Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship head to put spotlight on Caribbean
Posted on 18. May, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
To highlight the Caribbean as a viable investment destination will be the focus of Lisa Lake, chief entrepreneurship officer, the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean at Invest Caribbean Now. The event which will put spotlight on the opportunities in the region will take place on June 6 at the New York Marriott Marquis in [...]
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Social media set to go public: Facebook sets price to $38 per share for IPO
Posted on 17. May, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Facebook Inc. has priced its shares in its initial public stock offering at $38, setting the stage for its market debut Friday. The IPO values Facebook at $104 billion, which is the largest-ever for a newly public company. It is estimated that the $18.4 billion that Facebook is expected to raise in the IPO would [...]
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Small business success story: A mom takes on the needle arts
Posted on 16. May, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
NARBERTH, Pa., Thirteen years ago, mother of two Laura Kelly stood in the doorway of a kindergarten class and watched as a group of three to five-year-olds baked bread and hand-sewed little animals. Kelly was prospecting schools for her own children, and to a mother who was nervous about choosing the right one, “this felt [...]
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Glowpoint inks partnership with Columbus Business Solutions
Posted on 15. May, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
To provide cloud managed video services across Caribbean and Latin America Glowpoint, Inc., provider of cloud managed video services, announced a partnership with Columbus Business Solutions to offer cloud hosted video services to businesses and governments throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Through a multi-year agreement, Columbus will offer Columbus Cloud Video Conferencing, a fully [...]
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Call to for regional entrepreneurs to apply for Caribbean Idea Marketplace
Posted on 14. May, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
- Chance to secure upto US$ 100,000 in grant funding IF you have an innovative business idea, here is your opportunity to secure up to US$100,000 in grant funding. Compete Caribbean is inviting applicants from the Caribbean and the Caribbean diaspora in the USA, Canada and the UK to apply for the Caribbean Idea Marketplace [...]
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Yahoo launches Small Business Marketing Dashboard
Posted on 14. May, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Yahoo! Small Business launched Yahoo! Marketing Dashboard, a free tool that helps entrepreneurs discover new marketing opportunities to grow their businesses, while getting a clear picture of their marketing results, online reputations, and website performance, all in one place. Yahoo says that the dashboard would aim to provide a clear, consolidated picture of a business’s [...]
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Call to focus on SME sector to boost the Bahamas’ Economy
Posted on 14. May, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Renewed thrust on the SME sector in the Bahamas is being mooted to address the challenges faced by the country. “It is the only sensible approach to grow our economy in a sustainable manner, increase GDP and the entrepreneurial spirit and reduce unemployment, national debt and crime. In order to correct these problems, there must [...]
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AIS teams with MOBIbucks for bill payment platform
Posted on 13. May, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Following on the heels of the presentation on Mobile Money and Internet banking at Caribiztech technology and business conference, Advanced Integrated Systems (AIS) has announced the roll out of its mobile money platform to Jamaica and the Caribbean. The venture is a joint arrangement with the US-based mobile payment outfit MOBIbucks. The new payment system [...]
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Caribiztech – Technology unleashed for SME sector
Posted on 13. May, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Caribiztech, organised in Kingston brought together technology aficionados, experts and business owners. They deliberated on the possibilities and options in technology in making the SME sector, particularly in Jamaica to compete and succeed in the 21st century. Here are some snippets from Caribiztech 2012, watch out for more in the coming issues of Businessuite Digital [...]
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RedBk inks advertising agreements
Posted on 11. May, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
RedBk and Tyre Warehouse sign advertising agreement for 2013 RedBk Telephone Directory. It’s a Proven Deal…………Investment Company inks Advertising Agreement with 2013 RedBk Telephone Directories.
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Nokia and Microsoft Join Forces: a tag team of heavyweights
Posted on 15. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
What happens when two heavyweights, once at the top of their respective game joins forces? That’s exactly what we’re about to find out. Computer giants Microsoft and cellphone pioneers Nokia – have over the last few months joined forces in the multi-billion dollar mobile phone and mobile OS war.
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DIY Apps Save Small Businesses Time, Money
Posted on 15. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Small business owners eager to create mobile apps—whether to market services to customers or improve internal productivity—are finding a growing array of alternatives to hiring professional programmers. Aside from Appsbar, the list also features such companies as MyAppBuilder, AppBreeder, AppsGeyser, Mobile Roadie, and Socialize, which makes the AppMakr tool.
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Augmented Reality: a local IT company breaks new ground
Posted on 15. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
“SIEAE is a very new entity in the business world with the focus of developing augmented applications here in the Caribbean. It is operated solely by myself and a graphic designer who is an alumni of the Art institute of Ft. Lauderdale,” says Managing Director Robert Farr. “The idea to bring this digital experience came about simply from observing the use of technology here in Jamaica. To put it bluntly, everyone has a smart phone, a laptop or a home computer, the question simply was, what if?”
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Cloud Services: The Risks of Online storage
Posted on 15. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
The main issue businesses grapple with is security. The cloud model has been criticized by some for the greater ease in which the companies hosting the cloud services control, thus can monitor at will, lawfully or unlawfully, the communication and data stored between the user and the host company. Dr. Maurice McNaughton of the University of the West Indies’ Mona School of business believes that these concerns are nothing new. “The risks of cloud computing are typical of risks associated with any hosted solution,” insists Dr. McNaughton who has written extensively on the topic of Cloud Computing. “One of the perennial concerns has been the notion that the Patriot Act gives the U.S. government the right to access data stored on the cloud servers of American service providers,” he acknowledges. However this he believes can be mitigated by the use of local cloud providers with data centre facilities located in Jamaica or the Caribbean.
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Are You Ready to Change? How to Make Change Work
Posted on 13. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Model the changes yourself. Remember the admonition to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify the Father”. Marley did remind us that the fight is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness in high and low places. Prepare yourself, spiritually, mentally and physically for the long haul. This is not a sprint. It is more than a marathon.
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AT&T Strikes Deal to Sell Majority Stake in Yellow Pages-Revenue Has Been Falling for Pages’ Biggest Player
Posted on 10. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
That AT&T, a powerhouse in mobile phones and high-speed internet services, couldn’t find a way to make its yellow-pages unit into one of the dominant, rapid-growth, go-to local-digital plays shows the tough realities of this market.
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Companies Spend Money, Time on New Corporate Names
Posted on 10. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
But these days, the name game seems a lot more complicated, sometimes needlessly so, with marketers getting a little too cute for their own good, according to some branding experts. Consider Kraft Foods, which faced a wave of criticism after picking the name “Mondelez” for its planned global snack-company spinoff. The food giant said the name came from combining “monde,” derived from the Latin word for “world” and “delez,” meant to convey “delicious.” But when said in Russian, the name sounds rather like the expression for an oral-sex act, as Crain’s Chicago Business recently pointed out.
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Can Brands Market on Facebook Without Actually Spending Money on Advertising?
Posted on 09. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Mr. Symonds said a paradigm shift is taking place because of social media, with the percentage of a digital campaign’s media spend going toward creative increasing from the legacy share of roughly 10% to 20%. Investment in a costly social app such as Spotify can pay off handsomely if it goes viral.
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Are You the Right CMO for the Job, And Is It Right for You?
Posted on 04. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
By understanding the skills of individual CMOs and applying the framework to evaluate the potential CMO-firm fit, CMOs and companies alike can increase the likelihood of a strong match. CEOs and job specs aren’t always clear on the role that CMOs are interviewing for, so it’s critical that CMOs ask questions about whom they report to, who they’ll manage, the budgets they’ll control and the changes they’ll have the latitude to make. CMO candidates can engage the CEO in a candid dialogue about what kind of CMO role the company is recruiting for, and even educate the CEO on CMO types. This can help CMOs adapt the role to better fit their skills. Knowing what type of role you excel at and what type of role the company is really offering will better enable you to maximize your success.
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Burger King to Be Public Company Again — 18 Months After Going Private
Posted on 04. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
“We believe it is the right time for Burger King to be publicly traded in the U.S. again,” Chief Financial Officer Daniel Schwartz said in a statement. “With this transaction, we are positioning the Burger King brand for long-term growth both domestically and internationally.”
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Brazil Jamaica Relations should improve with new Mission -Jarrett
Posted on 03. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
This against the background of rising Brazilian imports, (ethanol, alcohol and corned beef) and negligible Jamaican exports to Brazil and the need for more export opportunities to be created for Jamaica. In 2010, imports from Brazil were valued at US$203,171,910 while exports and re-exports from Jamaica amounted to US$617,170 and US$126,396 respectively.
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Entrepreneur Roy D’Cambre is onto something with AB InBev Partnership
Posted on 02. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
In Jamaica as in the rest of the world beer consumption in developed markets continues to suffer from high unemployment, high fuel prices and constrained consumer spending. In the USA, where unemployment is particularly severe among key beer drinkers, beer volumes have fallen slightly although accompanied by consumer uptrading between industry price segments. Beer volumes continue to decrease in Western Europe as consumers switch to other beverages and reduce on-premise consumption
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The Power of Positive Relationships
Posted on 01. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Be a role model for change in your organization, in your church, in your home or in your school because the power of positive relationships is remarkable. Imagine all the things in life that can be accomplished with each relationship working positively in a caring and memorable way – life would be more enjoyable and goals would be achieved easier with people whom you have developed trust and friendship.
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Caribbean Entrepreneurs urged to shed old ways of doing business.
Posted on 01. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
“We’re looking at their marketing, we’re looking at their production capacity, and we’re looking at their finance. Essentially, we are looking at the DNA of the company and when you look at the DNA of the company, it begins to tell you what’s missing from this company, so we are trying to have one-on-ones with the Entrepreneurs rather than having these mass workshops which tend to not have the impact we hope we can have,” said Pamella Coke Hamilton, executive director, Caribbean Export Development Agency at a recent press conference.
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Is One Caribbean Media Still Hunting For A Jamaican Radio Company?
Posted on 01. Apr, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Businessuite understands that the Trinidad-based One Caribbean Media Limited (OCM) has been in the Jamaican market hunting for a radio company to acquire. Among the entities apparently approached were Nationwide News Network, BESS100FM and KLASSFM. According to sources close to these discussions no deal has yet been struck and the search continues.
It’s clear therefore that for this strategy to be successfully executed Jamaica has to be a part of the lineup. The big question now is, how much OCM and the Caribbean Super Station (CSS) are willing to pay to enter the Jamaican market?
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Get Tough: Avoid Hiring Those Who’ll Be Toxic to Your Business
Posted on 27. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
You need to identify individuals who will detract from your business and avoid them, just as you need to get rid of people on staff who are already hurting your company. These people usually will do more damage than good. These types of decisions will typically be unpopular with some, but they are necessary to rid yourself of distractions and focus on growing your business. You have to be prepared to make tough calls to mold a corporate culture that you and your team are proud to be a part of. This may sound like a cold approach, but I believe it’s important for executives to measure the success of their agency by the sum of its parts, not their popularity with everyone they meet.
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Mascots Are Brands’ Best Social-Media Accessories
Posted on 26. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Mascots are “the gift that keeps on giving,” said Carol Phillips, president of consulting group Brand Amplitude. “They never get in trouble with the law. They don’t up their fees. You can use them for a long, long time.”
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Jamaican Political Parties Spent Heavily in 2011 Elections
Posted on 22. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Taking a closer look at individual advertisers in the category it becomes apparent that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) spent the most on all three media (television, radio and print).
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Lee Clow: Ad Agencies Paid Like They’re Doing Clients’ Laundry
Posted on 22. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
“Unfortunately, in our business, we get paid like we’re doing our clients’ laundry. We haven’t figured out that the ideas that we create can become a very powerful asset to the brands we work for. Many of the ideas — whether they be slogans or advertising forms and styles or a voice that we create for brands — could be listed on the balance sheet of our clients as an asset with millions and millions of dollars in value.”
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Nissan Brings Back the Datsun Brand
Posted on 21. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
“We’re seeing trending in China, with companies like Chevy, Buick and others saving those established brand names for higher-end cars,” Mr. Bragman said. “Datsun is just a historical footnote to most people in this country.”
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Retailers Strike Back in Mobile Wars With … People
Posted on 19. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
“Previously you’d have expected store staff to be educated about the products and the brand,” said Geoffrey Handley, co-founder and CEO of mobile agency The Hyperfactory. “Now, nine out of 10 consumers know much more than the store staff because they have the tools to educate themselves.”
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T&T on tight rope:80 per cent of the goods on the shelves of supermarkets are imported
Posted on 19. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
At least 80 per cent of the goods on the shelves of our supermarkets are imported. And this has contributed to the rise in our country’s food import bill from $2 billion in 2006 to a staggering $4 billion. Food Production Minister Vasant Bharath plans to reduce this figure by half in 2015. The task is daunting but Bharath said it has to be done if we want to see cheaper food prices, a reduction in food inflation, obtain food security and a slash in our growing food import bill.
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Trade Minister: T&T moving to bigger Americas market
Posted on 19. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
“Panama has a huge services sector, so we are going to be working on developing that part of the agreement soon to include services.” In an effort to expand T&T’s market trade, Cadiz said the Government is aggressively pursuing several trade agreements with Central and South America. As early as April 11, Cadiz said Government will be initiating discussions for partial scope agreements with Guatemala followed by El Salvador.
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Study Finds Marketers Don’t Practice ROI They Preach
Posted on 15. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
As one respondent colorfully put it, his company’s marketing ROI measurement is like “pissing in the wind.”
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Ragashanti ordered back on air by BESS100FM quits LIME TV.
Posted on 12. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Well it now appears that Ragashanti is coming back to national radio via BESS 100FM, located in Kingston with a national distribution platform. According to information reaching Businessuiteonline the show is expected to begin airing on Monday April 16th during the 1-5pm time slot.
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Jury convicts Stanford in $7 billion Ponzi scheme so what about Carlos Hill?
Posted on 06. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
A Houston jury Tuesday convicted Texas financier R. Allen Stanford on all but one of the charges he faced for allegedly bilking investors out of more than $7 billion in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history. The federal jurors found Stanford guilty on 13 of 14 counts he faced. They found Stanford [...]
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When It Comes to Names, Corporations Just Aren’t People
Posted on 06. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
Years ago, Western Union was one of our accounts. Early in the relationship, I was mildly surprised to see internal memos about “WUCo”: Western Union Corp. Western Union, whose reputation suffered because of the connection with telegrams, was a candidate for a name change. (As Time magazine once reported: “It was on time and had [...]
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What’s Holding up the JMMB Acquisition of CCFG?
Posted on 04. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
According to one financial analyst spoken to “Now that the PNP was in office the likelihood of JMMB securing a commercial license was much greater, which would mean that the longer the CCFG deal takes to consummate the less attractive it becomes”
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Wisynco’s Bottling And Distribution Of Coca Cola May Prevent A Deal With Pepsi For Ocean Spray. Caught in the cola wars
Posted on 04. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
So what are the odds of PepsiCo allowing Wisynco, who bottle and distribute Coca Cola and a major competitor in all categories, to continue manufacture and distribute co-branding of its proprietary brand Wata with Ocean Spray to produce a line of flavored-water products?
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Excess liquidity at $5b mark in TT
Posted on 04. Mar, 2012 by businessuitemagazine.
“The fact that we have posted a profit is varied. In terms of managing expenses, all banks are very conscious of that now, but there is also the low volume of lending opportunities, and that is what is causing the excess liquidity,” says Richard Young, managing director of Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago and president of the Bankers Association.
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Special May-June 2012 Print and Digital Issue
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The Business News and Feature Channel
WSJ Business Insights
- Jack Welch on Women in the EconomyAlan Murray talks with Jack and Suzy Welch at the Women in the Economy conference about what steps need to be taken to eliminate the cultural biases against women advancing in business. […]
- Bank Shares Had a Solid Rise in the First QuarterLukewarm economic data out of Washington indicates a slower recovery than expected. Now is not the time to get on the train in these turbulent times ahead. MarketWatch Editor-in-Chief David Callaway tells us what's ahead. […]
- On Growth: Zappos, Match.com & Method FoundersWhy growing too fast isn't always good. Reflections by Gary Kremen, founder of Match.com, Eric Ryan, co-founder of Method, and Nick Swinmurn, founder of Zappos.com at Wall Street Journal's How I Built It 2012 panel in San Francisco.WSJ's small buisness reporter Vanessa O'Connell leads the discussion. […]
- 10 Dumb Things Said During Job InterviewsOversharing has now become an occupational hazard of the job hunt. Kelly Eggers stops by Mean Street with 10 examples of when too much information was, well, really too much information. Photo: Getty Images. […]
- How to Get More Women Hired for Technical RolesTechnology companies that want to increase the number of women in their ranks may want to take a page from the National Football League's playbook, FINS Development Managing Editor Janet Guyon reports on digits. Photo: Getty. […]
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Company News – Jamaica Stock Exchange
- PCFS Trading in SharesTrading in Shares […]
- Carreras Declares DividendCarreras to pay dividend of $1.20. […]
- JMMB Dividend ConsiderationJMMB's BOD will meet on May 25, 2012 to consider a dividend payment. […]
- Supreme Ventures Declares DividendSupreme Ventures to pay dividend of 6 cents. […]
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International Business News Headlines
- Doing Equity Crowd Funding RightBy Javier Espinoza Small businesses are about to get a powerful new tool for raising capital—crowd funding.Under the recently passed Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, small firms will be allowed to sell equity stakes online to large numbers of investors, just as some companies now solicit funds on platforms like Kickstarter.com. And businesses won't […]
- Big Food Franchises Get BiggerBy Angus Loten Want to buy a restaurant franchise? It helps to own a bunch of them already.Many chains, including Burger King, McDonald's and Applebee's, are awarding more outlets to big owners who already own multiple units. Not only are the chains targeting big players in their regular franchise-marketing efforts, they're also selling the la […]
- Recommended Reading for Young EntrepreneursBy Emily Glazer There are tons of books that promise to help people become entrepreneurs—but most of them are targeted at adults. What about the many kids and teenagers itching to start a business? We asked some experts on kids and business for their top picks to get youngsters started. Steve Mariotti, founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, a […]
- Can Tumblr Turn a Profit?By Angus Loten David Karp has focused on expanding Tumblr Inc.'s network of free bloggers for the past five years.Today, 55 million of them are posting text, photos and videos on the site. Even Beyoncé and Jay-Z turned to Tumblr's blogging platform earlier this year to release the first photos of their newborn to the public.But now, both Mr. Karp, […]
- Google Tweaks Search, Hurting FirmsBy Sarah E. Needleman And Emily Maltby Google Inc. recently tweaked the way its search engine ranks websites, seeking to downplay sites it suspects of artificially boosting their rankings. Now some small businesses say they are scrambling to avoid being relegated to the Internet's junk bin.Among them is Andrew Strauss, the 47-year-old co-owner of San Fr […]
- Rise of a Cloner Draws VC Fans, CriticsBy Ben Rooney Mention the name Rocket Internet to entrepreneurs and venture capitalists and you are likely to get some very mixed reactions. The Berlin-based incubator is as much feared, even reviled, as it is admired by others. What is it about this company that engenders such passion?The simple answer is that in an industry dominated by artisans, Rocket is […]
- For Tech Firms, the Desk MattersBy Geoffrey A. Fowler In the Bay Area's tech culture, you're judged not by the appearance of your clothes, but by the style of your desk. Custom-furniture designers who sell to tech companies say business is on a tear, driven by a flood of funding for start-ups, shifting fashions and new ideas about how employees work together.Furniture makers who […]
SME Business Trends & Developments
- Recommended Reading for Young EntrepreneursThere are tons of books that promise to help people become entrepreneurs—but most of them are targeted at adults. We asked experts on kids and business for their top picks to get youngsters started. […]
- Can Tumblr Turn a Profit?Tumblr founder David Karp switches from building site to seeking ads and sponsors. […]
- Picture (Not) PerfectWithout the resources to hire professional shutterbugs, many small companies tap employees to handle the pointing and clicking—with disastrous results. Here's how to do it right. […]
- Twitter Gambles on a Patent PlanIn a bid to reduce patent litigation, Twitter has drafted a policy that will put control over how patents are enforced into the hands of its engineers and employees. […]
- Geofencing: Can Texting Save Stores?Dozens of companies are trying to get into the "geofencing" business—sending out mobile coupons to nearby shoppers. But so far the hype is bigger than the actual use. […]
- How to Turn Average Employees into Rock StarsSay an assignment will be tough and your employees will struggle with it. But tell them it's easy and watch them excel, says columnist Mike Michalowicz. […]
- Survey: Oklahoma City Tops for Small BusinessLocal small-business owners give San Francisco and New York failing grades for burdensome regulations on start-ups. […]
- Promotional Video: Making a Blockbuster on a BudgetThese days, making a video to promote a start-up doesn't require Hollywood skillfulness or a fat wallet. You can download video-editing programs and take advantage of free and widely viewed distribution channels like YouTube.com and Vimeo.com. […]
- Bayview Eatery Offers Taste of Coming ChangesThe recent opening of upscale restaurant Radio Africa and Kitchen is a symbol of the changes unfolding in the side-by-side Bayview and Hunter's Point neighborhoods, currently the poorest in San Francisco. […]
- Ranking: The 50 Fastest-Growing Women-Led CompaniesWhat do a flame-resistant apparel maker, gold-for-cash business and petroleum distributor have in common? They're among the 50 fastest-growing companies owned or led by women in North America last year, according to an annual ranking to be released Thursday. […]