SA Rocks

Vinny Lingham is a South African doing absolutely incredible things on a global scale. He has taken Synthasite from a small South African startup to a global player with 1 000 000 users.

Now Vinny has announced on his blog (and in an email that I received this morning) that his company, Synthasite, has received another round of founding to the tune of $20m.

Straight from Vinny’s blog:

I’m very proud to be able to announce that during what looks like the deepest economic crisis of recent history, SynthaSite’s investors are so confident of our success, that they have increased their investment by a further $20m (R200m). This is testament to the great work that our team have done in building a solid business with a great product. We have also grown our userbase to over 1m from just over 10,000 at the start of last year and we are poised for more radical growth this year.

And the email I received this morning:

Dear Nic,

Today, I’m proud to announce that Reinet Fund has just invested $20 million into SynthaSite, securing our future and enabling us to continue to build our business model and product offering. This is a massive vote of confidence in SynthaSite, and we owe it to each and every one of you. Our future is bright and, with your support, we will continue to make a difference in the world!

When we began building SynthaSite, we sought to create a company whose product would change the lives of millions of people by giving them a voice online. We wanted to provide the opportunity for anyone anywhere to build a website that would achieve their unique goals, from starting a small business to showcasing their achievements.

In 2007, we raised $5 million in venture capital and moved our headquarters to San Francisco, keeping a good portion of our technical team in Cape Town, South Africa. Since then, SynthaSite has grown from just a handful of people to more than 40 individuals in both offices, supporting over one million users. Our support forum is one of the most active on GetSatisfaction’s network, and our recent “Best of SynthaSite” contest attracted more than 1,000 entrants. This level of success could only be achieved thanks to the dedication of both our user community and our staff.

I’m unbelievably excited about the future of SynthaSite and look forward to building on our success in helping you and many others reach their potential online. These past 15 months have just been the beginning…

Thank you for all your support.

Vinny Lingham
Founder and CEO

Now that’s a great way to start the day. Knowing that in an economic downturn your company can not only survive but gain enough confidence in an investor to raise $20m.

My congratulations go out to Vinny and his team.

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