Wednesday, May 23, 2012

This Week In Startups--Steve Chen of ScreenDate

On This Week in Startups, Steve Chen (http://twitter.com/a5steve) joined the show to discuss his angel investments and some of the challenges restauranteurs face today (Steve owns 5A5 Steak Lounge). Steve also gave us a sneak-peak at his new venture, ScreenDate (http://screendate.com).

Catch the whole episode here: http://goo.gl/Ksyis

Or, you can jump right to some of the highlights:
       • 14 minutes in: Steve explains how he knew he wanted to invest in Space Monkey. Watch: http://goo.gl/rqtER
       • 24 minutes in: What was it about Alltuition that Steve fell in love with? Watch: http://goo.gl/Q9hWS
       • 30 minutes in: Great features vs. great design--which trumps the other? Watch: http://goo.gl/3LrZn

To spread the word about this engaging episode, just tweet this: "On #TWiST, Steve Chen joined the show to discuss his angel investments & shared a sneak-peak of his new venture, ScreenDate. goo.gl/Ksyis"

Coming up on Friday, May 25, an historic TWiST first will be taking place: the battle of the meetups! See three companies from Sweden go head-to-head with three from South Africa in a battle for international startup supremacy! Be sure to tune in at a special early time of 12pm PT time, right here: http://thisweekin.com/live

Thanks for your viewership and support!
Carolyn, TWiST Producer
@cbedgood

Friends don't let friends miss TWiST. Forward them this email and tell them to subscribe at http://thisweekin.com/email

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Steve Chen of ScreenDate - TWiST #259

1:00-2:45 Today we have another serial entrepreneur turned angel investor, Steve Chen.
2:45-3:15 Welcome Steve. How did we first meet?
3:15-7:00 Thank you to Squarespace for supporting the show! Everyone thank @Squarespace!
7:00-9:00 What happened with GoPlanIt?
9:00-10:00 How did the business do after launch?
10:00-12:00 Has starting a company become easier in recent years?
12:00-14:00 How many companies have you invested in to date?
14:00-19:45 Steve details why he knew that Space Monkey would be a fit as an investment.
19:45-21:00 Tyler: What was the hardest part about investing in Space Monkey? What hesitations did you have?
21:00-21:45 I don’t think Drew cares and I’ll tell you why: I’m not going to leave Dropbox.
21:45-24:00 Huge thanks to our friends at Trada for their support! Everyone thank @Trada!
24:00-26:00 Let’s talk about Alltuition: what did you love about them?
26:00-28:00 How much do you think the startup world today is driven by UX?
28:00-30:30 Looking at the design site Behance.
30:30-32:30 If you look at a company with great design but with few features, do you bet on it?
32:30-39:00 How did you become a restauranteur?
39:00-41:30 What’s the impact of early adopters in the restaurant business?
41:30-44:00 Steve discusses what he likes about Tyler’s company, Skweal.
44:00-47:00 Why do restaurant owners feel hostility toward Yelp?
47:00-50:00 Does a business have to pay a fee to be a part of OpenTable?
50:00-54:00 Can you buy traffic to OpenTable?
54:00-56:00 How would a digital menu work?
56:00-58:30 Is the perception that, if you have a loyalty program, you’re a failing restaurant?
58:30-01:00:30 Insight from Tyler: It’s like a used wedding ring.
01:00:30-01:04:30 What is the most unreasonable customer situation that you’ve ever had to endure?
01:04:30-01:09:00 Jason shares his best restaurant trick for clearing out a table from his dad.
01:09:00-01:12:00 Steve tells Jason about his new project, ScreenDate.
01:12:00-01:14:00 Is there a mobile component?
01:14:00-01:16:45 So does the algorithm work like page rank?
01:16:45-01:20:30 So this forces people to be realistic?
01:20:30-01:26:00 Insight from Tyler: It’s like British postage stamps?
01:26:00-01:27:45 Tyler shares an anecdote about a run in with a tall women.
01:27:45-01:30:00 Everyone check out ScreenDate.com. And be sure to eat at 5A5 Steak Lounge when you’re in San Francisco. Thanks Steve. We’ll see you all next time.
01:30:45-01:31:00 Insight from Tyler: It’s like patenting a nuclear weapon.

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Jason on Twitter Mahalo.com This Week in Startups

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Today on This Week in Startups: @everlane !!!

Today, on This Week in Startups, Jason was joined by Everlane (http://everlane.com) co-founder Michael Preysman (http://twitter.com/mpreysman) to unpack the luxury e-tailer's success thus far. Everlane is an online-only clothing and accessories shop that cuts out the middleman in order to offer high-quality tees, sweatshirts and more for as much as 90% off traditional retail pricing.

If your interest is piqued, be sure to tune in at 1pm PT here: http://thisweekin.com/live We'll also be in the chats on our live channels on Justin.tv (http://justin.tv/thisweekin) and Ustream (http://ustream.tv/thisweekin), and we'd love to hear your feedback and discussion.

Today's episode is made possible with the help of our incredible sponsors Walker Corporate Law (http://walkercorporatelaw.com) and Trada (http://trada.com)! Be sure to thank @ScottEdWalker and @Trada for sponsoring @TWiStartups!

Later, This Week in Web Design (http://thisweekinwebdesign.com) with host Jose Caballer is live at 2:30pm. Tune in and watch us work!

And, if you're not subscribed to our shows in iTunes, they're only a click away.

TWiST audio on iTunes: http://goo.gl/0SbGu
TWiST video on iTunes: http://goo.gl/oDycP
Web Design audio on iTunes: http://goo.gl/Nz6NW
Web Design video on iTunes: http://goo.gl/xJcXw

Thanks for watching!
Carolyn, TWiST Producer

Jason on Twitter Mahalo.com This Week in Startups