Thanks to data from Crunchbase, we can bask in the glory of the five highest funding rounds in 2017 so far. Not only have these companies impressed investors with their innovative tech, their prosperous business models, and their clever names, some of them have also established themselves as some of the most recognizable brands in the world. And when you see the size of these funding rounds, you’ll understand why....

When a company fails, their misstep lies in their inability to effectively communicate their unique value proposition to their audience. Effective branding is no easy task – especially now that the market, the ad space, and the attentions of customers re saturated with a relentless flow of media, material, and content that pours in every minute by surrounding companies. In an era where social media has dominated the ways in which we receive, interpret, and communicate information, personal branding has become a crucial part of our expression, and a key factor of how we are absorbed and understood by others....

Startups are dependent on flexibility. Whether that comes in the form of an infrastructure that allows them to hire and work remotely or job titles that extend beyond a team member’s initial responsibilities, the lean operations of startups necessitate this. And for many of those companies, this pliability is closely correlated with the amount of capital or resources to which they have access; simply, if a company has greater access to these things, there’s less dependency on this need to be flexible....

1. Yaware Yaware app is one of the best when it comes to effective monitoring. By downloading the app on to your employee’s computer, you will be able to monitor everything from websites, to breaks, to tardiness. No matter where you are located, you can keep things running smoothly without lifting a finger by logging on their website and managing directly from the site without needing to download the app....

Luckily, the five tools on this list can improve and strengthen your customer acquisition processes in the click of a button. MozBar MozBar is a tool that works with both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. You’ll be able to access this toolbar to use a wide range of SEO metrics. You can even track stats for customized searches and get exact ranking numbers for keywords and phrases. MozBar is vital to the success of any company because you can analyze practically any page on the web, whether it be your own or a competitor....

There’s always some degree of give and take in business. If you spend money or use time in one area, then it typically means that you’re holding back in another area. But this isn’t always the case. Just because you decide to scale back in an area – such as technology – doesn’t mean you have to compromise performance. It’s possible to save money while also being efficient and productive....

However, not all business-related tasks require a full time employee or hands-on time from you – companies routinely outsource and automate what they can, including accounting, call answering services, web design, and more. Call answering services, also called virtual receptionists, are one of the fastest-growing ways to automate your business. By outsourcing call answering, appointments and booking, call forwarding, and message delivery, you can avoid hiring full time and give yourself additional time to focus on your highest priorities....

Now, they sell their software to website publishers to make their sites tweetable, Facebookable, and pinnable. When a reader highlights some text – which they would normally copy and paste to share elsewhere – Markerly prompts them to share automatically. You can send straight to email or Evernote, too. Markerly used to be a little software tool that would let you save snippets of text from the web. According to CEO Sarah Ware, they just repackaged the technology with a different logo and cleaner branding, and voila: a product for publishers....

Fortunately, major branding mistakes that can easily be avoided. Years of hard work on a brand can be wiped out in a single day, so be cautious of these top branding mistakes that can result in major setbacks or even brand death. Deal with every single infraction of your brand use guidelines and any possible violation of your trademark. If you don’t, you may lose the chance to take any action at all....

That’s how Hien DeYoung, an Executive Coach at DeYoung Executive Coaching & Consultancy, opened a panel at Techstars Startup Week Seattle powered by Chase for Business today. The three panelists all had plenty of opinions drawn from their separate backgrounds and the varied stages of their own startups. First, Peter Leonard, cofounder of Meddle Group, spoke on his app, which lets users crowdsource advice from their friends. It’s currently a “dating app that lets your friends swipe for you,” as he puts it, but he plans to eventually generate revenue by expanding into commerce....

– Dave Nevogt of Hubstaff – Vik Tantry of FormSwift – Marc Lobliner of Tiger Fitness – Andy Karuza of FenSens – Laura Roeder of MeetEdgar – Robert De Los Santos of Sky High Party Rentals

We talked to a number of startup founders and entrepreneurs in Denver to get a better idea of what the ecosystem is up to in 2017. Take a look at what they had to say below and make sure to keep an eye on the Wall Street of the West. Mile-High Culture Yes, work-life balance is important to tech companies around the country. However, there are few places on the planet that take this perk so seriously, as Denver provides more than enough opportunities to enjoy life outside of the office....

You should always keep in mind that employing tools are necessary only when they are needed. Say, for example, the most important things to consider while performing SEO is writing quality content and according to Google, it is the most important aspect apart from linking. Every writer should be able to know how to write a blog. That’s the key to a flawless SEO approach. Here is the list of the most preferred tools that can give a power charge your SEO:...

There are so many agile tools and guides and coaching programs available today it’s tempting for a project manager to just toss it all aside and march to their own drum. It’s time-consuming and expensive to sort through all the different miracle cures for your team’s performance roadblocks. At the same time, the imperative to optimize and boost agile team performance is strong. After all, the better your team performs, the sooner you can release....

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the fourth season of Black Mirror While Black Mirror exists in a futuristic time that none of us have any interest in visiting, it’s important to remember that the technology featured in the show is decidedly inspired by existing gadgets on the market today. This may be a bit shocking to viewers that have had tech-fueled fever dreams for the last two weeks, but unfortunately, it’s quite true....

From my research (read: Google searches), it could be said that we’ve entered the summer of “how many ways can we wear our music?” Seriously, it would have been much easier to create a list of all of the wearable speakers that are out right now, for example, how about a speaker that doubles as a lovely pendant? Sure, most everyone loves music, however, my goal was to introduce you to unique gear and gadgets to enhance all of your myriad of summer activities....

Dr. Baiya spoke about creating an innovative culture, defined as an environment where all stakeholders are equipped with the right types of knowledge, skills, and motivation to generate innovation. Baiya shared 7 ways entrepreneurs can build an innovative culture in their organization: The power of one: Everyone matters. Everyone needs to be included in driving innovative solutions. In an early-stage startup, it’s critical to make every team member part of the solution....

This device is your new long-term solution to wrinkles: Clinical tests have verified it works: Just eight weeks of FaceFX use could result in a 91 percent improvement in skin texture, 69 reduction of lines and wrinkles, and 78 percent reduction in pore visibility; The device’s makers vouch for its status as “the most advanced at-home, anti-aging device available today.” Use this fractional laser a recommended five times a week for 12 weeks simply by running it over your face and letting the warming lasers target the layer of skin just under the surface....

Because I devoted 100% of my efforts and hard work into this and never had any plan B. I always believed that having a “back-bridge” reduces your chances of actually succeeding in your actual plan. But, looking back now, I feel that I did the right thing. I’ve learned more from my startup than what my friends have learned from their colleges. In colleges, our brain learns from textbooks and lectures, however, in real life scenarios, our brain learns from analyzing, blows and such things which have a solid impression in our brain....

There are many reasons why they prefer to access files from the cloud including the security of online storage and the ability to access their files at any time and from any device. Small businesses are finding that there are many benefits attached to moving their files to the cloud. But deciding on the best online storage provider can be difficult when so many choices are available. Financial Stability Before signing up for a service be sure they are not just beginning to establish a profitable customer base and/or business model....