Reputation Fixer BrandYourself.com Closes $2M Round

BrandYourself.com, an online service that helps individuals and businesses control their Google search identities, announced this week that it has raised $2 million in new funding. Participants in the round include new investor FF Angel as well as existing investors New Atlantic Ventures and angel investor Barney Pell.

BrandYourself.com was founded in 2009 by Pete Kistler, Patrick Ambron and Evan McGowan-Watson, when Kistler was frustrated that a Google search of his name returned negative information about a drug dealer with the same name. Using BrandYourself, customers can request that specific information about themselves be ranked more or less favorably on search queries; the first three requests are free, and more changes can be made using BrandYourself.com’s $10 per month subscription service. In addition, BrandYourself recently launched a new feature that flags Facebook posts and tweets that include personal or business information alongside unfavorable content such as swearing or mention of alcohol- and drug-related activity.

BrandYourself.com is now an 80-employee team and has received accolades from the Entrepreneurs Under 30 program, sponsored by the White House and Best Entrepreneurial Companies by Entrepreneur Magazine. The company’s founders also appeared on Shark Tank in 2015.

“In an age of cyber-bullying, revenge porn, hate sites, and inadequate online privacy laws, we believe the need to protect and shape your own reputation online is more important than ever before,” the company wrote in a blog post announcing the funding. “All it takes is a single tweet or a vindictive post from an ex to derail your career.”

The company had previously raised $1.2 million in Series A financing from investors including Zelkova Ventures and Carl Schramm, former CEO of the Kauffman Foundation.