BEMYFRIENDS' RECENT EXPANSION INTO THE U.S. MARKET & NEW INVESTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
South Korean startup, bemyfriends, recently shared about their growth just as they’ve launched new services for their bespoke platform, b.stage. From expanding the company’s business by entering the U.S. market to gaining new investments, there is no sign of bemyfriends stopping any time soon, as they continue to grow domestically and internationally. Let’s take a deep dive into bemyfriends’ expansion and new investments!
BEMYFRIENDS GROWTH & INVESTMENTS
Video Courtesy: bemyfriends.
The South Korea-based global fandom business startup, bemyfriends, recently announced that it raised a new investment from the United States venture capital firm, Cleveland Avenue, LLC.
Founded in January 2021, by fandom business experts, bemyfriends’ partnership with Cleveland Avenue is expected to catalyze the global fandom business startup by furthering their expansion into the United States market. Following their first closing of the Series A round last year, which included industry-leading Korean companies like CJ Group, GS Corp, and Dreamus Company, the company has received this investment as an extension of its fully subscribed Series A round. The funding from Cleveland Avenue brings the total amount of capital raised by the company to approximately $29 million, (37.9 billion KRW) in two years and one month, since its founding.
Founded by Don Thompson, the former President & CEO of McDonald’s Corporation, Cleveland Avenue is a Chicago-based venture capital firm that invests in lifestyle consumer brands and technology companies that positively disrupt large and growing markets. Cleveland Avenue’s investment in bemyfriends is underpinned by the value creation of the company's fandom business expertise including a B2B platform building solution, the outsized opportunity of optimal fan engagement across the entertainment, sports and lifestyle industries, and the unique expertise of bemyfriends' founders and leadership team.
THE FUTURE OF BEMYFRIENDS
Video Courtesy: bemyfriends.
The expertise and know-how of the leadership team at bemyfriends, including Co-CEOs Steve Seo and Brice Lee, draws from years of experience in the fandom business market. Seo led the global launch of Weverse, a fandom platform used by numerous worldwide K-Pop stars, while Lee has extensive experience in building platform business infrastructure from his time at SK Telecom and Dreamus Company. Although, the fandom business has been common in fields such as K-Pop, bemyfriends has emphasized the universality of fan experiences, while working to expand the fandom business beyond entertainment, and into other countries and industries.
In 2022, bemyfriends developed b.stage, a bespoke platform builder and all-in-one SaaS solution, to provide features to help corporate, personal brands, creators, and artists run their fandom businesses and increase fan engagement. b.stage enables users to monetize their work, and maintain full ownership of all data generated on the platform as well. K-Pop artists, brands, esports teams, sports clubs, broadcast media, and content producers use b.stage as a solution for content, community, global e-Commerce, live-streaming, and more. As its global usage grows, bemyfriends expects that b.stage can become a core engine of the global fandom business in various industries.
WORDS ON THIS PARTNERSHIP
"bemyfriends demonstrates significant potential for global growth and scalability. We look forward to creating synergies between bemyfriends' vision for the global market and Cleveland Avenue's network, including portfolio businesses with fandom at their core." - Don Thompson, Founder of Cleveland Avenue.
“The fandom business is gaining traction not only in entertainment, but also in a wide range of other industries like retail, gaming, and technology. We are thrilled to partner with bemyfriends, a trend-setting company in the global fandom business industry, with a novel approach to a solution informed by the team’s extensive and comprehensive experience and know-how. Through an active partnership that goes beyond investment, we look forward to working with bemyfriends to promote successful fandom businesses around the world." - Mingu Lee, Managing Partner at Cleveland Avenue.
“This investment shows that our fandom business and potential is being recognized as a next-generation business model globally. bemyfriends is an ambitious startup made up of members skilled in creating added value through business expansion, IT technology, fandom business strategy, and consulting. With this investment, we will secure clients from various industries in the United States, and solidify our position as the best global fandom business company." - Steve Seo, Co-CEO of bemyfriends.
As of January 2023, bemyfriends has signed a strategic partnership with a major US talent agency, UTA, (United Talent Agency) and has been actively communicating with industry leaders around the world through global events such as the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. More recently, on February 15, 2023, bemyfriends updated b.stage with a global live-streaming feature to expand the platforms functionality.
CREDITS
We want to give a big thank you to our partners at bemyfriends for allowing EVERLAST KOREA to cover company updates and promotions! bemyfriends is the first startup to specialize in the global fandom business, providing solutions and services that help brands and creators form close connections with their fans, show off their creativity, and monetize.
b.stage, a hero solution, is a web-based bespoke platform builder that provides all the functions and services that brands and creators need to operate and scale up their businesses.This company is on a mission to strengthen the creator economy by transforming the way creators and brands build their businesses, connect with the world, and do what they love.
SOURCES
All photos and videos are credited to bemyfriends.
