American pop star Britney Spears is the latest celebrity to become involved in a start-up, with a report suggesting Spears may have invested in US-based mobile social network Path.
Based in Silicon Valley, Path was founded by former Facebook employee Dave Morin, Napster creator Shawn Fanning and Macster co-creator Dustin Mierau.
According to TechCrunch, Spears visited Morin at Path’s offices earlier this week, even sitting at the Path boardroom table, but it could not confirm whether Spears has invested in the start-up.
However, it’s understood Path is raising a Series B round of funding, with the aim of bringing in between $25 million and $30 million at a $250 million valuation.
While Spears didn’t become famous for her business acumen, there’s no denying her status as one of the most famous entertainers in the world, both on and offstage.
StartupSmart lists three ways Britney Spears can boost your start-up:
Spears is no stranger to social networks – she has more than 2.3 million followers on Google+ and more than 14 million followers on Twitter – so her endorsement of Path makes sense.
But, more importantly, Spears has tweeted about Path, raising its profile among 14 million people.
“Thanks for showing me Path Dave. I LOVE IT!!! Xoxo”, Spears tweeted.
Morin also took to Twitter following Spear’s visit, boasting that “Britney came by today, and tweeted about it to 14 million people”.
Spears has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, is the eighth top-selling female artist in the US.
She is also recognised as the best-selling female artist of the last decade. In 2002, Spears was named Forbes’ most powerful celebrity, but it wasn’t just for her music.
Like many celebrities, a large number of products have been endorsed by Spears including books, video games, clothing, perfumes and even dolls.
What does this mean? Her face is everywhere, so anything new that Spears puts her name to already feels familiar to consumers.
While Spears has successfully built her brand into a global empire, she is also well known for her bizarre antics, including shaving her head and driving with a child on her lap.
While no start-up wants to be associated with this bad behaviour, Spears has made it through the tough times to come out on top, so her story is not dissimilar to that of a start-up.
One thing’s for sure – Spears is never far from the headlines, so you can guarantee her name will never fade from people’s minds.
