Vator, Inc.
Location: San Francisco, California 94123, United States United States
Founded in: 2007
Stage: Beta (public testing)
Number of employees: 6-15
Funding history:
- Date: 09/2010, Series A: $400 k
Investors: Peter Thiel, Mike Ackrell, Barry Silbert, Drew Curtis, Andrew Kurtzig, Georges Harik, Anu Nigam
- Date: 05/2008, Seed: $850 k
Investors: Peter Thiel, Richard Rosenblatt, Jeff Peterson, Georges Harik, VentureFarm, Anu Nigam
- Date: 03/2007, Seed: $800 k
Investors: Peter Thiel, Richard Rosenblatt, Matt Hill, Georges Harik, Paul Buchheit, Thom Calandra, Jimmy Wu, Anu Nigam
Profitable year: 2010
Short URL: vator.co/vator
Admins (6)
Followers (36,249)
Testimonials

Vator has the best b-plan competition platform around which we use to source deals and to simply stay on top of new ideas and startup trends. And Vator News has the best 'short and to the point' startup/entrepreneur interviews anywhere. You can find out what you need to know quickly so that you can move on to tackling the rest of the day.

From David Graham (Partner, Greenstart)

Vator has been great for eCareDiary and is a tremendous help to start-ups in so many ways. We have connected with a potential investor through Vator so I can't state how valuable this site has been to us.

From John Mills (Founder and CEO, eCareDiary)

Vator's competition platform made it simple to judge contestants by accessing video, PPT, ratings, executive summaries all in one place. It's the most efficient solution to judging competitions and it makes the process of judging a lot more fun! And the Vator Splash competition makes it easy and efficient to review a large number of early-stage startups that I would not otherwise have been exposed to

From Jeremy Liew (Managing Director, Lightspeed Venture Partners)

Udemy was the winner of the May 2010 Vator Splash, and it was perhaps the most important award we've won to-date. Vator Splash is an incredible event in which entrepreneurs are given a chance to showcase their wares in front of a huge crowd of investors, advisors, executives and fellow entrepreneurs. Bambi and team do a great job running the event and bring in top-quality speakers and judges. The event provides results: a significant number of investors, advisors and business development opportunities arose after we won Vator Splash in front of a crowd of more than 200. Furthermore, one of the judges - Dave McClure - ended up investing in our company. Finally, VatorSplash was a great momentum-builder for us as we were getting ready to fundraise. The victory provided social proof to prospective investors and increased our chances of successfully attracting investment. We went on to raise $1M from a great group of angel investors!

If you are lucky enough to get in front of the real Vator community (including investors and coaches and CEOs who have been though the wars) you can reap the benefits of their company and advice in no uncertain terms. To the point, unflinching reality, invaluable side notes, and a few musical notes thrown in for levity. A GREAT resource for ANY fledgling start-up, restart, or new CEO who thinks they've heard it all... Highly recommended.

From Colleen Aylward (Founder, Recruitment, Inc. (dba InterviewStudio.com))

Vator was an excellent way for Breakthrough.com to gain exposure. A half-dozen investors wanted to talk with us after winning and one of the Valley's highest profile angels committed to invest three days later. We are grateful because internet health care startups are under-appreciated and under-funded. Vator helped us breakthrough (no pun intended).

From Mark Goldenson (CEO, Breakthrough.com)

Since my company Cohuman competed at Splash (great event - perfect for startups) in the fall of 2010 we've been steadily and consistently getting followers on Vator.tv to the tune of 1-6 per day, more than twitter or Facebook. It's quite remarkable. Thank you Vator and Bambi!

From Ronan Dunlop (Vice President of Marketing, Cohuman)

The Vator experience was great for our company, LaborVoices, especially in raising our profile among our existing supporters and broadening our network. I would recommend it to any early-stage startup. Social entrepreneurs, especially, shouldn't shy away! Thanks, Team Vator!

From Kohl Gill (President, LaborVoices, Inc)

Vator has nailed vertical discovery of startups across their vast social network of entrepreneurs and investors. Social networks are all about discovery and how to best leverage technology to find what you're looking for, Vator's find a friend or colleague's startup tool does exactly that and it's dead simple to use; KISS.

From Mark Evans (Managing Principal, Bancroft Research Group)

Vator has been an incredible resource for me as a first-time entrepreneur, helping me learn about how to pitch my ideas, potential questions, and notable investors to look out for.. And that's just to name a few!

Gonna go sign up for Vator Splash now. Little late.. But I'm hopeful~

From Shawn Poh (founder, ceo, lovtoo)

Bambi has always been tireless in her efforts to spread the word and the wealth. She did it at CNNfn, she did it at MarketWatch and she is doing it now.

Vator.tv, of course, is more than Bambi. At some point, any venture, any successful venture, becomes more than its CEO. We're not there yet with Vator.tv. Most of us, after all, want to see a Vator platform precisely because Bambi has shaped it.

Still, the time is fast approaching when the newsroom that John Shinal is building will reach out to tens of thousands of people: entrepreneurs, investors like me, artists, technologists, even soccer moms and dads. Cyril Brignone's banging of the gong for video will perpetuate itself until Vator.tv's database of interviews/profiles/stories/spiels/newsletters will give search algorithims a full workout. And so on.

I believe Vator.tv is already its own channel, one that CNBC and CNET and MarketWatch and even my friends in Canada at Stockhouse will find a worthy challenger and a noble contributor to the world of biz media. In my bok, Vator does it all: educates, entertains and enhances. Anything that fulfills my '3 Es' requirement gets the platinum star.

Go forward my friends and spread the Vator as if it were a chutney sauce delivered from the heavens.

Thom Calandra at thomcalandra.com

From Thom Calandra (Writer, editor, ThomCalandra.com)

Vator really is the voice of the entrepreneur. As a startup founder who just launched a company 3 weeks ago, I can vouch for this because Vator has been there every step of the way. First by providing a venue for my company to go-live, on-stage to an audience of 300 in Silicon Valley (The Juice Pitcher). Then by helping my company get press in great publications, like CNET and ReadWriteWeb. Now Vator helps me get the word out on a daily basis with company updates through vator.tv and other social media channels. I already have 500 followers and continue to expand my reach. Above all, the Vator Team is a great group and I've enjoyed getting to know them. Thanks, Vator. Keep up the great work!

From Tim Hyer (Co-Founder, Getable)

Vator is a truly valuable service to start-ups. In the short time that QLess has been on it since we were selected one of the ten Juice Pitcher winners, we've been featured on CNET, approached by top-tier investors and successful entrepreneurs, received many qualified job applicants, and accrued hundreds of fans with whom Vator allows us to stay in touch via updates. Combine that with the fact it's free, and the ROI is hard to beat. Thanks, and keep up the great work!

From Alex Backer (CEO, Ab Inventio, LLC)

Vator, Inc.

Voice of the Entrepreneur
Startup/business
California, United States United States United States
http://vator.tv

Vator (short for innovator) is a professional network for entrepreneurs. Founded and run by veteran and award-winning journalist Bambi Francisco, Vator consists of Vator.tv, VatorNews, and Vator competitions.

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36,255 Followers see details »
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
Want to go to #vatorsplash LA? We still need volunteers - http://vatorsplashla2012.eventbrite.com/ - ping Michelle Hughes on Vator 2 days ago
Thumbs_up_green Noli Francisco liked this update
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
Great post on innovation in education - http://vator.tv/n/26d9 -- be sure to get to the latest weover.me gathering this Thursday in Berkeley on May 19
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
Happy Mother's Day to all the mom entrepreneurs out there! on May 13
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Michelle Hughes (Founder)
Vator needs volunteers to help at Splash LA on June 7th. If you are interested in helping out please email michelle@vator.tv on May 09
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
Nice write-up on VC panel at Vator Spark Gamification event by @agoldfisher - http://www.pehub.com/148851/gamification-is-serious-business/ on May 07
Thumbs_up_green Jeffrey Frichner liked this update
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
@vatortv #vatorspark @michel8wu on killers, socializers, achievers and explorers. achievers try to beat killers but never can. http://vatorspark.eventbrite.com/ on May 01
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
@timechange @bunchball @badgeville @playnomics @gamify @trada @lithium at #vatorspark on May 1 - http://vatorspark.eventbrite.com/ on April 30
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
#vatorspark Gamification event is May 1. get tickets before they jump at door. Thanks @bunchball - http://vatorspark.eventbrite.com/ on April 30
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
Consolidation in genealogy space - Ancestry buys Archives.com for $100M - http://vator.tv/n/262e on April 25
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
#vatorspark is in a week! thanks to sponsors @bunchball @badgeville @fixya @digitalrealty - http://vatorspark.eventbrite.com/ on April 23
56122
Michelle Hughes (Founder)
We still need volunteers to help at Spark on May 1st. Email michelle@vator.tv if you are interested in helping out. on April 19
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
good piece on gamification just in time for our #vatorspark event. thanks to @bunchball for supporting Get Game! http://vator.tv/n/25f4 on April 18
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
Only 2 wks left until Vator Spark Gamification conference. Thanks to @bunchball for being a main sponsor - http://vatorspark.eventbrite.com/ on April 17
Thumbs_up_green Kristle Rittenbach liked this update
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
@david hornik from august capital looks for awesome people in the awesome category - http://vator.tv/n/24e8 on April 16
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
Spring sale for Vator Spark ends tonight at midnight - http://vatorspark.eventbrite.com/ on April 10
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
#vatorspark gamification conference, with @bunchball, is halfway sold out! Nice! http://vatorspark.eventbrite.com/ on April 02
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
Get your tickets for Vator Spark's Gamification event - Spring Sale on; thanks to @bunchball - http://vatorspark.eventbrite.com/ on April 02
56122
Michelle Hughes (Founder)
We are looking for volunteers to help at Vator Spark on May 1st. Contact michelle@vator.tv if you would like to help out. on March 29
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
Going to interview head of original programming at YouTube, Tom Sly. going to find out what kind of content it's looking to produce on March 29
5
Bambi Francisco Roizen (CEO and Founder)
Just started organizing my photos on my iPhone using track media.. it's super easy and helpful. Check them out here: vator.co/tracksmedia on March 22
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