It’s now a given: Kickstarter is a legit, proven way to raise real money for real hardware. Pebble did it. Ouya did it. Now BiaSport is hoping to do it. They have until 3 am ET. The product: A high-performance GPS-enabled sports watch, trackable on land or sea with water-resistance to 100 feet, with a unique feature to sports watches:…
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In congressional testimony on Thursday, SEC chairman Mary Schapiro announced that the SEC will miss one of the deadlines for implementing the JOBS Act. The SEC was required to draft rules by July 4 for “general solicitation,” which allows entrepreneurs to advertise the fact that they are raising capital (which was previously prohibited). “The 90 day…
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Earlier this morning, Science Inc.’s founder Michael Jones announced their acquisition of Pinpuff, a Pinterest influence measurement and perk platform. In Jones’ blog post he says, “We are witnessing a shift where consumer awareness on everything from news to music to food to art to clothing and adoption of that content or products is moving from…
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In previous posts, I have discussed how independent games like Minecraft, Bastion, Journey and Botanicula succeed in providing amazing gaming experiences without a huge budget. Unlike large video studios, independent game developers have more freedom to express themselves using video games as a communication medium and as an artistic expression. Even though being an independent…
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With reports of Microsoft’s rumored $1 billion acquisition of enterprise social networking startup Yammer, everyone is wondering what this means for the future of the enterprise social networking industry and enterprise software in general. Here’s the context: Yammer started in 2008 as Twitter for the enterprise but expanded in 2011 to include more Facebook-like functionality….
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First it was a tweeting cake. Next it was the social fridge. Now,we have the social cooler (see: below). Social Cooler v 0.3 from iStrategyLabs on Vimeo. iStrategyLabs, a DC-based creative digital agency, has pioneered social machines – the crossroad between the physical and social worlds. In the case of the social cooler, once a…
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The theme of yesterday’s WWDC could have been summarized by Apple giving Google the middle finger. Apparently Jobs is still pulling strings even in the afterlife. But that’s neither here nor there. We want to know, how do yesterday’s announcements effect you, the small business owner? Well, depending on the business, it could potentially play a huge…
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Foodzie, a marketplace for artisanal foods from small producers, announced its acquisition by Joyus on Tuesday. Joyus is an online shopping site with videos of the best products picked by their curators. The Foodzie team will now run Joyus Food, with cofounder Emily Olson showcasing their delectable discoveries in videos. “Think Food Network + Foodzie…
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Boston-based SCVNGR today announced $12 million in funding, part of a larger round that is still in the process of closing. This part of the round will go toward expanding LevelUp, an app that lets you pay and save at stores and restaurants by scanning your phone (which is connected to a credit or debit card)….
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I visited Vancouver’s A Thinking Ape on a Wednesday afternoon, just in time for lunch: Peruvian subs from a deli across the street. People milled around the open-concept office, sitting on red bean bag chairs and couches with gorilla pillows, drinking chicha morada. A Thinking Ape is a Y Combinator-backed games company founded by 3…
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DC-based startup KikScore announced today on their blog that the “KikScore service, platform, technology and certain assets have been acquired by Google.” KikScore created a patent-pending Confidence Badge and online trust score platform that enables small online businesses and non-profits to demonstrate trustworthiness through data and information. As part of the acquisition, KikScore will no…
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Last week was National Small Business Week, and we did a laptop giveway for which we will be announcing the winner soon. In the meantime, we recently found out about another opportunity for startups and small business owners to win goodies – this time to cash-in for their small business idea. Intuit GoPayment is offering up $10,000…
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Is Microsoft innovative? Not as much as they once were. Is Yahoo innovative? How about RIM, or HP? These companies are decades away from their last innovation and all but Microsoft are a few last gasps away from the once innovative corpse of Kodak. What is it about innovative companies that mutates the once active…
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In the last few weeks, we’ve been hearing a lot about “The Social Network” Facebook and its gargantuan IPO, which is set to happen tomorrow. I’m not going to rehash all the details, since you could turn on the Weather Channel and probably find out about it – along with the forecast in New York…
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Startups use free advertising channels like social media to get the word out about their company, and their employees tend to be active and avid Twitter users. So do the standard intellectual property rules apply to Twitter? After all, how much trouble can you get into with 140 characters? Answer: A lot. You can even…
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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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Tech Cocktail is headed back to DC. Why? Because we're a fan of good... Read More
Locating quality startups in San Francisco is like spotting bees in a hive.... Read More
Today, we’re excited to announce that Tech Cocktail has taken a $2.5M... Read More
Two months after the iPad 2 debuted in March, around 40% of users surveyed said... Read More
This post is part of Tech Cocktail’s “Healthy Entrepreneur” series,... Read More
