Bikes have to be one of the most versatile inventions of all time. They’re transportation, entertainment, and exercise all in one. You can even rig one to turn human power into electricity if you really want. They may have been around for a long time, but they’re still a surprisingly good solution to many of our society’s problems. That’s why the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition was started to promote the bicycle for everyday use. They’re a San Jose, CA based non-profit that is working to “to create a healthy community, environment, and economy through bicycling for people who live, work, or play in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties.”
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I’m currently in Colorado on a vacation with my wife’s family. Few things make me happier than getting away from the city and enjoying the outdoors. Unfortunately, it seems as though more and more people prefer to stay inside. This seems nice at first because it means less traffic in all of our favorite places, it’s a really big problem on the conservation front. If there isn’t a critical mass of people who care about our natural resources, they’ll be very hard to protect. That’s why The Mountaineers exists. They’re a Seattle, WA based non-profit that has “been teaching skills, sharing adventures, creating volunteers, and conserving land” for more than a century. For The Mountaineers the focus is on the Pacific Northwest, but that’s only because it’s their backyard. They want to teach people how to “enjoy the lands and waters” there and beyond.
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While I think the education part of college is generally overrated in importance by most people, there’s a part of the college experience that I think is underrated: dorm life. Being thrown into a completely new living situation with people who are a lot like you, but also very different from you is an amazing opportunity to learn and grow. What if we had similar opportunities but at different life stages? That’s what Krash is about. They are a Boston, MA based company that offers a “way for founders, entrepreneurs and innovators to rapidly build the supportive personal and professional networks they need to be successful.” They do this by offering immersive co-living experiences in Boston, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC.
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I’m not usually a big gamer, but I’ve been hooked on a few. The best games create an immersive experience that puts you in another world–you almost forget that you’re playing a game. It’s a lot like watching a great tv show or movie, which is why shows and movies often get turned into games. The world has already been created. Why not let people play in it on their own? That’s exactly what Disruptor Beam allows. They’re based in Framingham, MA, and they’re aiming “to create the most fan-centric game company in the world.” The company’s focus is on mobile/web games, and they’ve started out by working with some pretty big names.
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Events are inherently social. A lot of time who is going to be there matters more than what is going on. Yet all of our major social networks are about showing off what we’ve already done. If we’re going to broadcast our lives, it might make sense to let other people in on the fun. Fever is a New York, NY and Madrid, Spain based startup social network that is “changing the way people make plans.” Their idea is to take event discovery away from the calendar and make it all about the people.
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Yesterday we looked at an L.A. based non-profit called The Music Center that is all about supporting the live performing arts. Today’s organization is also based in Los Angeles, CA, but their focus is on movies. The American Film Institute is a non-profit that calls itself “America’s promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers.” The organization was founded in 1967 with Trustees including Gregory Peck, Sidney Poitier, and Francis Ford Coppola, so there was nod bout that they could what they set out to do.
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I live in the third biggest city in the country, yet I often feel like there’s nothing to do. Part of that is because most of the things that I like to do are outdoorsy and Chicago isn’t the best city for people like me, but most of it is because I’m not aware of all the cool things happening around me. There seem to be a million startups that have tried to solve this problem, and none have really succeeded yet. Maybe UpOut will change that. They’re a San Francisco, CA based company that “is changing how locals discover unique events in their city.” They do this by pulling in event calendars from a variety of sources and curating the list to only show the most interesting ones.
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I don’t listen to talk radio very often, but on long drives when I get bored of music, I switch over to the AM band. If it’s on, I’ll listen to Dave Ramsey. He’s “an American financial author, radio host, television personality, and motivational speaker” who is mainly focused on helping people get out of debt and stop paying the “stupid tax.” His company is called The Lampo Group (but they smartly use the DaveRamsey branding when it comes to posting jobs), and it’s based in Brentwood, TN. The Lampo Group’s mission is to provide “biblically based, common-sense education and empowerment that gives HOPE to everyone in every walk of life.”
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When I was growing up, there were always rumors of a kidnapper driving around town in a van (the color of the van would change from time to time, but it was usually brown), my family would get mailing with pictures of missing kids on them, and milk cartons had pictures of missing kids as well. In my mind there was a kidnapping was an epidemic. Today the big fear seems to be online child predators. I’m not sure if much has really changed, but there will always be missing kids, and the best way to find them and get them back in a safe place will be to get the word out. That’s what the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children does. They’re an Alexandria, VA based non-profit that “opened in 1984 to serve as the nation’s clearinghouse on issues related to missing and sexually exploited children.” In fact, the organization is authorized by Congress to assist law enforcement in a variety of ways.
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The Yankees are in Chicago for a full week! I went to the game last night at Wrigley (and I’m going again today), but the Yankees lost, and we got soaked by a thunderstorm as we left the stadium. I was also annoyed because I tried to buy tickets off of StubHub a few hours before the game but couldn’t. They used to stop selling two hours before the game but have since changed that to six hours. I was still able to get tickets at well below face value, but I had to do it at the stadium at the last minute. The policy change was forced by Major League Baseball and its teams to try to prop up ticket resale values for season ticket holders, and it’s completely unfriendly to fans. That’s what happens when the “disrupter” gets co-opted by the big boys. Now it’s time to look for a new disrupter, and it might just be TiqIQ. They are based in New York, NY, and they aim “to make buying event tickets more transparent, efficient, and simpler.”
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When I was growing up, my church had a really nice way of celebrating Mother’s Day. They’d invite all of the kids up for the children’s sermon and give them each a flower. Then they’d invite all of the women in the congregation to stand up, and the kids would bring each woman a flower until all of the women sat down with their flowers. When I was little, I’d obviously go straight for my mom, but as I got older I got to appreciate giving flowers to the women (they were usually older) who didn’t have a child present. GlamourGals is a non-profit that does this kind of thing on a much bigger scale. They are based in New York, NY, and they inspire “teens to provide ongoing complimentary beauty makeovers and companionship to women living in senior homes.”
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A lot of thoughts come to mind when the name Hilton comes up. Hotels. Paris. Conrad Hilton’s appearance in Mad Men. Some of these thoughts are more positive than others, but the most positive should probably be for the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. It’s an Agoura Hills, CA based non-profit “family foundation established in 1944 by the man who started Hilton Hotels” that provides “funds to nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people throughout the world.” The foundations assets are more than $2.4 billion, so they’ll be doing a lot of good for a long time.
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This week I saw my first flowers popping out of the dirt. It still looks like winter outside, but you can tell that change is imminent. There will be no better place to be in a few weeks than a botanic garden. Flowers will be blooming, birds will be chirping, and spring will be in the air. I’ll probably visit the Chicago Botanic Garden (my wife and I like it there because it’s where we got married), but those in the New York City area might want to check out the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It’s a non-profit and “an urban botanic garden that connects people to the world of plants, fostering delight and curiosity while inspiring an appreciation and sense of stewardship of the environment.”
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It used to be that most websites were the same for everybody, but today almost everything seems to be personalized. Whether I log into Facebook, search on Google, or visit a jobs website, there’s a very good chance that my experience is being altered based on data that they’ve collected about me. Sites with this customization based on who is logged in used to be referred to (and maybe still are) as portals. Liferay Portal is free and open source software that allows anyone to build this kind of web experience. Liferay is a Diamond Bar, CA based company that was started in 2004 and “houses a professional services group that provides training, consulting and enterprise support services” focused on the Liferay Portal software.
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When I think about real estate, I don’t usually think about art. And when I think about art, I don’t usually think about real estate. However, some of the most interesting companies and organizations that I’ve come across have been born out of seemingly odd combinations. Chashama is a perfect example. They are a New York, NY based non-profit that “nurtures artists by transforming unused property into work and presentation space.” It makes so much sense. Artists get much needed space to work and show their work, while an empty space is brought to life.
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I feel sorry for anyone who has ever had to watch me play soccer. It’s a sport that I was not made to play. I never liked all the running, but it was at least fun for the first few years (because there was still hope that I would eventually score a goal). Hopefully my experience with the sport is an aberration, because Round Star Foundation is a New York, NY based non-profit “dedicated to extending the many benefits soccer can provide to every individual.” They do this by “providing access to high quality soccer activities, training and education” to help people with both physical and social development.
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I swear that every kid who grows up in Connecticut goes on a field trip to Old Sturbridge Village at some point. For me it wasn’t until 10th grade (and we were on our way back from a longer trip to Boston and Plimoth Plantation), but I think most kids go earlier in their lives. If you weren’t lucky enough to grow up within a couple hour bus ride of Old Sturbridge Village (which is based in Sturbridge, MA), you should know that it’s the “largest outdoor history museum in the Northeast” and it “depicts a rural New England town of the 1830s.” It’s the perfect place for immature children to try to get the staff to fall out of character.
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Raise your hand if you’ve come to the realization that college didn’t prepare you for the job market. I see a lot of hands. I’m not knocking college, but the skills that I’ve developed from starting a business are way more marketable than the ones that I developed in the classroom. So what do you do if you realize that you don’t have what employers want (or you want to start your own business)? You can hustle and develop the skills on your own, or you can speed up the process by enrolling at General Assembly. They are a New York, NY based company that is “creating a global community of individuals empowered to pursue work they love, by offering full-time immersive programs, long-form courses, and classes and workshops on the most relevant skills of the 21st century.”
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There are generally two ways to market to people. You can build your own audience, or you can rent somebody else’s audience. That’s why a lot of companies are built around building audiences to rent to other businesses. FierceMarkets is a perfect example. They are a Washington, DC based company that specializes in business-to-business media, publications, and marketing. The end goal is to “connect companies with the right audience and ensure each campaign generates the highest possible return on investment.”
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When I was a little kid, I’d visit construction sites with my dad, the architect. I absolutely loved it, but at some point I lost interest in the construction industry. For me building things online seemed more interesting than building homes and offices. If you disagree, you might want to check out Hanley Wood. They are based in Washington, DC, and they are “the premier media, event, information and strategic marketing services company serving the residential and commercial design and construction industries.” For nearly 40 years they have been the go to source for “builders, remodelers, residential and commercial architects, multifamily and public-works executives, and materials dealers and distributors.”
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Last week we talked about brand experiences. They can happen at any scale, but typically bigger brands want to create bigger experiences. The battle for mindshare is only getting fiercer, and that means companies are going all out to get people to pay attention to them. TV, radio, and online are great channels, but it’s hard to beat in person. That’s exactly what Sparks specializes in. They are a Philadelphia, PA based agency that “creates dyanmic brand experiences anywhere in the world a customer engages with your brand.” They’re operating at the highest level and working with the biggest brands–names like Google, LG, the New York Times, Motorola, Dropbox, and HP.
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Think about one of your favorite brands. Your fond memories are most likely based on experiences. Maybe it’s a time when you used the company’s product or the feeling when you walk into one of their stores. Advertising can make you think about those experiences, but it can’t recreate them. Experiential marketing is a field that is all about getting you to experience the brand instead of getting you to think about the brand. That’s what Escalate is all about. They’re a New York, NY based experiential and word of mouth marketing agency that escalates “customer relationships to the point of brand advocacy, with measurable results.”
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The health and wellness industry is massive, and it just seems to keep growing. There are a lot of really smart business people who are playing a big part in the growth, but there are also a ton of people in the industry who would rather not concern themselves with businessy stuff. The kind of people who open yoga studios, salons, and spas usually aren’t in it for the money–they just want to make a living pursuing their passions. Unfortunately, running a business usually requires… running a business. MINDBODY is a San Luis Obispo, CA based company that believes that “small business owners deserve the time to do what they love.” Pursuing that belief has made them “the largest cloud-based software provider in the health, wellness and beauty industries.”
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At this time last year, Amy and I were in the thick of wedding planning. Part of me is relieved that it’s in the past (because the wedding was awesome), but I also kind of miss it. We were lucky to have an amazing wedding planner who proposed great ideas and narrowed down the early decisions for us to make them manageable. Before we got to that point, though, we had to do our “homework.” That meant looking through all kinds of books and magazines to mark what we liked and what we didn’t like. It was a bit old fashioned, but it worked. Loverly is a New York, NY based company that brings that process online. It’s “a one-stop-shop for wedding planning where brides and grooms find ideas, people to hire and things to buy.”
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Remember when the only way to interact with a brand was to call the 1-800 number on the side of their packaging? If you complained they might send you some free product or a coupon, but it would probably take 8-72 weeks to arrive. Technology is bringing brands and their audiences closer and closer together. This is generally a good thing, but only if the brands do it right. Mass Relevance aims “to inspire brands to involve their audience.” The Austin, TX based company does this by offering a platform and products that “help your brand become an integrated part of your customers’ lives, anywhere they are.”
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I used to be an extremely picky eater, but I’ve grown as a person and become a… somewhat picky eater. There are a number of foods that I find completely unpalatable (mayo, eggs, nuts, and most cheeses are the big ones). While the smell of eggs makes me physically ill, it’s not an allergy. I understand that nothing too terrible is going to happen to me if I eat these foods–I’ll just have a terrible taste in my mouth. Unfortunately, it seems more and more people can suffer severe consequences from eating certain things. The Food Allergy Research & Education is a McLean, VA based non-profit that “works on behalf of the 15 million Americans with food allergies, including all those at risk for life-threatening anaphylaxis.”
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One cool thing about living in a major city after you graduate college is that it’s easy to get involved with groups of people with similar interests. This is obviously great for your social life, but it can also help your career. Meeting people who are in the places that you want to be is always good. The Council of Urban Professionals is not only a way to do that–it’s also a way to do good in your community. They are a New York, NY based non-profit that “molds diverse business and civic leaders, and empowers them to exert influence, achieve their individual goals and create collective impact through a range of programs and initiatives.” It started in a living room with 62 young urban professionals (that’s a big living room!), and now the organization has well over 5,000 members.
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I’m really excited for Thanksgiving, even though I don’t get to go back home this year. I love having the opportunity to cook new stuff for a big group of people, and I think that meals at a big table are almost always fun. If you agree, you might be interested in Dinner Lab. It’s a New Orleans, LA based “membership-based social dining experiment that unites undiscovered chefs with adventurous diners who are looking for something different from the traditional restaurant experience.” They’re already in Austin, Nashville, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, DC, and Atlanta, and it looks like the expansion will continue.
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Going to the opera is the ultimate stereotypical thing that male tv characters do to make the women in their lives happy. You almost get the sense that nobody wants to go to the opera–they just want to influence other people’s opinions of them by going. While I’m sure there’s some of that, I’ll bet that most people who go to the opera truly love it. I’ve never been, but I’d like to go at least once. When I do, maybe I’ll go to The Metropolitan Opera in New York, NY. It’s the largest classical music organization in North America, and it’s been around for just over 128 years. The Met’s goal is to be “a vibrant home for the most creative and talented artists, including singers, conductors, composers, orchestra musicians, stage directors, designers, visual artists, choreographers, and dancers from around the world.”
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Local marketing has been all the rage for the past few years. All kinds of startups have popped up to help small business owners use technology to reach more customers. It’s easy to forget that local marketing doesn’t only happen online. Radio and live events are two marketing channels that have been complemented instead of replaced by technology. That’s good news for Townsquare Media, since they’re a Greenwich, CT based “local media and entertainment company that owns and operates radio, digital and live event properties in 66 small to mid-sized markets across the country.” The last part of that sentence is important because it means that they have jobs all across the country. Townsquare Media owns more than 300 radio stations, and that makes them the third largest owner of radio stations in the U.S.
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