David Lidsky's Blog, page 3409
November 8, 2013
The New VC Arms Race: Snazzy Websites
It used to be that money was enough, but now, VCs tell us, you need an enticingly designed website, too.
Venture Capitalists have always been the money men behind Silicon Valley. They roll the dice with tens of millions of dollars at a time, and ultimately, those investments have defined them. But these days, money alone isn't enough to recruit the best entrepreneurial talent. (If it were, Mark Zuckerberg would have never shown up at Sequoia Capital in his pajamas.)
An App That You Hug, And Hugs You Back
Its technology may be simple, but Avocado, a private social network for romantic partners, has tapped into some deep psychological processes to bring lovers closer together.
My fiancée and I keep very different hours. I wake up close to dawn to write, and inevitably fall asleep early after dinner, often in my chair. The inamorata, on the other hand, is a night owl who can usually be found reading until 3am, and often can't be found at all before 10, when she rises to study and work. Because of this, the two of us rarely get to indulge in the blissful pleasure of waking up with one another. Even so, every morning, I know when she wakes up. Because no matter how far away from me she may be, she hugs me through her iPhone. And I hug her through my iPhone right back.
Google Glass Has A Partner For Prescription And Custom Lenses
An 80–year–old optical firm will be producing "custom prescription, fashion and sport lenses" for Glass.
Google Glass now has a partner to create prescription–lens versions of its product. Rochester Optical, an 80–year–old firm, has been given the go–ahead to produce "custom prescription, fashion and sport lenses" for Google's wearable tech headset. Last month, the firm let it be known that a forthcoming upgrade would "allow your Glass to work with future lines of shades and prescription frames"––although that statement did not make it clear whether version 20.20 would sit atop a user's existing eyewear, or fit on top of Google–sanctioned specs.
Instagram Blocks Hashtags Related To Selling Drugs
Why Collaborating Creatively With Your Customers Helps You Transcend Being Just Another Brand
If we're going to size up Ethan Song, the CEO of online men's clothing boutique Frank & Oak, we need to first get the seam right. Yeah, that's sartorial metaphor, right there.
For only being a one–and–a–half year old, Frank & Oak is putting a fresh crease in men's fashion: the site now boasts 1 million members––stemming from 490% growth year over year. Not only that, CEO Ethan Song explains to Fast Company, but these users aren't in it for a one–night stand: 65% of the customers who make one purchase return for another in two months, with the average Frank & Oak customer making more than six purchases a year––that's a lot for a dude.
5 Free Apps To Show Off Your Dog, Save Cash On Groceries, And Much More
Coupons! Food! Cute puppies! Free apps! (Do we have your attention yet?)
If you want to put all those puppy photos to good use, want photos like never before, or love samples, this edition of Free App Friday is for you.
First 3–D–Printed Metal Gun Created, Assembled, And Fired
"We weren't trying to figure out a cheaper, easier, better way to make a gun," the makers say.
Six months after a gun made from 3–D printed plastic components was created and then fired, an engineering firm specializing in the technology has done the same for a 3–D printed weapon made out of metal. Solid Concepts, based in Austin, printed the parts using a laser sintering process, then, after spending around seven minutes assembling the weapon, it was fired successfully on a firing range.
Fighting Your Business Battles: 6 Lasting Lessons From Sun Tzu's Art Of War
You'll probably never read the entire book many consider a business strategy bible. So read this instead.
Business has always been tough, but it has gotten even more difficult as competition has become more global, faster–paced and increasingly technology–dependent. So why in the 21st century would it make sense to look to The Art of War by Sun Tzu for business advice, a book on ancient warfare written centuries before the birth of Christ?
How To Shift Paradigms Like Marie Curie
Let's see: you got your entrenched patriarchy and a dim understanding of the nature of matter. Might as well upset both.
It's dumbfounding, flabbergasting, and flummox ing that society used to be as stupid as it was: like when, a scant century ago, Marie Curie, one of the most brilliant and kind and era–defining people of the past millennium was besmirched and belittled for the fact that she was a she, that there was a woman making the most significant scientific discoveries rather than some old white dude. As such, her life is an inspiration in the truest sense––that is, 79 years after her death, she's still breathing life into us.
How A Deeper Customer Understanding Can Energize Innovation
Energy companies have a powerful tool to drive sales: Specialized outreach to understand––and market––end–users
In the popular film, Field of Dreams, the protagonist Ray Kinsella hears a voice that whispers, "If you build it, they will come." Kinsella heeds the voice and builds a storybook baseball field and at the film's dramatic close, players have arrived and hundreds of cars are streaming toward the ballpark.
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