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What am I Missy? Episode 2

by Meliza Solan, November 16, 2008 | Comments (5)

Disappearing startups, Al Gore's speech, and a thought from Zuckerberg

Here's a look at top stories VatorNews covered last week.Has anyone seen 2004? How about 2005? As far as startups go, those years seem to have vanished. A prominent angel investor told us this week that valuations for the youngest startups have been slashed in half, back to where they were five years ago.And, we thought it was just the ...

Funding roundup - week ending in 11/14/08

by Meliza Solan, November 15, 2008 | Comments (0)

Lighting solutions, online dating startups are among companies that raised money

Congratulations to the following startups, for raising funds during this difficult economic period. Here are some companies in the mobile, video, digital media, social network, and advertising sectors that announced their funding this past week. D.light Design raised $6 million from Nexus India Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Garage Technology Ventures, Mahindra & Mahindra, Acumen Fund, and Gray Matters Capital, according to ...

It's the real Lance Armstrong on Twitter!

by Meliza Solan, November 6, 2008 | Comments (3)

But don't expect the cycling legend to follow you; he'll only follow those who Tweet for a cause

It's hard to tell if a celebrity is really using Twitter. When it was reported that Britney Spears had a Twitter account, popular blogger Gary Vaynerchuck, cried "Foul," accusing the star of only "kinda" posting Tweets. Turns out for a long time, there was a fake Lance Armstrong on Twitter. He'd put out Tweets daily, saying: "Goin for a bike ...

What am I Missy?

by Meliza Solan, November 5, 2008 | Comments (3)

A look at some of the top stories we're... sort of covering on VatorNews

(This is a weekly, for now, look at some hot stories we're covering on VatorNews. Our friend Guy Kawasaki at AllTop recommended the name "What am I Missy" as a play on my name.)Is Facebook looking for green in the desert? The world's biggest social network is reportedly talking to potential investors in the kingdom of Dubai. While sources have ...

Advice from HP's wireless CTO, Ozzie Diaz

by Meliza Solan, November 5, 2008 | Comments (0)

Know your customers better than they know themselves

I managed to catch a panel at the Mobile 2.0 conference this week, moderated by Tony Fish of AMF Ventures. Ozzie Diaz, Hewlett-Packard's mobile and wireless CTO, Andy Kelm from Nokia, Pankaj Kedia from Intel, J.H. Kah from SK Telecom Americas, and Mark Davis, the Chief Scientist of Yahoo Connected Life. The theme of the panel was what makes mobile ...

Starbucks, Ben & Jerry's treat voters

by Meliza Solan, November 4, 2008 | Comments (2)

Voters get free coffee and ice cream; Krispy Kreme also offering free doughnuts

Starbucks is honoring civic participation by giving all voters a free tall 12 ounce cup of brewed coffee. Tell your barista you voted and receive one coffee at no charge (limit one per customer) at participating U.S. Starbucks stores. During the Starbucks Leadership Conference this week in New Orleans, the coffee company announced its commitments to focus on serving the ...

Yahoo picks off another MSN executive

by Meliza Solan, November 3, 2008 | Comments (0)

Scott Moore leaves, and Jeff Dossett joins

Yahoo picked off another MSN executive to lead its media properties. The portal giant on Monday confirmed that one of its top media executives, Scott Moore, is leaving the company for other opportunities. The online media giant also announced that Jeff Dossett will replace Moore. Dosset served as executive producer and general manager for the MSN Media Network. He's had ...

Funding roundup: Playfish, Helium raise $17M

by Meliza Solan, November 1, 2008 | Comments (0)

Playfish, Helium, TuneCore, and iStores receive funding this week

Here's a roundup of companies in the mobile, video, digital media, social network, and advertising sectors that announced their funding this past week. Playfish raised $17 million from Accel Partners and Index Ventures, according to a press release. The Palo Alto-based start up is a developer and publisher of games for social networks. Helium raised $17 million from Northport Private ...

Company Review: Jumpcut

by Meliza Solan, October 30, 2008 | Comments (0)

Simple, fun, and free way to make personalized movies

If you have a passion for creating movies and music videos, but have no desire to go through all the twists and turns of downloading software, Jumpcut might be what you're looking for. Jumpcut, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2006, is a social community for online movie makers. It's a producer's playground, because it's a simple, free, and quick way to mix media with flash-based tools and ...

Funding roundup - week ending 10/24/08

by Meliza Solan, October 25, 2008 | Comments (0)

Movidia, Vidyo, and Shopit are among companies that raised funds

Here's another look at some of the funding announcements across the social network, community, video, digital media and advertising sectors. Like raised $32.7 million from Menlo Ventures, Crosslink Capital, BlueRun Ventures, Bay Partners, and Leapfrog Ventures, according to PE Hub. The San Mateo, California-based start up is a visual search engine for online shopping. Movidia ...

Funding roundup - week ending 10/17/08

by Meliza Solan, October 19, 2008 | Comments (1)

Webaroo, Eventful, and Sonoa Systems are among companies that raised funds

It's that time again for the weekly roundup of companies in the mobile, video, digital media, social network, and advertising sectors that raised money this past week. Webaroo raised $11 million from Charles River Ventures and Helion Venture Partners, according to PE Hub. The India-based company is a mobile software provider for consumers around the world. ...

Company Review: MyPunchBowl.com

by Meliza Solan, October 14, 2008 | Comments (0)

	Plan your Thanksgiving holiday dinner online A party is always fun, even though making plans for one can be exhausting. Yet putting it all together doesn't need to be an arduous task if you have the tools to make it more efficient. Organizing one can even be a blast if the finished invitation exceeds your expectations. This is the case with MyPunchBowl.com, a site operated by ...
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Funding Roundup: Fitbit raises $2 million

by Meliza Solan, October 10, 2008 | Comments (3)

Be healthy with Fitbit, shop with Savings.com. These are among the startups that raised funds

Here's a roundup of some companies in the mobile, video, digital media, social network, and advertising sectors that raised money this past week. Fitbit raised a healthy $2 million round from True Ventures and SoftTech VC, according to CNET. Fitbit is a wireless miniature device that tracks your movement, calorie intake, and sleep to meet your fitness goals. BlackArrow Inc. secured ...

Babson Competition: Winners announced!

by Meliza Solan, September 26, 2008 | Comments (0)

Bluepak takes the spotlight and GiftVenture receives Viewers' Choice Award!

The final decision has been made! The winners of the Babson Competition are as follows: In first place is Bluepak. The New York-based company enables local pharmacies to package an individual’s prescription and non-prescription drugs into single, easy to use daily packs. Bluepak will utilize a “razor and blades” model. The packaging machinery will be leased to pharmacies for a ...

Funding Roundup - week ending 9/20/08

by Meliza Solan, September 20, 2008 | Comments (0)

Nujira, BitTorent, and Ebillme are among companies raising funds

Here's a roundup of some companies in the mobile, video, digital media, social network, and advertising sectors that raised money this past week.Nujira Ltd., maker of amplifying technology for wireless devices and networks, raised $18 million from BankInvest Group, New Energy Solutions Fund. The round sees further investments from existing investors: Amadeus Capital Partners, 3i, Cambridge Capital and Cambridge Angels, ...

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Meliza Solan Executive Producer, Vator, Inc.

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