
Ten Startups Debut At TechStars Demo Day - sant0sk1
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/20/ten-startups-debut-at-techstars-demo-day/
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SwellJoe
I'm pleasantly surprised. I think this batch is as good as the most recent YC
batch, at least from the perspective of business ideas...I don't know if
they've executed as well. I kinda thought TechStars would fizzle out as an
also-ran, but they seem to be hitting their stride. I still find it a little
more than obnoxious that they're so focused on YC: They schedule their demo
day for the _same day_ as YC (I guess...YC's Valley Demo Day is today, I
think...and the Valley Demo Day is the real one...the one in Boston last week
is for practice...nobody ever gets funded in Boston), and they make their
companies make a decision about acceptance a few days before YC makes their
decision.

If TechStars wants to be a serious long-term contender they need to focus more
on their customers and less on their competitors.

On a different note, I'm pretty sure Jamie and I chatted with one group of
founders in this batch that also applied to YC. I guess they took the TechStar
bird in the hand rather than the YC birds in the bush. We liked them, and I'm
pretty sure pg and Co. at least gave them an interview.

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mattmaroon
Hey, we actually got funded by someone who found us at a Boston demo day. I'm
pretty sure we're the only ones ever to do so though.

You're right about their cheesy sibling rivalry thing (which doesn't stop at
demo day scheduling). I guess what else would you expect given that they
straight up lifted their application from YC.

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fredwilson
i met the disqus guys at boston demo day. i prefer boston demo day to sf demo
day. but that's probably the east coast superiority complex coming out in me

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SwellJoe
I've always granted you honorary membership among the ranks of the bold
Silicon Valley investors, Fred (you're also smart and good looking, and I bet
you can cook, too). But I'm glad to hear that _some_ (at least two) YC
companies are getting funded in Boston, since pg doesn't seem interested in
moving the SFP to the valley.

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marketer
My favorites in this batch are Devver and Foodzie. I think there's a lot of
great stuff that can be done with cloud based development -- especially
blurring the line between deployment and development.

Foodzie is something my parents would use -- especially if they can offer some
high-end European foods.

Gyminee seems to have a lot of traction already. They're doing one thing right
-- even without the social features, it's still useful.

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gruseom
Foodzie is something I would definitely try if it existed in my area. It
sounds like a combination of farmers' markets and the web. A great idea!

I also like the part about the producers making most of the money. Not only is
that a classic cut-out-the-middleman play (in what seems like an inefficient
market), it might lead to a whole bunch of interesting niche products becoming
viable where they weren't before. Which, not to exaggerate too much, would
make the world a better place.

I usually look at new apps from the perspective of a developer... can't
remember the last time I got this excited as a customer.

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beaudeal
Personally, I was most impressed with the concept of BuyPlayWin -- the current
design isn't great, but I think the idea is very novel -- if the prices are
right, and they can reach a critical mass, I could see this becoming quite
popular, especially with the college-aged crowd. I'm pretty sure every kid
would think they were guaranteed a win, and I could see the process becoming
somewhat addicting. Plus, who doesn't want a shot at something free?

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louislouis
I have to disagree, I think this one is most likely to fail. The concept is
based on the idea that a group of people will somehow collectively gather on
an unknown website and buy the same product, at the same time. I mean common,
what are the chances?

They'd have to spend big big bucks on marketting to get the amount of visitors
needed for this concept to fly. If it was amazon who was launching then it
might work.

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beaudeal
I think you're absolutely right about needing a large amount of visitors (and
the Amazon suggestion, obviously) but that's why I put so many ifs -- I'm
talking more about the idea itself -- I think it's really neat, and if Amazon
were to do this on college textbooks for instance, I think it'd be great.

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danw
I like the concept of Ignighter, reminds me of this quote:

 _"What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously.
But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the
terrible disease of loneliness can be cured."_

[http://tumblr.iamdanw.com/post/25864804/what-should-young-
pe...](http://tumblr.iamdanw.com/post/25864804/what-should-young-people-do-
with-their-lives)

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aston
I really, really like the logo for Travelfli. Whoever put that together,
props. Very web 2.0, but with a grown and sexy feel (as Jay-Z might put it).

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mattmaroon
I'm really interested in the product. I used to travel a lot and still have
enough friends who hang out on traveltalk to understand the market. It's a
biggin.

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kristapaul
Thanks for your interest. Please send me an email at krista{at}travelfli.com
and I will get you a beta invite...

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maxklein
I like the concept of Gyminee. I know this is the wrong place to post this,
but the techstars batch this time seems more useful than the YC batch. This
last YC batch was a bit like features, but the techcrunch stuff is actually
useful.

I signed up for Gyminee, because it's a good idea and it's time for me to gain
some muscle.

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truebosko
Foodzie looks like the most interesting one to try for myself. I hope it will
exist in Canada, heh

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gscott
Sucks when a singing girl is picked over you.

