One startup getting a great response from TechCrunch50 is CitySourced. This innovative service empowers citizens by making it super easy to report civil issues like potholes, graffiti and more. Just use their iPhone app to file your own report with city hall. Simple, brilliant.
It also happens to be Co-Founded by local radtrepeneur Kurt Daradics. He was nice enough to take the time to answer a few questions for lalawag.
Lets hear what he had to say:
1) You just launched at TechCrunch50, how did it go?
It was awesome, it felt like we were a crowd favorite. We pulled a few publicity stunts (including bringing our first customer, Councilman Pete Constant from San Jose, on stage. (check out the presentation below)
2) Tell us more about Citysourced, what’s it all about?
CitySourced is a real time mobile civic engagement tool. CitySourced provides a free, simple, and intuitive tool empowering citizens to identify civil issues (potholes, graffiti, trash, snow removal, etc.) and report them to city hall for quick resolution; an opportunity for government to use technology to save money and improve accountability to those they govern; and a positive, collaborative platform for real action. Our platform is called CitySourced, as it empowers everyday citizens to use their smart phones to make their cities a better place. CitySourced is powered by FreedomSpeaks, the leader in interactive civic engagement.
3) Sounds like something great for Los Angeles, how long before we can use it here?
Should be out by Halloween. Trick or tweet.
4) Is this something coming to other mobile phones as well?
Yeah next platform is Palm (by Thanksgiving) and then Blackberry & Android by Christmas
5) What’s next for CitySourced?
Aggressively closing some funding, hiring some more talent, closing more deals, and scaling quickly. Basically it’s time to wake up the neighborhood
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. We want to send a personal huge congrats out to Kurt and the entire team. Join Kurt this Saturday to celebrate his birthday and wish him continued success.
Here’s what some other folks had to say about it.
“City Sourced is particularly useful to the denizens of Los Angeles because of the fragmented nature of our environment. This could be a boon for traffic, especially on the hellbeast we like to call the 405.”
-Alexia Tsotis, LA Weekly, “Tweet-Up on the 405: L.A. Start-Up Wows Techcrunch50″
“CitySourced was Awesome. I thought that was cool. Kinda like a throwback to the old neighborhood watch programs, but 2.0…I’ve moved to Angel Investing…I’m looking at that one too.”
-Digg Founder & CEO Kevin Rose (Via Digg.com & YouTube).
“CitySourced will have the biggest impact. At least in my opinion.”
-Robert Scoble (Via Twitter and his blog).
“It’s about time people got excited over here…judges, audience, and organizers seemed thoroughly impressed by an app that they could actually use. But none of the existing civic-engagement apps have caught on yet, and Citysourced’s mix of no-brainer efficiency and easy-to-read maps seemed to impress both the judges and the audience…This new mobile start-up is one to watch.”
-Caroline McCarthy, C|Net.
