ASmallWorld

History

In March 2004, Erik and Louise Wachtmeister founded ASMALLWORLD. It was dubbed "MySpace for millionaires" by The Wall Street Journal. To maintain its desired exclusivity, ASMALLWORLD, while initially free, was invitation-only, open only to those invited by an existing member. In October 2004, the platform had 30,000 users, mostly celebrities, models and bankers between 25 and 35 years old, living in Europe or North America. By August 2005, the platform had 68,000 members.

In May 2006, Harvey Weinstein's The Weinstein Company acquired a majority stake in the platform. Other investors included former AOL COO Robert W. Pittman, film director Renny Harlin, and entrepreneur Prince Alexander von Fürstenberg. At the time, ASMALLWORLD had approximately 130,000 members. Harvey Weinstein said his company planned to expand the site's membership and bring in additional advertisers. It was the Weinstein Company's first investment in an Internet company. After launching online advertising in 2006, the website had 100 partners. Advertisers included Jaguar Cars, Diane von Furstenberg, Mercedes-Benz, Cartier, and Moet & Chandon.

In October 2009, Patrick Liotard-Vogt, a Nestlé heir and Swiss investor, purchased a controlling stake in the company, and became its chairman. Sabine Heller became chief executive officer. At that time, membership was in excess of 500,000 members.

In July 2012, the company launched a mobile app for iOS. A mobile app for Android followed.

In February 2013, ASMALLWORLD announced that as of March 1, 2013, it would not be accepting new members, citing an initiative to ensure the integrity of the community. The company changed its strategy to focus on a smaller network and more perks for its members. After temporarily shutting down, ASMALLWORLD relaunched in May 2013 with a membership model and an advertising-free experience for its members.