NOTE: This month's feedback forum falls on a Tuesday, not the usual Monday.

March is in like a lion and out like a monkey... a UMonkey. Just in time for spring break it's Sam Gelin's college guide startup UMonkey.com. Join us to help Sam confront the challenges facing his startup in these "challenging" times. And even in this economy, the pizza and drinks are still free!

UMonkey.com (“UniversityMonkey.com”)

UMonkey is a student-needed interactive guide to the on-campus and off-campus communities around them. UMonkey is a college student’s answer to Citysearch.com, only with even more features. UMonkey, at its core, is divided into four main ideas: (1) Local business listings, divided by type: (a) Food, (b) Nightlife, (c) Local Businesses; (2) Housing listings; (3) a Campus Blog; and (4) a college-specific classified section. Features like student reviews keep classmates updated on where to visit and where to eat, that way experiences – the good, the bad, and the ugly – can be shared, learned from, and built upon.

• How to scale our local-focused site effectively and how do we attract the type of talent necessary to take the site to next level?
• What’s the best way to promote the site and retain traffic?
• What’s the best way to monetize the site and who would be the most receptive strategic partners that we could partner with?

Logistics:

Our gracious host is Rose Tech Ventures and there is no cost to attend. Please note my mobile # below; you may need to call me to gain entrance to the building.

Thursday, March 31st. 7PM - 9PM.

30 East 23rd Street (Madison Ave)
7th Floor

Nearest subway stops: 23rd St on the F,V (6th Ave), the R,W (Broadway) or the 6 (Park Ave).

Jonah Keegan
m: 347-813-0927

Bio:

Sam Gelin, founder of UMonkey.com, has been perfecting the concept of local-focused websites since he started the wildly popular WhatsupFU.com back in 2003 during his undergrad days. His tenacity in his belief that localized advertising is the future of ads on the internet has kept him going six years later. Since then, he has gained a lot of practical experience in what works and what doesn't work when it comes to pushing a localized site. Sam’s background has been in very entrepreneurial environments, most recently partnering with an individual who managed investments for one of the world’s most wealthy individuals to co-found a distressed asset fund. Ultimately, he wants nothing more than to see UMonkey succeed on a national scale. Sam earned a J.D. from Seton Hall Law School in 2008. Prior, in 2005, he graduated from Fordham University with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and Economics.