Scripped.com announced today that they have secured new funding in the amount of $250,000 and will be merging with Zhura.com. In addition, Keith Richman the CEO of Break Media, will be joining the board of advisors. For full details check out the press release below.
Press Release
Scripped Doubles Installed Base of Users and Claims Dominant Market Leadership for Web-Based Screenwriting Software and Content Development Services
SAN FRANCISCO, March 29, 2010 – Scripped, the leading provider of Web-based screenwriting software and crowdsourced content development services based in San Francisco, today announced the company has secured new investment and merged with Massachusetts-based Zhura.com. Terms of the merger were not disclosed, as both companies are privately-held, but Scripped executives confirm the merger is valued in the seven figure range. The new funding, provided by private angel investors, amounts to $250,000.
In addition to the new investment and merger with Zhura, Scripped will move into a new facility located in San Francisco as part of a technology incubator called I/O ventures. The company recently added Break.com CEO Keith Richman to its Board of Advisors.
“With this new investment and the merger of Zhura into the Scripped family, we believe Scripped is poised for explosive growth in 2010,”said Sunil Rajaraman, CEO, Scripped. “At 60,000-strong, and adding a new screenwriter every 20 minutes, we are proving every single day that everyone has a screenplay. It is our top priority to give members of the Scripped.com community every opportunity to get their works produced.”
“This merger is a natural synergy that brings immediate value to our combined memberships” said Eric MacDonald, founder and CEO of Zhura, now a member of the Scripped.com board of directors. “Now writers can come to one site and have access to the most powerful screenwriting software in the industry along with a robust community of creative talent, as well as a broad range of exciting writing opportunities.”
“The Scripped team has shown a lot of resiliency and resourcefulness over the past year.” said Keith Richman. “The moment a writer from Scripped gets one of their works produced and widely distributed, the company’s business model of crowdsourcing screenplays could become the norm.”
New members of the Scripped Board of Advisors include:
Keith Richman – Keith Richman, a recognized industry leader and successful entrepreneur, is chief executive officer of Break Media. Keith is responsible for providing the company’s overall strategic direction and leading the company in the areas of business development and marketing.
About Scripped:
Founded in 2008, Scripped’s goal is to make screenwriting accessible to writers of all levels and provide the tools and community writers need to bring their ideas from inception to completion. Scripped aims to encourage and support the needs of all scripted content writers.
Scripped Inc. promotes the art of screenwriting by providing Scripped Writer, the first completely free web-based screenwriting software for writers. Scripped Writer is an innovative text editor that functions like a standard word processor but automatically formats and catalogs each screenplay element according to industry standards. Since its launch in January 2008, Scripped Writer has amassed a user-base of more than 30,000 writers from all 50 states and more than 50 countries. In March of 2010, Scripped merged with Zhura.com, nearly doubling its userbase to 60,000 screenwriters. To try Scripped Writer, visit scripped.com. For additional corporate info and biographical information on the management team, please email us directly at contact@scripped.com.
About Zhura:
Zhura was founded in 2007 to develop the next generation in performance writing tools. As the first company to combine advanced editing technology with valuable community, collaboration, and social networking features, Zhura is a thought leader in the Performance Writing Industry. For more information about Zhura’s applications and online writing community, visit zhura.com.
