Image via Complex Original
Intro
What do you do when you've got money burning a hole in your pocket? If you're one of these celebrities, you find a company you believe in and help it pop. That's what Jessica Alba did. Today it was announced that the actress and mother of two is behind a new startup called Honest Co. which allows parents to order non-toxic baby supplies. The former Dark Angel star is just the latest celeb to invest in a tech startup. Check out the other athletes, musicians, and actors that have thrown money into new tech companies.
Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba
Startup(s): Honest Company
When she couldn't find organic, non-toxic diapers and cleaning products for her two children, Jessica Alba decided to create a place to sell them. The result is the Honest Company, a store that allows people to have safe baby products delivered to their doorstep each month. Brian Lee, the guy who helped Kim Kardashian get ShoeDazzle.com off the ground, is a co-founder.
Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Startup(s): Airbnb, LikeALittle
The newest member of Two and a Half Men is heavy in the tech world. After investing in big Brands like Skype, Kutcher turned his sights to startups. He was a big supporter of the popular social lodging site, Airbnb, and put money behind social flirting site, LikeALittle. He recently took his investing one step further and founded a technology investment fund called A Grade with investment big wigs Ron Burkle and Gary Oseary.
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga
Startup(s): BackPlane
Shortly after his departure from the Apple Board of Directors, Google's former CEO, Eric Schmidt, announced that he would be backing a new social venture with none other than Lady "18 million Twitter Followers" Gaga. When the news first broke, BackPlane was pegged as a social networking site for celebrities, a place where they can communicate on a more focused level about their work, causes, and whatever else it is celebrities need to talk about. However, the site, which has yet to officially launch, says it's a "canvas for self-expression," that "unites people around interests, affinities, and movements." Sounds like every other social network to us. But we have faith in Schmidt.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Startup(s): Mobli
We're not sure how Leonardo DiCaprio has time to become a full-time advisor to a startup, but that's exactly the role he plays at Mobli: a venture that enables people to tag phone photos with certain events and categories. Or, as Leo put it: "Mobli allows people from all over the world to share moments." Yeah, we don't get it, either. But Leo threw up $4 million, so there's that.
Jermaine Durpri
Jermaine Dupri
Startup(s): GLOBAL 14
Launched in 2011 in conjunction with Crown Royal, GLOBAL 14 is an online destination for the So So Def founder to share his lifestyle with the world. But it's more than just a blog for the platinum producer; at least he hopes it is. JD sees GLOBAL 14 as a social network different from the many that already populate the Net. GLOBAL 14 users—or "Lifers", as JD calls 'em—can create their own groups and forums for specific topics. Can JD compete with the big dogs? Not a chance.In November of last year the site had only 28,000 lifers. Let's see what happens in 2012.
Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Startup(s): Stipple, Miso Media
When not reading scripts, bum-rushing the SNL stage, or chilling with Jessica Biel, Justin Timberlake lends his celebrity (and money) to startups focused on the arts. He's invested in Stipple, a site that allows photographers to sell their images, and Miso Media, a website devoted to revolutionizing music education through technology like apps and interactive programs.
Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
Startup(s): Funny or Die
Out of all the startups funded by big name stars, Will Ferrell's may be the best. Founded by Ferrel's production company Gary Sanchez Productions, Funny or Die has brought us some of the funniest skits we've seen on TV or the Internet. It's so good, HBO decided to give Ferrell and his partner Adam McKay some money in 2008 for a 10% stake in the company.
Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian
Startup(s): ShoeDazzle.com
With a mildly successful boutique under her garter, Kim K thought it was time to expand her entrepreneurial reach to the Internet. And, to be fair, ShoeDazzle.com is much better than we expected from the former Mrs. Humphries. Woman logon, take a quick survey, and the company's stylists recommend shoes and handbags the customer can rent. It's like Netflix for designer shoes. This is a much better look than that diet product her and Khloe were hawking.
MC Hammer
MC Hammer
Startup(s): WireDoo
MC Hammer is a hustler at heart. After his rap career petered out, Hammer tried his hand at Thoroughbred racehorses, mixed martial arts, books, and, now, technology. The Oakland native's first digital venture was DanceJam.com, a website devoted to dancing videos. After that fizzled out Hammer moved on to WireDoo, a "deep search engine" that will take a different approach to web search by conducting what Hammer referred to as "relationship searches". The venture, which was announced at the 2011 Web 2.0 Summit, is still in the private with no known launch date.
Curt Schilling
Curt Schilling
Startup(s): 38 Studios
The only thing Curt Schilling likes more than being a Republican, is being a gamer. The makers of EverQuest II made him his own special character for the game. After retiring from Major League Baseball, the six-time All-Star founded 38 Studios, a gaming company that rocks under the creative leadership of Todd McFarlane and R.A. Salvatore.
Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
Startup(s): Global Grind
Before its launch, Russell Simmons dubbed Global Grind the "Huffington Post of Hip-Hop". While it didn't turn out to be quite that, the site has grown into a successful digital multimedia company with a nice mix of celebrity bloggers.
Edward Norton
Edward Norton
Startup(s): Crowdrise
Before Sean Parker founded Causes, Edward Norton was backing Crowdrise, a site that allows people to start fundraisers for a variety of causes and display the development of their philanthropic work. The site stresses that helping others can be fun if done correctly.