Improving Independent Publishing

BrightStar’s Latest Investment Helps Publishers and Authors

MILWAUKEE, August 10, 2022 – BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation has invested in DropCap, Inc., a company that has developed technologies to help independent book publishing companies and authors create more targeted and cost-effective ways to sell their books globally.

The La Crosse based business offers two products. The first, DropCap Rights, is a software platform that helps book publishers market, monetize, and manage the translation rights to their titles. To date, DropCap has facilitated more than 1,600 rights licenses. The second product that will launch later this year, DropCap Data, is a SaaS tool that provides publishers and authors ways to measure their books’ online discoverability and suggests cost-effective book marketing opportunities.

“I wish I had this technology when my book was released,” said Mike Malatesta, a BrightStar investment committee member, whose first book, Owner Shift, was published last year. “The Data product would have given me insights that would have been incredible in promoting and marketing my book. Hopefully in working with my publisher, we can see how the Rights platform can create international licensing opportunities for it, expanding sales way beyond the U.S.”

The DropCap team has worked within the industry for decades and together in a past, successful publishing technology venture. “Rights licensing in publishing hasn’t changed much in 50 years and we knew that our technology solution would resonate with both rights buyers and sellers,” said Mark Levine, DropCap’s CEO. “The response has been incredible. We already work with 80 publishers and more than 1,500 rights buyers in over 100 countries, and with the launch of the Data product, 2023 is going to be a big year for us.”

For more information about DropCap, please visit their website at www.dropcap.com.