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Press Release
Black Dog Venture Partners acquires 20% stake in St. Petersburg based, woman-owned music discovery platform Giggidy
Scott Kelly to become Chairman of the Board
St. Petersburg/Tampa FL — Black Dog Venture Partners announced that it has acquired a 20% stake in St. Petersburg-based Music Discovery Platform Giggidy (Giggidylive.com). Scott Kelly, BDVP’s CEO will become interim CEO and Chairman of the Board. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Scott Kelly, CEO of BDVP commented on the investment, “I have been passionate about independent music for my entire life and music plays a key role in the marketing of our portfolio companies. Kate has built a platform that put the power back in the hands of independent musicians, and we are excited to accelerate Giggidy’s growth starting in St. Petersburg.”
Kate Rose, Giggidy founder shares her story, “"Giggidy’s inception began in late 2017 after dating a local South Florida musician for 3 years and going to hundreds of his gigs and witnessing firsthand the endless headaches local musicians, venue owners and people looking for live music have in the community. The way gigs were booked was very archaic, and as a born entrepreneur, felt this intense desire to do something about it.
I got introduced to Scott Kelly through the marketing guest speaker at my first Saint Pete Girl Bosses event in which after pulling me on stage and asking about my business, came up to me afterwards telling me she thinks I have a good idea and told me to contact a man named Scott and continued to speak very highly of him and what he’s capable of. When I met Scott in person for the first time at a coffee shop on Central Ave in Saint Pete, his warm nature, huge heart, and our shared passion for our new home in Saint Pete along with his knowledge and wanting to revolutionize the local music industry, he immediately broke down all barriers. I left our first meeting feeling excited and hopeful that Scott could be the person I had been waiting for to help me get Giggidy off the ground. After a few meetings I made the decision to bring Scott on board as my business partner. I am excited for this new chapter for Giggidy and hopeful that this platform will bring a much-needed change to the way local music is booked with the main intent to build music centered communities around the globe. I am truly blessed for all I have learned so far on this incredible startup journey and am grateful to realize it has only just begun. “
About Giggidy
Our mission here at Giggidy is to bring artists, venues, and music supporters together, under one roof, in facilitating and building the local music scene. So many people hear the phrase ‘support local music’ yet nothing major is being done to help support it. Until now. At Giggidy, we are working around the clock to provide the music industry with a much-needed platform that is guaranteed to rock your socks off. Learn more at https://giggidylive.com. View the full prototype at GiggidyMusic on TikTok.
About Black Dog Venture Partners
Black Dog Venture Partners is a business accelerator that provides access to funding through our network of 13,000 investors, business development through our network of 40,000 business partners, sales/marketing and executive coaching services for disruptive companies. The firm also hosts their VC Fast Pitch Events which connects startups with the nation's top investors. Learn more at https://www.blackdogventurepartners.com
