Whether you’re single, in a relationship, or married, it can be hard to find someone to do activities with. If you’re a big opera fan but none of your friends are, or you want to try archery but your spouse balks at the idea, you can get stuck in a rut, not doing favorite activities…
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I can remember my first bicycle quite vividly. It was a hand-me-down, cherry red and clunky (a bike is only as good as it’s rider). Because it was a single-speed, any route that involved hills, specifically the kind that slope upward, translated loosely to terror. Needless to say, my Super Nintendo often took priority over going for…
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One of the highlights of much-maligned Google+ is the Hangout: video chats with up to 10 people. But a new competitor landed last fall in public beta: Spreecast. Like Google+ Hangouts (and unlike Skype), Spreecasts can be public or private. And they require no software downloads: just enter the video URL and start talking with…
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When Ryan Meinzer demoed PlaySay at TechCrunch Disrupt 2011, the language acquisition application used the world’s largest social network as the vehicle behind their platform. Because other language learning tools lacked user engagement, the San Francisco-startup turned to the de facto tool of engagement: Facebook. In their own words, “Facebook became the new classroom, your friends…
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Pinterest and Instagram are two the of the fastest growing apps of all time. So I wonder what would happen if you combine them together? Pinterest + Instagram = Pinstagram That is exactly what the team of Brandon Leonardo and Pek Pongpaet did with the launch of Pinstagram.co. The product combines the best of both worlds so you…
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In response to the daily deal phenomenon that, unfortunately, does not build a local merchants’ customer base for the long-term, the loyalty program space has become jam packed with competitors. In the last few months, we have covered Womply, Zavee, Belly, and Swipely – all with their own take on how to keep customers coming…
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Today, the web is all about figuring out what you want: an article to read, a video to watch, music to listen to, products to buy, restaurants to visit, things to do. With great power (to search) comes great responsibility (to choose): “We are now living in an era where information is everywhere and it…
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What do you do after teaching in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign for 32 years, publishing numerous articles, papers and books, and receiving 18 patents – with multiple patents pending? Oh, and you already founded 2 successful companies? You start another company, of course. Rich Masel, CEO and…
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With more than $10,000 in monthly revenue and a spot in Y Combinator, Envolve was moving along swimmingly. James Tamplin and his team pitched the chat service on demo day, scoring tons of press mentions. But by that time, they had already decided to shift to a new idea: Firebase. Although Envolve is still running,…
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Major sport matches draw tens of thousands of fans to the stadium to support their team. In many cases, for each fan attending the game, there are over a thousand fans watching the game at home, wishing they could be there. Vubooo, an early stage Israeli startup, is aiming to allow sport fans to take part in…
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If you are not in the military, you probably wouldn’t know the hassle of getting basic information about the base you are stationed in, such as where can you get food, when does the gym close, where you can find medical help, etc. The information available is disjointed and outdated, so you cannot rely on…
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When it comes to your social media activities, you have so many different options on how to manage it. On one extreme, you can hire an agency to do it all for you. On the other, you can muddle through it yourself. Of course, which option you choose depends on your budget, and for most…
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Ok, not a throw-down exactly. But we have 13 local area startups demoing at Tech Cocktail’s Baltimore Startup Showcase Mixer next week and it’s time we announced them and asked you, the Tech Cocktail reader, to vote for the best. Here are the contenders. BeerGivr – BeerGivr enables friends to buy each other drinks even…
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Caulk the wagon and float or attempt to ford the river? I’m guessing you got the reference. The Oregon Trail is as iconic a computer game as any. It was part of “computer class” when I was in elementary school. This old school video game was (and still is) fun, addictive, and educational. One thing it…
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Entrepreneur Sotiria Krikelis believes everything happens for a reason, including the rejection she endured while trying to launch her first startup, Relax Missy. But this rejection fueled Krikelis’s idea for her new startup, MeliModa, which is changing the fashion business in exciting ways. “We aim to disrupt the fashion industry and bring everything in the…
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What is the Internet? Ask a nerd, and you’ll likely get some elaborate answer about networks, protocols, and Al Gore. I believe the explanation can be boiled down to one word: information. The Internet is information. It’s everything you ever needed to know about anything, plus cat videos. So why then are we still taking…
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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