Livesheets Launching Web-based Spreadsheet Tool for Calculations

Cheronne Thurab April 24, 2012

London-based stealth startup Livesheets is looking to reinvent spreadsheets with their web-based calculation tool that founder Daniel Maxwell calls ”mind maps for numbers.” Maxwell said in an interview that unlike what he calls the “rigid and somewhat boring” nature of spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel, his team has focused on creating a product that is fun to use and allows users to protect their original content. Read more

SocialFolders Introduces SoundCloud Integration

LocalBonus Raises Funding, Expands Merchant Reward Program

BarkBox Expands, Now Serving Canadian Canines

Currently Adds Hollywood Headlines to Suite of Curation Apps

Measuring Mobile Apps: The Problem with Mobile Analytics

Rob Kenedi April 23, 2012

As the web has matured, sophisticated tools have been built to optimize the user experience and marketing efficacy of web-based businesses. Tools such as landing pages and A/B (or split) testing are now commonplace, and entire companies such as Unbounce have sprung up to facilitate this process. The mobile app space, however, is still relatively immature when it comes to being able to leverage these advances in online analytics. Read more

Direct Sales Startups Compete to Be the Next Avon

Gideon Hayden April 23, 2012

It’s a business model that has been in use since 1886 when Avon started using direct selling to distribute their product, enabling anyone to make money by selling the company’s goods as an official representative. They paved the way for many other direct selling businesses, who employed brand advocates to sell their products for them at house parties and gatherings, and paid them a commission on everything sold as a result of their work. Read more

71lbs Launches to Help SMBs Save on Shipping Costs

Cheronne Thurab April 23, 2012

Florida-based startup 71lbs intends to help small and medium-sized businesses keep tabs on their shipping costs and save money. Founder and CEO Jose Li told BetaKit that since most consumers are unaware of Fedex and UPS’ money-back guarantee, which guarantees that shipments arrive on time or costs are reimbursed, over two billion dollars go unclaimed yearly and his company plans to get that money back into consumers’ pockets. Read more

‘If This Then That’ Services Automating Online Tasks

Renée Warren April 21, 2012

Consumers’ lives are scattered across portable devices, online tools and social networks. They are juggling calls on their Androids, presentations on their iPads, to-do lists on Evernote, emails on Gmail, direct messages on Twitter, wall posts on Facebook Pages – the list is endless. While these devices, tools and networks are intended to simplify consumers’ day-to-day lives, they can sometimes add an unnecessary layer of complexity. Read more

Signpost Launches New Dashboard Tools for Local Merchants

Darrell Etherington April 20, 2012

New York-based Signpost, a startup offering local businesses a one-stop online marketing platform, announced an expansion this week that adds a significant analytic component to its merchant backend, letting business owners see how their own advertising efforts created through the site stack up against Google AdSense and Facebook campaigns, and also against similar efforts by other businesses in their area and industry. Read more

Online CRM Trending Away From Being a Silo-Specific Tool

Darrell Etherington April 20, 2012

Customer relationship management is a good fit for online technology, since it’s a process that requires frequent updating, benefits greatly from being indexed and searchable, and from being accessible on a variety of devices. But the role of CRM is changing, and online tools are changing as well, in order to provide enough flexibility to support enterprise-wide deployment. Read more