2nd annual ITP pitchfest

I was delighted to be part of the group to watch the 2^nd Annual ITP Pitchfest.  I am a huge fan of the ITP division of NYU and after seeing the concepts and presenters this past week, I know why.

We saw eight out of nine pitches.  The ninth had some type of computer glitch like his dog ate the computer.   The presentations varied and so did the ideas but as a whole, a very impressive group.

First idea is Learny.  A web and mobile platform that allows users to author and view instructions.  This is based on the concept that most instructions are terrible.  The pitch was well done.  The app would have video, audio, timing and location built into it.  The instructions could be anything from haggling at the Green market to changing a tire to how to steep the perfect cup of coffee.  Crowd sourced instructions for anything. 

The second was Qmigo.   A mobile app that alerts you to exclusive deals from local businesses that you can share with friends.  Businesses would have to sign up on line and submit their deals to their users.  Didn’t really like this idea because it is basically being done in other ways from other companies right now.  To me they took something out there and tweaked it to be more niche.  I don’t see how this scales.

Third out was Huddl.tv   I really liked this although like many of these businesses I wonder how they can scale financially.  Huddl is a cross-platform web application, best used on an iPad, that will combined public twitter steams including private chats with a group of friends in different locations watching the same sporting event on TV.  Real time commentary among you, your friends and whoever you chose to add to the audience while you watch sports.  I just felt like there was something here as I see how we watch sports in our household with a variety of different applications including the TV.

Filmbot was fourth.  This guy thought of everything and I really liked this.  A film website that actually integrates all the theaters on one site with easy user functionality to see reviews from the NYTimes to Rotten Tomatoes.   The other side of the site is a social network made of bots that are created by your and your friends so you can see what friends saw what movies, what they thought of the film and you can privately rank your friends reviews based on how many films you actually like that they recommend.  Great user interface, clean fun site. 

Number five was Quibblers.  An game app for two people who are married so they can keep score and reward each other around activities such as doing the dishes and laundry.  If this is where we are going as a society, shoot me now.  If you can’t communicate with your spouse and need an app to do it then check yourself into marriage counseling immediately.

Walk.it  was number six.  The presentation wasn’t the greatest and they didn’t do their diligence but I did like this.  A simple tool for locally created maps from food, art, shopping, to help people check out new neighborhoods or cities based on their interests.  They also created the ability to print out the map and fold it into a tiny pocket map that can fit in your pocket. 

AR Spots.  An augmented reality social app for mobile devices.  By using location data you can find someone in your area who is looking to play a game and the game takes place in the area that you are at the same.  For instance, if you were sitting in a large coffee shop and wanted to jump on a game for ten minutes catching butterflies that were flying around your space.  These guys did not do a good job at describing what they are trying to create here but my gut is that there is something of interest here.

Commons was the last pitch.  This should probably be a non-profit or a business that is funded by local governments.  Commons aims to get people to improve their local services by citizen reporting from anything from a water main break, a need for a garbage can on a corner to a pothole.  311 doesn’t do the best job at putting the most important things to the top of the list. 

All and all a great group of people.  Impressive ideas and presentations.  Would be really interested to come back in a year and find out where they all are.