Tech Cocktail DC Wrap-Up – Meet Your Local Startups

Tech Cocktail’s DC Winter Mixer took place last night in Adams Morgan at the hip and open Slaviya in Washington, DC. Tech Cocktail has been hosting mixer events and writing about technology start-ups and entrepreneurs across the country since 2006. Tech Cocktail is a media company focused on better connecting, educating and amplifying the start-up technology community and showcasing the latest tech innovations. They are aimed at helping build and strengthen local tech start-up communities both online and off.

I stopped by the mixer event last night to see what it was all about. I was greeted by nice people, 2 drink tickets, a nametag, and a free and extremely comfortable new t-shirt (that I wore to bed last night). The t-shirt could have used some design help though, as I have no idea what was the company name and what was the tagline… Regardless, I love it and will wear it – so comfy and fit perfectly.

I think this event is a great place for companies to showcase new products or new start ups. With nothing to do but network, I think most people there made the rounds to each of the “booths” to see who was there and what was up. Drink tickets are awesome of course, though I didn’t immediately know what they were for when I was handed them… (thought maybe a raffle?)

I ran into some good folks that I knew from previous events and on Twitter and I love how friendly and smart the DC social media community is. (Special shout outs to Brian Dresher, Jill Foster, Geoff Livingston and Tod Plotkin!)

Also, Shashi Bellamkonda from Network Solutions wants you to go to the website after 5pm on friday for a fun surprise. I’m intrigued, are you?

One of the more interesting startups showcased at Tech Cocktail was PhantomALERT. This app can be downloaded to your GPS or smartphone and alerts you when speed traps, traffic cameras, and other driving hazards may be coming up. It is community driven, so they want you to contribute hazards when you approach them as well. Having seen it in action, its simple to report (a swipe of the finger on your screen) and operates in real time. Think of it as a high tech “flashing your lights at opposing traffic when you pass a speed trap”. PhantomALERT is compatible with most GPS and SmartPhone devices including: Garmin, TomTom, Magellan, iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. Ray from PhantomALERT even gave me a free month of access to the service and I can’t wait to try it out.

Other startups included thestrEATS (a DC Food Truck tracker), SURC (they’ll turn your phone into a universal remote), Shapea (an idea sandbox), PoshBrood (a family friendly travel directory) and more…

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Tags: companies, Corrie Davidson, event, gps, mobile, networking, phantom alert, phantomalert, posh brood, shapea, startup, surc, tech cocktail, thestreats

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 at 2:53 pm and is filed under Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.