Posts tagged:

bluewalks

bluewalks Wins SeedRocket, Gets Seed Investment

by Miikka Kukkosuo, August 5, 2009 — 1 Comment
bluewalks, a Stockholm based web startup (our previous coverage), won the SeedRocket Camp startup competition in July in Barcelona, earning them a seed investment of EUR 20,000 and a 6-month stay in Barcelona Activa Incubator with further mentoring. The service of bluewalks allows creating and sharing of walking tours.
SeedRocket is a Spanish startup event/competition, somewhat similar to more widely know Seedcamp http://www.seedcamp.com/
SeedRocket consists of training workshops and discussions lead by successful Spanish web entrepreneurs, and participants also get mentor comments on their business plan. In the end, the teams will make a pitch to mentors, investors, and the SeedRocket team. bluewalks was one of the 12 teams selected from over 100 international applications.
CEO Cristobal Viedma said
bluewalks has currently 30% the traffic coming from Asia, and over 700 walking tours created all around the globe.
bluewalks is currently working on an iPhone app coming up, launching free beta at the end of the summer and premium version planned to launch by December. The app should allow downloading content directly into the phone before the trip or for example at hotel using wifi prior to heading for a walking tour.
The company has released also an API that 2 startups are using already according to Cristobal.
http://blog.bluewalks.com/?p=393
The company plans to monetize by licensing their technology to local tourism boards and others wanting to offer the service for free to all the travelers in the location.
bluewalks is also trying to create a brand among travelers by advertising and giving away merchandising in different hostels and events, while also having an on-line store (store.bluewalks.com) for purchases.

BlueWalks beta logobluewalks, a Stockholm based web startup, won the SeedRocket startup competition in July in Barcelona, earning them a seed investment of EUR 20,000 and a 6-month stay in Barcelona Activa Incubator with further mentoring. The service of bluewalks allows creating and sharing of walking tours.

SeedRocket is a Spanish startup event/competition, somewhat similar to more widely known Seedcamp. bluewalks was one of the 12 teams selected to the event from over 100 international applications. SeedRocket consists of training workshops and discussions lead by successful Spanish web entrepreneurs, and participants also get mentors’ comments on their business plan. In the end, the teams deliver a pitch to mentors, investors, and the SeedRocket team.

bluewalk’s CEO Cristobal Viedma commented the company currently has around 30% of their traffic coming from Asia, and over 700 walking tours created to date. bluewalks is currently working on an iPhone app, launching free beta at the end of the summer, and premium version planned to launch by December. The app should allow downloading maps and tours directly into the phone before the trip or for example at hotel using wifi prior to heading for a walking tour, but also providing online location-based information when wanted. bluewalks has also released an API that according to Cristobal 2 other startups are using already.

bluewalks plans to monetize their service by licensing their technology to local tourism boards, and others wanting to offer the service for free to all the travelers in the location. The company is also trying to create a brand among travelers by advertising and giving away merchandising in different hostels and events, while also having an online store for purchases.

New Startup Faces At TechCrunch Talk Nordic

by Paula Marttila, May 28, 2009 — 3 Comments

TechCrunchTalk Nordic was held yesterday in Stockholm. The event was sold out and gathered many familiar faces from the startup and VC communities for panel discussions, presentations and pitches followed by drinks and networking.

 

        Ted Valentin Henrik Berggren Creandum Sushikartan Videoplaza Creandum Bilddagboken Pixlr Bloglovin 

 

The panels and presentations had a good mix of representatives from the entire region and discussed topics covering the Nordic and Baltic startup and VC culture. In my opinion the most memorable message sent was by Pär-Jörgen Pärsson from the VC firm Northzone Ventures. He presented some hard figures and facts just to state how the Nordics is the best exit market in the world with 36% exit rate, Skype excluded. So – the startups in the Nordics rock!

 

Continue reading »

Create and Share Walking Tours on BlueWalks

by Miikka Kukkosuo, March 19, 2009 — Leave a Comment

BlueWalks logo betaBlueWalks is a Swedish startup online service for travelers who enjoy walking and sightseeing. In essence it is a Google Maps mashup, allowing users to browse, create, and share walking tours.

The founders state they want to give travelers a chance to plan their trips easier and faster. In the future, the BlueWalks team also wants to eliminate the need to carry along travel books and other material. The value proposition is users can create and browse unlimited amount of different routes around various points of interest, compared just a few routes typically listed in printed travel guides.

BlueWalks has been founded by an international team of students from the Stockholm School of Entrepreneurship (SSES). The team members have roots in Sweden, Spain, Singapore, and China, providing a global view into developing the service. BlueWalks just took part in the international business plan competition Venture Challenge in San Diego, sent as a delegate of SSES. (Well, international in this case seems to mean that out of 25 teams 1 was from Canada, BlueWalks from Sweden, and the other 23 teams from the U.S.) BlueWalks did not get to the final, though.

Continue reading »