You can find typography enthusiasts in the unlikeliest of places. We’ve been amazed at the support expressed by our friends and design colleagues. But what’s been really been surprising is the energy coming from investors.
As a result of that support, we announced that yesterday we closed a round of funding that will allow us to pick up the pace on the development of Typekit. Our buddy and colleague Tony Conrad at True Ventures is leading an amazing group of investors. I was fortunate to watch Tony work when Adaptive Path invested in his company Sphere (sold to AOL last year). I’m eager to benefit from his tremendous experience.
Along with True Ventures, our dream-team of angel investors include our friends Evan Williams, Caterina Fake, Chris Sacca, and Matt Mullenweg. This is my dinner party in heaven.
Add to that some heavey hitters like Ron Conway and Josh Felser/Dave Samuel at Freestyle, and I feel like it’s Christmas.
And lastly – even my folks threw their hat in the ring. I feel like it’s start-up allowance. Big thanks to my folks, and to Ryan Carver’s folks who also jumped in at the least provocation.
I think we’re going to change the way the web looks.
This is fun.
Last summer, I started Small Batch Inc. with my long-time friends and colleagues Jeff Veen, Ryan Carver and Greg Veen. The organizing principle for our company was simple, we wanted to explore the most interesting ideas happening on the web and follow them wherever they took us. We produced an awesome event, worked with our friends at Twitter (a little start-up you’re certain to hear about someday), and we launched Wikirank as our first project.
In April, we turned our attention to a whole new idea — and I think it’s going to surprise some folks. It’s called Typekit, and it’s a service designed to help bring typography to the web. Imagine how dramatically web design will change when you can use any typeface without rendering it as an image or Flash file. We’d like to be a part of that. If you want to know more, Jeff wrote up a great post over on the newly minted Typekit blog, so go have a look.
One of my favorite compares:
Here is what I think happened on Dec 27:
On the way home from the family compound, millions of Americans decide, “Screw it, I’m not going home for Christmas ever again…” And then they decided that they’re going to find a new religion. “What about Buddhism?” (enter Wikipedia)
My theory.
After 8 weeks of work, we’ve launched Wikirank. Congrats to Jeff, Ryan & Greg on their amazing work!
So, my good friend and business partner Jeff Veen and I have decided it’s time to put on a little show.
He and I both love to talk to folks about the creative work that inspires, the ways people find to pursue that work, and the very dumb things we do along the way. For years, we’ve worked to grow our company and help others to grow theirs. And of course, we have the lawyers, accountants, and advisors we trust and talk to all the time.
So, we’ve decided to put some of these conversations with our friends and colleagues on stage. We’ve pulled together a group of entrepreneurs, investors, and loads of other folks you’d like to hear from about getting things going. And that’s how The Start Conference came to be.
Here’s the down-low:
August 7 at the amazing Cowell Theater in Fort Mason.
The format is a series of interviews and conversations, not powerpoint and shilling. There ought to be good beer, too.
And we’re doing our best to keep it cheap – just $200 for now.
So, come meet your peers and let’s talk about what it takes to start a company, build a business, do the work you love.
Details are on The Start Conference web site. Also Mike and David at Mule Design did all our logo and site work. The are awesome.
They were ants. I promise they were ants!
So, with all the growth here at Adaptive Path, it’s time to bring in some new blood. We’ve started a search for a new CEO. Peter and Jesse (co-founders) are staying right where they are. We simply feel that, as the company grows and the opportunities multiply, it’s time to bring in someone with a different set of experiences.
This is a dream job. Adaptive Path is a collection of astoundingly talented, intelligent people working everyday to design experiences that improve people’s lives. It’s been an amazing experience making the company what it is today, and now it’s time to bring in someone to help us take fullest advantage of the opportunity that lie before us.
I’m leading the search, so please drop me a note if you’d like to make a recommendation.
Come and Celebrate Adaptive Path’s Seventh Anniversary Party
Join us on Friday, March 21 to celebrate Adaptive Path’s Seventh Anniversary Party . Come have a beer and — of course — enjoy the Taco Truck. This year we’re moving the party to 111 Minna, San Francisco. All are welcome, but you’ll need to RSVP or email party [at] adaptivepath period [com] for a wrist tag if you want to drink and eat those delicious tacos on our dime.
Party’s from 6:00-11:00 PM and the taco truck opens at 7 PM sharp. Hope to see you at 111 Minna.
