Here are the 10 finalists for Vator Splash LA!
Don't forget to vote for your favorite startup on Thursday night!
The day we've all been waiting for is finally here! That's right, Vator Splash LA is happening tonight!
We here at Vator have got 10 great startups on deck who are anxiously waiting to present to you! They were chosen through two rigourous voting rounds, including an online popular and judges' voting round, from some 100 startups. Later today, they will begin to take the stage to pitch their companies to some of the top tech VCs in California and win prizes worth more than $25,000, plus sit-down meetings with five top VCs.
At the event, there will be a People's Choice winner. To win, the startup has to have the most votes from fans. If you can't make the Splash event, be sure to check VatorNews Thursday evening (pitches start around 6:05 pm and end 8:45 pm). We'll have instructions on the code you need to text for your favorite startup!
Here are the 10 startups that will be presenting tomorrow night:
GoodFit reduces returns and increases purchase likelihood for the online retailer by accurately recommending clothing size to the e-commerce shopper based on their body shape. The platform seamlessly integrates into the e-retailer’s website through a software as a service (SaaS) model.
It utilizes machine-learning algorithms to match shoppers’ body dimensions to clothing that best suits their body shape. It determines the shopper’s body shape through five simple questions, requires no measurements, and takes under a minute to complete. After finishing the questionnaire, shoppers receive a personalized recommendation of clothing that will fit according to their body shape and a personalized sizing chart. This allows shoppers to wisely purchase the correct size and fit.
Stockr is a social media platform for the stock market. By combining market data and news with two pillars of scalable networks like Facebook and LinkedIn -- authentic identity and good social technologies -- Stockr is transforming the way individual investors, industry experts and public companies connect and share what’s moving the markets.
It provides real-time updates from people, publications & companies users follow; recommendations; 5-minute delayed quotes on companies from their curated list; customized market news; and chart and company fundamentals.
BiteMe is a multi-player creative-social-betting-video mobile platform that allows its users to create and offer any number of wildly creative bets and broadcast them worldwide via 6-second microvideo (Vine) taken from their smartphone.
They can multicast 10 or 100 bet offers of completely different events "baits", all at the same time at different odds they set, without risking more than one single bet. They also get acclaim and virtual money for judging the videos and outcomes of the bets of others.
Players control the odds, and rate each other based on how creative, successful or controversial each other are, all in a fully transparent way.
Fans.lu provides a platform for game developers to sell merchandise directly to their fans through a turnkey dedicated store.customer.com site. It uses Magento to build the stores and it also provides merchandise design, on demand manufacturing, fulfillment and store customer service.
It also offers APIs that game developers can easily plug into their games in order to interface directly with our stores. Development of a custom software that will allow gamers to integrate their unique game characters and worlds directly onto merchandise and 3D printed models is also in the works..
Skit! allows anyone to use their latest photos, Facebook friends, or quick drawings to tell an impressive, animated story. Drag and drop background and characters, add stunning effects, animate by dragging characters, and add your own voice or soundtrack.
The Skit! Marketplace allows advertising agencies and digital rights holders to monetize branded content on touch devices in a way that uniquely engages audiences. Users will share stories of their favorite brands, such as characters from The Walking Dead.
Shop In Spa provides free, privately branded e-commerce web stores that offer real-time, peer-to-peer transactional capabilities between resorts, spas and salons and the manufacturers that supply them. SIS systems can process sales and purchase transactions, and make automatic payment disbursements in 28 countries.
The company retains 25% of every sale and reorder. Its resorts/spas market their branded stores to millions of their customers.
Tint is a self-service platform for brands to aggregate, curate, and display any social feeds (including hashtags) anywhere they want. They can display feeds from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest, etc. and embed it onto any website, Facebook page, TV display, retail kiosk, or mobile app. It puts a Flipboard onto any site.
Over 13,000+ active brands were using Tint within 5 months of launch. Notable clients include: Toni Braxton, NBA, Kelly Rowland, Enrique Iglesias, NFL, Honda, Aston Martin, Williams Sonoma, Chelsea FC, Tadashi Shoji, Microsoft Bizspark, World Music Awards, Limp Bizkit, Kairos Society, Scopely, University of California Santa Cruz, University of Southern California, Krispy Kreme, The Lumineers, Verizon and Vogue.
The Dog Walking Co. is focused on solving the problem of efficiently being able to find a local trustworthy person to come into your home and take care of your pet. It solves a problem for dog owners to find, hire and trust someone with their pet. It provides insurance and technology tools for professional dog servicers and create a simple experience for dog owners.
The company takes a 10% fee from the owner and from the professional dog servicer.
Teachmeo is an international marketplace and community where anyone who wants to learn and/or teach and skill can connect via live, one-on-one video. Teachmeo's range of learning topics is limited only by the imagination. Crochet, origami, music lessons, sign language, sushi making.... these are just a few of the countless hobbies and skills that Teachmeo will cover.
Unlike other e-learning websites that specialize in pre-recorded videos or impersonal webinars, Teachmeo provides a true one-on-one learning environment that replicates the experience of being with a teacher in the same room. This is especially helpful for teachers and students who might be separated by hundreds, or even thousands, of miles but now can meet face-to-face in the comfort of their own homes.
Runner is a Web/mobile app that allows ordinary people to make some extra money by simply transporting items along the regular commutes that they are taking anyway; "crowdshipping."
The system and method provides technological and price advantages for express shipping that customers cannot get from traditional standalone providers.
Runner also enables senders to provide star ratings and reviews of each and every 'runner' that they use, providing a further competitive incentive for quality fulfillment. Thus, Runner even benefits from the decentralized localization of the competitive behavioral decisions for which each independent 'runner' can self-manage themselves to proivide.
What does the winner get?
At the end of the night, the judges will vote for their favorite! That startup will be the Vator Splash Winner. At the same time, the audience will vote for their favorite. That startup will become the People's Choice Award winner. Be sure to check into VatorNews to get the codes to text in your favorite startup.
All presenting companies will receive a bottle of wine, courtesy Manifesto, plus $24,000 in services from Rackspace and a video of their presentation, plus discounts to future Vator events.
But the winner will also get:
- A demo table at the next Splash event; Discounts to Vator events
- Opportunity to be an online judge for the next Splash
- Sit-down meetings with top VCs (Javelin Venture Partners, DFJ, Rustic Canyon Partners, CrossCut Ventures)
- Two hours accounting consultation, courtesy KPMG
- One-hour corporate, one-hour IP consultation, courtesy Wilson Sonsini.
The Splash winner also wins an Apple iPad!
Check back night to see which of these lucky startups have taken the top prizes!
Related Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs
Tint
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Vision: Our vision is to help brands drive deeper engagement with their audiences by allowing them to integrate social media feeds into their marketing channels.
Problem: Brands invest time, effort, and capital into social media yet their content lives for about 16 seconds before it's gone.
Brands have websites that are static and find it difficult to manually add content to interact with audiences.
Solution: Tint is a self-service platform for brands to aggregate, curate, and display any social feeds (including hashtags) anywhere they want. They can display feeds from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest, etc. and embed it onto any website, Facebook page, TV display, retail kiosk, or mobile app. We put a Flipboard onto any site.
Over 13,000+ active brands using Tint in 5 months of launch. Have doubled-tripled user growth and revenue month over month. Will break-even within 5 months of start date of generating revenue.
Notable clients include:
Toni Braxton
NBA
Kelly Rowland
Enrique Iglesias
NFL
Honda
Aston Martin
Williams Sonoma
Chelsea FC
Tadashi Shoji
Microsoft Bizspark
World Music Awards
Limp Bizkit
Kairos Society
Scopely
University of California Santa Cruz
University of Southern California
Krispy Kreme
The Lumineers
Verizon
Vogue
What is Tint?
Why use Tint?
AngelList: angel.co/tint
Shop In Spa
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
The overwhelming majority of the 31,000 major resorts/spas lack e-commerce capability in this $100 Billion Dollar Market. They are sitting on 25 million opted-in top tier clients.
They all want an e-commerce store but have no technology budget, are scared of inventory investment and have no way to pick pack & ship.
Three 5 Star resorts are in our Beta.
Shop In Spa provides free, privately branded e-commerce web stores that offer real-time, peer-to-peer transactional capabilities between resorts, spas and salons and the manufacturers that supply them. SIS systems can process sales and purchase transactions, and make automatic payment disbursements in 28 countries.
Shop In Spa retains 25% of every sale and reorder. Our resorts/spas market their branded stores to millions of their customers. Our customer acquisition cost is virtually nil.
We eliminate the costs of carrying inventory for resorts/spas and cut the distributor cost layer for our manufacturers by 90%. Our cloud-based software provides a suite of e-commerce systems, turnkey fulfillment services and customer-acquisition tools that yield long-term residual income for all our partners in this $100 billion dollar market.
SIS has forged strong ties with 20+ national and international manufacturers of premier health, beauty and wellness products by providing them with a unique, and low-cost competitive advantage by dramatically cutting their distribution costs.
SKIT!
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013 article
Problem:
Everyone finds mobile/tablet ads extremely annoying. The heat map studies prove that. Ad prices on mobile/tablet is a fraction of that on PC. As mobile usage overtakes PC usage, online ad industry may have only a few quarters to search for innovative ways to engage users before revenue growth slows significantly.
Solution:
Mobile/tablet ads has not been and will not be the right format. We believe product placement in compelling and viral user-generated animated story will become the holy grail mobile ad industry is searching for. We see the eyes of ad sales and media executives light up with excitement and possibilities when they see our product demo in action.
Product:
With our Skit! app and cloud platform, anyone can use their latest photos, Facebook friends, or quick drawings to tell an impressive, animated story. Drag and drop background and characters, add stunning effects, animate by dragging characters, and add your own voice or soundtrack.
Then, share with your friends via email or Facebook, or publish to YouTube directly!
Not feeling creative? Just browse through user-generated videos, and if you like a video, you don't have to start from scratch, you can just remix a story or continue a story, like magic.
Tell a story, make a birthday / Xmas animated card, create a company product intro video, create a viral funny animated ad, or role-play action figures. Your imagination is the limit. Skit! app and cloud platform turn your iPad into your personal South Park or Pixar studio.
Team:
Robin Johnson, co-founder/CEO, previously at Electronics Art (Medal of Honors) and Trilogy Studios (Kung Fu Panda World).
Max Woon, co-founder, previously co-founder of Xfire (acquired by Viacom/MTV for $102m in 2006).
Accelerator:
TechStars
Advisor:
Micah Baldwin, CEO, Graphicly
GoodFit
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Business Opportunity
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1) The Confidence Problem According to Just-Style, 30% of all clothes bought online are returned. 2 out of 3 shoppers state poor fit as the reason for returning. Poor fit caused an $8bn problem for US retailers in 2011 in returns and un-converted sales. 2) Growing apparel sales online According to Retail Systems Research, the vast majority of retailers expect their online apparel sales to increase sharply in 2013. There will be a strong focus on providing a good customer experience. The top concerns stated by retailers include providing richer product details and engaging social networks. 3) Analysis of Fit Data Inventory, planning, and design issues are big issues for retailers. There is currently no cohesive tool or method for measuring how well clothes fit actual customers. Proper planning and allocation means that retailers need to know which of their garments fit target customers. |
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Product Description
GoodFit provides accurate clothing size recommendations with a flexible and easy-to-use proprietary platform. We are currently focused on women's denim.
GoodFit utilizes machine-learning algorithms to match shoppers’ body dimensions to clothing that best suits their body shape. It determines the shopper’s body shape through five simple questions, requires no measurements, and takes under a minute to complete. After finishing the questionnaire, shoppers receive a personalized recommendation of clothing that will fit according to their body shape and a personalized sizing chart. This allows shoppers to wisely purchase the correct size and fit.
The GoodFit platform seamlessly integrates into a retailer's website on its product page.
Traction
- Tested on hundreds of women across 20 brands. We can recommend with 90% accuracy.
- We will be launching in Summer with one of the fastest growing denim brands in LA.
- We are in internal trials with one of Canada's largest denim brands.
The Dog Walking Co.
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Dogwalkingco.com is the future of in-home pet services. In a $40B+ market, we plan to expand the industry by personalizing every in-home pet care need and service.
We are focused on solving the problem of efficiently being able to find a local trustworthy person to come into your home and take care of your pet. This is currently a fragmented offline business which has not standard measure for making a decision. The Dog Walking Co. makes it easy to find a person, see why they are so good at what they do and quickly hire them. Again most people looking for a service needed it yesterday and don't have the time to figure out who is the best person to work with so we take it upon ourselves to make that process easy.
Teachmeo
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Teachmeo is an international marketplace and community where anyone who wants to learn and/or teach and skill can connect via live, one-on-one video. We're planning to revolutionize the way people learn & teach by becoming the largest interactive educational marketplace in the world.
Teachmeo's range of learning topics is limited only by the imagination. Crochet, origami, music lessons, sign language, sushi making.... these are just a few of the countless hobbies and skills that Teachmeo will cover.
Unlike other e-learning websites that specialize in pre-recorded videos or impersonal webinars, Teachmeo provides a true one-on-one learning environment that replicates the experience of being with a teacher in the same room. This is especially helpful for teachers and students who might be separated by hundreds, or even thousands, of miles but now can meet face-to-face in the comfort of their own homes.
fans.lu
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Fans.lu is a new platform for artists to sell their video game art directly to fans.
Artists can sell originals and fans.lu manufactures additional on demand merchandise (shirts, 3D printed figures, framed prints…etc.)
- Everything merchandise wise is printed in Detroit Michigan, on demand (no inventory costs)
- Each store is made with responsive web design (one store for multiple viewing devices) and retina ready / HD graphics. (Almost no other e-commerce sites offer that type of tech)
Fans.lu completed the StartEngine www.startengine.com accelerator program in January, 2013. StartEngine is the largest startup accelerator in Los Angeles, California. Founded by Howard Marks, co-founder of Activision, and Paul Kessler, Principal and Founder of Bristol Capital Advisors, LLC.
Stockr
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Described by Forbes as "Bloomberg for the masses," Stockr is a social media platform for the stock market. By combining market data and news with two pillars of scalable networks like Facebook and LinkedIn -- authentic identity and good social technologies -- Stockr is transforming the way individual investors, industry experts and public companies connect and share what’s moving the markets.
No other platform provides market data and modern social tools:
Stockr is building a community of bona fide Wall St. and industry experts, leading to information sharing and content never before available to most investors:
Companies like $NTWK are now paying Stockr to publish and communicate directly with the market:
BiteMe
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
The disruptive things we do in B2B are demonstrable Please see video and White Paper "The Long Tail of Betting" US Patent 7,792,723 (plus Intl IP). Now we want to apply our our radical IP to gaming, and in particular, to social betting. This a potential $20B market http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/27/a-winning-wager-experts-see-a-20b-market-for-gambling-in-games/
"BiteMe" is a multi-player creative-social-betting-video mobile platform (did you get all that?). With just a dollar* in your bank, you can create and offer any number of wildly creative bets that are interesting to you and broadcast them worldwide via 6-second microvideo (Vine) taken from your smartphone. The more interesting your video and bet offer "bait", the more viewers you get who may vote up your video and take your bet offer "bite". You can multicast 10 or 100 bet offers of completely different events "baits", all at the same time at different odds YOU set (not the house), ALL without risking more than one single bet! Why fish with just one pole in one pond at a time? Potential players and viewers can up vote your creative 6-second pitch (trolls get voted out) and you gain possible nano-celebrity and virtual money (real money to follow) resulting from those votes. You also get acclaim and virtual money for judging the videos and outcomes of the bets of others. It is fun and safe to play as creatively and wildly as desired. Because there is no opportunity cost impediment to play, other players will join in with their own creativity and, sometimes they will "shark" your bet idea, by competing against you and offering your original bet but with better odds to lure interested players away (but only you get the up votes for your originality though). For the first time, players control the odds, and rate each other based on how creative, successful or controversial each other are, all in a fully transparent way. What are you a brianiac on? Socialize and monetize that knowledge by expressing your predictions on politics, pop-culture, sports , or anything that interests you. BiteMe appeals to both ends of the player spectrum. The hardcore gambler, solely incentivized by financial gain, benefits from the visibility of supply & demand of odds as well as the ability to create bets not hostable by conventinal venues "the house" (that pesky opportunity cost thing again). The casual player, who isn't necessarily incentivized financially but who is definitely incentivized socially, will enjoy the rewards of expression, discoverability and upvotes.
*Betting is real-money where legal and soft-money in other jurisdictions. And those gates are coming down!
Here's how you do it:
Let's say you're a big American Idol fan and you just know that Contestant A is going to win.
Step One: You register on BiteMe. It's free, easy and anonymous.
Step Two: You enter a few brief details about your bet offer (who, what and when) and what odds you are offering $1 to $1, $2 to $1 etc.
Step Three: On your smartphone you make your 6-second micro video promoting your bet in any entertaining way you see fit. It can be a smack down of the competition, or why you are so smart, or why your idol is so great, or anything that is entertaining which can drum up votes for your video and winnings to your coffer.
Step Four: At outcome, your virtual currency is either transfered out of or into your account. BiteMe only makes public your upvotes, win/loss ratio, judging stature and reputation on disputes. You rise or fall on how well you create and execute.
