“Most users have no imagination…they want to know what they know. When they say they want the future, what they are really saying is that they want a moderately updated version of the past.”
- MG Siegler (blogger, TechCrunch)
Have you ever wondered about the future of Apple, the enhancement of augmented reality technology, Facebook’s development in 23 years?
Have you ever believed in something? Something that leads you to work nights and weekends, without it feeling like work?
Because that’s what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur or the CEO of “the next big thing” in today’s tech market. I have been reading up on some trending startup companies throughout the past few days (if you want to do this also, click here). I wanted to share a few awesome applications and websites that didn’t follow a simple formula to succeed. All of these startups have found their success through the failure, rejections, and criticism they endured along the way. But, you only have to succeed once and rather than seeing comparisons and doubts as enemies, these companies have learned from their experiences. These companies had a vision for an idea and a desire to create. Here is my list of the latest and greatest startup companies in the market today (enjoy!):
- Path.to
- Fall in love with your next job
- Delivers users the most relevant job opportunities and ultimately makes job searching much more effected, targeted and meaningful.
- Applicants create a profile to highlight their talents, past work and skills and Path.to then implements a ranking system to his/her profile, extracting unique profile characteristics
- These characteristics produce a Path.to “score” based on the person, business, and position which is used to find the best company matches, and job opportunities.
- Fall in love with your next job
My thoughts: No matter who you are, what you like or what you want, you should be clicking this link now. Why wouldn’t you take the opportunity to find a job you’ll love? If you feel inadequate because of your experience history, Path.to will help you. It’s a win-win kind of deal.
Here’s a look at Path.to:
- Rewind.me
- Unlocking the value in your past
- Manage your digital history with Rewind.me
- An iOS app that takes your checking in activity and makes it a fun social experience and powerful personal tool
- You’ll be able to learn new things about what you’ve done, where you’ve been, how your friends behave, and how you stack up against others.
My thoughts: This app is amazing and such a great idea. If you have read some of my older posts, I discuss the Evertale application (an automatic person diary) and my desire for an iOS version to be created. I know what you’re thinking, Foursquare? Yes Foursquare is a popular app and a lot of smart phone users have downloaded it–but do they use it? I don’t. I know some people do but it hasn’t hit it’s “instagram” point of audience expansion yet (if you know what I mean). When you have Rewind.me, you don’t need to remember to check in, the application does it for you! That being said, if you like remembering your past places, interactions and new friendships then this application is for you.
*Update: There is now a Foursquare Edition that integrates your Foursquare check in history!
- Teambox
- A productivity platform that works like you do: virtual, mobile and social
- A project management platform that streamlines social communication in a productive, task-driven environment.
- Teambox has integrated point solutions into the broadest platform available in the industry today (so it beats over 3 million other project management applications available today).
- Offers solutions to the collaboration, file sharing and task management issues that arise throughout a project
- Members can integrate their account with Google docs, Google Calendar, Dropbox and Twilio.
- Access premium features for free when project used for up to 5 user
- A productivity platform that works like you do: virtual, mobile and social
My thoughts: Teambox outshines competitors in this industry because it highlights collaboration and open source solutions to project software. It’s basically the next generation collaboration platform in the cloud with over 200,000 users worldwide. The way they have integrated social media with project management on the procial network (professional social networking) has changed the way people work and use e-mail by making projects easier, fun, and productive. Go check it out and start spending less time dealing with the miscommunications and hassles of e-mail.
I just started working on my account, so click here to view pictures that display some of the cooler parts of Teambox (there are a lot).
- Glancee
- Bringing together the best of your physical and digital world
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- Helps you connect with people who share friends and interests with you (hmm…. sounds a lot like the Highlight app)
- Searches for profiles nearby throughout the day and keeps track of all the people you meet & your important connections
- The Glancee Radar allows users to search for people nearby, Glancee’s Diary keeps track of all the people you met at past events (ex: Who was that pale guy in the corner of the room at the party last night?)
- Users receive notifications when a friend or new profile with shared connections or interests is close to you
My thoughts: I was hesitant at first when deciding whether I liked Glancee and the purpose of the app. I downloaded Highlight before it started trending (such a hipster) and I really thought it was going to catch on and user downloads would sky rocket. The idea sold me but when I actually started using the app, I didn’t find it as resourceful as it’s description illustrated in my mind. Glancee is a little different, but these small changes change the user experience dramatically. The features offer more use, and similar connection listings for social networking and their recent transition to Facebook kind of seals the deal. Make a profile and I can see if we’re nearby 
- Kickstarter
- Fund & Follow Creativity
- A website that funds creative idea through public donation. Anyone with an idea can create a project but must follow site guidelines to launch. All project owners must choose a deadline and a target minimum of funds to raise. If the target amount is not reached by the deadline, then the project receives no funding.
- A great way for artists, filmmakers, musicians, designers, writers, illustrators, explorers, curators, performers, and others to bring their projects, events, and dreams to life.
- Fund & Follow Creativity
My thoughts: Okay I’m sorry to do this AGAIN but I’ve been rooting for Kickstarter from the gecko (yeah you get it but can’t a girl get a little recognition?) and the site will never cease to impress me. If you have an idea that makes your friends say “woah” then start up your project and profile ASAP. The world’s gone patent crazy- it’s serious stuff and there are a lot of layers to it. Mentioning an idea online – no matter the site – creates issues for others to copyright that same, or similar, idea. So get on your pumped up KICKS[TART] and go! <– I tried.
- Pearltrees
- The social curation community. Share your pearls.
- Allows users to organize, discover and share the websites they like or bookmark with a community of people.
- Choose to map your daily navigation on the Internet, edit your map, or share with friends, family and members of the Pearltrees community.
- The social curation community. Share your pearls.
My thoughts: If you’ve never used Pearltree before, you might get a little confused while exploring the different features at first. Not because the site is difficult to navigate, but the layout style is kind of like the ikea version of instructions. Does that make sense? In other words, there aren’t very many words or directions. Pearltrees uses info-graphics to manage your online bookmarks. I signed up for my Pearltrees account last year and refused to use it after I couldn’t delete a pearl (website) for 2 seconds. I realize now what I mistake I made. The presentation and organization of the site will prevent you from scanning 7 pages of delicious deets for your research article. Just try it out.
A look at my profile when I first started:
After organizing:
Phew.. now 74 more sights to go and then I’m done my bookmarking experience here!
Make sure to browse other users’ Pearltrees, all you have to do is click the related interests button in the top left hand corner of the page.
I will post a part II to this article tomorrow, I don’t want to make your eyes burn. I just scrolled to the top of the page and impressed myself at the length. I’m a visual kind of person.
Even though this isn’t the full list, these sights are all amazing.
Everyone has the ability to be creative, but only some are curious enough to discover and grow.
If you have any other start-up sites you think deserve a shout out, please comment below and I’ll make sure to check out the page
Happy Thursday!
