Submissions Due Jan. 31 – Startup Spotlight in San Francisco

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Are you trying to get attention for your Startup? The ad:tech folks are sponsoring a Startup Spotlight event in San Francisco on April 3-4.

Tell your startup’s story in front of billions of dollars of brand marketing power! Join us for the Startup Spotlight Series at ad:tech San Francisco (April 3-4). It’s your opportunity to be featured as one of the industry’s rising stars, at the biggest digital marketing show in the business.

The deadline for submissions is tomorrow, January 31st, so get in there!

Infographic: Where Home Businesses Go for Startup Capital

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Kelly Teh over at CreditDonkey writes that 39% of business owners with no employees started their business with less than $5000 in startup capital, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Their infographic illustrates where home business owners go for startup capital.

The Entrepreneurial Brain and How to Treat It

Tim Donnelly writes that Dr. Aaron Blackledge has identified a common thread about how the entrepreneurial mind works—and how to treat it.

They’re people that balance their neurochemistry by constantly doing something stimulating or innovative at all times. If you sat in a room with hyper-creatives and tech entrepreneurs, and asked, “How many of you can go to the beach and sit under and umbrella for more than 15 minutes?” probably 90 percent of them would say “no.” And the 5 percent that said “yes” would not realize that they’re not allowed to have three electronic devices working under that umbrella.

Read the Full Story.

Video: VendScreen Presents at PIE Demo Day

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATkV294wmqg

In this video, Vendscreen presents at the PIE PDX Demo Day.

VendScreen wirelessly delivers nutrition data and advertising to displays mounted on vending machines while collecting real-time, point-of-sale information for analytics tracking. We give users the ability to review nutrition information prior to purchase while providing operators a seamless and automatic system to comply with the new calorie disclosure law. We offer advertisers uncluttered access to a two-way connection with consumers in a manner previously not possible – at the vending machine at the very moment of the purchase decision!

The company recently landed $12 Million in funding. Read the Full Story.

Big Data Startups Vie for IBM Global Entrepreneur Honors

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zChnWYjTdL4&f

This week IBM announced that nine Big Data Startups will vie for the 2012 IBM Global Entrepreneur Honors. Seclected from nearly 1000 applicants, the nine finalists will gather with the venture capital community in San Francisco at the end of January.

The ingenuity and innovation from the startup community is key to addressing the complex challenges cities and citizens face,” said Jim Corgel, general manager of entrepreneur programs at IBM. “These nine SmartCamp finalists represent the best new technologies from around the world. We will continue to work with them to help bring their solutions to market faster so that together we can build a smarter planet.”

Each startup participating at the SmartCamp Global Finals has created software that is designed to analyze large volumes of data. The finalists are:

• BitCarrier: BitCarrier’s traffic management solutions analyze real-time traffic information providing current travel times, estimations on congestion rates and accident alerts (winner, SmartCamp Barcelona).
• C-B4 Context Based 4Casting: CB4 has created a context-based system for identifying and analyzing hidden data patterns in large scale data warehouses. The system is particularly suited to the retail trade and customer relations management (winner, SmartCamp Tel Aviv).
• ConnectM: ConnectM’s machine-to-machine technology uses advanced analytics to collect information from disparate systems to provide business intelligence. The solutions are developed specifically for the telecommunications, utilities and transportation industries (winner, SmartCamp Bangalore).
• IDXP: IDXP’s consumer behavior solution installs sensors in stores and shopping carts to help retailers understand consumer behavior in real time (winner, SmartCamp Rio de Janeiro).

• Localytics: Localytics provides a real-time analytics service that provides makers of mobile phone and tablet applications with a better understanding of user preferences and tendencies (winner, SmartCamp New York).
• Palmap: Palmap’s mapping solution provides mobile users with real-time information for indoor activities such as navigating airports and shopping malls (winner, SmartCamp Shanghai).

• Profitero: Profitero helps on-line retailers maximize profits via actionable competitor analytics (winner, SmartCamp London).
• SecureWaters: SecureWaters’ patented technology continuously monitors, detects and identifies toxins in surface water. An early warning alarm system alerts clients to potential issues (winner, SmartCamp Austin).
• SkinScan: SkinScan’s mobile application enables users to scan the moles on their bodies to measure their skin cancer threat levels. They also offer a cloud infrastructure for medical histories of patients and doctors (winner, SmartCamp Istanbul).

Read the Full Story.

 

Do Non-Tech Startups Stand a Chance?

Are Non-Tech Startups a waste of time? Patrick FitzGerald writes that since techie Startups get all the attention, the non-techs need the following baselines covered if they want to attract an audience and capital:

1. Uniqueness. A vending machine for movies (Redbox). A reverse ATM which provides cash for your old electronics (Ecoatm). Quick, easy, but above all else, unique.
2. Painkiller. A device that translates and stores all of your receipts (Neat). Not a placebo, but a universally understood solution to a massive annoyance/problem.
3. Simplicity. A parent friendly retail toy store where everything is under $5 (FiveBelow). Parents get it, kids love it. Nothing more, nothing less.

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New Site to Take End-of-Life Directives into 21st Century

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Can Startups make healthcare better in America? A new free service aims to do just that by bringing medical directives into the 21st Century.

Today ADVault launched MyDirectives, a free and secure platform that brings advance medical directives online, allowing hospitals and families to cope better in times of crisis, and giving individuals control over their medical wishes even in the worst of situations.

Doctors and nurses try to provide the best care,” said Scott Brown, ADVault President, “but when the patient can’t communicate, the medical team needs access to quality advance medical directives. MyDirectives can help doctors and patients avoid tragic “death panel” situations right now. No new legislation, no bureaucracy. Consumers can take charge, for free, and have their voice heard, 24×7, anywhere in the world at the push of a button.”

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Live Stream: Pie PDX Demo Day, Jan 17, 2:30pm PT

piepdx on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

This video features the first official Demo Day of the Portland Incubator Experiment live from the Bagdad Theater.

The Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE) is a partnership among leading brands, technology innovators, and Wieden+Kennedy-the largest privately held advertising and communications company in the world. It serves as a hub for community, entrepreneurship, and creative thinking.It’s a collaborative center where brands, tech, and culture meet to explore and redefine brand experiences. And another example of how Wieden+Kennedy and its brand partners are continuously innovating on the edges of tech culture and brand experiences.

7 Small Businesses You Can Start for Under $500

Melinda F. Emerson at Entrepreneur magazine writes that there are a number of small businesses you can start for under $500.

The best way to start a business for less than $500 is to figure out how to get paid for what you love to do,” says Clyde Anderson, a financial lifestyle coach and CNN contributor in Atlanta. “It’s crucial for anyone who’s looking to start a business to determine what gifts and talents they already have and to convert them into an actual business.”

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What Entrepreneurs Needs to Learn From Woody Allen

James Altucher over at TechCrunch writes that Woody Allen’s body of work has a lot to teach entrepreneurs.

So what can we learn from Woody Allen?

• Wake up early
• Avoid distractions
• Work three to five hours a day and then enjoy the rest of the day
• Be as perfectionist as you can, knowing that imperfection will still rule
• Have the confidence to be magical and stretch the boundaries of your medium.
• Combine the tools of the medium itself with the message you want to convey
• Don’t get stuck in the same rut – move forward, experiment, but with the confidence built up over experience.

Read the Full Story.