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Ken Hawkins, creator and founder of TheDigitel.com, said his company started with a soft launch a little more than a year ago. TheDigitel aggregates local news from a variety of sources, including original content creation, and builds a community discussion around stories, events, arts and entertainment happenings.
By Andy Owens
aowens@scbiznews.com
Published Oct. 27, 2009
A Charleston digital media company that launched a little more than a year ago has closed on a first round of venture capital financing and plans to use the money to expand its business model to other markets.
TheDigitel.com aggregates local news from a variety of sources, including original content creation, and builds a community discussion around story summaries and links regarding news, events, arts and entertainment happenings.
TheDigitel uses a variety of online tools — such as Twitter feeds and message boards — and original video production on the Web to drive traffic from its site to media outlets across the Lowcountry. Ken Hawkins, founder and creator, said the key focus has been to make the content “hyperlocal.” That focus led to discussions with Palmetto Investments & Exchange Group, a Charleston-based venture capital firm that is focused on startup companies with long-term potential, according to its Web site.
Hawkins said his company found Palmetto Investments through word of mouth.
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| Ken Hawkins, the creator and founder of TheDigitel. (Photo/Chrys Rynearson) |
“They were referred to us from the folks at Belief Networks,” he said. “Belief Networks knew we were kind of getting to that point. ... It was about a monthlong process. We wound up closing on Tuesday of last week.”
Hawkins declined to disclose the terms of the deal.
Palmetto Investments said in a statement that the group identified TheDigitel as a growth opportunity for expansion into other regional media markets.
In a statement, Palmetto partner Matthew Johnson said, “TheDigitel’s deep focus on the community and conversational style is challenging the status quo in journalism today.”
Hawkins said the company will use online polling to determine into which market to expand. A Web site will take feedback from people in other markets and will introduce the business to potential media partners. He said this approach is a change from the company’s launch in Charleston, where media outlets found out about TheDigitel as it began to saturate the market and gain some traction.
“When we launched here, we really did it in a soft way,” said Hawkins, who will be a featured speaker at the Innovation Summit & Expo on Nov. 4. “We let media find out about us, which is OK, but I think it’s better to knock on people’s doors. Don’t see us as a competitor; we want to be a marketing tool for you.”
The company’s revenue model has changed since its inception, and it currently makes money through box ads and dynamic ads — those that integrate display ads with real-time social media efforts. Hawkins is also looking at ways to make video pay. TheDigitel has had mixed results with sponsorships and, although the company hasn’t made any money for Hawkins, he said it is supporting a payroll.
“Personally, I’m not making any money yet, but we’re making enough to pay a couple of people — something that’s no small accomplishment for us,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins mentioned Charlotte and Athens, Ga., as examples of places he thinks TheDigitel might do well.
“We’re going to shoot to launch that next site at the end of November,” he said. “It’s like Craigslist. It’s not one-size-fits-all. There are news and feature and arts and entertainment in each community.”
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