blogger better: 2015-07-05

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Accelerators Are The New Business School

It’s no secret that most startups fail. What’s a bit less obvious is that most startup accelerators also fail. While a few top-tier programs get the cream of the crop unicorns of the future, the hundreds of others struggle to attract teams that will produce the investment-grade companies on which their models so depend. Read More

http://ift.tt/1UPsZmp Accelerators Are The New Business School http://ift.tt/1ISqfju

U.S. startup Invi reckons there’s space for one more messaging app play. Not a little one either. Co-founder Iddo Tal sees a gaping hole in the market for a North America-focused messaging platform giant to flourish — and, he hopes, become a global marketplace for content distribution. Such stuff startup dreams are made on. Read More

from TechCrunch » Social http://ift.tt/1UOe6ki Invi’s SMS Replacement App For Android Exits Beta, Still Dreaming Big Natasha Lomas http://ift.tt/1HmE8nO
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I admit I stole this title. Part of being productive is to piggyback on the shoulders of greatness. So I decided to write down what six things I do every day that help me with productivity. They make work for you. Or not. They work for me, although I always need to improve. Read More

http://ift.tt/1Mm1F9y The Six Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day http://ift.tt/1M1EyUM

Whistle While You Scroll, Or, How Facebook Could Win With Music Videos

FbMTV? Facebook is talking with record labels about paying them handsomely to share music videos to the News Feed, according to reports from Billboard and The New York Times. Normally, people go to YouTube to watch these mini music movies. But Facebook’s on a quest to conquer the video world, and it’s mounting an assault on YouTube’s most lucrative province. FaceTube A few… Read More

from TechCrunch » Social http://ift.tt/1Mlcdpw Whistle While You Scroll, Or, How Facebook Could Win With Music Videos Josh Constine http://ift.tt/1dR3MX0
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Whistle While You Scroll, Or, How Facebook Could Win With Music Videos

{rss:content:encoded} Whistle While You Scroll, Or, How Facebook Could Win With Music Videos http://ift.tt/1CvA2ux http://ift.tt/1Mlcdpw July 11, 2015 at 12:02AM facebook-mtv

We’d been hearing that Steve Huffman, a co-founder of Reddit who also co-founded flight and hotel search startup Hipmunk, was being considered for the CEO job at Reddit. Now that move is confirmed. Huffman’s appointment follows turmoil at Reddit following the firing of Victoria Taylor, a community manager that the Reddit community relied on, last week. Alexis Ohanian, who was… Read More

http://ift.tt/1eO2U6i Reddit Co-Founder Steve Huffman In For Reddit CEO Job, Pao Out http://ift.tt/1JUUh7D

Reddit Co-Founder Steve Huffman In For Reddit CEO Job, Pao Out

{rss:content:encoded} Reddit Co-Founder Steve Huffman In For Reddit CEO Job, Pao Out http://ift.tt/1HSFfPp http://ift.tt/1eO2U6i July 10, 2015 at 11:18PM s2007 YCombinator class

We’d been hearing that Steve Huffman, a co-founder of Reddit who also co-founded flight and hotel search startup Hipmunk, is currently being considered for the CEO job at Reddit. Now that move is confirmed. Huffman’s appointment follows turmoil at Reddit following the firing of Victoria Taylor, a community manager that the Reddit community relied on, last week. Alexis… Read More

from TechCrunch » Social http://ift.tt/1eO2U6i Reddit Co-Founder Steve Huffman In For Reddit CEO Job, Pao Out Matthew Lynley http://ift.tt/1ULjeWo
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Consciously or not, there’s a kind of deal we make when we use many online services — in exchange for free access, we accept ads and give up some of our personal data. Now a startup called DataWallet is planning to make that exchange a little more rewarding, with real cash. Brands often want access to this kind of personal data, and DataWallet founder and CEO Serafin Lion Engel… Read More

from TechCrunch » Social http://ift.tt/1D68FSR Backed By Tim Draper, DataWallet Pays Users To Share Their Online Data With Businesses Anthony Ha http://ift.tt/1JUO9wk
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Consciously or not, there’s a kind of deal we make when we use many online services — in exchange for free access, we accept ads and give up some of our personal data. Now a startup called DataWallet is planning to make that exchange a little more rewarding, with real cash. Brands often want access to this kind of personal data, and DataWallet founder and CEO Serafin Lion Engel… Read More

http://ift.tt/1D68FSR Backed By Tim Draper, DataWallet Pays Users To Share Their Online Data With Businesses http://ift.tt/1ULa4JG

Taking A Spin On Bolt, The Tesla Of Electric Motorbikes

Bolt is a San Francisco-based startup that makes electric motorbikes. The bikes are handmade in a small garage on the edge of town and come with the same type of lithium-ion batteries used in Teslas. Co-founder Nathan Jauvtis grew up riding and assembling motorcycles and bikes, but he really liked the idea of building his own bike – one that would be clean and easy to ride. He started… Read More

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Taking A Spin On Bolt, The Tesla Of Electric Motorbikes http://ift.tt/1SdFpAC

Vine, the six-second looping video app from Twitter, has today announced an update that will let users find even more people to follow on the social network. Previously, users could hook in their Twitter and Address Book to find their friends on the app. But with the new update, users will be able to venture outside their friend group and Twitter network to find folks on Vine who post… Read More

http://ift.tt/1GcmOhs Vine Updates App To Promote Top Users http://ift.tt/1fuwWNC

Vine, the six-second looping video app from Twitter, has today announced an update that will let users find even more people to follow on the social network. Previously, users could hook in their Twitter and Address Book to find their friends on the app. But with the new update, users will be able to venture outside their friend group and Twitter network to find folks on Vine who post… Read More

from TechCrunch » Social http://ift.tt/1GcmOhs Vine Updates App To Promote Top Users Jordan Crook http://ift.tt/1eNf7s5
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Laundrapp, one of a plethora of on-demand laundry startups targeting the U.K. capital city (and other cities in the country), has acquired rival Washbox. Read More

http://ift.tt/1IP2DfG Laundrapp Acquires Washbox As Competition In The U.K. On-Demand Laundry Space Shrinks http://ift.tt/1SdlXnu

Athens, Greece-based mobile survey platform Pollfish has closed a Series A funding round of $2.5 million. The round was led by Odyssey Investment Partners, PJ Catalyst, Woodside Group and several unnamed angel investors. It brings total funding to $2.8 million since the company was founded in n 2013. Pollfish says the new capital will be used for continued U.S. expansion. Read More

http://ift.tt/1MkgYjf Greece-Based Startup Pollfish Scores $2.5M For Mobile Survey Platform http://ift.tt/1TpW3zp

Spain’s Geeksphone Exits Smartphones

{rss:content:encoded} Spain’s Geeksphone Exits Smartphones http://ift.tt/1CtlBaF http://ift.tt/1D51WII July 10, 2015 at 12:54PM Geeksphone Revolution

Muere la revolución. Spanish smartphone maker Geeksphone has confirmed it’s stepping out of the mobile making game almost six years after founding a startup business to build handsets for an enthusiast community of geeks looking for something a little different to mainstream smartphones. Read More

Likes Aren’t Enough. Now Facebook Pages Need You To Add Them To “See First”

Facebook told businesses to buy Page Likes for years, saying that’s how they could reach people through the News Feed. But over time, a natural increase in competition for space in the feed plus increased restrictions on promotional and marketing posts have eroded the reach of Pages, and subsequently some of the value of Page Likes. Now Facebook has created an echelon above Likes. A new… Read More

from TechCrunch » Social http://ift.tt/1Rn9geT Likes Aren’t Enough. Now Facebook Pages Need You To Add Them To “See First” Josh Constine http://ift.tt/1Tp0kD5
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Once in a while (a lot, actually), part-time Apple blogger and musician Taylor Swift likes to give to a charitable cause. She likes hanging out with kids who are in the hospital, too. She likes disrupting technology the most. Swift’s most recent disruptive move was a donation made to a little girl named Naomi, who is kicking the crap out of cancer. It was for $50k, to help with some… Read More

from TechCrunch » Social http://ift.tt/1GaCLEH GoFundMe Learns The Taylor Swift Principle Drew Olanoff http://ift.tt/1gr3kAS
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I’ve ridden in the backseat of many Uber drivers’ cars. Sometimes we exchange lively banter, other times we sit silently as I check email on my phone. There is not one driver that stands out, but rather a composite driver that I feel I’ve met a hundred times. Read More

http://ift.tt/16Akt5m The Rise Of The Gig Worker In The Sharing Economy http://ift.tt/1KZNkko

Disney just announced the second batch of companies that will participate in the Disney Accelerator. The program will again be a three-month mentorship period powered by Techstars, and each company will receive up to $120,000 in investment capital. While some of us doubt the benefits of a corporate accelerator, companies from the first batch have reached some impressive milestones, with all… Read More

http://ift.tt/1J6KO7M Disney’s Startup Accelerator Enters Its Sophomore Year With A New Batch Of Companies http://ift.tt/1ToA4sy

The Cups coffee app launched about a year ago, promising members an unlimited supply of coffee from local shops in exchange for a monthly fee. Since then, the app has added prepaid plans (starting with five cups of coffee for $11) and expanded to more than 170 locations throughout New York — making it, in the words of co-founder Gilad Rotem, this makes it “the second largest… Read More

http://ift.tt/1MiGvcy Cups Offers Prepaid And Subscription Plans For NYC’s Independent Coffee Shops http://ift.tt/1UGktGs

Cups Offers Prepaid And Subscription Plans For NYC’s Independent Coffee Shops

{rss:content:encoded} Cups Offers Prepaid And Subscription Plans For NYC’s Independent Coffee Shops http://ift.tt/1D3KbK6 http://ift.tt/1MiGvcy July 09, 2015 at 10:04PM CUPS Sweatshop Coffee Chat