Ryan Charles

Bio:

I’m the Co-Founder of Consmr.com, a site I launched to change the way people interact with grocery and drug store products. I graduated from Brown University in 2002 and then joined a startup in New York City. From there my passion for food led me to Zagat where I’ve worked on the iPad, augmented reality, Foursquare, mobile recommendations and emerging platforms.

• Title: CEO and Co-Founder of Consmr
• Age: 30
• Location: LES
• Contact: @ryenyc, Asteroid B613

You mentioned in a previous interview that you’ve been scheming with your Consmr.com co-founder, Noah Zitsman, since the days you were playing Super Metroid together.  How are the responsibilities divided between the two of you as you are getting Consmr off the ground?

My co-founder and I have complimentary skill sets so the division of responsibilities reflects our backgrounds. He handles all of the development and infrastructure while I focus on the product design and business development. We alternate who supplies the levity and the snacks. We're excited to bring social interaction to consumer packaged goods with Consmr. The vision is to create a social network around products, so we both have to roll up our sleeves.

Between May of ‘09 and the end of last year, you’ve participated in at least 13 panels and presentations ranging from Google I/O and the HBS Cyberposium to NYTM.  Which event has been your personal favorite to participate in and why?

Harvard Business School and the New York Tech Meetup were particularly memorable. At HBS I spoke about mobile operating systems and discussed Rovio’s (Angry Birds) approach to Android. I saw someone in the audience nodding emphatically while I was speaking. Turns out it was the CEO of Rovio and he was there to check out the event. Good thing I was advocating their strategy.
 
With NYTM it was a privilege to represent one of the few brands to ever demo. I presented an augmented reality app on the stage with a live video camera I had rigged MacGyver style. This was months before similar AR apps launched, so it was the first time many people in the audience had seen anything like it.

To date Zagat has put out iPhone, Android, Palm Pre, and Windows Phone 7 versions of their To Go app.  As Head of Mobile at Zagat, it’s probably a fair assumption then that you have a high number of cell phones for testing purposes.  What’s it like to have so many phones and which one is your favorite?

My favorite phone was my old Nokia 7280. It was thin and looked like something out of an ‘80’s James Bond movie. Since then phone form factors have changed considerably. Now you’ll find videos of people testing if new smartphones even fit in their pocket.
 
Working with so many devices has positives and negatives. One positive is the occasional access to phones that aren’t publicly available. Of course with so many devices near me I also fear one day a doctor will tell me I have apple or robot shaped radiation burns.

When is the last time that you took a true vacation? Where did you go and why did you choose to go there?

My last true vacation was a trip to Miami, which is one of my favorite places to visit. Ironically, the trip inspired me to solve a new problem. While there I wanted to track which restaurants I tried and note my thoughts. I came up with the idea of merging Foursquare and Zagat-Rated restaurants into a journal where you can review the restaurants.  This was a first of its kind integration and by the summer it was already a huge hit with Zagat iPhone users. The moral of the story is never stop thinking, even on vacation.

This year you will be judging the mobile categories for the 2011 Webbys. How did you end up going from a Webby nominee to a judge? 

My experience with the Webby Awards has been "always a bridesmaid, never a bride." For the last few years I’ve had nominated products but never won. Last year I had two apps nominated and thought one of them had to win, right? Neither did. I think the IADAS felt bad for me and asked me to be a judge. I guess it’s like winning an honorary Oscar. Maybe one day Consmr will win one.