First30Days Launches its Beta Web Site

Expansive site to become premier destination of choice for anyone going through change, be it big or small, personal or professional

February 11, 2008, New York, NY ― First30Days, a New York City-based media company focused on guiding people through all types of changes, Monday announced the launch of its beta web site at www.First30Days.com.

First30Days, the premier destination on the web to address ‘change’ as a primary focus, empowers visitors with an array of information on a variety of changes, including starting a business, getting married, filing for divorce, switching to a Mac, getting organized, planning for retirement, and going green. Nearly 50 changes are currently offered on the site.

“Change is certainly the buzz word so far in 2008, but it’s so much more than just the focus of the election. It’s the one thing guaranteed in life. The mission of our company and what our team has been passionately building is a place that makes any change easier—be it big, small, personal, professional, social, or even global. The launch of First30Days.com is the first big step toward achieving this goal,” says company Founder and CEO, Ariane de Bonvoisin.

One of the strongest benefits visitors to First30Days.com will discover is an extensive collection of original feature articles, a directory of trusted resources that the team has worked hard to find (ex: top books, magazines, movies, music, etc.), change-specific news feeds, and candid interviews with a diverse group of more than 100 experts, including George Foreman, Steve Wozniak, Barbara Corcoran, David Bach, Dr. Andrew Weil, and Po Bronson. This aggregation of content is the result of exhaustive research and the high-standards of the First30Days team to provide users with the “best of the best,” of experts, information, and optimism.

"The First30Days gives people information and inspiration on all types of life changes. It's the right time for this concept, and Ariane is the perfect person to lead this company,” says Time Warner Chairman and First30Days’ initial angel investor, Richard Parsons.

As the name First30Days suggests, each person who signs up for help with a given change at First30Days.com also receives 30 expertly written email tips on that change—one each day—“to get people started and to stay started,” says Ariane. Additionally, users are provided with the opportunity to connect with others going through the same change(s), and to contribute to and use a growing database of community-driven Q&A and shared wisdoms.

For those who simply want to make some general changes, they can receive the Change Secrets Tips. These include one great idea each day for a small, but important change that will make life better. The team believes strongly in affecting change on a grand scale by starting with small changes that each and every person can commit to.

While First30Days is launching its brand on the web, the company’s future growth plans include extending the brand from the Internet to books, mobile devices, television, radio, magazines, and newspapers.

Its first expression in other media will be the release of Ariane’s new book in May 2008, by HarperCollins, aptly entitled “The First 30 Days: Your Guide to Any Change”. The book will provide a wide range of advice aimed at guiding readers through the principles of change. A national tour is planned to coincide with the launch of the book.

A partial list of the changes currently available online, organized by channel, appears below:

• Careers:
  • Finding your Dream Job
  • Losing Your Job
  • Starting A New Business
• Diet and Fitness:
  • Living Healthier
  • Losing Weight
  • Getting in Shape
• Health:
  • Handling a Health Diagnosis
  • Dealing with Depression
• Family:
  • Grieving the Death of a Loved One
  • Enjoying Your Pregnancy
  • Being a New Dad
• Finances::
  • Reducing Debt
  • Having More Money
  • Planning for Retirement
• Home:
  • Buying a Home
  • Enjoying Your Empty Nest
• Relationships:
  • Dating Online
  • Proposing
  • Planning a Wedding
  • Getting Divorced
• Technology:
  • Switching to a Mac
  • Using Facebook
  • Upgrading to Windows Vista
• New Directions:
  • Going Green
  • Moving to a New City
  • Getting Organized
  • Living More Spiritually

The company was founded by Ariane de Bonvoisin. No stranger to change, Ariane, born in New York City to French-Belgian parents, grew up mainly in Hong Kong, Paris, and London, was exposed to different languages, cultures, schools, and ways of living. She spent nearly a decade working for major corporations—BCG, Bertelsmann, Sony, and lastly as Managing Director of Time Warner’s Digital Media Venture Fund. She has taken a decidedly different path since. Included in the journey, was extensive world travel, from a nonprofit in Africa to taking students to Antarctica to scaling Mount Kilimanjaro, to reading hundreds of books and interviewing people all around the world on the subject of change.

Significant funding for the First30Days was led by Hearst Interactive Media in a Series A financing, in addition to The New York City Investment Fund and a host of angel investors.

“We couldn’t be any more committed to and inspired by First30Days’ unique and original platform and the long-term value we believe it will provide. Its strength as a brand will only increase as its audience discovers the amazing depth of resources, both online and in other media, that First30Days is building,” says Hearst Interactive Media President, Ken Bronfin.

First30Days’ management team is comprised of seasoned former executives from a variety of media companies, including About.com, CNN, International Data Group, News Corporation and Sony. The company’s headquarters, editorial and sales teams are based in the Flatiron district of New York City.

For more information, please contact:
Andrew Palladino, apalladino@rubenstein.com, 212.843-8482