In today’s extremely competitive world of business, being the new kid on the block is both an exciting and daunting position to be in. With less than encouraging statistics concerning the success rate of most startups, an exceptional amount of self-confidence and belief must be held by prospective entrepreneurs. This faith, when combined with the right innovative solutions, can shatter expectations and change how we go about our everyday lives. From learning to shopping to transportation, the best startups are truly industry and life transforming.
KICKSTARTER:
Sparked by a failed attempt to fund a local jazz concert, Perry Chen came up with the novel idea. Developing a crowdfunding website by the name of Kickstarter, Chen now helps thousands of aspiring artists realize their creative dreams. Project control is left solely in the hands of their creators while supportive parties pledge whatever level of funding they feel comfortable giving. Kickstarter itself receives a small percentage of the donations for their services. Amazingly, 24,000 projects have collected well over $250 million in funding.
GETAROUND:
Generally the transportation industry is not well-known for innovative occurrences. That being said, the startup, Getaround, did just that in 2012. Established in 2009, the company observed the overabundance of traffic and pollution surrounding them and developed a clever solution. Through a mobile application, Getaround gives car owners the ability to rent their underutilized vehicles by the week, day, or even hour. A remarkable 1,600 cars were registered for the service on the first day of launch.
NOODLE:
Established as an engine for discovering educational resources, Noodle uses gathered data and community based sharing to assist families and students in their search for tutors, schools, counselors, and even overseas study programs. Noodle’s mission is to help integrate a fractured educational system and empower individuals with greater control of their learning.
FARMIGO:
Giving consumers the ability to connect with farmers, Farmigo has made novel use of today’s online capabilities. Users can begin their own or join established pickup locations to obtain fresh vegetables, fruits, and other foods. The process is both affordable and accessible and has helped farm communities deliver to over 3,100 locations to date.
CLICKFOX:
Based in Georgia, ClickFox was created to help companies better comprehend their relationship with customers. By developing and utilizing a truly cutting-edge analytics platform, ClickFox examines terabytes of data and outputs the results into summarized reports. In the information saturated world we know, these easy-to-process summaries are incredibly valuable.
RECYCLEBANK:
Created by Patrick Fitzgerald and Ron Gonen, Recyclebank has established partnerships with many companies to promote green living. Partners such as Macy’s and Whole Food’s, for instance, have a redeemable reward points system set up which incentivizes customers to make regular green decisions. Even the gaming industry has jumped onboard with Recyclebank’s mission to promote environment friendly actions in all aspects of everyday life.
These examples are only a handful of 2012’s successful startups. All over the globe, and touching nearly every available industry, business owners have made waves. With ingenuity, ambition, and hard work, the right startups have the power to make a difference in the world.
Written by Beth Gadd
Beth runs a small business in IT related field. She operates at home while also has her virtual offices set up recently. She believes having an executive office in central business area for meeting clients definitely helps to build the creditability of her business.
