Like many startups, ParkMe (formerly Parking In Motion) is attempting to solve a nearly universal problem – in this case, helping drivers who are unable to find a parking spot in urban areas. But unlike many startups, ParkMe isn’t trying to tackle the whole market at once, instead approaching it piece by piece. In an…
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Launched in mid-August, the Mamabear app is for parents who would love to implant a computer chip inside their children. Using the GPS feature on kids’ smartphones and their Facebook logins, the iPhone app can notify parents when the child is late to school; when they arrive at a “restricted place,” like a bad-influence friend’s…
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Nextdoor, the private social network for the neighborhood that we covered earlier this year, has raised $18.6 million in a new round of financing from Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Greylock Partners and Shasta Ventures. Other investors include Allen & Company and Pinnacle Ventures, along with individual investors Rich Barton, Anthony Noto and Dave Goldberg. “We…
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Polite nods, furtive glances around the room, the automatic exchange of business cards: you must be suffering through another networking event. Almost everyone has felt the agony of networking, and startups are trying to relieve it: from general people discovery apps like Highlight and Sonar, to event networking apps like Double Dutch, CrowdCompass, and Beepmo….
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When I last covered Hyphos, CEO Alex Capecelatro explained the goal of his team’s new, LA-based social discovery site: “Our social networks are built around the people we know; they don’t help us expand our local social network…. Hyphos should make it easier to meet new people outside your Facebook friends’ networks.” And it did,…
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Living in a city is fun (source: science). Whether you know it or not, there is something going on in your vicinity. Just a decade ago, finding these events required such archaic tactics as reading the local newspaper or talking to people. Thankfully, with the advent of the smartphone, and the ocean of apps that came…
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If you’re on social media (and I am assuming all of you reading this are), then you know how much junk is posted all day every day. Stupid status updates – “Gosh, it’s hot out today” – and tweets that are even more inane – “Just landed at SFO.” Makes you just want to give…
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Serial entrepreneurs Tom DePasquale and Sanders Partee have worked on several successful DC-based startups – both together and separately – over the last 20 years. In 2007, it was time to start up again, and this time they decided to tackle the ground transportation industry. The original idea around RideCharge was a marketplace for corporate…
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The biggest problem facing the event discovery app world has been the dependance of user generated content. With a host of traction-less entrants going after the space, most have suffered from the first fax machine paradox. It’s like a one person potluck; that’s really just dinner. That’s why Eventster pulls its event data from the Zvents API (recently…
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Bio: Bryan Elwin, Sofulo’s co-Founder and CEO, is a Washington state native from Bellevue. He graduated from the University of Washington in ’06 with a B.A. in Communications. His brother and company co-founder, Michael also attended UW and got his J.D. at Northeastern University Law School in Boston. Michael and Bryan are first-time entrepreneurs without…
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At first glance, Glomper seems like just another app in a long line of mobile apps that hope to solve the problem associated with planning events. According to CEO Alexander Borodich, that problem is that current methods – from texting to Foursquare to Facebook – are too focused on the past and the present. “When…
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Originally based in Florence, Italy, Pietro Ferraris decided to move his startup to San Francisco to ensure its growth and success. Thanks to his experience at his first startup, Noody, his new startup, map2app, is poised to break through – especially since it is targeting such an important niche. As a browser-based platform, it makes…
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If you’re a photography or film student currently enrolled at any accredited US university, you’ll want to enter the first ShootLocal Location Hunt Student Competition. Simply snap photos of your favorite locations to win $5,000 in prizes, including a Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18-55mm IS II Kit and specialized lenses from Lensbaby. Beverly Ingle, Chief…
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Jeff Jackel was sitting at a Los Angeles Angels game a year and a half ago when he noticed that everyone around him was on their device. They were sharing with others outside the baseball game, but no one was sharing with others at the event. “I realized that there was no exclusive network of…
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Event discovery is still a wide-open ballgame. There’s been a variety of approaches toward capturing this market – ranging from when an event is happening (Time to Enjoy, Sharewhere, Forecast), to where you are at a given moment (RAVN, Foursquare), to what your city may have to offer (Thrillist, Sosh.com) – but still no single player has emerged. But what…
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Hosting an event and need a caterer, cleaning service, or photographer? Or are you looking for new health or auto insurance? Maybe you’re looking to get a dog, website design work, or even a spray tan. Whatever you need, conventional practices put the onus of the work on you. You’ll spend the next 30 minutes…
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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
This post is part of Tech Cocktail’s “Healthy Entrepreneur” series,... Read More
After two and half years of helping to foster entrepreneurship, the Startup... Read More
Lux Alptraum is a woman of many talents: writer, sex educator, and CEO. Her... Read More
