Supporting and Celebrating Innovation
Here’s why they call Israel the “Startup Nation.”
Ever wonder what an ‘innovation nation’ actually looks like? Look no further than Israel, says Business Insider – the tiny country boasts more than two dozen accelerator programs, nearly 5,000 startups, and just about every major U.S. VC has an Israeli startup in its portfolio. What do you think makes Israel so innovative? Read more about it here.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Episode 4 of our #StartupStories series with members of the NYTM community (“The Money”) debuted at last night’s meetup. In it, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists take you inside the fundraising process, answering key questions: Do you need to raise capital? If you do, how do you convince angel investors and VCs to give it to you? And if they offer you money, how much should you take? (You’d be surprised how many say that more is not always better … and that sometimes, money isn’t the best thing an investor brings to a partnership.) Insight comes from OKCupid, Of A Kind, Artsicle, Warby Parker, Union Square Ventures, TechStars, Birchbox and betawors. Produced by HD MADE. See the whole series here.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
The snazzy looking watch above is the most-financed project in KickStarter history: the Pebble Smartwatch. Note to entrepreneurs: When the founders at Pebble couldn’t get any funding from VCs, they decided to take their watch to Kickstarter. It worked out pretty well for them—they set a goal of $100,000 and broke that after their first day. They ended up raising $10.1 million in total, and announced a few days ago that they’d be stopping their fundraising a week early to begin providing their supporters with the best possible watch they can make. So don’t be discouraged if your pitch initially gets turned down by — it might just be the best thing to ever happen to Pebble.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
In her role as Managing Director of New York Tech Meetup, Jessica Lawrence has a unique perspective on what’s bubbling up from the city’s startup community. She’s blogging her insights for us every month. So what should attendees at tonight’s meetup expect to see?
The trend in New York tech this month isn’t just about a handful of startups, it’s about the New York startup community as a whole — and the money that is flocking here to invest in tech.
Data from a recently released report by the Center for an Urban Future highlights New York’s growth as a startup community — and its new position as the fastest-growing tech hub. Between 2007 and 2011, venture capital deals increased 32% in New York, while deals were down significantly in every other region, including Silicon Valley (-10%), New England (-14%), LA/Orange County (-8%), Texas (-17%) and San Diego (-38%). In addition, the number of accelerators in New York went from 0 in 2008 to 12 in 2012, and NY Tech Meetup’s own membership nearly tripled between 2008 and 2012. Even the real estate footprint of tech and media/information companies has been impacted, increasing from 3.8 million square feet in 2010 to 6 million square feet in 2011.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Feel-good story of the day: The six general partners at Andreessen Horowitz, a VC firm with investments in companies including Skype and Zynga Inc., announced they would donate at least half of their lifetime venture capital earnings to charity. To start it off? They’re donating $1 million each to six non-profits in Silicon Valley.
Friday, May 4, 2012
The wristwatch is dying, right? Nobody even wants a “smartwatch.”
Wrong: Allerta raised $3 million in less than a week for its iPhone connected Pebble.
“We’ve been working on smartwatches for years—I think they key was iteration. It’s a very personal device, as people wear a watch and it’s constantly in contact with them. You wear it to bed, you wear it when you’re eating and when you’re working.” Thus design was absolutely key to Pebble, and Migicovsky complimented his indistrial designer Steve Johns, who “spent a lot of time looking at what people wear on their wrists, and how we could make something that could be customizable, and beautiful and small and sleek.”
Wristwatches are making a comeback! And with some major added perks this time around. What’s your verdict: Are you on the Smartwatch bandwagon?
