Being the CEO–even of a tiny business like mine–is hard. You have to either be aware of everything that is happening or trust other people to be aware of everything that is happening. Even if you have a team that you can trust, you want to be able to keep tabs on them in the most efficient way possible. That’s what Domo is all about. They’re an American Fork, UT based company that “transforms the way executives manage their business and drives value from the tens of billions of dollars that’s been spent on traditional business intelligence systems.” They pull all of the important data from every important source and put it in one intuitive platform.
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Whenever I buy electronics, outdoors gear, or kitchen equipment, I do a ton of research. I want to ensure that I am buying the best that I can afford. It’s easy to spend hours on this stuff if you’re not careful. While that can be a form of entertainment for some people, it’s a lot of time to spend on something that might only cost a few hundred bucks. What if you had someone to read all of the reviews and even test the products for you? That’s what The Wirecutter does. It’s “a list of the best electronics and gadgetry, each pick chosen mindfully and in accordance with many hours of research, interviews with the world’s most knowledgeable experts and testing, all backing up smart opinion.” While lots of other sites are constantly churning out new content to get more eyeballs, The Wirecutter just wants to give you all of the facts that you need to make the best purchasing decision.
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One cool thing about art is that anyone can create it. You don’t have to be a profession or even have any training. And even if you don’t create, you can still enjoy other people’s art. The only problem is that sometimes the arts community can get a little stuffy and exclusive. It goes against everything that the arts are about, but it happens. That’s why ArtStream was started. They’re a Washington, DC based non-profit “whose mission is to create artistic opportunities for individuals in communities traditionally under-served by the arts.” That includes “persons with disabilities, seniors, people with short or long term illnesses and their families or caregivers, immigrants, veterans, people who are grieving, and students and teachers.”
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Chances are that most of your communications with employers at this point are your submitting applications and their not responding. If you’re lucky, you may get a rejection letter… or even an invitation for an interview. Eventually it will get better and your communications will lead to the acceptance of a job offer. From there it will get boring–stuff like health insurance enrollment and reminders to clean up after yourself in the communal kitchen. While employee communications are often mundane, they’re an extremely important part of running a business. GuideSpark is a Menlo Park, CA based company that has built a “robust employee communications platform” that “allows HR executives to toss out the stacks of pamphlets and eliminate time-consuming seminars, and offers a new way to educate employees on complex HR topics like benefits, health care reform, and compensation programs.”
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I’m an outdoorsy guy who is stuck in a city that is at least a couple hours away from most of the things that I want to do. As a result I spend a lot of time visiting what my wife calls “fishing websites” (that’s exactly what they are). One upstart that caters to guys like me is Huckberry. They’re a San Francisco, CA based company that “is like your favorite store, your grandpa’s favorite store, and your favorite magazine all rolled into one.” It’s pretty much the intersection of yuppie and outdoorsy with a tiny bit of hipster here and there. It’s for “dudes in the middle”–the kind of guys who go camping one weekend and to a black tie wedding the next weekend.
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I always enjoy when two people with moderately funny last names decide to get married. There’s always the question of will they combine their names with a hyphen? The best potential that I’ve ever heard of was Weiner-Butt, but the couple sadly did not decide to hyphenate. These funny combos can also be created by business partners. Imagine that a guy with a not very funny last name of Wong and a guy with a pretty funny last name of Doody decided to start an ad agency. They could try to invent some random brand name that doesn’t say much about who they are, or they could smash their identities together and start WONGDOODY (the company logo is equally smashed together). The agency is based in Seattle, WA and “is the most awarded independent advertising agency on the West Coast.” They’re relatively small, but they’re doing some serious work.
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Health is all about information. There was a time when we didn’t know how unhealthy smoking was. Now we do. Many people will live longer, healthier lives because of this knowledge. Any tool that can help both doctors and patients make more informed decisions is immensely valuable. Healthline is a San Francisco, CA based company that has built “the largest, most clinically accurate classification of health information available on the web.” They offer this resource both to consumers in the form of Healthline.com and to brands in a variety of solutions.
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When we talk about healthcare, we talk about doctors, hospitals, biotech companies, insurers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and even the government. We often forget that we’re the most important part of the equation. While there are plenty of situations where we need outside help from the parties mentioned above to ensure our health, individuals need to be empowered “to take more active roles in their care.” That’s exactly what Emmi Solutions does. They’re a Chicago, IL based healthcare communications company that has developed “interactive solutions to achieve meaningful business and clinical outcomes.” Chances are that you can think of a time when poor communication resulted in your having a worse health outcome. (Here’s mine: Stomach bug for a week. Doctor runs tests to see if antibiotics will help. Takes a week to tell me they will. Take antibiotics and get better next day.)
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As a job seeker you know that having a digital presence is essential. This obviously true for brands as well. If someone is going to do business with you, they’re probably going to check out your website at some point. One thing that frustrates me is when restaurants have no website or a website that won’t display properly on my iPhone. All I want to do is check your hours, look at the menu, and maybe make a reservation! Anyway, most restaurants need help with their digital presences, and that appears to be what TVI specializes in. While the New York, NY based “award winning digital agency that designs leading brand experiences” doesn’t say anything explicitly about restaurants, a lot of their clients seem to be in that industry.
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You can buy clothes in a lot of places. Where you buy typically depends on whether you’re looking for a good price, convenience, or your favorite brands. Then you have to decide whether you’d rather shop online or in person. If you’re brand focused and like shopping online, you may want to check out REVOLVE. The company is based in Cerritos, CA and is the “virtual home for an unrivaled collection of the world’s most coveted brands.” REVOLVE offers both men’s and women’s clothing, though the focus definitely seems to be on women’s lines.
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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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Do any of you remember Flip cameras? They were all the rage for a few years, and then they got completely crushed by smartphones. Who would buy a standalone consumer level point and shoot or video camera when you already have something that offers comparable quality in your pocket? The only good reason that I can think of is that you’re worried you might destroy your phone. That’s where GoPro came in. They’re a San Mateo, CA based company that has built a huge business by offering “the world’s most versatile camera.” While other manufacturers were killing each other with battles over megapixels and size, GoPro was focusing on a niche market of users who wanted to be able to take their cameras on adventures. It turned out that it was a really big niche.
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Every once in a while I go back and watch cartoons that I watched when I was a kid. I’m not talking about G.I. Joe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles–I mean the the random video tapes with cartoons from the 1920s and 1930s. It’s amazing how effectively stories can be told with simple animations, so you would think they can be told even better with not-so-simple animations. That’s what Laika does. They are a Hillsboro and Portland, OR based “animation company specializing in feature films, commercials and short films.” They’ve been nominated for an Oscar, which tells you how exceptional their ability to “handcraft and transform everyday materials into living creatures infused with dimension and soul” is.
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Now that we’re all walking around with HD video cameras in our pockets, it’s hard not to amass a huge collections of digital media. We might share some of the highlights on our favorite social media sites, but most of it just sits idle and waits for us to take another look when we’re stuck in a place with no cell service and no Wi-Fi. We can do more with our media, and that’s what Animoto is all about. They’re a New York, NY based company that helps regular people make and share extraordinary videos of anything imaginable.
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I ran into a few issues in pre-school. The first was when a kid bit me, and then I started biting other kids. They almost kicked me out. Then I got into an argument with a teacher because I insisted that a square was rectangle, my parents got called in… and they had to correct the teacher on her geometry. I don’t remember learning much in those years, but I’m sure it was an important time for my educational development. Parents seem to take early childhood education much more seriously these days. That probably explains the growth of The Learning Experience. They are a Boca Raton, FL based company that aims “to provide the tools and the environment that will give every child the opportunity to develop to their greatest potential.” They don’t use the term “day care” much on the corporate site, but I that’s what their local centers (locations in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, Colorado, and Virginia) seem to call it.
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Job seekers see way more terrible stock photos than the average person. Whether you’re on a corporate careers site or a career advice blog, you’ve probably seen way too many images of perfectly “diverse” groups of people in ugly suits shaking hands and looking all business-like. I have no idea why people think it’s a good idea to use these photographs, but they do. Real brands need real photographs for their marketing materials, and that requires hiring professionals like Industrial Color. They are a Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, and Miami, FL based company that offers “digital still and video capture, post-production, color and video editing services, high-speed file transfer, online image management, archive and file storage.” It’s everything that big-time clients need to get the perfect image or video for delivering a specific message.
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Early in the wedding planning process I proposed that we try to do as much online as possible. I quickly lost that battle, and I must say that our custom designed paper goods turned out amazingly well. I’m just glad that I wasn’t paying for them. If only there was a way to get beautiful, custom designed paper goods for a reasonable price. That’s exactly what Minted offers. They are a San Francisco, CA based company that aims “to find exceptional artists and designers all over the world and bring their work to consumers who appreciate great design.” They were early to the crowdsourcing model in 2008, and since then they’ve grown into a place where consumers can find great designers and great designers can get exposure that will help them build their careers.
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It sounds stupid to say, but it feels like science is making a resurgence in popularity. It’s hard not to notice when your friends keep liking Facebook posts from “I [expletive] love science.” Science always has been and always will be exceptionally important to the human race, but its popularity seems to vary quite a bit over time. The Society for Science & the Public is a Washington, DC based non-profit that is “dedicated to public engagement in scientific research and education.” They realize that science isn’t just for scientists and that keeping the average person engaged with the study of science can have big payoffs.
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I’ve had a cold for the past two weeks. The first week wasn’t too bad, but this past week has been terrible. It’s amazing how something as minor as a cold can remind you how awesome it is to be healthy. There isn’t much that you can do for a cold besides rest, drink a lot of fluids, and wait it out (though hot showers and cough drops can relieve some of the symptoms temporarily), but for many other health issues information is your best weapon. HealthiNation is capitalizing off of this fact by offering “videos to inspire a healthy and active lifestyle for audiences everywhere.” The company is based in New York, NY and offers content on food, family, fitness, and all kinds of other health-related topics.
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A few years ago infographics totally blew up. Outlets like USA Today have been using them forever, but everyone in the content business jumped on the bandwagon seemingly at once. Why? Because infographics are tailor made for social media. They deliver a lot of information in a short amount of time, and that makes them super shareable with crowds who tend towards a shorter attention span. Column Five is a company that was in the right place at the right time. They are a Newport Beach, CA based infographic design, social PR, and content strategy agency that landed at #291 on the Inc. 5000 with 1,504% three-year growth to $5.3 million in revenue. It helps when your client list includes the World Bank, GE, and Harvard.
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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 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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I think that live sports is just about the only thing keeping broadcast television alive. I’m waiting for the day when DVRs aren’t even necessary because everything is always on-demand. Unfortunately, it’s still going to be a while because the media behemoths have a lot to lose and a strong enough market position to put up a huge fight. We’ll get there eventually, but it will happen faster if upstarts like Bedrocket Media Ventures start to see a little success. They are a New York, NY based company that “is leading a revolution in creating networks and programming that people love, delivered through the cloud.” While they may be trying to beat the establishment, they’re getting a little help in the form of $15 million of venture capital investment.
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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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You’ve probably noticed that most of the small businesses that you interact with aren’t all that tech savvy. Whether you’ve visited their websites or tried to make a purchase, it’s often glaringly obvious that the owner shouldn’t be anywhere within 50 feet of a computer. The problem is that being online and tech savvy is becoming more and more important to running any kind of business. Merchants who can’t keep up will have a hard time. MOpro makes it easy for business owners to do all of the technical and marketing things that they might not be able to do on their own. They’re a Los Angeles, CA based company that expands “the digital possibilities for small businesses.”
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For me Father’s Day is all about wildlife. I’ve spent every one for the past 20 years in woods of Michigan on a fishing trip with my Dad. It used to mark the end of the trip, but this year it’s the beginning. Every year we get to reap the benefits of the work done by conservation organizations. Up there a lot of the work is done by non-profits with a sporting focus, but I’ve come to realize that there quite a few organizations that protect wildlife just because it’s something that should be done. One of these is Defenders of Wildlife. They’re based in Washington, DC, and they aim to “protect and restore imperiled species throughout North America by transforming policies and institutions and promoting innovative solutions.” The organization was founded in 1947 and operates at both a national and local level.
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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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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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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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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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