TECH cocktail

Social Media Hour: Online Reputation Discussed with Unvarnished

by Cathy Brooks on September 1, 2010

Trust. Integrity. Reputation. Three powerful words that we’ve tackled before on Social Media Hour, and this week we take them on again. This time around it’s through two different lenses – the impact on making news from the realm of crowd sourcing it, and the idea of utterly anonymous professional business reviews and the impact they can have on a career – good and bad. Guests joining Cathy for this episode include top female “digg” er of all time Amy Vernon and Pete Kazanjy of controversial review site Unvarnished.

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Social Media Hour Episode #72

Editor’s Note: Cathy Brooks’s Social Media Hour offers a rotating selection of top industry experts to discussion about the way in which social media is impacting business and society. You can find Cathy’s work at Story Navigation and follow her on Twitter: @CathyBrooks.

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10 Startups Launch in Chicago at Excelerate Labs

by Jen Consalvo on August 31, 2010

Excelerate Labs, Chicago’s new tech startup incubator, debuted their first group of graduates today. Modeled after Brad Feld’s and David Cohen’s incubator, TechStars, the Chicago management team spent time with the Colorado group to ensure they had the right approach and then Sam Yagan, Kapil Chaudhary, Troy Henikoff and Nick Rosa were off and running, creating their own program. From a pool of 350 applicants, they selected and worked with 10 early stage companies throughout the summer and with the help of many investors, mentors and a small team of organizers, the companies honed their business ideas, polished their pitches and presented their cases in front of a packed House of Blues audience, hoping to secure additional funding to make it to the next level. Here’s an overview of what we saw during today’s inaugural Excelerate Labs Demo Day. Read more about the 10 startups at Excelerate Labs 2010.

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Old and New School Angel Investing Philosophies Clash in Chicago

August 31, 2010

Yesterday we attended the Angel Excelerator event in Chicago, Illinois, a half day workshop pulled together by Hyde Park Angels and Excelerate Labs. Going into the event, I was interested in learning the ins and outs of being an angel investor as we see a lot of startups and investing in some could be a [...]

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Secrets To The Successful Startup Exit of ArtistData

August 31, 2010

Almost a year ago, I interviewed Brenden Mulligan to learn about ArtistData, the website he founded to help bands and musicians update all their various sites and profiles across the web. I was impressed, because it was just him and a small team creating this amazing tool being used by tens of thousands of [...]

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Mobilize 2010: The Future of the Mobile Web

August 30, 2010

Every so often we like to highlight upcoming conferences and events that we believe our entrepreneurs may want to attend. Next month, our friends at GigaOm are producing Mobilize 2010 – the mobile and cloud-based computing event of the year. Mobilize 2010 will bring together the thought leaders and practitioners of the mobile web [...]

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TECH cocktail SF Startup Mixer Aims To Help Connect Tech Startups, Investors, Employers & Enthusiasts

August 27, 2010

After four years of rallying local tech communities outside of Silicon Valley to better connect, educate and amplify the local startup and entrepreneurial scene, we are excited to be hosting out first TECH cocktail startup mixer in San Francisco on Tuesday, September 14th from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. The event will take place at Roe [...]

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How to Build a Startup Team

August 27, 2010

No matter what type of business you are starting, what matters most are the people you bring on board to execute your vision. When we see entrepreneurs come up with great ideas (and we see many), we hope that they also remember that while an idea is key, it won’t go anywhere without the right [...]

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TECH cocktail Champaign Is Back: Connecting Tech Startups, Investors, Employers & Enthusiasts

August 26, 2010

We are excited to be headed back to Champaign, Illinois to host another TECH cocktail startup and entrepreneurial mixer event on Tuesday, September 7, 2010. The event is being hosted in partnership with the Champaign County Economic Development Corportation and is being supported by Illinois Ventures, Serra Ventures and the Technology Entrepreneurial Center at University [...]

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10 PR Tips for Startups – Part II

August 26, 2010

This is the second part of a two part post by Sarah Hardwick, Founder & CEO of Zenzi Communications. If you missed part I, you can read tips 1-5 here.
As promised, here are the next 5 easy tips to integrate PR part into your startup’s communications strategy.
6. Use Social Media as a PR Tool. It is [...]

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Now Hiring: Jobs on the TECH cocktail Job Board

August 26, 2010

Here at TECH cocktail, we continually meet with entrepreneurs who are looking for new team members, job seekers who want to help the right startup grow and make a difference with the work that they do, as well as larger companies looking to fill open positions. Even if you’re currently employed, we know you’re at [...]

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