Kirsten Taggart is the Managing Producer of the Forbes Video team. She is based in New York City.
Tired Of Ticketmaster? This Entrepreneur Is Giving Power Back to Event Organizers And Raised $65 Million To Do It
Venting about Ticketmaster’s stranglehold over concert tickets seems to be a global pastime. The founders of Vivenu are doing something besides griping. Cofounded by Simon Hennes in 2018 as a white-label ticket marketplace, German-based Vivenu lets customers like Stanford University and the Grammy’s Recording Academy sell tickets under their own name and branding, while the startup takes care of sending out the passes and managing the process behind the scenes. It also gathers and shares useful data—like what demographics are buying tickets—so brands can plan smarter marketing for future events. “This is one of the most passionate industries you can think of, it's about how people spend their leisure time,” said Hennes. “It was just odd to me, seeing outdated technology.” Initially bootstrapped out of a small village near Frankfurt, the startup has now raised over $65 million from investors including Balderton Capital and Activant Capital and serves over 700 ticket-selling clients across more than 40 countries.
This Entrepreneur Is Using AI To Automate Financial Regulatory Compliance
Let's face it, compliance is boring--but not Lisa Gradow. For her, it's an exciting opportunity to give the industry a much needed AI upgrade. She founded Fides, a software company, to tackle the often monotonous work of financial regulations. Fides’s safe and secure tech spares us humans the drudgery of tracking deadlines, sourcing regulatory data, and creating legal documents. “Nobody gets claps for doing it very well,” says Gradow. “So it's something that can be and should be automated.” She started Fides in 2021 and has raised $7.6 million in funding from investors including Sequoia and General Catalyst. Current clients include Allianz, Haribo, Faber-Castell, and Sequoia. Says Gradow: “For us it’s very important to stay a European company, but with a global footprint.”
How 'Fallout' Star Ella Purnell Navigated Child Stardom To Hollywood Success
Actor Ella Purnell grew up too fast: "You shouldn't really have to ask yourself about your career and your taxes when you’re 15," jokes the 28-year-old Brit. She landed her first film at just 13, playing the young Keira Knightley in the sci-fi "Never Let Me Go." From there, Purnell quickly gained recognition as the child star who could pull off action-packed features in "Kick-Ass 2" or enchant the screen with roles in fantasy films "Maleficent" and "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children." But it wasn’t until her 20s that she truly hit her stride, breaking into television with shows like suspense-filled series "Yellowjackets." "I've fallen in and out of love with my job a thousand times," she told Forbes. "It wasn't really until my early twenties that I redefined my profession and decided to do it on my own terms." Now Purnell is really stepping into the spotlight: She's starring in Amazon Prime’s sci-fi series "Fallout"—which was viewed by 65 million in its first two weeks of release last April and then renewed for a second season—and Sky Atlantic's psychological thriller "Sweetpea," a project Purnell executive produces. Off screen, she’s built a following of 1.8 million and forged partnerships with iconic brands including Prada Beauty, MiuMiu and Chanel.
Machine Learning Meets Motherhood: This Entrepreneur Is Changing The Future Of Fertility
Mixing machine learning with fertility technology could be a science fiction plot. It can also be a company. Felicia von Reden started Ovom Care in 2023 to build software to make the often strenuous IVF process more efficient and more affordable. Ovom uses artificial intelligence to help doctors determine the right medication and dosage for each patient, and even identify the most viable eggs and sperm in a patient's body. “What makes this company unique is that we have two parts: technical innovation with AI and data, and medical care at the clinic,” she said. “Only if you bring the two together can you develop innovation that brings that value to the patient.” Valued at $22 million, Ovom has brought in $8 million in funding to develop the technology. Investors, including Alpha Intelligence Capital, have invested $8 million at a $22 million valuation. In 2024, it opened its first clinic and has treated more than 350 women.
This AI-Powered Startup Helps Brands Like Coca-Cola And Unilever Get Inside Their Customers' Heads
Want to truly know your customer? Check out Bounce Insights. The Irish startup claims its software can determine exactly where your customers are, what they’re looking to buy, and even what packaging draws their attention. How? AI-powered software, of course. Founded by Charlie Butler, Rónán Dowling-Cullen, Joshua Stafford, and Brandon Dooley, Bounce Insights is a market research firm that gathers consumer habits to help brands like Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Tesco better develop and promote products. This type of customer research is far from new. What is new: The speed at which Bounce can gather and analyze data. The team says their software can deliver insights seven times faster than traditional surveys. “That's the way research has to go if it's going to have any chance of competing at the highest decision levels,” said Butler. Bounce has generated $6.5 million in funding from investors, including ACT Venture Capital. Next stop: the U.S. market.