Thumb Friendly announced today that it has closed private placement transactions with two additional outside investors. The investments will enable further development of Thumb Friendly's mobile marketing platform for small and medium-sized businesses, allow the company to establish patent protection for its innovations, and facilitate expansion of its sales and customer support efforts. The additional capital supplements a round of venture capital that was closed earlier this year. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

Participating in the funding round was Joel Shapiro, Chief Executive Officer of Timbervest, LLC, a global leader in timberland-related investments. Also taking part in the round was Jim Douglass, the former CFO of CheckFree who was part of the management team that grew the company to more than $500 million in revenue. Douglass has also agreed to join the Thumb Friendly board of directors.

Discussing what led to their investment, Douglass said, "Through our due diligence Joel and I concluded that Thumb Friendly's proprietary mobile marketing system offers small and medium-sized businesses a powerful mix of affordability and easy-to-use technology. They also offer business owners a something no one else does " a dedicated team of advisors that helps them make the most of their limited marketing dollars by capturing the wave of consumers that are using their mobile devices to find local businesses." Shapiro added, "I applaud Andy Katz for putting together a winning game plan and recruiting a management team that can execute his vision, as these gave Jim and me the confidence to invest both our money and our time toward their continued success".

Recent research conducted by the digital media firm vSplash provides considerable evidence that small businesses globally are not keeping pace with changing consumer behavior. Indeed, according to vSplash data 98% of small business websites are not mobile optimized. What's more, 56% of small business sites have no street address and 44% had no phone number. So, while technology has been enabling for virtually all businesses, a ˜new digital divide' has emerged between Wall Street and Main Street, making mobile marketing increasingly important for local businesses.

"By 2014, 53.2% of all visits to ecommerce retailers will come from mobile devices, but small and medium-sized businesses aren't prepared to capture their fair share of that revenue opportunity", said Andrew Katz, Thumb Friendly's Founder & CEO, who was recently nominated to receive Ernst & Young's coveted ˜Entrepreneur of the Year Award'. We've become the leader in mobile marketing by being completely focused on helping small and medium-sized businesses generate incremental sales by reaching consumers through smart phones, iPads, and other mobiles devices. This round of investment is a powerful vote of confidence in the Thumb Friendly platform, our management team, and our ability to help business owners satisfy their customers and drive more revenue".

About Thumb Friendly
Headquartered in Atlanta, Thumb Friendly has become a global leader in mobile marketing by being completely focused on helping small and medium-sized businesses generate incremental sales by reaching consumers through smart phones, iPads, and other mobiles devices. A designated Google AdWords Certified Partner, Thumb Friendly's proprietary system offers a unique mix of affordability and easy-to-use technology that enables businesses to get more results from their marketing investment. For more information, visit http://www.thumb-friendly.com