Kitsy Lane Raises $3.5 Million Series A Financing and Appoints Former Shoebuy.com CEO Scott Savitz to Its Board of Directors

MAYNARD, MA--(Marketwire - Jan 9, 2013) - Kitsy Lane (www.kitsylane.com), which has been experiencing 40% monthly growth since inception, today announced that it has raised $3.5 million in a Series A funding. Data Point Capital joined forces with Longworth Venture Partners to lead, with existing investor Point Judith Capital contributing to the round. As part of the announcement, Data Point Capital's Scott Savitz, ecommerce icon and founder of Shoebuy.com, will be joining Kitsy Lane's Board of Directors.

Kitsy Lane's social commerce platform enables anyone to launch their own Internet jewelry and accessories boutique in minutes for free. The platform provides the Boutique Owner with everything they need including a master catalog of expertly curated merchandise, as well as a social customer acquisition and promotions engine to grow a customer base and earn money. The Kitsy Lane Platform analyzes each boutique, providing an easy-to-follow to-do list to guide both the experienced and first-time store operator.

"Kitsy Lane has demonstrated impressive results at such an early stage of its development. The model is ripe for further disruption of traditional commerce offering a turnkey approach for individuals to profitably become retail entrepreneurs," says Scott Savitz, Managing Partner of Data Point Capital. "We are happy to be part of such a terrific company and look forward to lending our expertise to help it grow."

In just five months since launching in July 2012, Kitsy Lane has established itself as the leading website for women to set up their own shop as a Boutique Owner. The Kitsy Lane community has grown to over 22,000 women owned and operated businesses, adding thousands of new Boutique Owners each month.

"The Kitsy Lane team is thrilled with the response women have had to our value proposition. It's certainly been rewarding to help our network of Kitsy Lane Boutique Owners, many with no experience, grow independent businesses," says Kitsy Lane CEO and Founder, Andy Fox.

Key to Kitsy Lane's success has been its use of Facebook as an important way to integrate into each Boutique Owners social community. The day-to-day display of personally selected Kitsy Lane merchandise into their timeline and their friends' newsfeeds, keeps the Boutique Owners shops top of mind. The ongoing dialogue drives sales interactions and opportunities for Boutique Owners to win new customers and makes sales happen.

"I have had my own Kitsy Lane Boutique, Bright Lily, for four months and I just love it. The marketing and merchandising tools are easy to use and really work. My business is growing. It's exciting and at the same time a lot of fun," says Boutique Owner, Katie Webb.

About Kitsy Lane
Social commerce company, Kitsy Lane launched in July 2012, offering the first of its kind platform for at-home entrepreneurs. The unique platform moves the concept of direct sales online, enabling anyone to launch an online boutique free of charge, and then drive sales via its social promotions engine. Kitsy Lane supports a growing community of over 22,000 Boutique Owners. For more information on Kitsy Lane, log on to www.kitsylane.com.

About Data Point Capital
Data Point Capital focuses on companies that can be leveraged and scaled on the Internet and touch the consumer. Categories of interest include mobile, gaming, social networks, payments, comparison shopping, e-commerce and emerging technologies. The fund is stage-agnostic, allowing for investments in seed, early stage, mid-stage, late stage or controlling interest deals and is made up of business executives and internet leaders who have created tremendous value through building a number of very successful companies (in many cases, again and again). At Data Point Capital, we like to think of ourselves as entrepreneurs helping entrepreneurs and that by investing with independent thinking based on real, differentiating innovation and complimentary key metrics, superior results can be achieved.

About Point Judith Capital
Point Judith Capital is a leading early stage venture capital firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. We focus on investments in software and technology enabled services. We take an active approach to investing, striving to build collaborative relationships with portfolio company management. We have constructed our firm and our team around the strategy of building market leading companies with innovative founders and serial entrepreneurs. We and our partners have backed such market leading Internet companies as Yandex.com (NASDAQ: YNDX), Multiply.com (acquired by Naspers), Ozon.com, FSAStore.com, and Sittercity.com.

About Longworth Venture Partners
Longworth Venture Partners, a Boston based venture firm, invests in early and seed stage Internet, digital media and software companies. Founded in 1999, Longworth leverages the deep operating experience of its principals and its market-driven research process to identify and help grow the leading companies of tomorrow.