When you’re launching a brand new e-commerce site, how do you get noticed when giant online retailers like Amazon, Zappos, and Overstock – not to mention the online stores from well-established bricks-and-mortar mega-chains – are casting such long shadows? We all know e-commerce is big business – according the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly $965M was…
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We all know that failure is part and parcel of being an entrepreneur, but somehow we forget that right after we fall flat on our face. To lessen the stigma around failure, the gb.tc (formerly Greater Baltimore Technology Council) is hosting a “fail conference” next week called BmoreFail. There, entrepreneurs will learn from others’ failures…
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Since launching nearly a year ago, DC-based TroopSwap has been growing by leaps and bounds, raising nearly $1M from angel investors and then raising $2.5M in equity financing and partnering with Lego. The ecommerce platform exclusively for active service members and veterans now offers access to military and veteran discounts, most of which are sourced…
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I have to confess, my interview with Aulia Halimatussadiah – also known as Ollie – was one of my favorite in Asia. After talking for almost an hour about her startup, NulisBuku, she called over a barista to take our picture, chatted about her new clothing line for chic Muslim women, and asked me what…
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Today, TechStars Cloud launched 11 companies in San Antonio, all using the power of the cloud to make it easier to build websites and apps, manage your web services, and get analytics. TechStars Cloud is the first themed accelerator program in the network, complementing TechStars Boston, Boulder, NYC, and Seattle. Today’s demo day is the…
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For my recent vacation in Hawaii (yes, it was awesome – yes, I suck), I carted along 5 books and 1 magazine the size of a phone book (and yes, I read them all). I am a tactile person. I like to hold stuff, write with pen and paper, dog ear pages in books, clip…
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NetHound is online network monitoring service launching today – that is based in the Czech Republic (more on the tech scene there in a bit). Not only does this SaaS solve a major problem, the small 4 person team added a bit of humor to the service: NetHound barks as soon as it finds a…
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Last week, I attended the 2012 Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas and had an amazing time (thank you Time Warner Cable Business Class). Surprisingly, I met numerous successful entrepreneurs who were making over $1M per year with their companies. I never really thought about how many similarities the average web tech startup…
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“It seems strange to us that people pay dramatically different prices for the exact same products, and we think we can fix that.” Although a seemingly simple problem, the solution seems far from easy. That is unless you talk with Priceonomics‘ CEO and co-founder, Michael Flaxman. With the aspiration to become “the price guide for everything,”…
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I’m penning this blog from a coffee shop in the middle of the East Village. Our wireless isn’t set up yet, and our 750 sq. foot apartment is buried by suitcases. It’s the end of my second week in the Women Innovate Mobile (WIM) accelerator. All I can think about is how the tornado of…
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It’s a testament to how broken our hiring system is that HireArt is an innovative startup and a Y Combinator grad, no less. HireArt’s goal is to help companies hire employees based on – can you imagine? – their skills. But that doesn’t mean plumped-up skills listed on a resume; it means real-life, demonstrable talents….
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The best way to explain loyalty rewards platform Zavee comes courtesy of Cofounder and COO Ron Stack: “Daily deal sites like LivingSocial and Groupon get the customers in the door. Zavee keeps them coming back.” Sounds like a no-brainer – what merchant wouldn’t want to use a tool that can do that? And who would…
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Android users rejoice, the answer to Siri has arrived. Although Sonalight isn’t attempting to become your personal assistant (not yet, anyway), this new Y Combinator-backed startup has created an app that appears to be superior to Siri for hands free control and thus a better solution to texting while driving. “We’ve always wanted a safe…
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Michael Mikikian, Founder of LA-based Gickup, which we have covered before, wants to bring back an oldie but goodie – The Dating Game. Yes, the cheesy, super popular game show that ran from 1965 to 1986. This time, of course, it will be all online – and The Blind Video Dating Game (BVDG) looks really…
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FINALLY – Zombie apocalypse training is gaining the recognition that it deserves. At least that was the consensus amongst the most recent Cupid’s Cup business competition, held by the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Reed Street Productions, the organizers of the zombie-themed Run For Your Lives 5K…
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We’ve covered a lot of different startup accelerators and competitions, but MassChallenge is one of the largest to tempt startups with cash awards – no strings attached. Boston-based MassChallenge is a 3-month program offering mentorship, office space, and funding without equity or investors. But unlike in other accelerators, you’re not guaranteed the money. Instead, on…
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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