What it does
Coupa specializes in e-procurement software. It caters to small and mid-sized businesses and has been successful enough to have recently raised $6 million in venture capitalist funding. Coupa has revolutionized the e-procurement model. Its Coupa On Demand software-as-a-service model is web based so no downloads or installations are required. Coupa has an Amazon-like interface where employees can find and order products, rate suppliers and share their experience with others. It cuts costs, is quick and affordable, and allows for easy inventory and invoicing. The entire purchasing process is automated using Web 2.0 technologies.
In their own words
“Coupa On Demand combines best-in-class purchasing control and management into a product so simple that employees actually prefer using it for their business purchasing needs. Coupa purchasing software spans the entire procurement lifecycle, from employee requisitions for goods or services, through approval workflow, catalog and contract pricing, purchase order automation, receipt, inventory, and delivery. Coupa merges the most advanced e-procurement functionality with the latest in intuitive and collaborative design”
Why it might be a killer
Coupa provides an innovative solution to e-procurement. This is important as businesses are increasingly use the internet as a business tool. Coupa On Demand’s technologies are completely automated for ease of use and efficiency.
Some questions
Will businesses be willing to pay the steep price for the unlimited software? Even the basic service is not cheap and only provides a few services. Is this the e-procurement model of the future?
Updates
read full story of "Coupa.com - The Next Level in e-Procurement"
What it does
Wigix which stands for Want It Got It eXchange, is prepared to be what eBay is not. It’s an online marketplace that does away with hidden fees. The setup is inspired by financial market price matching—buyers and sellers can list the prices they want to see, thus eliminating auction scams and giving sellers a competitive edge. The fees charged are as follows: items sold for $25 or below aren’t charged a cent, above that and up to $100 $1.50 is charged to both seller and buyer. For items above $100 there is an added 2% tacked on. Eventually the site will add a ticker showing recent transactions along with charts showing the movement of prices. Even if you don’t sell anything Wigix is giving away cash to so called homesteaders—those who help build the site’s catalog, earning 5% of the revenue. Users may also become category experts, keeping items in one’s category accurate, thus earning you 1% of that category’s revenue. Soon to come are persona storefronts. In the meantime, Wigix is homing to become the next eBay, in fact users can already import their eBay catalogues.
In their own words
“About Wigix, the Want It Got It eXchange.
Wigix.com brings a new, smarter way to buy and sell online.
Keeping Fees at Bay
There are no hidden fees for Wigix community members.
For items sold between $25 and $100, $1.50 is charged both to the buyer and to the seller. There is an additional 2% of the portion above $100 from the seller if the price goes over $100. There is an additional 1% of the portion above $1000 from the seller if the price goes over $1000.
For items below $25, there is no transaction fee.”
Why it might be a killer
Wigix is offering a remarkably extensive and viable alternative to eBay. The setup has been well thought out by those behind the marketplace. It’s more user friendly and transparent than its competitor. It’s a sound way of selling goods at a lower cost to the seller and at a better rate for the buyer.
Some questions
One problem with Wigix is eBay itself. eBay is a huge competitor with an entrenched user base. It’s got the infrastructure to deal with disputes, frauds, international sales, etc. Wigix is starting out and will have to build up its own reputation. Also Wigix doesn’t really give users enough information about a product besides the SKU.
Updates
If reports are to be believed, YouTube may be launching a regional site specific to Indian viewers. Because India is one of the most populated countries and one with a good deal of technological advancements among the consumer class, such a launch could help push the Google-owned video trove into reasonable profitability, a goal which […]
read full story of "Will The Real YouTube India Finally Launch Next Week?"
Oh my. The latest words from Radiohead’s quirky frontman Thom Yorke aren’t about how much money they earned by giving away their music. (Sounds weird, but that’s how things work in this crazy 2.0 world.) It’s about how they don’t plan to do that again.
A somewhat vague quote from The Hollywood Reporter goes as follows:
“I […]
What it does
In Hollywood, movies need to be commercial, which means profitable which usually means formulaic. And funding doesn’t come easy. Either you’ve got to be crazy and rich like Tom Cruise or know someone crazy and rich like Tom Cruise; or, preferably several people of his stature. Enter Jessica Mae Stover and her movie Artemis Eternal. Frustrated with the lack of funding for her feature, she came up with the idea of “Crowd Funding”. Crowd Funding means that anyone who donates will get a piece of the action, namely with credits. A $1+ donation will get you a credit on the website;$25+ will get you an in film credit; and $100+ will bestow you with “Wingman” status. Wingman status gets you an in film credit as well as a silver Aurum with your name and a personal link. The movie is a sci-fi flick and is getting ready to shoot.
In their own words
“Artemis Eternal is a professional sci-fi fantasy short intended for film festivals and traveling screenings. Engineered to create a great film in the short term, and in the long term disrupt and evolve the system, ours is a story about challenging society’s expectations. What happens next depends on you.”
Why it might be a killer
Crowd funding is an ingenious idea. It circumvents the circus that is Hollywood and gets the masses involved directly. It takes Web 2.0 to a new level.
Some questions
Will enough people get on the wagon to have a fully financed movie? Will it be a success? Is this a new model for film making?
Updates
read full story of "ArtemisEternal.com - The Crowd Funds the Movie"
Editor’s Note: If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion in “The Startup Review” series, please see the details here.
STARTUP DETAILS:
Company Name: BooRah
20-word Pitch: BooRah has become the Internet’s most comprehensive restaurant rating and review collection by aggregating the Web’s best restaurant review content.
CEO’s 100-word Description: BooRah is an online restaurant review […]
read full story of "BooRah: Restaurant Review Portal For US Market [The Startup Review]"
What it does
Bay Area based Kaazing offers n enterprise real time web platform, allowing companies to build scalable web 2.0 technology for online gaming, sports, and news broadcasting. For users this would mean they wouldn’t have to download desktop solutions for getting real time information about stock prices, betting information, and news. Kaazing offers companies a solution that is on all the time-24/7. It provides them with a two way messaging, without the need for extensive software or mainframe terminals. Kaazing uses its virtual machine to turn Java into Ajax in real time. The company’s HTTP Multicast Router allows for communication to take place over a peer-to-peer network. Basically, Kaazing could change the way new applications deliver information.
In their own words
“Our mission is to be the leader in the new “real-time” Web infrastructure that is now changing the IT industry and the Internet. Our ambition is to provide superior quality, and the industry’s most productive environment for creating real-time Web applications that extend SOA’s event and message delivery to the browser.”
Why it might be a killer
Kaazing is enabling real time web communication in a whole new manner. It works in an efficient and novel manner that’s much more affordable and practical than any previous solutions. The Mulitcast Router doesn’t make any request from the client, instead it is automatically updated thus eliminating redundancy increasing scalability and optimizing over all performance.
Some questions
What companies are implementing this? Will it change the way internet applications work?
Updates
What it does
Streamzy.com is a very fast and easy to use search engine that searches for music that can be streamed directly in your web browser making it unnecessary to download anything. They also claim to be working on some additional functionality that will allow users to also search for and stream videos in the near future. A quick test of the site proved that it is very fast, easy to use, and gives an impressive number of results for a wide variety of music. Anyone can use Streamzy to listen to music in their browser and those who register for free can also save music that they have listened to and organize it into playlists that are playable in any web browser.
In their own words
“Streamzy is a media search utility (powered by Seeqpod) that allows users to search for media, stream it, and create and save playlists. For more information regarding the media provided by this site, please refer to Seeqpod.com.”
Why it might be a killer
The player itself is well-designed and the search engine is effective and quick. The ability to make playslists and play them from anywhere will certainly be enjoyed by users as well.
Some questions
When will streaming video be incorporated? Video would allow them differentiate themselves from the many mp3 sites and give the site a better chance of surviving.
Updates
read full story of "Streamzy.com - Streaming Music Search Engine"
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and deep-pocketed financier of a number of Web businesses, including Linden Lab (Second Life) and 37signals, has invested $3 million into the company whose focus is social online gaming.
The lucky recipient of the funds is Kongregate, a site which started in June of 2006, and which currently has more than […]