Weotta Launches at TechCrunch Disrupt NY

Online, May 23, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Weotta, Inc. (http://www.weotta.com) unveiled its new occasion search engine today in front of more than 2,000 technology innovators and investors at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York.

The San Fransisco-based startup went live with its website designed to simplify users' social lives by finding and organizing occasions relevant to them. Weotta is available for New York City and San Fransisco, with more cities to follow in coming months.

"Weotta solves the problem of what to do tonight and takes the hassle out of planning it," said CEO and co-founder Grant Wernick. "It's like having your own personal concierge. It's the only product designed around the way people actually plan their social lives."

Weotta generates relevant itineraries -- all in a matter of seconds. All users have to do is tell Weotta what kind of occasion they are up for based on their companions and mood. Then it scours the web for events and places. Classifys them. Ranks them. And, on the fly, assembles them into great itineraries that fit their needs.

"It's like Pandora© for your social life," said Chief Technology Officer and co-founder Jacob Perkins, who helped design and develop the algorithms that drive Weotta. "Because our system is driven by algorithms and never curated, it's fast, current and built to scale quickly."

Users can easily collaborate with friends on suggested plans. Once finalized, Weotta helps users invite friends via Facebook and book reservations through sites including OpenTable and Ticketmaster. Filters allow users to quickly narrow results to the most relevant content, and the system learns a user's preferences over time.

Weotta has been in development since August 2010. Through hundreds of interviews, the team at Weotta learned that people tend to begin planning social events with an idea of what they want to do -- a romantic date, a casual night out with friends in a nearby neighborhood, or a favorite band that's in town -- and seek fresh, new and interesting recommendations to build out a complete plan. People also said they wanted an easier way to collaborate with friends on ideas and invite others once plans are made.

Weotta was one of 30 companies selected from over a thousand fledgling startups to launch on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt New York this week. To view the social plan designed on stage for TechCrunch participants, visit http://www.weotta.com/press/.

About Weotta
Weotta, Inc. (http://www.weotta.com / @Weotta) is a new occasion search engine designed to simplify your social life. It's never been easier for a group of people to find and organize things to do.

It's like having your own personal concierge. You tell Weotta what you have in mind - a specific neighborhood, event, mood or occasion - and Weotta does the rest, generating plans based on the most current and relevant information to you and your friends. Once a plan is in place, Weotta makes it easy to book reservations and share on Facebook.

Right now, Weotta is available in San Francisco and New York. But we're expanding quickly. Check back soon to see when we're coming to your city.

About TechCrunch Disrupt
TechCrunch Disrupt NYC 2011(http://disrupt.techcrunch.com) is TechCrunch's second annual conference in New York City attracting over 1,500 leading technology innovators and investors and over 150 new startups. The format combines top thought-leader discussions with new product and company launches. Morning executive discussions debate the most timely disruptions in media, advertising and technology. Afternoons host the Startup Battlefield where 25 new companies will launch for the first time on stage, selected to present from more than 500 applications received from around the world. Another 100 early-stage startups will exhibit in Startup Alley. TechCrunch will award a $50,000 grand prize along with other award recognitions at the conclusion of the conference. The conference is May 23-25, 2011, at Pier 94 located at 711 12th Avenue (at 55th Street & West Side Hwy) in Midtown New York.

TechCrunch (http://www.techcrunch.com) is a leading technology media network dedicated to obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies. Founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, TechCrunch and its network of websites reach over 13 million unique visitors and more than 30 million page views per month. TechCrunch was acquired by AOL in 2011 and operates a global network of websites including dedicated properties in Europe and Japan, as well as specialized industry websites including MobileCrunch, CrunchGear, GreenTech, TechCrunchIT, and CrunchBase. TechCrunch's CrunchBase is the leading open database about startup companies, people, and investors. In addition to TechCrunch Disrupt, TechCrunch hosts other conferences and events, including the Crunchies Awards (http://crunchies2010.techcrunch.com) and various meet-ups worldwide, serving as community platforms for industry conversation and collaboration.

###