Have you ever caught someone talking about you behind your back? Whether they’re saying something nice or something mean, it can be pretty awkward. Still, it’s nice to know where you stand with people. For brands it’s a bit different. The awkwardness isn’t as much of a worry, and the information gained from hearing what people have to say can have tremendous business value. The problem is that overhearing a conversation isn’t a reasonable way to compile actionable information. That’s why newBrandAnalytics has developed “a social media monitoring and online reputation management tool that transforms online reviews into operational social intelligence.” The company is based in Washington, DC, and it helps companies pinpoint ways that they “can excel in customer experience management.”
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Tonight is Mischief Night (also known as Devil’s Night). As a kid I was always a little afraid on October 30th, but I had a dream of becoming a vigilante and catching all of the mischief makers. Luckily, there weren’t many mischief makers in my neighborhood. At worst they would TP some trees and shaving cream some windows. I don’t know from personal experience, but as I understand it, lower quality shaving cream is better for mischief. You want that airy, foamy stuff if you’re spraying it on someone’s windows, but you want almost the exact opposite if you’re shaving your face (or so I’m told, I haven’t shaved with a razor in many years). Lately there has been a movement towards higher quality shaving products… and towards subscription models. We already took a look at Harry’s, and today we’re going to check out Dollar Shave Club. They’re based in Venice, CA, and they are “a rocketing men’s lifestyle brand and e-commerce company on a mission to change the way men address their shaving and grooming needs.”
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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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InvestmentNews is our sponsor this week, and they would like to tell you about their NextGen Virtual Career Fair on November 8th. It’s an awesome opportunity for students and interns to network and find finance jobs on the spot.
When I’m talking to a potential advertiser for One Day One Job, I tell them how special our audience is. I’ll spare you the details since you certainly know how special you are, but the point is to convince them that they should pay more to reach you. Nearly every publisher does this, but most publishers don’t have special audiences. How do the ones that do prove it? That’s a problem that Umbel is working to solve. They are an Austin, TX based company that helps publishers “leverage social and big data to prove your premium audience story to advertisers and sponsors.” What I think is really cool about Umbel is that they can even help publishers whose audiences aren’t that special on average by segmenting out the groups that are most valuable to advertise to.
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InvestmentNews is our sponsor this week, and they would like to tell you about their NextGen Virtual Career Fair on November 8th. It’s an awesome opportunity for students and interns to network and find finance jobs on the spot.
When you visit most websites, you’re paying for access even though you probably don’t realize it. You’re paying with your attention to advertisements. It’s a terrible model, but it’s pretty much the best idea that we’ve had so far. It’s the reason that Google is one of the most successful companies in the history of the world. Ideally we’d pay the content creators directly on the sites that we like, but managing subscriptions can be a nightmare for both site owners and their visitors. Tinypass has a solution that just might usurp advertising as the preferred way to monetize an audience. They’re based in New York, NY and they enable sites to collect micro payments to access content. They “believe that bloggers, magazines, newspapers, and all creators shouldn’t have so much trouble making money online.”
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I wonder if one day the entire world will speak a single language. We’re certainly headed in that direction, but we have a very long way to go (I’m not saying that a monolingual world is a desirable outcome, just that it seems plausible). Until then language barriers will get in the way of business. And that means that translation will continue to be an extremely valuable tool. The best translation services are fast, accurate, cost-effective, and secure. That’s exactly what VerbalizeIt offers. They’re a New York, NY based startup that “enables better universal communication for businesses and individuals.” It may not be a new idea, but they have new technology to do the job better.
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I’m not much of a gamer, but occasionally I get wrapped up in a mindless iPhone game. It starts as a little diversion while waiting for something, and before I know it, I’m staying up past my bedtime playing. The addiction usually lasts a few weeks, and then I forget about it and get my life back… until I discover a new game. I haven’t tried any games from Pocket Gems, and I don’t intend to… I never intend to. They are a San Francisco, CA based company that “develops free-to-play mobile games that are ridiculously fun.” While their games may be pretty simple, Pocket Gems takes them very seriously. That’s why their dual mission is to “build the world’s best mobile engineering team” and “become a global leader in the mobile entertainment industry.”
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When I was in elementary school, Christopher Columbus was a hero. Today people don’t even complain about going to work on a holiday named after him. That tells you just how ugly the true story is. Still, you have to give Columbus credit for sailing across the Atlantic with no idea where he was going (and making it back, and then doing it again three more times). Today we have technology that enables us to always know where we are. Rand McNally is a Skokie, IL based company that played a big part in getting us to this point. They were founded in 1856, and since then they’ve been specializing “in maps, navigation, road travel, and trip planning.”
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I can’t walk down the street in Chicago without seeing a new salon or day spa. And just as quickly as they pop up, they seem to disappear. There’s no doubt that these kinds of businesses can make a killing if executed properly, but it’s become obvious to me that a lot of people have no idea how to run a salon. While I’m sure some completely mess up their economics, my guess is that most failed salons had trouble attracting customers. Salon Success Strategies is a Roseville, CA based company that can help. They’re a “full service marketing agency specializing in salons, day spas, and medical spas.” The company was started by successful salon and spa owners who saw an opportunity to share their knowledge by offering services and training.
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About a year ago I woke up to a loud chirp. It wasn’t a bird (though we did have two birds fly down our chimney in two days around the same time). It was the smoke alarm. This wasn’t the “OH MY GOD THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE” alarm. It was the “let’s wake you up in the middle of the night so that you can change the battery” alarm. I ignored it… until it went off again five minutes later… and again… and again. So I’m in my underwear standing on a chair trying to disable this thing. It’s 3 AM and the smoke alarm is just out of my reach. I am at the point where I’ll do anything to go back to sleep, and there’s a baseball bat in the nearby closet…. and then I’m finally able to disable the alarm. I understand that smoke alarms with dead batteries can’t save lives, but there has to be a better way (especially considering that climbing on a chair when you’re sleep-deprived is pretty dangerous). Nest agrees. They’re a Palo Alto, CA based company that “takes the unloved products in your home and makes simple, beautiful, thoughtful things.” Their first product was a thermostat, and now they’ve just announced a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm.
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I drink a lot of water. Even the best restaurant servers struggle to keep my glass filled. But if I don’t have water in front of me, I don’t drink it. In college I would refill Smartwater bottles with tap water and take them to class (that’s the real smart water), but at some point the good habit ended and I’ve reverted back to drinking very little water on some days and gallons on other days. Maybe a good bottle would get me back on track. That’s exactly what S’well offers. They’re a New York, NY based company that sells bottles “crafted composed of non-leaching and non-toxic 18/8 stainless steel, that keeps your drinks cold for 24 hours and hot for 12.”
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If you use Facebook, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ve seen a friend post a story from Upworthy. The company’s goal is to get their content to go viral, and they’re really good at it. The difference between them and companies like CollegeHumor and Spartz Media is that Upworthy tries to focus on stuff that is both awesome and meaningful. Let’s be honest; most viral content is silly and mindless. Viewing it often makes you feel stupider (especially when you consider the way it’s displayed with ads and slideshows engineered to pillage every bit of attention they can get from you). Upworthy (which isn’t really based in any single location) calls itself “a mission-driven media company.” The goal is “to encourage that debate by curating great pieces of content that represent different sides.”
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A couple months ago I was raving to you about our web host WP Engine. While I’m still generally happy with them, they had a pretty big screw up a couple weeks ago. I worked with their support team, and we were able to find a resolution (though it took much longer than I would have hoped). All of the communications ran through Zendesk, which is “beautifully simple customer service software.” It’s basically a platform for managing all of the back and forth that is typically a part of delivering good customer service. Zendesk is based in San Francisco, CA, though they were originally founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2007 (they made the move in 2009).
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Despite the fact that I haven’t shaved in over 7 years, I won’t be winning a facial hair competition any time soon. That’s because I use a beard trimmer to maintain that “I shaved 4 days ago” look. I don’t plan on ever going back to shaving with a razor, but if I do I’ll consider Harry’s. They’re a New York, NY based company that was started “out of respect for quality craftsmanship, simple design, modern convenience and most importantly for guys who know they shouldn’t have to overpay for a great shave.” Back in my shaving days, the choice was to use Gilette’s latest “development” or to use some cheap alternative that would irritate my face even more (like the free razor that I got as a freshman in college). I believed the marketing hype and went with the expensive option, even though it still didn’t give me a great shave.
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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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One of the worst things about being able to build websites is that people constantly ask you to build them websites. They don’t understand that doing web development for your own projects is very different from doing it for clients. Even the simplest project can become a total headache when you’re trying to meet someone else’s specifications (especially when it’s family). I was never cut out for client work, which is why I stopped doing it when I was 18 even though it was really good money. However, there are many firms that only do client work. One here in Chicago, IL is called Tecture. They design and build “custom web and mobile applications, ecommerce websites, and custom content-managed websites” for all kinds of clients.
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When I was in high school, it was the golden age of free music. High speed Internet connections were becoming commonplace, and file sharers weren’t really being prosecuted yet. You could have (permanently) almost any music you wanted for free. Those days have long passed, but we’re in another period of at least semi-free music access. Thanks to companies like Spotify, you can listen to what you want when you want to… as long as you’re willing to put up with some ads. F# is a New York, NY based company behind many of those ads–they connect “brands to consumers through the power of music in purposeful ads.” Brands know that music is a great way to connect with consumers. And that means ad-supported online music services provide an amazing opportunity.
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I despise administrative tasks that can’t be done online. It’s embarrassing to admit, but I still haven’t registered to vote in Illinois because I have to fill out actual paperwork and mail it in. I’m just happy that I’m in a line of work where nearly everything can be done online. I’m not sure what I’d do if I was in a business like real estate where back and forth paperwork is a necessity. Actually, I’d probably use dotloop. They are a Cincinnati, OH based company that has “completely streamlined the buying and selling process for real estate in a way that works so well, it’s driving a movement tagged by the press as ‘Revolutionomics.'” It’s nice to see a real estate focused startup that isn’t just another marketing/lead generation platform.
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The technology of the 90s and early 2000s was durable. Most devices were built like tanks because a few extra ounces (or pounds) here and there don’t really matter when many of the components are already so heavy. Today size and weight are main selling points for most types of electronics. The only problem is that today’s devices seem far more susceptible to breaking. It’s a tradeoff, but it sucks to be on the losing end when you drop your three-day old $600 phone on the grass and the screen shatters. Manufacturers and third parties have started offering all kinds of repair services, but they’re still expensive. Why can’t you just do it yourself?
With the help of iFixit you can. They are a San Luis Obispo, CA based company that wants “to show the world how to fix every thing.” They seem to be having some success with that, as they landed on the Inc. 5000 with 223% three-year growth to $9.8 million in revenue.
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There’s nothing like a live event, but we often can’t be where we want to be. The Internet has made things a little easier. Today video, audio, or commentary from any event can be shared all across the world as it’s happening. It took a while to get to the point where it’s reliable, but we’re mostly there. Livestream is a New York, NY based company that has played a big part in moving us forward when it comes to streaming live content. They offer “event owners a complete set of hardware and software tools to share their events with a growing community online.” This has led them to #750 on the Inc. 5000 with 613% three-year growth to $18.9 million in revenue.
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Today is Opening Day of the NFL season! I’m probably less excited about that than the average American male (I’m a baseball guy), but it’s still a really big deal. Sports generate tons of economic activity. I know people who go to ridiculous lengths to get an edge for their fantasy teams, so you can just imagine how far actual teams and players will go (cough… PEDs). Some of the biggest advancements outside of biotechnology have come on the video side. Hudl is a Lincoln, NE based company behind many of those innovations. As they put it, they “help coaches and athletes win with video.” The technology must be working because Hudl just landed at #149 on the Inc. 5000 with 2,535% three-year growth to $14.1 million in revenue.
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On Tuesday we talked about DataXu and how they’re helping advertisers make the most of their advertising budgets by crunching tons of data. Unsurprisingly, publishers want in on the optimization action too. I’ve seen firsthand how a few tweaks to an advertising setup can have momentous impact overnight. While Altitude Digital doesn’t take a big data approach like DataXu, the Denver, CO based company does “empower publishers to effectively monetize and optimize their online display, video and mobile inventory.” Doing that well has landed them at #54 on the Inc. 5000 with 5,162% three-year growth to $11.4 million in annual revenue.
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I’ve mentioned before that I love watching Million Dollar Listing on Bravo. In the latest episode, one of the realtors is working with an extremely “motivated” couple who are itching to burn a few million dollars on a house, yet the agent can’t find anything on the market that meets their specifications. This is the kind of problem that agents want (the agent ends up finding them a house and getting the commission). Non-serious buyers and sellers can cost agents a ton of money, so any way to figure out which clients are ready to act is extremely valuable. That’s exactly what Zurple offers. They’re a Carlsbad, CA based company that builds software focused “on one thing — starting conversations between Realtors and leads that culminate in closed transactions.” They came in at #33 on the Inc. 5000 with 7,112% three-year growth to $7.7 million in annual revenue.
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I try to avoid going to the doctor at all costs. While I’m not one of those people who constantly self-diagnoses via WebMD, I do try to use the Internet to inform my decision on whether an office visit is necessary (it usually isn’t). Most younger people are like me, they turn to the web first when they have a health issue. Patient Conversation Media is a company that aims to be found when people make those initial searches. They are based in Austin, TX, and they publish “doctor-reviewed health-related content online for consumers” and use that influx of traffic to connect “patients to [their] network of physicians and other health care providers.” Patient Conversation Media came it at #22 on the Inc. 5000 with 8,782% three-year growth to $9.8 million in annual revenue.
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This is my favorite part of the year when it comes to One Day One Job because all of those annoying kids finally go back to school. Just kidding. I actually love late August for a completely different reason: the Inc. 5000 is released. In case you aren’t familiar with it, it’s a ranking of the 5,000 fastest growing privately held companies in the United States. The metric that they use is three-year revenue growth, and that makes the list an amazing tool for finding up and coming companies with great career opportunities. This year Fuhu came in at #1 on the list with 42,148% three-year growth to $117.9 million in revenue. The El Segundo, CA based company that aims to be “the leading designer, seller and innovator of ‘thoughtful’ consumer products and services for children.” When you make stuff that kids like, parents empty their pockets.
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I’m torn on the topic of Quantified Self (a movement of people who collect as much data on their lives as possible). Part of me loves taking an analytical, data-based approach to self-improvement, but another part of me thinks that it’s easy to waste a lot of time measuring stuff that isn’t all that important. With that said, I dream of one day owning (or even creating) an analytic toilet that gives you all kinds of information on your overall wellbeing. Pixie Scientific has an interesting take on that idea. They realized that some of the people who have the most sensitive health don’t use toilets, they use diapers, and as a result, the New York, NY based startup is developing “smart diapers.” They look and work like regular disposable diapers, except they provide vital health information to parents and doctors.
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I’m fascinated by Japan. I’ve never been there, but my wife and I are planning a trip there for our honeymoon. There’s an intensity to the culture that I absolutely love, but there are also some things I just don’t get. Pepsi flavored Cheetos is one, and anime is another. In case you didn’t know, anime is the Japanese word for animation. But here in the U.S. it’s typically used to describe “a Japanese-disseminated animation style often characterized by colorful graphics, vibrant characters and fantastic themes” (at least that’s what Wikipedia says). While anime isn’t for me, A LOT of people love it–and most of them are adults. Crunchyroll is a San Francisco, CA and Tokyo, Japan based company that caters to this audience by offering “the leading global video service for Japanese Anime and Asian media.”
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While I love the economics of building a business entirely online, there’s still something that feels hollow when I tell people that I make and run websites for a living. Maybe it’s the fact that a solar flare could wipe out everything that I’ve done (though you could say the same about an asteroid for any business). Deep down there’s a part of me that wants to build, market, and sell a tangible product. Unfortunately, that’s way harder than building a website. Maker’s Row plans on changing that. They’re a New York, NY based startup that wants “to make the manufacturing process simple to understand and easy to access.” While 3D printing is getting a lot of hype right now, almost all products are made by more traditional manufacturers. If you want to make something, you’re going to need to find someone to manufacture it for you. Maker’s Row will help you find them.
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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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travel,
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I remember when social media was a great way for upstarts to get a lot of attention. It wasn’t that long ago, and it’s still possible, but we’re already at the point where big brands dominate social. Why did this happen so quickly? Because brands can afford to throw big bucks at expensive agencies to do social for them. One of these agencies is BLITZ, a Santa Monica, CA based company that makes “brands Favorites by building digital ecosystems that result in durable connections between brands and consumers.” And when they say brands, they mean BRANDS. We’re talking Nike, Dell, Adobe, Starbucks, Red Bull, Disney, Microsoft, and lots more.
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