When social media marketing first started getting serious attention, I was all about it. SEO had been huge in helping me grow this site, so I thought that social would be the next big thing. But as I started working on using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sites to drive traffic, I realized how ineffective they were. I’ve recently decided to give social another shot because I see a lot of companies making it work for them (though I fear that the Careers space will never be as social as it should be). Most companies that take social seriously use a platform “to measure, engage and advertise across social media.” Unified is a New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Chicago, IL based company that offers exactly such a platform. Unified’s software is especially focused on “activating social audiences and impacting consumer actions.”
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Amy and I are headed to Japan for our honeymoon, but not yet. We decided to take short, domestic trip to relax after the wedding, and we’ll do the real honeymoon sometime early next year. Japan isn’t the most traditional destination for a romantic trip, but we’re excited by the prospect of experiencing a country that is radically different in terms of culture, but relatively similar economically. While experiencing the difference between Eastern and Western culture makes for a great adventure, it can be a huge business challenge. btrax is a San Francisco, CA based company that helps clients overcome those challenges as a “cross‐cultural consulting, branding and marketing agency focused on the US and Asian markets.”
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I’m getting married a week from today, which is why Amy and I went to three dance lessons last week. We’re not looking to do anything special. We’re just making a last ditch effort to be merely below average when 200+ people watch our first dance. The standards for dancing ability are a bit different for Youth America Grand Prix, which is a New York, NY based non-profit that runs “the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition.” Every year they put up more than $250,000 in scholarships so that some of the world’s most talented young dancers can get the training that they need to pursue a professional career. The competition was started in 1999 by two Bolshoi Ballet dancers, and has gained momentum ever since.
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I find marketing extremely interesting because the tactics change rapidly, while the basic principles never do. If I was hiring an agency, I’d want a team that brings together the old and the new, even though I often have a strong urge to go with whatever’s new. Adpearance is a Portland, OR based digital marketing agency that crafts “campaigns that launch from the solid foundations of traditional marketing, but with the added benefit of statistical analysis.” They’ve taken the best of both worlds and combined them into a complete offering that is focused on the most important thing: client ROI.
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I downloaded my first MP3 from an AOL chat room. I was an extremely early adopter when it came to “file sharing,” but after the lawsuits started and some of my favorite services were shut down, I gave up. Torrenting became all of the rage, and I missed the boat. I’ve heard a lot about BitTorrent, but I never realized that they are a real company with more than 100 employees. They’re based in San Francisco, CA, and they are “passionate about building a better, smarter Internet through distributed computing.” That may sound like an unattainable mission for such a small company, but it’s not. BitTorrent’s protocols account for 20-40% of the Internet’s traffic, which means that the company has a ton of influence..
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Cupcakes are supposed to be a miniature version of cake–a more reasonable and practical dessert. Yet as they moved from grade school birthday celebrations to being a culinary trend, they seemed to get bigger and more unhealthy–with some even pushing towards 1,000 calories. Tons of businesses popped up and seemed to offer more and more decadent cupcakes, and then the bubble burst. So how did one cupcake company continue to grow despite tons of competition and fading interest from consumers? By offering mini cupcakes that won’t instantly make your pants feel tighter. Baked By Melissa is a New York, NY based company that was started with “the idea that people should be able to taste more flavors without that post-dessert guilt trip.” Three cupcakes from Baked By Melissa add up to 140 calories. It’s still not health food, but it’s a reminder of what cupcakes were originally meant to be.
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Last night we celebrated my fiancée’s cousin’s ninth birthday. I found out that his latest interest is professional wrestling, so I spent most of the night body slamming him into a beanbag chair. I’m no wrestling connoisseur, but I know a few moves–it was just about the best birthday present I could have given him. When I was growing up, it was a semi-open secret that professional wrestling was stage. Now it’s fully acknowledged. If you want the real stuff, you go to Ultimate Fighting Championship, a company that “revolutionized the fight business, and today stands as the world’s leading MMA promoter.” UFC is based in Las Vegas, NV, and has developed from a fringe sport that got its start in the early 90s to a mainstream sport that gets coverage on ESPN. The story of how UFC went from being outlawed in most states to being widely accepted is fascinating, which is why I highly recommend that you read the Wikipedia article on UFC. It’s a long story, but it will give you insight into both politics and business.
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I enjoy when companies include essentially useless numbers on their websites. It’s fun to see how many cups of coffee they consumed last year or how many left-handed employees they have, but it doesn’t really tell you much. Capstrat has one really important figure mixed into their “a few things you should know” section–they’ve increased employee headcount by 23% over the last year. That’s a big number in any industry, but it’s especially impressive at a full-service ad agency. I’ll bet it has a lot to do with being a leading name in the growing Raleigh, NC market. Capstrat calls itself “the agency helping companies succeed at critical moments,” which lines up perfectly with their top billed skill of finding the perfect way to say exactly what needs to be said.
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It took way too long, but spring (summer?) is finally here. For me that means that I played my first game of beach volleyball on Tuesday, but for many others it’s time to go on a run. The amateurs and the experts are both out in force, and many have ambitions of running faster or longer. If you truly want to commit to improving something, you have to measure it. RunKeeper is Boston, MA based company that “transforms your phone into a personal trainer, helping you track your runs, set your goals, and stay motivated to go that extra mile!” If you use Facebook, you’ve almost certainly seen a friend post one of their runs via RunKeeper.
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I’ve mentioned a few times that I’ve been working hard to get in shape for my wedding. So far I’ve lost about 35 pounds while adding muscle. All of my success has come from the Paleo diet and a personal trainer. I like sticking to the basics when it comes to health, but some people are looking for an answer in a bottle. NutraClick provides such answers. They are a Boston, MA based natural products company that builds “brands by developing winning products and leveraging the power of online marketing to drive offline demand.” So far they have products in Sports Nutrition, Natural Health, Age-Specific Skincare, and Beauty (with a side of social selling), and I’m sure more are on the way.
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While I really enjoy reading about entrepreneurs’ personal journeys, I don’t take much interest in their personal lives unless it’s especially relevant to the business’ story. A divorce would typically be completely irrelevant in one of these posts, but today’s it worth talking about. You’ve probably heard of Tory Burch, an extremely successful fashion brand named after its founder (who is now a billionaire). Tory Burch, the person, got divorced from J. Christopher Burch in 2006. After the divorce, Chris Burch decided to start a chain of retail stores called C. Wonder. His ex-wife obviously left a lasting impression, since it’s widely cited that New York, NY based C. Wonder has taken a lot of inspiration from Tory Burch’s designs, while selling the “preppy” goods at a much lower price. There were a few lawsuits and some bad blood, but all seems to be settled now.
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Right after I graduated college, I started investing in the stock market. I’ve more than doubled my money since then, which means that I made some pretty good decisions. One stock that I was considering at the time was CWTR. It was around $45 back then, and I thought that I had a few good reasons to believe that the stock would go up from there. Luckily, I didn’t buy. The stock is now at less than $4 per share–and that’s after a 4 for 1 reverse stock split. I’m glad that I avoided that -98% return on investment. While Coldwater Creek, which is based in Sandpoint, ID (with a design center New York, NY), has certainly struggled over the past 6 years, that doesn’t mean that you should overlook the potential opportunity. The multi-channel “specialty retailer of women’s apparel, jewelry and accessories” started as a one-room mail order business. They obviously had an amazing growth period that took them to going public, and now it’s time for them to get back on track.
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It seems that geek culture has finally become mainstream. Maybe it’s the fact that engineers are in high demand at companies like Facebook, Apple, and Google. Or maybe it’s the upsurge in popularity of sites like Reddit. Or maybe it’s shows like The Big Bang Theory. I don’t really know, but for the first time in my lifetime, it’s good to be a geek. So good, in fact, that many of the “popular” kids are now claiming geek status. Whether you’re a true geek or a poser geek, you need geek gear, and ThinkGeek is the place to go for that. They’re a Fairfax, VA based company that started with the “simple idea to create and sell stuff that would appeal to the thousands of people out there who were on the front line and in the trenches as the Internet was forged.”
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Some of you (though probably not most of you) should quit your internship search and start a business. It’s what I did, and I can’t imagine having done anything else. That’s why I’ve spent hundreds of hours talking with and helping aspiring entrepreneurs. Yesterday I came across a Quora answer by Noah Kagan that I wish they had all read before I talked to them. It explains why most people who hold off on pursuing their dream of starting a business are doing so for the wrong reasons. There’s a movement called The Lean Startup that preaches a similar philosophy–starting a company doesn’t need to be expensive and you don’t even need a brilliant idea. Lean Startup Machine is a New York, NY based company that is spreading the philosophy not only to new entrepreneurs but also to people working in more corporate positions.
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There’s a bar in Chicago that is filled with board games. It’s a really good time, if you can get a table. While more and more gaming is moving on to mobile devices, there is still a huge group of people that prefer to sit around a table with friends or family and enjoy a game the old fashioned way. That’s good news for Blue Orange Games, a San Francisco, CA based board game company that was founded in 2001. They now have a catalog of more than 40 games, and they’ve won more than 200 awards. While most of their games aren’t explicitly educational, they are the kinds of games that make you think (they still call them educational). That’s why they’re great for schools, families, and anyone else who is sick of the mindlessness of many of today’s gaming options.
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Advertising has changed a lot over the last century, but it’s also stayed the same. While the media, tactics, and trends are always evolving, the general premise of creating an emotional response in potential customers hasn’t changed. Few companies know this better than Campbell Ewald, a Warren, MI based advertising agency that was founded in 1911 and continues to “create game-changing solutions that drive [their] clients’ business.” Despite their centenarian status, Campbell Ewald doesn’t show their age. They’re still coming up with edgy campaigns like the Zipcar ad on their home page that says, “No booty call should go unanswered.”
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I have a lot of shoes for a guy. I’m pretty average when it comes to sneakers, dress shoes, and flip flops, but I have a lot of boots. A lot. Snow boots. Rain boots. Wading boots (3 pairs). Hiking boots. I can keep going… In my opinion footwear is all about specialization–there’s a shoe for every occasion. I think the people from DNA Footwear would agree (though they seem more concerned with fashion, while I’m obviously more concerned about how much water I’ll be stepping into). DNA Footwear is a Brooklyn, NY shoe retailer that is now working to be “the top online destination for today’s latest trends in the world of footwear.” They have a really wide selection with tons of notable brands.
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My first bike was red and had a banana seat. My second bike was a black and grey Huffy that was far cooler in the eyes of a 7 year old boy. After that I won a green “mud slinger” in a raffle. It was even cooler, but it still wasn’t a real bike because it only had one speed. I got my first real bike in 5th grade. It was a green Trek Antelope 800 with 18 speeds. I loved it and rode it all the time for the first few years I owned it. I eventually stopped riding and haven’t owned a bike since, but I still have a strong positive association with Trek. The company is based in Waterloo, WI and has been pursuing a mission to “build the best bikes in the world” since they were founded in 1976.
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Over the weekend I wrote about how important parental involvement is for our education system. I might have been wrong. Today I learned that parents are completely replaceable–and by robots nonetheless. When I first came across 4moms, I thought it might be a later April Fool’s joke, but they’re a totally for real Pittsburgh, PA based company that is “dedicated to finding innovative solutions that make parenting tasks easier and more enjoyable for families all over the globe.” That’s a nice way of saying that they’re building a future in which parents are obsolete. Ok, I’ve completely overplayed the robots thing, but it’s really cool to see how 4moms has used to technology to overcome some of the more frustrating parts of parenting young children.
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When I played baseball in high school, my teammates and I all hated having to “keep the book.” Not only did it mean that you probably weren’t playing, but it also meant that you had to pay 100% attention while you were sitting on the bench. I have to think that keeping the book it a little more fun now that it’s done on tablets and smartphones. GameChanger Media is a New York, NY based company that is bringing high end scorekeeping and stat keeping technology to amateur sports. Not only do they make it ridiculously easy to record everything that happens in a game, but they also allow you to livestream those stats to any fan with an Internet connection (parents must love this!). When the action is over, GameChanger automatically tabulate and displays all kinds of important stats.
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My wedding invitations were mailed yesterday. If I had my way, they would have been delivered digitally, but that’s a battle that I quickly lost. I guess most people like the fanciness of a paper invitation. We’ll never be able to recreate the experience of opening an envelope online, but we’re getting closer. Paperless Post is a company that is leading the charge. They’re based in New York, NY, and they’ve built a platform that “modernizes the tradition of correspondence and helps you create cards and invitations that reflect an individual aesthetic.” They realized that most online invitations chose convenience at the cost of design. Paperless Post wants to allow you to put as much thought and effort into your online invitation or card as my fiancée and her mom put into our wedding invitations (multiple hour long meetings–I wish I was kidding).
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Lately it seems like we’ve looking at companies with previously trendy business models. We did the subscription gift box (Glossybox), the flash sale site (Rue La La), and now we’re doing the daily e-mail (obviously my favorite model). What usually happens when a business model gets hot is that a ton of copycats come along and quickly oversaturate the market. Most of them eventually fail, and people see that as evidence that the original business model was unsustainable. It’s really just that most people who copy other business aren’t very good at running businesses. PureWow is a lot like DailyCandy or even Thrillist (they even have the same backers), but they’ve chosen a distinctly different market. The New York, NY based company realized that most women-focused online content was made for the under 30 crowd, so they decided to change that.
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When I was a kid, making t-shirts was a big thing. We had fabric markers and some sort of glittery paint in a squeeze bottle. The end result was always a huge mess and a t-shirt that I would be embarrassed to wear. Then there was tie dye, which is even messier and more embarrassing to wear. My mom once had a photo t-shirt made for me, and that was awesome, but there was no way that I could do that on my own. Things have changed. Lumi is a Los Angeles, CA based company that has developed “a revolutionary photographic print process for textiles and natural materials.” It’s basically Instagram, but your photo ends up on a t-shirt or pretty much any other appropriate surface.
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One Day One Job is hiring paid Growth Interns/Apprentices/Hustlers! Help us help more student find their dream jobs.
I like to keep tabs on the venture capital market. While I have no intention of taking outside investment, I enjoy reading about entrepreneurship and where people are seeing new opportunities. But that’s not the only reason. When companies get funded, it’s often for the purpose of hiring new people. So when I hear that a company just took a new round of investment, I know that there’s a good chance that new positions popping up on their Careers page. TechCrunch usually goes deep enough for my purposes, but people who are in the industry need much more in-depth information. That’s why go to PitchBook, a Seattle, WA based company that provides “clients with the highest-quality PE and VC data, news and information, with an acute focus on deals and companies.”
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I was way ahead on the flash sales and members only shopping thing. I did a writeup on Gilt Groupe almost five years ago just as the business model was catching on. While there isn’t nearly as much excitement about the space as there used to be, it’s still a great way to sell stuff (time constraints and sales both have amazing psychological effects on people). And that’s why I think it’s worth taking a look at Rue La La. They’re a Boston, MA and New York, NY based company that curates “Boutiques filled with the best of the best in women’s and men’s fashion, home, travel, kids, and more.” Each sale lasts 48 hours and is limited to members only (though becoming a member is about as easy as signing up).
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Marketing is all about attention. It used to be that marketers would try to interrupt you while you were paying attention to something else (like a tv show or baseball game), but that’s changing as most of us get better at ignoring distractions. Brands are realizing that if they want attention, they have to earn it, and that’s why they’re turning to social. And if they need help with that, they may want to turn to an appropriately named full-service media agency called Attention. Attention is based in New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA that “drives measurable business results by integrating social behavior across the customer journey.” Even they’re willing to admit that it’s not just about the attention.
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I made it from seventh grade through college with a single TI-83, who wants to touch me? Maybe it’s because I went to a private school where people were careless with $80 devices (they’re about $95 on Amazon now), but I swear everybody I knew either lost, broke, or had theirs stolen at least twice. While the need for students to have a graphing calculator hasn’t changed, the need for a standalone device has. That’s why we’re going to celebrate Pi Day by looking at Desmos (on past Pi Days we’ve looked at Pi Media, The Mathematical Association of America, and Orbotix–one of my favorites). They’re a San Francisco, CA based startup that offers a free online graphing calculator for students, teachers, and anyone interested in math.
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I have a favorite Yankees blog, and I occasionally participate in a Cornell Hockey forum. I follow a few athletes on Twitter, and sometimes get into sports debates on Facebook. I’d imagine that I’m a pretty typical sports fan in terms of my social media and web use–my attention is fragmented across a lot of different sites. LockerDome is a St. Louis, MO based startup that offers a social media platform to help “professional athletes, brands, media personalities, and other sports properties” reach their fans wherever they’re consuming content online. The idea is that LockerDome acts “as a social hub [for athletes and brands] to amplify their overall social media strategy.”
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Most college kitchens are filled with decades old hand-me-down tools (at least mine was). They’re not the best, but they get the job done. That used to be the way that all kitchen tools were. OXO changed that in 1989 with the launch of their Good Grips brand. Their focus on design helped take kitchen tools from a commodity to a product where brand matters and grow from startup to acquisition. A lot of the credit for the success has to be attributed to Oxo’s working with Smart Design, “an award-winning design and innovation consulting firm with offices in New York, San Francisco and Barcelona.” Smart Design has been around since 1980, and in that time they’ve worked “with companies of all sizes and across diverse industries to create human-centered design solutions that delight customers and help companies achieve their business goals.”
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I have a favorite shirt. It doesn’t quite fit anymore, and I’m sad about it. When I first bought it, it was just barely long enough. With each wash it seems to shrink a tiny bit, and now it’s at the point where any upward arm movement temporarily turns it into a belly shirt. Nobody needs to see that. The shirt is a purple (I’d call it pink) Cotton Reverse Seam Shirt by Steven Alan, and I bought it on Gilt. The best thing about it is that people always tell me that I have my shirt inside out, and I get to exclaim, “Haven’t you ever heard of reverse seams?” It’s the small things in life. The Reverse Seam Shirt is Steven Alan’s signature, and it’s part of the reason why the New York, NY based designer and retailer has been able to grow “a loyal following for [its] unique brand of casual, smart, self-assured essentials for both men and women.”
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