What you need to know - 02/09/11

Ronny Kerr · February 9, 2011 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/16db

Facebook is moving from Palo Alto to Menlo Park; Visa agreed to pay $190 million for PlaySpan

Bubbli, a stealth startup with grand ambitions to change photography on smartphones, has raised around $2 million in a funding round led by August Capital.

ConnectAndSell, provider of on-demand telephone conversations with prospects and customers, closed a $7.5 million round of financing led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP).

Starting in June or July, Facebook will be moving from its Palo Alto, Calif. campus to a new headquarters in Menlo Park, just a few miles away.

Mobile entertainment company PlayPhone announced Tuesday the launch of a $10 million marketing fund for mobile social game developers.

Visa agreed to pay $190 million to acquire PlaySpan, a privately held company whose payments platform handles transactions for digital goods in online games, digital media and social networks.

Shopkick, which allows users to scan items while shopping to earn kickbucks rewards, announced Tuesday that users have now scanned more than three million products at 250,000 locations nationwide.

Socialware, working to help the financial industry with its social media status, secured $3 million in additional funding from existing investors, including FLOODGATE, G-51 Capital and Silverton Partners.

Stardoll, the online fashion and celebrity community for girls between the ages of seven and 17, has signed a multi-year licensing agreement with toy manufacturer Mattel to launch Stardoll’s first physical product line this fall.

Tello, an app that allows users to provide on-the-spot customer service feedback, launched Tuesday evening.

Today's featured entrepreneur is Adam Hoeksema, founder and CEO of Executive Plan.

Ronny Kerr

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Related Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs

Tello

Startup/Business

Joined Vator on February 8, 2011

Tello's mobile apps for iPhone/iPad and Android are the fastest and easiest way to rate customer service wherever you go. Had a good experience? Share it! Got something to say about less-than-perfect service? Want the business to get back to you? Now you can rate any employee, at any business, and even request a reply, in just seconds.
Tello lets you find nearby businesses with just one tap by using your current location. If a business is not listed, you can simply add it to Tello via the app.
Once you locate the business, pick an existing employee by name or add a new one. Then, rate your service experience with a thumbs-up or down. You can even include a short comment about the experience.
You can share your rating on Facebook or Twitter directly from Tello. These social features help you discover great service and direct your friends to deserving businesses.
You can also use Tello to research and compare other people's customer service ratings for businesses before you decide where to go.
Signing up for Tello is easy -- you can use your email address or Facebook Connect. To download Tello for the iPhone/iPad, go to www.tello.com or http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tello/id393722575.

Stardoll

Startup/Business

Joined Vator on March 31, 2008

Stardoll is a virtual paperdoll community site for everyone who enjoys fashion, design and making friends. At Stardoll you can create your own MeDoll or choose from our ever growing collection of celebrity dolls and dress them up in our wide selection of fashions. Every celebrity doll has a wardrobe full of unique clothes and there are new dolls released every week. The membership is completely FREE and most of our members are girls between the ages of 7 and 17. Stardoll is one of few places on the Internet developed with an emphasis on girls' self-expression through fantasy and fashion play. Stardoll is a great place to spend time with friends and to meet other kids from all over the world. We are committed to Stardoll as an inspiring, safe and creative environment.

Playspan

Startup/Business

Joined Vator on April 30, 2008

PlaySpan™ is game industry's first publisher-sponsored™ in-game commerce™ network. PlaySpan's patent-pending in-game search, commerce and micropayment technologies enable game publishers and developers to generate new revenues, acquire new users and extend the loyalty of existing users. Leading game providers and virtual world publishers have selected PlaySpan as their official marketplace for virtual goods commerce.

PlaySpan is based in Silicon Valley with offices in Mumbai and Shanghai.

Investors include Easton Capital, Menlo Ventures, STIC and Novel TMT Ventures.