fatdoor
Social network that connects neighbors.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
$5.5m | Series A | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Fatdoor was a location-based social networking company founded in 2007 by Raj Abhyanker and Chandu Thota, a former lead developer from Microsoft Virtual Earth. Based in Palo Alto, California, the company aimed to connect people with their real-world neighbors, operating in the hyperlocal social networking market. The platform was designed as a social network based on geography, allowing users to create profiles, share information about local businesses and events, and connect with others in close proximity. In April 2007, Bill Harris, former CEO of Intuit and PayPal, was announced as the company's chairman.
In November 2007, Fatdoor secured $5.5 million in funding from investors including Norwest Venture Partners and KeyNote Ventures. The service, which utilized Microsoft Virtual Earth for mapping, was intended to function like social white pages, pre-populated with location information to help users get to know their neighbors. The company's business model focused on building scalable online local communities. However, Fatdoor's initial journey was short-lived; it shut down in 2008 and was subsequently reopened as Center'd. The company's intellectual property was later acquired by Google through its purchase of The Dealmap, a local deal aggregator that evolved from Fatdoor.
The founder, Raj Abhyanker, later became a patent attorney and was involved in a legal dispute with venture capital firm Benchmark Capital and the social network Nextdoor. Abhyanker alleged that he had pitched the idea for a neighborhood-focused social network, which he intended to call Nextdoor, to Benchmark in 2007, and that the firm misappropriated his trade secrets. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed. In 2014, the Fatdoor brand was relaunched with a new focus that integrated geolocation with robotics, offering services like controlling autonomous delivery vehicles and sharing resources within a neighborhood. This revamped version was privately funded and offered a free service through its website and mobile apps.
Keywords: hyperlocal social network, neighborhood social network, location-based services, Fatdoor, Raj Abhyanker, Center'd, The Dealmap, local social media, community platform, geographic social network, neighbor discovery, local events, community communication, Chandu Thota, Bill Harris, Norwest Venture Partners, KeyNote Ventures, Microsoft Virtual Earth, social mapping, local business information