Lost My Name, the U.K.-based children’s personalized POD publishing venture, has secured $9 million in a round of financing from Google Ventures, Greycroft, The Chernin Group, Allen & Co. and former SunGuard President and CEO Cris Conde.
The funding will be used to expand the global scale of the direct-to-consumer publishing venture’s business of producing personalized books for children.
Launched in 2013 after one of the cofounders was disappointed by the customized book he bought for his daughter, Lost My Name has become something of a British publishing phenomenon. Built around its own unique platform of software, a database of names and illustrations, the company sells a personalized physical title directly to consumers at Lostmy.name.
The company’s staple product is a customizable children's book, The Little Boy/Girl Who Lost His/Her Name, that is richly illustrated; it has sold more than 600,000 copies in more than 136 countries since the firm was launched. The company plans to add a new book product in the fall. It will be a picture book that engages children about their place in the universe.
Avid Larizadeh Duggan, general partner at Google Ventures, said “the move toward customized content changes the way kids interact with books, video and toys." He added: "Lost My Name is on the path to personalize the world of children's entertainment, bringing classic products to life in unexpected and delightful ways.”
