MyCityWay Founders Ring Closing Bell At Nasdaq

Rare honor for 3 award-winning Indian American entrepreneurs

From Left, Puneet Mehta, Sonpreet Bhatia and Archana Patchirajan, founders of awardwinning mobile application MyCityWay,
at the NASDAQ closing bell in New York July 12.

In a rare honor, the founders of MyCity- Way, the Indian American mobile apps startup that won the inaugural NYC BigApps competition earlier this year, rang the ceremonial closing bell at the NASDAQ on July 12.

The founders, Archana Patchirajan, Puneet Mehta and Sonpreet Bhatia, were joined at the closing bell by Seth Pinsky, president of New York City Economic Development Corporation and Lawrence Lenihan, CEO of FirstMark Capital, which has provided MyCityWay the seed capital along with the City of New York.

MyCityWay apps on the mobile device are meant to provide a one-stop discovery and action-ability platform for over 50 resource categories in the city - including restaurants, nightlife, hotels, traffic, public transport, safety and green efforts. Tailored for use by local residents and visitors alike, the mobile application was the winner of NYC Big Apps Competition for Popular Choice and Investor’s Choice, hosted by the City of New York and Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“The MyCityWay team is being looked at as agents of change – a change that is giving technology entrepreneurship a new direction on the East Coast,” Archana Patchirajan, who has held senior technology roles with Wall Street firms. “Being just sixmonths- old as a company, MyCityWay considers it to be an honor to be invited for ringing the closing bell at NASDAQ.”

Since initial launch of its New York City-specific application NYCWay, MyCityWay has gained presence in 10 cities, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC and London, and plans to be in over 40 cities in the next 4 months, the founders said. As the business continues to grow, the team is working toward revolutionizing information access within all major cities.

From left Sonpreet Bhatia, Archana Patchirajan and
Puneet Mehta, founders of MyCityWay, outside NASDAQ
after they rang the closing bell July 12.

“As a startup company, we are delighted to be building a product that will enable the creation of smarter cities - cities that allow active interaction with residents and visitors through our apps,” added Patchirajan.

MyCityWay apps are currently made for Apple and Google mobile platforms. They are currently available for downloads for iPhones, iPads and all Android-based phones. A web-version is expected soon. Much of the application is resident on the mobile phone, meaning it will not consume data bandwidth and users can access it in offline mode.

“You can easily plan your vacation in New York City using the application on a flight in offline mode,” said Mehta, who worked with Citigroup before co-founding MyCityWay.

Given the appeal of the applications it has developed, the startup has become a darling of the mainstream media and city officials.

“We are being contacted by different cities to build similar one-stop apps to help locals and tourists alike,” said Bhatia, also a former Wall Street executive. “Police departments from a couple of cities are seeking our help to include relevant safety tips from them within our city based apps.”

The founders have resolved to keep the applications cost-free for consumers and plan to generate revenue through mobile-ad delivery and partnerships.

The three co-founders of MyCityWay worked on Wall Street before deciding to leave their jobs, start this venture, creating new jobs for the city and ultimately helping the economy.

“There is nothing more satisfying than building a product that will work well for everyone - not just residents and tourists, but for the cities and this world as a whole. Every city needs MyCityWay,” said Patchirajan.

In October last year, the trio took part at the NYC Big Apps competition, which was organized by the city. MyCityWay won three awards at the competition and also received seed capital for them to further develop and expand their business. NYC’s Economic Development Corporation decided to invest in them alongside two Venture Capital firms – making the relationship with the city even stronger.

Mayor Bloomberg announced first investment of the New York City Entrepreneurial Fund - the first of its kind outside Silicon Valley, at the TechCrunch Disrupt Conference. May 25, 2010.

My City Way got a $300,000 investment in return for an undisclosed equity stake in the company. With the cash, the startup plans to shift its offices from New Jersey to New York City, hire two more employees and fund its expansion into new cities, said Bhatia.

Following the NYC BigApps competition, the founding team of MyCityWay was invited to the ‘State Of The City 2010’ event by Mayor Bloomberg, and were honored to be on stage as contributors to the society and the economy.

While Patchirajan hails from Tuticorin (South India), Mehta is from Chandigarh (North India) and Bhatia is from New Delhi. “All three of us worked with each other at one point during our careers on Wall Street,” said Bhatia.

Patchirajan moved to the US in 2004, and has held senior technology roles with Wall Street firms. Before co-founding MyCityWay, she was a senior consultant with Citigroup. With proven expertise in building great teams in her entrepreneurial ventures and on Wall St, she comes from a family of serial entrepreneurs and believes that innovation is the key factor in facilitating large transformations.

Bhatia moved to the US in 1999 to pursue her Masters Degree. Before co-founding MyCityWay, Sonpreet worked as a Vice President with Merrill Lynch / Bank Of America.

Mehta moved to the US in 2000, and has held senior technology roles with Wall Street firms. Before co-founding MyCity- Way, Puneet worked as a Senior Vice President with Citigroup.

While Patchirajan was led by a deep passion for developing unique technology that can be put to practical daily use, Bhatia wanted to be an agent of change and create jobs and Mehta’s passion for smart urban living got them together for the startup.

“All three of us wear multiple hats every moment, and address various aspects of our business,” said Bhatia.

So how did the idea of MyCityWay develop? “There is a clear need of a one stop - live, work, play, visit mobile based app that can help you navigate your every single move in the city. We built our first app NYC Way - since we wanted to do something for the city we love. When we received a huge applause from the people in NYC, investors who looked at the app and Mayor Bloomberg himself, we decided to take this a step further to start MyCityWay. At this point, we have presence in 12 cities and will be in 28 more over the next 4 months. We aim to build smarter cities that are safer, greener and more accessible. We also have an app called ‘MyCity- Way’ which works in the entire US,” said Mehta.

The key challenge is to build products that align well with all cities and offer the local flavor. “We thoroughly study various aspects of each city, talk to locals, visitors and city governments to come up with a one stop solution for everything in the city,” said Patchirajan.

MyCityWay will have presence in six major Indian cities in the next three months.

[ BY MADHU PATEL ]