Butterfly.net
Washington Post, November 26, 2001
by Nicholas Johnston
A year ago Butterfly.net raised $500,000 in a round of venture funding that was featured in "Deal of the Week." Here is an update on the company:
Since raising the funds, Butterfly.net has had a busy year. "We're cooking; there's a lot going on," said David Levine, the company's founder and chief executive. The software company, based in Shepherdstown, W.Va., raised $350,000 more in venture backing, part of it from prior investor Walker Ventures, and entered into a marketing agreement with Sony Screen Gems.
A video game that Butterfly is developing is based on the unexplained legend of Mothman, a winged man who reportedly appeared to people near Point Pleasant, W.Va., in 1966 and 1967. The Sony Corp. subsidiary is to release the movie, "The Mothman Prophecies," starring Richard Gere, and plans to distribute copies of Butterfly's game as part of a $15 million marketing campaign that begins before the Jan. 25 opening of the movie. The general release of the video game, however, is to occur in the fall, which gives Butterfly more time to test the product.
Butterfly is also in negotiations with video game publishers for distribution of the game and to secure a multimillion-dollar publishing advance to continue to fund the company.
Money from a game publisher instead of a venture capitalist is a shift in strategy for Butterfly, which has had difficulty in its pursuit of more venture funds in the past year. Traditional venture investors were not interested in backing a software firm that produced video games.
"We kept hearing over and over, 'We don't do game companies,' " Levine recalled.
With the possible funding from a game publisher, Levine said Butterfly would not need to raise more money and would begin generating revenue late next year, after the game is released.
plans@walkerventures.com
301-854-6850