than 25 million viewers.
“Collaboration is a key component of making great content that fans love, and it keeps creators streaming,” said Bullpen Capital partner Ann Lai who joined Happs’ board of directors in conjunction with leading the financing. “When digging into Happs’ metrics, we were impressed by their best-in-class creator retention, especially in minutes streamed per active streamer. Creators triple their streaming hours thanks to Happs’ tools that facilitate the production and the cross-platform streaming of great content within a community of creators. With Happs everything is easier. You can stream where you want with the people you want.”
About Happs
Happs is building the homebase for creators where they come together to collaborate, grow their audience and make money. This approach has driven rapid growth fueled by free professional grade streaming tools, a direct to creator payment system and a large and incredibly engaged community of creators and viewers. The Happs platform is alone in allowing creators to share live video across multiple social channels, engage with their community directly and monetize their content all in one place. Learn more about Happs at www.happs.tv.
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