Two days back I attended the introduction event run by 9-mile labs. Another batch of enthusiastic and energetic individuals talked about their ideas. There were 9 companies chosen for summer cohort that begins in July. Each company had a unique idea on how they are going to change the world. Ideas are hard, turning these into businesses are even harder. What excites me is that energy and enthusiasm that these new entrepreneurs bring to the table. It reminded me of the post from March 2016.
http://zanavu.com/blog/2016/03/03/early-startups/
Take for example, Articentral, a company born to help the artisans handle the emerging world of multiple marketplaces. Artisans are skilled in crafting handmade things. And some are skilled in selling. Most are not skilled in all acts of business. Unlike the years of past, artisans not only have to sell their items at local farmers market. Artisans have to think about advertising and selling their items through multiple marketplaces on the internet like Etsy, Amazon Handmade, etc. Having created an application marketplace (Windows/Windows Phone Marketplace), I know first hand how difficult it is to get products listed, managed, and sold. For physical goods one has to think about fulfillment, returns, taxes, etc. as well. The founders of Articentral claim to ease this burden for artisans. Personally my daughter and my mom had talked about creating and selling some goods online. And their ideas got to a ground halt the moment Amazon asked for UPC codes (too geeky for common creators). I hope to see Articentral pave new pathways for selling.
Another company that intrigued me at the event was Talentful. The founders bring new ideas and system for helping companies hire software developers. Yes, there are many sites that claim to solve the problems; none is perfect. In the past two decades of hiring software developers (and associate professionals like program managers, data scientists, middle managers, etc.), I have first hand experience in dealing with many stages of pain in recruiting new talent. Those challenges existed even within a multi-billion $$ company like Microsoft, where I had hired 100s of engineers. In my role at a small company (10-persons) we lack the luxury of big company systems and we lack time. Talentful claims that it can look at a lot of bread crumbs left behind by developers to help source and find talent. I am going to try their system out for filling a couple of open positions in my company and see how it works out.
It is summer time and that means travel. Many of us plan ahead and book our trips with airlines and make reservations at hotels. Often we do not spend time figuring out the activities. And soon we discover that not knowing what to do, when, and where is an issue. Worst yet, there is usually a not-so-easy way to discover what is available. We desire for delightful and curated experiences with reviews and suggestions. Oops, that seems to be asking for too much. Yes, sites like Expedia and the cruise companies try to bundle these in. Still we have this desire for more left in our minds. Here comes Toured that is preparing a marketplace of sorts for tours. They are focused on Cancun, Kauai, and their roots – Montana. There are others in the market including 20+ providers (see Quora post). Still it is worth watching what happens with Toured.
There were a few other companies I met with including:
- TouchMail – a touch enabled email app. The experience was slick and colorful. I wish it was on other platforms like iOS and Android tablets.
- VIAR – Virtual Reality Tools company.
- VidPal – a marketplace for connecting videographers with businesses in need for video recording.
All said, I am happy to see the diversity of ideas and companies. Creative ideas are making their journey to creating viable businesses.
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