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Tech Cocktail is a literal "cocktail" of tech, startup, gadget, product and people news. If you are interested in writing for Tech Cocktail please apply here.

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Super Bowl XLVI Ads Go Social

With the cost of a Super Bowl XLVI being about $3.5M, advertisers pulled out all the stops this year with a combination of ads that not only entertained viewers, but also made use of mobility and social media to influence preference for the brand, just as we suggested prior to the big game. So what…

Konza: Africa’s Silicon Savannah

Sitting on a 2,000 hectare piece of land, Konza Technology City, 60km south of the Nairobi business district, is set to create a modern, inclusive and sustainable Kenya. In a country home to some of the world’s most innovative technology companies, like M-pesa (M for mobile, pesa is Swahili for money), Ushahidi (Swahili for testimony),…

The American Routine: Why Everyone Needs to Be an Entrepreneur

These days, students are paralyzed by rising tuition rates and astronomical amounts of debt. The prospect of becoming a young entrepreneur is mind-numbing, if not absurd. However, entrepreneurs have an out unlike their peers. According to the Kauffman Foundation, the entrepreneurship index was highest among the least-educated Americans, moving from 0.49 percent in 2009 to 0.59…

3 Keys to Building Great Financial Models

Tech Cocktail is happy to share three keys to building a great financial model by guest author Taylor Davidson, creator of Excel template financial models for startups. Financial models are always wrong, but it’s important to create one anyway. Creating a financial model forces you to outline very specifically how your business “works”: how a company creates…

Chronically Late? Traveling? Share Your Location on a Map with Glympse

Seattle-based Glympse is an app for the always-running-10-minutes late, the socially inclined, and the worried parent. Glympse is a location-sharing device with an innovative map that lets you share your exact location with friends, family, and business associates. You don’t have to download the app to use it, and you can customize the duration of…

Black Friday Goes Mobile

Yes, I admit it: I am one of those people that stand in long lines in the middle of the night to look for the best Black Friday tech deals. I have done this for years, and consider it to be part tradition and part competitive sport. For those of you familiar with Black Friday,…

Get Feedback While You Shop with the Shall I Buy App

Just in time for holiday shopping (for everyone on your list – and you too!), a new social shopping site that will help make those toss-up decisions for you. The Dutch startup Shall I Buy targets the brick-and-mortar shopper seeking in-the-moment buying advice from its peers. Shall I Buy is very similar to Snapette, which…

Valuations, Investors, and You: Don’t Leave Money on the Table

There will come a time when you need to know the REAL value of your company. Not the balance sheet value, but the bona fide, intrinsic, captures-everything-possibly-monetizable value. For some entrepreneurs, this need arises when the time and the money are ripe for an exit. For others, the need will come sooner, like when you’re raising…

Fear in the Hen House

Fear is the fox in the hen house on the innovation farm. Fear is the mortal enemy of innovation, because when a culture punishes failure, its people work toward maintaining the status quo, and no headway is made. Embracing failure is not necessary, but tolerating its risk outside of your core business lines is essential…

4 Reasons Not to Grow Your Business

This post was written by guest blogger Adelaide Lancaster. I know what you might be saying to yourselves, “Are you crazy? Not grow my business? Isn’t that the point? How else will I be successful?” I hear you, but before you dismiss the choice not to grow, take a minute to think about your goals….

Demystifying Cloud Computing

This post originally appeared on facc-chicago by Ken Hafft. For anyone who doesn’t already know, the world of cloud computing is upon us. Cloud computing saves time and lots of money and creates efficiencies the likes of which have not been seen before. It is a form of file sharing with the conveniences of automatic…

Top 5 CRM Systems for Your Business

Ten years ago, it was not uncommon for small businesses to run their company on spreadsheets and post-it notes. Customer relationship management (CRM) software was available, but the cost, maintenance and risk associated with implementing a large, on-premise system made most solutions out of reach for the small business (SMB) space. However, times have changed….

Build an Expensive Bank: Business Cards and First Impressions

This blog post is by guest author Michael Harris. You may be seeking VC capital, an angel investor, or business partners. At some point, the person on the other side of the table will ask for a business card, and they will instantly assess you and your company based on that 2 x 4″ piece…

5 Funding Takeaways from Assembled Capital

This post was written by guest blogger Frank Denbow. General Assembly, an “urban campus” for startups in NYC’s Flatiron neighborhood, put together a full day course in Venture Capital on July 16th in an event called “Assembled Capital.” Through a series of presentations, panels and discussions, event listeners learned from venture capitalists, angel investors, and…

Show Me the Knowledge! How To Use Applied Concept Mapping to Solve Problems

This guest post was written by Brian Moon. It all started using a simple concept in education – in order to know where to begin teaching any given subject, you first have to know what your students know. Concept maps, which are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge in propositional form, have proven useful…

Deals for Deeds: It’s Better to Give and to Receive

Daily deals are all about getting what you want, from discounts at your favorite Thai restaurant to free money on Amazon. But now you can use them to help others, too. Deals for Deeds is a DC-based deal site that donates 5-15 percent of purchases to local nonprofits. After launching last year in DC, it…