

Y Combinator Summer 2013 Demo Day, Batch 2 - TheMakeA
http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/20/y-combinator-summer-2013-demo-day-batch-2-meet-meta-lob-amulyte-weilos-and-more/

======
smickie
It's that time of the year again, where you have several minor heart attacks
reading through the list of start-ups that might just be one you're about to
launch.

On a another note, I have to say one that really stands out to me is True
Link. The old-people credit card, my grandad has almost fallen for online
scams before and I think all would happily get our grandparents this peace of
mind. Brilliant idea that one.

~~~
cwilson
I actually think this is a good idea for everyone, not just old-people, and
I'm curious as to why it's being marketed this way. My parents and siblings
have all had issues with this.

In fact, the worry I have is that they will pigeon-hole themselves into being
a product for old people. When they go to expand to other markets (which
according to their demo day pitch they will be), they may run into brand
issues. No one, not kids, 20 somethings, or middle-aged people, want to feel
old or be associated with anything that might make them feel that way (have
you ever heard or seen someone rant about receiving an AARP letter in the
mail?).

~~~
rdl
They can re-use the back end and banking relationships when moving to non-old-
people markets, but I think they'd be better off using a new brand for cards
for under-18, cards for normal people, etc.

Going 100% after the elderly market makes plenty of sense, though, for the
future. There already are under-18 products, and elderly are kind of a unique
market -- you don't want your parents/grandparents to be scammed, but they
have every right to spend their money however they wish (since it's their
money), unlike under-18 where it's usually money from parents.

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michalu
Apparently [http://www.hackermeter.com/](http://www.hackermeter.com/) and
[https://onemonthrails.com/](https://onemonthrails.com/) decided to split the
cost of the stock photo for their landing page and share it.

~~~
ryanglasgow
This is what happens when you use free stock photos. The photo in question is
taken from Unsplash ([http://unsplash.com](http://unsplash.com)) and can be
found if you scroll to the very bottom.

~~~
justin66
> This is what happens when you use free stock photos.

It happens often enough with not-free stock photos, as well. You're not paying
for exclusivity in a lot of cases. I worked for a company that rolled out a
front page with some office-themed photos which matched a nationwide office
supply retailer's page.

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patmcguire
Regalli's not a bad idea - you go into any of the hispanic neighborhoods in
New York and there are wire transfer locations all over the place. They're
something like 2% of Mexico's GDP. Major, major demand.

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egypturnash
Having lived through the nineties, my immediate thought upon reading about
Amulyte was OI'VE FOWLLEN! AND I CAAN'T GET UP!!!! [1]

Meta certainly looks interesting, but I just keep reading their logo as METH.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQlpDiXPZHQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQlpDiXPZHQ)

------
Udo
The augmented reality glasses (Meta) sound very interesting - picking up where
Google fell flat.

~~~
zeckalpha
However, they need to change the A in the logo from:

    
    
        |=|
        |=|
        | |
    

to:

    
    
        ===
        |=|
        | |
    

because I read it as METH.

~~~
bduerst

       ||| == ===  |
       ||| ==  |  ===
       | | ==  |  | |
    

I hope they do well. We've yet to see a real strong contender for augmented
reality glasses.

------
rdl
I had no idea Meta was a YC company until last night. If I had the money,
they're the one company I'd invest in -- amazing team (Steve Mann! Probably
ahead in _1980_ of everyone else in 2013!), great product, great market, lousy
competitor (Google Glass). Oculus Rift is more of a long-term competitor, IMO.

------
Lifebot
I've thought about the idea Butter Systems does countless times while eating
out. Very cool if it works out. If flexible WIFI-enabled electronic-paper ever
comes to fruition, you could make authentic paper-like menus that are
interactive. I think that's still 10-20 years out there.

~~~
namenotrequired
I have, too. For me, personality of the service is one of the reasons why I'd
eat in a restaurant so I didn't think it would work out (yet), but I'd gladly
be proven wrong here.

~~~
jkaunisv1
The key for me is the stuff like "fill my water glass" and "check please" \-
you can never get the waiter's eye for those, it seems.

I like what the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co does in this regard - a simple red/green
two-sided sign that you flip to red when you want a waiter, otherwise they
will ignore you. Beautiful.

~~~
robflynn
I agree. That also takes care of the overly attentive server as well. I had
lunch with some co-workers a few weeks ago and the server stopped by our table
so many times that we could barely have a conversation. It was mostly to ask
us how everything was... over... and over... and over. I appreciate check ins
but there are upper limits to their effectiveness. :)

------
conanbatt
Le tote is like Neckflix from the series The league.

[http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-leagues-netflix-for-
neckt...](http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-leagues-netflix-for-neckties-is-
a-reality,67780/)

------
trin_
Wow Estimote sounds horrible. Who the hell would want that as a customer???

------
diminish
See the HN poll for predicting most promising YC S13 startup.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6249141](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6249141)

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subdane
Seniors as an emerging market? Interesting that there's companies
intentionally targeting seniors - Amulyte, True Link and even arguably
Soundfocus.

~~~
twakefield
There is a huge demographic (baby boomers) in the U.S. that are becoming
seniors [1]. That probably has something to do with this phenomenon.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boom](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boom)

------
Pro_bity
I think that people need to give Estimote a close enough look. Their sensors
could be a huge step in the merging of online and real world retail.

