Doug Imbruce
Encyclopedia
Doug Imbruce is the Founder and CEO of Qwiki, Inc
, a technology startup based in San Francisco, CA.
. In 2005, Imbruce earned a B.A. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University
. During his time at Columbia, Imbruce founded The U, an educational content network that helped over a million students per year select and pursue higher education.
, a technology that transforms raw data into a rich-media, interactive information experience. Imbruce then presented the idea to multiple investors in Manhattan
and met Bobby Yazdani
, Qwiki’s seed investor. Yazdani advised Imbruce to move to Silicon Valley
and introduced him to Louis Monier
, the founder of AltaVista
, the first all-Web search engine. Monier became the co-founder and CTO of Qwiki and he and Imbruce began putting together a technical team to develop the Qwiki platform. In September 2010, they launched Qwiki at TechCrunch
Disrupt in San Francisco where they participated in the Startup Battlefield. On September 27, 2010, they were awarded the “Disrupt Cup” and a $50,000 grand prize. On October 22, 2010, Qwiki launched its private alpha.
In January 2011, Qwiki raised $8 million in Series A financing, a round that was led primarily by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin
. Other investors included Jawed Karim
(co-founder, YouTube) and Pradeep Sindhu
(co-founder, Juniper Networks). Institutional investors included Lerer Media Ventures, Tugboat Ventures and Contour Venture Partners. The individual investor syndicate was arranged by New York City-based Felix Investments. On January 24, 2011, Qwiki launched its public alpha live on CNN.
In March 2011, Qwiki raised an additional $1 million from Groupon
and Lightbank co-founders Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky
, bringing the total raised to date to $10.5 million.
On April 20, 2011, Qwiki launched its second product, Qwiki App for the iPad. Seven weeks after launch, the Qwiki App was downloaded over 500,000 times.
Qwiki
Qwiki is a platform that creates interactive, on-the-fly, multimedia presentations of information. Its co-founders are entrepreneur Doug Imbruce and Louis Monier, founder of the AltaVista search engine.-Description:...
, a technology startup based in San Francisco, CA.
Early Life & Background
Doug was born and raised in Westport, ConnecticutWestport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
. In 2005, Imbruce earned a B.A. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. During his time at Columbia, Imbruce founded The U, an educational content network that helped over a million students per year select and pursue higher education.
Qwiki
In early 2009, Imbruce developed the first prototype of QwikiQwiki
Qwiki is a platform that creates interactive, on-the-fly, multimedia presentations of information. Its co-founders are entrepreneur Doug Imbruce and Louis Monier, founder of the AltaVista search engine.-Description:...
, a technology that transforms raw data into a rich-media, interactive information experience. Imbruce then presented the idea to multiple investors in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and met Bobby Yazdani
Bobby Yazdani
Bobby Yazdani is the of Saba Software.Yazdani founded in 1997 and took the company public in 2000.Since , Yazdani has grown Saba into a .Yazdani is also an angel investor. His includes companies such as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and ....
, Qwiki’s seed investor. Yazdani advised Imbruce to move to Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
and introduced him to Louis Monier
Louis Monier
Louis Monier was a founder of the Internet search engine AltaVista. After he left AltaVista, he worked at eBay and then at Google. He left Google in August 2007 to join Cuil, a search engine startup. He was Vice President of Products at Cuil. One month after the launch, he left Cuil, citing...
, the founder of AltaVista
AltaVista
AltaVista is a web search engine owned by Yahoo!. AltaVista was once one of the most popular search engines but its popularity declined with the rise of Google...
, the first all-Web search engine. Monier became the co-founder and CTO of Qwiki and he and Imbruce began putting together a technical team to develop the Qwiki platform. In September 2010, they launched Qwiki at TechCrunch
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005....
Disrupt in San Francisco where they participated in the Startup Battlefield. On September 27, 2010, they were awarded the “Disrupt Cup” and a $50,000 grand prize. On October 22, 2010, Qwiki launched its private alpha.
In January 2011, Qwiki raised $8 million in Series A financing, a round that was led primarily by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo Saverin
Eduardo P. Saverin is a Brazilian-born American internet entrepreneur and investor. Saverin is best known for co-founding Facebook, along with Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes...
. Other investors included Jawed Karim
Jawed Karim
Jawed Karim is a Bangladeshi German American technologist and co-founder of the popular video sharing website YouTube...
(co-founder, YouTube) and Pradeep Sindhu
Pradeep Sindhu
Pradeep Sindhu is the Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer/ Vice Chairman of the Board of the Directors of Juniper Networks Inc. He was also the CEO of the company until 1996....
(co-founder, Juniper Networks). Institutional investors included Lerer Media Ventures, Tugboat Ventures and Contour Venture Partners. The individual investor syndicate was arranged by New York City-based Felix Investments. On January 24, 2011, Qwiki launched its public alpha live on CNN.
In March 2011, Qwiki raised an additional $1 million from Groupon
Groupon
Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. Groupon was launched in November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto...
and Lightbank co-founders Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky
Eric Lefkofsky
Eric Paul Lefkofsky is a U.S.-born serial entrepreneur. He is currently president of Blue Media, LLC, a Chicago-based private equity and consulting firm. In March 2011, Forbes named him one of 2011's new billionaires.-Early life:...
, bringing the total raised to date to $10.5 million.
On April 20, 2011, Qwiki launched its second product, Qwiki App for the iPad. Seven weeks after launch, the Qwiki App was downloaded over 500,000 times.
Sources
- Hall, Colin, Rob Lieber and Princeton Review (2003). Taking Time Off. The Princeton Review. ISBN 9780375763038
- Helft, Miguel. “Facebook Co-Founder Backs Start-up.” New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- Hindman, Nate. “Qwiki Founder: How I Launched A Talking Search Engine – And Why You Should Avoid VCs.” Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- Kincaid, Jason. “Qwiki Wins TechCrunch Disrupt: Information Consumption to be Disrupted.” TechCrunch. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- Magnera, Oriana. “Alumni Update: Doug Imbruce ’05 Created The U for You.” Columbia College Today. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- Schonfeld, Erick. “Disrupt Winner Qwiki Arrives In Private Alpha (1,000 Invites)" TechCrunch. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- Van Grove, Jennifer. “Qwiki Launches Public Alpha to Change the Way You Consume Information.” Mashable. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- Van Grove, Jennifer. “Qwiki’s $8 Million Plan to Become a ‘Generationally Significant’ Internet Company.” Mashable. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- Wortham, Jenna. “Qwiki Introduces iPad App for Multimedia Web Search.” New York Times. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
- Van Grove, Jennifer. “Qwiki for iPad Flies Past 500,000 Downloads in 7 Weeks.” Mashable. Retrieved 9 June 2011.