The Ad-Free, User-Owned Future Of Social Media
·
Apr 3, 2018
One alternative is Are.na. Designed by creatives for creatives, Are.na is a research platform that happens to have a social element; you ...
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Deal highlights
- A visual organization tool designed to help you think and create
- No ads, no likes, no invasive recommendations
- Buy a real stake in Are.na's future with as little as $100
- 370% growth in paying members in 2017
- 102% growth in total registered users in 2017
- 60% growth in total registered users in Q1 2018
- Used by creatives at Apple, Calvin Klein, Nike, Tumblr, Dropbox, MoMA, Yale, MIT, Columbia, RISD + more
- On track to cover current burn rate in 2018
The Problem
The apps we use every day kill creative thinking.
Creative people and knowledge workers rely on a mix of social and productivity apps to come up with new ideas. But instead of helping, these tools actually make it harder to concentrate and create.
Productivity apps provide structure, but they let notifications, tasks, and information overload get in the way of creative thinking. Social media has valuable information, but it’s noisy and distracting. Most networks are designed to hijack our attention and show us more ads — not to help us find what we need.
Creative thinkers need a tool and a space where they can organize their ideas and make new things together.
The Solution
A visual platform that helps you have ideas
Are.na is a knowledge sharing platform that combines the creative back-and-forth of social media with the focus of a productivity tool — stripping away distractions to let you focus on your ideas.
On Are.na, there are no ads, likes, or recommendations to get in your way. It’s a more mindful space where you can work through any project over time.
The Product
“Creativity is just connecting things.”
- Steve Jobs
Are.na lets you build simple, visual collections by adding links and files of any kind. It’s the only platform designed to help you learn by connecting ideas with other people.
Save and organize images, documents, video, quotes, links, and more.
Arrange ideas visually in a distraction-free space
Connect other users’ content to your own collections
Share collections privately or build public collections with everyone
How it works
1. Add anything to Are.na from your phone, browser, or desktop. Content is organized in simple collections called channels.
2. Save other users’ discoveries to your own channels. Explore related topics by following connections between channels.
3. Build channels together with collaborators. The entire Are.na community is your knowledge base.
Traction
60% growth in 2018 to date
Quarterly connections made on Are.na:
We measure usage by the number of connections our members make. A connection is any new piece of content a user adds to the platform or links from one channel to another.
What people are saying
Business Model
Are.na already has a sustainable revenue stream
Are.na relies on a freemium membership model. Free accounts are limited to 100 private pieces of content. More privacy for professional projects requires an upgrade:
Are.na Premium ($5 / month or $45 / year):
- Unlimited private content
- Access to personalized support
- Hide from search engines
Over 6% of active users currently pay for Premium, translating to $10,000 of revenue in Q1 2018. Premium memberships already more than cover the cost of all site infrastructure.
Growth in Premium memberships is on track to generate over $40,000 in Q4 2018 . We project that revenue will grow to cover all current expenses and salaries by Q4 2018. A new business product launching in Q2 2018 will help us get there.
Revenue has been consistently proportional to the number of active users as we grow. This allows us to make a linear projection:
Market
Uniquely suited to serve today’s knowledge workers
A growing cohort of freelancers needs more effective ideation tools and wants more genuine interactions online. These are creative thinkers who require a lightweight tool for personal knowledge management.
Are.na is the only social network that connects you to other people without taking over your life. Engagement on Are.na means connecting information, not mindlessly “liking.” Are.na members spend 10 minutes per session on the platform — compared to 9.6 minutes for Reddit, 5.8 for Tumblr, 5 for Facebook, and 3 for Twitter according to Statista.
Total addressable market
15 million workers at the core of the U.S. “creative class” are our beta audience, and unlocking that group means we can address a global market of 230 million knowledge workers who don’t have the ideation tools they need.
Used by professionals at:
Used by students and educators at:
What's next
Team ideation tools for effortless knowledge sharing
Are.na is launching a team product in Q2 2018 for small businesses and enterprise clients. Think Slack for your team’s ideas.
Business pricing and support will likely generate immediate revenue from those teams and facilitate sales to larger clients. There’s a built-in demand for team features among our members: 200+ accounts already use Are.na with other members of an organization.
Product roadmap:
Mission
Are.na’s mission is to build a member-supported community for shared knowledge, collaborative thinking, and lifelong learning.
As a mission-driven business, we’re choosing to crowdfund Are.na’s future so that we can grow in a way that lines up with our values. We won’t accept investments that will force us to compromise on our core beliefs, and we will never abuse the trust of our members by selling ads or personal data.
We believe that our members and like-minded people should be stakeholders in Are.na’s future. Equity crowdfunding will allow us to scale at a sustainable pace while making an ownership stake available to anyone who shares our vision.
Founders
Led by artists, designers, and creative entrepreneurs
Invest in a better Internet
We're building a new kind of platform for a more curious and collaborative Internet. Invest now to own an equity stake in Are.na.
Deal terms
Funding goal
$50K
–
$1.07M
Investment size
min $100, max $107K
Deadline
May 25, 2018 (EDT)
Bonus perks
Get additional perks from Are.na for your investment
Invest
$100
Receive
1 year of Are.na Premium membership. An “Investor” badge on your Are.na profile.
Invest
$250
Receive
All of the above, plus an embroidered Are.na hat.
Invest
$500
Receive
All of the above, plus a lifetime Are.na Premium membership.
Invest
$1,000
Receive
All of the above, plus a high-quality embroidered Are.na sweatshirt.
Invest
$2,500
Receive
All of the above, plus a special Are.na canvas “banker bag.”
Invest
$5,000
Receive
All of the above, plus an invitation to remote investor meetings with the Are.na team.
Invest
$10,000
Receive
All of the above, plus a chance to have dinner with the Are.na founders in New York City (transportation not included)
Invest
$25,000
Receive
All of the above, plus a custom research report compiled using Are.na on a trend or topic of your choice.
Documents
Official filing on SEC.gov
Form C
Company documents
Are.na Crowd Safe
About Are.na
Legal Name
When It Changed Inc.
Founded
Jul 2014
Form
Delaware
Corporation
Headquarters
219 36th Street
, Brooklyn, NY
Are.na Team
Everyone helping build Are.na, not limited to employees
Chris Barley
CMO
Chris is the founder of Consortia, a design and strategy office in NYC, where he has led projects for Audi, Microsoft, LVMH, Harvard University and Columbia University.
Damon Zucconi
CTO
Damon is a full-stack engineer with over 10 years of experience developing for the web. Prior to joining Are.na, Damon was a full-stack engineer at Artsy.
Press
FAQ
Who will be Are.na’s next hires?
Who will be Are.na’s next hires?
Are.na’s next hires will be a full-time developer, a business development and sales coordinator, and another designer. We’re conscious that Are.na is currently an all-male and primarily white team. As we build a community that represents a wide range of identities and perspectives, growing into a more diverse company is our first priority.
Are.na has been around for a long time. What’s the story?
Are.na has been around for a long time. What’s the story?
We built Are.na as a passion project in 2011 and maintained it as a small community for several years. Thanks to a small investment, we started working on Are.na as a full-time business in June 2017. Are.na’s pace of growth and product development reflects our level of engagement as a team: slow and steady expansion until last summer, exponential growth once it became a full-time endeavor.
How will Are.na compete with mainstream productivity and bookmarking apps?
How will Are.na compete with mainstream productivity and bookmarking apps?
Are.na addresses a more fundamental need than any task management or file organization tool. It doesn’t just neaten your digital life. As an environment for visual ideation and collaborative knowledge management, Are.na helps people actually learn, think, and create.
Who are Are.na’s paying customers and what do they do with it?
Who are Are.na’s paying customers and what do they do with it?
Are.na Premium members are primarily designers, developers, artists, students, and entrepreneurs. They use Are.na to conduct professional research, manage ideas and content, collaborate with teams, keep track of cultural trends, and connect with the community for leisure. 74% of Premium members use Are.na daily and over half use it to collaborate with others.
What if Are.na goes the way of Delicio.us?
What if Are.na goes the way of Delicio.us?
It’s understandable to worry about the future of a member-supported tool. But Are.na has already existed for seven years and we strive to build our company to exist for the long-term. Today it has enough paying members to ensure its stability and cover infrastructure costs long into the future. Unlike at any time in the past, more and more people are looking for the kind of refuge from predatory tech that Are.na provides.
Why aren’t you releasing a token or doing an ICO?
Why aren’t you releasing a token or doing an ICO?
An exchange token for Are.na’s ecosystem could work, but we’re committed to building a high quality product and a genuine community rather than a speculative marketplace. Our current focus is entirely on making the platform better for collaboration, so having an ICO wouldn’t be a serious option.
Do I get an actual stake in the company, even with a $100 investment?
Do I get an actual stake in the company, even with a $100 investment?
Yes. You'll receive a convertible note that can turn into shares in the future. This is a common instrument for investments in early stage companies.
Still have questions? Check the
discussion section.
Risks
In order for the Company to compete and grow, it must attract, recruit, retain and develop the necessary personnel who have the needed experience.
Recruiting and retaining highly qualified personnel is critical to our success. These demands may require us to hire additional personnel and will require our existing management personnel to develop additional expertise. We face intense competition for personnel. The failure to attract and retain personnel or to develop such expertise could delay or halt the development and commercialization of our products. If we experience difficulties in hiring and retaining personnel in key positions, we could suffer from delays in product development, loss of customers and sales and diversion of management resources, which could adversely affect operating results. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by third parties and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with third parties that may limit their availability to us.
The development and commercialization of our products is highly competitive.
We face competition with respect to any products that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future. Our competitors include major companies worldwide. Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, technical and human resources than we have and superior expertise in research and development and marketing approved products and thus may be better equipped than us to develop and commercialize products. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified personnel and acquiring technologies. Smaller or early stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. Accordingly, our competitors may commercialize products more rapidly or effectively than we are able to, which would adversely affect our competitive position, the likelihood that our products will achieve initial market acceptance and our ability to generate meaningful additional revenues from our products.
In general, demand for our products and services is highly correlated with general economic conditions.
A substantial portion of our revenue is derived from discretionary spending by individuals, which typically falls during times of economic instability. Declines in economic conditions in the U.S. or in other countries in which we operate may adversely impact our consolidated financial results. Because such declines in demand are difficult to predict, we or the industry may have increased excess capacity as a result. An increase in excess capacity may result in declines in prices for our products and services.
The use of individually identifiable data by our business, our business associates and third parties are regulated at the state, federal and international levels.
Costs associated with information security ' such as investment in technology, the costs of compliance with consumer protection laws and costs resulting from consumer fraud ' could cause our business and results of operations to suffer materially. Additionally, the success of our online operations depends upon the secure transmission of confidential information over public networks, including the use of cashless payments. The intentional or negligent actions of employees, business associates or third parties may undermine our security measures. As a result, unauthorized parties may obtain access to our data systems and misappropriate confidential data. There can be no assurance that advances in computer capabilities, new discoveries in the field of cryptography or other developments will prevent the compromise of our customer transaction processing capabilities and personal data. If any such compromise of our security or the security of information residing with our business associates or third parties were to occur, it could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, operating results and financial condition. Any compromise of our data security may materially increase the costs we incur to protect against such breaches and could subject us to additional legal risk.
Through our operations, we collect and store certain personal information that our customers provide to purchase products, enroll in promotional programs, register on our web site, or otherwise communicate and interact with us.
We may share information about such persons with vendors that assist with certain aspects of our business. Security could be compromised, and confidential customer or business information misappropriated. Loss of customer or business information could disrupt our operations, damage our reputation, and expose us to claims from customers, financial institutions, payment card associations and other persons, any of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, compliance with tougher privacy and information security laws and standards may result in significant expense due to increased investment in technology and the development of new operational processes.
Security breaches and other disruptions could compromise our information and expose us to liability, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.
We collect and store sensitive data, including intellectual property, our proprietary business information and that of our customers, and personally identifiable information of our customers and employees, in our data centers and on our networks. The secure maintenance of this information is critical to our operations. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions. Any such breach could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, regulatory penalties, disrupt our operations and damage to our reputation, and cause a loss of confidence in our products, which could adversely affect our business/operating margins, revenues and competitive position.
The secure maintenance of this information is critical to our operations, and we devote significant resources to protecting our information. The expenses associated with protecting our information could reduce our operating margins.
An intentional or unintentional disruption, failure, misappropriation or corruption of our network and information systems could severely affect our business.
Such an event might be caused by computer hacking, computer viruses, worms and other destructive or disruptive software, "cyber attacks" and other malicious activity, as well as natural disasters, power outages, terrorist attacks and similar events. Such events could have an adverse impact on us and our customers, including degradation of service, service disruption, excessive call volume to call centers and damage to our plant, equipment and data. In addition, our future results could be adversely affected due to the theft, destruction, loss, misappropriation or release of confidential customer data or intellectual property. Operational or business delays may result from the disruption of network or information systems and the subsequent remediation activities. Moreover, these events may create negative publicity resulting in reputation or brand damage with customers.
The Company's success depends on the experience and skill of the board of directors, its executive officers and key employees.
In particular, the Company is dependent on Christopher Sherron (Designer), Daniel Pianetti (Treasurer), and Charles Broskoski (Director, Secretary, and Developer) of the Company. The Company has entered into employment agreements with Christopher Sherron, Daniel Pianetti, and Charles Broskoski although there can be no assurance that they will continue to be employed by the Company for a particular period of time. The loss of Christopher Sherron, Daniel Pianetti, and Charles Broskoski or any member of the board of directors or executive officer could harm the Company's business, financial condition, cash flow and results of operations.
Although dependent on certain key personnel, the Company does not have any key man life insurance policies on any such people.
The Company is dependent on Christopher Sherron, Daniel Pianetti, and Charles Broskoski in order to conduct its operations and execute its business plan, however, the Company has not purchased any insurance policies with respect to those individuals in the event of their death or disability. Therefore, if any of Christopher Sherron, Daniel Pianetti, and Charles Broskoski die or become disabled, the Company will not receive any compensation to assist with such person's absence. The loss of such person could negatively affect the Company and its operations.
We are subject to income taxes as well as non-income based taxes, such as payroll, sales, use, value-added, net worth, property and goods and services taxes, in the U.S.
Significant judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities. In the ordinary course of our business, there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Although we believe that our tax estimates are reasonable: (i) there is no assurance that the final determination of tax audits or tax disputes will not be different from what is reflected in our income tax provisions, expense amounts for non-income based taxes and accruals and (ii) any material differences could have an adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations in the period or periods for which determination is made.
We are not subject to Sarbanes-Oxley regulations and lack the financial controls and safeguards required of public companies.
We do not have the internal infrastructure necessary, and are not required, to complete an attestation about our financial controls that would be required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. There can be no assurance that there are no significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the quality of our financial controls. We expect to incur additional expenses and diversion of management's time if and when it becomes necessary to perform the system and process evaluation, testing and remediation required in order to comply with the management certification and auditor attestation requirements.
Changes in employment laws or regulation could harm our performance.
Various federal and state labor laws govern our relationship with our employees and affect operating costs. These laws include minimum wage requirements, overtime pay, healthcare reform, unemployment tax rates, workers' compensation rates, citizenship requirements, union membership and sales taxes. A number of factors could adversely affect our operating results, including additional government-imposed increases in minimum wages, overtime pay, paid leaves of absence and mandated health benefits, mandated training for employees, increased tax reporting and tax payment, changing regulations from the National Labor Relations Board and increased employee litigation including claims relating to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Units of SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) will not be freely tradable until one year from the initial purchase date. Although the Units of SAFE may be tradable under federal securities law, state securities regulations may apply and each Purchaser should consult with his or her attorney.
You should be aware of the long-term nature of this investment. There is not now and likely will not be a public market for the Units of SAFE. Because the Units of SAFE have not been registered under the Securities Act or under the securities laws of any state or non-United States jurisdiction, the Units of SAFE have transfer restrictions and cannot be resold in the United States except pursuant to Rule 501 of Regulation CF. It is not currently contemplated that registration under the Securities Act or other securities laws will be effected. Limitations on the transfer of the Units of SAFE may also adversely affect the price that you might be able to obtain for the Units of SAFE in a private sale. Purchasers should be aware of the long-term nature of their investment in the Company. Each Purchaser in this Offering will be required to represent that it is purchasing the Securities for its own account, for investment purposes and not with a view to resale or distribution thereof.
Neither the Offering nor the Securities have been registered under federal or state securities laws, leading to an absence of certain regulation applicable to the Company.
No governmental agency has reviewed or passed upon this Offering, the Company or any Securities of the Company. The Company also has relied on exemptions from securities registration requirements under applicable state securities laws. Investors in the Company, therefore, will not receive any of the benefits that such registration would otherwise provide. Prospective investors must therefore assess the adequacy of disclosure and the fairness of the terms of this Offering on their own or in conjunction with their personal advisors.
No Guarantee of Return on Investment.
There is no assurance that a Purchaser will realize a return on its investment or that it will not lose its entire investment. For this reason, each Purchaser should read the Form C and all Exhibits carefully and should consult with its own attorney and business advisor prior to making any investment decision.
A majority of the Company is owned by a small number of owners.
Prior to the Offering the Company's current owners of 20% or more beneficially own up to 99.0% of the Company. Subject to any fiduciary duties owed to our other owners or investors under Maryland law, these owners may be able to exercise significant influence over matters requiring owner approval, including the election of directors or managers and approval of significant Company transactions, and will have significant control over the Company's management and policies. Some of these persons may have interests that are different from yours. For example, these owners may support proposals and actions with which you may disagree. The concentration of ownership could delay or prevent a change in control of the Company or otherwise discourage a potential acquirer from attempting to obtain control of the Company, which in turn could reduce the price potential investors are willing to pay for the Company. In addition, these owners could use their voting influence to maintain the Company's existing management, delay or prevent changes in control of the Company, or support or reject other management and board proposals that are subject to owner approval.
The Company has the right to extend the Offering deadline.
The Company may extend the Offering deadline beyond what is currently stated herein. This means that your investment may continue to be held in escrow while the Company attempts to raise the Minimum Amount even after the Offering deadline stated herein is reached. Your investment will not be accruing interest during this time and will simply be held until such time as the new Offering deadline is reached without the Company receiving the Minimum Amount, at which time it will be returned to you without interest or deduction, or the the Company receives the Minimum Amount, at which time it will be released to the Company to be used as set forth herein. Upon or shortly after release of such funds to the Company, the Securities will be issued and distributed to you.
Purchasers will not become equity holders until the Company decides to convert the Securities into CF Shadow Securities or until an IPO or sale of the Company.
Purchasers will not have an ownership claim to the Company or to any of its assets or revenues for an indefinite amount of time, and depending on when and how the Securities are converted, the Purchasers may never become equity holders of the Company. Purchasers will not become equity holders of the Company unless the Company receives a future round of financing great enough to trigger a conversion and the Company elects to convert the Securities. The Company is under no obligation to convert the Securities into CF Shadow Securities (the type of equity Securities Purchasers are entitled to receive upon such conversion). In certain instances, such as a sale of the Company, an IPO or a dissolution or bankruptcy, the Purchasers may only have a right to receive cash, to the extent available, rather than equity in the Company.
Purchasers will not have voting rights, even upon conversion of the Securities into CF Shadow Securities.
Purchasers will not have the right to vote upon matters of the Company even if and when their Securities are converted into CF Shadow Securities. Upon such conversion, CF Shadow Securities will have no voting rights and even in circumstances where a statutory right to vote is provided by state law, the CF Shadow Security holders are required to vote with the majority of the security holders in the new round of equity financing upon which the Securities were converted. For example, if the Securities are converted upon a round offering Series B Preferred Shares, the Series B-CF Shadow Security holders will be required to vote the same way as a majority of the Series B Preferred Share holders vote. Thus, Purchasers will never be able to freely vote upon any director or other matters of the Company.
Purchasers will not be entitled to any inspection or information rights other than those required by Regulation CF.
Purchasers will not have the right to inspect the books and records of the Company or to receive financial or other information from the Company, other than as required by Regulation CF. Other security holders may have such rights. Regulation CF requires only the provision of an annual report on Form C and no additional information. This lack of information could put Purchasers at a disadvantage in general and with respect to other security holders.
In a dissolution or bankruptcy of the Company, Purchasers will be treated the same as common equity holders.
In a dissolution or bankruptcy of the Company, Purchasers of Securities which have not been converted will be entitled to distributions as if they were common stock holders. This means that such Purchasers will be at the lowest level of priority and will only receive distributions once all creditors as well as holders of more senior securities, including any preferred stock holders, have been paid in full. If the Securities have been converted into CF Shadow Securities, the Purchasers will have the same rights and preferences (other than the ability to vote) as the holders of the Securities issued in the equity financing upon which the Securities were converted.
Purchasers will be unable to declare the Security in "default" and demand repayment.
Unlike convertible notes and some other securities, the Securities do not have any "default" provisions upon which the Purchasers will be able to demand repayment of their investment. The Company has ultimate discretion as to whether or not to convert the Securities upon a future equity financing and Purchasers have no right to demand such conversion. Only in limited circumstances, such as a liquidity event, may the Purchasers demand payment and even then, such payments will be limited to the amount of cash available to the Company.
The Company may never elect to convert the Securities or undergo a liquidity event.
The Company may never receive a future equity financing or elect to convert the Securities upon such future financing. In addition, the Company may never undergo a liquidity event such as a sale of the Company or an IPO. If neither the conversion of the Securities nor a liquidity event occurs, the Purchasers could be left holding the Securities in perpetuity. The Securities have numerous transfer restrictions and will likely be highly illiquid, with no secondary market on which to sell them. The Securities are not equity interests, have no ownership rights, have no rights to the Company's assets or profits and have no voting rights or ability to direct the Company or its actions.
In addition to the risks listed above, businesses are often subject to risks not foreseen or fully appreciated by the management. It is not possible to foresee all risks that may affect us. Moreover, the Company cannot predict whether the Company will successfully effectuate the Company's current business plan. Each prospective Purchaser is encouraged to carefully analyze the risks and merits of an investment in the Securities and should take into consideration when making such analysis, among other, the Risk Factors discussed above.
THE SECURITIES OFFERED INVOLVE A HIGH DEGREE OF RISK AND MAY RESULT IN THE LOSS OF YOUR ENTIRE INVESTMENT. ANY PERSON CONSIDERING THE PURCHASE OF THESE SECURITIES SHOULD BE AWARE OF THESE AND OTHER FACTORS SET FORTH IN THIS FORM C AND SHOULD CONSULT WITH HIS OR HER LEGAL, TAX AND FINANCIAL ADVISORS PRIOR TO MAKING AN INVESTMENT IN THE SECURITIES. THE SECURITIES SHOULD ONLY BE PURCHASED BY PERSONS WHO CAN AFFORD TO LOSE ALL OF THEIR INVESTMENT.
Discussion
$143,118
raised from
455 investors
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33
days
left to invest
