StartupBackpack

Written by StartupBackpack // Monday, August 13th, 2007
Topic: Backpack

As the Web 2.0 landscape gets crowded with startups that might never make it big, and don’t provide effective solutions for end users, Business 2.0 took the time to evaluate the startups to watch out for.

The top ten on the list include:

StumbleUpon - a social bookmarking website that helps users find their interests though others with the same tastes.

Slide - online sideshows of photos that can be embedded into a blog or social network.

Bebo - Users can share videos and drawings through a private social network.

Meebo - instant messaging service that allows users to access multiple IM’s through a web based interface.

Wikia - the company behind the popular Wikipedia, a collaborative online encyclopedia.

Joost - Internet TV from the creators of Skype.

Dabble - Organizing videos and playlists.

Metacafe - Ranking uploaded videos by popularity and user feedback.

Revision3 - Online TV show production studio.

Blip.tv - Syndication platform for online shows.

As is evident in the top 10 list, there is a direction towards social tools and online video tools. The rest of the top startups list filters down to mobile application companies and unique online advertising companies.

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Written by StartupBackpack // Friday, August 3rd, 2007
Topic: Side Pocket

How to multi-task An important question that Wired answered recently.

Disney buys Club Penguin A deal that could be worth over $500 million.

Doing business on the level If you want to succeed, you gotta do things right.

Raising Money Beware of Brokers.

Staying focused get out the pen and paper.

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Written by StartupBackpack // Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
Topic: Blogging, Businesses, Software, Web Hosting

For most companies, blogging is great idea. Talk to your customers on a regular basis and engage them with new ideas, products, services and things your business can do to make their business easier. Drop some tricks and well researched material that makes them fell like you are actually helping them instead of trying to sell to them and you will be rewarded.

Now, getting started is easy, if you’re in the industry of blogging, but if you’re not, it might be hard to figure out the best tools to use. Thankfully BootStrapper has put together a list of the 100 Resources for Entrepreneur Writers. The list encompasses the many different blogging platforms to choose from, How to properly design and create content, Marketing your blog, Tips from Blogs on blogging, Blogging forums and networks, Search engines, Analytics and measuring traffic, and different Tools to use. This list should get you off on the right foot for business blogging.

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Written by StartupBackpack // Tuesday, July 31st, 2007
Topic: Businesses, Entrepreneur

This story is about excess. About building an empire and having to leave it. This story is about Vernon W. Hill II who aggressively founded the Commerce Bank over 34 years ago, and had to leave in order for it to take shape due to cease-and-desist orders with federal banking regulators.

Vernon upped the anti in his business plans, by rapidly opening up Burger Kings, to creating a banking empire that saw the creation of extremely large branches while other companies were scaling back. Then there is the talk of his 46,000 square foot home that was created after the demolition of a historic property that caused his neighbors to establish a preservation society.

Take it for what it is, and keep Karma in mind.

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Written by StartupBackpack // Friday, July 27th, 2007
Topic: Businesses, Domain Names

Domain names are like real estate, when that property is gone, its gone until someone chooses to put it back on to the market.

Over time real estate prices increase, such is the case in the premium domain name market place. It has become evident now more than ever that domain names are the place to be for virtual investments that can really turn a profit when the name is right. Business.com owners, Jake Winebaum and Sky Dayton, hit that make exactly when they originally purchased it for $7.5 million back in 1999. Did people think they were crazy? Oh yes. They have now proved that that original domain name purchase was well worth their piddly few million dollar investment.

Business.com was sold for $345 million this past week. Not only were the new owners paying for the premium domain name, they were paying for genuine type in traffic, and a directory of businesses that were put together over the eight years that its owners worked on it.

The Business.com domain currently pulls in $15 million per year.
The new owner is R.H. Donnelley, a yellow pages and local search firm.

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