San Francisco California Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses

Sep24

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“Executives realize that they need to invest in their employees.”

Taro Fox

AnyPerk

Co-Founder & CEO

http://AnyPerk.com/

Taro grew up in Tokyo, Japan. After college, he moved to Singapore and launched his career as an engineer.

Taro is now a cofounder and the chief executive officer of AnyPerk, focusing his efforts on the business and financial aspects for the company.

AnyPerk provides hundreds of perks to small and medium sized companies—discounts off of gym memberships, entertainment tickets, T-mobile, Dell and HP products, just to name a few. Companies can sign up for our service at no cost while they are in Beta. Having launched in March, AnyPerk currently serves thousands of companies and is growing quickly.

Our mission is to help businesses attract and retain top talent while providing a rewarding work environment. We believe that every employee, regardless of company size, should have access to high-quality employee perks.

MO: How did you come up with the idea for AnyPerk?

Sep4

No Comments

BlackBerry, Apple, Macintosh – Some of the most successful product names and company names have unexpected roots.

Laurel Sutton

Catchword

Principal and Co-Founder

http://CatchwordBranding.com/

written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource Laurel Sutton

How do you reconcile the tart sweetness of blackberries picked on a lazy summer afternoon with a multitasking cell phone? At first glance, product names and company names like BlackBerry and Apple have nothing to do with the companies or products they brand. So why do they work? Because strategic naming rarely requires a literal descriptive name. In fact, if you want to set a brand apart and make it fresh and memorable, an evocative name borrowed from another field is often far more powerful. Especially if you dig deep to create a name that’s rooted in the brand’s essence. Here are some rules for successfully “borrowing” a name from an unexpected source-in this case, the garden.

Jul31

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“Most minority customers will buy from anyone as long as they are treated with sensitivity to their culture.”

Michael Soon Lee

EthnoConnect

Founder

http://www.EthnoConnect.com

Michael Soon Lee is a marketing guru who is the leading expert in selling to people from diverse cultures. He was a Marketing Director for the State of California, a professor of marketing at universities and a producer for the ABC Television Network.

Michael has spoken around the world on the subject of selling to multicultural customers for over 20 years. He has been an award-winning salesperson as well as sales manager of both large franchised companies and small independent firms.

EthnoConnect helps companies increase sales to multicultural customers. Clients include: Coca-Cola, Chevron, Boeing, State Farm Insurance, University of Wisconsin, National Association of Realtors and over 1,000 others. They train salespeople how to build trusting relationships with Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, Middle Easterners and others.

MO: What inspired to create EthoConnect?

Jul27

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“Advertising around the experience doesn’t work, but still the web continues to be littered with banners and so-called social ads.”

Chris Cunningham

adtivity by appssavvy

Co-Founder

http://www.appssavvy.com

Chris Cunningham co-founded adtivity by appssavvy, an activity advertising technology company and serves as CEO.

The vision of activity advertising has established Chris as a recognized thought leader. He frequently speaks at industry conferences and forums, including ad:tech, IAB, iMedia and 4A’s events, and comments on the latest developments in the social space live on CNBC and Bloomberg TV, or in leading publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek and USA Today. For insight into Chris’ unique perspective, read The New York Times’ Corner Office.

MO: Could you please break down what activity advertising encompasses and possibly provide a few examples?

Jul11

No Comments

“Pet Jellyfish? It’s Unique, Easy and Fun”

Alex Andon

Jellyfish Art

Founder & President

http://www.Jellyfishart.com

Alex Andon is the Founder and President of Jellyfish Art. Alex’s fascination with marine animals was sparked on a sail through the British Virgin Islands, while free-diving through underwater tunnels in coral reefs. He went on to work for the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, camping on beaches in Crete to protect nests and hatchlings. Alex accumulated extensive experience in building aquariums for his own research projects at Duke and the University of Delaware. He founded Jellyfish Art on a platform of cutting-edge jellyfish husbandry techniques that have been developed over the past decade. Alex has a B.S. from Duke in Biology and Environmental Science.

Jellyfish Art sells pet jellyfish and everything you need to effortlessly enjoy them. Jellyfish are becoming the next trend in ornamental aquariums and Jellyfish Art is the leader in supplying live jellyfish and their specialized aquariums and products. Their mesmerizing forms and soothing movement create living works of art. Jellyfish aquariums are a new kind of interior decoration, sources of light and will quickly become the focal point of any space.

MO: What was your ‘aha’ moment of deciding to bring pet jellyfish to the general public?

Jul9

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Punctuation Station: Non-letter Characters in Brand Names

Laurel Sutton

Catchword

Principal and Co-Founder

http://catchwordbranding.com/

written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource Laurel Sutton

The other day a client asked me about the use of punctuation in company and product names. Until she asked, I hadn’t thought about it all that much, although I’d certainly noticed it when it was staring me in the face.

Jul9

1 Comment

Test Your Battle Plan Today

David Howard

Consultiq

Consultant

http://www.consultiq.com/

written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource David Howard

When the Allies stormed Fortress Europe in June, 1944, the battle plans called for the invaders to turn West, towards Brittany, to secure the rear as well as ports and harbors vital to supplying the incredible war appetite of such a massive force. It soon became clear that, as British General Bernard Montgomery put it at the time, “the main business lies to the east,” and the focus shifted to pushing westward, towards Nazi Germany. Clearing Brittany became an effort of secondary importance. In accordance with conventional military wisdom, the battle plans were thrown out the window almost as soon as the first shot was fired. Nonetheless, those initial battle plans were necessary. The same is true for startups.

Jun29

No Comments

Get LinkedIn to Decision Makers

Kurt Shaver

The Sales Foundry

Founder

http://thesalesfoundry.com/

written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource Kurt Shaver

“I know how to sell [my product/service] once I get in front of a prospect, but getting that first appointment is tougher than ever.” I hear this lament from salespeople, consultants, and entrepreneurs all the time.

Years of sales experience and investments in sales training has resulted in many of them knowing how to Qualify, Present, Differentiate, Negotiate, and Close sales. The problem is access. It is harder than ever to break through caller ID, voicemail, and email to start the sales process.

Jun27

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“Now that I have a new company name, what’s next?”

Laurel Sutton

Catchword

Principal and Co-Founder

http://catchwordbranding.com/

written by MO.com Subject Matter Expert Laurel Sutton

Clients often ask us, “Now that I have a new company name, what’s next?” There’s still much to do, from announcing your name internally and externally to handling legal and administrative details. Catchword has developed a checklist called “Launching Your New Company Name” to help guide you through key elements of the process.

Once you’ve changed your company name, don’t forget to:

Jun13

No Comments

The Zombie Apocalypse Will Not be Ustreamed

David Howard

consultiq.com

Internet Marketing Consultant

http://www.consultiq.com/

written by MO.com Subject Matter Resource David Howard

My greatest chuckle last week came when I read on my iphone that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) had told the Huffington Post that it “does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead.” That’s a relief.

The CDC spokesperson was responding to an inquiry from the HuffPo for a story that touched on the recent face-eating attack in Miami and other recent violent attacks across North America that involved cannibalistic acts.

May23

No Comments

“Owning a web design business for over a decade has taught me that creating a successful website involves an excellent understanding of business strategy, user experience, visual design and development.”

John Clauss

Marker Seven

Founder & CEO

http://www.markerseven.com/

John Clauss is an entrepreneur with more than fifteen years of strategic consulting and management experience. In 2000, John founded and helped Marker Seven grow from a start-up to a thriving company with an impressive roster of Fortune 500 clients, including Wells Fargo, IBM, Ghirardelli, and Kristi Yamaguchi.

Marker Seven is a full-service digital agency headquartered in San Francisco, CA with expertise in Drupal, UX, website development and digital marketing.

MO: What influenced your decision to break away from corporate life and start your own company? Was the process easier or harder than you anticipated?

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Spotlight: San Francisco, California

Spotlight Interview: Gordon Logan

Spotlight Interview: David Allen

Spotlight Interview: Chris Babel

“Executives realize that they need to invest in their employees.”

BlackBerry, Apple, Macintosh – Some of the most successful product names and company names have unexpected roots.

“Most minority customers will buy from anyone as long as they are treated with sensitivity to their culture.”

Punctuation Station: Non-letter Characters in Brand Names

Test Your Battle Plan Today

Get LinkedIn to Decision Makers

“Now that I have a new company name, what’s next?”

The Zombie Apocalypse Will Not be Ustreamed

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