With the emergence of services like Google Offers and Groupon, businesses big, small, and in between are utilizing digital coupons and offers to increase their sales. Tim Rothwell and Brett Berman, cofounders of UMeTime, observed an overlooked gap in this industry trend. How can business owners use couponing services to acquire new customers and increase business…
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SMS messaging has been the cornerstone of cell phones since before they were smartphones. Anthony Nguyen, founder of Locotext, posed a question to himself one day though: Why has nobody innovated around traditional SMS messaging? What about geo SMS? “My initial thoughts lead me to really dig into geo-sensing technology,” says Nguyen. “I thought it…
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Last night, as part of Tech Cocktail Week’s Mixer and Startup Showcase in Downtown Las Vegas, Handii was announced the hottest showcasing startup. The Las Vegas-based startup is aiming to become the Uber of handymen. Users start simply by entering their address, tap the Handii button, and a Handii (i.e. handyman) arrives to their location…
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Dog owners and their loyal companions share similar characteristics. They are approachable, affectionate, passionate, fun-loving, social, energetic, and silly. Dog owners take on the personalities of their dogs…or is it dogs who take on the personalities of their owners? Jonathan Kolker, cofounder and CEO of Where My Dogs At, believed that dog owners and their four-legged…
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In recent years, online meeting sites and applications have focused on bringing the online connection offline for in-person meetings. The only problem is, these online sites are primarily focused on dating. Eric Lai and Ben Tao saw this as an opportunity to build a solution for users who want to make real-world connections online, but…
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When you sign up for an online dating service, it is generally a bad sign if you spend the majority of the time dating your computer. The whole point of online dating is to get out and meet somebody new, but that can be tougher than you think. Glen Andrianov, founder of OnlyADate, took his…
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It’s a well-known fact that when an electrical device runs out of power, it just becomes a paperweight (some paperweights are heavier than others), and for the most part, becomes useless. While running out of power might not be so bad with an electric toothbrush, an electric vehicle that runs out of power when driving could…
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Recently, I’ve been looking in the cities around me for the best and most interesting places to eat. Looking through Yelp and Google Local is helpful, but these sites seem to fall on two sides of the spectrum: hot or not. Typically, the reviews are raving fans or raging disbelievers. Facebook’s sporadic profile status reviews are…
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Sometimes the Internet can feel like a lonely place. Sure, there countless conversations that go on all around the net, but how many of those are interesting, and actually care about you from a relationship perspective? Don’t even bother using Facebook (aka Stalkerbook) or dating sites (everyone knows the pictures and descriptions are drastically misleading)….
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In today’s competitive athletic world, coaching by a sport’s expert can make all the difference in how fast and effectively you achieve your goals. It can be relatively difficult to search and identify industry expert coaches who are also willing to coach you, but it doesn’t have to be (sorry, but winning your family reunion…
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You’re no stranger to digital peripherals. You’ve likely used a mouse, keyboard, touchpad, or touchscreen plenty of times. You’ve also likely played at least one mobile game or tried to draw something digitally. But did you ever feel limited in your interactions? Maybe mobile gaming or digital drawing just didn’t really emulate the accuracy in real life, but what if it…
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Daily deal sites aren’t hard to come by these days, but what makes Olaround different is that it’s based in a part of the world not well known for its startup scene. Olaround is Pakistan’s first location-based loyalty application that works on iPhone and Android-powered smartphones. The app was launched in September 2011 by Bramerz,…
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Natural disasters and flight delays–partners in crime. From a airline customer perspective, we’re much more likely to fly an airline repeatedly if it has fewer delays AND superior customer service. Yes, natural disasters are out of our control, but how about bird disasters? With the help of Ornicept, airfield managers now have a viable solution…
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Showrooming – the act of walking into a physical storefront, reviewing the products on display, then leaving to buy the item online at a cost-savings. This holiday season, 80% of retailers expect to be impacted by showrooming, with the average loss of sales to be 5%, according to a survey by Edgell Knowledge Network (EKN)…
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Last night, Tech Cocktail had the pleasure of showcasing 11 up-and-coming startups at our final Chicago Mixer of 2012 (and possibly ever). Prior to the event, we asked you to let us know who was the hottest. The tribe has spoken. Evzdrop, the location-based interest network and iOS app (Android app coming soon) that allows people stay connected…
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How do you find out the most interesting local events happening right in your neighborhood? It used to be that the newspaper or the corkboard at your local coffee shop were the places to turn to. In a digital age, websites like Meetup.com and Plancast were the wave of the future. In a mobile era,…
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The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an... Read More
We started Modify Watches in 2010, after graduating from UC Berkeley’s Haas... Read More