Mint Goes to the Webby Awards

Last week I had the honor of representing Mint at the 13th Annual Webby Awards in New York City. I was there to accept two awards for Mint.com, one for Best Financial Services Website, and another, the People’s Voice award. Thanks, Webby people!

Mint is no stranger to the Webbys, having won two awards and an honorable mention last year. So I knew the pressure was on to deliver a killer five word speech. The event kicked off on Sunday evening with cocktails at Above Allen, a rooftop bar on the Lower East Side. I made the Mojito my brand-reinforcing drink of the evening until I ran the bar out of mint leaves. It was great to see faces light up when I mentioned Mint.com. The web crowd genuinely loves the application, though not so much the email reminders about overspending on [insert vice here]. We’re working on it, guys.

The real party commenced Monday night with the Webby gala itself, held at Cipriani on Wall Street – the heart of the financial district. As Seth Meyers noted in his opening speech, the Webbys are for people who wished the Oscars had more awards and less celebrities. Because there are so many winners, very few get to accept their awards on stage, and everyone is limited to five words, even stars like Jimmy Fallon. So my first order of business when arriving was to record my five word acceptance speech. Jimmy Fallon, you need Mint.com. Jimmy, we’re waiting for our seat on the couch. After my speech I was asked to pick a book, Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail style. Unfortunately I chose poorly and wasn’t rewarded with eternal life, or the chance to present on stage.

As the host, Meyers was great and kept the laughs going. On the event’s financial district location, “because nothing says forward thinking and ingenuity quite like Wall Street… were there no rooms available in Detroit?” On the crowd, “Ashton Kutcher is not here, I just wish there was a way to know what he’s doing…” There were also lots of very funny videos put together by the Webby people.

Some of the highlights of the evening that drew the most applause? The five word speech from Animoto, the marriage proposal, and for me, seeing some of the celebrities in attendance like Martha Stewart, Arianna Huffington, and Cameron Diaz.

Thanks to everyone who voted for us, and now it’s time for me to get back to work, recover from three open bars, and make our product even better so I can go back and do this again next year.