5in5NYC is a new online show that features different New York City-based startups every week. The startups pitch their companies and ask one another questions about their businesses. It’s a great concept for building community across startups in New York City, so I was thrilled when Eric Skiff, one of the founders, reached out to us:
I’m a big Mongo fan and have used it in a few projects, and didn’t realize until now that you were in NYC!
Would you be interested in joining us for a taping soon?
I immediately responded and suggested that we put together a “MongoDB show” to highlight some of the interesting companies that are using MongoDB. The show featured Roman Shtylman of bitfloor, Buck Heroux of Next Big Sound, Kareem Kouddous of Crowdtap, Daniel Doubrovkine of Art.sy, and me, representing 10gen.
Interestingly, each of the startups in this group exemplified some of the unique characteristics of New York City. Roman applied his background in finance and high frequency trading to bitfloor, the professional bitcoin exchange that he founded. Buck and the rest of Next Big Sound relocated to New York City from Colorado to get better access to record labels, musicians, and the music industry. Crowdtap spun out of an agency and works with big brands to identify and manage their influential consumers. Art.sy aspires to give the rest of the world access to amazing art — something that New Yorkers definitely take for granted!
In retrospect, 10gen appeared to be the outlier in this group. We’re one of the only pure technology startups in New York City, and definitely the biggest. Many might be skeptical of building a database software company anywhere other than the Valley. I hope that we are paving the way for future software startups here in New York.
Each of the people who spoke on 5in5NYC have been really supportive of MongoDB, blogging, speaking, and generally evangelizing. Thanks again Roman, Buck, Kareem, and dB!
The show is now posted on the 5in5NYC site, so check it out and let me know what you think.
