Prizeo

Prizeo

Industry	Celebrity charitable crowd funding
Founded	June 2013
Founders	Bryan Baum, Leo Seigal, Andrej Pancik[1]
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, United States
Owner	Todd Wagner[2]
Website	prizeo.com

Prizeo is a privately owned internet company based in Los Angeles, California. It is an online fundraising platform that enables clients to mobilize their fan bases to raise funds and awareness for their chosen causes. Prizeo takes a 20% commission on the funds it raises.^[3]

In June 2015, it was announced that Prizeo had been acquired by tech mogul Todd Wagner. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.^[2]

History

As undergraduates at Oxford University, co-founders Bryan Baum and Leo Seigal worked with the Aloysius Society, a philanthropic group that organized high-priced charity events. The society raised $1 million running auctions, but Baum and Seigal were frustrated at the cost of their fundraising strategy and the lack of scale. In 2012 the duo teamed up with co-founder Andrej Pancik and Lukas Bosko to create Prizeo, a fundraising website with a raffle-type model.^[4]

In January 2013, Prizeo participated in the technology start-up incubator Y Combinator’s Winter 2013 program.^[5]

In June 2013, Prizeo announced a $2.5 million seed funding round led by Battery Ventures. Other investors in the round included William Morris Endeavor, Edgar Bronfman, Jr., and ZhenFund (Sequoia Capital’s seed fund in China).^[3]

In August 2014, the co-founders launched an offshoot platform, the crowd-funded merchandise platform Represent.com,^[6] which they went on to sell to CustomInk for a reported $100M.^[7]

Campaigns

Since launching, the platform has held nearly 200 crowdfunding campaigns featuring celebrity experiences and raising over $10M for over 100 different charities.^[2]

Some of the influencers who have run fundraising campaigns on Prizeo include:

• Steven Tyler^[8]
• Bill Murray^[9]
• Justin Bieber^[2]
• Michael Phelps^[2]
• Miley Cyrus^[10]
• George R.R. Martin^[11]
• Will Ferrell^[12]
• Mariah Carey^[13]
• Tyler Oakley^[14]
• Avril Lavigne^[15]
• One Direction^[4]
• Samuel L. Jackson^[16]
• Alicia Keys^[17]
• Kobe Bryant^[18]
• Paul McCartney^[19]
• Mark Cuban^[20]
• U2^[21]
• Ed Sheeran^[22]
• Ansel Elgort^[23]
• Kiefer Sutherland^[24]
• Pamela Anderson^[25]
• Vanessa Hudgens & Ashley Tisdale^[26]
• Nick Jonas^[27]
• Enrique Iglesias^[28]
• Zac Efron^[29]
• Tiesto^[30]
• Roger Daltrey^[31]
• Mark Ruffalo^[32]
• Paris Hilton^[14]
• Jamie Oliver^[33]
• Lady Gaga^[34]
• Darren Criss^[35]
• Snoop Dogg^[36]
• Eva Longoria^[37]
• Sophia Bush^[38]
• Muhammad Ali^[39]
• Khloe Kardashian^[40]
• Big Sean^[41]
• Kristen Bell^[42]
• Stephen Fry^[43]
• The Vamps^[30]
• Connor Franta^[44]
• Rainn Wilson^[45]
• Valentino Rossi^[46]
• Nathan Fillion^[47]

Press

Prizeo has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal,^[3] The New York Times,^[10] Forbes, TechCrunch, Mashable, and The Hollywood Reporter, among others.

During his tenure as CEO, Prizeo co-founder Bryan Baum was named to Forbes' "30 Under 30" 2014 list in the category "Social Entrepreneurs".^[48] In the same year, co-founder Andrej Pancik was featured on the front cover of Forbes Slovakia.^[49]

Co-founder Leo Seigal has been featured in The Guardian^[50] and The Telegraph^[51] in their respective articles on British entrepreneurs who have relocated to the US West Coast.

References

1. "Todd Wagner Acquires Controlling Stake in Auction Platform Charitybuzz - Hollywood Reporter". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
2. Sandberg, Bryn Elise (June 23, 2015). "Todd Wagner Acquires Celebrity-Based Charity Prizeo (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
3. "Prizeo.com".
4. Colao, J.J. (September 12, 2013). "One Direction Raises $780,000 For Charity Via Y Combinator Startup". Forbes.
5. Ha, Anthony (March 24, 2013). "Y Combinator-Backed Prizeo Helps Celebrities Tap Their Fans For Charity Fundraising". TechCrunch.
6. "Why 'Arrow' Star Stephen Amell Is Saying "F--- Cancer" for Charity - Hollywood Reporter". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
7. http://techcrunch.com/2016/02/04/customink-acquires-represent-a-custom-merchandise-marketplace-for-influencers/
8. "Steven Tyler Launches Philanthropic Initiative: Janie's Fund". prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2016-02-09.
9. "Want to play golf with Bill Murray? Here's your chance". golfdigest.com. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
10. "The New York Times". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
11. "George R.R. Martin Declines Killing Off 13-Year-Old Wolf Charity Donor | Rolling Stone". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
12. "Q&A: Will Ferrell and Chad Smith Challenge Metallica’s Lars Ulrich to Drum-Off | SPIN". spin.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
13. "Mariah Carey Raises Funds for St. Jude Children's Hospital on Prizeo, Offers Private Concert - Crowdfund Insider". crowdfundinsider.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
14. "How to Raise $750,000 for Charity, the YouTuber Way | GOOD". magazine.good.is. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
15. "Avril Lavigne shares pictures of her and Chad Kroeger writing together after split | Daily Mail Online". dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
16. "Samuel L. Jackson Just Trolled the Internet". mashable.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
17. "You Can Fight AIDS With Alicia Keys | Kristi York Wooten". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
18. "A Lakers fan's charity results in a meet and greet with Kobe Bryant - LA Times". latimes.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
19. "Paul McCartney Raffles Chance To Meet Him At Candlestick Park - Look to the Stars". looktothestars.org. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
20. "Mark Cuban has a 'Shark Tank' spoof - Business Insider". businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
21. "Stars come together for new Band Aid single against Ebola - Yahoo News". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
22. "Forbes Welcome". forbes.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
23. "Twitter | Ansel Elgort Raffles Off Dates For Charity | Contactmusic.com". contactmusic.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
24. "Regulation Helps Legitimize Crowdfunding, Celebrities Burnish Its Image | Institutional Investor". institutionalinvestor.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
25. "Playboy | Pamela Anderson Offering Up Playboy Mansion Date | Contactmusic.com". contactmusic.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
26. "Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale get cosy with High School Musical director Kenny Ortega | Daily Mail Online". dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
27. Windy City Times. "Culture Club comeback; Ariana Grande's change; Mark Wahlberg - 5344 - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News Archive - Windy City Times". windycitymediagroup.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
28. "Ten charities and CSR programmes who are making the most out of online fundraising - UK Fundraising". fundraising.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
29. "Zac Efron Offers Fans a Chance to Win His First Car While Supporting Make-A-Wish Foundation! | E! Online UK". eonline.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
30. "Prizeo Launch Charity Campaigns Featuring Tiesto And The Vamps - Look to the Stars". looktothestars.org. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
31. http://kmasnewsradio.com/entertainment/111-news/music-news/16615-win-a-chance-to-meet-roger-daltrey-and-attend-his-philadelphia-charity-concert
32. "'Avengers 2' Set Visit Contest Passes $100,000 - Hollywood Reporter". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
33. "Prizeo charity raffles could make your celebrity dreams come true | VentureBeat | Entrepreneur | by Rebecca Grant". venturebeat.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
34. "Lady Gaga Offers Dinner with Her Family, Clothes Off Her Back for Charity". yahoo.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
35. "Darren Criss Birthday: Fans Raise $84K for Charity | Wetpaint, Inc. | Wetpaint, Inc.". wetpaint.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
36. "Gossip | You. Hey, you there - YOU could be Snoop Lion Dogg's intern - fo' realz. - entertainment.ie". entertainment.ie. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
37. "Eva Longoria named Maxim's 'Woman of the Year' : Entertainment : Latino Post". latinopost.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
38. "Forbes Welcome". forbes.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
39. "Muhammad Ali adds social media to fund-raising moves - CNN.com". cnn.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
40. "Khloe Kardashian launches bid to save tigers - Daily Dish". blog.sfgate.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
41. "Big Sean Brings Afterschool Music Education To Detroit’s Students - XXL". xxlmag.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
42. "Kristen Bell wants our money again (for charity)". usatoday.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
43. "Prizeo fundraising platform combines celebrities, prizes and microdonations - UK Fundraising". fundraising.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
44. "Connor Franta Launches Second Birthday Fundraising Campaign For The Thirst Project". http://www.tubefilter.com/. Retrieved 2015-09-14. External link in |publisher= (help)
45. "Win a Day with Rainn Wilson and his Zonkey!". http://blog.prizeo.com//. Retrieved 2016-02-08. External link in |publisher= (help)
46. "Win a VIP trip to the Valencia GP and meet Rossi". motogp.com. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
47. "Nathan Fillion's Varscona Theatre fundraiser tops $90K". cbc.ca. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
48. "Bryan Baum | British Council". britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
49. "Prizeo's co-founder on the Cover of Forbes... - Prizeo". blog.prizeo.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
50. "Young Brits in Silicon Valley: how to make it big | Technology | The Guardian". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
51. "The British invasion of Silicon Valley - Telegraph". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-10-07.