Splash LA May 2013 Finalist - fans.lu

Kristin Karaoglu · July 8, 2013 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/307d

Check out fans.lu's presentation at Splash LA

Splash LA MAy 2013 finalist fans.lu provides a platform for game developers to sell merchandise directly to their fans through a turnkey dedicated store.customer.com site.  We use Magento to build the stores and we also provide merchandise design, on demand manufacturing, fulfillment and store customer service. Here's a video of David Padula presenting at Vator Splash LA.

Among the judges were Ethan Applen (Warner Bros' Media Camp List), David Carter (Amplify.LA), Noah Doyle (Javelin Venture Partners), Neal Hansch (Rustic Canyon Partners), Paul Lee (Lightbank), Peter Lee (Baroda Ventures), Michael Montgomery (Montgomery & Co.), Matthew Mazzeo (Lowercase Capital), Tom McGovern (Idealab), Dave Fink (Science), Erik Rannala (MuckerLab), Heidi Roizen (DFJ), Rick Smith (Crosscut Ventures), David Travers (Rustic Canyon Partners), Pete Vlastelica (Fox Sports Digital), Sharon Wienbar (ScaleVP), Michelle Wroan (KPMG), Martin J. Waters (Wilson Sonsini).

Even though success is not defined by how much money a company has raised, past Vator winners, such as ThumbtackGetableGrovo, Astrid, Udemy, and Geeklist have gone on to raise millions of dollars collectively from venerable VCs, soon after presenting.

Here's some other testimonials: 

"The process of inviting everyone one we knew to vote for us, even before the event, was a fantastic way to build support for our company. Then presenting at Vator Splash was a blast. The short presentation style ensured the audience was engaged and the follow-up questions from the judges were on-point and constructive. At Vator Splash, I made great connections with a number of investors and had a number of follow-up meetings. We were able to raise our last round entirely from investors who discovered us from the publicity we generated from Vator Splash," said Jon Paris, CEO and founder of Astrid.

"Working with Vator, and Bambi, is a pleasure. She's really passionate about uniting great ideas with the right people. We actually tied for first in last years Vator Splash SF and as a direct result raised $150,000 from an investor who saw us pitch. TEEC Angels approached us right at the event and invested soon thereafter. Reuben Katz, CEO and founder of Geeklist.

"Vator has acted as a launchpad for my startup in terms of awareness and exposure. As a winner of a Vator competition, my startup enjoyed early traction and buzz. Vator has kept my business relevant in the minds of investors, entrepreneurs and potential employees. I've made many invaluable connections to the investor and entrepreneur community." Tim Hyer, founder and CEO, Getable

"DogVacay.com won Vator Splash LA in June 2012. The competition allowed us an opportunity to meet and pitch against some of the great Los Angeles startups and further foster our entrepreneurial community. There was such a positive energy with so many great minds providing insightful feedback throughout the night. Two paws up, Vator!"  Aaron Hirschhorn, founder & Top Dog, Dog Vacay 

"Events like Vator Splash are critical for startups to generate awareness. We were a top 10 finalist for Splash LA. It provided us with an amazing opportunity to network and gain exposure to a whole community of investors and VCs. Soon after, we raised $3M as a result of the momentum/exposure from the event and the platform in general," Peter Vogel, founder and CEO, Plink.

Join the Splash competition here.

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Kristin Karaoglu

Woman of many skills: Database System Engineer; SplashX event producer; Author of Startup Teams

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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.

 

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David Padula

Joined Vator on

I'm an entrepreneur with over 15 years of e-commerce, sales, supply chain and procurement experience in industries ranging from apparel to automotive to telecom and entertainment.