“I remember the day the woman called up crying because she hadn’t been able to wash her hair in a few years,” said CC Verallo-Rowell, the North American operations manager of the hypoallergenic company, VMV Hypoallergenics. With the purchase of the brand’s shampoo, the woman finally found relief from years of a painful scalp condition.
Recently, Entrepreneur.com published an article debating how much of a start-up should be science versus art.
In one corner of the ring, is Steve Blanks, a believer that starting a business is more of an art form. Entrepreneurs often go with their gut feeling, as a way to march on with their idea.
Sound a bit ridiculous? A bit too risky? Blanks believes that these gut instincts are the way of the future. He points out these instincts actually come from a lot of pattern recognition, a skill entrepreneurs develop from past experiences and information gathering.
Blank states once entrepreneurs go with their gut instinct, a survival mode kicks in where it is do or die.
In the other corner, stands Kay-Yut Chen, a scientist who thinks just going with your gut instincts can lead to disaster. Continue reading
Tags: gut instincts, Kay-Yut Chen, Steve Blanks
The New York Times recently introduced a contest, Make Your Pitch, for entrepreneurs to pitch their business idea in hopes of gaining exposure and possible capital.
The contest is open to any start-up business and is defined from anyone who has an idea to an actual operating business.
Besides looking for strong ideas with legs, the contest needs a person willing to talk on camera about the ups and downs starting a business, which will be posted on The New York Times Facebook page. Continue reading
Tags: "make your pitch", Carol Roth, entrepreneurs, Small business, The New York Times
The New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) kicked off this Sunday at the Jacob Javits Center with approximately 2,800 vendors looking to attract over 35,000 attendees.
The show is divided up into four categories that include: new, home, lifestyle, and handmade. Within the category division, NYIGF has split the categories into subdivisions: New York’s newest, accent on design, at home, baby & child, Ex-tracts, general gift, handmade designer maker, handmade global design, personal accessories and details, studio, and tabletop & housewares.
As I was enthralled by all the small business owners, I really was inspired by the vendors in the handmade global design division. Everyone I talked to was so proud of their business and dedicated to bringing goodness to the world. Continue reading
Tags: Creative Women, Honduras Threads, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Javits Center, Jenny Krauss, Mata Traders, NYIGF, Push Pull Cambodia, World Finds
Image by Ron Dauphin via Flickr
Walmart just launched “Get on the Shelf,” a contest for new invention and product submissions where the public picks the winner.
In this American Idol-like competition, people submit their invention online by uploading a video demonstrating their amazing product.
The public votes on the best product in a two-round event, where the top three get to have their product showcased on www.walmart.com and the first place winner gets to also have shelf space in selected Walmart shops.
The initial voting round begins March 7th and runs until April 4th. Once this round is closed, the top ten will be announced. From April 11-24, the voting period determines the top three winners.
So far, “Get on the Shelf” has garnered over 40 videos. Some of the inventions submitted include The Little Green Money, a business kit for children; A Game Sports Drink, a vitamin fortified, hydrating drink; and Boo-Boo Cover-Up, a band-aid-less healing cream.
To view all the videos click here.
So, if you are a small business with big dreams now is the chance to get discover. Hurry, the deadline is February 22nd.
Tags: "Get on the Shelf", Walmart, walmart.com
Image via Wikipedia
In the running for 2011 best new start-up, Codecademy is a brilliant online FREE service that takes the headache out of learning how to code.
Created by Ryan Bubinski and Zach Sims, the duo saw a niche that needed to be filled—people dying to get a piece of Silicon Valley but not having the background to create the next million dollar app. Continue reading
Tags: Codeacademy, Codecademy, JavaScript, Ryan Bubinski, Silicon Valley, Zach Sims
Rob Bryn remembers lying above a sweater factory listening to the huge loom moving back and forth below him as he tried to sleep. Living there for years, Bryn witnessed the slow transition of living in an industrial zoned area with working factories to an area full of artists living in these vacant buildings
“I literally saw the last textile business leave this area,” Bryn said.
As the dying breed of manufactories shut down due to cheaper labor overseas, a new purpose arose for the massive rectangular prisms sprinkling the otherwise desolate northern Bushwick neighborhood.
Years ago, wanting to find a place to throw their pottery, chisel their sculptures, or paint their masterpiece, artists clamored to Bushwick looking for space, inexpensive rent, and proximity to Manhattan. They turned to the vacant factories, a place that no longer created goods but now created homes.
Tags: Bushwick, Bushwick and gentrification, Bushwick and Loft Law, Bushwick and the Loft Law, Deborah Brown, Loft Law, the Loft Law