World Vital Records Obtains New Funding

World Vital Records of Provo, Utah has been mentioned often in this newsletter. The company partners with other firms to place millions of genealogical records online. According to an article in the Private Equity Hub, World Vital Records recently raised around $1.2 million in Series A from vSpring Capital, Provo Labs and TTP Capital Advisors (of Japan).

The startup is led by Paul Allen who co-founded what is now called The Generations Network (previously known as MyFamily.com) where he launched Ancestry.com in 1996 and the MyFamily.com web site in 1998. That company raised a huge $90.5M in venture capital but has yet to launch an IPO. Allen joined an incubator called Provo Labs that developed several startup companies and invested in others which launched World Vital Records.

World Vital Records launched a subscription business in October 2006 and claims to already have 5,000+ paying subscribers.

Comments

[Kenny Hedgpeth]

does this have the sounding like there is another twig under the Generations Network umbrella ?

[Pamela Smith]

In reference to "another twig under the Generations Network umbrella?" I feel strongly no! I joined WorldVitalRecords shortly after they started out and also belong to Ancestry. Paul Allen says he has in no way anything to do with Generations Network. He broke away from them a few years ago and decided to do something different and yet continue with genealogy.
Under "About WorldVitalRecords" they say: "Today, we are amazed at how much genealogical data is available online, but we worry that it is too expensive, too difficult to use, and much of it is not accurate. We also worry that some companies are more interested in making money than in helping customers find the answers to their problems.

"In June 2006, our team got together again and decided to jump back into the genealogy industry. We launched WorldVitalRecords.com, which now has over 100 million names and is adding new data every day.

"Our goal is to help you find what you are looking for whether or not we have the answers on our site. We also want to connect you with experts who can guide you every step of the way.

"If the answer is on familysearch.org, we will point you there. If the answer is on census.gov, we will point you there. If the answer is found on print.google.com, we will direct you there. If the experts belong to our German Genealogy group web site, then we'll invite you to visit with them........."

Hope this helps someone else make a decision.

Pamela Smith

[Brenda]

What is IPO?

[Dick Eastman]

IPO: An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. In other words, it is when a privately-owned company converts to a publicly-traded company and sells stock to the general public, usually on a stock exchange.

[Brenda]

Well, in that case, it would be rather nice if subscribers got first chance at going public. Thanks Dick.

[Beverly Spraggins]

I am disabled, retired on a very small pension, and cannot afford Ancestry.com. But most of the sites I visit now, ultimately refer me to Ancestry.com, which I cannot afford. I feel that all this information should be available to everyone without paying exorbitant fees. Oh, I know you can still go to most of the courthouses and cemeteries to dig out (no pun intended!)the information, but if you can't afford the fees you can't afford the travel either. Ancestry keeps buying up all the sites and making their info private. So anyone who works to keep that from happening is okay in my book.

[Yvonne]

Beverly your comment concerning not being able to travel to obtain information from courthouses and other hands on resources hits home with lots of us. I do belong to WorldVitalRecords but so far have not been able to glean much on my illusive families. I don't know if this is an appropriate place to aks this question, and hopefully I won't be blown out of the water so to speak. But! Someone on this blog mentioned that they don't have to belong to paying sites because they know how to find whatever they need by using Google - is anyone willing to share your Internet saavy on this subject for those of us who are still learning and haven't as yet figured out how to search in this method. Thanks.

[Mal]

RE Google, see the Google Books post and comments for some ways to get data from Google that in some cases includes books sold at other sites.

Also check your local libraries. Often these premium services are offered free at libraries, and in some cases you may be able to access useful collections like Heritage Quest for free from home via your local library site.

RE World Vital Records, it appears Paul Allen was disappointed with the pricing structure at Ancestry after he left and that this is his answer to that - affordable access to large numbers of databases.

I see supporting WVR as a way to help send a wake-up call to TGN/Ancestry, who seem out of touch lately with the problems with FTM 2008 software and recent business decisions angering the genealogy community. I posted about this on my site today. I'm not renewing Ancestry, there are alternatives like WVR that deserve support and offer great values comparatively.

[Amanuensis]

Beverly, check with your local public library -- many of them make Ancestry Library Edition available for free to card holders. And don't forget, several dozen of Ancestry.com's databases are still available for free at Family History Centers -- either because they are databases that are free to everyone, or because they are free to Family History Centers because of contracts that Ancestry.com has with the LDS Church.

[Amanuensis]

If golfing is your hobby, then you either have to pay what it takes to buy golf clubs and pay greens fees, or you get a different hobby. Likewise, if genealogy is your hobby then either do what it takes to pursue that hobby, or chose a different hobby.

If World Vital Records has the data you need, then subscribe to it. If it does not, then don't. If Ancestry.com is what you need, then subscribe to it. It if does not meet your needs, then don't. And so forth. Personally, I have found that genealogy is like a jigsaw puzzle. You can find some of the pieces you need from various free websites such as Google Books, but there are other pieces you need that you have to pay to get from subscription websites. And there are other piecies that you can get only through onsite visits to record repositories either by yourself or by a professional genealogist working for you.) In other words -- there is no free lunch, no free golf, and no free genealogy.

[Ryan]

It seems that Paul Allen is doing what he did last time. I think I remember reading an interview where Paul was talking about how investors came in and purchased more and more of Ancestry.com until eventually he was squeezed out - or they just went separate ways. The tone of the interview didn't seem particularly bad or good, he just seemed retrospective on what he might have done differently. Perhaps with these investments, he did not give up as big of a share. What I do find interesting though is that when I visit vSpring Capital's website and look at their portfolio, they have MyFamily.com listed. Maybe Paul knew someone there from the past that he got to invest, and maybe vSpring no longer has a stake in MyFamily.com, but if they do, it would seem odd to have a private equity/venture capital investor also own a piece of your biggest competitor.

[Amanuensis]

Ryan is exactly right -- Paul Allen has blogged several times about how investors that he brought into Ancestry.com eventually forced him out, due to a difference in opinion about the direction that the company should take. Thus, I view the fact that Paul Allen has gone back to the equity investor well with his new company as a sign that he is desparate for operating funds for his new company. Otherwise, why would he have once again done something that turned out so badly for him last time?

Based on the number of paying subscribers that the newspaper article said WVR has, i.e., about 5,000, and based on how much WVR charges for a subscription, and further based on the number of employees that the article says his company has, it is obvious that the revenue he is getting from subscribers is not even enough to meet his payroll, let alone fund investment in creating new databases for subscribers. Thus, he has to be bleeding cash -- which is why he needed the cash infusion from the investors. I would be very interested to know how much control he had to give up to get that 1.2 million.

[Ryan]

Yeah Amanuensis, you pretty much hit what I was getting at. I was going to stay on the benefit of the doubt side with my comments because I couldn't quite remember the circumstance of his prior conversations - but I have always thought that they were probably bleeding cash. When I see extensions of 2 years for 1 deals and other "limited time offers", I know they are trying to pull in some cashflow. Then the other part of it is, if vSpring still has a stake in MyFamily.com, and now owns a piece of WorldVitalRecords, then there seems to be a conflict of interest (unless WorldVitalRecords doesn't mind being taken over by TGN or just beat). If vSpring now has a right to information as an investor, it could be a cheap way for TGN to get information on their new competitor. I am pulling for WorldVitalRecords to do something good. But ultimately, if you want to pull people in, you have to do something different. Databases are good, but everyone has databases. Trees are nice, but you can get trees from many places. You can spend a lot of time playing catchup or go a completely different direction. There is a reason why Ancestry costs so much and they are probably realizing even more why this is.

[Ryan]

Also, isn't Provo Labs being apart of the $1.2mm similar to Paul giving himself money since he pretty much is Provo Labs?

[Jimmy M. Sisson]

I keep hearing about Paul Allen. Is this the same Paul Allen who co-founded Microsoft? If so, he would seem to have deep pockets on his own.
I use ancestry.com and have just started with footnote.com. Do wish Ancestry had not jumped prices as much as they have, but that's life.

[Dick Eastman]

---> Is this the same Paul Allen who co-founded Microsoft?

No. It is another individual who happens to have the same name. He jokes about that quite often.

[Whitney Ransom, Director, Corporate Communications Director, WorldVitalRecords.com]

I recently read the post made by Dick Eastman and wanted to make a few revisions. First, World Vital Records, Inc. just surpassed its 14,000 member milestone. Also, Allen founded the Provo Labs Incubator. World Vital Records, Inc. was one of the companies that was successfully launched under Provo Labs. Thank you for reporting this newsworthy item on your site.

[Joy Rich]

Amanuensis's "signature" links to http://www.apgen.org/directory/search_detail.html?mbr_id=820, the entry for a professional genealogist named Chad Milliner.

I googled "chad milliner." The first result is a listing for Chad Milliner on zoominfo. It says that Chad Milliner is a Content Specialist for THE GENERATIONS NETWORK, aka MYFAMILY.COM aka ANCESTRY.COM!

[Joy Rich]

Paul Allen of World Vital Records, who was mentioned by some of the above commenters, has been made a fellow of UGA. See http://blog.worldvitalrecords.com/?p=264.

"PROVO, UT, September 24, 2007 — World Vital Records, Inc.’s CEO, Paul Allen, recently received the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA) Fellow award at the 2007 UGA Annual Genealogical Conference held in Salt Lake City."

I am not in any way affiliated with World Vital Records or Paul Allen.

Joy

[Joy Rich]

Paul Allen posted "What to do with good news and bad news" on his blog yesterday at http://www.paulallen.net/2007/09/26/what-to-do-with-good-news-and-bad-news/.

He included these numbers: "We passed 15,000 subscribers recently" and "We have more than 500 million genealogy records online and continue to add new databases every business day."

I am not in any way affiliated with World Vital Records or Paul Allen.

Joy

[Sara]

I tried World Vital Records & found it anti-Mac. I couldn't access anything using either Safari or Firefox browsers. I use Mac OS 10.4.10, Safari 2.0.4, Firefox 2.0.0.7. They have a lot of databases that are potentially informative but until they make them accessible they're useless for me. Ancestry has improved their accessibility for Mac users.

[Happy Dae]

Amanuensis reminds us of the reality that you get what you pay for, but does not openly declare him/herself. Joy reminds us that you pay for what you get, but is very open about her credentials. My father told me, "It's not whom who know, but who knows you."

With genealogy, we're in the business of getting to know our ancestors. There are many organizations which help us do that. Some are free, others are moderately priced, and some seem only profit oriented. It think blogs such as this help users learn which ones are which.

I'm just saying...

Happy Dae.
http://www.ShoeStringGenealogy.com/ssg1.htm

[Sharon]

To Beverly Spraggins: Many many people are in the same financial boat you are. We do our genealogy without expensive database subscriptions. Yes, Ancestry.com has lots of info and easy search capabilities. But you can achieve the same end results by going to your public library and your local Family History Center and searching the "old-fashioned" way. I also know people with Ancestry subscriptions who can search for me, (always within the rules, thank you) then tell me which page, county, roll, etc of microfilm to look at. Eventually you get past the need for census records, and have to go to microform, anyway. Don't give up on your favorite hobby because some insulting snob in a suit left a vile message. I don't use a pen-name to hide my identity.
I am, respectfully, a fellow genealogy enthusiast.

[Sharon]

Joy Rich, many thanks for uncovering the identity of Amanuensis.

[Grannie B]

Amanuensis--Ancestry no longer allows Family History Centers access to Ancestry.com. It happened when Family Search started indexing the 1900 Censu. I guess Ancestry doesn't like free competition.