The ballots are in! They have all been counted and recounted, and we have a winner for this year’s Vator Splash Oakland. It is…
Thesis Couture, a performance driven, fashion footwear brand.
Using structural engineering, advanced material science and with a keen focus on human factors, its team has created a patent-pending internal architecture of core components to replace the century-old parts and processes still used in today’s painful high heels. The design and materials measurably improve load distribution across the foot, impact shock, and kinematics, resulting in a healthier and longer-wearing shoe that never compromises on high fashion or sexy aesthetic.
We also want to say congratulations to our People’s Choice winner: ShareRoot!
ShareRoot, a content marketing platform, which aggregates user generated content from Instagram and Twitter in a platform that brands can access and securely request for the rights to those images.
The company has created a SaaS platform that gives brands the ability to source UGC from various social channels. It utilizes APIs from the major social networks that allow for images and image information to be pulled from the platforms chronologically. Its tools allow brands to seek out images, send out custom requests for the rights to the images, and post their newly sourced content to multiple platforms.
And, finally, the winner of our Startup Showcase Alley is Countable.
Countable, an online web- and mobile-based governmental application that provides information about key legislations for eligible voters,
Users can use it to learn about issues, influence their representatives in government, and rally their community and friends around those issues. Organizations and politicians can use Countable to build support for their positions, expand their membership and drive donations.
A big thank you to all the companies that presented today:
BriteHub, a provider of supply chain management tools to make their customer’s days more efficient.
It is a cloud based manufacturing application connecting buyers and suppliers in the product design and manufacturing space, allowing them to connect with verified suppliers or collaborate with their network of suppliers, share design files and collaborate all in one interface and see all company activity in their customized dashboard.
Wonderspark, a casual mobile game developer, who game, called Alter/Ego, combines the visuals and excitement of a hardcore action game with the strategy and accessibility of a card-combat-based role
Through activity monitors and background location, Alter/Ego takes the things you do in the real world & converts them into a fantastic adventure that users are always playing. Players earn cards through their real-world activity. Time spent at “work”, for instance, is translated into the fantasy world as “questing”. Sleeping at home recovers health & stamina.
CrowdStreet, a crowdfunding marketplace solution connecting accredited investors with institutional-quality real estate investments.
It provides real estate operators, funds and private equity companies a full-service marketplace solution for presenting investments online, marketing opportunities publicly, managing the offer process and maintaining ongoing investor relationships. The CrowdStreet solution is enriched by services and business partnerships that empower real estate sponsors to modernize their fundraising processes and embrace online capital formation.
ShowKit, a cloud-based communication platform that adds real-time screen sharing, co-navigation and video chat to any mobile app with a few lines of code.
With ShowKit customer care agents can tap, swipe, draw and view the screen of a mobile user in real-time while communicating with them via video/audio chat right inside the app. ShowKit’s goal is to reduce resolution times and repeat calls for technical defects, and increase customer loyalty and conversions by providing a more efficient and effective mobile support experience.
Cloudstead, a private cloud platform that seamlessly integrates an unlimited number of applications, giving users massive privacy improvements compared to current cloud services such as Google and Dropbox.
Users can run any application, written in any popular language. That means that Cloudstead’s growing platform adapts quickly to the changing needs of users across varied businesses. Currently, Cloudstead has over a dozen applications, including email, calendar, storage, surveys, collaborative documents, bug tracking, project management and more.
The prizes
Here is what the winner of Vator Splash Oakland will receive:
A one-hour individual sit-down meetings with at least 10 top-notch VCs, including Javelin Venture Partners.
Plus, the winner receives in-kind prizes worth more than $40,000, including an one-year subscription to Rackspace, four round-trip tickets courtesy Alaska Airlines, a Shine activity and sleep monitory from Misfit Wearables, a bottle of Bread & Butter wine; complimentary services courtesy Scrubbed and Stratpoint, and more to come.
We are stoked to have Rackspace be our preferred managed hosting provider for our startup finalists. Here’s why its managed cloud service is valuable: Why a Managed Cloud service is better than unmanaged.