So, I went out for a noonhat lunch today. It was pretty cool. I got to meet some interesting characters poised to do some awesome things in this Tech/New Media sector of NYC biz, Silicon Alley.
The captain of conversation for the duration of the meal was Sanford Dickert. Sanford is an animated and infectious visionary who is surely going to drive success in our lackluster market and if you have the opportunity, definitely sit in on a chat with him. If you’re even considering doing biz with Gotham start-ups, this guy is a must-have connection in your network. He’s instigated disruptions in the past, and he’s bound to do it again.
His current project is CooperBricolage. Which I mentioned briefly in a previous post regarding NYC. “CooBric” ‚Äì as the chief instigator calls it ‚Äì is brewing in a quaint cuban restaurant in the east village, Café Fuego. (Side Note: The food is freakin’ awesome and the daytime waitress, Demaris, is sweetheart.) The main point of CooBric is to create a collaborative environment in a restaurant….Yes, a restaurant workspace.
I know that sounds crazy, but it’s not. It’s typical of our Valley counterparts. And imagine how it makes sense: food, the great social coagulant; mix in a some creative juices creating kick-butt apps and you have formula for social activity that forges friendships. (well, hopefully :-\)
As a fledgling entrepreneur, I think what gets me excited the most about projects like CooBric is the potential for cross-pollenization. When you’re working on projects completely irrelevant to other persons projects and you start talking about them together, innovations are inevitable.
Another interesting cat at the noonhat (rhyme unintentional) was Andrew Parker. Andrew is analyst with a VC group, Union Square Ventures. I know we should be cautious of VC peeps, but this guy is cool. He’s coming up from an interaction designer/ fine arts background. That kinda mix is intriguing.
One the groups he’s working with is Etsy, which I’ve shared before at ma.gnolia. Etsy has got to be the COOLest way to shop for crafts and other décor. Andrew did an email-ping-introduction with the brains over there, Rob Kalin and me. If I get the opp to meet Rob, that will certainly be a highlight in my adventures.
The fourth guy was Peter (i didn’t get his last name). Peter came with Sanford, but opposite to the animated Dickert, was rather quiet. So, that’s scary. He seemed to be having the gears just going, plotting a global takeover. ;-) Just kidding. I didn’t get to learn much about him in that session.
If you’re in NYC and you’ve just stumbled across and you scanned this entire post, without reading –thus adding to my bounce rate –fine, thanks :-). If you’re interested in tech start-ups in the around northeast NYC-metro area. Even in Philly. I’d HIGHLY encourage you to get in on the ground floor of this one: goto CooperBricolage, put yourself on the RSVP list and come out Wed, Sept. 5th. 2007
Oh! And there’s bound to be some more noonhat action here in NYC. Just sign up.
I’m keeping a list of NYC start-ups here.