Refreshing Laughter at NY Tech Meetup


Was good to hear laughs at last night's Tech Meetup in New York (some coverage here, from NY Convergence, which I'm helping), not only for the roaming dentist-in-a-van, Mobile Tek Labs, but also the iPhone app from iRetroPhone that mirrors a rotary phone (one of a few of what Gavi Narra from the company called "goofy apps") and his joke that the next app would be allowing SMS text messages via morse code through an "iTelegraph" application.

True, as NY Convergence notes, "only" 17% of those trying on Angelsoft get a meeting with potential angel investors, but COO Ryan Jonnsen also noted that with "only" 9,000 or so applications since the company's founding, and some 400 angel groups on five continents, the investment ratio is "through the roof." Jonnsen said details on the angel groups were not available, but he is advocating more openness.

And NYC Seed's Owen Davis got big applause from the audience of perhaps 600 at the IAC building when he said their investments, up to $200,000, were focussed on companies that have a true presence in New York, not just a P.O. Box. And, he noted -- showing pictures of babies from Google images (above) -- they're looking for early stage companies, and ones with creativity. (A photo in this stream  shows the "psychadelic" imagery he used to illustrate "creative".)

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