VC activity in the New York metro area peaked in the third quarter [of 2011], with 100 companies receiving a total of $909.2 million.
BigApps: Advice From Previous Winner Danny Moon
The deadline for BigApps 3.0 submissions is less than one month away. For inspiration, we asked previous BigApps winners for words of wisdom for this year’s competitors. Read on for insights from Danny Moon, creator of UpNext 3D NYC and Co-Founder/CEO of UpNext. His team’s app gives users the scoop on the greatest shopping, the hottest restaurants, the coolest nightlife in the New York City area with a map in 3D.
What advice would you give new BigApps applicants?
Create something useful, unique and compelling. Take a look at all the datasets and figure out how to mash a couple together to extract greater value.
What are your future goals for your app, your company, and/or yourself?
Our goal is to continue building the best maps for mobile devices. We want our maps to be the first place users go to explore and discover cities and locations.
What were the most important aspects of winning BigApps for you?
Having New Yorkers hear about our app and use it was the most rewarding aspect of BigApps. The exposure to NYC residents, visitors, and the media helped seed our initial user base. Also, taking a picture on stage with Mayor Bloomberg was pretty sweet.
How has your app, company, or career evolved since winning BigApps?
We raised a seed round of funding from high-profile angel investors and have continued to expand our mapping technology to a wider audience. Also, our mapping platform is now being used by brands to create unique mobile experiences for their users (see Official Super Bowl XLV app from the NFL).
Excluding your own, what’s your favorite BigApps app?
Taxihack, which represents the best of BigApps: local, community, interactive and useful.
First Facebook, now Foursquare!
Silicon Alley is undergoing a rapid expansion. On the heels of Facebook’s new Manhattan-based engineering office, NYC-born Foursquare now secures expanded space in SoHo. Watch The Wall Street Journal’s video above for more details.
Plus, remember to check in to NYCEDC venues on Foursquare including High Line Park, East River Ferry, La Marqueta, and more.
Watch this video as Lowell Hawthorne, President and CEO of Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery and Grill, gives powerful remarks about his own journey as an immigrant entrepreneur from Jamaica, starting and growing America’s largest Caribbean franchise chain. He was a featured speaker at NYCEDC’s recent Food Manufacturer Business Expo at Baruch College. Learn more about NYCEDC’s initiatives to support immigrant entrepreneurship in New York City.
