Marla Shaivitz not only writes about startups, she has experienced the startup life herself.

After a traditional career start in the PR department at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, she went to work for the first of three startup companies. The first is too brief to mention, the second, a firm with a web portal product for nonprofits and associations. After the proverbial dot com bubble burst and the company laid everyone off, Marla along with others in the group focused their energies on building a new company, providing Internet strategy and consulting to those in the association and nonprofit sector.

She continues to work with nonprofit organizations providing training, strategy consulting and web development. In addition to writing, Marla is a front-end developer and digital marketer who has participated in Startup Weekend, sat on the judges' panel for AngelHack NYC and tweeted from the White House during President Obama's State of the Union Address as part of the White House Social #WHSocial.

Recent posts by this Author

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Forty Women to Watch over 40

By Marla Shaivitz | Jun 24, 2013 at 10:00 am

The 40 Women To Watch Over 40 for 2013 list celebrates women who are upending the perception that entrepreneurial innovation is only for those before a certain age.

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Discover Your Career Personality with Psychology-driven Compass Lite

By Marla Shaivitz | Mar 9, 2013 at 2:00 pm

Choosing a career (or making a career switch) requires a tremendous amount of self-awareness; you need to dig deep and find the intersection between what you like to do and the skills you possess. Introspection is difficult, and typically not labeled as “fun.” ...

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New Contender for Cloud-based Media Storage: QVIVO

By Marla Shaivitz | Nov 23, 2012 at 3:00 pm

Is there room in the cloud-based media storage space for a new contender? With an offer of unlimited storage at a price point lower than that of Amazon, Apple, and Google, QVIVO is making a serious challenge. QVIVO is a startup out of Hong...

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DataRPM: ‘Instant Analytics’ – Cloud-based Business Intelligence Software

By Marla Shaivitz | Sep 8, 2012 at 10:00 am

The appetite for robust analysis tools to support data-driven decision making is strong; and a plug-and-play solution is an attractive proposition. Cost and complexity of development have kept many businesses on the sidelines – until now. DC-based DataRPM’s release of ...

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File Sharing Without Registration: FilesToFriends.com

By Marla Shaivitz | Aug 28, 2012 at 11:00 am

Sending large files – like movies to a friend, or graphic files to a designer – often requires some creative thinking around the delivery method. Email, because of the file size, is usually not an option. Dropbox is, of course – but if your...

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eVenues: The Marketplace for Meeting Space

By Marla Shaivitz | Jul 18, 2012 at 11:00 am

The sharing economy. That’s the concept behind sites that allow users to rent out what they own. Airbnb is the best known example, but you don’t have to look far to see the concept in action in other areas. Tools, neckties, parking spaces –...

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Social Gaming Meets Digital Literacy at JobScout

By Marla Shaivitz | Jun 5, 2012 at 3:00 pm

It’s projected that one in five people in the United States lack the necessary Internet skills needed to find a job in today’s marketplace. Now, dear Tech Cocktail reader, we know that’s not you. But you probably know quite a few people who fit...

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Finding the Underlying Gems in User-Generated Content with 451 Degrees

By Marla Shaivitz | Dec 11, 2011 at 12:00 pm

We all know that content is “king.” Thoughtful, meaningful, original online content garners high SEO results – true back in the early days of search engines, and still true now. However, if content is king, then smart and thoughtful user-generated content about your ...

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Matt Fellowes on Transforming Personal Finance Through HelloWallet’s Social Mission

By Marla Shaivitz | Nov 11, 2011 at 2:30 pm

Independence – freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others. Independent financial advice – for the last 50 years, only 15% of Americans had access to it. Even with arrival of personal financial software in the 1980’s and ’90’s, the...

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Cull.TV: The Future of Music Television?

By Marla Shaivitz | Oct 19, 2011 at 3:00 pm

Welcome to the future of music television. Thanks for tuning in. This is the bold welcome the founders of Cull.TV, a startup out of the San Fransisco Bay area, gives to would-be video curators who use the service to create their own playlists or...

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A Marketplace for Unused Daily Deals and Gift Cards at CouponTrade

By Marla Shaivitz | Sep 29, 2011 at 12:49 pm

The daily deal can be tough to resist, and the market around reselling unused deals is growing. The daily deal industry itself, while fairly new, already accounts for $5 billion dollars annually, according to Bradley Wasz, co-founder and COO of CouponTrade, a company whose...

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How DotLoop Simplified the Real Estate Transaction Process

By Marla Shaivitz | Sep 19, 2011 at 10:57 am

DotLoop was an idea born of frustration – a frustration that millions of people, including co-founder Austin Allison, have experienced. What is this obstruction just begging to be simplified via web technology? The paper-heavy real estate transaction. If you’ve ever bought ...

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Handwrite Your iPhone and iPad Notes with 7Notes

By Marla Shaivitz | Sep 10, 2011 at 3:35 pm

Who uses the Notes app that comes native to the iPhone and iPad? I do. I keep shopping lists on it, jot down books I want to read later – all sorts of randomness. Clearly I find it incredibly useful, yet it’s bare bones...

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How To Bootstrap from Zero to Millions; Interview With Dan Ushman Of SingleHop

By Marla Shaivitz | Jun 7, 2011 at 12:24 pm

Bootstrapping – the startup metaphor for a self-sustaining business that proceeds without external help. This is a story about bootstrapping – real bootstrapping, like, live with your parents, and rent a crappy office bootstrapping. It’s holding out on paying yourself ...

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How Zaarly Lets You Name Your Price On Everything; An Interview With Co-Founder Bo Fishback

By Marla Shaivitz | Apr 1, 2011 at 9:30 am

We heard a lot of buzz about Zaarly at SXSW. Through our partnership with Tony Hsieh’s Delivering Happiness movement, we interviewed a lot of thought leaders, creatives and innovators. One of the questions we asked was what app or service have you found at...