Finance app Qapital raised $30 million in funding, so how does it actually save you money?
One of the biggest fundings in New York City tech this week was Qapital, a savings-focused app, that just raised $30 million in its Series B round. The app, launched in 2015, has nearly half a million users, who reportedly have saved a total of $500 million.
These impressive facts and figures aside, one can’t help but wonder what sets Qapital apart from the handfuls of other finance-focused apps that have sprung up in recent years, all with sleek graphic design and promises of lining your pockets.
Unlike these other apps, Qapital encourages behavior-driven decisions — not just the dread of seeing red in your account. Qapital empowers its users to set short- and long-term goals for themselves, and allows individuals to act on these goals each day with spending rules such as “save $1 each time I buy coffee.”
The service has recently expanded its products with a linked Visa debit card that allows users to make purchases with money they have saved through Qapital. With the money from their Series B round, Qapital has announced plans to expand from savings into investing.
NYC’s battle with Airbnb continues as new legislation threatens the company
Another day, another tense conversation between city officials and Airbnb. In response to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recent budget proposal, New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson called for millions in additional funding for the Office of Special Enforcement — a city agency that, among other things, cracks down on transient occupancy laws.
Johnson and his ilk have taken the stance that Airbnb and other home-sharing platforms incentivize homeowners and landlords to keep properties exclusively for short-term rentals, thus reducing the number of available apartments in the city and contributing to housing shortages and sky-high rents.
In response, Airbnb has attempted to paint the opposite picture: one in which the home-sharing service enables individuals “specifically women and communities of color,” to make ends meet through the extra income generated by Airbnb. “there are so many more pressing issues, like homelessness and equal access to quality education, for the city to address with funding," the San Francisco-based company said in an interview with Crain’s.
Airbnb operates in thousands of different cities around the world, making it difficult to determine precisely the type of impact the company has wherever its listings may be found. Only recently was a report released, analyzing the “Airbnb effect” on New York City specifically. Results from the study do indeed suggest that Airbnb has contributed to a housing shortage in New York City — but also finds that many of the problems arise from people using the service illegally, not necessarily the existence of the service itself.
If Johnson and his backers get their wish, the Office of Special Enforcement will have a total budget of $6.8 million and be able to increase its staff of 27 to 47.
New York City launches pilot program to find the next (dockless) CitiBike
Love 'em or hate 'em, there is no denying that CitiBikes have become a New York City staple since their launch in 2013. While critics initially took one look at the business model and presumed it would be riddled with theft, sky-high overhead costs and a trail of liability lawsuits longer than the Brooklyn Bridge, it turns out that New Yorkers are pretty good at sharing.
Despite steady expansion, CitiBike simply can’t fill the need for reliable public transportation, particularly as the MTA is currently off on a proverbial backpacking trip, “finding itself.” In order to expand New Yorker’s options for coming and going, the city has launched a competition in order to find the next best bike sharing platform.
The Department of Transportation is presently reviewing proposals from 12 different bike-sharing companies, ranging in size from total-unknowns to familiar faces like China’s Ofo and California’s LimeBike. All of the companies have one thing in common, though: the dockless model.
Unlike CitiBike, which requires expensive-to-install docking stations, dockless bikes can park themselves wherever they please. The city hopes that this model will also expand availability of shared bike transportation to the many areas of the city not currently served by CitiBike. Those eager to take a spin should anticipate the launch of the pilot program this summer.
Odds and Ends
Amazon’s HQ2 team was spotted scoping out space in Newark, New Jersey this past week. While we want to be excited about the possibility of HQ2 so close to home, all we can do is ask, “New Jersey? Really?”
Domino’s, arguably the biggest innovators in pizza-related technology, announced they will begin delivering to 150,000 non-residential locations including parks, pools and more.
Did you know you can now use Venmo to pay for your GrubHub order?
TaskRabbit has been taken offline due to a recent cyber attack. If you were planning on hiring an extra pair of hands to help you build your new coffee table this weekend, looks like you might just have to ask the guy in #3A.
Hewlett-Packard, one of the oldest and most revered software and hardware developers in the game, is set to begin developing registers for marijuana dispensaries, making them the first major tech company to dive into the budding marijuana market.
