A 5 month old startup rings closing bell at NASDAQ
Thousands tread the crowded pavements of Times Square, surrounded by the glittering, psychedelic signage which includes the world-famous NASDAQ billboard.
New York City is certainly the place where wild dreams can come true. As Archana Patchirajan, a fairly new transplant from India, recalls, “Exactly 5 months back the three of us were walking in Times Square and said to each other, ‘We will be on the NASDAQ billboard one day!’ – and here we are!”
On July 12, that right-out-of- the movies dream came true when Patchirajan, along with her partners Puneet Mehta and Sonpreet Bhatia, was invited to ring the ceremonial closing bell at NASDAQ. The three are founders of MyCityWay, the Indian American mobile apps startup that won the inaugural NYC BigApps competition earlier this year.
They were joined at the closing bell by Seth Pinsky, president of New York City Economic Development Corporation and Lawrence Lenihan, CEO of FirstMark Capital, which has provided MyCityWay the seed capital along with the City of New York.
MyCityWay apps on the mobile device are a one-stop discovery platform for over 50 resource categories in the city – including restaurants, nightlife, hotels, traffic, public transport, safety and green efforts. Earlier, the mobile application was the winner of NYC Big Apps Competition for Popular Choice and Investor’s Choice, hosted by the City of New York and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Since the initial launch of its New York City-specific application NYCWay, the app is now in 10 cities, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC and London, and plans are to take on 40 cities in the coming months.
“The MyCityWay team is being looked at as agents of change – a change that is giving technology entrepreneurship a new direction on the East Coast,” says Patchirajan, who has held senior technology roles with Wall Street firms.
MyCityWay apps are currently made for Apple and Google mobile platforms, and available for downloads for iPhones, iPads and all Android-based phones, with a web-version is expected soon. “You can easily plan your vacation in New York City using the application on a flight in offline mode,” said Puneet Mehta, who worked with Citigroup before co-founding MyCityWay.
“We are being contacted by different cities to build similar one-stop apps to help locals and tourists alike,” said Sonpreet Bhatia, also a former Wall Street executive. “Police departments from a couple of cities are seeking our help to include relevant safety tips from them within our city based apps.”
The hope is to keep the applications cost-free for consumers and generate revenue through mobile-ad delivery and partnerships. Says Patchirajan, “As a startup company, we are building a product that will enable the creation of Smarter cities – cities that allow active interaction with residents and visitors through our apps.”
Bhatia says, “”Our applications would serve like a try city app store – helping you discover and action on everything you need in the city.” Having rung the bell and heard the applause, the dream is certainly on its way to becoming a reality. Puneet Mehta adds, “There is nothing more satisfying than building a product that will work well for everyone – not just residents and tourists, but for the cities and this world as a whole.”
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