TechCrunch Disrupt 2014 – The Startup Place To Be
If you are any kind of technology and/or startup fan, you will instantly know what are we talking about when we say TechCrunch. You will also know about their annual conference called TechCrunch Disrupt. If you don’t know what we’re talking about, here’s the geist of it. It all started in 2011 and it is an event where technology startups are competing in front of venture capital investors and simultaneously launching their products and services. However, even if you don’t win (like Vurb did this year) media coverage is huge and just being there guarantees you a stand-out position.
Speakers and Ideas
This three day event took place from 5th to 7th of May in New York, and it is more than just a parade of startups, or as they call it Startup Battlefield. It was packed-full with speeches from entrepreneurs like Astro Teller, or CEO’s like Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer.
Teller’s speech could be summarized in this quote: “There is no law of physics that says just because we’re connected, there has to be this schism between our physical lives and our digital lives”. He supported that with Google Glass, which he was wearing during his speech. He also talked about privacy issues, Google X and his role as a director of that semi-secret lab dedicated to creating sci-fi solutions. If you thought that Google Glass was futuristic, what about one of their next projects: smart contact lens?
Mayer on the other hand talked about Yahoo and its foray into media with Yahoo Magazines and Yahoo News Digest. She portrayed Yahoo as a mobile-first company mentioning that number of employees on mobile capabilities grew from 60 to 500 since she started at the company. “I do think we have created value,” Mayer told the crowd, adding that she felt the brand is undervalued. No matter what you think of it, Yahoo’s foray into original content business is an interesting move that we will closely watch as it develops.
Hacking Competition
There was also a 24 hour “hackathon” where hackers tried to build something in one day. Many interesting and/or funny ideas were born there, and perhaps some of them will evolve into full fledged startups. To circle back, the most exciting part of the event is Startup Battlefield. From 27 presenters, 6 were picked for the finals, and Vurb came on top
.ME was faithful TechCrunch product sponsor throughout the years. What TechChrunch and .ME both of love are startups, and this year not one, but two .ME startups emerged. .ME love all around!
.ME Startups
We have recently told you about iBillionaire.ME. It is a multi-platform application (available for iOS and Android) that helps regular investors make smarter decisions. It provides you with information about some of the most successful and famous billionaires activities. It doesn’t matter if you are just playing with ideas, seriously thinking about investing or just educating yourself. Experienced (fantasy) investor or a beginner, it doesn’t matter, it is a great tool.
HealthCrew.ME is a service that connects chronic disease patients and their primary care physicians. For now they support only diabetes and heart disease patients, but expansions are planned soon. It is also a community of patients that share doctors and/or conditions, which is a great support system. Plus it is a source of reliable medical information, which in the era of availability every information online, is a great filter of useful information.
We love startups here at :ME and we absolutely love to see them totally rock events like iBillionaire.ME and HealthCrew.ME did. heAnd if you get the next great idea, we’ll be there for you too!
