EFactor Acquires RocketHub For $15 Million To Accelerate Perks-Based Crowdfunding

Entrepreneurs are rarely eager (or even allowed) to talk to the press immediately after their company has been acquired. Brian Meece, co-founder and CEO of RocketHub, embraced the idea. He was excited to tell Benzinga about RocketHub's sale to EFactor Group Corp EFCT, a network for entrepreneurs.

"EFactor, at its core, is a corporate networking site for entrepreneurs, with 1.5 million users that are actively looking to launch their endeavors," said Meece. "One thing I know from my [experience] in entrepreneurship is that funding is always at the forefront."

EFactor acquired RocketHub for $15 million. Meece said that the acquisition is really exciting for RocketHub "because we're able to really accelerate what we do now, which is the perks-based crowdfunding model." From there the company will be able to "explore launching new products and explore the funding needs" of EFactor's core users.

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'A Question We Ask Ourselves Every Day'

RocketHub is one of many crowdfunding platforms. When asked how the company stands apart from Kickstarter, Indiegogo and others, Meece said that it's a "question we ask ourselves here at RocketHub every day."

"Keep in mind we are a world-leading platform," said Meece. "We've been featured in hundreds of press outlets and we've testified in U.S. Congress twice. The White House has visited us here in our Hell's Kitchen office. We lecture around the world on crowdfunding, so we are definitely a leader in the space. I like to say we're big enough to matter, but we're also small enough to care."

Meece said that he and his team pay close to the daily feedback from entrepreneurs.

"We listen to our users and we listen to their pain points," he said. "Their pain points, across the board, [are] 'how can I raise more funds' and 'how can I get more awareness for my endeavor?' To those two pain points, we have listened and launch the Success School at RocketHub."

The Success School provides an in-depth look at how to raise money using RocketHub.

"A lot of folks have misconceptions about crowdfunding and how it works," Meece added. "Is it for me, how much can I raise, what should I do, what should I not do?"

RocketHub wants to answer those questions.

Partnership With A&E Networks

RocketHub was the first platform to have an integrated partnership with A&E Networks.

"A&E reached out to us," said Meece. "They were interested in the crowdfunding space. From the first meeting we just clicked. They understood the dynamics around crowdfunding. They understood the value add that they were bringing in."

That partnership gave birth to a new initiative for A&E: Project Startup.

"It's just been a wonderful, wonderful partnership," said Meece. "It's been a wonderful touch point for our brand and a great opportunity for our users to help tell their stories."

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.