So I got the word from Vinny today that Synthasite got its first round investment today. This is a fantastic achievement for South Africa in terms of web 2.0 movement and innovation. Well done Vinny!
I’ve already talked about Synthasite being incredible and I announced the beta release of Synthasite not to long ago.
Here is the release I was sent moments ago:
South African Internet startup Synthasite announced today that it has signed a $5 million investment agreement with Compagnie Financière Richemont’s subsidiary, Swiss-based Columbus Venture Capital.
Synthasite is a free Web 2.0 Publishing Platform that allows users to construct a website without any knowledge of HTML or programming, using drag & drop along with configurable dialog windows. The Company recently launched its AJAX based platform into Beta and has attracted nearly 10,000 users so far. Synthasite also plans to open it’s platform to third party developers next year, in order to allow them to create widgets, templates & other plugins for the platform.
Synthasite’s co-founder & CEO, Vinny Lingham said: “We are thrilled with this investment in our business as it vindicates the tremendous effort and vision that we have applied. My team can now focus on adequately resourcing the Company and accelerating growth, something which has been difficult until now. Columbus is a strategic partner who has strong shared values, complementary areas of expertise and will provide unique business development opportunities.”
“During the early stages of our discussions with Synthasite we recognised the ease of use, scalability and earnings potential of their platform. Our involvement should provide Synthasite with the necessary support to further develop the business to an appropriate critical massâ€, said Johann Rupert, Executive Chairman of Richemont. “I look forward to working with Vinny. He is a dynamic young South African entrepreneur whose business we can help to export and globalise.â€
Synthasite will relocate certain functions from Cape Town, South Africa to California, USA in order to be closer to the key players in the Web 2.0 space.
The initial idea for Synthasite was developed during Mr Lingham’s tenure at incuBeta, which he founded back in 2003. He was awarded Top Young ICT Entrepreneur in Africa in 2006 and his former company was also awarded “Top Technology Company” in South Africa in the same year.
It’s amazing to watch such great movement in South Africa!
Yep, I watched Vinnie’s video interview on Synthasite. He is going to make a killing with it. This takes CMS a whole lot further.
You think? I respect Synthasite for the great technology and it’s great and all.. but I still uphold that it’s too higher grade for the target audience, and I think that is its flaw..
You might be right there Chris. However the product is aimed at the global market. If I take the affiliate market where I have been dealing the past 5 years, it will make a killing, Creating websites at the rate this application allows you to do and opening the platform to other developers will definitely place it amongst the favorites in the affiliate market. I am a one man business and it is getting tough to manage my sites atm, knowing I can automate allot of my content will make a big difference on my income.
That’s very true. I agree with the ability to quickly create a website and manage it. Then again, I wrote another little program which actually generates websites on the fly for myself, that’s perhaps why I’m not as intrigued by that part of it.
I will give it another whirl though when I get a chance, I really only had a chance to test it during its first stages and then when it was launched, I was stuck with sessions errors where I found myself logged in as all sorts of different people – but after emailing Vinny, they got it sorted out, so I must give it another go!
What’s this going to cost to create a website ?
On the Synthasite website, it’s free. But remember, this isn’t a completely custom driven website, it’s a website built within a system. If you’re interested in a full website, please rather contact me and I can arrange with you..