Whisper CEO Michael Heyward to speak at Splash LA 2014

Heyward joins founders of other hot LA startups, Honest Company, TrueCar and more

If you want a place to share your deep, darkest secrets and get others to chime in, try Whisper, a fast-growing mobile app that allows people to share their thoughts anonymously. 

Founded by Michael Heyward, Whisper has gone on to raise some $60 million in venture financing. The most recent round was a reported $30 million, valuing the LA-based startup at $200 million, according to Recode.

We're excited to announce that Heyward will be joining us on stage at Splash LA on Oct. 2.  

The 3rd annual Splash LA will be held at Casa del Mar on the beach in Santa Monica. It's the startup event focusing on the emering LA tech scene and will gather founders from the hottest startups in LA from Whisper, to The Honest Company's Brian Lee and Jessica Alba and TrueCar founder & CEO Scott Painter. 

We'll also gather leading investors, such as MuckerLab's Erik Rannala, Science founder Mike Jones and Siemer Ventures' co-founder Eric Manlunas and Javelin Venture Partners' Jed Katz and Alex Gurevich.

Get your steeply-discounted (50% off) early-bird tickets before they jump in a month.

Register here. If you're interested in being a sponsor, please email: sponsors@vator.tv

Why Whisper?

As a mom of a teenage son, I can tell you that these years can be filled with anxst, loneliness and a sense of freedom that scares.

For teenagers, who apparently account for much of the usage, Whisper is a safe place to divulge random thoughts that they are learning never to share on Facebook. It's the playground for our alter egoes.

But where does it go from here? Is it a new news app? Is it today's version of self-help therapy? Will we start seeing ads for Prozac or Zoloft? We'll ask Heyward where he sees Whisper going.

Importantly, Heyward is a big believer in the LA tech startup scene and he's helping to lead and shape the tech ecosystem. How's the LA scene changing and what's Whisper and Heyward doing to build it up? Join us and find out. 

Splash startups apply here

As many of our members know, Splash is a startup event and competition. We've now opened applications up to find the top 10 promising startups to get on stage and win prizes. In the last four years, Vator has put 150 startups on stage and they've gone on to raise $180-plus million in total. Some past winners include DogVacay, Udemy, Pokitdok, Thumbtack and many more.

Who wants to be the next DogVacay? Apply here. It's free to enter and present.