WizeHive

SUCCESS STORY BACKGROUND

The time and cost to start, build and test an internet business has decreased sharply over the last 10 years. Recognizing this trend, DreamIt Ventures started a pre-seed fund in 2007 to help great people with great ideas build great businesses. Going into its third year, DreamIt runs a 4 month program where they supply teams of entrepreneurs funding, office space, mentors, accounting and legal help, and lots of brainstorming time to help the entrepreneurs launch their businesses.

The process of accepting, reviewing and selecting applicants is intense and has grown dramatically. DreamIt receives hundreds of applications and has less than two weeks to narrow them down to around 50 or 60 that they then put through several interviews. During its first year, DreamIt used email technology to receive, review, comment, and schedule the applications. They then used an online spreadsheet and simple database to collect opinions from the partners and many of the DreamIt reviewers. The process worked but was far from efficient.

THE WIZEHIVE SOLUTION

For its 2009 program, DreamIt selected the WizeHive Applicant Manager to manage its process. Applicants filled in an online form and the applications were submitted to a shared workspace where reviewers and partners had 24 x 7 access to them. In the shared Workspace, the reviewers were able to review, comment, and rate the applications and easily communicate with the applicants. Steve Welch, a DreamIt partner, said that "It was refreshing to have all of the applications and critical evaluation data in one collaborative database. It saved us a huge amount of time compared to the prior year when we were exchanging hundreds or even thousands of emails."

For its 2010 application process, DreamIt is excited to take advantage of a new scheduling feature, originally introduced in the summer of 2009 for the TechCrunch50 application process. The scheduling module first allows reviewers to identify blocks of time when they are available to interview candidates. It then generates emails to these candidates, directing them to a scheduling page where they are able to select an interview slot on a first come, first serve basis. With this new feature, DreamIt and other WizeHive customers have a function which allows them to easily coordinate the interview process, saving them a tremendous amount of time. David Bookspan, a DreamIt Partner, said: "We thought that the first version of WizeHive saved us a huge amount of time and the application just keeps getting better and better. Automating the interview scheduling process will eliminate a major headache and allow us to once again focus on finding the best candidates for the DreamIt 2010 program."