Startup One Stop

Good morning, All,

When LinkedIn launched their social network nearly ten years ago, they were the underdog. Facebook was miles ahead of them, but LI had a niche: they meant business, and that was their focus. And LinkedIn means business. With their diverse revenue streams, their revenues jumped 59% last quarter, and the company is still going strong, and growing.

We'd like to know why so many companies in tech that start out as the underdog, grow and then decide that they're the new sheriff in town? Read More...

Good morning, All,

We exhibited (bonniefoods) at the Javits this past week, and a huge thank you to the SOS members who volunteered. We literally could not have done it without you. Starting any business isn’t easy, as we well know, and starting a food business is bloody difficult, especially when you have little background and/or experience in the sector, and you’re appealing to a so-called specialty market. In our case, we developed all-natural confections for our Type 2 diabetic other half. They also happen to be gluten free, but unlike other gluten free products on the market, which substitute wheat flour with a rice flour/potato starch combination, we use oats. Rice flour and potato starch are too heavy in carbs for a Type 2. And we had a sneaking suspicion that it would only be a matter of time before Type 2 diabetes hit the gluten free/celiac community. So we changed our marketing this time out and instead of focusing on diabetes, we focused on being the ‘Healthier Gluten Free Alternative.” It resonated. It turns out that it seems Type 2 diabetes is on the rise in the gluten-free and celiac community. It didn’t happen overnight. But it’s happening. And we found ourselves addressing a whole new audience, who were literally lining up for our products.

The lessons: Read More...

Good morning, All,

A few months back, Facebook started using users’ names and pictures in their ads, without providing remuneration, and without permission. Of course, there was a lawsuit. Their headache continues. Enter Google, who is doing basically the same thing (calling it ‘Shared Endorsements), but of course, they learned a thing or two from Facebook’s mistakes, and they offer an opt-out (of course, they do make it sound as though you’re missing out on something, should you decide to go that route, Mr. Phelps).

And now that we all know that privacy doesn’t exist, of course, CISPA is making a comeback as well. (Senator 'very close' to reintroducing controversial CISPA. Despite Americans’ widespread, newfound concern for digital privacy, one senator says he’s close to reviving the most notorious Internet privacy bill in recent history. It’s intended to make it easier for private companies under cyberattack to team up with government for assistance, but a pesky consequence of that is the government can get information from those networks—content that users may have intended be kept private.) Read More...

Good morning, All,

Credit where credit is due: a great deal of tech has come out of Silicon Valley that has changed the world. Visionaries, yes, to a point. But then there’s the side to Silicon Valley that doesn’t get a lot of press.

Facebook announced recently that they’re building their own employee housing complex. What the article doesn’t mention is that Facebook is located near a very dangerous area. Google, Facebook, Twitter – all provide their employees with incredible perks, from free lunches to dry cleaning on the premises. Read More...

Good morning, All,

Everyone loves listicles, and we recently came across an article about 50 people in NYC tech whom you need to know. We perused the list and the fact is, we happen to know a good number of them. Some were valid. There were glaring omissions. No criteria were given in terms of list selection. And the facts on some of the people were waaay off.

We attended Entrepreneurs Roundtable Demo Day earlier this week and met someone who recently did some house cleaning and came across an old copy of the Red Herring magazine, which had their list of the top companies to watch, the majority of which are now defunct, as is Red Herring itself: prescience was obviously not their forte. Before we go down that rabbit hole again, time out: let’s be honest and before you go out and start your next undertaking or go online looking for advice, let’s keep in mind some of the things we probably don’t need/would be better off ignoring completely: Read More...