We all know how hard cycles are to break. Even something silly like leaving clothes on the floor can get out of control if you let it. But with a cycle like that, all it takes is 10 minutes of cleaning up to get back on track (much easier said than done). There are other kinds of cycles that individuals have very little control over. The cycles of poverty and violence are a perfect example–individuals can rarely break them on their own. Full Frame Initiative is a Greenfield, MA based non-profit that is working to break these cycles by ensuring that “people and communities experiencing poverty, violence and trauma have the tools, supports and resources they need to thrive.” The organization took its name from a film making term that means to “pull the lens all the way back” and see the entirety of the situation.
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Today is my birthday. My wife has an exciting day planned for me, and that obviously makes me feel very special. Everybody should feel special on their birthdays–especially children. Unfortunately, children who are living in homeless shelters often have their birthdays forgotten. Birthday Wishes is a Newton Centre, MA based non-profit that believes “that all children, regardless of their living situation, should celebrate their birthdays joyfully, surrounded by family, friends, and others who care.” The organization was founded in 2002, and is getting close to celebrating 20,000 birthdays a year. That’s truly amazing. I’m off to celebrate my own special day, so I’ll send you to Birthday Wishes’ Idealist page. They don’t have any internships posted right now, but I know that they’ve had interns in the past. They’re also always looking for volunteers.
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My parents will tell you that I’ve always liked to argue. That’s why I joined the Debate Club in high school. The club only put on one debate (and I can’t remember the topic), but I definitely participated. I always love competing in anything, and I think it’s silly that most schools endlessly promote competition in sports but shy away from any formalized academic competition. Things like Debate Clubs are great for kids, and that’s why the Boston Debate League was started. It’s a non-profit organization that is “transforming school culture through debate.” They’ve only been around since 2005, but the organization has already expanded to the point where they expect to serve 800 debaters this school year.
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There are a few kids who I knew growing up that ended up playing professional sports. For one it was destiny. His dad was a pretty good MLB player whose cousins played in the NFL. Despite the pedigree and signing an NFL contract, I don’t think my friend ever got in a game. Another kid (with a crazy intense dad who got banned from coaching in at least one local league) played a few years of minor league baseball. However, the most successful pro athlete that I knew growing up was a kid who I never would have expected to make it. He never struck me as super athletic, but he ended up being extremely good at lacrosse. In fact, he has already won a Major League Lacrosse Championship and made an All Star Team. It may not be one of the four major sports leagues, but it’s a serious league with serious growth potential (lacrosse keeps getting more popular). While the league is headquartered in Brighton, MA, it has teams in Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Annapolis, MD; Denver, CO; Hamilton, ON; Hempstead, NY; Columbus, OH; and Rochester, NY.
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Education is a lot like compound interest. You do way better if you get a good start (and vice versa). Apparently some states “use third grade academic performance data to predict the number of prison beds they will need in the following decade.” That’s depressing, but it makes sense and tells us a lot about how important the first few years of school are. If children are already behind at such an early age, how will they ever catch up? BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life) is a Boston, MA based non-profit that has some answers. They aim “to transform the academic achievements, self-confidence, and life trajectories of children living in under-resourced, urban communities.” This is done through after-school and summer educational experiences that are designed to help kids catch up during the time that they’re not in school (apparently the lack of summer learning opportunities explains “2/3 of the academic achievement gap between children from low-income communities and their higher-income peers”).
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Traveling with a puppy is challenging. We haven’t taken a car ride longer than 45 minutes with him, but he gets really excited during the first five minutes. If we put him in one of our laps, he wants to lick the windows and watch the world pass him by. If we put him in the crate, he’ll whine a little bit and stare at us until he falls asleep. The crate is winning out so far, but I want to look into other solutions as we start extending our trips. Kurgo is a company built to solve my problem. They are based in Salisbury, MA, and they manufacture and sell “high-quality pet travel products.” While many pets love the end result of travel, the process can be stressful. Kurgo’s products are designed to help your furry friend get from point A to B safely and comfortably.
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Targeting advertising used to be pretty simple–all you had to do was buy ads in the places that your target market frequented. Whether it was a billboard, commercial, or print ad, your first concern was where the ad would be placed. While the basic principles of advertising haven’t changed, the way that we target ads has. There are now far better ways to reach someone than to assume that they’re part of some large group. Today’s advertisers have access to massive amounts of data, but they need to know what to do with it. It may seem like overkill, but there are actually NASA and MIT scientists working on this stuff. Some of them are DataXu, a Boston, MA based company whose “platform enables [their] clients to manage and optimize marketing investments across all digital channels, realizing significant performance and cost benefits.” DataXu came in at #5 on the Inc. 5000 with 21,337% three-year growth to $87 million in revenue.
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People are completely irrational when it comes to travel deals. Sometimes it means wasting an entire day of a five day trip in some random airport (in the opposite direction of where you’re headed) to save a hundred bucks. Other times it means spending hours looking for the best fare only to end up paying more than if you had booked right away. It’s almost become a sport–even really rich people do this–and that’s why travel websites are such a great business. You can get a ton of attention for only saving people a few bucks. Smarter Travel Media is a Boston, MA based company that has developed “a unique group of online travel planning brands” that cater to the massive number of people who gain immense pleasure from getting the best fare or rate. The brands include Airfarewatchdog, BookingBuddy, Tingo, OneTime, Smarter Travel, and SniqueAway.
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I never went on a study abroad trip while I was in school, so I figured that I had missed the boat. Little did I know that there are educational travel opportunities for people of all ages. Now probably wouldn’t be a great time for me (new wife, new puppy, new apartment), but maybe it would make sense later in life. If I do end up doing an educational travel adventure, I’ll definitely take a look at Road Scholar. They are a Boston, MA based non-profit that “offers 5,500 educational tours in all 50 states and 150 countries.” The organization was founded as Elderhostel in 1975 “to provide people over the age of 60 with low-cost educational and cultural programs,” but they seem to have committed to the Road Scholar branding as of late. My guess is that the word “elder” wasn’t helping them out in terms of getting people to sign up for their programming.
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I love New England. I grew up on the absolute southern edge of the region, but I’ve spent a lot of time enjoying the natural resources in all six of its states (mostly through fly fishing). One thing that is interesting about New England is that the areas surrounding some of its most sensitive ecosystems are quite populated. That means that they’re constantly being infringed upon. Conservation Law Foundation is a Boston, MA based non-profit that believes “that healthy communities and a clean environment are a right for all New Englanders, not a privilege for the few.” Since 1966 they have used a combination of scientific research, business/market forces, and legal work to protect “all parts of New England’s environment, including everything from oceans to river to mountains, from parks to forests, from big cities to small towns, from Maine to Rhode Island.”
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I find Flo from Progressive pretty irritating, but I think that’s kind of the point. The car insurance business is all about branding, and that means getting a name to stick in your head. The fact that you probably know who Flo is is proof enough that brand advertising works even if it’s annoying (though I know some of you are screaming, “But it doesn’t affect which company I buy my insurance from!”). While big brands often have big advertising budgets, they need an exceptional agency to generate a strong ROI on those budgets. I’d say that Arnold Worldwide is an exceptional agency. Not only is the Boston, MA based agency behind Progressive’s Flo campaign, but they also have done work for Jack Daniels, New Balance, Surfrider Foundation, and Volvo. Clients like those demand great work, and that’s exactly what Arnold Worldwide has produced for them.
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Finding office space is easy for me. It’s anywhere that I can put my laptop, get an Internet connection (which is especially easy with a mobile hotspot), and occasionally find enough quiet to talk on the phone. Most companies need something a bit more formal, and that means leasing space. Finding an appropriate office space can be a grueling process, which is why View The Space is aiming to simplify and expedite it. They are a New York, NY based startup that is “built around streamlining the leasing process through HD video tours, targeted distribution and analytics.” The company’s customers are broker and landlords, but the software saves lessors a lot of time too.
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The last time that I picked up a hard copy newspaper was because I was in it. I consume almost all of my news online, and I don’t even have much loyalty to a particular source. I guess it’s people like me who have ruined the news business, but I’m not going to change. The news businesses that adapt and innovate are the ones that have the best shot of being around in a decade. Digital First Media might be one of them. They are a New York, NY based group of companies that has more than “800 multi-platform products” that reach “61 million Americans each month across 18 states.” They’re still all about the news, but they realize that an outlet can only continue to put out quality content when it is backed by a solid business.
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I remember when Facebook was just for friends your age. Now it’s common to be friends with your parents, your parents’ friends, your professors, and your coworkers. I don’t know anyone who is friends with his or her doctor, but I can just imagine posting a picture of an awesome dessert that you’re about to eat and getting a notification saying “Dr. Jones commented on your photo: ‘Are you sure you want to eat this?'” Nobody needs that (ok, maybe some people do). We should probably give doctors their own social network so they can talk amongst themselves. That’s exactly what Sermo is. They’re a Boston, MA based company that “created the largest online community, exclusive to physicians.” They already have 125,000 medical professionals participating, and I’m sure that number will keep growing.
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Amy and I are heading home from our “minimoon” today. Our “real” honeymoon will come sometime next year, and we’re planning on going to Japan. The goal of the minimoon was to relax and recover after all of the craziness that comes with a big wedding. We spent the past few days at a resort/spa in the desert on the Utah/Arizona border, and it has been incredible. I checked to see if the resort has any jobs, but I struck out. Then I stumbled on another desert resort that has a ton of career opportunities. It’s called Canyon Ranch, and it’s a resort and spa with an “innovative approach to health, wellness and holistic and integrative care.” They got their start in Tucson, AZ, but they have since added locations in Lenox, MA; Miami Beach, FL; Las Vegas, NV, and… on a boat.
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I spent last night in Las Vegas as a stopover on the way to somewhere far more relaxing. I’d never visited Vegas before, but everything about it reminds me of a cheesy game show. It’s not really my thing–if I wanted that, I’d just turn on GSN (aka Game Show Network). In case you’re not familiar, GSN “is a multimedia entertainment company that offers original and classic game programming and competitive entertainment via its 77-million subscriber television network and online game sites.” The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA and also has offices in New York, NY, Waltham, MA, San Francisco, CA, and a few other cities. GSN has been around for almost 20 years now, and they’ve expanded on what used to be mostly rerun based programming with original game shows and tons of online games.
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In the 80s and early 90s it was popular to foretell that we were only a few years away from having robots ingrained in our daily lives. That obviously didn’t happen. Even with today’s technology, a seemingly sentient robot like Screech from Saved by the Bell’s Kevin is unrealistic, but we’ve made a ton of progress. There are robots that sweep floors, wash floors, clean gutters, clean pools, dispose of bombs, and lots more. iRobot makes robots that do all of those things, and much more. The company is based in Beford, MA and “was founded in 1990 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists with the vision of making practical robots a reality.” That reality is finally here.
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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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One of my favorite episodes of The Office is when Michael Scott tells his employees to pack a swimsuit for a leadership training trip, and then takes them on a “booze cruise” on Lake Wallenpaupack in January. The staff are obviously pissed at Michael, but for the most part end up having a good time. I’ve been on a few evening cruises, and I’ve always had a great time. I guess that is why Entertainment Cruises is doing so well. They’re a company with “26 vessels serving eight cities with six unique cruise products.” Entertainment Cruises’ offerings range from fine dining and dancing to speedboat tours, with a lot in between. They currently operate fleets in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New Jersey, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia, and Washington DC.
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One thing that surprises me about today’s crop of college graduates is that as a whole they seem far less willing to move for a job than one would expect (though this blog post says that’s changing). I think the biggest thing holding young people back is that you often have to move to a new city to even have a chance at landing a job there. That’s a big risk to take when you have no money. Things change as you gain more experience and become more valuable to employers. If you do really well, they’ll often try to convince you to move for them. Many will offer relocation bonuses, but only top executives typically get concierge-level relocation assistance. UrbanBound is trying to change that. They’re a Chicago, IL based company that offers “a web-based platform that helps companies offer a comprehensive transition system to their newly hired and transferring employees.” UrbanBound enables employees to plan their entire relocation in one place, and that’s a big deal when we’re talking about such a significant life change.
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I love candy, which is why I’ve already profiled companies like Just Born Quality Confections, Jelly Belly, Russell Stover, and the PMCA at Easter time and Mars, The Hershey Company, NECCO, Charles Chocolates, and Vosges at other times of the year. This year my Mom asked me what kind of candy I wanted, and I told her that she should take it easy since I’m trying to drop a few pounds before my wedding. Maybe I should have asked her to just get candy from UNREAL Brands. They’re a Boston, MA based upstart that is aiming to get candy “unjunked.” What does that mean? They want to take all of the crap out of candy (corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil, artificial ingredients, GMOs, and preservatives), but still make it taste good.
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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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This morning I was about to buy something but changed my mind because the checkout process was too annoying. While I probably shouldn’t be so lazy, that should never happen. E-commerce software is a solved problem. Why would a retailer invest in building their own proprietary site when they can license it from a provider like Demandware? They’re a Burlington, MA based company that offers an “enterprise-class cloud commerce platform” that powers “more than 150 retail brands across more than 575 sites around the globe.” If you regularly buy stuff online, you’ve almost certainly come into contact with Demandware’s platform. You probably had no idea, and that’s just how Demandware wants it.
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Reading should be part of your career search, but it needs to be part of an active pursuit to learn new things and become more employable, not a passive way to make yourself think that you’re doing something productive. That’s not to say that everything you read should be a how-to guide, but you need to choose books, articles, and publications with a purpose. If you do that, you’ll probably run into a lot of stuff published by Wiley, a Hoboken, NJ based “global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly fields.” They’re a billion dollar business, so they’re publishing a lot of books on a lot of topics.
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We live in a strange time. The stats tell us that investing in higher education is one of the best investments that an individual can make, yet so many young people are saddled by student loans and under or unemployment. Something is going to have to change, and I’m not sure what it will be. American Student Assistance is an organization that will likely play a role in the change. They’re a Boston, MA based “private nonprofit whose public purpose mission is to empower students and alumni to successfully manage and repay their college loan debt.” ASA was founded in 1956 as the Massachusetts Higher Education Assistance Corporation and has served as a loan guarantor for much of its history. That ended in 2008 with a change in Federal law, but it hasn’t stopped American Student Assistance from offering SALT, its “innovative financial literacy and default prevention program.”
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What if I told you that the Reebok Pump, the Swiffer, and the portable ascender (it’s straight out of Batman) were all designed by the same company? You’d probably assume that there’s some giant holding company that owns Reebok, Procter and Gamble, and Atlas Devices. That’s not true. Continuum is the company in question, and they certainly don’t own any of those three companies. They’re a Boston, MA based “global innovation and design consultancy” that helps “organizations drive business innovation through the design of products, services and experiences that become part of the fabric of people’s lives.” Continuum has been at it for 30 years, and they’ve worked with some of the world’s biggest brands (PepsiCo, American Express, Johnson & Johnson, and Nestle in addition to the ones that I’ve already mentioned) to improve business outcomes through design.
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Last night as I was trying to fall asleep, there was a car alarm going off for at least half an hour. I don’t know if it stopped or I fell asleep first, but I’m now convinced that car alarms cost society more in annoyance than they benefit it through prevented thefts. Why can’t there be a theft deterrent that creates positive externalities? Oh, wait, there is. It’s called LoJack. They’re a Canton, MA based company that offers “recovery systems for cars, trucks, motorcycles, equipment, cargo, and laptops.” LoJack is based on radio transmitters that are activated when something is reported stolen (I assumed they used GPS, but here’s how it works). Police are able to find the frequency through special hardware, and recover it (and hopefully arrest the thieves at the same time). LoJack not only helps customers get their things back, but it also increases the overall risk of stealing stuff–that makes us all better off, even if we don’t use LoJack.
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I don’t put a lot of stock in business awards (though the lists can be great ways to learn about new companies) because so many of them are total fluff. But when I see that over the past three years a marketing agency was named one of Forbes’ Ten Great Ad Agencies 2012, one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Advertising & Marketing, and OMMA’s Agency of the Year, I take notice. Mullen is a Boston, MA based agency with offices in San Francisco, CA, Winston-Salem, NC, Pittsburgh, PA, Detroit, MI, and New York, NY that is “on a mission to work with the world’s most innovative marketers.” They offer the full range of services including brand planning, content development, design, PR, analytics, user experience design, and much more.
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I remember a lot of the commercials from my childhood better than the shows that they were aired on. That’s probably because the commercials were designed to ensure that I remember them, while the shows were more about entertaining me in the moment. I’ve been bombarded with commercial messages since I was born, and I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. I’ve learned a lot from commercials–how marketing works and how not to be a sucker for example. I’ve even learned about some great products. My opinion is probably not shared by the folks at Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, a Boston, MA based non-profit that is working “to reclaim childhood from corporate marketers.”
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