Our Investment in Smith & Tinker

It is time to announce the newest member of our portfolio: Smith & Tinker. Consider this more of teaser announcement since S&T is not quite ready to describe in detail just what it is they are up to. As a preview, we’ll say this much: they fit within our human-computer interaction (HCI) theme and the tagline on their web site reads, “reinventing play for the connected generation”. To quote further from their site, S&T says the following:

We see a future in which unconnected products like toys, games, books and movies will not be able to compete with the dynamic and exciting world of the internet. To meet this future, Smith & Tinker is creating connected entertainment products that move seamlessly back and forth from online to offline and immerse the audience in a community of fellow participants from around the world.

We should also mention that the three founders of Sling Media, Blake Krikorian, Jason Krikorian and Bhupen Shah helped us out and lent their opinions and expertise when we were performing our due diligence on the company, and that the three of them were impressed enough with what they saw that they became personal investors in the company, an endorsement that meant a lot to us at Foundry Group and to the fine folks at S&T.

We are certainly excited to be part of Smith & Tinker, led by serial entrepreneur and creative force Jordan Weisman and his co-founders Joe Lawandus and Tim Lebel, who are supported by a stellar team of employees and a great group of board directors, advisors and observers including Gilman Louie, Jim Whims, Randy Rissman, Steve Arnold, Foundry Group’s Ryan McIntyre, and co-founders Jordan Weisman and Joe Lawandus.

Intrigued? We can’t wait to talk more about S&T when the time is right, and we look forward to aiding and abetting them in their quest to reinvent play. This will be fun…