By: Co-Editor, RB:

We stumbled across a really useful website that can be a real time saver.

Launched in beta in Canada in January and in the United States in July, PinBud.com is a one-stop web application enabling users to find and contact service providers in their area. Users can connect to multiple businesses using a single online service request form, saving time and effort on a wide range of household, automotive, personal, or professional services.

A business will not only list and describe its services, but will receive direct sales leads in detailed, targeted customer requests. PinBud also offers the possibility to post renovation projects or finished jobs so users can share or submit them for comments to their Facebook friends, while recommending their preferred contractors.

PinBud is not just a business directory, a reviews portal, a job matching service, or a classifieds site. It is all of the above.

The site takes the basic yellow pages concept to a new social media level, PinBud’s goal is to change the way consumers look for local service providers for their home, car, finances, health, or pet.
Read more

By: Co-Editor, RB:

For those who are 2.0 renaissance men or women, there is a new product that might interest you.

MyVoxtopia.com offers Voxtopia. Voxtopia provides smart, virtual phone numbers in over 40 countries that allows users to forward calls anywhere in the world for pennies, screen and block unwanted callers, make cheap international phone calls, make conference calls, get faxes and voicemails sent to email and much more.

Voxtopia is a product of WorldTalk Incorporated, a privately owned, global Internet Telecommunications provider specializing in next generation voice, video and mobile technologies. WorldTalk provides international consumers, small-to-medium sized enterprises, and Internet Telephony Service Providers (ITSPs) with cutting edge, inexpensive communications tools and services. They are located in Los Angeles, California.

Using Voxtopia, you can manage call settings, view instant call history, manage contacts and download your messages anytime online. You can sign up for free and receive one free US phone number. They provide similar features for two other killer services (google voice and ringcentral) but in a combined package, with extra goodies and available in over 40+ countries. They also give free phone numbers away. They also have plugins for other great services: Highrise, Twitter, Facebook (it allows Facebook users to call you from the web without giving away your number).
Read more

By: Co-Editor, RB:

A news site recently launched out of Sunnyvale, California seeks to make shopping more fun and more analytical. The site, DidYouSwipe.com (referred to on the site as Swipe) was launched on May 26, 2010.

Swipe aims to be a fun and easy way to share and find shopping information in your city. Using Swipe you can tell your friends what you want to buy and find what they are buying. Swipe helps you shop street smart by giving you access to prices and product reviews recommended by your friends and other people whom you trust.

You can share the inside scoop on countless everyday purchases such as food, clothes, gadgets, furniture, books, tickets, gyms, cars, holiday packages, games etc. Swipe starts social conversations around purchases and helps you discover prices, deals, opinions, locations, stores, products and shoppers in a fun and competitive game environment. Swipe helps you answer the questions “what did you buy”, “where did you buy it” and “how much did you pay for it”. It is essentially seeks to be like Yelp, Price Grabber and Foursquare.
Read more

By: Co-Editor, RB:

The Software & Information Industry Association, the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry is belived to be the first to coin the phrase Software as a Service (SaaS). In a paper dated Febraury 2001, it described Saas thusly, Software as a Service (SaaS), commonly referred to as the Application Service Provider (ASP) model, is heralded by many as the new wave in application software distribution. Following the maxim that “the Internet changes everything,” many believe that traditional packaged desktop and enterprise applications will soon be swept away by the tide of Web-based, outsourced products and services that remove the responsibility for installation, maintenance and upgrades from over-burdened MIS staff.

Some analysts and industry members believe that packaged software, as a separate entity will cease to exist. While such drastic predictions have not yet happened, due to technical and business issues, the spirit of this change – the delivery, management and payment of software as a service rather than a product – is affecting all participants in the software industry.

In the decade since this paper was published the success of SaaS has been mixed. Many cite the high service cost, integration difficulty, and technical requirements of Saas. However, others cite long term savings in using SaaS.

A new company is banking on the idea of SaaS to launch what they describe as “Rich Calling”.

Ringio.com of has taken two SaaS ideas that, thanks to the Internet, have won acceptance among small businesses – CRM and hosted phone service. It has married the two and additionally made their offspring mobile.
Read more

By: Co-Editor, RB:

A newly launched site out of Singapore is seeking to provide an application wherein you can manage all of your business’ appointments. The application is set up specifically to suit the service industry.

GetyourAM.com manages appointments between staff and customers for businesses. It spots a clean UI, automated scheduling via web and SMS, automated appointment and reminder notifications, appointment history analytics, auto sync with personal calendars like Google calendar and many more.

It is simple to use and is different from other software products that merely allow businesses to make appointments. Its true value is in its ability to totally automate the appointment management process. YourAM is a web based solution. There is no software to install.

Its features include:
Smart Appointment Scheduling-Automatically resolve available time slots, prevent appointment clashes and save you time and scheduling headaches.

SMS and Email Notifications-Keep your staff updated about their appointment status automatically so they won’t missed another cancelled appointment.

Manage Appointment Requirements-Automatically schedule staff and resource required, no more angry customers due to scheduling mistakes.

The desktop is uncluttered and user-friendly. Scheduling appointments is easy and intuitive via home page tab, drop down menu, and boxes for name and phone number. The member status tab can be used to indicate days that employees are on leave or unavailable on certain dates. Account setup allows users to determine appointment duration, operating hours, notification designations, and the like.

The pricing model is listed on the site and is easy to understand. You can give the application a try for free. If you like it, you sign up for one of the paid plans the site offers. The services range in price from $8 per month to $39 per month depending on the number of SMS that can be sent, and the number of employees.

By: Co-Editor, RB:

Another area of innovation and opportunity we have seen a lot of over the past few years has been in the area of freelancing. We have covered several companies that are involved in this space including LimeExchange.com (Outsourcing For Small and Medium Business), and 99designs.com  which is based in Melbourne, Australia and is the largest marketplace for crowdsourced graphic design.

Now comes another startup from Australia, this time out of Sydney called TaskArmy.com. TaskArmy.com takes a different approach to the existing freelance marketplaces.

At TaskArmy.com, freelancers can list their services at a fixed price, and potential clients can browse and very easily outsource some of their tasks.

As we all know, the freelancing world is growing fast because of the global financial crisis. Many people realize that there is no such thing as job security and started freelancing as a way to maintain control over their economic well-being.

Aymeric Gaurat-Apelli, a 27 years old French entrepreneur with a strong software developer background is the founder of TaskArmy.com.
Read more

By: Co-Editor, RB:

We have seen a trend towards vacation homes or time shares in this country over the last decade. What was once a European affectation, we now see in North America.

Previously, we have covered SecondPorch.com  which is a Facebook application that allows users to trade and rent vacation homes among their friends and networks. We also covered Mimbeo.com, a free vacation rental portal.

Newly launched MetroFlats.com, a Clifton, New Jersey based startup, is a vacation rental marketplace that enables hosts and renters to connect with one another on a secure network. Very similar to Mimbeo.com, you can search for vacation rentals by location.

While Mimbeo.com has a strong presence in Minneapolis, Metroflats.com has a strong following in New York.

All members of the MetroFlats.com team stay in vacation rentals while traveling to gain a solid understanding of the marketplace.

They have a nice data base of New York properties and their prices are affordable. However, they are currently limited to New York and/or Miami.

It is unclear how the site is monetized. I presume they are marking up the price they get from the renter.

By: Co-Editor, RB:

We have covered many restaurant and food related sites and apps. Recently we covered a company that runs a site called MobileHunger.com. MobileHunger.com, seeks to have restaurants download their menus so they are viewable on the iPhone  and iPod.

You can also download unlimited menu items, photo galleries, links to Facebook and Twitter and fully customizable colors to match the restaurants’ brand and logo. The app is OpenTable  compatible and Google Maps compatible.

Another new site in this space that we have found is called SaveMyTable.com. The site is based in Boston and was launched in March. SaveMyTable.com is a web-based SaaS that empowers restaurant host-stands with automated wait list management and on-line reservations. In that regard it is most similar to Textaurant.com. It also couples this technology with voice-call and SMS text message guest paging. Walk-ins and reservations are entered, or come in via the web. SaveMyTable.com automatically manages the wait list, along with seating assignments for every guest. The host is informed of wait times for every guest in the wait list, and tables are held automatically for upcoming reservations.

Now comes another site, strictly geared towards restaurants called ChompStack.com. ChompStack.com is a mobile website builder for restaurants. It allows restaurants to easily create a mobile version of their website that is compatible with many other smartphones.
Read more

By: Co-Editor, RB:

I would like to discuss a company that is not actually a startup. I believe, however, that it will be of interest to our users and can serve as a model and inspiration for other entrepreneurs.

Kensington Tours is the inspiration of explorer and Royal Geographic Society Fellow Jeff Willner. His thirst for travel stems from growing up in Africa where his parents worked for most of his childhood, and where he discovered the richness of global cultures. A veteran of global expeditions to over 70 countries, he has criss-crossed the continents to experience the extraordinary. During these years, Jeff realized the vast difference between a package tour and personal discovery — where deep knowledge and personal attention of a local guide can turn a trip into an experience.

It is from these roots that Jeff began building his vision for Kensington Tours, drawing on his years with McKinsey & Company and Wharton. Led by a team of destination experts with real in-country experience (not a call center), senior executives recruited from leading brands, and a commitment to rethinking the way people travel – it has resulted in an award winning travel company.

Experience the world’s most extraordinary destinations with the luxury of a private guide, vehicle and driver – all for 30-40% less than most group tours.
Read more

By: Co-Editor, RB:

The startup world and the Internet are replete with sites that recommend travel sites, restaurants, bars, entertainment and the like. I have come across a site that takes the opposite tact and thus it aroused my contrarian nature.

AvoiditNYC.com bills itself as New York City’s first and only comprehensive negative review website. The site was launched in December of 2009.

As the founders state on the site review websites typically have mostly positive reviews, which cause negative reviews to be overlooked or disregarded. AvoiditNYC.com is the first comprehensive negative review website allowing users to share their bad experiences and vent their frustrations, but actually have their opinions acknowledged.

Further, the founders hope that the website will provide business owners and managers with a unique opportunity for business improvement through seeking negative consumer opinions and learning about their wrongdoings.
Read more