Author Archive for Edward Bianco

Siu Rui Quek – Carousell

Posted by Edward Bianco 
· Tuesday, December 3rd, 2019 
· 4 Comments

Innovations can happen all over the globe, with talented minds coming from every country. In Singapore Sui Rui Quek started Carousell. Basically the Singapore equivalent of eBay, Carousell allows its users to sell whatever they want. It has now facilitated over 50 million transactions. The story all started in Silicon Valley, as many tech start up stories tend to do, when Sui Rui Quek met his two roomates. They all went to Stanford and realized they have a lot in common. This trio of roommates sought to make online selling easier with just three quick steps: snap, list, and sell. They also incorporated a messaging system into the process, making it easier for seller to communicate with buyer. They made their focus on selling used items that people no longer wanted. This innovation re-imagined the way people sell their unwanted goods. Image result for siu rui quek

At one point the group was offered $100 million dollars to sell their idea. They refused knowing that they could take the app further than their wildest dreams with hard work and dedication. It proved to be a smart decision not to sell because the company is worth $500 million today. Although it was a compelling offer they knew that the company had not reached its full potential. With new innovations happening like this, coming out of every country across the world there is no saying what the future will hold. It is important to be looking at all places for innovations and ideas.

4 Comments
Categories : Technology

Fraser Doherty – SuperJam

Posted by Edward Bianco 
· Tuesday, November 19th, 2019 
· 5 Comments

Fraser Doherty saw an opportunity for a business at the age of 14 when being taught how to make his grandmother’s jams. At the age of 16 he presented his jam to Waitrose and became the youngest ever supplier to a major supermarket. From that point until today he has sold millions of jars of jam through thousands of supermarkets around the world.Image result for fraser doherty"

Not only has SuperJam been a commercial success but they have also invested in social endeavors. Doherty was interested in seeing how he could help people with his success. He has held hundreds of free tea parties for the elderly and is also setting up hundreds of beekeeping projects. Fraser has even been by the Prime Minister of Scotland. He was also awarded a medal for services to business by the queen of England.

Doherty has expanded his brand from an idea in a kitchen in Scotland to being in thousands of grocery stores across the world. He now speaks and shares his story at different conferences. He has spoken at 500+ conferences in 27 different countries. This is a great example of how a small idea can turn into such a huge business and where starting a business can take you.

5 Comments
Categories : Food

Isabella Dymalovski – Luv Ur Skin

Posted by Edward Bianco 
· Monday, November 4th, 2019 
· 1 Comment

One day when asking her mother to use her make-up removal products, and having her mother tell her no because of the number of chemicals in it, she came up with an idea. Isabella was fed up with the number of different chemicals in these kinds of products and took this very seriously. Thanks to some of her mother’s friends who are chemists, Dymalovski was able to create a very early prototype for her product idea. She wanted to create skin care products made from natural ingredients. At just 13 years old she founded Luv Ur Skin. She is one of the youngest entrepreneurs to make a business like this and for it to be successful.

Isabella strives to make products to keep young and sensitive skin clean, clear, and healthy. Based in Australia she wants to give girls what they want while also making sure it is safe and effective. They use quality ingredients that are all natural. Her products are based on the Australian native plant extract Plantolin. Her products promote natural skin-cell renewal and protect the skin from environmental damage. They help the skin naturally regenerate to replace damaged skin with healthy renewed skin.

With most of the skin-care products on the market today being filled with chemicals it is important for natural products to be available. It is important for young entrepreneurs like Isabella to give the young people what they want. Many teens want more natural options for everyday products. Young people are the only ones who can provide people their age with what they want. This is why it is important for young entrepreneurs to develop products that fit the youth’s needs.

Image result for luv ur skin"

1 Comment
Categories : Beauty, Costmetics

Brennan Byrne – Clef

Posted by Edward Bianco 
· Sunday, October 6th, 2019 
· 4 Comments

Everyone has forgotten a password at some point in their life. Today everything requires that you make an account, and give your personal information to personalize your experience. In this world of overwhelming numbers of passwords, that need to be “strong” in order to be used on certain websites, Brennan Byrne founded Clef. 

Clef is a service used by close to 120,000 websites. It eradicates passwords by using technology where all you have to do is hold your phone screen up to your computer screen. No more passwords or usernames, and your experience is just as customized as before. Formed in Oakland, California with two friends at just 24 Byrne has raised $3.1 million in see funding for Clef. Byrne attended Pomona College where he initially started the company.

Passwords are now becoming a thing of the past with innovations such as this, and things like face ID and fingerprint scanners becoming ordinary on every new device. There had to be another solution to passwords to every website you’ve ever visited just to view the content you want. Although companies using “remember me” features, those aren’t very secure when protecting your valuable information. Passwords will become like written letters, when your kids ask what that thing that on your email is (an envelope of course). With more innovators like Brennan, we will continue to be introduced to things we never knew we needed until now.

4 Comments
Categories : Convenience, Software, Technology, Uncategorized

Pete Cashmore – Mashable

Posted by Edward Bianco 
· Monday, September 30th, 2019 
· 2 Comments

Mashable started out as a blog written by Pete Cashmore in his parents house in Scotland when he was a teenager. Founded in 2005, Mashable has developed into a large social media news site that millions read everyday. It is one of the leading sources of news and information. They are in independent news source for digital culture, social media, and technology. They claim to have one of the most engaged online news communities in the world.

Pete Cashmore recently sold Mashable and is now onto other ventures; Mashable was sold for $50 million. Still only 34 years old today, he was listed as one of Times most influential people in 2012. He previously wrote a weekly column on technology and social media for CNN.

Cashmore is very similar to Zuckerberg in many ways. The rise of the millenial social entrepreneur has been a common trend in the last 10 years or so. People creating multi-million dollar companies out of their parents houses, basements, and garages. The extent to which the internet welcomes innovation will never be limited. It doesn’t require a team of people anymore to create something like Mashable, just a kid from Scotland writing a blog to pass the time.

 

2 Comments
Categories : Social Media, Technology

Jack Kim – Benelab

Posted by Edward Bianco 
· Sunday, September 15th, 2019 
· No Comments

Jack Kim a high school student from Seattle, Washington goes to school during the day and by all means is a normal high school student. With a little help from some of his friends, he started Benelab. A non-profit search engine that donates the revenue, from advertising, to charities. Kim joined forces with six other high school students this past summer, now they have expanded to 12 members. His focus is involving high school students after instituting a no adult rule.

Kim is motivated by the idea of helping people and finding unique ways to do it. This is the first completely non-profit search engine, which is why it is so innovative. Kim and friends realized that the best way to learn was outside of the classroom, by gaining world experience.

Kim made sure to focus his target market on students and the younger generation. This sets him apart from many entrepreneurs who aim to get as much traffic as they can rather than a specific market. They realized that young people care a lot about charitable causes.

Starting Benelab wasn’t easy spending just $1500 in the process. Although ran by broke high school students Benelab isn’t about the big money for Kim. They donate 100% of their revenue and are way more crowd-source oriented than their competitors. They also have their own technology behind the search functionality. Benelab is completely volunteer run as well. Even though people doubted them and said they couldn’t do it; Kim showed them that even 6 high school students from Seattle can make a difference.

No Comments
Categories : Charity, Online Companies, Technology