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amNY gets the celeb scoop at Sundance Page 8
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BIG IDEAS
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Special report: Tops in tech
amNewYork plugs into the city’s hottest startups
GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION
FEB 22ND - 28TH
PURE Big Apple startup scene
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2010
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10 tech firms set to revolutionize their industries
BY GARETT SLOANE gsloane@am-ny.com
Brand-new teaching series at The Journey Church THIS Sunday, January 31!
CAUTION: Do NOT attend this series unless you want to uncover the truth about . . . • The #1 way to find happiness in your relationships (hint: it’s not what you think!) • Why God wants you to have
Gotham, start your engines. The city’s tech scene appears poised to come out of the shadows after years of fighting for the limelight enjoyed by New York’s core industries, such as finance, media, advertising and fashion. “I will go out on a limb and say that NYC right now is the most innovative place on the planet,” said Rafe Furst, a Silicon Valley-bred entrepreneur. The companies featured here are amNewYork’s picks for the top 10 tech startups, compiled with the help of ChubbyBrain, an information services firm. Founded: 2007 Venture funds raised: $43M This retail Web site sells designer goods at samplesale prices. “It’s a fundamentally different way of selling merchandise,” said co-founder Kevin Ryan. Gilt’s members have to be invited, and the site schedules its sales. Measure of success The company went from $25 million in revenue in 2008 to $107 million last year. Ryan predicted $500 million in 2010. Founded: 2009 Venture funds raised: $1.35M Foursquare members are plugged into a network of users who share their whereabouts and interests in a given city. GPS technology allows them to explore their immediate surroundings, and there’s even a game element as members vie for status on the service. “It’s a fantastic tool for exploring really dense areas like New York,” said cofounder Dennis Crowley. Measure of success The company launched in March and is up to 275,000 members. “The next Twit-
Gilt Groupe
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Yext’s Howard Lerman shows what he thinks of its rival Yellow Pages.
Yext
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Foursquare
Founded: 2006 Venture funds raised: $25M Yext bills itself as the next Yellow Pages. It partners with small businesses to advertise them across the Web and charges the ter” is one common phrase hurled at the company. Founded: 2006 Venture funds raised: $5M Co-founder Fabrice Grinda is blunt about how inspiration struck him — or didn’t. “I didn’t have brilliant ideas so I decided to steal other people’s brilliant ideas and take them to places around the world where they weren’t done before,” he said. That’s how he came up with OLX, an online classified site akin to Craigslist.
companies only for business it directs their way — what co-founder Howard Lerman called “pay per action.” Measure of success Yext is a $20-million-a-year-revenue company right now, with eyes for more. explode, where people can buy and sell ads like stocks,” said Michael Rubenstein, AppNexus’ president. Measure of success AppNexus handles up to a billion such trades a day and expects that to grow twentyfold. Founded: 2008 Venture funds raised: $6.25M This startup says it’s the first “cost per lead” marketplace in the world, meaning advertisers pay it only when potential customers sign up through ads that Pontiflex helps place online.
OLX
Measure of success Grinda would be happy with being the No. 2 such site in the U.S., while it’s No. 1 in the rest of the world. Founded: 2007 Venture funds raised: $5M AppNexus is a platform for advertisers to use Internet ad exchanges in which advertisers bid in real time for the ability to direct a message at a single Web surfer. The trades take 50 milliseconds to complete. “The Wall Street version of the Internet is going to
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2010
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primed for takeoff
Jan 25–Feb 7
*
nycgo.com
Reason 16. Because three courses are better than one. Reason 22. Because you’ll get a $15 statement credit when you dine out three or more times at any participating restaurants during NYC Restaurant Week, January 25–February 7, 2010, and pay with your registered American Express® Card.
Stevie Clifton sits back. His service Animoto does all the work, anyway.
Make your reservations today and register any American Express Card at nycgo.com/restaurantweek
Founding Sponsor: Participating Sponsors:
Animoto
Founded: 2006 Venture funds raised: $4.4M Animoto is an automated videogenerating platform. Users upload content — music and images — and then press “create video.”
“Beautiful productions at the click of a button,” said co-founder Stevie Clifton. Measure of success It has 1.2 million users. Up to 70 percent of its revenue comes from pro accoounts that cost $250 a month. now partners with 50 cities around the world. Gonen was optimistic RecycleBank would add NYC to the list this year. Founded: 2008 Venture funds raised: $2M Sharing links to content from your favorite Web sites can be cumbersome when there’s a long string of words, backslashes and coding. Bit.ly solves that URL mess by shortening the links. The service can be used by regular Joe Web-surfers who want short links for Twitter posts or by media pros who want to gauge how their content is circulating online, and if it’s gone viral. “By creating bit.ly links, users are able to view realtime traffic to their content, and track statistics and trends,” said Andrew Cohen, general manager at bit.ly. Measure of success Bit.ly has gone from 11 million clicks a month in July 2008 to 2.4 billion last month.
The amount of venture funds raised only accounts for 2009, and is based on ChubbyBrain’s research.
*Saturdays excluded; Sunday participation optional. Enrollment is limited. Minimum purchase requirements apply. Visit nycgo.com/restaurantweek for full terms, conditions and restrictions.
Hunch co-founder Chris Dixon (PHOTOS: DEIDRE SCHOO)
THE CRITERIA
The companies here are amNewYork’s top 10 picks for city-based startups — in no particular order — based on the amount of money they raised in 2009 and the volume of social media activity the startups generated last year. The data was crunched by ChubbyBrain.
ies, including Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston, to track how much residents recycle. “I was looking for something socially responsible to dedicate my professional skills to,” said founder Ron Gonen. The company, which has grown into a global entity, equips recycle bins and garbage trucks with RFD chips to monitor waste, and it calculates the ecological savings. Residents can track their recycling efforts online and earn rewards points. Measure of success The company had deals with 10 cities in 2008, and
Hunch
Founded: 2009 Venture funds raised: $2M This startup wants to be your “smart friend,” the one you go to for advice when you’re in the market for a car, stereo, computer or whatever. It works by leading visitors through questions, and then generating a recommendation based on their responses. Measure of success It topped 1.2 million unique visitors last month, before it reached six months old. Measure of success Pontiflex expects to triple its revenue, which it would not disclose, this year. Founded: 2004 Venture funds raised: $28.25M This green Internet tech startup partners with cit-
bit.ly
RecycleBank