Cameo joins the Endeavor network and marks the first unicorn ($1Β) in the organization’s portfolio in Greece
Steven Galanis, of Greek origin, and Devon Townsend, co-founders of Cameo, were selected to join the Endeavor Global network. Only a few months after the company’s $100M Series C round funding that made Cameo’s value surpass $1B, thus reaching Unicorn status, the company joins the global network of fast – growing entrepreneurs and marks another success for the Greek tech ecosystem.
Cameo is an online marketplace that connects fans directly with more than 40.000 pop culture icons via personalized video messages, live calls, and direct messages. Cameo capitalizes on a simple, powerful insight: in the internet age, 15 minutes of fame creates a core audience for a lifetime. Cameo has quickly become the market leader in the talent monetization space. Last year only, more than 1.3M cameos were recorded, surpassing the last 3 years’ metrics in total. At the same time, 10.000 new athletes, actors, musicians and other celebrities joined the platform whereas in 2020, Cameo reached $100M in gross sales – a 5 times higher amount than 2019.
Since its establishment in 2017, Cameo has raised $165.2M in capital from investors including GV (formerly Google Ventures), Amazon’s Alexa Fund, UTA Ventures, Softbank Vision Fund as well as from celebrities that use the platform, such as Tony Hawk. In 2020 alone, Cameo was awarded Best Product in Forbes’ 2020 Social Media Awards; ranked #1 on The Information’s TI50 Most Promising Startups; and among Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies, Inc.’s Best In Business 2020, and Business Insider’s Top 100 Startups of 2020.
With Cameo’s selection, Endeavor Greece welcomes its first unicorn to the Greek portfolio and Steven and Devon become Endeavor Outliers, thus entering the 5% of Endeavor Entrepreneurs and joining the group of the most innovative business leaders of the network. Endeavor Outliers are influencers in their respective entrepreneurial ecosystems, who strive to build and scale lasting businesses in order to inspire countless others to follow in their footsteps. At the same time, Cameo’s selection is completely aligned with Endeavor Greece’s strategy for the past few years, which focuses on uniting the Greek ecosystem with the entrepreneurs of the Diaspora and acting as a platform that strengthens the ways they support and get supported by it. By transmitting their philosophy and know-how, activating their network, raising and directing funds for investments in Greece, they can make exactly the difference that the startups and scale-ups of our country need to make their next, decisive growth leap.
«We’re extremely excited and humbled to join Endeavor’s global network of high impact entrepreneurs. We look forward to growing and increasing our impact through the influence of this unique group of passionate founders.», stated Steven Galanis, co-founder & CEO, Cameo.
May Galani, Retail & Consumer Tech Portfolio Lead at Endeavor stated: “Cameo’s selection is a milestone for Endeavor Greece and a great opportunity for the Greek innovation ecosystem. It is, undoubtedly, one of the most innovative companies worldwide which is growing rapidly and we are thrilled for the addition of the first unicorn to Endeavor Greece’s portfolio. We are ready to support the company in its global expansion and in its valuable connection with the Greek ecosystem.”