start-ups

MS Office Killer or yet another crappy clone? (Hint: it's probably the latter)

The guy who created Hotmail is back with a new set of applications that are a direct clone of MS Office delivered through a browser. My initial reaction: Who cares? We already have at least 10 companies doing the same thing, including Google who have the biggest footprint...but read on:

Live Documents is similar to Google Apps, launched in February and used by companies including Proctor & Gamble, General Electric and Capgemini as a cheaper alternative to Microsoft. However, Mr Bhatia claims that his product is superior to Google?s in its range and quality, most crucially because it … Read more

Paglo: A Web 2.0 approach to IT

The Web 2.0 style IT management tool, Paglo launched in beta on Monday.

Paglo is essentially an IT search engine that indexes a ton of information about the network you are managing. For example, if you are concerned about how many copies of Microsoft Office are installed on computers at your company and want to make sure that you are complying with your license, Paglo allows you to view that statistic in real time.

There are three key elements to Paglo: the Crawler, Search Index, and UI. If you are a network administrator, for example, you install the Paglo … Read more

Google's Mayer to judge VC pitching contest

Paula Abdul doesn't have anything on Marissa Mayer.

Mayer, Google's vice president of search products and user experience, will be on a panel of expert judges for YouBeTheVC.com, where people vie for venture capital funding though an online contest. The contest is something like American Idol meets The Apprentice.

Would-be entrepreneurs submit their business ideas online and the judges give them report cards. Members of the public then choose the winners from semifinalists picked by the judges.

"We're really excited about this contest because we really like the idea of being able to see what'… Read more

Skateboarding for eco-conscious riders

My colleague Hunter Smith of frog design has used his entrepreneurial spirit to launch a budding start-up based on his two greatest passions: eco-design and skateboarding. Hunter's company, aptly named SuperGreen Boards, employs some of the most advanced eco-friendly technologies for producing custom longboards, slalom, and speedboards.

SuperGreen Boards uses bamboo, which is not only beautiful, strong, and flexible but is also sustainably harvested. Maple wood, known as the gold standard for skateboards because of its strength under the pressure of the rider, takes a minimum of 100 years to mature before it can be used. Bamboo, in comparison, … Read more

Silicon Valley Geek-out (Ashlee Vance's book is out--finally)

My pal and host of our Open Season podcast series Mr. Ashlee Vance finally had his magic tome: Geek-Silicon Valley hit the streets. It's an entertaining read and considering that Ashlee spends the majority of his time talking smack about software companies it's good to see that he can actually write :>

Link to The Duck Rabbit minisite

TechCrunch at DigitalLife: A taste of Valley culture amid consumer-tech blitz

You'd think it would've drawn crowds.

TechCrunch founder and controversial Valley 2.0 icon Michael Arrington was making a rare appearance in New York, moderating a panel at the DigitalLife trade show on Thursday night. And the panel in question, called "The Disruptors," included a few of the start-up world's hottest names: Napster, Plaxo, and Facebook veteran Sean Parker (currently of the Founders Fund); Oovoo CEO Philippe Schwartz; SpinVox co-founder Daniel Doulton; IGA Worldwide CEO Justin Townsend; and Ooma founder Andrew Frame. Considering the resurgence of tech culture and startup spirit in New York in … Read more

Pitch overload at AlwaysOn

PALO ALTO, Calif.--Another line of start-ups made their case at the AlwaysOn Stanford Summit here on Thursday. A mix of more established and fairly new companies with services that are in beta--some that have already had one or two rounds of funding but are now seeking investors' attention again.

Here is a chunk of the start-ups: Technology enablers Flock is a Web browser that lets you add tools and applications to share media and interact online. We have mentioned it before and the last version of the social browser is now up for beta before its official launch … Read more

A field guide for identifying bad CEOs

Time and time again you hear the same maxim: it's the people, not the technology or the products, that determine whether a company sinks or swims.

Intel's growth over the last four decades, or Oracle's relentless expansion in software, are pretty good examples of how leadership and management decisions can greatly impact a company's history.

But how do you identify the buffoons and poseurs? The guys who are lucky to be there and probably destined to slip?

One clue is if the company displays its current stock price on a screen in the lobby or on … Read more

Start-up vet to run Yahoo's greenhouse

Yahoo hasn't officially announced its Brickhouse program dedicated to launching innovative new products, but word has leaked that it has hired a start-up veteran to head up the program.

Salim Ismail, chairman of Confabb.com, a directory of conferences, and co-founder of PubSub, confirms on his blog on Thursday that he's joining Yahoo.

"At Yahoo, I'll be running the Brickhouse, the program spearheaded and created by Caterina Fake, inside Bradley Horowitz's Advanced Development Division," that is launching products like Yahoo Pipes, an interactive feed aggregator, he writes.

"While I've gotten used to … Read more

Advice for start-ups: Don't solve cheap problems

Boston -- I'm at the MIT Enterprise Forum's Brave New Web event today, and later I'll be moderating a panel about starting Web 2.0 businesses. But this morning we're all listening to Brightcove CEO (and local hero) Jeremy Allaire talk about how to start a technology business today.

He said that unlike a lot of current Web 2.0 businesses, he started a business that "we knew would require a lot of capital." He raised $6M early on, far more than most current Web start-ups have in the bank when they get going. … Read more