Most of the tech buzz over the past week seemed to revolve around the big Apple Watch announcement. But there’s also another watch that made news this week. Pebble Technology made Kickstarter history as its new Pebble Time smart watch became the most funded Kickstarter project ever. Read about the Pebble Time, Apple Watch, and plenty of other tech and small biz headlines in this week’s Small Business Trends news and information roundup.
Technology Trends
Pebble’s New Watch is Now the Most Funded Kickstarter Campaign of All Time
Pebble is back with a vengeance. The company has returned to Kickstarter to launch its new smart watch, the Pebble Time, and has become the most funded Kickstarter to date. The company blasted through its original goal raising over $17 million to date, and the campaign still has a little over two weeks to go.
Highlights from the Apple Spring Forward Event
The Apple Spring Forward Event took place on Monday, March 9. The event was streamed live for all those unable to attend but in typical Apple fashion it could only be viewed with Safari on iOS or OS X. Among other announcements, Apple revealed its newest MacBook and shared a demo of the much anticipated Apple Watch. Apple is boasting its newest MacBook is the thinnest ever.
SAP Lumira Edge Edition Turns Spreadsheets into Infographics
Regardless of its size, your business probably collects plenty of data. From financial records to email and customer lists to information gathered by your CRM system and beyond, it’s a question of using that data productively.
New Moto E Gets Bigger Screen, Not a Higher Price Tag
Motorola continues its appeal to the entry-level smartphone buyer with its latest device, the new Moto E. The new smartphone unveiled recently is an upgrade to the original Moto E introduced in 2014. It’s a basic smartphone and could potentially be a option for small businesses that need a smartphone to do the simplest of activities.
Employment
Say Goodbye to Job Boards and Hello to Relode
If your company’s looking for help in all the wrong places, startup Relode says it can help. Relode is an online, on-demand community of job recruiters. The company caters to businesses that have employment needs but don’t know where to begin to look. Or they simply may have run out of time to recruit.
Marketing Tips
Running a Contest? Here’s How to Get More Entries
Running a contest is a tried and true marketing method to build an email list. But it can be frustrating if you don’t get many entries. A recent study reveals how to get more participation. The study by Formstack, an online form builder tool, found that contest forms had the highest “conversion rate” of all forms.
Product Reviews
Financeit Lets Small Businesses Offer Consumer Financing
If consumer financing is at the top of your “confusing topics I wish I understood better so I could increase my bottom-line” list, then the online consumer financing solution Financeit is here to help. Let me be up front here: to the ever-lasting frustration of my father (the accountant), finance is not my thing.
Small Biz Spotlight
Spotlight: Lotty Dotty Turns Paper Dolls into T-Shirts
Paris is often considered the fashion capital of the world. But big name brands and runway shows are just part of the Paris fashion scene. The Paris scene has also inspired some smaller fashion companies, like Lotty Dotty. Lotty Dotty is a kids’ clothing brand that has a unique line of interactive products.
Social Media
Treatings App Brings Professionals Together for Coffee Dates
Hayden Williams and Paul Osetinsky weren’t fulfilled with their Wall Street jobs. Though their jobs in investment banking brought them financial success, they both just knew that something else was missing. So the two of them, who originally met at Vanderbilt University, set out to find something better.
How Everyday People are Building Businesses on YouTube
You likely already understand the power that YouTube can have as a marketing tool for businesses. But some people have also been able to actually build entire businesses around the platform. And it isn’t just the big name YouTube personalities either.
Startup
CogniToys are Much Like . . . Well, Siri for Kids
Over the years, technology has become more and more personal with focus on tracking your preferences and adjusting to fit your unique tastes. Some target your interests. Google can predict what you are going to search for next. Your phone already knows what your next text will be.
TechColumbus Spurs Startup Success with Relaunch as Rev1
The goal at Rev1 Ventures is to turn Columbus, Ohio, into the Silicon Prairie. The technology and business incubator, originally TechColumbus, has re-branded itself to take a more multi-faceted approach to fostering an environment for startups.
Tune In For Entrepreneurial Success on Startup School Radio
SiriusXM listeners are about to get some business advice from the country’s leading entrepreneurs and more successful investors. Startup School Radio is a program designed to bring together the top minds in business and entrepreneurship in a weekly forum. The show will air weekly on Wednesdays beginning on March 11 at 10 a.m. PST live from San Francisco.
College Dropout Creates Successful Wigo App for College Students
Plenty of college students go on to create successful businesses. But many of them get a degree first. Ben Kaplan however, didn’t wait to get a degree before building the Wigo app for students. But even though he didn’t need a degree to build a successful app, his time in college was essential to Wigo.
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Image: Pebble
