New 'Innovation Factory' Elevator Labs Launches

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Aug 11, 2011) - Elevator Labs, a new invention company, today announced that it has secured $20 million in initial funding from KGC Capital. Former Virgin Digital executives Zack Zalon and Brendon Cassidy co-founded Elevator Labs to bring ideas to life by identifying emerging market opportunities and transforming them into impactful new businesses.

Zalon and Cassidy have been collaborating for more than a decade, having built and operated numerous digital initiatives at Virgin and creating together a number of innovative standalone businesses since. Several of these ventures will now become part of the initial Elevator Labs portfolio.

The Elevator Labs portfolio currently includes:

• Hello Music, the leading online marketplace dedicated to helping all musicians gain access to the same opportunities usually reserved for top-tier signed artists. Hello Music's membership community enjoys exclusive access to instruments and music gear, pre-booked blocks of recording studio time, unique content distribution opportunities and other exclusive music industry offerings.
• Wilshire Media Group, the interactive product agency that helps brands create a dramatic impact online. Since 2006, Wilshire has empowered its clients to add over $500 million of measured incremental revenue by designing and developing new interactive products and services that meaningfully connect with consumers.
• Fat Cloud, a next-generation technology platform that supercharges Microsoft .NET. For the first time, developers and administrators have access to powerful tools that simplify the creation and management of high-scale, high-performance .NET applications and the infrastructure that supports them.

Additional Elevator Labs ventures are currently in development and will be announced in the coming months. A key focus of the Elevator Labs mission is to continue to found, foster and grow new ideas and companies in the Los Angeles region while also building a community of innovation with existing Los Angeles technology, media and government organizations.

"We believe strongly in the power of ideas. The core belief of Elevator Labs is that the right idea executed at the right time -- and in the right way -- is the only proven key to building value," said Zack Zalon, Elevator Labs Managing Partner and co-founder. "Our mission is to apply our vision to value methodology, working intimately with our portfolio companies to create meaningful businesses that stand for innovation, that drive revenue, and most importantly, that have a positive impact on people's lives."

Elevator Labs represents a different approach to building and growing companies, one that is squarely focused on bringing to market new ideas and inventions that are ideated, financed and engineered by the Elevator Labs team. Under the Elevator model, the initial idea for every company is developed in-house, and Elevator Labs uses an execution model that has been defined by the organization's team over the course of more than a decade working with some of the world's most innovative brands.

The Elevator Labs Founding Team

Zack Zalon
Zack Zalon is co-founder and Managing Partner of Elevator Labs. He is co-founder and Chairman of Wilshire Media Group, the interactive product agency, working with some of today's most recognized brands to develop consumer-focused interactive products. Prior to Wilshire, Zalon held roles as the President of Virgin Digital and President of The Factory Network, and has focused the last 16 years exclusively on interactive media, assisting countless Fortune 500 companies to build profitable digital businesses.

Brendon Cassidy
Brendon Cassidy is co-founder and Managing Partner of Elevator Labs, responsible for guiding the efficiency and methodology practices that accelerate the success of Elevator's portfolio companies. Earlier in his career, Cassidy was Chief Technology Officer for Virgin Digital, co-creating the Radio Free Virgin service. He is additionally the co-founder of Wilshire Media Group and Hello Music, and has worked at the intersection of technology and media for more than 20 years.

About Elevator Labs
Elevator Labs brings ideas from vision to value. Beginning with new business concepts, the Elevator Labs team funds and builds those concepts into fully functioning, revenue generating businesses. Founded in 2011, the Elevator Labs team is a diverse group of executives from the media and technology industries. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Elevator Labs is a privately held company and is backed by KGC Capital. For the full Elevator Labs experience, please visit www.elevatorlabs.com.