Graphic.ly, formerly Take Comics
I first saw Take Comics as part of the TechStars 2009 program and instantly was reminded of my days reading Spiderman and X-Men comic books. I used to love to reading comic with my younger brother and we could exchange ideas about how one character was better than another or visa versa. I got a chance to see Kevin Mann and the Take Comics team more closely at the 2009 Microsoft BizSpark Incubator Week in DC where I was a judge. In listening to their pitch and seeing what they had built I was very impressed and excited. Their approach looked to not only bring comic book publishing online but also turn it into a more social experience – just like I had done in person with my brother so many years before. It was no surprise that at the end of the day they took home the award for most viable business.
Since then Take Comics changed its name to Graphic.ly and took on our old pal Micah Baldwin as the CEO. Micah formerly of Boulder-based Lijit, participated in our TECH cocktail Boulder events and also spoke at our TECH cocktail Conference in May 2008. Today, Graphic.ly announced that they have raised a round of funding totaling $1.2M from DFJ Mercury, Starz Media, LLC and Northstar Equity Investors plus a few individuals which included David Cohen, Dave McClure, Chris Sacca, Paige Craig.
I can’t wait to see Graphic.ly roll into beta because the demo I saw at the Incubator Week in DC was pretty amazing. Congrats to Kevin, Micah and the Graphic.ly team, we like what you are doing and wish him the best!
