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).
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By: Co-Editor, RB:

Bravo’s latest reality show (produced by Sarah Jessica Parker’s production company among others) takes the Project Runway and Top Chef model and applies it to art. Work Of Art: The Next Great Artist  brings together fourteen aspiring artists to compete for a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum. The show has been a modest success for Bravo but many in the art world have been critical about a so-called “art competition”.

Well, art competition is exactly what the folks at VoteForArt.com are offering.
A new venture launched by the large apparel company MV Sport out of New York City hosts graphic design contests for major organizations, where the winning design is based on votes from fans (VFA members) and are printed on t-shirts and sold at the organization’s retail location and in the site’s online store.

Since its launch in January 2010, they have held contests for major organizations including, Purdue University, University of Maryland, Texas A&M, Kansas State University, University of Wisconsin, Arizona State University, Moondance Jam Rock Festival and Pratt Institute to name a few.
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By: Co-Editor, RB:

Continuing our theme of crowdsourcing and freelancing, we bring to you the story of another startup called NapkinLabs.com out of Boulder, Colorado. The name comes from the idea that tossing around ideas on napkin. It is that metaphor that best describes the type of collaborative process the site seeks to foster.

NapkinLabs.com is a turn-key crowdsourcing platform that enables companies to collaborate with customers, experts, and employees to accelerate the creation and development of meaningful new products that fuel growth.

The Company’s vision is to redefine how companies interact with consumers and experts outside of their walls. By enabling companies to democratize their innovation processes, NapkinLabs.com believes, it can make large companies more nimble, while providing experts and consumers around the world the opportunity to work together to form breakthrough products and services.

As opposed to most open innovation software, which is transactional in nature (I submit a problem, user submits a solution) NapkinLabs.com is collaborative, enabling large groups to work together to build and refine solutions to complex problems.
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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:

NetworkMediaHoldings.com, the parent company of GreatStartups.com, also owns a RaiseCapital.com. RaiseCapital.com is an online community, where entrepreneurs can display their business ideas and capital needs to investors. In displaying those ideas, I am often surprised by the number of entrepreneurs who have typos or in their presentations. It obviously behooves someone looking for an investor to put their best foot forward and avoid typos, poor grammar and misspellings. The same is true for those looking for a job or making a presentation.

EditZen.com, based in San Francisco, aims to address these issues.

EditZen is the next evolution in editing services. The company uses the Internet to tap into vast pools of qualified editors to revise your important business, academic and even personal documents or correspondences. EditZen helps companies and individuals increase efficiency at lower costs without compromise to quality.

You simply go to the site and upload your MS Word document. They calculate the number of billable pages based on one page equaling 300 words. You can pay with a major credit card or Paypal account.
EditZen.com edits your entire document and then completes a full quality review. Within 24 hours of receiving payment, EditZen delivers a final, edited version of your document and notifies you via email. The site uses MS Word’s Track Changes features so you can easily see where each edit was made.

EditZen.com can catch errors your computer spell-check does not. It makes your document safe from the dangers of dozen of grammar traps such as split infinitives, misplaced modifiers, and dangling participles. They will find tiny punctuation errors that can make a bad impression. Plus, they are well versed in English syntax that is difficult to master even for the well-read.

EditZen.com charges $3.95 per page and offers 24 hour return time and a 100% money back guarantee. Other sites either do not offer the quick return time or a guarantee. Sites that do such as Proof-reading.com  charge $8.65 a page for similar services.

By: Co-Editor RB:

Using the web to manage communications between companies and their employees has proven to be a very useful tool. Here is a new company that is providing useful services for companies with offices in Sydney and London.

Connect2Field.com is a cloud based job management and scheduling system, designed for the rough and tumble of real world business. Enjoy instant exchange of jobs between your office and field workers; track, schedule, and modify data on the fly, with seamless inventory management, billing, and invoicing.

The application is completely web based and delivered via a web browser, so you can access Connect2Field.com from anywhere at anytime. Connect 2 Field is built upon the idea that running a service business doesn’t have to involved large amounts of paper piled up on your desk, whiteboard for scheduling and phones ringing constantly. It’s all about working smarter not harder.

The company has been around since the early days of 2002 when the technology they use was very new. At the time they started developing Connect2Field.com but were also providing custom web solutions to customers in order to enable them to build Connect 2 Field and still remain a profitable company.
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By: Co-Editor, RB:

Samuel Adams beer produced by the Boston Beer Company (NYSE: SAM) is widely credited with launching the so-called “Craft Brewing” movement or at least taking it to a higher level. However, many beer aficionados would claim that the Anchor Brewing Company deserves the credit. In any event, prior to the 1980s American beer was thought of as a mass-produced product with no character or tradition.

Since 1980, the number of craft brewers in the United States has grown from 8 to 1501 in 2008. The United States is now a place for beer lovers. Restaurants now pair food with beer and the majority of Americans live within 10 miles of a brewery.

Two brothers, who call themselves Fat Cat and Rifle, have launched a new site out of Dudley, Massachusetts seeking to have some fun with this new beer culture. Thus, TastedBeer.com was launched.

The concept of how this works is simple, every week they are going to try a new beer. Once they have tried that week’s beer, they are going to blog, tweet, flickr and facebook the heck out of it. Their main objective is to taste new and different beers from all over the country and eventually the world.
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By: Co-Editor, RB:

We have addressed the phenomenon of fantasy sports (the drafting of real players to imaginary teams) in previous blogs. We previously discussed an arbitration service just for fantasy sports. FantasyJudgment.com  provides independent, expert dispute resolution services for fantasy leagues. There is money to be made in this niche area of entertainment. Fantasy sports business is estimated to be a $4 billion industry.

A startup out of Denver, Colorado is the latest to enter the fray. Leaguescape.com was launched on April 1, 2010 by Sports Enterprises LLC. Leaguescape is striving to be the ultimate destination for fantasy sports betting. Leaguescape.com currently offers seasonal games and daily games, with plans to expand the variety of games including dynasty and keeper leagues.

Leaguescape.com is trying to provide the one-stop shop for all things related to betting on Fantasy Sports. Following the online poker business model, Leaguescape has the lofty goal of revolutionizing the fantasy sports industry as PartyPoker did with poker.
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By: Co-Editor, RB:

As we have stated in this space on many occasions, small business solutions are ubiquitous on the Internet. For example, Beezang.com (helps roommates and colleagues manage joint expenses), Outright.com (Free Online Bookkeeping), Projjix.com (helps business engage with consultants) and Invoicera.com (eBilling) have already been covered by GreatStartups.com.

We also covered BillsTrust.com which was launched in February. With BillsTrust.com, the system requires no data entry, at least not in the conventional sense as users simply fax/scan and email their bills to the company to have them added to their control panels. Clients are also provided with personalized 2D bar-coded (QR code) stickers, and these are stuck onto the front of their bills as they receive them. The moment a bill is paid the individual will receive both an SMS and an email notification letting him know that the bill has been paid, and also how much money the transaction has entailed.

A startup out of Edmonton has joined the fray.

myTooq.com currently offers online invoicing with a simple clean interface that makes it easy to send your clients a professional looking invoice to your client within minutes.
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By: Co-Editor, RB:

When I was a child, I went on a family vacation twice a year. We traveled every spring and summer, at least until my dad lost his job when I was 14. However, many of my friends were left home with grandparents or (in the case of my rich friends) nannies. Taking children on vacation is a relatively new phenomenon. Times have changed; family travel is maybe the most important and fastest growing segment of travel today.

Renowned Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Katrina Garnett recently launched MyLittleSwans.com. The goal of the site is to save substantial time and eliminate layers of fees for discerning global travelers and families.

Designed for all types of users, the site caters to those who like to do a lot of research and seek out a lot of advice, as well as to those who prefer a more turn-key experience – and because MyLittleSwans eliminates third party costs, users not only save time, but can also save a substantial amount of money.

Garnett founded My Little Swans in October 2007 and has invested more than $2,250,000 of her own personal capital in the creation of this business. 2008 was focused on building the site and writing and uploading content, 2009 was focused on offering limited memberships to gain live user feedback. With strong roots in Silicon Valley, Garnett was well aware that the software is a key component, making MyLittleSwans not only extraordinarily efficient, but also able to support “the next big thing” – that is, whatever comes after Facebook and Twitter – via what they deem “superlative content management systems.”
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