New York City is second fiddle to Silicon Valley when it comes to tech start-ups. But one intriguing new Internet company is about to launch here in Manhattan in two weeks.
Have you heard about Hunch? This morning at a Women in Media breakfast, I ran into Caterina Fake, the entrepreneur best known for co-founding Flickr and selling it to Yahoo (YHOO). Last time I saw her was at the home of Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's COO, in Silicon Valley. As I've written, Sandberg frequently hosts tech's rising-star women for soirees with guest speakers.
Hunch was just a glimmer of an idea back then. It was going to be site for consumers to use to help them make decisions. But, Fake (left) told me today, she hadn't a clue about what it would look like or how it would be used.
Now she knows. She describes Hunch as a mix of a "decision tree" and a "Magic 8 Ball." (Remember the toy black ball that told you your fate and fortune when you were a kid?) On Hunch, you type in a question like...
What car should I buy?...
What's wrong with my pet?...
Should I write a novel?
And Hunch responds by asking you questions. You click Yes or No in response to each one, and eventually you arrive at an answer. Fake says that she and her colleagues worked to make Hunch fun, like a game, so people stay on the site for a while.
What will visitors use Hunch for most often -- career advice? Food tips? Shopping savvy? Fake doesn't know. That's part of the excitement of launching a new venture, she says.
This breakfast, part of Internet Week in New York, included lots of high achievers, who have jumped from traditional companies to the digital space. There was Betsy Morgan, who left CBS (CBS) to be CEO of the Huffington Post. And Susan Lyne, ex-Disney (DIS) and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO), who is now CEO of Gilt Groupe. You wouldn't think that this online fashion-brand merchant would have a Gooogle-like growth trajectory, but it does in its first two years. Watch for Lyne to broaden the platform beyond high-end clothes and accessories.
It was a kick to see Eileen Naughton, who was, in the mid-'90s, general manager of Fortune and later president of Time magazine. She spent 16 years at Time Inc. (TWX), got squeezed out in 2005, and landed on her feet. Actually, she landed at Google (GOOG), where she's now director of digital platforms. Her purview includes YouTube and DoubleClick.
Naughton echoed the other women at the breakfast, who said that New York City needs more engineering and tech talent to compete with Silicon Valley. "The best place to get engineering talent right now is investment banking," Naughton said.
That's a silver lining of the recession: tremendous talent, looking for new employment. Another silver lining is attractive real estate prices. Another tech entrepreneur, SheFinds Media CEO Michelle Madhok, told the group that she just rented 1,000 square feet for new offices and scored a deal: $22 per square foot. That's about 40% lower than a year ago.
"This is a time for smart people. This is a time for entrepreneurial people. This is a great time for people like me."
--Donald Trump on Larry King Live Wednesday night. With his trademark bravado, Trump told Larry the moment is ripe for investing in real estate. "You go see your bank -- maybe you can make a deal, maybe you can't. But you can make a deal with a bank MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Apr 16, 2009 6:52 PM ET
Blackstone Group (BX) CEO Steve Schwarzman is worried. Very worried.
Last evening, at the firm's annual press dinner, the big boss of the buyout industry riffed about what he's been hearing as he has circled the globe. I was lucky enough to sit at his table -- and I asked him that question, in fact: So, Steve, how do you think the U.S. and its economic policies are being viewed abroad? MORE
Patricia Sellers - Apr 15, 2009 1:48 PM ET
Defining a brand and sticking to it is always difficult. Particularly in a downturn.
Which is why the success of Bravo - the NBC Universal cable network that serves up food, fashion, beauty, design and pop culture to upscale audiences - is all the more impressive.
This morning, I went to Bravo's "upfront" presentation, where NBCU's Lauren Zalaznick, who built the network, and her team pitched their new season and their growth MORE
Patricia Sellers - Apr 14, 2009 1:55 PM ET
By Jessica Shambora
As the Obamas moved into the White House, the Bushes headed to Texas. Yesterday's shift at the top of the government should give at least a little kick to the dismal U.S. housing market.
In the Obamas' former home, Chicago, prices are down 14% over the past year. And home prices in the Washington, D.C. area? Down 14.3%, according to Move Inc., which runs Realtor.com, the official site of MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Jan 21, 2009 2:44 PM ET
"If I had perfect foresight, I would never have taken this job in the first place."
-- Richard Syron, the former CEO of Freddie Mac (FRE), in the current issue of Time, dubbed The List Issue. The Top 10 Quotes of 2008 includes Syron's remark and is one of a myriad of lists -- Top 10 Best Business Deals, Top 10 Worst Business Deals, Top 10 Financial Collapses -- that prove MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Dec 15, 2008 7:20 PM ET
"You don't have to be a financial wizard (or go on a TV show) to become a millionaire. As Rock finally learned, you just have to stop spending all your money and save."
-- FDIC chairman Sheila Bair, in Rock, Brock and the Savings Shock, a children's book that she wrote in 2006. Bair's book is about twin boys who responded to their Grandpa's savings proposal in opposite ways. Brock saved. MORE
Patricia Sellers - Nov 14, 2008 5:43 PM ET
"The West is holding up, and search activity in Detroit suggests that the market there may be picking up." That's what Lorna Borenstein, president of Move Inc., told me on Friday--the same day that the U.S. Commerce Department released better-than-expected numbers on home-buying.
Borenstein, an alum of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), eBay (EBAY) and Yahoo (YHOO), is the No. 2 exec at the leading online company in residential real estate: Move owns Move.com, MORE
Patricia Sellers - Jul 28, 2008 3:05 PM ET
You know that rule of life: Don't change your job, your home, and your partner all in the same year.
Ellyn McColgan has changed two out of three, and she's shockingly low-stress about it. "I'm moving tomorrow," she told me last evening over a leisurely dinner in Manhattan. McColgan, who spent 17 years climbing the ranks of Fidelity Investments in Boston (and made Fortune's Most Powerful Women list), joined Morgan Stanley MORE
Patricia Sellers - Jul 1, 2008 4:25 PM ET
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Pattie Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Oprah's Next Act," "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" "The $100 Billion Woman" (Melinda Gates), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). Since its launch in 1998, Pattie has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" cover package.
A specialist at dissecting larger-than-life personalities, she has also profiled former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack, and countless CEOs.
Pattie co-chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big brand companies.
In Pattie's blog, Postcards, she provides insight into the lives of super-achievers through commentary, career advice, and Guest Posts by CEOs and other leaders.
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