The Hot Startups in the DreamIt Ventures NYC Class of 2014 Here's a close look at the companies of 2014 DreamIt New York City.
By Jason Saltzman Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
I had the honor of attending the DreamIt Ventures Demo Day. The DreamIt accelerator has a special place in my heart for a few reasons. Firstly, Fiestah is one of the earliest members of AlleyNYC, and I am proud to say they were part of this last DreamIt class. Secondly, the NYC team lead by Andrew Ackerman is super legit. They are all about helping these young startups grow, and they work seriously hard at making it happen for them. Lastly, AlleyNYC works with DreamIt on a super cool event we do every quarter called StartUP Battles. This event features some of the hottest startups in NYC, who battle it out for cash and prizes. If you would like to learn more about this event, check it out here.
Without further ado, here is the graduating class of DreamIt Ventures NY 2014:
Acorn lets users set location-triggered reminders and messages to themselves, others, and the public so that the information is delivered exactly where and when it is needed.
Balloon is a mobile app that makes impromptu get-togethers easier. Users can easily send out invites to groups of friends to join them at specific locations (e.g. meals, pick-up sports, parties). Nearby group members receive push message invitations, see who's going, RSVP and meet up.
Bar & Club Stats provides ID scanners and ID scanning mobile apps that not only validate the ID (e.g., for age verification wherever alcohol or tobacco is sold), but also capture demographic data that helps their users better market to their customers and promote their venue to sponsors.
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Browsy makes visual content shoppable, starting with a service that connects the pins on their Pinterest boards to the retail sites selling those items at the lowest available price in just one click.
Fiestah takes the pain out of event planning. Organizers can find and book from a curated list of caterers and other event vendors quickly and easily.
PRO TIP: AlleyNYC uses Fiestah for all of our events. We have saved thousands of dollars and tons of brain damage by using them. We are a PROUD client.Investormill makes it easy for even the non-expert user to find and chart economic and financial data.
picSell makes selling items you no longer need as easy as taking a picture. picSell lists your item on multiple marketplaces (eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Rakuten, etc.) and takes care of all the logistics.
Slidebean allows presenters to create beautiful presentations in a small fraction of the time they would normally spend using PowerPoint or similar tools. Slidebean separates content from design, letting users focus on what they want to say while the tool takes care of the rest.
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SuperSolver is the "1-800-How's My Driving" for the physical world that provides real-time, bi-directional customer feedback between consumers and businesses so complaints can be resolved before they become bad reviews on Yelp.
Tourlandish is the HotelTonight for tours, activities and experiences. It is an on-demand, mobile marketplace that helps travelers book last-minute things to do at exclusive discounted prices. By seamlessly connecting visitors with local experience providers, they make discovering new cities easy, fun, and spontaneous.
uVore is the only app that enables restaurant customers to order and pay for to order and pay for their meals using their own mobile devices, increasing average check amounts by 8 percent, reducing average meal times by 10 minutes, and increasing customer satisfaction.
Zairge is dragging hotel management systems out of the 1990s with a mobile, intuitive, cloud-based system that enables guests to self check-in, unties hotel staff from their desks so they can better serve guests, and gives hotel owners real-time access to their performance data.
PRO TIP: Helping provide presentation support, DreamIt hired the comedy troupe Blogologues. Aside from doing a live show where they perform crazy posts, mimicking the internet, they do public speaking and presentation classes. They are also an AlleyNYC member.
The teams did an amazing job presenting their businesses. It was enlightening and entertaining, and I am super excited to follow the future of these young companies. Congratulations to the DreamIt Ventures NYC Class of 2014!
