04/30/13

Innovation in NYC: NY Tech Day 2013

By Andrés Uribe, Expedition PR

Expedition PR had the pleasure and excitement of being one of the over 400 companies exhibiting at NY Tech Day 2013. Companies ranged from established startups like Uber and Seamless to newly founded ventures such as Lineapple and I Know The Chef. Here is a short list of new apps I have downloaded and services that I have signed up for since last Thursday:

Eat Tribal. Let’s face it, with our forward looking eyes, keen intellect, and sophisticated hunting capabilities, humans are natural apex predators designed to thrive on a diet centered around animal meats (sorry PETA). New startup, Eat Tribal, attempts to satisfy your need for meat (and some veggies) with the delivery of healthy pre-cooked meals delivered right to your home, office, or gym. Once you sign up for Eat Tribal, you’ll receive 3-5 meals (based on your choosing) delivered weekly. All ingredients used in meals are grass-fed, pasture-raised, organic, and locally sourced.

Host Committee. Want your party to go as viral as your last Facebook photo album? Host Committee has you covered. Enjoy a beautiful integration of social media, ticketing, and event planning that guarantees a packed party where everyone will know at least one person before they ever walk through the door. Additionally, by gameifyng party planning, Host Committee is able to offer great party perks for attendees who bring the most friends. And with a constantly updating roster of venues, you’re sure to stay in the loop on what’s hot in NYC. Continue reading →

04/2/13

Products and Prototypes: Exciting Innovations from the “Technology You Can Touch” Event at NYU

By Andrés Uribe, Expedition PR

We are always looking for examples of technologies that will change life as we know it, in a good and sustainable way. Last Tuesday, I had the pleasure of visiting NYU for a demo session called “Technology you can Touch”. Seeing startups boasting products that didn’t require a computer, smartphone, or even an internet connection to take advantage of was a nice change of pace from the many new web based startups we tend to see today. Here are a few of the innovative new products that are working to make an impact on people’s lives.

Jibon Health booth at “Technology You Can Touch”

1. Jibon Health Technologies. Working to fight maternal mortality from Postpartum Hemorrhaging (PPH), Jibon has come out with a product called Tampostat. A Tampostat works by placing pressure on the womb that slows potential excessive bleeding during childbirth and allows for time to make it to a hospital for proper care. It costs less than $10 to make and requires minimal training to use. By making a product that is low-cost and easy to use, Jibon hopes to put a dent in the roughly 150,000 women from developing nations who die every year because they are unable to make it to a hospital in time.

2. Entrupy. Last week hedge fund owner Steven A. Cohen bought a Picasso for $155 million, making it one of the most expensive private art sales transacted. With huge sums of money being tossed around for art, one might think they should try their hand at making their own “Picasso”…well think again. After a few years in the making, Ashlesh, a PhD. candidate at Courant at NYU and his team, have created a device that is built to “fingerprint” works of art. This device is able to map out the texture speckles of a painting in order to create a record that is unique to that specific painting. Once the record is created, not even the most skilled forgery will go unnoticed by this machine.

3. AdhereTech. If you’re someone who has trouble taking their medication in a timely matter, AdhereTech’s smart pill bottles might be your solution. These smart pill bottles are able to hold liquid or solid medications. Once medication is stored in them, the smart pill bottle will automatically keep a real time count of how much medication is left. After programming the bottle, users will be able to receive phone calls or text to remind them to take their medicine on days they might be behind. In trial cases, these reminders have been able to increase adherence by 60% to 90%.

Overall the event featured ten startups with new and tangible products. For a complete list and brief description of the products featured, please visit nyctechconnect.com.

03/14/13

Pi Day: Do More than Eat Pie

By Andrés Uribe, Expedition PR

In case you haven’t heard, this Thursday, 3/14, is Pi Day!

Pi day was started in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw. The first celebration consisted of Larry, staff, and friends marching in a circle and consuming fruit pies. 25 years later, Pi Day has become an international event that’s used to help raise awareness of the importance in math in everyday life. Here are seven fun ways to help get you in the Pi Day mood:
1. Know what you’re celebrating. When you celebrate a holiday you usually want to know what exactly it is that you’re celebrating. Unless of course that holiday is Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day, or Valentine’s Day, then as long as you’re having Mexican beer, Irish carbombs, or a romantic dinner for two, respectively, you’re ok. But for one Japanese PhD student, Shigeru Kondo, the exhilarating Pi Day celebration alone just wasn’t enough. In October of 2011 Shigeru took it upon himself to calculate Pi to the 10 trillionth digit, a world record. Thanks to TWO-N designer Hermann Zschiegner we can now see 4 million of these digits artistically displayed for us in a single interactive image!

2. Watch Pi in dominos. This might not be the method Shigeru used to calculate pi to the 10 trillionth decimal place, but none the less a fun way to reach a close approximation. And even more fun to celebrate once the stacking is all done. Continue reading →

03/8/13

International Women’s Day: Ode to two Female CEOs

By Katja Schroeder

Did you know that International Women’s Day started in the early 1900’s in the United States?

Today it is celebrated in countries around the world. There will be more than 200 IWD events in the U.S. alone, according to the International Women’s Day website.

This year has a very fitting theme: The Gender Agenda: Gaining Momentum.

There are not enough female CEOs… yet. The few who make it to the top of public companies are being watched meticulously; their decisions often scrutinized by the public.

But times are indeed changing. With quotas or without, many Fortune 500 companies have expressed their goal to move more women into leadership positions. Some women didn’t wait for programs, they found their own paths. And today is the time to celebrate some of these trailblazers.

Among our clients, are two amazing female CEOs. Both women don’t claim to be out to shatter the glass ceiling, but they break boundaries, change the perception about women in the work place and create opportunities every day, each in their own way. Continue reading →

07/31/12

What does it take for NYC’s biotech sector to sizzle?

By Rhea Galsim

New York’s vibrant neighborhood Tribeca is home to one of the city’s most dynamic incubators, NYU-Polytech Varick. Last week NYU-Polytech Varick hosted a Meetup event on New York’s biotech sector. A panel of speakers including Dr. Liam Ratcliffe of New Leaf Ventures, Michael Lamprecht of Cellanyx Diagnostics, Andrew Koopman of NYU’s New Venture Development Investment, and Alex Fair, the founder of Faircaremd.com and MedStartr, shared their take on what the opportunities and challenges for New York’s biotech sector are.
Continue reading →