OpenTable, the online restaurant reservation service, has filed an S1 with the SEC to raise $40 million. The company, founded in 1998 by former Citysearch President Thomas Layton, was launched as easyseats.com. It currently has contracts with 10,000 restaurants in all 50 states, or approximately 1/3 of U.S. reservation restaurants. [...]
Monthly Archives: January 2009
Zillow Rides The Bad Tides of Real Estate
January 29, 2009 – 12:28 am
(The View From the 46th Floor)
The bad market for real estate has put a crimp in a lot of real estate marketing (except perhaps for foreclosure sites like Zetabids). The New York Times, on Sunday, found that many real estate sites were flat at best, with some laying off staff. In The Times’ article, Curbed [...]
IAC’s ServiceMagic Buys Market Hardware
January 29, 2009 – 12:26 am
IAC’s ServiceMagic, a leader in delivering leads to services, has purchased Bethesda,MD- based Market Hardware, which provides websites and search engine optimization for 2,500 SMBs. Market Hardware, which has 30 people, targets “high online spend verticals” that closely mirror ServiceMagic’s base of 56,000 pre-screened professionals.
Market Hardware has relationships with 40 associations in the segments [...]
Now on the iPhone Top 10…RepairPal
January 28, 2009 – 12:24 am
The iPhone app store now has 15,000 apps available. So what’s No. 8 (among the free utilities)? RepairPal, an auto site that uses the GPS capabilities of the iPhone to deliver repair auto estimates, a comprehensive repair shop directory and a roadside assistance feature. RepairPal ranks behind such iPhone apps as Sound Grenade, WiFi Checker, [...]
AdReady: Growth for Builder of Insta-Display Ads for SMBs
January 27, 2009 – 12:22 am
AdReady, the Seattle-based media placement firm and builder of display ad templates for SMBs, has long been on our list of “most interesting” local services. And that was before it signed white-label deals with The New York Times, Boston Globe and MSNBC.com.
Last week, I dropped in on AdReady at its offices in the progressive Fremont [...]
FixR Debuts: New Auction-Based Site for Services
January 27, 2009 – 12:21 am
FixR, a seven-person Boston-area site that bills itself as an “eBay for local services,” has launched. Developed with private funds, the site provides free listings for services and free bids for consumers, but expects to charge a “success” fee when consumers follow through and hire. It has a tagline of “things done, money saved.”
The site, [...]
Placeblogger Revamps: Remember, It is Places AND People
January 20, 2009 – 12:17 am
Placeblogger, a 2007 recipient of $220k from the Knight News Challenge, has recently been revamped by its founders to encourage more personal interaction. Why? Location-based blogging without the context of a person is just kind of stale, says founder Lisa Williams, a longtime blogger of hometown Watertown, Massachusetts, and previously an analyst at The Yankee [...]
