Now that Launch Festival is over, I am going through the stacks of notes and business cards trying to remember people I met and which companies left an impression. With over 150 companies at the Demo Pit and 40+ on stage is a startup overdose I have never experienced before.
One of the Demo Pit startups I found interesting is Kuyam. I'm not very fond of the name (Google searches show mud bath results and such), but they have a bold vision: to organize your life.
Those with families and busy schedules know the typical scenario. You leave home early to beat traffic and to drop off your child at school, then have meetings and work all day and there is no time left to schedule and follow up on doctor appointments, dog grooming, ballet lessons, etc. Kuyam helps you by taking all of those local businesses you deal with and presenting their availability in an online calendar you can access from anywhere. It's like having your personal assistant tell you all the available slots that coincide with your own availability.
http://youtu.be/Gj632vH5gFM
Seems magical, and that's why I like it. Sure, calendar applications abound but if they can really pull this off, everyone wins. Users get to schedule appointments with ease while local businesses don't lose customers because they were unable to answer the phone or are closed after hours.
The way I was explained at their booth, is like OpenTable for everything else. The service is currently in public beta, launching in Los Angeles, CA first. They are also working on adding game mechanics to make the whole scheduling aspect a bit more fun.
[caption id="attachment_1673" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Kuyam's calendar"]
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