About a year and a half ago, I wrote that New York needed more dedicated early stage capital.

Let’s look back at what has happened since the beginning of August ‘08…

Betaworks raises more than $10 million in September ‘08.

First Growth Venture Network formed to mentor high potential seed and early stage companies.

First Round Capital makes 11 new investments in NYC, hires me to be here fulltime, and announces a new NYC office in Union Square.

Founder Collective raises $40 million in September ‘09.

Nate Westheimer hired by Flybridge as an advisor.

Jon Steinberg joins Polaris and opens Dogpatch.

Roger Ehrenberg is announces a new $25 million fund.

The Lerers raise a $7 million fund.

NYC Seed announces a summer incubator for 2010 that includes 20k investments.

Yeah, I’d say problem solved, no?  And if that doesn’t do it, then this is certainly the cherry on top.  I’m excited to announce that the Open Angel Forum is coming to NYC.

So what is the Open Angel Forum?  Well, remember the dust up a while back with the backlash against “pay to play” pitch events where startups had to pay to meet angels?  Jason Calacanis came up with a solution—creating an event where angel investors and startups get to know each other in a casual environment without a cost to the entrepreneur.   

I’ll be running Open Angel Forum NYC with Brian Alvey on April 8th, 2010.  Here’s how it works.  Startups apply here.  They are not charged to present, but five will be chosen by a committee on merit to attend free.  Angel investors are not charged to attend, and we’ll have around 12-15 top folks in attendence.  Angels can indicate their interest in attending here, but they must be active (3 deals in the last year).   We respect an entrepreneur’s time and want to put them in front of people who are actually writing checks.  After the event the five startups receive a list of angels who express their interest level in their startup: a) Setup a followup meeting, b) Keep me posted but not a fit right now, c) Not a fit.

The format of the event is a dinner where five companies get to present their ideas for 10 minutes each with a short Q&A afterwards.  The dinner is paid for by service providers and sponsors who pay $1500 each to participate.  (Interested in being an attending sponsor?  Apply here.)

So if you’re a startup and you want to amass the most experienced, savvy investors NYC has to offer, please fill out the form and apply to join us as we build better connections between startups and investors in the Big Apple.

 

I was speaking with Owen Davis last night and he mentioned that no one in the Columbia entrepreneurship community had yet applied for this new summer program. The deadline is approaching so if you didn't know about it yet, there's still time to throw your hat in the ring. Here are the details:

NYC Seed Announces SeedStart 2010 Summer Program-$20k for up to 10 startups for the summer

SeedStart will offer promising teams the chance to build a technology product and launch a company with the assistance of seed investment capital, mentorship and other resources.  Companies will be selected through a competitive application process and each company will receive a $20,000 investment. Throughout the summer, companies will also receive mentorship from experienced New York City based venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, legal and business guidance, administrative help and technical assistance.  At the end of the summer venture capitalists and angel investors will be invited to an Investor Day where each team will present their product and launch their company.  SeedStart will run for 8 weeks beginning in June of 2010.

SeedStart is a joint effort among Contour Venture Partners, IA Ventures, NYC Seed, RRE Ventures and Polaris Venture Partners, and also includes Fish & Richardson, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Silicon Valley Bank.  The program has begun accepting applications and teams of at least two founders can apply here:

http://www.nycseed.com/seedstart.html by February 28, 2010 to be considered. 

For information, contact Owen Davis at owen@nycseed.com.

NYConvergence ORIGINAL

by: Amy Berryhill

Social good was the focus of the February NY Tech Meetup, where over six hundred people assembled to hear what New York needs from the technology community. The event raised $14,000 for Partners in Health, but goal for the evening was larger. The goal was to change the world.



To that end, most of the evening's presenters spoke on behalf of companies focused on social products and services. Instead of the typical demo or pitch, these presenters shared what they do and then explained their needs to the uncharacteristically interested crowd.



As a strange aside, Clay Shirky was on hand to talk about his idea that the future value of social networks is likely not in the "friends of friends" model, but rather in the larger "friends of friends of friends" network. Based on new research that defines how health is influenced by social connections separated up to three degrees, Shirky spoke about how people that do not know each other are able to influence one another. Shirky encouraged the developers to, "shift from thinking of social networks as nodes into looking at them as flows."



Even Shirky wasn't sure what problem this would fix, but much more straightforward problems like greening the ghettos and urban transportation were up for the taking. See the full roster of speakers and the causes they represented below:

• Tony Bacigalupo, New Work City
• Ben Berkowitz, SeeClickFix
• Majora Carter, Majora Carter Group
• David Nassar & Jason Leibman, Alliance of Youth Movements
• Jacqueline Novogratz, Acumen Fund
• Jay Parkinson, The Future Well
• Clay Shirky
• Paul Steely White, Transportation Alternatives
• Rachel Sterne, GroundReport
• Jose Antonio Vargas, Huffington Post
• Conor White-Sullivan, Localocracy 

Welcome to Social Media Week--the one week out of the year where we get to tweet and blog about social media!

Hopefully, you can find a way in to some of these events as most are sold out.  Try the waitlists... I think you'll have a good shot at getting in.  If not, just try to slip the dude at the front door a few Twitter followers.

Monday, February 1st

10:30AM Branding the Future with Social Engagement, sponsored by Pepsi Refresh

The opening session of Social Media Week will focus on a top-level discussion of the increasing importance in utilizing social media to grow and develop corporate brands in the twenty-first century.

RSVP: http://smwnycpepsibrands.eventbrite.com/

Tuesday, February 2nd

9AM Crowdsourcery Potions 101: Why Some Marketing Potions Fail and Others Thrive, Hosted By JWT

Some have predicted that crowdsourcing is the future of the marketing, advertising and industrial design industry. The phenomenon, they argue, will accelerate creativity across a larger network. Others, meanwhile, have predicted that it is a passing fad but one that downward pressure on prices on current agency work.  So which is it? Does crowdsourcing represent the beginning of the end of creative organizations? Or does it herald the beginning of something bigger and transformational for those agencies - and for business in general?

RSVP: http://smwnyccrowdsource.eventbrite.com/

12PM Networked News Gatherers: Defining the Social Media Editor Role, hosted by Time Inc.

There's lots of talk about who "owns" social media for companies that decide to enter the space to reach their consumers. Usually these discussions focus on Marketing, PR, Customer Service or an Agency. But in the media world there's another option: the Social Media Editor.

We'll bring together Social Media Editors from some of the largest and most well-respected media outlets, as well as those in more traditional Editorial roles to discuss this new specialty role.

RSVP: http://smwnyctimeinc.eventbrite.com/

5PM NY Tech Meetup Student Mingle

The NYTM Student Group's mission is to encourage the involvement of students and student leaders in the New York City tech community and thereby better educate and prepare tomorrow's entrepreneurs.  We hold a monthly social event for undergraduate students and recent graduates to mingle and exchange ideas.

Current undergrads who participate can attend the Tech Meetup for free and some guest entrepreneurs even stop by once in a while.

RSVP: http://anyvite.com/ica4sve9wa

7PM: NY Tech Meetup - Rally for the Future

Tuesday is an extravaganza.

Fewer demos this time. On 2/2/10 we discuss 2/2/20.  Prepare to be Recruited By The Future.

RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/ny-tech/calendar/12287601/

Wednesday, February 3rd

9AM The Future of Space & Time hosted by Wired.com

Moderator:

- John C. Abell, New York Bureau Chief for Wired.com

Panelists:

- Tony Jebara, Associate Professor Computer Science, Columbia University & Chief Scientist at Sense Networks

- Chris Dixon, Co-founder, CEO at Hunch

- Denis Crowley, Founder and CEO of Foursquare

Exploring trends in lifecasting and the proliferation of location based services.

RSVP: http://smwnycwired.eventbrite.com/

4:30PM A Shaq to the System: Tebow, Tiger and The New Online Realities of Sports Journalism

The world of sports used to be ruled by the calendar - game dates, tournaments, TV events, with the odd DUI thrown in. Now a story breaks and before you can say "ESPN" it's all over Twitter.  What is going ON? Fortunately for sports media, a lot - and no one is better to tell you about it than the people on this panel: Dan Shanoff, Will Leitch, Jason Fry, and Stephanie Wei.

RSVP: http://smwsports.eventbrite.com/

6PM What Is Your $ocial Music Currency?

Artists are using Social Media as a a catalyst to boost popularity, create new revenue streams and promote global goodness. Join us as we explore what currencies social media trades in, how the power social media can be maximized by labels, artists, and corporations and discuss who has been the most successful.

RSVP: http://smwsoundctrl.eventbrite.com/

6:30PM SUXORZ: the worst social media campaigns of '09

Think you know everything about social media? Come laugh and learn as we dissect the twelve worst social media campaigns of 2009.  Amid tales of genius and triumph during #SMWNYC, the SUXORZ panel will be the Greek chorus.

The Suxorz occurs in four rounds. Each panelists talks about an '09 social media campaign she/he hates, showing a slide or Youtube clip, then the drunken mob audience comments and votes on the worst campaign of that round. Finally, we revisit the winners of each round and vote on the grand champion Suxorz campaign. Audience heckling and wisdom are welcome throughout.

RSVP: http://suxorz10.eventbrite.com/

Thursday, February 4th

6PM Digital Culture NYC: Breaking Down the Walls, hosted by MoMA

How are New York City’s cultural institutions using new and emerging technology to reach and engage audiences? Hear from six different arts organizations about their use of social media as a means of reaching out to the public, distributing and shaping content, and fostering dialogue with passionate, opinionated audiences in New York and around the world.

RSVP: http://smwnycmoma.eventbrite.com/

6:30PM Designing Social Websites

What is a social website? What makes a site social? Why people participate online. Why some social sites work and others don't. The psychology of online social interaction. An overview of interactive design patterns for online social interaction. What works and what doesn't. "Paving the cowpaths"

Visual design that complements interactive design. Launch of a social site. Bootstrapping a community from zero users. Getting over the "sign-up hurdle". Monitoring, analytics and design iteration for social interaction

RSVP: http://ultralightstartups.com/newyork/social-design.html

Friday, February 5th

12PM: The Future of Social Media in Higher Education

How is social media changing the way college students learn? How are digital applications changing how professors teach? What are the most significant education technology trends of 2010 and beyond? Join a panel of education technology and emerging media experts to explore how the social web is transforming higher education.

RSVP: http://mcgraw-hill-socialmedia.eventbrite.com/

3PM Whole Foods Market presents: Afternoon Snack. A New York New Food Media Panel

Milk, cookies, and an exploration of the new food media landscape.
with Liza Mosquito de Guia, Founder & Chief Storyteller, food. curated.

Cathy Erway, Not Eating Out In New York.

Nick Fauchald, editor-in-chief, Tasting Table

Emily Fleischaker, Associate Multimedia Editor, Bon Appetit

Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, Food 52

Nicole Taylor, host, Hot Grease

RSVP: http://wfmafternoonsnack.eventbrite.com/

Saturday, February 6th

All day - EventCamp

EventCamp 2010 is the first industry gathering of its kind, offering an intimate and low cost alternative to the large annual conference and allowing attendees the option to generate their own content, encouraging participation and allowing for a more interactive environment.

Approximately half the session topics will be pre-determined, and aim to assist planners in utilizing social media and technology in event and meeting planning, execution, business development and networking. All levels of Social Media, Technology, and Event enthusiasts are welcome and encouraged!

RSVP: http://eventcamp.eventbrite.com/

Four days ago, a team of Wall Street veterans launched Track.com, a new marketplace for independent research providers.  I met with the management team today.  Ironically, they’re sharing offices with Tracked.com, another NY startup.  John Frankel, the Founder, said that the people at Tracked like the domain name Track so much that they bought Tracked.com.

Track.com offers independent research providers a platform to distribute their intellectual property.  Buyers pay subscriptions for access to the pool of content. Similar to Value Investors Club, the general public can get access to the content at no charge after a delay.

It looks like an institutional version of SeekingAlpha.  It also has components of the market for research that AQ Research tried to launch some time ago.  Eventually, I’m sure Track will build out internal discussion functionality similar to other collaborative investing startups.

I think their greatest obstacle is noise.  There is a deluge of opinions available on the markets in every possible medium, and for every possible view on the market you will find someone passionately defending that view. 

The most clever parts of their model are:

- the appeal to elitism, which has a proven appeal on Wall Street

- the recruiting of Wall Street alumni in transition, who want to keep their brand visible in the market.  Given my background working with executives in transition, I particularly liked this aspect of the model.

- the tiered display of research over time, in order to price discriminate. 

I look forward to following their progress.  FYI, they’re actively hiring developers.

NYConvergence ORIGINAL

by: Amy Berryhill

The panel was called Information Wants to be Expensive, but the panelists represented businesses with price points lower than or equal to their competitors. In fact, Gawker's Gaby Darbyshire oversees a company reeking havoc with media giants by offering content to users for free. The title might have been a misnomer, but the opinions presented during the discussion at Cipriani 42nd Street were relevant to those working to perfect their business model.

"Look at your business and try to find a way to make money off of change," was the advice of Jim Fowler, the CEO of Jigsaw Data Corporation. His company offers traditional data list services, but also offers a proprietary system through which their clients are able to get updated data lists daily. He used the difference between Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia as an example.

"My nine-year-old son is going to grow up and not even know what Encyclopedia Britannica is unless he reads about it on Wikipedia," said Fowler.

Darbyshire added that the businesses in her industry have to cut costs. "It is not sustainable to have these incredibly huge newsrooms where everyone reports on the same facts," she said.

Simultaneously in multiple cities around the world, Social Media Week advances the use and understanding of social media in the corporate, public and non-profit sectors. Join expert panelists in the field of social media and viral communications on February 2 at 6:30 at For Your Imagination as they offer insights and guidance to what works and what doesn't in creating successful social media and viral campaigns. Hosted by Gordon Platt of Gotham Media and moderated by For Your Imagination co-founder Paul Kontonis, the discussion will be about social media tools, techniques and new ideas followed by a wine chaser. Seat are limited, please RSVP.