14 Hot Startups Funded by High-Profile Entrepreneurs
Find out which startups are attracting the attention -- and the dollars -- of some of the most high-profile entrepreneurs.
By Kara Ohngren Prior •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
A creative mind never stops working. It's always searching for new ideas, new methods, and most importantly new inspiration.
Here are nine entrepreneurs who have found wealth and success with their own creative ideas and have used the money earned from their ventures to reinvest in new startups that they find inspiring. After all, what good is making a little bit of cash if you can’t use it to make even more?
My HDTV ChoiceKevin Rose, investments: Foursquare and Fab
Rose is the founder of Digg, a user-submitted news site where readers "Digg" the stories they like most, promoting them to the site’s coveted front page.
Investments:
Foursquare: Part of a $1.35 million, nine-participant angel investment in 2009 for the location sharing app.
Fab.com: Part of a $7.7 million, 18-participant series A funding round in 2011 for the design-centric online marketplace.
China.orgPeter Thiel, investments: Facebook and Zynga
Thiel is the co-founder of Paypal, an online money sending site.
Investments
Facebook: Part of an early $500,000, two-participant angel investment in 2004. Thiel’s stake in the social media giant is now estimated at $2.13 billion.
Zynga: Part of a $10 million, 10-particpant series A round of funding in 2008 for the creators of numerous hit Facebook games including Farmville.
Related: PayPal Here Joins Mobile-Pay Apps Already There
Greylock VCReid Hoffman, investment: Shopkick
Hoffman is the co-founder of LinkedIn, an online professional networking site.
Investments
Shopkick: Part of a $2.5 million, four-participant series A funding round in 2009, for the shopping deal app.
Related: Innovator: Shopkick's Cyriac Roeding Reinvents Retail
TechLife OhioKevin Hartz, investments: Pinterest and Milo
Hartz is the co-founder of Eventbrite, an event promotion and ticket-sales website.
Investments
Pinterest: Part of a $500,000, 10-participant angel investment in 2010 and a $10 million, seven-participant series A funding round in 2011 for the virtual pin board site.
Milo: Part of a $950,000, seven-participant seed investment in 2008 and a $4 million, 17-participant series A round of funding in 2009, for the product comparison site.
MashableEduardo Saverin, investment: ShopSavvy
Saverin is the former CFOand co-founder of Facebook , he has also invested in other early-stage tech startups Qwiki (an interactive video site) and Jumio (a mobile payments and identity verification company).
Investments
ShopSavvy: $7 million in venture round funding in 2011, for the comparison and mobile shopping app.
Related: Inside the Competitive Mind of Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg (Infographic)
Haute LivingChris Sacca, investments: Twitter, Kickstarter, and Instagram
Sacca is the founder of Lowercase Capital, a company that manages more than 50 early-stage tech startups.
Investments
Twitter: Part of a $5 million, nine-participant series A funding round in 2007, for the popular social media site.
Kickstarter: Part of a $10 million, 18-participant venture round of funding in 2011, for the online fundrasing site.
Instagram: Part of a $7 million, five-participant series A funding round in 2011, for the social photo-sharing app.
Grazia.itCaterina Fake, investment: Esty
Fake is the co-founder of Flickr, a photo-sharing site.
Investments
Etsy: Part of a $1 million, five-participant series A round of funding in 2006 for the online handmade marketplace.
Related: Caterina Fake on Stepping into the Unknown
Stat SpottingChris Dixon, investment: Voxer
Dixon is the co-founder of Hunch, a recomendation-sharing app.
Investments
Voxer: Part of a $30 million, six-participant venture funding round in April 2012 for the walkie-talkie smartphone app.
Cubicle Escape ArtistTimothy Ferriss, investments: Twitter and Posterous
Ferriss is the author of The 4-Hour Workweek (Crown Archetype, 2007) and has created a huge following and is a sought-after public speaker.
Investments
Twitter: Part of a $15 million, six-participant series B funding round in May 2008 for the micro-blogging site.
Posterous: Part of a $725,000, 11-participant angel investment in December 2008. Posterous has simplified blogging and now has more than 15 million monthly users.
