Startups Archives - Page 122 of 144

Kansas City Startup: PhonyInvoices Founded By Barnett Helzberg Jr

(photo: Kansas City Business Journal)

Kanas City entrepreneur Barnett Helzberg Jr has gone from the diamond industry where he used his keen eye to spot beautiful diamonds and jewelry, to a new startup spotting phony invoices. This time around he doesn’t need to use his fine eye though.

PhonyInvoices is a startup designed for businesses to stop getting scammed out of paying phony invoices. Small businesses and large businesses alike know to well the invoice scam. Fake phone book companies, service companies and even law firms have been known to target businesses with fake invoices. The perpetrators are hoping that the person in accounts receivable doesn’t spot the fake invoice and sends a check the company’s way.

Helzberg formed the startup in February after decades of spotting fake invoices at his family owned and operated jewelry chain, Helzberg Diamonds.

“It obviously makes me a little angry — as hard as it was to make a profit — with businesses being defrauded every day,” Helzberg told the Kansas City Business Journal. “It only took me about 46 years to realize someone needed to be out there fighting this.”

PhonyInvoices tests a company’s internal controls and runs invoices against a database of known invoice scams. PhonyInvoices has already caught several questionable invoices that some of their member companies paid before joining the service.

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UK Startup: FlavrBox Puts Flavor In The Subscription Box

It’s no secret that one of the biggest newly created spaces for startups is the subscription box. We’ve brought you stories about a variety of box subscriptions like Chicago’s Klutch Club; popular New York beauty box, Birch Box; and even Houston based crafts subscription box startup, Whimseybox.

Across the pond the subscription box is catching on too and in even more new and exciting ways. Flavrbox actually ships the best in nonperishable food items and ingredients to their subscribers. We love food that’s one of the reasons this startup caught our eye, but also the innovative approach to tackling the problem of how do you ship food to subscribers.

I mean how much soup and crackers can one person eat? Well we found out that FlavrBox is way more than just soup and crackers. They have an innovative approach to the subscription box in their flavor packed food boxes that they send through the post (British for mail).

Are they sending tea and crumpets through the post? Find out below in our interview with Flavrbox, a tasty new British startup

Atlanta Startup: SherpaDesk Wants To Be Your Support Desk INTERVIEW

Jon Vickers and Patrick Clements, the guys behind Atlanta based BigWebApps have designed a help/support desk product aimed at small businesses. While BigWebApps has been around since 2001, Sherpadesk is just now launching.

BigWebApps is part of Vickers and Clements company called Micajah ITS which is a network integration and development firm. Their BigWebApps application is aimed at government and large enterprise. Sherpadesk is aimed at smaller businesses and startups that need to bring customer support online early on.

We got a chance to interview Sherpadesk

What is Sherpadesk?

SherpaDesk is a client support solution designed to assist small to medium size businesses and independent contractors with managing client service requests, projects estimations and billable time in one easy to use interface.

Who are the founders and what are their backgrounds?

Jon Vickers – CTO – Started Micajah ITS a network integration and application development firm while attending the University of Georgia. Later sold the managed service side of the Micajah to concentrate on custom web development with concentration of .NET technologies. Launched bigWebApps in 2001 as a way to license some of their multitenant solutions.

Patrick Clements – CEO – Joined Micajah ITS post-graduation after spending a year and half getting a Colorado education in skiing. Launched bigWebApps in the Spring of 2001 to be the marketing and application solution of Micajah ITS solutions. It’s first solution was a web based help desk application called bigWebApps HelpDesk

How did you come up with Sherpa Desk?

bigWebApps launched its first support solution bigWebApps HelpDesk in 2001. It was focused on government and mid-market support teams providing internal support to their employees. SherpaDesk is a repurpose of the bigWebApps HelpDesk solution targeting small (1-2 man shops) to medium size businesses needing an integrated help desk system with a time and billing solution.

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Utah Startup: Kin2 Shows Degrees Of Separation For New Dark Shadows Movie

If you’ve ever wanted to know how you could or could not be connected to a celebrity or other big name, you may get a chance to find out sooner than later, thanks to a Utah startup called Kin2. The premise for Kin2 is connecting family trees to other family trees. The service draws from over 250 million names from a previous endeavor called Onegreatfamily.com

But what does this have to do with the new Dark Shadows movie? Well an executive of Warner Brothers, the movie’s producer, saw Kin2 in action at South By Southwest and thought the technology would make a great engagement piece for their online marketing efforts.

Now fans of Dark Shadows can use a customized version of Kin2 to see all the Collins family connections from the movie. The Salt Lake Tribune was able to use a photo of Barnabus Collins (played by Johnny Depp) within the Kin2 special app, to find out that he is the great great uncle of Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (played by Michelle Pfeiffer). They are 32 degrees apart.

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St. Louis Startup: Passer.by Opens Donation Platform For Business

Last month we brought you an interview with Passer.by co-founder Todd Metheny about this new crowdfunding platform exclusive to the film industry. When we spoke with Metheny that hadn’t quite launched their donation platform.

They’ve now announced their launch and have three films that the public can donate to and help fund. If you’ve ever wanted to partake in the movie business, now’s your chance. This unique service allows ordinary people to invest in movies and independent films. Passer.by is a welcomed source of funding for independent film producers who typically bootstrap their projects, in a very competitive business.

The three films open for funding via passer.by are: The Lovely Passing Life by filmmaker Daniel Leeb, Mrs. Henderson’s Cat by filmmaker Will Pelligrini and Fit To Print by filmmaker Adam Chadwick. Leeb is seeking funds for production while Pelligrini and Chadwick are raising funds for post production.

To introduce the service Metheny told us last month that they are allowing filmmakers to pay them, “what they want”. Once the films reach their funding, they will hopefully pay Passer.by something for helping them raise funds. This promotion is available for the first 20 films that are funded by Passer.by’s crowdsourced funding platform.

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Nashville Startup: Interview With Rentstuff CEO Chris Jaeger

If you’ve got nice stuff that sits around a bit you can make money by renting. Say you have a mountain bike that you never use or perhaps a lawnmower that only gets a work out very two weeks? Well with rentstuff.com, a Nashville startup, your stuff can make money for you.

Rentstuff.com is a localized marketplace set up to help local people rent stuff to each other. Everything from dome tents to Dyson vacuum cleaners can be found for rent on rentstuff.com at a decent rate. The site even offers a quick calculator to show you an idea of what your stuff should rent for by the day.

The company protects your stuff by allowing you to charge a security deposit that puts the deposit amount on an authorization hold on the renters credit card. Provided everything goes well, the user gets their stuff back and the renter gets their deposit back. Rentstuff also has a community feedback system for renters and users. This way the renter knows that the person renting the property is trusted and vice versa.

We got a chance to interview the CEO of Rent Stuff, Chris Jaeger.

Who are the founders for rentstuff.com and what is your/are their backgrounds before starting rentstuff.com?

I founded RentStuff.com back in January 2010 along with my twin brother Robert Jaege (COO) and Adam Albright (CTO). Prior to starting the company, Robert and I were both working in Finance in New York City, and Adam was completing the first year of his MBA at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. Robert and I connected with Adam through mutual friends.

How did you come up with the idea because it’s brilliant?

Robert and I came up with the initial concept back in 2008. We were both frustrated after spending countless hours trying to track down kayaks and bikes to rent for weekend trips from small rental shops all over New York City. At the time, we were both living in a high rise building and knew there was a good chance that someone in our building or at least in our neighborhood had what we needed. However, there was no organized system to easily connect people who had stuff with people who wanted access to that stuff on a temporary basis. Our company solves the need to connect renters and lenders in a better way.

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Ashton Kutcher Prepares For A-Grade Role As Steve Jobs

TV and Movie star turned technology investor Ashton Kutcher was selected for the Role of Steve Jobs in an upcoming independent film about the co-founder of Apple. The movie is currently being titled Jobs: Get Involved and is said to focus on the earlier parts of his career, much in the way Pirates of Silicon Valley did.

The movie will profile Jobs years starting Apple and then through NeXT and Pixar. There’s no word if the script will dip into his triumphant return to Apple and his later years.

Sony Pictures has picked up the rights to Walter Isaacson’s biography about Steve Jobs which became a best seller when it’s release coincided with the death of the Apple founder. Sony is said to be in discussions with Aaron Sorkin the mastermind behind the NBC hit drama series West Wing, as well as the screen writer for the Mark Zuckerberg biographic movie “The Social Network”.

Sony is reportedly looking at booth George Clooney and Noah Wylie to take on the role of Jobs for their movie. Wylie played Jobs in the cult classic Pirates of Silicon Valley which aired several times in the US after Jobs’ death.

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UPDATED: Oregon Startup: Wild Squirrel Nut Butter Wins Investment On Shark Tank

(photo Sally Ho/The Oregonian)

We are diligently working on a piece now highlighting a string of investments that the Sharks have pulled out of since the show has aired.

In the case of Wild Squirrel Nut Butter, Shark Barbara Corcoran pulled out of the $50,000 investment for 40% that she had negotiated with the girls on the show.

Keely and Erica penned this tumblr entry after the embargo lifted on Friday highlighting the fact that Corcoran had pulled out of the investment, although they gained a lot of exposure and insight from Ms. Corcoran.

We are going to elaborate in a much larger piece about Shark Tank, which is still my favorite show of all time, however we want to add here that it’s not the fault of the Shark themselves. We hold accountable the producers who know well in advance that a shark has pulled out of the deal before airing. The producers of Shark Tank, Mark Burnett and ABC are doing the viewers, the startups and the sharks an injustice by not providing an update prior to airing that the investment didn’t actually work out.

There is plenty of time between the taping of the episode and the airing of the episode to provide the back story. The sharks are using their own money and they have to do their due diligence. Shark Tank provides a disclaimer in the beginning of every episode announcing it’s the sharks own money and that there is no pitch to the audience. They should also provide the same service at the end of each episode with an update as to what happens.

Below is the original story that we published this morning before being pointed to Keeley and Erica’s blog.

Two college girls from Oregon were featured on this week’s Shark Tank. They were cute, preppy, peppy and a little bit nervous, as anyone would be in front of the Shark’s on Shark Tank.

They came into the episode with their story about drive but didn’t have the numbers to attract an investment from Mr. Wonderful Kevin O’Leary, Mark Cuban, Daymond John or Robert Herjavec however they did catch the eye of real estate mogul turned Shark Tank investor, Barbara Corcoran.

Corcoran had made a gamble on a duo of political workers turned Barbecue company founders last season with their Pork Barrel Barbecue sauce. With the help of Corcoran the duo behind Pork Barrel was able to drastically improve their sales and distribution and they even opened up a restaurant.

The episode featuring Keeley Tillotson and Erika Welsh was taped last September, but as with all reality shows they are under a strict embargo from speaking a word about Shark Tank until after their episode aired. Prior to Friday nights showing, Shark Tank warned the girls to back up their website and expect lots of orders.

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Michigan Startup: Credentialock Is A Cloud Vault For All Your Credentials

Do you have any certifications? What about your college and high school diploma? Where are your high school and college transcripts? What about that real estate license? All of these questions could probably be answered in one place if Credentialock was around 20 years ago.

Credentialock is a new Michigan startup that just launched their free web based version this past week. It is essentially a cloud based vault for all of your important credentials, transcripts and licenses.

More and more people are turning to cloud based storage for their important computer files. Even more people are turning to digital storage for things like receipts,important papers, even back up copies of drivers license, credit card and passport information. While some may already have some kind of digital record of their “credentials” Credentialock makes it easy to store all of your important papers in one spot.

“My wife is in the insurance industry and she has over 100 documents of certification from 20 different states to keep track of, so we always use her as the benchmark,” Credentialock CEO Scott Slyfield CEO told Sara Schmid of Xconomy. “Instead of having our employers keep track of this stuff, we need to be able to own and manage it ourselves. It’s really empowering.”

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Arkansas Startup: Univeristy of Arkansas Announces E-Braa

A team of engineers out of the University of Arkansas have developed a new wireless health monitoring system being dubbed “e-bra”. The “e-bra” has textile sensors built in that monitor cardiac signs, blood pressure, body temperature, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption, and even some neural activity. The sensor laden bra communicates all of this information back to a smart phone.

The system that’s designed to be outfitted in a sports bra for women or possibly a vest for men does not require any kind of cuff and could function as a replacement for at home blood pressure monitors.

“Our e-bra enables continuous, real-time monitoring to identify any pathophysiological changes,” said Vijay Varadan, Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering. “It is a platform on which various sensors for cardiac-health monitoring are integrated into the fabric. The garment collects and transmits vital health signals to any desired location in the world.”

The sensors themselves are smaller than a dime and include gold nano wires. They also have flexible conducting textile nano sensors. The textile sensors are than woven into the bra and don’t require sticky adhesives or gels.

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San Diego Startup: Monster Offers Releases 18 Localized Daily Deals Apps

San Diego based Monster Offers has teamed up with app development studio Iconosys to release 18 new daily deals apps to Android powered smartphones.

The 18 daily deals apps go by the name of Monster Dealies and Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Last June Inc magazine said the daily deals space could be worth $3 billion dollars this year in revenues. A BIA/Kelsey estimate suggests the revenue could reach $4 billion dollars by 2015. It’s also been revealed that a lot of consumers who aren’t taking advantage of daily deals sites and apps are leaving a lot of money on the table.

“The new ‘Monster Dealies’ apps bring to your Smartphone or Smart device those killer discounted Daily Deals that are specifically tailored for your local market or GPS-designated location. In view of the now huge size of the Daily Deal market, we think an app like this makes abundant sense, as it scours the landscape to highlight what you care about and what you want to see, while cutting out the noise and the deals that are clearly outside your particular target area. Why should you ever pay full price for a meal, massage, movie or show ticket again in your local area? Our Monster Dealies apps bring the best discounted deals to your Smartphone or Smart Device, so you are plugged in and ready to save money 24-7.” says Paul Gain Monster Offers CEO

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Syracuse Startups: StartFast Venture Accelerator Announces 2012 Class

StartFast Venture Accelerator in Syracuse New York is preparing for the summer 2012 session which starts this Tuesday. They’ve selected 9 startups to participate out of over 300 applications from startups world wide.

Fewer than 3% of the entrants were selected for the session, making it harder to get into StartFast Ventuer Accelerator than it is to get into Harvard. It’s the first venture backed accelerator program in Upstate New York. Upstate Venture Connect, the Seed Capital Fund of CNY, CenterState CEO and The Tech Garden participated in the funding of the accelerator program, among others.

The nine startups selected encompass a variety of startup ideas including link aggregation,photos, mobile payments, mobile safety and more.

“Each of these teams has a big vision. We are counting on them to work tirelessly, accept coaching and demonstrate impressive execution in the marketplace.” StartFast Manager Nasir Ali said in a statement. “With the help of our investors and more than 80 mentors who have volunteered to work with these companies, our goal is to showcase nine awesome investment opportunities on August 16 Investor Day,” Chuck Storman the other StartFast Manager added.

See the nine startups selected after the break
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New Mexico Startup: Cute Cribs Wins StartupNation’s Mommy Competition

Startupnation.com in conjunction with web.com and Sam’s club have announced the top 200 Leading Moms in Business. These mommy owned businesses are successful, with great product, execution and innovation. The contest saw over 350,000 votes, which showed the great interest in these powerful ladies that can manage a household, raising children and owning a thriving business.

“There’s been a sea change among moms as they’ve come to realize that adding entrepreneurship to their lives brings exhilaration and immense gratification, not to mention supplemental—sometimes primary—income to their families in these dicey economic times,” says Rich Sloan, chief startupologist and co-founder of StartupNation.

Donna Fisher, the founder of Cute Cribs, came out victorious among the other 200 mom owned businesses which were all still winners. Cute Cribs is based in Albuquerque New Mexico and was born in 2006 out of Fishers need to find the perfect crib for an adorable little girl.

All of the Cute Cribs are custom painted and can be designed to match any room decor. Fisher will even add the baby’s name and birth information to the crib. Fisher says all a customer needs to do is submit a picture and they’ll take care of the rest. Fisher and her company can even match other nursery fixtures like changing tables, chests of drawers and other must haves for your new baby.

The designs themselves can come from designs Fisher has done before or custom designed for the new baby. Some of her popular designs include a jet theme, ladybug, frog, trains and more.

Fisher’s cribs and other baby furniture exceed federal safety regulations.

Fisher is a military wife an admitted that changing jobs every three years as her husband moved about was a tough job in itself. Now, when her husband gets re-assigned she can move Cute Cribs to the new location.

Linkage:

Check out Cute Cribs at cutecribs.com

Check out the Startupnation Leading Moms In Business competition here

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NY Startup: StoryTBD Revives The Choose Your Own Adventure Model (Interview)

This is the story of an awesome New York startup for many reasons. First off, it’s a woman founded startup, we love covering women founded startups in addition to startups everywhere else. Secondly, it brings back a favorite past time of mine, and many other technogeeks around the same age in Choose Your Own Adventure.

I remember many a day sitting at a Crown Book Store (way before the big boxes) and deciding which of hundreds of Choose Your Own Adventure titles I would buy with my lawn cutting money and my allowance. The series of books really sparked your imagination and it was almost like buying many different books in one by the way the stories were laid out and the alternative endings you could navigate through.

Now, Katherine Myers, who had a career in the entertainment industry, with stops at DreamWorks, CBS, AMC and New Line Cinema, has turned entrepreneur and launched StoryTBD, a digital, mobile form of Choose Your Own Adventure.

We got a chance to chat with her a bit interview after the break;