The William Morris Agency (a Hollywood talent shop), Accel Partners, Venrock, and AT&T have teamed up to create The Mail Room Fund, a fund focused on investing in digital media start-up companies based in Southern California.
This combination of investors seems particularly unusual for a couple of reasons. Silicon Valley companies don’t usually “speak the same language” as Hollywood companies, yet this alliance involves investors from both areas (William Morris from Hollywood and Accel/Venrock from the Valley). Additionally, it seems unusual for AT&T to be in the mix. Wireless carriers (including AT&T) are often viewed as too controlling. Yet somehow these companies have come together to invest in digital media startups.
The fund has an executive committee, with representatives from all parties, and a larger investment committee to decide which startups get funded.
The idea for the fund came from James A. Wiatt, William Morris’ CEO, and Paul Bricault, another executive at the company.
The New York Times reported that the fund’s initial financing is in the “tens of millions of dollars, which will be used to start and invest seed money in fledgling companies interested in creating online content and technology for social networking, mobile games and advertising.” The Times also reported that investments may range from as small as $250,000 to as large as a figure in the millions. The fund is emphasizing on Southern California, but investments may be made in other areas.
AT&T is mostly interested in mobile applications, while the William Morris Agency is more interested in content and social networking companies with “emotional relevance” for consumers.
| Company | Date | Round | Size | Participants |
| Sometrics | 5/08 | Series A | $1.55M | 3 |
