Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp have raised new funding for their social media startup West Co, as the company begins to reveal more about its early product direction and ambitions.
West Co launched an invite-only version of its first app, Tangle, in November. Since then, additional details have emerged through comments from Stone and Sharp, along with regulatory filings and job listings reviewed by the Financial Times.
Seed Funding And Investors
According to the report, West Co has raised $29 million in a seed funding round led by Spark Capital. The filings and listings suggest the company is still in an early build-out phase, with hiring underway as it develops its initial product.
Sharp, who serves as chief executive, described the company as growing out of a broader question about the impact of social media over the past decade and a half. He said the aim was to create something that could address what he characterized as damage to how people think and feel online.
Tangle And Its Early Concept
The startup’s first app, Tangle, centers on a daily prompt that asks users, “What’s your intention for today?” Users can then share their intentions with friends, with the goal of helping them plan their days, document what actually happens, and reflect on longer-term patterns in their lives.
Stone told the Financial Times that the app is not a finished product and could change substantially before it is made widely available to the public.
Featured image credits: COH Digital
For more stories like it, click the +Follow button at the top of this page to follow us.