Posts

It may seem surprising to some, but the agriculture industry has emerged as the proving ground for IoT integration into business models, solving various Big Data challenges in the process. How is this playing out for the average consumer? In Dec., 2014, Venturebeat published a report that made four key points. Here’s the basic summary of three. We left the fourth one out because it relates back to the technology conversation and we want to stay focused on food production, but you can read the full report here....

This topic was talked about at length during the Detroit Startup Week panel discussion on inclusive entrepreneurship. Among the many important takeaways from the talk were the barriers of diversity. As mentioned in the discussion, these barriers refer to systematic issues preventing women and minorities from entering incubators and accelerators. And because women and minorities are the most positively affected by these programs, it is of the utmost importance to destroy these barriers....

Becoming one of those rare 20 percent startups that enjoy sustainable profitability is not an easy task. You need to work on many things simultaneously without wasting any time at all. In case you have just started your journey in the startup world and want to survive the initial grinding period, then make sure you focus on adding value to your users’ lives. This is the best way to achieve sustainable growth....

Understanding the Value of Surprise and Delight There are dozens of moving parts to keep your business running smoothly and securely, but customers rarely see these moving parts. What customers see is what they expect to see: the end result of what they paid for. For the provider, it’s a job well done. For the consumer, that only means that the business fulfilled its end of the bargain — hardly something to get excited about....

Twitter is a popular platform recruiters use when searching for top talent. If recruiters think Twitter is useful for finding candidates, shouldn’t your startup be searching for them there, too? Twenty-three percent of job seekers are using Twitter to leverage their job search. Maybe your startup should use it to attract social job seekers. Be marketable to candidates. Are you looking for the best of the best? Then your startup should reflect that value....

Why the surge in popularity? Customers realized the value of looking at reviews from their peers, and they’ve grown to trust reviews even more in recent years. According to one study, 88 percent of customers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. Unfortunately, customer review sites have become a double-edged sword for many businesses. Good reviews can increase demand, drive traffic, increase brand trust, boost conversions and even help with SEO – much more than any paid advertising campaign can typically do....

Internet Site Blocking There are many employees in the workforce today who are distracted by what is on the internet. There are a variety of different tools that can be used to block certain time wasting sites throughout the day. There are a lot of ways in which this can enhance the production of employees. Anyone who is interested in making a difference in the overall production of their company should make investments here....

Look beyond the increasingly cliché example of the intelligent fridge that knows when you’re out of milk and you’ll find a whole host of examples of connected technologies being applied in world-changing fashion: bins that know when they need to be emptied, traffic light systems that work hand in hand with public transport networks and buildings that use the energy they need and nothing more. The ‘I, Robot’ scenario The benefit that links all of these things is less human involvement – the more tasks we can place in the ‘hands’ of machines, the more time we have to spend on other things, whether they’re more critical or simply more enjoyable....

In a previous piece about Boston’s startup ecosystem, we looked at the positive effects that the area’s local colleges and institutions have helped push Boston ahead of other startup landscapes across the country. From immediate access to experts and academics with specialities in industries like health and education, to the amount and quality of talent that comes from their student communities, these institutions provide startups with the necessary resources to push them forward....

The ban is a big blow for the popular video-based social networking app, given that India was, up until now, TikTok’s biggest market by far. It is also a significant step in the increasingly tense India-China relationship, and a reminder that TikTok truly is a data privacy nightmare due to the massive amounts of data that its users may not all be aware they are giving up. The latest announcement gives a more severe concern....

Influencers are busy people and if you simply have ordinary content then you are wasting both your time. Creating top notch content takes research, time and effort, but when you combine that with influencer marketing then it’s like turbocharging your car. There are many ways you can stand out with your content – like creating something no one else has, combining awesome design, going deeper on a given topic than what’s available online, or bringing unique angles and views....

These concerns come as the Taiwanese computer manufacturer, Clientron, declares that USB-C is likely to be the new standard for POS devices globally. This announcement follows calls from the European Commission to standardize all charging technology across the continent. While similar legislation hasn’t yet been introduced in the US, these developments pose serious questions for the millions of US businesses that rely on POS systems to manage their sales....

What does this mean for grocery stores across the nation? Is this the sign of a market rebalancing that will last far beyond the pandemic? Sales peaked in June, a good few weeks ahead of the second wave’s peak in July, so the numbers don’t completely track with the pandemic’s ebb and flow. This supports the theory that when the pandemic’s eventually over, online sales habits will stick around. As with Zoom’s unexpected dominance in the video calling space, online grocery shopping has had its own emergent victor: Instacart....

As the title sponsor of Denver Startup Week through its Chase for Business line, the JPMorgan Chase Foundation has committed to investing $300,000 in various programs that support underserved entrepreneurs in their community. Five organizations will be receiving a grant of $60,000 in hopes of spurring innovation in minority, women, low-income and veteran founders around Denver. So which organizations will be receiving the $60,000 grants? The list is a veritable who’s-who of non-profit programs dedicated to making life for underserved entrepreneurs a little bit easier: Accion, Colorado Enterprise Fund, The Commons on Champa, the Community Reinvestment Fund, USA, and Mi Casa Resource Center....

Crista Bailey – CEO, TextureMedia, Inc. Crista Bailey’s business experience includes working with startups, lifestyle offerings and CPG brands, among them IAC, CitySearch, TicketMaster, Nestle, Austin City Limits and since 2007, the Austin-based TextureMedia, Inc, formerly known as the NaturallyCurly Network. Crista worked in various marketing and business development roles in early internet days at CitySearch, helping to build brand awareness and community engagement beyond its existence as an Idealab startup to a key spoke in the IAC hub of companies that continues to exist today....

According to the site,“Klroy wants to become a digital collective archive of experiences, images, and thoughts that people have in and about certain places.” Founder Ben Reddy says a few things sparked his idea for Klroy, such as people socializing and sharing their experiences on social media as well as how locations play an important role in our everyday lives. So how does Klroy work? Getting Started: Users take a picture or write a comment and store it on Klroy....

The funding is part of the Knight News Challenge on Open Gov, which launched in February. The goal is to improve public and journalist access to information, and help citizens strengthen their communities. Another Knight News Challenge will be coming up later this year, to help the organization further its support of quality and innovative journalism, strong communities, and the arts. Here are the winners: Civic Insight ($220,000): Software that plugs into government databases and provides information about vacant properties so the public can put them to better use....

The mobile company has since confirmed the attack, first reported by KrebsOnSecurty, but attests that no customer or government information was obtained by the hackers. Far from this being Lapsus$’s first strike, the South American hacking circle has previously attempted to steal the source code of a number of tech firms including Microsoft, Nvidia, and Samsung. While the motivation behind the latest attack remains unclear, it’s likely that they stole the company’s data in return for some type of ransom payment....

While only in his twenties, he’s filled his working years with a wealth of experiences and in this interview, shares his perspective on being CEO, leveraging incubator programs, his plans for Postling in the coming months and why he loves the NYC startup scene. That all changed in November 2008 when I left Etsy and realized that 1) the financial crisis made getting any job I’d enjoy impossible, and 2) I really didn’t like the idea of working for anyone else....

So, back to the four companies whose cuteness, cleverness and overall amazingness will drive you into social media management envy. It’s definitely an interesting niche category, but the Instagram strategies pursued by the following four companies are great examples of the power of Instagram for inspiring and pushing consumer behavior. Jonas Paul Eyewear The absolute coolest kids glasses I have seen. As a glasses wearer since I was 5th grade I had some really crazy looking glasses....