Women in their 20s and 30s in the Triangle are having a much easier time planning weekend activities thanks to the work of Offline Media.

When they pull up Offline’s app, they get details of a jewelry making class at Edge of Urge in Raleigh or a pop-up cocktail event in the 21c Hotel’s underground bank vault in Durham, events and experiences that might not have made local news or event listing sites.

The focus on Millennial women is by design.

It’s what’s helped Raleigh-based Offline grow its user base 500 percent over the last year, to the point that a third of local college-educated women with smartphones have the app and most use it regularly. Launches in Charlotte and Nashville have led to similar adoption.

Fast user growth, combined with successful pilots with advertisers and plans to integrate OpenTable, Ticketmaster and Uber helped Offline Media snag its first major funding round since graduating from The Startup Factory accelerator in 2012.

$700,000 has come in from a group of strategic investors all with ties to the Triangle and experience in events, advertising or selling to small businesses. Leading the round is Michael Holt, who served as senior vice president of sales at Angie’s List, and he’s joined by iContact co-founder Ryan Allis, O2 Fitness owner and serial investor Michael Olander Jr., former eTix CEO Joe Kustelski and angel investor Bill Spruill.

There’s more to the story. Read the full report at:

http://exitevent.com/article/offline-media-raises-700k-nc-investors-160412