Startups

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The Netherlands: A Look At The World’s High-Tech Startup Capital

4297675082_708b6bba24_o It’s a fascinating time to take stock of startup innovation in the Netherlands, a rare turning point where you can watch the hard work of the past give way to the immense promise of the future. Behind London and Berlin, the Dutch startup scene is already considered to be one of the most prominent in Europe. (If it feels unfair to weigh an entire country against individual cities,… Read More

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Wired For Extremes

Namibia Chris McNamara stood at the overhang of what would be his final wingsuit BASE jump (parachuting or wingsuit flying from a fixed structure: building, antenna, span and Earth). A 1,500-foot drop was a conservative risk in a community that saw around 30 deaths last year. “After I took flight I had never realized how much physical strength was required in wingsuit BASE. I wasn’t nervous… Read More

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Sources: YC Alums Club Together For Crystal Towers, A $100M VC Fund For Promising YC Startups

10724558026_940f702785_k Y Combinator has helped over 800 startups come to market that are today worth a collective $30 billion (and possibly even more very soon). Now it looks like a new VC is emerging out of it that will be dedicated to help the most promising of these grow. TechCrunch has learned of a new VC fund called Crystal Towers. Backed by several YC founders, it will start out with between $90 million… Read More

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PicoBrew’s Zymatic Beer Making Machine Made A Brewer Out Of A Noob Like Me

Zymatic by PicoBrew PicoBrew is a beer-centered startup in Seattle, founded by brothers Bill and Jim Mitchell and Avi Geiger.
The machine at the heart of their operation is The Zymatic—an apparatus that simplifies beer-making by reducing the need to monitor the cooking process of creating Wort (unfermented beer).
Did their device turn a beer drinker like me, with zero brewing experience, into a beer maker? Read More

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Startup Sues A Domain Name Owner To Grab A 16-Year-Old URL

Bully2 Jason Kneen is a programmer and happens to own about a hundred domain names picked up over a sixteen year period. One of those, workbetter.com, he purchased in 1999 and it has been available on his site for years. In late April 2014 a company, OfficeLinks, approached him about buying the domain for use as a URL for their co-working space. @jasonkneen @hjmehta Jason: We’re sorry about… Read More

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Y Combinator-backed Gemnote Saves Companies From Cheesy Gift Baskets

Gemnote packaging This may come as a surprise to anyone who has ever received a rattan basket packed with novelty cheese logs, but corporate gifts are a huge business. According to research from the Advertising Specialty Institute, U.S. companies spend about $19 billion a year sending swag to clients and employees. Gemnote, which just launched from Y Combinator, gives companies an alternative. Read More

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Interview: Tim Draper Doubles Down On Europe

draper esprit DFJ, the storied Silicon Valley venture capital firm, has built out a global presence not just through direct investments but through a network of firms that are affiliated with the mothership yet raising and investing from their own funds. Now that network is going through some changes, and with it comes a new role for one of the firm’s founders. The DFJ Network has rebranded to… Read More

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India’s BankBazaar Raises $60M Series C Led By Amazon

India rupees BankBazaar, a startup that lets Indian consumers compare financial products online, has scored a $60 million Series C led by Amazon, with participation from Fidelity Growth Partners, Mousse Partners, and returning investors Sequoia Capital and Walden International. Read More

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Tips For Finding Success As A Female Engineer

femaleengineer It was apparent from the first time I took a computer programming class in high school that it was one of the few subjects that really excited me. Initially, it was just an option I was trying out, but I soon knew that engineering was what I wanted to major in and pursue for my lifelong career. The thing I love most about engineering is that there are limitless opportunities to do meaningful… Read More

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Smigin Is a Foreign Language Tool That Doesn’t Make You Sound Like A Tourist

unnamed If you’ve ever tried to learn a foreign language, you probably know that most existing methods focus on aspects of the language that aren’t very helpful in everyday life. For example, newcomers to a language are often first taught the names of animals or colors, words that aren’t normally applicable to the common traveler. Smigin aims to fix this problem with its app… Read More

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