Tag: tech crunch

Startup Monday: Operator, Message to Shop!
Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on, or have worked with in the past & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events!
Who doesn’t love online shopping? At ABCey, we’re loving Operator, a messaging app that helps you shop created by Uber cofounder Garrett Camp and former Zynga exec Robin Chan! It combines the best parts of brick-and-mortar and online shopping. This app gives you the expert personal service you’d expect from an in-store employee. But, it doesn’t lock you into shopping at just one physical location. Operator also offers the convenience of shopping from anywhere, anytime via your phone. Operator can even handle the heavy research you might want to skip or not be qualified to do. Afterwards, the annoying checkout experience is handled as well.
Operator Overview
It all starts with a message. Then, you’re directly connected you to a network of shopping expertise that will find the best products. You can request almost anything and best of all, the service is free. Operator will take in mind price ranges, problem-related solutions, and even recommendations? Well, that’s not what we usually hear nowadays when shopping online. The closest we get to getting recommendations when shopping alone online is through the reviews.
After deciding what you want, Operator also takes care of the billing process with no extra charges. Easily track your packages and ensure that your packages arrive! Also, if you need to return or exchange anything, message the Operator and they’ll be there to help.
Start shopping anywhere and anytime! If you’re planning on using this convenient shopping app, let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter.
Startup Monday: Wanelo
Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events.
Lately, we’ve been finding it hard to sift through advertisements, sift through pages and find that one piece of inspiration for our events, outfits and crafts. That’s when we found Wanelo.
Wanelo has everything your heart could desire, right there, in one place, without any clutter. Wanelo recently won at the Tech Crunch Crunchies in February for best E-Commerce startup, and we couldn’t agree more! Founded in 2010 by Deena Varshavsakaya, Wanelo’s goal is to bring everything its users would desire in one spot, without the advertising and without clutter. It stands for Want, Need Love and we want need and love pretty much everything about Wanelo.
Wanelo allows users to shop, set up shop, share stories, create contests and spread inspiration through an easy to use web community. We’ve found some of our latest inspirations at Wanelo, have you? Let us know in the comments section below, or on Facebook & Twitter!
Startup Monday: Kickstarter
Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events.
As many of you know, Kickstarter is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Every week, tens of thousands of people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, art, design, technology, film, publishing, games, fashion, food, and other creative fields. Since its launch in 2009, 5.8 million people have pledged $1 billion, funding 57,000 creative projects! They also recently won the most coveted award at the 7th Annual Tech Crunch Crunchies for Best Overall Startup of 2013!
What’s so great about Kickstarter is that each project is independently created. The unique creators have complete control over and responsibility for their projects. Creators are able to keep 100% ownership of their work, and backers support projects to help them come to life. Together, creators and backers make projects happen.
Kickstarter believes that creative projects make for a better world, and are thrilled to help support new ones. Anyone can launch a project on Kickstarter as long as it meets their deadlines. The startup is based in Brooklyn, New York and will support any creative minds! The Bay Area is filled with innovation and creativity, so if you have a project or idea you want to see come to life, Kickstarter is the right platform! Take a look at the thousands of projects launched from the San Francisco Bay Area or highlights from 2013, or the best projected Kickstarter projects of 2014.
What do you think of the Best Overall Startup of 2013?! Would you use it to launch a project? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!
Tech Tuesday: Get to Know The Nominees
We’ve been counting down the days to the Tech Crunch Crunchie Awards (13 days!) and can’t wait to see who wins Best New Start Up. We’ve done some digging and would like to introduce you to the 5 fantastic nominees in this category!
1. Anki: Making artificial intelligence accessible to everyone! The vision is to bring consumer robotics into everyday life. How exactly did they do this? By first developing an awesome artificial intelligence game called Anki Drive. This unique game learns and adapts, with the sole goal being victory. This is just the beginning of Anki, and we can’t wait to see what they do with artificial intelligence next!
2. Coinbase: Itching to invest in Bitcoins but wary of the security discrepancies that haunt the crytpocurrency? Enter Coinbase, the digital wallet that helps you manage your Bitcoins safely and securely! With 13,000 merchants using Coinbase and investors funneling over $6 million into the fledgling company, Coinbase is guaranteed to expand Bitcoin use to the average consumer.
3. Glow: Hassle free fertility tracking is the focus of the app Glow. Expanding beyond fertility, the young company is beginning to target many more aspects of women’s health and is available on Android and iOS. Women have access to daily questions, a community discussion board and a color-coded calendar that corresponds to their personal women’s health goals. We love that it is a portable, discrete app encouraging and teaching women about their bodies and health!
4. Tinder: Tinder is one of the hottest apps in the hook up culture’s circles. Working on off the time honored binary system, if two users mutually agree the other is attractive, you are able to message each other. Tinder opens the channels for any number of relationship types and is also a fun way to scope out and meet new people!
5. Whisper: Whisper is a new anonymous social media platform where you can be free to share your thoughts with the world. With endless options to customize your posts you can truly express your thoughts while getting feedback on your own. Whisper also has private messaging, which we think is a must for every social media platform!
Who is your pick for Best New Start Up? Let us know in the comments section below or on Facebook & Twitter! We’ll let you know the winner after the Crunchie Awards in San Francisco on February 10th!
ABCey’s Countdown To The 10 Most Anticipated SF Events!
The Bay Area motto has to be “Work Hard, Play Hard!” Between the bevy of incredible tech event opportunities, huge concerts, and entire days devoted to chocolate, beer, and bacon, this city definitely keeps us busy. Join ABCey as we count down on our calendars to the 10 most anticipated SF events!
1. Bacon and Beer Festival | Saturday, August 25th | 2:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. | 950 Mason Street, San Francisco | As if every day of our lives wasn’t devoted to this classical combo already! We’re gonna keep it simple: bacon vendors, breweries, and tastings. Perfection.
2. Oracle OpenWorld | Sunday, September 22nd- Thursday, September 26th | Moscone Center, San Francisco | Oracle puts on its annual OpenWorld event to showcase any news and products to over 45,000 attendees. Amongst the hundreds of sponsors and exhibitions, customize your experience by choosing events that focus on communications, customer experience, big data, and more! In addition to the networking and learning opportunities, there’s bound to be plenty of fun integrating Oracle Team USA and the America’s Cup!
3. America’s Cup Finals | September 17th-21st | Pier 27/29, San Francisco| Whether you’re a boat racing fanatic or just love the waterfront views, the America’s Cup Finals are a must-see. Cheer on your favorite team before all these beautiful boats leave the bay!
4. TechCrunch’s Distrupt SF | Saturday, September 7th- Wednesday, September 11th | The Concourse at San Francisco Design Center | This tech conference is back with new startups, speakers, and technology to discuss! It kicks off with the much-anticipated hackathon, but the real stars of the show are the startups that have a chance to present their business plans in the Startup Battlefield.
5. Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival | September 14th-15th, 2013 | Ghirardelli Chocolate Company | Celebrate SF’s favorite chocolate company with ice-cream eating contests, chef demos, and tons of chocolate samples! This year, they’ve offered a wine and chocolate pavillion because, well, nothing’s better than chocolate and wine!
6. VM World Defy Convention 2013 | Sunday, August 25th- Thursday, August 29th | VMWorld Campus, San Francisco | VMWorld is all about pinpointing problems in the tech world and teaching you the skills to fix them. Attendees can visit over 350 training sessions, hands-on labs, or the Solutions Exchange to see what other companies are doing or compare notes with IT industry experts.
7. BurningMan | August 26th- September 2nd, 2013 | Black Rock Desert, Nevada | Take a break from the hustle of city life and find yourself in the art-based, self-reliant, and self-defiant community that is BurningMan. At this festival, YOU are the entertainment and play an active role in creating and participating in the events.
8. CloudBeat | Monday, September 9th- Tuesday, September 10th | The Grand Hyatt, San Francisco | Cloud technology has played a huge role in the changing face of technology and startups in the past few years, and attending CloudBeat will keep you on top of all things cloud. Through industry speakers and activities, the event will explore the rise of the cloud enterprise and its integration into the web.
9. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass | October 4th, 2013- October 6th, 2013 | Golden Gate Park| It’s hard to imagine going to a free, non-sponsored event anywhere, but HSB is a musical haven for the Bay Area community. Although it started as a bluegrass festival, the lineup has expanded to include artists like Emmylou Harris, Earl Scruggs, and more!
10. BoxWorks | Sunday, September 15th- Tuesday, September 17th | Hilton San Francisco | Box is sponsoring a two-day event aimed towards what’s possible and what’s next in technology, business, society, and Box itself. Expect visionary speakers, deep conversations, lasting connections, and an “epic after party!”