BOULDER (December 5, 2018) ROAM, the next generation adventure network, today announced its first funding round of $2.1 million from Advancit Capital, SUSA, WndrCo, TackVC and Imagination Capital.
ROAM enlists a dream team of the world’s most trusted and talented adventurers to create content for original mini-docs and episodic series that live across social channels. Its mobile-first content appeals to the millions of young people who identify with adventure. In just over a year, ROAM has amassed a following of more than 1.6 million who have consumed more than 120,000 hours of video in over 100 million views. Moreover, many of ROAM’s videos have racked up millions of views on Facebook and Instagram. ROAM’s vision has attracted sponsorship support from blue chip brands including Coors Light, DJI, Land Rover, National Geographic and Discovery Channel. It’s emerging ecommerce offering Immediately sold out a special edition James Brand pocket knife and a Pela bio-compostable phone.
"Roam is filling a void for the next generation of adventure enthusiasts by engaging with them on the platforms where they consume media. This is a passionate community, and we are excited about the lifestyle brand that the ROAM team is building for it,” says Jason Ostheimer, Co-Founder and Partner at Advancit Capital.
“ROAM’s capital-efficient content leverages star-based curated and user-generated content from fans who want to be part of ROAM’s huge reach and increasing number of original shows created and edited by members of the ROAM editorial team,” says Christopher Jerard, founder and CEO of ROAM. “Explorers both contribute stories from the field and amplify ROAM every day with social shares. Our team’s deep understanding of youth-leaning content and cutting-edge data science has enabled ROAM to grow rapidly across multiple social media platforms. Together, we are creating the ROAM content universe, a hub for the greatest adventure stories of our time.”
The funds from the round will be used to develop more original content, grow ROAM’s team, and further develop the exclusive ROAM product, experiential and content benefits for its membership and subscription model.
ROAM features the stories of human endurance, brilliant destinations, innovative explorer engineering, athletic prowess, cultural curiosity, and the astounding ecology of our planet. Its community of contributors finds these moments in the most remote, wild, and visually stunning locations on Earth. ROAM puts these moments into the pockets of its audience of 1.6 million.
The Boulder-based company was founded in 2017 by Christopher Jerard and has received funding from Advancit Capital, SUSA, WndrCo, TackVC and Imagination Capital.
