The end of Ideator

If you have visited the Alaska Startups website recently, you may have realized the removal of Ideator — a platform for founders, startup teams, investors and mentors to engage around any and all of their business ideas.

As all startups do, it is important to recognize the successes and failures of Ideator. We wanted to take notes of what did and didn’t work on the platform.

During its pilot year, over 200 Alaskans became part of the Ideator network. Many individuals found resources, mentors and like-minded people on the platform, like Avy Pouch, a universal avalanche airbag that can attach to any harness or gear. The startup participated in more competitions and received more investments thanks to Ideator.

Alpine Fit, an Alaska-based apparel company and Ideator user, won the 2018 Alaska Business Plan Competition and an award of $2,000. Jennifer Loofbourrow, owner of Alpine Fit, recently launched her official collection, with more products coming this month.

“The Ideator platform helped facilitate participation in the business plan competition,” Loofbourrow said. "It was an awesome experience and opportunity, Ideator played a key role in communicating during the competition and facilitated making connections afterward."

Unfortunately, the company behind the software went out of business late last year, and the software is no longer supported. In addition, it is difficult to get people to commit to being on a platform that is not part of their daily routine.

While we are sad to see Ideator go, we hope that Alaskans continue to #GiveFirst and support each other's entrepreneurial goals. We challenge the community to champion a new mentoring network solution for the state that can bridge together our entrepreneurs, mentors and investors across Alaska.