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GoMobo, Gilt Group, TagItOn, USFirst, TableXchange and Blockles - NY Startup Recap
Tonight was the January 2008 edition of the NY Tech Meetup. Six companies took to the stage, my comments and videos are below. I am quite disappointed that neither leader Scott nor his assistant replied either here on CN or in the mailing list to the ideas I raised. Oh well I guess. I've decided to provide my raw notes and immediate feedback on each startup that presented.
GoMobo
GoMobo lets you place an order for a fastfood joint you like online or by text message so that you can avoid the line and go directly to the pickup point. It's a good idea, and the demo looked good but will it really save that much time? I just know that when I get to Dunkin Donuts to pick up the coffee that I just ordered, that they won't have it ready, it will be in the wrong place, etc. They currently have 200 locations in NYC in the system and are in 8 other cities. Establishments are reporting a 5% uptick in incremental revenue. I am not sure it's incremental since I would go to the place anyway and wait on line. This demo left me wanting to learn more, I will try to get a real interview with the team later this week.
TagItOn
I can't comment on TagItOn because I have no idea what it does. The demo left me wondering what it is, does and why it's alive. It's not tags for content, I guess it's like "tag you're it". Apparently you can friend people in different degrees and then do things with them. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine. They really need to work on this demo before they show it ever again.
Gilt Groupe
You should know Gilt by now, they've had several posts on Silicon Alley Insider :) Founder Alexis Maybank presented the app by basically showing a bunch of half-naked women in lingerie and I guess they are all at sale prices (no, not the women). It's all short-term sales of clothing and accessories from top designers. Basically online closeout sales. Site is kind of ugly. They have 3-4 sales a week and are adding mens clothing soon. Unfortunately Scott ended their demo at the 3:30 mark so I don't have many more comments about it. Seems like it could work pretty well. Perhaps my stylish friend Patricia could provide more insight into Gilt Groupe. If you want a login - go to "www.giltgroupe.com/vip/nymeetup"
Blockles
iminlikewithyou sure gets a lot of love from the Tech Meetup - perhaps the most I've seen to-date. They presented several months ago and "got away" with a flash demo and tonight they got to pimp both iminlikewithyou and their new game Tetris Blockles. I wish I could remember the name of the game that was the same as this back in 2000. I think it was on AOL but Blockles is basically a multi-player tetris. It's very good looking. You get gems which give you superpowers and you can screw with your opponents. It's not a new concept at all, but the iminlikewithyou crowd will eat it up like a hot Krispy Kreme. Dude from the service says current average time on site is 45 mins per day per player. Dude uses a lot of curse words for cheap crowd cheers.
TableXchange
Here's the idea. You have a reservation at your favorite top-of-the-line, you ain't getting it if you ain't Jason Calacanis kind of place. But you can't make it. Rather than call the place and tell them you can't make it, you can slap your reservation up on TableXchange and make money on it! This Hannah Montana! The audience immediately asked why you couldn't just make reservations all over town and put them on the site. I already signed up an offshore team to start making reservations in the morning. I think the idea is a good one, the execution will be the downfall of the app. It just sets itself up for abuse.
US First
Not really sure how to explain USFirst but it's a site that helps kids get the most out of technology. They put on various competitions -- the one they showed us was from the Georgia Dome with 27,000 kids and robot technology. The group was founded by the guy who developed the Segway. Check out the video to get more about the company. They are looking for people to participate - either in time or financially.
Update: Hank Williams has a review of the evening's demos as well.
I've been getting emails from this company, but so far haven't pulled the trigger and really visited. I think at first it had an invitation request, or something? I can't recall exactly, but discount shopping, especially designer, can be and is very hot online - that's the beauty of the web, really. You wouldn't find $200 Prada shoes to save your life lest you visited countless stores, but online you can surf a bunch and snag very good pieces. Message boards spread word of sales and deals virally, too, so it really can result in opportunity if the right formula's nailed. That's the tricky part. I don't think good connections but a smart, intuitive touch to this market is what makes it a success, and knowing the right people online and who can carry your brand for you, like the popular blogs and what not even the most connected Silicon Valley insider would have difficult time finding without the right connections.
I'd love to see it focused on more of the brands I'm personally looking for but that can come with time. If Gilt Group became Net-a-Porter brand and vibe, at discount, there is definitely a very hungry market for it online. It's going to be in who they know and how well they know (or listen and adapt) to the internet marketplace for this because it's a lot different than the offline concept that potentially inspired it.
Totally agree on tagiton - i have no idea what they do. The meetup to me has become too big overall, 400 people just doesn't allow for quality interactions. And it would be great to do a quick voting in the end (by SMS, ideally) - where every attendee votes on which of the businesses will be most successful in 12 months - and then go back to review them a year later...
Christian
Thanks Christian - I agree with you - it's unfortunate that the "board" doesn't respond to suggestions.
I agree about TagItOn, but I wrote to them this morning to see if I could distill out more detail (to satisfy my own curiousity). Thanks for the summary, great job!
Linked in does exactly the same, when you put a question on it - you can either sent it to your friends/contacts only or to your entire network - their equivalent of 3rd degree. The only option Linked in does not provide is the 2nd degree option - which is not that useful in my opinion.
I unexpectedly got set up in a "must make" meeting at the last minute before this meetup, and so, was not able to attend. Your coverage is good enough that it feels like all I missed was the chance to swig the warm bottled water they pass out. Thanks for doing such a good job with both the video and the commentary.
Thanks Hugh!
Allen
Thanks for your review. We realize that during the time alloted we didn't have a chance to focus on the "pain". How communicating with a group in email is inefficient. More than just asking questions, tagiton is about making your communication online functional and easy through our "tags" (private forums)
We added to our blog to provide some further information.
Thanks for checking us out.. We are busy working on some enhancements to the site