Riddle Launches Viral Content Marketplace for Creators and Publishers

Following a $1.2M financing round led by early-stage venture firm Mangrove Capital Partners with backers including Bebo founder Michael Birch, Riddle launched last year with a set of tools for creating quizzes and other powerful interactive content in seconds. However the team soon realized that while viral content publishers were enjoying enormous success, the creators were not getting the recognition or rewards they deserved. Today it launched the world's first viral content marketplace and is inviting creators to sign up at http://www.Riddle.com.

"Publishers like the many *buzz sites out there depend on large communities of creating content for free, but these guys get very little recognition for their work. Meanwhile, more publishers and brands would love to benefit from viral content but don't have the time or expertise," comments Riddle co-founder and CEO Boris Pfeiffer, who previously headed up European operations for video game studio Kabam and viral content site Tickle.com. "By solving both the supply and the demand side issues, our marketplace will help ensure all parties prosper from the popularity of interactive content."

Creators can use Riddle's tools to rapidly generate a diverse range of interactive content - from quizzes and polls to lists and personality tests - using their own images or rich media such as Getty Images and YouTube videos. The content is published on the marketplace with the creator setting the price - starting at $5 for a basic poll to $20 for a personality test.

Publishers can then select the piece of content they want to use. They can choose to copy it 'as is' for free (but with attribution to the creator) or they can buy a one time license which removes attribution and gives them full editing privileges. Every time content from the marketplace is used, creators will benefit either financially or with attribution links to ensure transparency and allow them to build a portfolio of work.

Riddle already has a number of major publishers and brands on board - including the BBC, the Backstreet Boys and Hubert Burda Media (the German publisher of popular titles such as Elle, Playboy, and InStyle).

"The growth of ad-blocking is forcing both publishers and brands to be more creative about how they engage their audience online and this is now really driving the interactive content marketing space," continues Boris Pfeiffer. "This 'clone it or own it' approach that we've taken will ensure Riddle appeals to a broad range of publishers and brands, with the need (but not the time or expertise) to create up to the minute viral content."

David Berkowitz, CMO at global creative marketing agency MRY, echoed this saying, "Brands and publishers are turning to native content to engage their audiences online. Using a platform where they can source viral content created by strong writers who deeply understand social media will massively add value to their social efforts."

Along with Mangrove Capital Partners, which counts Skype and website builder Wix.com among its previous early investments, Riddle's backers include Bebo founder Michael Birch, Tickle founders James Currier and Rick Marini, Facebook's Stan Chudnovsky and Goodreads founder Otis Chandler.

Notes to editors: 

About Riddle 

Riddle is the world's viral content marketplace - helping publishers and brands grow their audiences by creating or grabbing embeddable quizzes, polls, and more. Matching the world's best creators and online publishers, Riddle' revolutionary ecosystem rewards creators for making the up-to-the-minute interactive content publishers crave.

Riddle's team has a rich heritage in user-generated content and interactive entertainment - from viral publishers such as Tickle to video game companies such as Kabam. The company has been backed by leading venture capital firm Mangrove Capital Partners.

About Mangrove Capital Partners 

Mangrove Capital Partners (http://www.mangrove.vc) is a leading early stage venture capital firm. Its team chases bold, transformational ideas around the world, with a combined focus on Europe, Israel, India and Russia. Mangrove works with top entrepreneurial talent at the earliest stages of innovation, with the aim of being the first institutional investor: the firm has co-created projects and regularly injects funds prior to product launch, often in unproven, unusual or unfavoured technologies. Its team brings rich and diverse experience in industry as well as technology, and its entrepreneur-centric approach ensures founders have the support, encouragement and experience they need to build disruptive, global companies.

With $750 million under management, Mangrove has the capacity to support its portfolio through multiple rounds of financing and is the largest shareholder in many of its best performing companies.  Founded in 2000, Mangrove has invested in more than 70 companies, including Skype (sold to eBay), Wix.com (Nasdaq:Wix), Brands4Friends (sold to eBay), Nimbuzz (partially sold), Freedompop and KupiVIP. Mangrove has consistently featured among the top performing venture capital funds in the industry.