Small World Funders Unable to Exit

The invite only social network site for worldwide jetsetters, a Small World, has been trying to go public for the past few months but unfortunately has not been able to. According to the founders, the market was too choppy and will stay that way for the next 12 months. The challenges facing the four year old company is a sign of challenging economic times.

Then again I’m not so sure that the public offering of a web-based social network is a bellwether for the overall economy. A Small World would be the first substantial social network site to have a public offering which would make it a somewhat historical moment for the industry. It would also be helpful for companies like Facebook and LinkedIn, both of which are expected to eventually make public offerings, to see how the market treats the company.

The revenues currently being generated by A Small World pale in comparison to the social networking behemoths MySpace and Facebook. According to Reuters, the company generated $3 million in revenue in 2007 and aims to generate $15 million in 2009. It will be interesting to see if the company can finally pull off a public offering one year from now.