My startup, mezz, is focused on the local businesses he was talking about. It's a mobile app and platform that allows people to discover and share what's happening nearby. http://www.mezz.com
As such a late entry, I'm curious how you plan to differentiate yourselves from the likes of Foursquare and the others? I hope you do not take offense, but this isn't exactly a new idea.
None taken. We're not focused on places or checkins. We're focused on hyperlocal things going on right now. Anyone can post something on mezz and it will broadcast to everyone locally.
It's more about the informal activities and events going on and letting anyone post. I don't think checkins are the solution for local.
I'm not in the target market, but the differentiator here is mindshare and/or data analysis. One must have superior data or a superior ability to analyze data acquired. "Hypelocal" is also currently the target of groupon, google, foursquare, yelp, square and many others (all with mobile apps). Good luck.
