From: "Matt Younkle" 
Date: January 25, 2012 5:45:51 PM EST
To: 
Subject: murfie.com TechStars & funding news
Reply-To:

Hi Scott!

We are a company based in Madison, Wisconsin that’s participating in the TechStars Boston program... As background, we’re building a more friendly, community-orientated music marketplace. We offer a buying, selling and trading platform with the benefits of CD ownership and the convenience of digital downloads.  We have just raised $1.4M in an oversubscribed round led by DaneVest Tech Fund along with some notable angel investors such as Barry Silbert of SecondMarket. Below is an advance copy of the release (under embargo until 12:00 a.m. on 1/26) with full details on the news.  If you have any questions or would like to speak with me about the news, please let me know.

Thanks!
Matt

--
Matthew Younkle, Cofounder & CEO

murfie.com | blog | twitter | facebook

Murfie.com Honored To Be Member of TechStars

Winter 2012 Boston Program

Digital Music Marketplace Start-Up Continues to

Attract Investor Interest and Raise Capital

BOSTON – Jan. 26, 2012 – Murfie, Inc. (murfie.com), an online digital music marketplace that offers music enthusiasts a platform for buying, selling and trading their media collections in physical and digital formats, announced today it was selected to be part of the TechStars Winter 2012 Boston Program.  Considered the No. 1 start-up accelerator in the world and touting selection rates lower than the Ivy League, TechStars chose Madison, Wis.-based Murfie from hundreds of applicants around the world as one of only 13 companies to participate.  

As part of the program, Murfie receives seed funding from different venture capital firms and angel investors, along with three months of  intensive top-notch mentorship and the chance to pitch for additional funds at the program’s conclusion.  More than 80% of TechStars companies participating have been funded with venture capital upon completion of the program or have quickly become profitable on their own.  To put this in perspective, there are nearly 2 million businesses created in the USA every year, and only 600–800 get venture capital funding.  

In addition to the opportunity presented by TechStars, Murfie just closed a funding round of $1.4 million dollars in an oversubscribed round led by DaneVest Tech Fund (www.danevestcapital.com) along with notable angel investors such as Barry Silbert, CEO of SecondMarket (www.secondmarket.com).  The funds are slated for marketing initiatives and scaling-up Murfie’s technical infrastructure.  

Since the friendly music marketplace launched in 2011, it has gained more than 4,000 customers and more than 120,000 CDs, with about 1,000 to 2,000 new CDs coming in per day.  

About Murfie
Murfie, Inc. develops patent pending software and  hardware systems that allow the company to offer its custtomers a platform for buying, selling, and trading their media collections in physical and digital formats.

About TechStars
TechStars (www.techstars.com) is an elite mentorship-driven start-up accelerator, recently recognized as the No. 1 accelerator program. Founded in 2006, the TechStars philosophy focuses on deep mentorship, and surrounding a small number of companies with highly engaged members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem to coach and support them to success. The TechStars community currently includes more than 300 mentors, more than 1,500 investors and over 120 alumni TechStars companies. TechStars currently operates five programs each year in Boulder, Boston,, Seattle, Texas, and New York. TechStars is funded by more than 50 venture capital firms and 25 angel investors. Information on applying to TechStars can be found at www.techstars.com/apply.

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