International Investors ranked the Top 25 Hottest Russian Start-ups: VitaPortal is a Member of the List
VitaPortal, a leading provider of information for consumers and healthcare professionals in Russia, has been named as one of the top 25 most promising Russian startups.
VitaPortal was given this rating by popular news portal Informilo.com, the official media partner of international conference DLD Moscow which was held in Moscow on May 27-29. To determine this rating, the portal asked investors from London, Moscow, New York, Boston and Silicon Valley to name the Russian startups that were not from their portfolio and which they believed to be the most interesting, innovative and with the most growth potential. The final list of 25 internet companies includes some that are well-known and have been working in the market for a long time, and others which are just starting to conquer Runet.
To be one of the top 25 Hottest Russian Start-ups is yet another major achievement for VitaPortal. In November 2011 the company won the most prestigious award of the Russian internet, the Runet Award, in the “Health and Leisure” category, and it has now been recognised again by the international community just a year after its launch.
VitaPortal, one of Fast Lane Ventures portfolio companies, is different from the majority of similar resources related to health as all posts on the site are reviewed by a specialist health care provider or medical institution. The site also provides users with services to help them take better care of their personal health and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
One of the reasons for the growing popularity of VitaPortal, is due to the unique personal approach it has with users. Using individual personal profiles filled out by the users, the portal offers its readers information and specific advice on areas which is relevant to them. This personal approach has also led to the number of registered users for VitaPortal increasing by 300 per cent last month alone.
The audience is continually growing, currently averaging about 2,500 visitors every day, proving that the high-quality information on VitaPortal is popular with the audience. The number of page views per visit since the beginning of the year has increased by 30 per cent to 6.5 pages, while the market average user views is 4.5 pages.
Esther Dyson, Head of the VitaPortal Advisory Council, said: “I am glad to witness VitaPortal becoming the leading Russian website offering, not just for quality medical information, but management and analysis of each user’s data in a way that is meaningful and helpful to them, either through maintaining a healthy lifestyle or by managing whatever conditions may affect that user.”
Azamat Ulbashev, CEO and co-founder of VitaPortal believes in the website’s chosen strategy. Besides increased traffic and the quality content it produces, Azamat sees VitaPortal as a priority target for educating the pharmaceutical advertising market. Azamat commented:“Historically the pharmaceutical industry has been one of the most conservative in terms of advertising, due to several reasons, including legislation issues. With Vitaportal, we aim to demonstrate internet advantages that may help to promote products and services to the market and provide counsel on how to develop an online strategy, such as where to place advertising, what tools to use, costs needed, estimate volumes and frequencies, measure effectiveness, etc. We are actively working on this element and plan to launch an innovative tool shortly to the market which will enhance advertising activity in this area.”