David Lidsky's Blog, page 3056
February 12, 2015
These African Dolls Are Outselling Barbie In Nigeria
An entrepreneur decided that it's time African girls had dolls that looked like them.
Until recently, it was hard—or even impossible—to find a black doll in Nigeria. Eight years ago, when he was looking for a birthday present for his niece, Nigerian entrepreneur Taofick Okoyo realized that none of the dolls his niece owned looked like her. He couldn't find an African doll in stores. So Okoyo decided to start his own line.
How One Woman Makes Almost $1 Million A Year On Etsy
Alicia Shaffer's business, ThreeBirdNest, makes $80,000 a month selling handmade legwarmers, scarves, and headbands on Etsy. Here's how.
Knitting socks, scarves, and headbands doesn't have much in common with performing orthopedic surgery or governing a country. But this crafty hobby earns mother-of-three Alicia Shaffer's business $80,000 a month, in part via her Etsy shop—which adds up to an annual revenue of $960,000, she claims. That's about as much as top orthopedic surgeons make, and more than twice as much as the United States president makes.
"Guys, Let's Grow The Hell Out Of This Company": How Y Combinator Startups Go Big
The startup factory's philosophy can be summed up simply: Grow fast! A look at how startups figure out what that means.
Liz Wessel has a number in mind: a jaw-dropping digit that she believes will be significant enough to convince even the most skeptical audience that she's onto something big. The Number looms over every decision she has made over the past six weeks and every decision she will make between now and Y Combinator's Demo Day in March, when she'll present the company to a room full of venture capitalists and reporters. This isn't because of what The Number literally represents—a daily tally of employment applications processed by her recruiting startup, Campus Job—but because of what it says about her company: rocketship growth.
Attention Introverts: "Introjis" Are A Series Of Emojis Designed Just For You
Now the ungregarious have a language to call their own.
No matter what language you speak, emojis can feel like a universal mode of communication. Whether your spirit shape is a smiling poop or a Karl Lagerfeld kitty, there are emojis for almost every sensibility. But according to designer Rebecca Evie Lynch, there aren't any emojis that can speak specifically for introverts. "My boyfriend of three years broke up with me, citing the need for more time alone," she says, "I was surprised, as I've always considered myself an introvert, too, but I realized that my enthusiasm about being in a relationship sometimes overshadows my ability to read others' signals." So Lynch set out to design a communication system for the introverted.
February 11, 2015
To Fend Off Apple, Google Might Let You Pay With Your Voice
Plaso is a new experimental system being tested by Google employees.
For a while, it seemed like mobile payments were a geek's dream wrapped in a whole lot of hype. But with last year's launch of Apple Pay, the space has heated up, forcing Cupertino's competitors to get serious about the future of how we'll pay for things.
Watch Live: After Two Scrubbed Launches, SpaceX Will Try Again To Land A Rocket On A Barge
Shortly after 6 p.m. ET Wednesday, SpaceX will attempt to land its Falcon 9 rocket on a robotic floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.
Twice this week, engineers have called off the launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket just minutes before lift-off due to technical issues and uncooperative weather. Today, Elon Musk's private spaceflight company will try again to send a scientific satellite into orbit and then land its rocket vertically on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. (Scroll down for the live stream.)
Sleep Deprived? A Nap Can Undo The Damage To Your Health
A new study points to yet another benefit of stealing 30 minutes of shut-eye this afternoon.
Naps are incredible. For something so socially questionable—have you ever tried to snooze at the office?—the act of stealing 20 minutes of shut-eye during the day certainly packs a lot of benefits. Science says napping improves memory, mood, focus, and learning. Now there's evidence that it's good for your physical health as well.
Can Office Furniture Both Look Nice And Make You More Productive?
New furniture by Glimakra proposes a compromise between open and closed office design.
It seems that no one can get office design right. Cubicles are soul crushing. Open offices are distracting. And just giving people their own offices? Well, that's just too expensive (or so say many companies).
Ranking The 500 Companies And Investors That Could Stop Deforestation--But Don't
Who profits from clearing the world's forests? And which have policies in place to avoid doing that? The Forest 500 list aims to hold these players accountable.
Deforestation is both a big risk for the future and a potential source of hope. The systematic hollowing out of the world's trees contributes up to 15% of all greenhouse gases. But then reducing forest loss could be one of our most effective climate mitigation strategies, because trees are great at storing carbon.
Don't Like Winter? Don't Worry--See How Warm Winter Will Be Where You Live By 2100
Buried in snow? Take hope. Climate change will one day bring warmer Februaries. Boston will feel more like Georgia does today.
By 2100, February in Salt Lake City will feel more like Dallas does now. Portland, Oregon, will feel like the Central Coast in California. And Boston, currently buried in snow, will feel like Marietta, Georgia.
David Lidsky's Blog
- David Lidsky's profile
- 3 followers
