Posts from ‘New Start ups’
It’s all about the UI.
I have been looking for simpler ways to manage my life online. I currently have about 5 email accounts that I manage through my email client. I have all my social network accounts and some of those I even have multiple accounts for.
Even talking about it makes me want to pull my hair out! I am looking for a simpler way to do all this with out it intruding my day to day too much.
After looking around I ran into Threadsy.com.
Threadsy is a social communications platform based out of San Fransisco, CA and founded by Rob Goldman and Udi Nir. They received there series A funding in 2008 and have been dedicated to developing the most user friendly communication tool since. It recently opened its doors for beta testing by the public.
The goal of Threadsy is to group together all of your email, twitter and facebook accounts into a real time social communication interface right in your browser. I have found it to be the best designed UI for on the web for this application. The only downside I have found at this point is that it doesn’t include anything for tumblr and a few other key social networks. I am sure they will scale to that in the future.
I am very impressed and will continue to use it. Check it out today and let me know your thoughts.
Hey,
We are creating the promo video and viral content for IMPRESSTO.com “the creative storefront community”! We decided we really wanted to try our hand in some animation. So where is the best place to start??? Stop motion! It was a much better idea then it actually was to execute! We designed each animation frame by frame in illustrator and took screen shots b/c we wanted to get the illustrations in the actual element of the illustrator software. It was a long and tedious creation but we had a lot of fun and are excited for everyone to see the final product! COMING SOON!!
BEHIND THE SCENES. VIDEO 1!
Impressto Promo video! Stop Motion 1 from Derek Kohn on Vimeo.
BEHIND THE SCENES 2! Syncing frames with scratch audio!!
STOP MOTION PROMO VIDEO 2 from Derek Kohn on Vimeo.
Right Side Capital is the latest company to announce their seed-phase fund, which will invest in 100-200 start-ups per year. Their approach is to focus on quantity, not quality. In their eyes this gives them the best shot at finding the “black swan” start-up that other wise would have been missed because of the vigorous typical funding process. If you are a technology start-up looking for funding to get started, all you would need to do is submit an online application and wait to hear back. Not everyone that submits an application will be funded obviously, but your chances are a lot higher with a seed-stage company like Right Side than a traditional VC fund. In fact, VC money has been in serious short supply lately, just as demand is reaching an all time high.
Right Side Media follows a very similar model of Y Combinator, which started seed funding companies a couple of years ago. Y Combinator runs a three month program two times a year, exclusively in the Silicon Valley area. You don’t have to be from Silicon Valley to be funded, but do have to travel and live in the Mountain View area of California for the three months where you will receivve private coaching and be introduced to key contacts and investors. A typical company that is accepted into the Y Combinator, or Right Side Capital program will receive $10 – $20,000.00 and give up 6%-10% equity of their start-up in return. Right Side Capital differs from Y Combinator in that start-ups that are funded will also need to put up a little bit of their own money to ensure they have some skin in the game, and founders will not receive as much one-on-one coaching time.
Y Combinator Seed Funding Company Located in the Bay Area
I love the model and have been thinking for a while that there was a lack of small scale seed funding for the companies not ready for VC, but need some start up cash to get on their feet.
Start-Up Guru and Founder of Y Combinaror Paul Graham with a Class of His Start-Ups
If you like whiteboarding, IdeaPaint is a dream come true. It is also a successful start-up founded by three Babson College undergrads in 2005. The concept for IdeaPaint came while Jeff Avalon, John Goscha, and Morgan Newman where involved in an intense brainstorming session but had to keep erasing the whiteboard to fit new ideas (hate when that happens). For three years, with help from chemists, they invented a durable, smooth, and nonabsorbing paint.
The product was first marketed in 2008 at a NeoCon home-furnishing trade show, where it won its Innovation and Gold Awards. The three founders, all mid-twenties, were first successful in raising angel investment while at college still, and recently raised $5 million from Breakaway Ventures of Boston.
