CRAINSNEWYORK.COM I MAY 20, 2024
Cuculi co-founders Yukako Kiso and Aleksandar Tisinovic at partner restaurant Burrito Loco. | BUCK ENNIS
DEALMAKING HITS THE BRAKES
SLOW GO FOR IPOs
The New York market saw a big slowdown in total deals and value in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.
31%
Decrease in deal volume
A sluggish IPO landscape is starving early-stage startups of funding and tying up talent By Amanda Glodowski
Y
ukako Kiso has been planning restaurant gatherings among friends and strangers for as long as she can remember. But the nights always end in the same awkward way, with a “big fat check” sucking the energy out of the room. So in 2021 she started a social dining app called Cuculi, named for the Japanese goddess of connection, to assuage bill-splitting anxiety and solve another quintessential problem for New Yorkers: making new friends. Users can set up and advertise “public tables” via the
Cuculi platform, where diners can mix and mingle with others looking to connect. “People move to New York City, and they start their new life, not knowing anybody,” said Kiso, Cuculi’s CEO. Cuculi has taken in about $420,000 through fundraising from friends and family and made $100,000 in revenue during its first three years. The app has roughly 7,000 users who pay $1 each to set up or attend a public table. Cuculi also receives a cut of the restaurants’ See STARTUP on Page 22
23%
Decrease in deal value
$4.2B Capital invested
401 Total deals
Source: PitchBook
Kushner Cos. may be saying goodbye to the East Village In the past few months, the developer has unloaded about a third of its portfolio of three dozen properties in Lower Manhattan, and listed more By C. J. Hughes
329-335 E. Ninth St., East Village | BUCK ENNIS
Kushner Cos. may be calling it quits in the East Village. In the past few months, the developer has unloaded about a third of its portfolio of three dozen properties in the Lower Man-
hattan enclave, shedding prewar walk-up rental buildings on streets including Avenue A, East Fourth Street and First Avenue that it had owned for more than a decade. It’s also put a batch of similar properties on the market. The East Village, where a young
Jared Kushner lived, was the focus of the company’s first major residential push into Manhattan after decades of investing in the New Jersey suburbs. And the firm didn’t just dabble in the area but See KUSHNER on Page 19
VOL. 40, NO. 20 l COPYRIGHT 2024 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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BRONX BREWERY Decade-old taproom closes its doors.
INSTANT EXPERT How ‘Sammy’s Law’ could change speed limits.
SPOTLIGHT Startup seeks to be a LinkedIn for health care professionals, companies.
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