fanvibe
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
Some sections are still being researched1 / 4
Sections to complete：05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Fanvibe (formerly FanPulse) was a San Francisco-based sports social hub founded in 2009 and backed by Y Combinator (Summer 2010). Its apps gave fans game updates, event check-ins, push alerts, and deals on tickets and merchandise wherever they were engaged. The two-year-old startup did heavy basketball-related work, including building NBA Turnstile — a check-in app distributed by NBA Digital — and a deal with Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and the Golden State Warriors. On June 27, 2011, it was acquired by BeRecruited.com, the Atlanta-based college athletic recruiting network.
02 / fanvibe FAILURE REASONS
Failure factors
Fanvibe was ceasing consumer operations largely because of ongoing NBA labor unrest/lockout uncertainty; CEO Vishwas Prabhakara said the uncertainty meant they would not get the distribution they wanted and it did not make sense to keep investing in those services after the beRecruited acquisition.
ceasing operations due in large part to ongoing NBA labor unrest.
uncertainty meant they would not get desired distribution for basketball-heavy products (NBA Turnstile, etc.).
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Fanvibe was founded in 2009 in San Francisco as a sports social hub (originally FanPulse), later going through Y Combinator's Summer 2010 batch.
- Acquired; shut down
On June 27, 2011, BeRecruited.com acquired Fanvibe; weeks later the Fanvibe consumer platform was shut down — the site, iPhone app, check-ins, and push alerts discontinued and user data deleted — with the NBA lockout cited as a key factor.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.