Editor note: In our 2022 Startups to Watch feature, the Silicon Valley Business Journal and San Francisco Business Times present startups and founders doing unique things in the San Francisco Bay Area. Fable is one of 20 that we have profiled — to read more about our mission and the other startups we're featuring, click here.
Some startups come from newly minted entrepreneurs. Others get founded by well-known executives. Fable Group Inc. falls into the second category, having been launched led by Padmasree Warrior, formerly the chief innovation officer at Cisco Systems Inc. and U.S. CEO of Chinese electric car maker Nio Limited.
Through the service, users can form public or private clubs with others based on a common literary or topical interest. Fable also hosts readings from celebrities and influencers. One of the most popular clubs has actor Sean Astin reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Fable has almost 800 public and private clubs, with its biggest one having 9,320 members, Warrior said.
"Whereas social media is more a megaphone and a town square model ... we are much more deliberate about creating a community of readers that read the book together," Warrior said. "It's a more community-based platform rather than a social media-based platform."
Fable Group Inc.
- Founded: 2019
- Founders: Padmasree Warrior
- What it does: Social network for users to buy, read and discuss books online
- Headquarters: Palo Alto
- Employees: 25
- Total raised: $28.8 million
- Investors: Tiger Global Management, Calm Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Gaingels, Breyer Capital, Defy.vc
What was the “aha” moment behind Fable? Before I started Fable, I spent almost a year meeting with passionate readers and talented writers around the world. Along the way, I explored decades of research into the many benefits of reading, which include boosting our sense of well-being and mental health, increasing our sense of empathy and compassion, and extending our lifespan.
After months of research, I arrived at the core vision for Fable: stories for everyone. We created a tech company with the soul of an artist, developing a social platform that could bring the mental wellness benefits of reading to everyone.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in building the startup? I’ve led teams of thousands, but this is the hardest I’ve ever worked. Communicating your vision and getting buy-in before you have a product or data to show is a challenge, and having a strong reputation in the industry definitely helps. When you first start raising capital, investors are investing in the team and the business idea more than anything else.
Who was the first person or organization you asked for money? I bootstrapped the company with my own money and hired a couple of people to build a prototype. I then started raising series seed — our first financing round with institutional investors. My first pitch was to Redpoint Ventures and I received a term sheet very quickly from Annie Kadavy and an amazing investment team to partner with.
How are your going to scale the business? Our community has grown by leaps and bounds in 2021, and we will continue to tirelessly focus on our core mission: putting the omnipresent mobile screen in service of our mental wellness. We closed a $20 million Series A round at the end of 2021 to expand the Fable product, and to accelerate growth in enterprise and consumer segments.
