ABCey Events is pretty excited for The Crunchies to be held in San Francisco on January 31. Do you know who the nominees are? Every week, we’ll introduce you to the nominees for a few of the big categories. You might already be a big fan of some of these startups, but if not, we’re here to share the wealth of knowledge. Here are the nominees for Best New Startup of 2012:
Coursera – Coursera is a social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities in the world to offer free online courses for anyone to take. Their technology enables the best professors to teach tens or hundreds of thousands of students. Through this, they hope to give everyone access to the world-class education that has so far been available only to a select few. The site offers a large array of classes and any person looking to revisit some academic topics will not be disappointed!
Crowdtilt – Crowdtilt is a place where you can pool money with your friends or your community for an objective/event/fundraiser you care about. It could be for anything from a vacation home rental in Hawaii to raising money for a charitable event in your neighborhood. Doing things with a group shouldn’t suck so much – and Crowdtilt helps with that. If you are the de facto group organizer for most activities, Crowdtilt is your dream come true.
Lyft – Lyft is an on-demand ridesharing app for cheaper, safer rides. Payment is donation-based. You can spot their cars by the pink mustaches at the front of the vehicle. Lyft and other ridesharing car services have definitely made getting around San Francisco a more reliable, cheaper, and in many cases, more pleasant experience.
Snapchat – Snapchat is a photo messaging application. Using the app, users can take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a set list of recipients. Users can program a time limit for how long recipients can view their photos, after which it is deleted from the recipient’s device. With limited attention spans, I’m guessing teenagers love this app.
Waze – Waze is a free mobile navigation application for your smartphones that allows drivers to build and use live maps, real-time traffic updates and turn-by-turn directions. Waze definitely contributes to more and more people relying on their smartphones for navigational services (saving money, yay!).
Which of these do you think is the best startup? Let us know your vote in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter.