New York Start-Ups Aiming to Create Jobs

Consmr

Consmr is a reviews website for grocery and drugstore products, letting consumers check out product recommendations before they head to the register.

The start-up, headed by former Zagat mobile head Ryan Charles, is designed to help people avoid making poor purchases that drain their wallets and clutter their shelves.

"We live in a world of Yelp, Angie's List (ANGI) and Rotten Tomatoes, but how do we find amazing products?" Charles said.

The site includes reviews of products ranging from baby foods and beverages to skin care and spirits. It also gives users recommendations for items they might like based on their past reviews.

The company has four employees and hopes to add an additional four by the end of the year.

LocalBonus

LocalBonus is trying to eliminate the dozens of "buy one, get one free" punch cards from frozen yogurt shops and soup places you likely carry in your wallet.

To sign up for the service, you link your existing debit and credit cards to LocalBonus, essentially turning them into virtual loyalty cards with its merchant partners. The company has already signed up 51 merchants in New York and is looking into teaming up with other small businesses throughout the five boroughs.

When you pay with a connected card at a LocalBonus merchant, you receive 10 points per dollar spent. These dollars can then be redeemed for gift certificates, free services (tennis racquet stringing or a haircut, for example) and meals.

LocalBonus has four team members and expects to add two to 10 in the next year, said CEO Derek Webster.

Munchly

Munchly is a new mobile app that lets consumers at sporting events and movie theaters order concessions directly to their seats rather than having to wait on line.

The service has already been tested with the Boston Red Sox's minor league team, the Lowell Spinners, and the company expects to soon roll out a pilot program at over 50 movie theaters.

It's also in talks with the Verizon Center in DC (home to the NHL's Capitals), the New York Mets, and is eyeing food trucks and golf courses as its next move.

CEO Andrew Tider said consumers who order on Munchly tend to spend $7 more on average than they would if they placed the order in person at the concessions stand.

--Written by Olivia Oran in New York.



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