No One Wants to be a Rookie...
08/19/10 22:14
Two Startups to Watch
07/09/10 00:14
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Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about innovation and the hot start ups. Its easy to see the potential of the Twitters, Facebooks, Groupons, and Foursquares, but its also fun to watch start ups that aren’t as glamorous, but do provide major value to their industries.
RentMonitor which was (is?) a part of Techstars is an interesting concept. I have never had to deal with the plethora of issues that a landlord must have to, but in getting to know my past two landlords I can tell it is not an easy job. Rentmonitor acts as a dashboard for them making it easier for them to post property listings and to collect rent. I have been watching the the TechStars TV show “The founders” which is where I first found out about this company.
Another company from Cambridge/Boston that I have seen a lot is Grasshopper Labs, specifically their latest product, Chargify. This application enables start ups and small companies to easily set up a membership fee for their site/products. I like the opening they found in the industry. Rather than dedicating resources recurring billing this product will do that for you. I saw this company present at Webinno. On their site it shows they have a new product coming soon, I am looking forward to see what’s next.
These are two great start ups that aren’t necessarily re-inventing the wheel, but they have certainly managed to find problem that needs to be solved. What I especially like about these companies is that they aren’t targeting the enterprise client (which is likely a saturated market) and instead they are going after the smaller clients.
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about innovation and the hot start ups. Its easy to see the potential of the Twitters, Facebooks, Groupons, and Foursquares, but its also fun to watch start ups that aren’t as glamorous, but do provide major value to their industries.
RentMonitor which was (is?) a part of Techstars is an interesting concept. I have never had to deal with the plethora of issues that a landlord must have to, but in getting to know my past two landlords I can tell it is not an easy job. Rentmonitor acts as a dashboard for them making it easier for them to post property listings and to collect rent. I have been watching the the TechStars TV show “The founders” which is where I first found out about this company.
Another company from Cambridge/Boston that I have seen a lot is Grasshopper Labs, specifically their latest product, Chargify. This application enables start ups and small companies to easily set up a membership fee for their site/products. I like the opening they found in the industry. Rather than dedicating resources recurring billing this product will do that for you. I saw this company present at Webinno. On their site it shows they have a new product coming soon, I am looking forward to see what’s next.
These are two great start ups that aren’t necessarily re-inventing the wheel, but they have certainly managed to find problem that needs to be solved. What I especially like about these companies is that they aren’t targeting the enterprise client (which is likely a saturated market) and instead they are going after the smaller clients.
Boston SEO Startup Wordstream Raises New Funding
05/10/10 18:59
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Boston SEO Startup WordStream has raised a new round of funding. It was announced this weekend by Techcrunch that they have raised $6 million. According to TechCrunch the round of funding comes from Egan-Managed Capital and Sigma Partners. MediaPost has a great article that goes in depth on what went on behind the scenes before WordStream secured capital from Egan-Managed Capital.
WordStream continues to push out great keyword management products to help with keyword research. I have been very impressed with the products I have seen through demos and my own personal experience. Most recently they launched SEO for Firefox which is a great tool for content producers looking to perform keyword research while writing in their content management system.
Along with SEO for Firefox, Wordstream has free SEO tools and subscription tools for SEO and PPC which are their core products. I am yet to find a competitor to their keyword research products, although Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheet software companies are indirect competitors. Having met people from WordStream before, I am confident they will continue to create innovative tools and to help push the SEO industry forward.
Boston SEO Startup WordStream has raised a new round of funding. It was announced this weekend by Techcrunch that they have raised $6 million. According to TechCrunch the round of funding comes from Egan-Managed Capital and Sigma Partners. MediaPost has a great article that goes in depth on what went on behind the scenes before WordStream secured capital from Egan-Managed Capital.
WordStream continues to push out great keyword management products to help with keyword research. I have been very impressed with the products I have seen through demos and my own personal experience. Most recently they launched SEO for Firefox which is a great tool for content producers looking to perform keyword research while writing in their content management system.
Along with SEO for Firefox, Wordstream has free SEO tools and subscription tools for SEO and PPC which are their core products. I am yet to find a competitor to their keyword research products, although Microsoft Excel and other spreadsheet software companies are indirect competitors. Having met people from WordStream before, I am confident they will continue to create innovative tools and to help push the SEO industry forward.
Effective Link Building Strategies for Start-Ups and SMB
04/12/10 23:30
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Dear Start-ups and Small Businesses trying to build links, an effective way to build links for SEO is to get out and participate in the community. As a startup trying to build traffic at a low cost, one of the most important and difficult things to do when you launch your site (and maintain it) is to build links from external sites pointing to your site. It is a critical element for SEO, and SEO is one of the best ways to drive targeted traffic to your site.
Going to events, meeting people and demoing your product can be a very effective link building strategy. There are two reasons for this 1) free links from the events site, 2) exposure to potential users, bloggers and alpha users. People love to blog about the events that they attended. If you have a quality product and you are showing it to the right audience you will likely get someone you met or demoed for to write/blog about you. The bigger the event, the more people who will write about it and write follow up blog posts with summaries of what went on. Any link you can get to point to your site in the early stages is great. These write-ups will also create buzz around your company.
The other plus is the coverage you will get from the organization that is hosting the event. They are often authoritative sites that produce quality links.
Dear Start-ups and Small Businesses trying to build links, an effective way to build links for SEO is to get out and participate in the community. As a startup trying to build traffic at a low cost, one of the most important and difficult things to do when you launch your site (and maintain it) is to build links from external sites pointing to your site. It is a critical element for SEO, and SEO is one of the best ways to drive targeted traffic to your site.
Going to events, meeting people and demoing your product can be a very effective link building strategy. There are two reasons for this 1) free links from the events site, 2) exposure to potential users, bloggers and alpha users. People love to blog about the events that they attended. If you have a quality product and you are showing it to the right audience you will likely get someone you met or demoed for to write/blog about you. The bigger the event, the more people who will write about it and write follow up blog posts with summaries of what went on. Any link you can get to point to your site in the early stages is great. These write-ups will also create buzz around your company.
The other plus is the coverage you will get from the organization that is hosting the event. They are often authoritative sites that produce quality links.
(Although not highlighted, these are links pointing to the companies who demoed and presented at Webinno 25)
Building links for a start up can sometimes be difficult as you try to prove value and gain traction. Not everyone is able to get the TechCrunch’s and VentureBeat’s of the world to write about them from the start. Even those that can, still need every link that they can get. Going out and meeting people kills two birds with one stone; you are able to teach new people about your product and it often leads to more links to your site.
As a small business or start up, you should always be on the lookout for ways to build links to your site. They drive traffic and will help improve your SEO traffic. So get out into the community, meet with people and show people your product. People love to get excited about new companies. It can help you in more ways than you think.
How Much is a TechCrunch Post Worth?
04/11/10 23:29
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(Originally posted on Feb 7, 2010.)
By now everyone has probably read or at least heard about the intern at TechCrunch asking for bribes in return for a Macbook Air. If you have not heard, an intern at TechCrunch a major Tech Blog accepted a Macbook Air from a start-up to write a post about them. I am not here to talk about whether or not TechCrunch made the appropriate response (I think they did), but rather to bring up the question... How much is a TechCrunch post worth to start-ups?
Techcrunch is without a doubt the top tech blog. They spit out so much news it would be impossible to read every article they post, my Google Reader stats tell me they have on average 22.6 posts a DAY. If there is something in tech or the start-up world they are generally have news about it on their site.
One mention can send droves of traffic to a site, often times crashing the site. There are plenty of companies whose press on TechCrunch has helped them to build a following. Often an article on TechCrunch is enough to drive early adopters and evangelists to help the company grow and expand their base.
I understand that there is a lot more to making a company successful than a post (or a couple of posts) on TechCrunch, but the recent events have raised the question that I have often wondered about: How much is a TechCrunch post worth? The Macbook Air starts at $1499, but I would tend to think a post would be worth more.
(Originally posted on Feb 7, 2010.)
By now everyone has probably read or at least heard about the intern at TechCrunch asking for bribes in return for a Macbook Air. If you have not heard, an intern at TechCrunch a major Tech Blog accepted a Macbook Air from a start-up to write a post about them. I am not here to talk about whether or not TechCrunch made the appropriate response (I think they did), but rather to bring up the question... How much is a TechCrunch post worth to start-ups?
Techcrunch is without a doubt the top tech blog. They spit out so much news it would be impossible to read every article they post, my Google Reader stats tell me they have on average 22.6 posts a DAY. If there is something in tech or the start-up world they are generally have news about it on their site.
One mention can send droves of traffic to a site, often times crashing the site. There are plenty of companies whose press on TechCrunch has helped them to build a following. Often an article on TechCrunch is enough to drive early adopters and evangelists to help the company grow and expand their base.
I understand that there is a lot more to making a company successful than a post (or a couple of posts) on TechCrunch, but the recent events have raised the question that I have often wondered about: How much is a TechCrunch post worth? The Macbook Air starts at $1499, but I would tend to think a post would be worth more.
Companies from Web Innovators #24
12/23/09 22:33
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I recently attended the Web Innovators meet-up in Cambridge, MA and for those of you who have not yet been, it was a lot of fun. I was able to see demos from a number of very cool Cambridge/Boston area start-ups. Here are a couple that I found especially useful and neat.
My favorite was [DRUMROLL] KartMe – think social bookmarking meets shopping. Not only can you save interesting links from articles/posts you’ve read, but you can also add products to your “kart” for your friends to see, so come holiday season or your birthday you can share your wishlist with friends
The rest of the goodies:
Sponty – Their goal is simple, get people to interact in person more often. I appreciate the goal of any social networking site that encourages people to hang out. I have not played around with this too much but it sounds similar to Twitter and maybe even Foursquare, but it is much more focused on activities in cities and what your friends are doing. I really like this and it was very close to KartMe for my favorite. As a side note I think I met these guys last year while looking for roommates on Craigslist. I remember them showing me their idea.
Thredup was a start-up I had heard of before coming to the event. They want you too clean out your closet of the clothes your not going to wear and trade them with someone else. As the consumer you go online and order a box for $25. You send off three of your shirts (or whatever) and trade with someone else who will send you shirts (or whatever) of similar quality. I did not like how there were no pictures. I could see myself trying this out, so if anyone is looking to trade some old LL Bean button downs I’ll see you on Thredup
.
On the Spot Systems was the first company to talk at the event. I was not crazy about the product because I do not see myself filling out surveys about my experience with a company no matter how convenient they make it (unless I am getting something out of it). However this company has a solid plan and strong leadership. I will be interested to follow up and see how it goes. They already have good customers like Au Bon Pain. It did look like the customers who filled out surveys would be given some reward (gift cards, cashback, etc.)
ZoomAtlas looks to be a fun social mapping network. Although in direct competition with Bing and Google Maps, I do think Zoomatlas has some distinct differences. Zoomatlas not only acts as a map but also allows you to edit and post notes on areas of significance for you. Bing and Google have been doing similar things with their maps which is why I did not like this idea more. The presenter really emphasized the fact that you could zoom in X amount more than you could on Google…
I admit I was not able to see all of the companies took off. If you saw something you really liked let me know about it, I would love to check it out.
I recently attended the Web Innovators meet-up in Cambridge, MA and for those of you who have not yet been, it was a lot of fun. I was able to see demos from a number of very cool Cambridge/Boston area start-ups. Here are a couple that I found especially useful and neat.
My favorite was [DRUMROLL] KartMe – think social bookmarking meets shopping. Not only can you save interesting links from articles/posts you’ve read, but you can also add products to your “kart” for your friends to see, so come holiday season or your birthday you can share your wishlist with friends
The rest of the goodies:
Sponty – Their goal is simple, get people to interact in person more often. I appreciate the goal of any social networking site that encourages people to hang out. I have not played around with this too much but it sounds similar to Twitter and maybe even Foursquare, but it is much more focused on activities in cities and what your friends are doing. I really like this and it was very close to KartMe for my favorite. As a side note I think I met these guys last year while looking for roommates on Craigslist. I remember them showing me their idea.
Thredup was a start-up I had heard of before coming to the event. They want you too clean out your closet of the clothes your not going to wear and trade them with someone else. As the consumer you go online and order a box for $25. You send off three of your shirts (or whatever) and trade with someone else who will send you shirts (or whatever) of similar quality. I did not like how there were no pictures. I could see myself trying this out, so if anyone is looking to trade some old LL Bean button downs I’ll see you on Thredup
.On the Spot Systems was the first company to talk at the event. I was not crazy about the product because I do not see myself filling out surveys about my experience with a company no matter how convenient they make it (unless I am getting something out of it). However this company has a solid plan and strong leadership. I will be interested to follow up and see how it goes. They already have good customers like Au Bon Pain. It did look like the customers who filled out surveys would be given some reward (gift cards, cashback, etc.)
ZoomAtlas looks to be a fun social mapping network. Although in direct competition with Bing and Google Maps, I do think Zoomatlas has some distinct differences. Zoomatlas not only acts as a map but also allows you to edit and post notes on areas of significance for you. Bing and Google have been doing similar things with their maps which is why I did not like this idea more. The presenter really emphasized the fact that you could zoom in X amount more than you could on Google…
I admit I was not able to see all of the companies took off. If you saw something you really liked let me know about it, I would love to check it out.
