ToyMail and goTenna succeed in funding rounds [Startup Roundup]

Who’s getting money?

goTenna, which calls itself a hardware-software product that will connect you when you don’t have cell phone service, raised $1.8M on an oversubscribed seed equity round, according to an SEC filing. The company is accepting applications for testers now.

‘Evolving’ toy company ToyMail blew through its Kickstarter goal, hitting $83,000 before its $60K campaign closed. We wrote about its Carroll Gardens cofounder during the campaign.

Who’s getting buzz?

Rap Genius gets coverage of two major recent turning points for the Williamsburg operation’s three cofounder team, in Billboard. Founded in 2009, the company publishes song lyrics with crowd-sourced annotations.

Fort Greene’s Kyle DeWoody, cofounder of Grey Area, an online and offline curation and ecommerce art site, appeared in the December issue of Elle magazine, discussing the company’s origin. She’s also on the magazine’s website, with advice on starting an art collection.

The 29th Annual Independent Spirit Awards nominee list includes three films distributed online by Dumbo’s VHX platform, Upstream Color, Computer Chess and The Act of Killing.