Aboomba tests a new fundraising strategy: Get married

August 25, 2009 | Anthony Ha | Comments |
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svetlozar-drueWith venture investing still down, and the VC industry likely to shrink even further, what’s a cash-strapped startup to do? The soon-to-be-married couple behind stealth-mode web company Aboomba decided to take a fresh approach: Ask their wedding guests for funding.

Drue Kataoka, an artist who co-writes the Valley Zen blog, and Svetlozar Kazanjiev are getting married on August 29, and like any couple, they’ve created a registry listing their requests for wedding gifts. But rather than including the same boring old household appliances, they have a “Startup Wedding Registry,” allowing guests to help get the couple’s startup off the ground. The registry includes items like “Feed an Engineer for a Day ($273.97),” “Upgrade from First-Aid Kit to real health insurance for a week ($134.00),” and “Amazon EC2 Cloud web hosting for a week ($134.40).”

Okay, so this doesn’t take the place of real investors. Indeed, one of the other items is “Feed a hungry VC lunch.” But it’s a fun way to get support from friends and family, and to funnel their goodwill (and money) towards something the couple will find genuinely useful. Frankly, when my own friends start getting married, I’ll be much more excited about supporting their business than I will about buying them a toaster. On the other hand, I have to wonder whether running a company together will do much for the longevity of the marriage.

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About the Author, Anthony Ha

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on enterprise technology, cloud computing, and tech policy. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.

  • GetMarried
    Bridal registry places are boring, boring, boring. This idea is brilliant! It already gets your wheels turning as to the ideas that you can come up with. I wonder if the guests would have any desire to know whether or not that gift actually went to cloud computing or to keep the lights on? And would they even care?
  • svetlozar
    Thanks, GetMarried! We totally agree with your assessment of traditional registries-- that's why we wanted to shake up the tradition. Yes, all items will be going to their designated purpose-- it only makes sense. Glad you enjoyed our idea.
  • Bill Fenwick
    Not to worry, They love each other more than the startup.
  • Well, that's reassuring.
  • Truff
    Their married name is Drue and Svetlozar Tacky-Douchebags
  • Karen Duncan
    Starting a business together can be a fabulous marriage energizer -- beats a four-slice toaster any day. Does Svetlozar or Drue have an older, like-minded brother?
  • borcho
    Karen, no, Svet has a gorgeous sister but she is married!
  • lazlodelarental
    This is spastic and both Droo and Zit are spazzes.
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