a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Blue Bottle Coffee acquires subscription coffee startup Tonx

Apr07
by on April 7, 2014 at 9:00 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

Tonx, a startup working on a subscription model for coffee beans, has just announced an acquisition deal from Blue Bottle Coffee. The company wrote in a blog post that it had reached a point where a dedicated production facility was in order, but it required either a partner or venture capital to finance it. Co-founder Tony Konecny noted: With Blue Bottle, we have found a more established company that still has an innovative startup culture, continues to evolve, and is dedicated to improving people’s experience of coffee on an ambitious scale. And they have resources we could only dream of. In…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: 
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

The Spotify effect: Why every company is now a data company

Apr07
by on April 7, 2014 at 7:37 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Design & Dev, Entrepreneur

data business meeting
Marius Moscovici is the founder and CEO of Metric Insights. After landing a $200 million credit line and acquiring music data platform The Echo Nest, Spotify is widely expected to announce its IPO in coming months. Spotify is a unique spin on the same fundamental formula that generated value for Netflix, Amazon, Groupon, Pandora and LinkedIn before it. So what exactly is this magic formula? It’s simple, really: When a company uses data to personalize its inventory, it creates a better UX. This UX in turn draws in millions of users and investment dollars. What’s the lesson startups can derive here? Value…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: 
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

15 tech IPOs from Asia to watch out for in 2014

Apr07
by on April 7, 2014 at 5:30 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Asia, Insider, Roundups

stock exchange
Box and Dropbox are among the startups creating interest in US tech IPOs right now, but there are plenty of companies from Asia bidding to join them and list publicly, both in and outside of the US. A number of top Asian companies are already listed in the US — including Baidu, Sina and Tencent — but last year was a relatively quiet period for public listings from Asia. It’s all likely to change this year, however, and 2014 is shaping up to see a number of major firms from the East go public. We’ve sifted through the field to…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: ,
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Disqus launches Sponsored Comments for brands to reach specific audiences

Apr07
by on April 7, 2014 at 5:00 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, Product Updates

Commenting platform Disqus has launched a new advertising product called Sponsored Comments, letting publishers and brands reach a targeted audience on sites surrounding specific topics — and in particular those who are engaged enough to scroll down to the comments section. The idea of Sponsored Comments stemmed from Featured Comments, which Disqus introduced a month ago. Sponsored Comments appear above the discussion thread so they won’t interrupt the conversation, and Disqus says that to protect user experience, it has a team ensuring the quality of these paid-for comments. Originally framed as a commenting service, Disqus has evolved to become a community supporting more…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: ,
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Twitter acquires Android lockscreen startup Cover, will keep app alive ‘for now’

Apr07
by on April 7, 2014 at 4:10 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Mobile, Social Media

Twitter today announced it has acquired Android lockscreen app startup Cover. The app, which only launched as a beta in October, will remain on Google Play “for now.” Cover says there are no plans to kill the app as the team switches its focus to working at Twitter. That being said, the startup didn’t rule out “changes down the road” and said it would provide an update accordingly. “Twitter, like Cover, believes in the incredible potential of Android. They share our vision that smartphones can be a lot smarter — more useful and more contextual — and together we’re going…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: ,