As we build out a world class creative team, we are excited to share some news.
Firstly, we’re pleased to announce that Philip Hickey has joined as Vice President, Marketing & Communications. Philip will be responsible for marketing our properties, beginning with our first title later in the summer. Philip joins from Rovio where he led marketing strategy and execution across the company.
We’re also thrilled that Petri Räsänen has joined Seriously as Game Artist. Petri is a talented game and technical artist, and was part of the team at mobile game developer Rocketpack which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2011.
Additionally, two advisors have joined the Seriously team.
Dan Romanelli brings extensive entertainment franchise and retail experience to Seriously. Dan was Founder and President of Warner Bros Worldwide Consumer Products where he built that division into a business that generated over $50 billion in worldwide retail sales under his leadership. Dan and his team were responsible for the consumer product programs for multiple Warner properties including Looney Tunes, Scooby Doo, Batman, Superman and Harry Potter.
On joining the advisory team, Dan said: ‘It takes a blend of hard work and creative inspiration to build a property that can grace the world stage. I’m impressed with the DNA of the Seriously team and excited about the opportunity they have to build mobile first entertainment brands as audiences migrate to smartphones and tablets. I look forward to supporting them.’
Ujjal Kohli brings comprehensive mobile, entrepreneurial and venture capital experience to Seriously. Most recently, Ujjal was CEO and co-founder at Rhythm New Media which sold to BlinkX. Among other roles, Ujjal was also CMO for AirTouch Cellular, which later formed part of Verizon Wireless.
On joining the advisory team, Ujjal said: ‘I admire the company’s entrepreneurial gusto and determination to tackle a very big opportunity, and, having spent the past eight years successfully building a mobile entertainment business myself, hope some of my experience can help the team at Seriously achieve their goals.’
And lastly, we’re pleased to share that Seriously closed a $2.65M ‘Series Seed B’ round of financing which will be invested into content development and further building out the team. The round was led by current investors Sunstone Capital and Upfront Ventures, and adding Daher Capital as a new investor. Seriously’s total seed raise stands at $5M.