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Social Networking - Monday, March 20, 2006

The Anti-MySpace: Industrious Kid

Emeryville, CA-based startup Industrious Kid has raised $6M in Series A. The company plans to launch a series of products aimed at adolescents who use the Internet. Its first product, to be launched, is a safe social networking environment for kids called Imbee.com.

The company's founder and CEO is Jeanette Symons who clearly doesn't need any more money. She is a triple threat: geek, entrepreneur and mom. She co-founded and was CTO of Zhone Technologies, and she was co-founder and CTO of Ascend Communications which was purchased by Lucent.

To get Industrious Kid started, the company takes a swipe at MySpace and other youth-focused social networking sites that even by the most liberal standards are getting out of control.

"There is a growing concern among parents and educators about the involvement of kids on MySpace.com and other social networking sites. These destinations expose children to either adult-oriented content or to people who do not have a child's best interests at heart."