After promoting the viral social video site Jukin Media in 2021, founders Mike and Jon Skogmo and their colleague Anton Reut had time to brainstorm, organize, and start their next business. Their answer: the LOST iN media site, built on top of an existing publisher and focused on revolutionizing the media industry with content from prominent online creators.
The company raised a $4 million investment round, a very large amount in the gloomy backdrop of the past two years for venture capital, as high interest rates led investors to invest their money in lower-risk alternatives. LOST iN will target younger, Internet-savvy travelers in premium economy opportunities that offer adventure but also comfort and at a moderate price.
By acquiring the publishing house LOST iN, created 10 years ago, the new owners acquired guides for 25 countries that are distributed in around 50. The restructured company will also partner with established creators to generate a variety of additional curtains to further promote the service. .
“With Jukin, we’ve learned how to build and monetize large audiences, and we’re going to leverage those learnings to focus on travel, a category that’s ripe for disruption and appeals to a thriving and highly desirable consumer,” Jon said. Skogmo, CEO of LOST iN. He was also the founder and CEO of Jukin. “The acquisition of LOST iN’s consulting business provides us with a strong direct-to-consumer detail to match with the ad-supported business we’re going to build around virtual video, and we’ll continue to diversify around events, memberships and other projects that will raise the price for our community. “
Brother Mike Skogmo will be director of marketing, just like at Jukin. Ruet will be chief operating officer.
Reut said that despite the expansion and sheer expanse of the industry, it continues to struggle “to find a way to connect with a local digital audience. “LOST iN will be the solution for enthusiasts to get entertaining and informative content, as well as advertisers looking to succeed in today’s economy. It’s actually a win-win scenario: the audience, the creators, and the advertisers.
Jukin, founded in Culver City, California, was one of the pioneers of the Los Angeles online media scene. It took another technique in addition to the now-defunct Los Angeles video, such as Machinima and Maker Studios. Instead of relying on Jukin’s paintings, an organization of related video creators, it focused on temporarily researching and licensing social video clips on the internet as they went viral, and then posting the clips on their own sites, such as Fail Army.
Once the clips were approved (Jukin had 70,000 in its library), the company ramped up their virality, but it also repackaged the clips for use in classic TV shows, branded content, and more. The company has also produced several music video shows, updating the old format of America’s funniest house videos for a new media era.
The company was sold for an undisclosed amount said to be in the nine-figure range to Reader’s Digest’s parent company, Trusted Media Brands.
The new company’s $4 million investment circular was conducted through MaC Venture Capital with investments from BDMI, Pitbull Ventures, Hawke Media founder Erik Huberman, Kevin Gould of Kombo Ventures, and Matthew Rutler.
Several notable contemporaries from the Los Angeles media scene have also contributed, including Pocket. Watch founder Chris Williams and Fullscreen founder George Strompolos, as well as David Alpert, founder of Skybound Entertainment, The Walking Dead and Invincible, and Richard Wolpert, an entrepreneur and pioneering generation and entertainment executive and former head of Disney Online.
Marlon Nichols, managing partner of MaC, highlighted the good luck and delight that the trio of former Jukin executives bring to LOST iN, as well as the hope that they can achieve similar good luck in the more specific media sector.
“Their last company, Jukin Media, was indeed a cutting-edge company, and now they are in a position to revamp a fragmented media area with few trusted voices and thousands of creators and influencers creating content independently,” Nichols said. This team has the expertise to identify and collaborate with talented creators to become an indispensable component of the enthusiasts’ media regime. “
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