We are pleased to formally announce our investment in Phonio.  Imagine if a global charity, financial advisor, or musician could pick up a phone and call all of their followers, all around the world, at a moment’s notice – this is what Phonio has created.  By facilitating large-scale communication with voice, through actual mobile phone calls, Phonio’s proprietary platform delivers an intimate and exclusive experience for large audiences of users.  Bee Partners first invested in Phonio in October 2013.  This week, the company launched its service — call (310) 504.3963 to start getting calls from Drake Bell and (916) 245.9325 for the Sacramento Kings — dial the number of the VIP you want to follow, and press #1 to opt into future calls.

Today, Phonio is partnering with entertainment VIPs to validate various elements of the product, and we see far wider applications beyond this vertical.  My daughter, Kate, quite the VIP herself, uses Phonio to keep in touch with her cousins across the country….sorry, her number is private!

And while this application is clearly geared towards the consumer, both monetization and distribution result from delivering a unique communications tool to influencers with dedicated marketing & business development teams that seek ways to connect more intimately with their audience.

As Phonio’s first investors, we are especially proud of Matt, Dan, and Conrad because they built Phonio from the ground up – the technology, the business, and the brand.  Our thesis revolves around: (1) the complementary founding team (visionary, operator, technologist); (2) the product delivering a new, unexpected and delightful experience to consumers who then rave about it to their friends, (3) how broad the application can reach, both in terms of its use cases with various influencers including politicians, sports stars, television shows and even fictional characters, and (4) how well Phonio can monetize its service.

Call us if you’d like to learn more about our involvement with Phonio!