By Gary Sharma 3/01 2:25pm

No FOMO

sponsor_garys_red_tie_at_sxsw_2013

16 MORE SXSW Parties You Really, Really Don’t Want to Miss!

This is a guest post from Gary Sharma (aka “The Guy with the Red Tie”), founder and CEO of GarysGuide and proud owner of a whole bunch of black suits, white shirts and, at last count, over 40 red ties. You can reach him at gary [at] garysguide.com.

So last week I did this blog post highlighting The 16 SXSW Parties You Really, Really Don’t Want to Miss. And I got a ton of email from you guys & gals saying a) “Thank you, you’re a life saver!” and b) “We want more, more, MOARRR!”

For the hardcore partier, I’ve put together the ULTIMATE Guide to all the SXSW Parties (a whopping 300+ and counting!). Print this out before your trip and you’re golden, my friend. And as you can see, there’re a ton of events that don’t even require a SXSW badge.  Read More

By Kelly Faircloth 10/25/12 4:43pm

On the Town

There's a skeleton just outside the frame, btw.

An Evening of Diversions at the Launch Party for Experiences by GroupMe

When Betabeat arrived downtown at a hulking brownstone bathed in red light with a double-digit Fifth Avenue address, there was already a line out the door. We were promptly assigned a pink wristband and told to head downstairs, where we discovered we’d be attending three classes over the course of the evening: Poker, music, and arts and crafts. So educational!

We’d arrived for the launch party of Experiences by GroupMe.* The company got its start with a group messaging service (which it parlayed into an $80 million acquisition by Skype) but recently expanded into the new group purchasing service, which allows numerous people to sign up for suggested events simultaneously and still split the bill.

The venue: the Salmagundi, an arts club founded in the mid-nineteenth century. GroupMe had conspired with event designer Adam Aleksander to send the service into the world in grand style. The suggested dress code was “elegant cocktail attire,” but budget Kardashian would have to do for this reporter. Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 9/14/12 10:30am

Fresh Capital

(Photo: via The Pitch)

Lerer Ventures Is Raising $30 M. for Its Third Seed-Stage VC Fund in Two Years

Roughly a year-and-a-half after closing its second $25 million seed stage fund, Lerer Ventures is in the processing of raising money for a third. An SEC filing, first noted by TechCrunch, says the size of the round is $30 million.

Although the Form D indicates that the early-stage venture capital firm has yet to sell, expect the round to close quickly.

Last May, it only took Lerer Ventures “a matter of weeks” to raise that $25 million from individuals and family offices. And that was before the highly-regarded New York City firm–launched by Huffington Post cofounder (and Betaworks and Buzzfeed chairman) Ken Lerer and his son Ben Lerer, cofounder of Thrillist–boasted a handful of exits.  Read More

By Jessica Roy 9/06/12 12:53pm

Fresh Capital

(Photo: Crunchbase)

On the Heels of Three Exits, NYC’s Thrive Capital Raises $150 Million Fund

Thrive Capital, the New York-based venture capital firm helmed by 26-year-old Josh Kushner*, announced today that it has successfully raised a $150 million fund for early and later stage startups. The news comes almost a year to the day after Thrive announced a $40 million raise from investors like Princeton University. The fresh $150 million comes from a slew of some of the same investors, including Princeton, Wellcome Trust and Hall Capital Partners. Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 7/18/12 5:17pm

Legalese

No smiley face for Groupie.

Battle of the NYC Startups: GroupMe Sues Groupie to ‘Remove Cloud of Uncertainty’ Around Trademark

Last week, GroupMe*, the popular group messaging app acquired by Skype in late August–filed a complaint in Southern District of New York against Groupie, another New York City-based startup. Their stated motive: to “remove the ‘cloud’ of uncertainty” around the GroupMe trademark.

In the filing, GroupMe stops just short of calling Groupie a trademark troll. Funny, we’re more accustomed to hearing about the patent kind.   Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 7/10/12 10:00am

Groupthink

1-Experiences by GroupMe Homepage

GroupMe ‘Experiences’ Helps Friends with the Dreaded Task of Splitting the Bill for Events

A little less than a year after being acquired by Skype for an estimated $80 million, GroupMe’s* founders Jared Hecht and Steve Martocci are still in startup mode. Today the company released “Experiences by GroupMe,” the biggest expansion beyond its core group messaging function.

The service, which was released to select New York users this morning, offers groups of friends a handpicked list of events like, say, a concert, dinner, or UCB improv showcase in Central Park. Each event comes with an “I want to do this” button and lets users create a landing page with a unique URL to recruit friends to sign up. Experiences then lets you split the bill–using standard Visa, Amex, and Mastercard options that won’t charge your card until all the spots have been reserved. Better still, GroupMe builds a group around the event for you to communicate with everyone who’s attending.

“We own the experience end-to-end,” Mr. Hecht told Betabeat over the phone. Read More

By Nitasha Tiku 1/17/12 9:18am

Venture Capitalism

via BrooklynBridgeVentures.com

Former First Round Capital Principal Charlie O’Donnell Launches Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, a Seed Stage Fund

On his blog this morning, New York City tech stalwart Charlie O’Donnell announced the creation of a new seed investment fund called Brooklyn Bridge Ventures. Mr. O’Donnell, who used to bike the 9.2 miles from his home in Bay Ridge to his last job—principal at First Round Capital in Union Square—says his is the first venture capital fund based in Brooklyn and that the borough “has the potential to be the very best place in the world to start a technology business.”

Business Insider‘s sources say Mr. O’Donnell’s fund will be $10 million. Betabeat has heard somewhere in the range of $10 million to $20 million and that Quotidian Ventures might be his first big LP, although Mr. O’Donnell would not return earlier calls to confirm. We have reached out to Quotidian and will update the post when we hear back. Read More

By Adrianne Jeffries 12/21/11 11:23am

(maketecheasier.com)

Startup News: Holiday Countdown

BIG BITES. Big Apps winner MyCityWay partners with NYC app Bitehunter. “No other app helps you navigate a city like a true local than MyCityWay and now… the apps make it possible to roam and find a great meal for cheap. Users can share tips on activities, hot spots and restaurants with each other, as well as create ‘best of’ lists to share with users and, as of today, foodies can find the top local deals for each market thanks to BiteHunter’s thousands of sources.”

GEORGIA STARTUPS. OnWednesday, January 18th, Union Square Ventures will host the first Flashpoint Demo Day. Flashpoint is a three-month accelerator program based at Georgia Tech; 17 startups will demo.

ONLY IN THE ALLEY. The 12-startup calendar, from SNAP Interactive and Hotlist, has been released and the syndicate will ring the opening bell at the NASDAQ on December 28. Read More