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Social Networking - Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Hearst Invests in First 30 Days

First 30 Days reminds us a bit of a prior post on ThePoint.com. Both are second generation social networks that don't focus on a demographic or a form of entertainment like music or movies, but rather both sites are about movements. ThePoint is about collective movements while First 30 Days is about personal movements. First 30 Days wants to help you to have better sex, live a greener lifestyle or become a millionaire. The site taps celebs like Apple's Steve Wozniak to guide you toward the Mac lifestyle.

Manhattan's First Thirty Days has raised $5M in Series A funding led by Hearst Interactive Media with New York City Investment Fund, ex Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons and other individual angels.

First 30 Days is built around the Cult of Personality of its Founder and CEO Ariane de Bonvoisin who learned the racket with self-help guru Anthony Robins but also picked up the Stanford MBA, various top media jobs, and can boast of glamorous challenges like climbing Kilimanjaro.

Will the business succeed? The business seems that it will rise or fall on whether the public likes and buys into Ariane. There are plenty of other sites to get this stuff but if Ariane can continue to get on TV, get people to read her books, and build that cult of personality then that is a business. If the public shrugs this will be tough.

Today Show Eats This Stuff Up

View - First30days.com