Wisegate is a peer-to-peer IT advisory service that connects IT practitioners with their peers. Through advanced matching and social technology & a trusted peer network, IT practitioners can use Wisegate to connect directly and without vendor influence. Wisegate curates these conversations into searchable and shareable content and resources so members can easily find vetted, problem-solving information.
We caught up with the folks at Wisegate to hear more of their story.
Year/Date Founded?
December 2011
Number of Employees?
Around 30
Founders/Execs?
Sara Gates: founder and CEO
Dan Dinhoble: founder and VP of Product Strategy
Funding or bootstrapped? (if funded, what is your funding history)
Wisegate is funded and also generates revenue from annual memberships. In December 2014, Wisegate raised $4 million in Series B funding. This makes the total investment from launch $8 million.
What problem are you solving?
IT executives are extremely busy and stuck in a battle for actionable knowledge among IT information overload. It’s difficult sometimes for them to think about long-term pulls when they’re pressed for time addressing urgent daily tasks. Wisegate makes it easier for IT professionals to find the resources they need, when they need them and from sources they trust so they can make the timely and good decisions.
Please describe the market/industry impact:
Wisegate is the first of its kind. We have members in IT departments among many verticals—insurance, health, higher education, retail, etc. Security, operations, enterprise architect, enterprise data are all common member roles.
Revenue Model?
Wisegate members pay an annual membership fee—many companies buy membership packages, which contain a number of licenses for their employees. We have individual, small team and department memberships.
How’d You Get The Idea For It?
Our founder and CEO, Sara Gates was herself at a tech vendor for years. She saw every day how IT professionals needed access to fast and trusted information that wasn’t tainted with vendor bias, but nothing that solved this need existed, yet. Sara was also concerned with just how influential vendors can be with traditional analyst firms, and she knew the information they provide (expensive, and often outdated) was not reliable.
Who are your competitors and how do you stand out?
As we said before, we don’t have any direct competitors. We compete against the idea that all IT professionals need are an internet connection and a subscription to an analyst firm to stay educated about their biggest-to-smallest IT issues. Wisegate is where IT pros should start when searching for IT knowledge on which they can act.
How does ATL weave into your story?
Arcus Capital, the lead investor in Wisegate’s Series B funding, is based in Atlanta, GA.
Recent news coverage?
Here’s a highlight of our news. We also just announced a new feature, called Wisegate Collections and this was covered in InfoSecurityBuzz and Security Today.
