Moving Day! With a little help from NY Startups (And Friends)

So – this weekend I’ll be leaving wonderful 8th ave and heading down to Greenwich village and my old stomping grounds (NYU area).  It’s pretty exciting to be back in what is probably my favorite neighborhood in NYC, and I’ll also be just around the block from my gym – so maybe I’ll have a shot of getting back into shape for Labor Day.

I thought it worth mentioning a few of the different startups that can help make the moving process a bit less daunting.  First off, Skill Slate is an amazing company that allows local service providers (from handymen to DJs) to bid for your business.  Have an AC unit that you really don’t want to install?  Give these guys a shout.  Plus, the company is actually run by a few of my friends here in New York.  Bartek and Brian have done a great job in launching this company and are saving lots of people time and money!!  Check them out.

Skill Slate typically offers skilled laborers to fix your plumbing, or help you pass a spainish test (I like to think of it like Craigs List on steroids with a MUCH better user interface and the ability to look at ratings/reviews for service providers as opposed to emailing random people who may not even exist through CL).  If you are feeling lazy during that long and hot move-in day, Zip Gigs offers more of a grunt labor force to help you run any random errands you forgot to do last minute.  According to their website, they will even stand in line at Shake Shack for you – now that’s helpful!

There are also two startups I know less about that could be a big help in your move.  Prior to leaving, you can list your apartment on Jump Post, and, if it’s successfully rented, there is a nice commission to whet your beak.  Plus, you get to circumvent the masses of incompetent real estate brokers that make their home in New York.  Also, one company still in stealth (and I guess not really NYC based) promises to help you transfer your cable, electric, etc. in one easy portal so that you don’t spend Sunday afternoon waiting in line at the Time Warner store.  Pretty sweet – hopefully I can leverage some of this tech to make this weekend a bit more bearable.

Of course, the most interesting startup in this space is a newco led by Dom Strazzulla and Sahil Amin who are revolutionizing the way that I move.  Though the margins are low, business model unscalable, and work thankless, they still lugged all of my stuff up to my apartment in great form.  I may be their first and last customer, but I must thank these two entrepreneurs for helping me move 😉  Also thanks to Chris Ofstun, his Dad, and his roommate, and Naveed!