Event discovery app Fever launches in NYC, just might stand out from the pack

Fattened with $3 million in fresh capital, Spanish event discovery app Fever is setting its sights on ultra-trendy New York event goers.

Fever’s first funding round, Led by Flickr chief and former Google exec Bernardo Hernández González, kicks off the self-titled iOS and Android app’s expansion beyond Madrid. Though New York is practically bursting with competitors — YPlan, Sosh, WillCall, etc. — Fever believes it can win over its first U.S. city based on two factors: the use of social recommendation algorithms and the skillful curation of off-the-radar (dare I say hipster?) events.

In a call with VentureBeat, Fever founder Pep Gomez threw chief competitor YPlan a backhanded compliment:

YPlan is great. I really love the product. I think it’s a product for last-minute deals, and it’s more mainstream. It’s like Groupon. In our case, we think social is king.

For Gomez, the price tag of an event isn’t relevant; numerous events on Fever are free, and none are geared towards helping venues fill empty seats.

Fever also offers Fever Pass, a customer management and check-in tool for venues that enters into Eventbrite territory.

Gomez shares that Fever’s curation skills are bolstered by its ability to recommend events that are most relevant to you, based on your social data on Facebook, including factors such as age, sex, and connected Spotify playlists; your friends inside the Fever app; local taste makers nearby; and click tracking.