MomJunction Raises $1.5 Million in First Round Funding

NEW YORK, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- MomJunction.com, the best way for moms to communicate, coordinate and connect on the Web, announced today the close of an initial funding round, which has been led by prominent media and technology investors, including PointRoll, Inc. CEO Christopher Saridakis and founder Jules Gardner, and world-renowned entrepreneur Pat Croce.

"I see MomJunction as a definitive winner. The Web is filling fast with social networking ideas, most of which are about wasted time," said Pat Croce, investor and one of America's most noted entrepreneurs. "MomJunction stands out against that backdrop as a unique online destination that offers the trust, security and word-of-mouth power all in one place."

Croce has a history of creating winners. He's received Inc. Magazine's "Entrepreneur of the Year" award, authored the New York Times best-seller, "I Feel Great and You Will Too!," and was the creator of Sports Physical Therapists, a sports medicine empire of 40 centers that became a top-ten finalist for the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. During his five-year tenure as part owner and President of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, he executed one of the biggest turnarounds in team sports history.

After a closed beta, MomJunction launched November 1st and has continued to see growth in membership. "The beta program was phenomenal, in that real moms helped design some features and functionality," said Sang Kim, Founder and CEO. "We also saw the model really work, with tips and recommendations exchanged and even some buying and selling among moms."

"No one in this new medium has ever addressed the constant challenges that moms face in a simple way like MomJunction is doing right now," said Christopher Saridakis, CEO of PointRoll, Inc. and former General Manager of DoubleClick's Global TechSolutions division. "I hear from dozens of companies a month that are looking for investment and this opportunity blows them away. It's the right time and space, and MomJunction offers both moms and marketers a unique feature that closely resembles the natural process of word of mouth."

Jules Gardner, the founder of PointRoll, and former President of the West Coast Video chain of retail stores, is also an investor. "MomJunction is all about trust and connecting moms," Gardner says. "The information exchange is incredibly trustworthy, because you can see how it comes either from your friends or friends of friends. And that makes it unique in today's social networking environment."

MomJunction utilizes a patent-pending innovation called Ripple(TM). Ripple flows a member's questions, tips, knowledge and discussion through her extended network by trusted members of her real life groups. It enables moms to easily connect with other moms and information that they can trust.

"I love MomJunction for all the things it brings together into one place - from communicating with groups, to coordinating schedules, to finding answers from people I trust and the people they trust. I feel like I have it all," said Cindy McDonnell, MomJunction member from Haddonfield, New Jersey.

"We're excited by our investment team's experience and entrepreneurship, but more importantly, their passion for our business model," added Kim. "Collectively, they've built some of the finest technology, media and entertainment companies in America. Their involvement will help us meet our goal of connecting more moms than any other place in the world -- and building those connections on trust."

About MomJunction

MomJunction aims to connect more moms than any other place in the world. MomJunction.com lets you create or join online groups for the people in your life to coordinate schedules, share pictures and information, and even trade things. MomJunction's patent-pending innovation called Ripple(TM) lets you selectively distribute and gather tips, information and knowledge through your friends and their extended networks in a safe and simple way. Moms can become members of MomJunction for free at http://www.momjunction.com/.