Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter once said that innovation is the driving force of economic progress. Entrepreneurs, he said, are the agents of innovation. These words capture the essence of Vator.tv.  Vator.tv hopes to be a contributor in the drive for economic progress by serving as a catalyst for innovation. Hence, the name Vator, for innovator, or elevator, since the pitches are given in the span of an elevator ride.

As many of the early Vator.tv users know, the site was originally started last year, while I was a journalist, as a simple utility to help me both vet and give exposure to the hundreds of private companies that pitched me. The videos provided a way for me to learn more about the people behind the ideas or concepts that were often abstract. While the original intent of the site remains intact, Vator.tv has grown into a multifaceted innovation platform. It is an online venue conducive to breakthrough and creative thinking. It is a site where new and old ideas collide to accelerate the innovation process.

Vator.tv is designed for Schumpeter’s agent of innovation -- the entrepreneur – in whatever shape they may come.  Be they a founder of a new company, an engineer inside a corporation or University with a new product idea, an author who wants to make a film out of his book, or a proprietor of a small business who wants to franchise. Vator.tv is a community for innovators to showcase their ideas, discover, collaborate, exchange knowledge and muster the resources to get their idea to the next level. For instance, Vator.tv found its Web developers on the site. Thanks, Confiz for the video pitch!

Since leaving my career at Dow Jones MarketWatch, a lot of media reports characterized Vator.tv as a place to link entrepreneurs and venture capitalists: A place where people could pitch to get funding from the blue chip VC's in Silicon Valley.

While we're already seeing interest from investors in some of the ideas showcased on Vator.tv, this matchmaking is not what we're focused on or limited to. There are hundreds of thousands of individuals or corporations who would like to learn, and possibly invest, in this asset class of private investments. We hope to expose potential investments to them. Additionally, we’re focused on the broader concepts of innovation, across all aspects of the global economy and at all stages of development. We want to seed ideas for new companies to grand ideas at established ones. 

Since the start of April, when I resigned from being a columnist at Dow Jones MarketWatch, my team and I have been on an accelerated development track, bringing this platform to market and supporting the millions of entrepreneurs whose ideas deserve a venue. It is still in its earliest forms, but we’re confident it’s the launching point for a new kind of innovation and community around innovators. My experience as an entrepreneur has been invaluable to creating a site servicing innovators.

Bring on the brilliant ideas. We’re ready.