Here are a few things we’re currently working on:
Litr (location-based messaging): When I was pitched this concept, I never questioned whether I wanted to get involved. The question, virtually immediately, was how I could reprioritize our existing funding and advisory commitments to green light this mobile app.
The motivating principle is simple. People like surprises…especially ones that they know were designed with some forethought by friends. Litr draws from this basic intuition to provide a hide-and-seek experience that no other mobile application currently offers. In short, it’ll enable users to “litter” by leaving virtual content for selected people at specified real-life locations.
Grovo: As I discussed here, Grovo is something of a change of pace for us. It’s a dynamic training and learning platform that helps individuals, small businesses and enterprises use the best websites quickly and intelligently. Although it does have some really powerful and unique training technology, Grovo’s real strength is its high-quality content: 2-minute video lessons organized into 15 minute courses, which the company’s incredible team produces incredibly efficiently. And, because it’s a bit more mature of a company than our usual, it’s also the first time (since the formation of GEIG) that we’ve invested in a round led by a general partner of a venture fund.
Evelu: The next iteration in the evolution of purchasing on the internet – Evelu brings variable pricing to non-commodity consumer products. Its model is something like group buying sites in reverse, where individual buyers can initiate flash sales and sellers can get real-time pricing intelligence for preseason and stock goods.
Deep Tweet: Our homegrown twitter crawler and harvester that we are really excited about. Details available here.
UserMover: We’re co-owners of a business model patent for an online marketplace that facilitates and standardizes secondary sales of subscriptions and memberships. We’ve been working on this concept for quite some time, but think recent trends in the online advertising market and pressures on the publishing industry have really fortified the opportunity. We recently launched an alpha version of the UserMover marketplace.
CabCorner: As big believers in the power of social networking to reduce the costs (both financial and social/environmental) of transportation, we’ve placed a bet on CabCorner.com, a web and mobile social messaging utility that helps prospective cab riders find companions traveling to compatible destinations with whom they can split a cab fare. As part of our investment, we have contributed our Deep Tweet technology to CabCorner to source, harness and offer to CabCorner users ride share requests made inside of Tweets.