TechTuesday: The 9th Annual Crunchies Awards!

#TechTuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world!

The 9th Annual Crunchies are here and just in time for #TechTuesday! For those of you that aren’t familiar, The Tech Crunchie Awards are the tech world’s equivalent to The Oscars. This award ceremony will take place this upcoming Monday, February 8th, 2016, and it will recognize the greatest technological innovations this past year has seen! ABCey has highlighted the top 5 best new tech startups for this weeks #TechTuesday! Congratulations to all of the nominees!

1. EAZE

The Eaze app is a quick and professional medical marijuana delivery service that has partnered with legally permitted dispensaries to provide patients with lab tested medication that is delivered fast and efficiently. Medication ranges from flowers, edibles, concentrates, and more!

WHY WE LOVE IT: Eaze utilizes it’s advanced technology to automatically assign drivers once the order is complete, so that your delivery is as sufficient as 10-20 minutes after purchase! Not to mention, their dispensaries are open earlier and later than most to provide their users with the most efficient convenience!

2. HONOR

For your loved ones that need extra care, Honor is the app for you! This app is centered around family and comfort, and it supplies the best & most skilled caregivers to your family’s home, while giving you the convenience of scheduling and monitoring their care from virtually anywhere! Caregivers can assist with meal prep/groceries, transportation, check in visits, personal care/hygiene, and the list goes on!

WHY WE LOVE IT: Not looking for a commitment? With Honor Care there are no long term contracts, and care can be scheduled by the hour, and paid by the hour! As well, this app does all of the work for you! The stress of screening and interviewing will be left in the hands of Honor for your convenience.

3. JET

Jet’s free membership does not come with a price, but more so with a savings! Literally, this app has created a marketplace that enables users to watch every dollar being spent, and provides smart choices and options to get the most for your money. Home goods, automative supplies, and even groceries- this app has made shopping simple and convenient!

WHY WE LOVE IT: Who doesn’t love saving money while spending money? One of the many perks of shopping with this app is JetCash! Jet customers that want to switch it up and shop from a different store just need to skim through the Jet Anywhere Retailers list and find the brand of their choice. The money spent at these websites will go towards your next JetCash purchase, all you need to do is forward your confirmation email of purchase to anywhere@jet.com!

4. OPERATOR

We’re past the days of dialing zero to get some assistance! This free messaging app is the equivalent of a personal shopper. Operator is available 24/7 and provides quick and helpful responses to meet users needs! For all of the men that are struggling to find their loved one something special for Valentine’s Day, look no further! Their staff will be glad to assist you and match you with the perfect gift!

WHY WE LOVE IT: From your local store to an exotic country, regardless of the location delivery is made to be easy! With the in-app tracking, Operator’s systems monitor your order around the clock and provide estimated delivery times and shipping updates for your convenience!

5. ROBINHOOD

Commission fees can be aggravating especially when you’re already dabbling with the buying and selling of stocks! The Robinhood app recognized this and created a stock brokerage that offers commission free trading for all of its users! Sounds too good to be true? Robinhood has raised $66 million from several different outlets so that they can make their predominant focus on building lasting experiences for you versus the short-term profits!

WHY WE LOVE IT: Robinhood’s Card feature provides guests with updates that cover basic account information, such as pending and completed transfers, but it also highlights movements within the stock industry! Top News Cards will deliver breaking news in regards to the financial market, while Top Mover Cards will showcase the biggest gains and/or losses on your watch list and in the S&P 500.

This is definitely a tough race! Who do you think will be The Best New Startup of 2016 at this year’s Tech Crunchies? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!

2012 Crunchies Coverage: Best E-Commerce Application

ABCey Events is counting down the two weeks until The Crunchies in San Francisco on January 31. Have you been voting for your favorite Finalists? I’m sure the Finalists for Best E-Commerce Application are counting on your vote. Who are they? Let’s find out:

Fab – Fab is a great design e-commerce site with smartphone app that helps people discover everyday design products at discounted prices. Fab offers everything from vintage apparel to vintage commerative collectibles to decorate your home. It’s great inspiration for interior decorators, fashionistas and DIY project fans. Check this site out to bring some bright colors, cool designs and pizzazz to your life. We love it because it gives great ideas for event decorations and goody-bags.

HotelTonight – HotelTonight is a great smartphone app that lets you book your hotel room at the very last minute (until 2am that same day) for a great deal. Obviously, this is ideal for last-minute planners/deal hunters as well as the hotel industry looking for a way to minimize their room stock. Event planners can recommend this app to event attendees who are looking for flexibility in finding accommodations.

Karma/Facebook Gifts – Last May Facebook acquired the gift app Karma and transformed it into Facebook Gifts. Facebook Gifts is great for two reasons: 1) It allows you to send a last-minute gift in a pinch 2) You don’t need to know your friend’s shipping address in order to send them a gift. Facebook Gifts does all the work by verifying the recipient’s shipping address. There are definitely people who hate shopping but who do love to give gifts – this streamlines the process for them. Next time you’re invited to an event on Facebook, go ahead and send your host/hostess an early gift with Facebook Gifts!

Warby Parker – Just three years, the two founders were selling their glasses from a loft in Philadelphia and now, they are everywhere! There’s very little to say about Warby Parker other than we love their glasses! (I am wearing them right now.) Before Warby Parker came along, I’m sure most people would not have thought it would be easy, convenient or SMART to shop for glasses on the Internet. These days, it’s almost hard to believe you wouldn’t go straight to them to purchase glasses since Warby Parker has made it so simple with their Home Try-Ons, flat rate pricing and free shipping.

Zulily – Sometimes when I stare jealously at a little girl’s cute outfit, I think to myself, “That must be from Zulily.” This is a great all-in-one shopping site marketed toward Moms. Zulily smartly targets Moms, who usually have the greatest shopping power in the household, to shop their flash daily deals for themselves but also provide an outlet to look for their babies and kids. Moms do not have to look any further than Zulily to outfit (the younger half of) their household.

Are you big fans of these e-Commerce sites? Who are you voting for? Tell us in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

2012 Crunchies Coverage: Best New Startup

ABCey Events is pretty excited for The Crunchies to be held in San Francisco on January 31. Do you know who the nominees are? Every week, we’ll introduce you to the nominees for a few of the big categories. You might already be a big fan of some of these startups, but if not, we’re here to share the wealth of knowledge. Here are the nominees for Best New Startup of 2012:

Coursera – Coursera is a social entrepreneurship company that partners with the top universities in the world to offer free online courses for anyone to take. Their technology enables the best professors to teach tens or hundreds of thousands of students. Through this, they hope to give everyone access to the world-class education that has so far been available only to a select few. The site offers a large array of classes and any person looking to revisit some academic topics will not be disappointed!
Crowdtilt – Crowdtilt is a place where you can pool money with your friends or your community for an objective/event/fundraiser you care about. It could be for anything from a vacation home rental in Hawaii to raising money for a charitable event in your neighborhood. Doing things with a group shouldn’t suck so much – and Crowdtilt helps with that. If you are the de facto group organizer for most activities, Crowdtilt is your dream come true.
Lyft – Lyft is an on-demand ridesharing app for cheaper, safer rides. Payment is donation-based. You can spot their cars by the pink mustaches at the front of the vehicle. Lyft and other ridesharing car services have definitely made getting around San Francisco a more reliable, cheaper, and in many cases, more pleasant experience.
Snapchat – Snapchat is a photo messaging application. Using the app, users can take photos, record videos, add text and drawings, and send them to a set list of recipients. Users can program a time limit for how long recipients can view their photos, after which it is deleted from the recipient’s device. With limited attention spans, I’m guessing teenagers love this app.
Waze – Waze is a free mobile navigation application for your smartphones that allows drivers to build and use live maps, real-time traffic updates and turn-by-turn directions. Waze definitely contributes to more and more people relying on their smartphones for navigational services (saving money, yay!).

Which of these do you think is the best startup? Let us know your vote in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter.