Startups
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Prompt debuts “a command line for the real world”
In a world suffering from app overload, the Y Combinator-backed startup Prompt introduces a different way to interact with services, make purchases or even control “Internet of Things” devices — all by way of text-based interface. The application, which can be used via SMS, Slack or the web, lets you text to do things like request an Uber, change the temperature on a Nest… Read More
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Survey says 25 percent of smartphone owners have downloaded ad blockers
Mobile marketing company Tune is releasing a new report, where 24.6 percent of survey respondents said that they’d downloaded an ad-blocking app or browser.
The company says it surveyed nearly 4,000 smartphone owners in the United States and Europe, and it found that adoption is growing quickly — only 2.4 percent of respondents said they’d downloaded an ad blocker in the… Read More
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Ben Horowitz backs rapper Ryan Leslie’s SMS commerce startup Superphone
Ryan Leslie gave every fan his phone number. It’s (646) 887-6978. But instead of a million unwanted phone calls, it’s making him money and giving him deeper intelligence about his listeners than anyone in the music business.
That’s why A16z’s Ben Horowitz, Betaworks, and more investors just put a $1.5 million seed round into Leslie’s startup Disruptive Multimedia. Read More
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There’s more to early-stage funding than VC money
Good companies will always get funded. If that’s your company, it’s important to make sure you have the resources to keep it alive long enough to get funded. Murmurs of a looming downturn in venture capital are pressuring more companies to preemptively begin fundraising, whether or not they have gained sufficient traction to justify their stated valuations. Read More
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MIT spin-out Thunkable hopes its drag-and-drop app builder can be a money-spinner too
Bagging lots of users is a challenge one of the startups in Y Combinator’s 2016 winter batch is worrying about a bit less than the average. The two-man strong founder team of Thunkable is coming from the rather more comfortable position of already having fostered a community over four million strong — thanks to the drag-and-drop app builder interface they helped developed at MIT… Read More
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TechCrunch went skiing with a drone
Add this one to the bucket list. A startup called Cape Productions will use a drone to capture footage of you skiing. Stationed at Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe, the team provides aerial footage of you racing down the slopes, including different angles from your GoPro. Because of its impeccable safety record, Cape is currently the only FAA-approved company that’s allowed to fly drones… Read More
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Rando is a random social sharing app that lets you play Russian Roulette with photos, GIFs and more
A new app from David Barnard, the developer behind the popular Launch Center Pro, promises to be the cure for boredom. Rando, as the app is called, offers a crazy twist on our carefully curated online personas — instead of allowing you to choose a photo or GIF to share with friends, Rando will randomly pick one for you. You can also share random text quotes, then post them to Facebook… Read More
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Two new apps, Daycap and VideoSlam, help you create GIFs and videos to remember your day
Two recently launched applications, Daycap and VideoSlam, make it easy to summarize your day in the format of videos or GIFs, which can then be shared out to social media. Do you need these apps on your iPhone? No. Are you totally going to download them on your lunch break because it’s Friday, they sound fun, and those TPS reports can wait? Yep! Daycap The first application,… Read More
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Watch Georgia Tech’s Guthman Musical Instrument Competition
Called the X-Prize for music the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition pits multiple musicians and makers against each other at Georgia Tech’s Ferst Center for the Arts. A group of judges including Jazz great Pat Metheny will pick their favorites and you, the viewer, can jam along on your desk. The entrants include a unique home-brew system that lets pianists play the rhythm guitar, a… Read More
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ICX Media raises $2.5M to connect video creators with publishers and marketers
ICX Media, a Washington, D.C. startup promising to help video creators find an audience and make money, announced today that it has raised $2.5 million in seed funding. The company was founded by Michael Avon, Tom MacIsaac, Steve McCord and Joey McCord (pictured above). Three of the four co-founders previously worked together at mobile ad company Millennial Media, where Avon was chief… Read More
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