Silicon Beach tech start-up updates: Capsule, PromoJam, ParkMe
Lots of news coming out of the Los Angeles tech scene this week. Here’s a roundup:
Last year we told you about Capsule, an event-based sharing platform that includes invites, RSVPs, group texting, instant photo-sharing in real time and archiving.
Since then, the Manhattan Beach company has narrowed its focus to the wedding market and this week announced a partnership with popular wedding website TheKnot.com. The Knot has integrated with Capsule’s group photo-sharing technology, so pictures of the big day and pre-wedding festivities can be routed to a central album and viewed from a couple’s personal wedding website.
By combining photos taken by multiple guests into one location, the bride and groom (and their friends and family) don’t have to check out a bunch of Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Twitter and Path accounts to see images from the wedding.
Typically, “it can be nearly impossible to keep track of, let alone see, all the photos wedding guests take,” said Cyrus Farudi, Capsule’s chief executive.
Farudi declined to disclose financial details of the deal. But using the photo-sharing technology via The Knot isn’t free: Users can choose from three packages -- for $99, $149 or $299 -- that vary based on number of guests.
Venice-based PromoJam -- a social marketing tool used by brands including Virgin America, Red Bull and North Face -- has upgraded its platform.
The latest generation, called PromoJam 2.0, simplifies the process of creating marketing campaigns with features such as a flexible project management tool set, Dropbox integration and a real-time analytics suite. The platform’s dashboard displays information about campaign traffic, social engagement and conversion rates.
PromoJam users can see exactly what their promotion will look like when they build it and can quickly upload and edit images. Promotions can be run across multiple sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
Users will also have access to geo-data analytics via a partnership with geographic information system software provider Esri. The partnership enables marketers to create detailed demographic and geographic reports on campaign participants.
And finally, parking app ParkMe, formerly Parking in Motion, announced a new investment by Los Angeles private equity firm Angeleno Group and existing investors Fontinalis Partners and IDG Ventures.
ParkMe provides a comprehensive database for on-street and off-street parking locations and availability. The start-up said it would use the new funds to expand its footprint, which currently covers 500 cities in the U.S. and Europe.
“For years, drivers have lacked a technology solution to make finding and paying for parking a more seamless endeavor,” said Sam Friedman, CEO and co-founder of ParkMe. “ParkMe is empowering drivers with connectivity and real-time parking information that they’ve been without for far too long.”
The Santa Monica company didn’t disclose terms of the investment.
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