“Almost everyone has some older relative or friend who is afflicted with AMD [age-related macular degeneration],” says Mike Bartlett, president of Vital Art and Science Inc. “In my case it was my father-in-law who went blind because of AMD. I saw first-hand that he lost so much when he lost his vision.” Vital Art and…
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As we prepare for the upcoming Tech Cocktail Seattle Mixer and Startup Showcase later this month (register here), we’re curious who is Seattle’s hottest startup? As the headquarters of a number of iconic companies such as Amazon, Starbucks and Microsoft plus newer companies like Zillow, Redfin and Cheezburger, Seattle also hosts a top 15 accelerator program (TechStars Seattle –…
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When we last covered ParkMe, they were known as Parking in Motion. While the app still uses technology to help you find parking spaces, this young startup has made quite a few changes so they can better capitalize on their potential: “The end game is to not think about parking.” And they have a lot…
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Just last week we covered Fantasy Politics, a game that takes fantasy football to a whole new level. Now we have Fanitics, a Facebook application that tracks presidential candidates, governors and Congressional members on metrics like media mentions, facts, fundraising, polling, bill tracking, Twitter followers, etc. It’s free to play and the rules are the…
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It’s not uncommon for great product ideas to come from the university. The following story falls under this category. What makes this story interesting, however, is that the innovators aren’t the ones sitting in the lecture hall’s seats – they’re standing behind the podium. Arqball‘s co-founders, Jason Lawrence and Abhi Shelat, are both professors at the University of Virginia….
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Pinterest has millions of users, and some of them are looking to make a profit. Sellers routinely use it to showcase their own items: they set up an Etsy shop, for example, then “pin” their products. But a new service called Pin2Sell makes selling on Pinterest even quicker. Pin2Sell users just upload a photo of…
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If you are like me, you almost never have cash to pay the bill at a restaurant or elsewhere, but you ALWAYS have your mobile phone with you. So why is it that more people don’t use mobile phones to pay for transactions? Some answers were provided at the CTIA Wireless conference in New Orleans…
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Following President Obama’s signing of the JOBS Act, startups are now waiting for the SEC to finalize crowdfunding regulations. But what if crowdfunding – of a sort – were already possible? The JOBS Act’s equity-based crowdfunding goes beyond the crowdfunding available on sites like Kickstarter, because investors can actually make a profit – not just…
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After spending much of his career on the road while living in Chicago, serial entrepreneur Marc Kiven was excited to finally create a company, BrightTag, based in the Windy City. Leveraging his fifteen years of online marketing and advertising experience, BrightTag aims to help publishers of all kinds by creating a product that leads to real-time control over…
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Today, Skype announced the launch of Skype in the Workspace, a new site to help startups, small businesses, and freelancers build their companies. According to Skype’s blog post, Skype in the Workspace will help businesses connect with customers, suppliers, and partners – as well as useful professional contacts – through messages, talk, and Skype. The…
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Last week we polled you, the Tech Cocktail reader, to find out who is Boston’s Hottest Startup. The tribe has spoken. And the winner is… Apptopia We last covered Apptopia, the marketplace for mobile app ownership, as a participating in the #Startuplife celebration at SXSW. At the time, they were three weeks shy of…
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Do you like to go to mall and shop for clothing so you look good? If you are like most men, you probably do not enjoy shopping and might think it is kind of a drag. That said, looking good can help you feel good, which should ultimately help you perform better in any line…
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I used to suffer from severe fantasy football addiction. I still do, I just used to, too. As someone who knows the compulsive qualities of fantasy sports first hand, there is a tendency to start seeing the world through the lens of occupational statistics. Watching Dancing with the Stars, listening to my favorite indie bands,…
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When it comes to the recruiting process, resumes and cover letters may get the job done – but how can you be sure you’re attracting top talent in your industry? A new website gives employers access to the best and brightest bunch of job candidates. Top Colleague is working to create exclusive networks of top…
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As cofounder of Soundbuzz, Simon Lower was the king of iteration: the company went from online to mobile, ringtones to 3G downloads, and B2C to B2B. But this “trial by fire” turned out well, with Soundbuzz getting acquired by Motorola in 2008. Much the wiser, Lower is now cofounder of venture accelerator Greencloud Labs and…
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Two for two. Two businesses started, two businesses acquired. First Doug Camplejohn started myplay, a digital music locker. That was acquired by Bertelsmann. Next it was Mi5, a web security gateway. That was acquired by Symantec. Today he’s onto Fliptop, a social information warehouse for people and brands. Is his current venture destined for the…
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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
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
We are excited to announce the participating startups for Tech Cocktail's South by Southwest (SXSW) event: #Startuplife Celebration presented by .CO. It was one of... 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