TimePad, a startup offering a range of online tools for event organizers, announced on Wednesday that it had received an investment of undisclosed size from the Rambler-Afisha group.
TimePad’s functions can be compared to those of Eventbrite or Armiando. They include event publication and promotion, through existing contacts and social networks, as well as online registration, ticket sales, and attendee management.
“Our greatest competitor on the Russian market is Microsoft, with its Excel and Outlook,” co-founder Lyudmila Pavlova told East-West Digital News. “In other words, we compete with the old-style and inefficient approach to running events.”
Founded in 2008 with the help of HSE Inc, the business incubator of Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, TimePad quickly reached breakeven, Pavlova said. The startup was initially funded by angel investor money with a grant from the Bortnik Foundation.
Venture-News.ru, a publication covering venture and private equity investment in Russia, reported from unnamed sources that the investment from Rambler-Afisha amounted to $200,000.
Pavlova did not confirm the amount of the deal, nor would she disclose TimePad’s valuation or comment on its financial results. But she did point out that important synergies are expected with Rambler-Afisha web properties, noting, “This is one of the key reasons for this deal. We will surely integrate with other products of the group at some point.”
Rambler is one of the earliest Internet player on the Russian market, in operation since 1996. The Rambler-Afisha group was formed in 2010 by merging the Internet assets of its main shareholder, the Prof-Media group. In June of last year, the group announced the establishment of a new fund targeting startups. In July, the group acquired Kanobu Network, the leading Russian network gaming site.
Among Rambler’s e-commerce properties are the price comparison service Price.ru, the theater ticket sales service Rambler Kassa, and Rambler Avia, an air ticket sales site launched last year. In January, the group invested in e-commerce marketplace Ichiba.ru.
