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16 Sep 2011

LGBT Capital announces its first impact investment in Fridae

Fridae and LGBT Capital, the world's first and only corporate advisory and investment management firm focused on the LGBT consumer sector, today announced a strategic alliance to develop a world class LGBT operation in Asia to support this rapidly developing market and provide empowerment for the LGBT community.

Key points

- LGBT Capital to invest in Fridae through its WebWorks social networking investment vehicle 

- LGBT Capital and Fridae to develop strategic alliance to support LGBT and community development in Asia 

- Fridae to establish Asia’s first LGBT Foundation 

- Paul Thompson, LGBT Capital’s co-founder to serve as Executive Chairman of Fridae 

LGBT Capital and Fridae today announced a strategic alliance to develop a world class LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) operation in Asia to support this rapidly developing market and empower the LGBT community. 

LGBT Capital is the world's first and only corporate advisory and investment management firm focused on the LGBT consumer sector, with particular interest in LGBT social networking companies benefiting from LGBT growth.

Fridae is Asia’s leading LGBT social networking operation with half a million registered users, more than 1.5 million visitors and 30 million page views hits per month. Available in English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Fridae is the leading LGBT news and information site in Asia.

Through its investment in Fridae, LGBT Capital will work with Fridae to develop its impact investment philosophy by combining a commercial business with support for the LGBT community, particularly in the developing markets in Asia. As part of this, the Fridae Foundation will be established. WebWorks, LGBT Capital’s investment vehicle will also be investing in other LGBT social networking businesses to look to achieve scale within this area, provide an impact investment opportunity and to implement its philosophy of actively supporting LGBT social development. 

It is estimated that the LGBT population in the Asia region is more than 300 million with spending power of more than US$800 billion per annum. Compared to the United States where the LGBT population is estimated at around 18 million and the estimated spending power is around the same as Asia, both LGBT Capital and Fridae believe the potential in the Asia region is significant.

Paul Thompson, LGBT Capital’s co-founder to serve as Executive Chairman of Fridae 

In order to support the development of Fridae and the establishment of the Fridae Foundation, effective immediately, Paul Thompson has been appointed as Executive Chairman of Fridae. Paul is an experienced business manager and was the first foreign CEO of a fund management company in Mainland China as well as former head of offshore funds for Goldman Sachs. Paul said: “We are delighted to have concluded this agreement with Fridae which supports our core philosophy of impact investment. We are particularly excited by the opportunity in Greater China and the potential this offers. We will look to combine running a commercial business with support and empowerment for the developing LGBT market in Asia”. 

Joan Foo Mahony, Fridae’s former Chairman and current Director, said: “We are indeed very pleased to welcome LGBT capital to Fridae. We share a common vision for developing the LGBT market in Asia and believe the alliance between Fridae and LGBT Capital will allow the business to develop and further support the community”. 

Fridae intends to further enhance and expand its potential as an LGBT social networking website and media platform which is truly Asian and which empowers and interacts with the Asian LGBT community. This will include the news and information services for the Lesbian and Transgender sectors, and the launch of the Fridae mobile application. Most importantly, through the Foundation, Fridae will look to further develop its education program on HIV/AIDS and support for the LGBT community.

读者回应

1. 2011-09-16 18:01  
Congratulations Fridae. Now get that effing 377A repealed. Everywhere.
2. 2011-09-16 18:29  
I look forward to seeing how this will impact the LGBT community, and foster the growth of Fridae.

Estimates of the LGBT in Asia of 300 million seems quite low. With almost 3.9 billion people living in Asia, there must be a much higher Gay population. Regardless of the number, it's important work for Gay groups and businesses to encourage the community to become more visible and accepted as a whole.

Welcome LGBT Capital. I hope to see big things in Asia with your backing behind it.
3. 2011-09-16 18:46  
FANTABULOUS!
4. 2011-09-16 19:17  
Wow. this is something.
回应#5於於2011-09-16 20:02被作者删除。
6. 2011-09-16 20:01  
First, of all, I am glad that, finally, something really big has taken place and there will be an impact. A few quick points about this idea. (1) Although the combine spending power of Asian LGBT community may match that of their US counterparts, from an economic point, they are quite different. It's easier to reach out to the 18 million US LGBT consumers than it is to do the 300m Asian LGBT consumers. Beside the huge gap in number, the most crucial difference is the digital divide. (2) Because of the digital divide, a core strategy of this commercial venture should be to expand the netizen base of Asian LGBT consumers. For example, opening for-profit gay-friendly cybercafes and/or clubs at more remote areas, conducting IT literacy and elementary English (especially written Eng) workshops, and so forth, will be able to empower the consumers here with more awareness, which helps LGBT businesses market their products and services to them. (3) These cybercafes & pubs may also work with anti-HIV organisations & local health agencies to provide anonymous testing, STD workshop, monthly counseling services, etc. (4) If we can drastically expand the netizen base, and use a common language (Eng) across nations, the rest of the venture should be easier, because it's more cost-effective, private and efficient to market to LGBT via the internet than by traditional marketing channels. In many countries, there are laws and stigma which make it tough to market LGBT products and services through physical media.
7. 2011-09-17 07:54  
I think this is a great forward movement for the LGBT community in Asia. Community websites are very important in Asia, to help in the growth and understanding of the gay movement. I hope in the future Fridae will continue to support the movement.
8. 2011-09-17 08:59  
Congrats, Hope I can make contribution.
9. 2011-09-17 10:47  
@deyz You can start making a contribution on here by purchasing a Perks membership. :p Put your money where your mouth is!
10. 2011-09-17 16:22  
Perhaps I am a little old school on this. It seems to me that marketizing 'identity' while it certainly can have commercial benefits for those who view LGBT folk as a: "rapidly developing market," can also reinforce a tendency for people to actually undervalue political action and working together in "community" in non-commercialized ways (as has been done in a longstanding fashion in the GLBT world). What I am trying to point out is that the profit, commodification and investment motives are quite different than non-profit or social motives, and that there can be conflicting values between the two at times. For example, the Berlin Pride parade comes to mind as a place where these divergences have 'come to a head' so to speak: the mainstream corporate-sponsored 'Pride Parade' and a breakaway community grassroots 'Pride Gathering'. Yes, LGBT folk generally prefer to support 'their own' businesses and this is a good thing in the sense that this is akin to a monetary vote. Just as socially responsible investors can use their investments to 'disinvest' in arms manufacturers, tobacco, labour abusers or polluters, I think this can be a good thing. However, I am sometimes troubled by forms of materialistic nihilism that treats the 'LGBT scene' as simply another t a r g e t market. Is this really any different than the current casino economy that perpetuates blind greed and growth orientation at the expense not only of social and environmental justice, but also diminishes voluntary acts of political action that have not always been in the commercial sphere? In any case let's hope this new venture sets out some ethical principles/guidelines as socially-responsible investors in other domains have done (e.g. CERES).
11. 2011-09-17 18:12  
@10:... You make a huge assumption that a commercial approach diminishes the community approach, but I doubt this. Is there any evidence? Surely it is an attempt by commerce to be a part of the community?

People from different backgrounds have different preferences and may be more comfortable with one or the other of the approaches, but surely there is no reason why they cannot be complimentary to each other?
12. 2011-09-18 00:44  
I hope this investment will bring some advertising of the existence of fridae, to a larger audience. I discovered fridae via a Chinese guy at San Francisco Pride 2011 who was wearing a fridae t-shirt that he had designed and printed himself. Getting the word out to gays is critical to the survival of fridae, I have taken one small step, by becoming a member. I really hope that fridae can be a lifeline to people marginalised because of their sexuality and using its foundation status, influence the politics of the worst offending governments.
13. 2011-09-18 03:34  
I disagree with #10.

1st, to push for any cause, we need $. Look at why HK's gay pride got canceled. Hence, it's necessary for the organiser of any cause, including gay-empowering causes, to make economic sense. Only if a project is economically sustainable can it be expanded and furthered. So, we must make the deal a win-win for both the investors and the beneficiary, LGBT community. Otherwise, how much donation can we expect projects like this to attract for it to be sustainable? Well, from experience, we know that this doesn't work. Look at Fridae, for example. If it doesn't make money from selling its advertising space and perks, do you think it would still exist today? Who's going to pay the salaries of its dedicated staff? Do you expect these talented professional people to work for free?

2nd, in some cases, it's exactly because it is impossible or difficult to pursue LGBT causes through political means that we need to do it through the commercial route. For example, in Singapore, PLU isn't even allowed to register as a society. We don't even have a society or, like the LGBT community in the Philippines have, a political party to represent our interests. As such, we need commercial enterprises including Fridae, Trevvy, Play, Taboo, One Seven, etc. commercial organizations to sponsor various noble LGBT-empowering causes here.

Lastly, it must be noted that it's clearly stated in this project's mission that it will "empowers and interacts with the Asian LGBT community. This will include the news and information services for the Lesbian and Transgender sectors, and the launch of the Fridae mobile application. Most importantly, through the Foundation, Fridae will look to further develop its education program on HIV/AIDS and support for the LGBT community." In other words, it's not concerned just about profits, but these non-monetary objectives.
14. 2011-09-18 13:42  
Sounds really good, Fridae. I just hope that the LGBT foundation becomes a reality and serves not only those within the LGBT community but also the marginalized and disadvantaged in society at large. After all, compassion ought not be reserved only for our own kind if this foundation is to be taken seriously by the rest of society or at all.
15. 2011-09-20 10:53  
Those white guys must have bought Fridae for a deal or someone must have given them a really good story and a nice blow job. Everyone I know in Asia, especially Asians wouldn't invest any more money into something that is technically behind Faceobook and Google and Gaydar and Gay Romeo. Plus the content sucks.. So many better sites out there now which are focusing on the needs of gay men. There are better and more intelligent uncensored discusions on Blowing Wind and other forums which are uncensored and more free. Fridae is too muddled and driving all the hot young guys away to other sites. I don't know of any college students on Fridae anymore. Look at the guys that make comments here, most of them are fake and jilted. I believe Fridae is now the site of choice for over 40, fat, out of shape white guys trying to meet Asians. Now you have new investors trying to meet Asians cause they can't get laid in their own country and don't understand Asia. Too bad Asians didn't buy it. Another instance of foreign control of the gay media here in Asia.

Fridae is way out of touch politically with mainstream gay men in China and Asia and too focused on petty Singaporean politics. We actually live in other regions and we don't care about about such whiny crap. I predict Fridae will fall the way of Blockbuster Video, the US Postal Service and other soon to be out of date business model failures cause they didn't change with the times. Fridae forgets we are here for sex and only sex makes money. So I hope it gets back to its cutting edge origins and sex, sex, sex. Fridae doesnt represent the GBLT community anymore but only a fringe group who made most of their money in gay saunas which are and were more profitable. Why buy perks when Facebook/ Grindr is better and its free and they don't preach to us. Its like a gay bar that no one goes to anymore cause the crowd has moved on to a better place and because they are charging too much for bad drinks.
回应#16於於2011-09-21 12:41被作者删除。
17. 2011-09-21 12:40  
#15: Your overblown criticism is impudent & unwarranted. (1) Fridae is a private business, and its owners have every right to sell it to any party they deem fit. There is no need for them to be answerable to non-owners like you. (2) Just because you as a frog in the well don't know of anyone who would invest in companies other than the big names doesn't make investing in Fridae or other smaller companies uneducated. You argue that because other gay sites like Blowing Wind are uncensored, they are superior. If so, tell us whether these websites are as profitable as Fridae? Do they have paid subscribers numbering tens of thousands? (3) I feel offended by your stereotyping Fridae users as "over 40, fat, out of shape white guys trying to meet Asians". I do not fall into any of these categories, and most users also don't. If you are here to become Fridae users' public enemy, you had succeeded. (4) Can you clarify whether the "origins" you refer to in your statement, "cutting edge origins and sex, sex, sex", refers to your or Fridae's origins. When had Fridae ever gotten such origins? (5) You contradict yourself by saying on the one hand that "Fridae forgets we are here for sex", and that Fridae represents gay saunas. Obviously, both allegations are untrue. If you, as an example, are here for sex and only sex, why then post such a lengthy and incorrigible comment? The fact is, people come to Fridae for varied reasons. There are users who come to find friends, exchange ideas, and comment on articles like you. just did. (6) Lastly, despite all your conjecture, you are still unable to prove that Fridae has zero value, which would have resulted in no person of sound mind paying good money for its perks. You've got to prove that all those who had paid for the Perks are either of unsound mind or stupider than you.
18. 2011-09-21 14:37  
Sunthenmoon, you always add a different perspective to the topic on hand which is much enjoyed and appreciated. But just so you know, talonvon is Fridae's resident troll.
19. 2011-09-23 14:55  
Sunthenmoon (#17), your rational critique of talonvon is superb, in my view. I agree with each and every retort that you offered in answer to the warped reasoning of some poor, twisted soul. Bravo, sunthenmoon :-)

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