Thursday, February 14, 2008

Eons spins out obits: 'Tributes.com' inks $4.2M in VC

Five months after restructuring, Eons Inc. has spun out its online obituary operations and jumpstarted it with $4.2 million in venture capital funding.

Charlestown-based Eons, which already operates online baby-boomer community Eons.com, created the new company, Tributes Inc., and called it Tributes.com. The new website is intended to meet the original vision for the Eons obituary classifieds product formerly known as Eons.com Obits, which launched in 2006, company officials said.

As part of the new venture, Dow Jones & Co. has invested in Tributes Inc., which has raised a total of $4.2 million Series A round of financing, officials said.

Eons CEO Jeff Taylor will act as Tributes chairman; Elaine Haney, who served in several positions at Eons.com, is the new company's president.

Tributes.com also offers an online community to provide emotional support during times of loss and grieving, and the website includes an obituary database with records dating back to the early 1900s, officials said.

In September 2007, Eons Inc. laid off 24 workers, about one third of its staff, to refocus its business strategy.

Privately held Eons has raised a total of $32 million in two rounds of funding. Sequoia Capital in Menlo Park, Calif., partnered with General Catalyst Partners of Cambridge on the $10 million first round in April 2006.

In March 2007, Eons took on $22 million from Charles River Ventures in Waltham, Intel Capital in San Francisco and Humana Inc. in Louisville, Ky.