'Net Features : startups

The 1st Annual Tech Startup Draft

Linc Wonham — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Friday marks Day 2 of one of the most entertaining events in sports – the National Football League’s amateur draft. Whether your team was awful enough to secure a pick in the top three, shrewd enough to trade for a higher selection or lucky enough to get the next Tom Brady in the middle rounds, the NFL Draft offers players, teams and fans much-needed hope on many different levels.

And like professional sports, the Web world is largely made up of hopes and dreams. Startup companies come and go faster than rookies in training camp. Some of them come out of nowhere to have Hall of Fame careers, while others are surrounded by hype and fail to live up to expectations – doomed to be labeled a bust until the end of time.

So, in the spirit of the moment, WM has decided to hold its own Tech Startup Draft in which three opposing general managers select the “players” they believe will give their teams the best chance to win. Some picks are based on reputation, others on sheer agility as witnessed during hours of film study, and still others are just hunches, plain and simple. Regardless, you may want to take notes and help us determine which, if any, of the following startups will be the next Google or Facebook.

Let the draft begin:

Round 1

First selection goes to associate editor Michael Garrity:

I’m going big in the first round and selecting TwitVid, a startup so impressive that it can boast Justin Bieber as a documented user. TwitVid is a safe and proven pick (it’s already over twice as big as any other Twitter video-sharing service) that will almost surely have a long and successful career, despite some opposing general managers’ concerns about the social network’s durability. The idea behind this pick is simple: Twitter is one of the Web’s biggest media-sharing sources, and everybody loves video, so why not pair them up? TwitVid has created a seamless experience for finding, watching and sharing online videos, which is facilitated by allowing users to categorize their videos to make them easier for relevant viewers to find.

Second selection goes to associate editor Allison Howen:

The first pick of my 2012 Tech Startup Draft goes to Uservoice, which is a tool that addresses one of the main components of running a successful business – customer service. This San Francisco startup has created a tool that companies can use to help them focus on delivering excellent customer service in three important areas for Web businesses, including collecting and responding to customer feedback, quickly dealing with support issues and automatically deflecting common questions. The startup was launched in 2008 and offers feedback and help desk software in four different models, ranging from free to $125 per month.

Third selection goes to senior editor Linc Wonham:

Like Michael, for my first pick I am going with a big name that’s already received a lot of fanfare. He’s no Justin Bieber, but New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has openly endorsed Codecademy and claims to be learning to code via this tutorial website that launched last summer. Other achievements in Codecademy’s short career thus far include being named to Time magazine’s recent 10 NYC Startups to Watch article, our version of a ringing endorsement from NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper.

Round 2

First selection goes to associate editor Michael Garrity:

Finding good apps is hard these days, so with my second pick I’m going to go with Appsfire, a tool that allows developers to promote their mobile applications and helps users find the apps that will be most useful to them. Many mobile devices or tablets out there aren’t being used to their full potential because users are forced to search through thousands of applications to find the ones that will best provide them with the services or information they want. Likewise, a lot of developers may have great apps to offer, but have a lot of trouble getting them into the hands of users. Appsfire has been working hard to build a community that lets developers promote their work and allows users to share their favorite apps with friends, making the whole process of finding and sharing apps much more practical and efficient for everyone involved. I consider this pick to be a sure thing.

Second selection goes to associate editor Allison Howen:

My second-round pick goes to Metail, a virtual fitting room service for fashion retailers. Although this newer technology is my gamble of the draft, hopefully the reward will outweigh the risk for this relatively untested prospect. The London startup enables customers to create a 3D photo-realistic model of themselves from two uploaded photos, in which they can then virtually try on clothes. The reason this startup is a gamble is because it is still fairly new, with Tesco Clothing recently becoming the first retailer to launch the Metail virtual fitting room at the end of February 2012.

Third selection goes to senior editor Linc Wonham:

My second pick is a sentimental one because the founder of SendGrid is a startup icon in beautiful Boulder, Colorado, home of my alma mater. Jim Franklin is no rookie when it comes to entrepreneurial greatness, and his latest hot prospect is already used by proven stars such as Foursquare, Spotify, Pinterest and Hootsuite. SendGrid is an email cloud cloud service that currently sends out more than 3 billion emails per month and more than 30 billion in its three-year history. The company recently landed more than $20 million in funding and will now be the default email service for all apps using the Microsoft cloud. This one's a steal for the second round.

Round 3

First selection goes to associate editor Michael Garrity:

For my third and final pick, I’m going out on a limb with Nuji, an interesting idea that hasn’t yet caught on but could potentially change the way Web retailers target customers. Leveraging the widespread interest in the social Web and combining it with the practicality of wish lists, this site lets users “clip” apparel and accessories from retail websites and bookmark them in their Nuji accounts to go back and purchase later. Nuji also socializes the whole experience, as users can follow other people to see what items they tag to help them discover new stuff. The site even makes it possible for retailers to offer rewards and discounts to users who tag their items. Some may call me crazy for this largely unproven selection, but I say if you want to win, you’ve got to take a few risks.

Second selection goes to associate editor Allison Howen:

My last pick for the 2012 Tech Startup Draft is Grabio, a location-based marketplace app that connects buyers and sellers within a close proximity of each other. The app is similar to Craigslist, but it enables buyers and sellers to post and search for items in real-time and in nearby locations. Then, users can connect with each other through the app to set up their exchange. Although a great idea, the reason that this is a late-round pick is because this startup already has a lot of competition. Besides Craigslist, numerous other online listing sites and marketplaces also pose a threat to the success of Grabio, which is really going to have to show me something in training camp.

Third selection goes to senior editor Linc Wonham:

Sometimes in the draft you just have to follow your gut, and when I heard that the idea for TaskRabbit was conceived thanks in part to a dog named Kobe who lives in Boston, I had to make it my final pick. TaskRabbit is an online and mobile marketplace that leverages the latest social, mobile and location-based technologies to bring neighbors together to complete tasks for each other. Forgetful, busy people like myself can outsource small errands such as picking up their dry cleaning through the use of this collaborative consumption service, as in the case of one of the founders, who was already in a cab rushing to make a dinner reservation when she realized she’d forgotton to feed Kobe.

Well, that concludes this year’s Tech Startup Draft, thanks for coming …

Shopify Contest Yields Big Money and Bigger Ideas

Linc Wonham — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:00:00 GMT

Back in June, e-commerce platform Shopify invited Web entrepreneurs to enter its $500,000 Build-A-Business Competition. More than 3,000 entries were received and now, after eight months of competition, a winner has finally been announced.

Coffee Joulies is a startup company that sells a new product by the same name. Joulies are polished stainless steel beans that regulate the temperature of coffee, and were developed by New Jersey mechanical engineers Dave Jackson and Dave Petrillo.

The two Daves went on Kickstarter to crowdsource their funding with a goal of $9,500 and ended up raising $306,944 with 4,818 backers. Then they entered the Shopify competition and built their Web store on the platform, ultimately earning the $100,000 first-place prize. In all, $12 million in products were sold by competing startups during the eight-month period (see the entire list of winners below).

“I spent one evening building our online store on Shopify,” says Petrillo. “We were accepting orders the next day and quickly sold out. Using Shopify for e-commerce eliminated most of the tedious parts associated with starting a business.”

“The only thing we had to focus on was our brand, our products and our customers – the way it should be, adds Jackson. “We know if we build our brand slowly and carefully, we can make Coffee Joulies a million dollar business by the end of the year.”

Along with Shopify’s grand prize of $100,000 cash, Jackson and Petrillo also earn VIP trips to New York City and San Francisco to meet Web marketing gurus Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk and Timothy Ferriss to gain some high-end business advice to further grow their company. Shopify is also awarding a total of $150,000 cash and $60,000 in Google AdWords credits to the following industry and regional category winners:

Tattly: Tina Roth Eisenberg was frustrated that children’s rub-on tattoos were often poorly designed. Tina (aka Swiss Miss), opened her own temporary tattoo online store featuring art by famous designers.

Opena Case: Rob Ward and Chris Peters solved a dilemma of epic proportions, having a cold beer but no way of opening it. What’s the one thing you always have on you? Your phone. Solution: an iPhone bottle opener.

FlockStocks: Sophie Kovic was working at a local movie theatre until she read Tim Ferriss’ book “The 4-Hour Workweek.” She followed his step-by-step business plan and created a feather hair extension online store. Her feathers are selling all around the world.

NeuYear: Jesse Phillips was disillusioned with his computer science degree and became determined to save himself from a life working in a cubicle. He semi-quit his day job and developed an artistic one-year calendar poster.

MyFootyBoots: Brad Jorgensen was tired of overpriced soccer cleats in his native Australia. He found suppliers and opened an online store offering fair prices.

Simply Hops: Small batch beer makers often have difficulty finding a variety of quality hops available for purchase in small quantities. Simply Hops was developed to cater to craft brewers that don’t want to make expensive bulk purchases.

Clearpath Robotics: Matthew Randall and four other mechanical engineers from the University of Waterloo created an open-source and fully customizable robot called TurtleBot. It’s currently the most powerful and capable entry-level robot in the world.

The Next Great Web Startup

Administrator — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:01:00 GMT

The next edition of Website Magazine will provide a guide to success for Web startups. Valuable insights on essential pre-launch, launch and post-launch tactics will be addressed and we’ll even feature some successful Web startups along the way – that’s where you come in.

Website Magazine’s December 2010 edition, distributed in November, will delve into the challenges and opportunities in starting a Web-based business. A feature article of that nature, however, would not be complete without some real-world examples. If you are interested in having your startup profiled and willing to share your struggles and successes with other WM readers, contact our editorial staff. We’re looking for startups in every category – from application developers and e-commerce merchants, to service providers and local brick-and-mortar businesses looking to make their mark on the Web.

Are you the next great Web startup? Let us know. To make this work, we could really use your help. Please share this with your friends, colleagues (and if you’re really daring even your competitors) on Twitter, Facebook or your preferred social network.

In advance of the article, we took a virtual spin around the Web today and are profiling some interesting companies which might just accelerate your Web success. While not all of those listed below are startups, they all provide a service or resource that could be immensely valuable for startups.

Startups Wooed By Microsoft

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:45:00 GMT

Microsoft announced it will begin offering free software and online services to certain tupes of startups. The program, dubbed BizSpark, will be rolled out in 82 countries starting today.

The program targets early stage software startups, with resources including access to Microsoft platform software and development tools with no upfront costs. The program will also provide access to technical support and marketing visibility from Microsoft, as well as support through a select group of network partners – industry associations, government agencies, university incubators and investors – chartered with advancing entrepreneurialism.

Microsoft is also launching the BizSpark DB where they will promote startups that are developing innovative software applications, offering visibility with an audience of potential investors, clients, partners and peers. Startups must enroll in BizSpark through a Network Partner. If they are not already engaged with a Network Partner, they can go to Microsoft.com/BizSpark and find one or get connected with a designated Microsoft Employee who can help them enroll.