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Zvents has raised $48.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Key people at Zvents.
Zvents has raised $48.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Zvents provides an online platform that aggregates and presents local entertainment and event guides. Its core product serves as a comprehensive resource for individuals seeking activities within their local communities, encompassing a wide array of categories. The platform leverages robust information architecture to efficiently index and display event data, making it accessible across various online channels.
The company was established in 2005 by co-founder Tyler Kovacs. Zvents originated from the insight that local event discovery was fragmented, presenting an opportunity to create a centralized digital hub. Kovacs envisioned a streamlined solution to connect people with engaging local experiences, aiming to provide better organization and accessibility of community happenings.
Zvents serves a dual customer base: millions of monthly users seeking local entertainment, and event organizers broadening their audience reach. The platform’s vision centers on becoming the definitive source for local events, fostering community engagement through simplified discovery and participation. It supports local economies by driving attendance.
Zvents was a pioneering local events search and discovery platform that aggregated and promoted local business, entertainment, sports, retail promotions, and events data from various sources, including the open web, user contributions, third-party providers, and editorial partners.[1] It served consumers seeking local activities, event organizers, venues, and media partners by powering embeddable event calendars and a local advertising network across hundreds of media sites, reaching over 14 million monthly unique visitors at its peak.[1] The company solved the problem of fragmented local event information by creating a comprehensive search index and network effect-driven platform, where more listings improved utility for users and promoters alike; it raised $31.4M total before being acquired by StubHub (an eBay subsidiary) in December 2011.[1]
Zvents was founded in 2005 in San Mateo, California, by CEO Stewart Stock and a strong team including new CTO Gordon Rios (former Yahoo! Search principal scientist).[1][3][4] The idea emerged amid the early Web 2.0 boom, focusing on local events management, calendars, and search to fill gaps in discoverability for niche activities.[4] Early traction came quickly: in November 2006, it closed a $7M Series A led by VantagePoint Venture Partners (with Red Rock and NetService Ventures), highlighting its Ajax-rich API, B2B widget model for media partners like San Jose Mercury News, Miami Herald, and Denver Post, and plans for a free calendar tool and ad network.[4] A $24M Series B in 2008 from Nokia Growth Partners, AT&T, Navteq, and prior backers brought total funding to $31M, fueling expansion to top 50 U.S./Canada metros and partnerships with MTVu, McClatchy, and NYTCo.[1][5] Pivotal moments included cracking the network effect and scaling to the largest events site of its kind before the 2011 StubHub acquisition.[1]
Zvents rode the mid-2000s local search and Web 2.0 wave, capitalizing on rising demand for hyper-local content amid smartphone precursors and mapping tech like Navteq.[1][5] Timing was ideal post-Google Maps (2005), as fragmented event data created opportunities for specialized aggregators; investors like Nokia/AT&T saw synergies with mobile local search and yellow pages.[5] It influenced the ecosystem by pioneering event APIs/widgets, proving network effects in vertical search, and paving the way for modern platforms like Eventbrite or StubHub's expansions—its StubHub acquisition integrated events into ticketing, boosting e-commerce for live experiences.[1]
Post-2011 acquisition, Zvents' tech and team (led by Stewart Stock for seven years) folded into StubHub, enhancing its local discovery amid live events' boom, though as a standalone it no longer operates.[1] Looking ahead, its model prefigures AI-driven event aggregation in a post-pandemic world of hybrid experiences, with trends like mobile personalization and AR ticketing likely amplifying StubHub's inherited strengths. Zvents exemplified how niche local platforms can scale via networks, setting a blueprint for today's event tech giants.
Zvents has raised $48.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $24.0M Series C in September 2011.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2011 | $24M Series C | — | Accelerator Ventures, Incisive Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, Summit Partners | Announced |
| Sep 1, 2008 | $24M Series B | — | Accelerator Ventures, Incisive Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, Summit Partners | Announced |
Key people at Zvents.
Zvents has raised $48.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Zvents's investors include Accelerator Ventures, Incisive Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, Summit Partners.
