SYRACUSE — BrandYourself.com, a startup based in downtown Syracuse’s Tech Garden, announced $1.2 million in new financing today and the public launch of its product.
The company, founded in 2009, offers a Web-based platform that allows users to manage their own search results. Investors in the new financing round include Zelkova Ventures of New York City, which has invested in startups include Klout and Foodspotting, Barney Pell, former head search strategist at Microsoft, and Carl Shramm, former CEO of the Kauffman Foundation.
“Online reputation is becoming a mainstream concern, but reputation companies that cost thousands of dollars just don’t appeal to mainstream consumers,” BrandYourself CEO Patrick Ambron said in a news release. “Once we launched the product, it was clear to everyone we were in a position to completely change the industry. We wanted a group of investors with the experience and resources to help us do that.”
The basic BrandYourself product is free, with premium features available for an additional fee.
The company incubated in the Tech Garden as part of the Student Sandbox program in 2009 and is now a regular tenant. The firm won the $200,000 grand prize in the 2011 Creative Core Emerging Business Competition.
For more on BrandYourself, see the March 16 issue The Central New York Business Journal.
Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com