Is it being overshadowed, or flying under the radar? Call it what you will. No matter how you shake it, last week’s launch of Eventup, a marketplace for renting venues, created quite a splash. However, a little less than one month earlier, Ella Lief launched Venue Cricket, a marketplace for renting venues, resulting in a much…
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For a new generation of students, “test prep” will no longer conjure up the image of sleepy, 3-hour Kaplan classes or 10-pound Barron’s SAT books. One startup ushering in the digital age of studying is Chicago-based BenchPrep, backed by Lightbank. Founded in 2009, BenchPrep has recruited more than 150,000 students to their online learning platform…
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Launching last week as part of 500 Startups’ third class, eSpark Learning is leveraging iPad apps to make learning more engaging for young students. “Consider a typical student’s modern entertainment options – iPods, iPads, Wii, Nintendo, Xbox, video games, social networks, HD television, 3D movies. Why are we mostly using sophisticated technology to merely entertain…
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It’s not quite Groupon for nightlife; at least don’t say that to Poggled CEO and Co-Founder Joe Matthews. “I hate that. Our business is so different. We do events, not daily deals,” says Matthews. Matthews’ aversion to the comparison is fair – there are differences. Although it’s hard to deny the similarities. Timely Deals At 1pm,…
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An amazing thing happens when you are socially connected. When your Facebook friends expand from the cities you have lived in to your past jobs, or you find yourself in a complete life change that pushes you to meet new people, you want to get past the online to meet people in person…a novel concept…
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This morning HelloWallet announced that they closed $12 million in Series B funding. Chicago-based Morningstar, Inc. invested $6.75 million and DC-based TD Fund (TDF) invested $4 million. Existing investors and new investors also participated in the round. Morningstar and HelloWallet plan to co-market their services to employers and 401(k) providers. I had a chance to…
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Here is a little known fact about electricity in the United States: In 15 states, you have a choice in your power provider. It’s not necessarily the large power company that sends postcards when you move or the name provided on the list of services your condo association gave you. Power2Switch is challenging the belief…
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Did you know that purpose is rapidly becoming the 5th “P” of marketing? According to the Edelman 2010 goodpurpose Study, 86% of global consumers believe that business needs to place at least equal weight on society’s interests as on business interests. In response to this shift in people’s mindsets, Chicago-based GoodPays.me is applying the consumer…
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Logan LaHive wants you to get rid of all those pesky loyalty cards stacked in your wallet. You know.. the ones with the frayed edges that you usually forget you have until after you get home from the coffee shop. LaHive, formerly of Redbox in Chicago, left the company to take on the role of…
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No, you didn’t read that headline wrong. BodyShopBids, a new Lightbank-backed Chicago startup, is helping provide auto repair estimates directly from photos you snap from your phone. Basically, if you have any external damage to your vehicle, you snap a couple of pictures – along with a brief damage report – and submit them to…
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As I meet startups from around the country, it continues to surprise me how they evolve to introduce products and services that are so intuitive, you are left asking, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Such is the case for Storymix Media, an automated video creation platform that allows wedding guests to capture a wedding…
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Catching on to the explosive growth of foodie culture and the pursuit of all things food, Chicago-based startup CookItFor.Us has positioned itself as a different kind of food website – one of action, purchase and discovery. Their online platform links “Cravers,” those who would like a recipe made for them, and “Makers,” the licensed chefs,…
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Fresh from its official public launch, MentorMob has declared that the “race to disrupt education is on.” Organization in online learning is the goal. With the abundance of quality and free material on the web today, the team at this startup aims to bring cohesion to this valuable, yet currently disorganized, information. MentorMob is a…
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As criticism of daily deals abounds, more merchant-friendly options are springing up: daily deal auctions, social advertising, and loyalty cards 2.0. Another option is the Chicago-based startup playOccasion, founded in August, which offers a marketplace for businesses to sell “occasions.” Available in DC and Chicago, playOccasion is currently focusing on sports and fitness events, like…
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Over 50 million Americans between the ages of 13 to 25 live and breathe on Facebook. These same students spend an average of 2 hours connected to this dominant social media site everyday, yet schools and districts across the country block the site due to fear, the threat of cyberbullying, and potential misconduct. Startup TalkChalk…
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In a move that will surprise no one as we’ve been watching it closely for sometime, Groupon issued 35 million shares in an IPO today, signaling the validity of daily deal sites, even as fatigue sets in. The shares, which were initially projected to sell at $16-18 ended up going for $20/share. If you do…
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There are a number of startup accelerator and incubator programs in the United States. We are fans of these programs (not to be confused with... Read More
Two months after the iPad 2 debuted in March, around 40% of users surveyed said their iPad was their primary computer, up from around 30%... Read More
With our Startup Mixology Conference coming up next week followed by our classic Tech Cocktail DC Summer mixer which will showcase a handful of early-stage... Read More
Coming off of one of our biggest Tech Cocktail mixer events in Chicago this past week, which showcased 14 early-stage start-ups, we thought it would... Read More