fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
LG delivers next-gen OLED, mini-LED backlighting, WebOS 6.0, and a new Magic Remote for 2021
Tags: Electronics, Entertainment, Chargers, Cutting

LG delivers next-gen OLED, mini-LED backlighting, WebOS 6.0, and a new Magic Remote for 2021 Tiffany Jan 11·2 min read

LG announced a new “optimized” OLED element for its 2021-and-beyond TVs that promises more brightness and more accurate color. As for optimized, we’re guessing that means OLED panel lifespan will be increase in some way. OLED elements are subject to burn-in and fade with time, although in normal use, lifespan is measured in decades—longer than most viewers keep their TVs.



LG LG’s new QNED brand indicates the presence of mini-LED backlighting that TCL pioneered.



LG is also introducing a new brand—QNED—for TVs that combine quantum dot color with miniature LED backlighting. Mini LED, with its tens of thousands of tiny LEDs (first employed by TCL in its 8 Series), offers far more focused delivery of light and more granular control for dimming. This results in better blacks and higher contrast than can be acheived with more typical LED backlight arrays with hundreds of larger LEDs. LG says it will offer 10 4K UHD and 8K UHD QNED models in 2021.



[ Further reading: TechHive’s top picks in smart TVs ]LG’s Magic Remote is one of our favorites, due to its ability to function as a free-moving cursor like a mouse. It gets an update with Magic Tap (NFC), so you can link NFC devices with your TV by tapping them with the remote. Nice touch.



LG LG’s redesigned Magic Remote looks to be more comfortable in the hand than the previous version.



Not to leave the interface behind, LG will be upgrading to version 6.0 of WebOS for the coming year. LG claims it’s more attractive, and easier to use. One would hope so.



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There’s a new player in the OLED TV market: Skyworth will offer OLED and LCD smart TVs in the U.S. in 2021
Tags: Entertainment, Lighting, Home Tech, Chargers

There’s a new player in the OLED TV market: Skyworth will offer OLED and LCD smart TVs in the U.S. in 2021 Melissa Jan 11·2 min read

Skyworth had a big CES footprint in 2020, but the global pandemic interfered with its plans to ship its smart TVs in the U.S. market. The company plans to make that happen in 2021, and its lineup will include an OLED smart TV using a panel manufactured in the fab it co-owns with LG.



Skyworth won’t rely on OLED alone to raise brand awareness. It will also ship a wide range of LED-backlit LCD TVs, ranging from the super-budget 1080p TC6200 series (32-inch and 43-inch); to the mid-range 4K UHD UC6200 series (50-inch to 75-inch) and UC7500 series (43-inch through 65-inch); and the high-end UC8500 series (55- and 65-inch) with variable refresh rate (up to 120Hz) for gaming. The company did not provide pricing information.



[ Further reading: TechHive’s top picks in smart TVs ] Skyworth Skyworth’s low-end UC6200 sereies still features 4K UHD resolution.



All U.S. Skyworth TVs will run Android TV 10. The UC7500 series and above feature Bluetooth 5.0. The 55- and 65-inch XC9300 OLED series and the UC8500-series LCD series will sport high-end goodies such as HDR, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. These sets will also be equipped with far-field microphones for voice control.



Skyworth Skyworth’s high-end UC8500-series of LCD smart TV feature quantum-dot technology and support Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos



Skyworth is new to the U.S. market, but they’re no babe in the woods. The privately owned Chinese manufacturer is 33 years old and has been player in the worldwide consumer electronics market for more than 20 years. We have yet to test any of the company’s TVs, but if they’re fab partners with LG, we expect good things.



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This 3 pack of TP-Link Kasa smart switches is under $30
Tags: Music, Entertainment, Mobile Accessories, Chargers

This 3 pack of TP-Link Kasa smart switches is under $30 Cameron Jan 11·2 min read

Smarten up three light switches at an excellent price today. Amazon is selling a three-pack of TP-Link single pole Kasa smart light switches for $29.59, down from the current all-time low of $37. To get the sale price you have to click the 20 percent off coupon under the price on the product page.



[ Want more great deals? Check out TechConnect, our home for the best tech deals, all hand-picked by the PCWorld, Macworld and TechHive editors. ]



The great thing about Kasa TP-Link smart switches is that they connect directly to your home network instead of going through a hub. It all happens via the Kasa smartphone app, where you can also set schedules, control smart devices remotely, and so on. Kasa gear can also integrate with Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa.



As these are single-pole switches you can’t use them on three- or four-way switches where you control a single light from multiple spots. These are solely for single location switches, and they require a neutral wire for installation.



Controlling three switches via your smartphone or smart speaker is a fantastic deal for less than $30. The one downside of Kasa gear is that if there’s ever a power outage then you’ll likely have to reconnect them to your network, but that should be a minor concern for most people.



[Today’s deal: TP-Link Kasa smart switches 3-pack for $29.59 with coupon on Amazon.]



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HBO Max comes to Roku devices at last
Tags: Entertainment, Chargers

Roku users will soon no longer need a workaround to watch HBO Max. Roku has announced an agreement with HBO that—starting tomorrow, December 17—allows Roku users to download HBO Max from the Roku channel store.



Roku and WarnerMedia have been feuding over HBO Max since the streaming service launched back in May, with the two sides at odds over several issues. Chief among them: Whether Roku would be required to provide HBO Max as a separate app, or if Roku users would use Roku Pay to buy HBO Max subscriptions. It’s not clear how those disputes were ultimately resolved, as both sides are mum over the terms of the agreement.



Hisense Roku streaming devices, including smart TVs running the Roku operating system, will soon be compatible with HBO Max.



[ Further reading: The best media streaming devices ] Mentioned in this article Roku Ultra (2020) Read TechHive's reviewMSRP $99.99See it Word of the settlement comes just a couple weeks before the COVID-delayed Wonder Woman 1984 debuts on HBO Max. The latest Wonder Woman epic will debut both on HBO Max and in theaters on Christmas Day, and it will mark HBO Max’s first 4K title. In addition to Wonder Woman 1984, all of Warner Bros’s upcoming 2021 movies will land on HBO Max the same day they arrive in theaters.



Now that HBO Max is coming to Roku, the streaming service is finally available on all the major streaming platforms. Amazon’s Fire TV was one of the last holdouts, but Amazon and WarnerMedia reached their own agreement last month.



Prior to the deal, Roku users were essentially high and dry when it came to HBO Max, although they could cast HBO Max videos to their devices via AirPlay.



Besides its movie offerings, HBO Max is the streaming home of such HBO shows as Game of Thrones, Big Little Lies, The Sopranos, Euphoria, Lovecraft County, Watchmen, and Last Week Tonight, as well as such syndicated shows as Friends and The Big Bang Theory.



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Toto’s new smart toilets are less likely to invoke sticker shock
Tags: Entertainment, Headphones, Security Cameras, Chargers

Toto’s new smart toilets are less likely to invoke sticker shock Angie Jan 11·2 min read

Toto is known for building elaborate booths at CES to display and demonstrate its technologically advanced plumbing fixtures. If you’ve longed to grace your bathroom with one of the company’s high-tech toilets, you’ll be happy to know that some relatively affordable models are coming to market.



When we first covered Toto’s CES in 2016, its top-of-the-line toilet cost nearly $10,000. In 2021, you’ll be able to buy that same technology for less than $1,500. Granted, the Toto Washlet+ C2 (integrated remote control) and the Washlet+ C5 (wall-mounted remote) still cost several times the price of your average throne, but they’re equipped with technology that will keep your bum squeaky clean. Plus, Toto promises the toilet itself will be easier to clean.



[ Further reading: A smart home guide for beginners ] Toto The Toto Washlet+ C5 features a wall-mounted remote control. The remote is mounted to the bidet seat on the Washlet+ C2 displayed at the top of this page.



The toilet bowl is fabricated from an ultrasmooth ceramic. Adding Toto’s Washlet+ seat turns the toilet into a bidet. When you approach the toilet, a “pre-mist” feature sprays electrolyzed water over the surface of the bowl above the water line. Electrolyzing the water converts it to sodium hypochlorite—a broad-spectrum disinfectant—and makes the bowl surface even more slick.



When flushed, Toto’s Dynamax Tornado technology fills the bowl with water from the back as well as the sides to create a more forceful flush. The combination of the slick bowl and the robust flush reduces the likelihood that solid waste will stick to the sides, all while using less water, about .8 gallons per flush. The misting function occurs every eight hours to keep the bowl clean, and it reduces the need to introduce harsh chemicals during periodic cleanings with a brush or rag.



In addition to the bowl cleaning, the bidet wand uses the same process to clean itself. There’s also an onboard water heater and a deodorizer to keep odor at bay, and a blower tops the experience off by lightly drying your bottom after the show.



Both models require a button push to initiate flushing. If you’re looking for a touchless experience, you’ll need to move up to one of Toto’s more expensive models, with prices starting at around $2,500.



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Connected Max Smart LED review: Cree Lighting ups its game with a new line of color tunable bulbs
Tags: Music, Headphones, Chargers, Streaming

Connected Max Smart LED review: Cree Lighting ups its game with a new line of color tunable bulbs Lauren Jan 4·2 min read

The lighting mavens at Cree Lighting are pushing further into the smart home with the launch of the Connected Max line, a series of bulbs available in both dimmable (but not tunable) white and color-changing options. Color bulbs are available in BR30, PAR38, A19, and (unusually) A21 form factors. The tunable white is only available as an A19 bulb.



Today we look at the color A19 bulb, which serves as both a full color-changing bulb and a tunable white bulb. The bulb offers a now familiar, traditional design, with a large heat sink and an Edison style globe on top, roughly the same size as a typical incandescent. The bulb draws 9 watts and offers 800 lumens of brightness, making for a 60-watt incandescent equivalent.



This review is part of TechHive’s coverage of the best smart bulbs, where you’ll find reviews of competing products, plus a buyer’s guide to the features you should consider when shopping for this type of product.The bulb sets up initially via Bluetooth, but operates only on the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band. Initial configuration went quickly via the Cree Lighting mobile app, and I encountered no issues with installation. I especially appreciated its detailed setup process, which walks you through its various configuration modes instead of leaving it all for you to discover later.



[ Further reading: The best bias lighting kits for TVs and monitors ] Christopher Null / IDG Cree’s “follow the sun” mode can be infinitely fine-tuned.



Those modes include “light to sleep” and “light to wake” modes, which slowly fade out or in at bedtime and the waking hour respectively. There’s also a “follow the sun” mode which adjusts the color temperature throughout the day to keep you energized in the morning and relaxed after hours.



Naturally, there’s a full range of tuning options to play with, including a white color temperature range of 2200K to 6500K and a capable dimmer. As well, an intuitive color wheel makes it easy to light the room for a holiday—and the bulb’s colors are impressive in brightness and vibrancy.



A full range of scheduling and timer options are available, and the app connects with both Alexa and Google Assistant to let you control the bulb via voice.



For the most part, the bulb is responsive, though I did encounter more than a few brief disconnects, stutters, and delays during my testing, but rarely did I have to wait more than a few seconds for things to right themselves. That’s all perhaps to be expected given the pricing of this bulb at all of $10, which is definitely on the budget side (though not the least expensive model on the market, even among name brands). Despite some minor bugginess, it’s definitely worth the outlay.



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Roku’s wireless subwoofer is just $150 today
Tags: Chromecast, Home Tech, Chargers

Roku’s streaming devices are some of the best in the biz, and its audio offerings promise to boost your entertainment experience even further. Today on Amazon, you can get the Roku wireless subwoofer for $150, down from a list price of $180 and the cheapest we’ve seen it.



This subwoofer boasts 250 watts of power, promising a booming, immersive audio experience. Its wireless connection allows you to place it anywhere, up to 30 feet from your TV, so you can position it wherever works best. And you won’t need to worry about hiding cables, even if your subwoofer is set up far from your TV. Automatic software updates keep it up to speed with any improvements Roku makes, while a 10-inch driver helps avoid audio distortion.



Note that this subwoofer only works with Roku Audio, including the Roku Smart Soundbar, Roku Wireless Speakers, and Roku Streambar. So even if you have a Roku streaming device, you’ll need Roku’s sound system to make this work.



This subwoofer averages 4.7 stars out of 5 on Amazon across more than 250 user ratings.



[ Today’s deal: Roku wireless subwoofer from Amazon for $150 ]



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The all-new Blink Outdoor 2-camera security kit is $110 today
Tags: Gear, Chromecast, Chargers, Entertainment

Outdoor security cameras can be your first line of defense in home security. So if you don’t have a comprehensive, total-home security package, you should at least consider getting a modest DIY set-up. Today on Amazon, the all-new Blink Outdoor two-camera kit is $110Remove non-product link, down from a list price of $180 and a match for its lowest price ever.



These weather-resistant wireless cameras are powered by included AA lithium batteries, which can last up to two years. Once set up, you can set motion detection zones so you can be notified of suspicious activity. You can also connect with Alexa to see your video feed with sound of your voice, using the Blink mobile app. In addition, HD quality and infrared night vision can help keep an eye on things anytime, day or night.



These cameras average 4.3 stars out of 5 on Amazon across more than 4,200 user ratings.



[ Today’s deal: all-new Blink Outdoor two-camera kit for $110Remove non-product link ]



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Writing For An Audience Or Authenticity
By: Rakia Ben Sassi
Tags: Writing, Startup, Ｍedium, Blogging

Thanks for sharing this piece Justin!

"Are You Writing For An Audience Or Authenticity?" is a great question. Just even when I'm writing for Authenticity, I need to dedicate time for it and I need to survive in order to write.

This means instead of dedicating my time for a job to earn money and pay my bill, I will dedicate it to writing, but when I don't find enough audience that reads my content to be able to generate an income, my problem of "surviving and write for Authenticity at the same time" will not be resolved.

I think that anybody who knows the inspiring articles of Zat Rana, agrees that this writer writes for Authenticity. But he left Medium because he struggled a lot to continue writing with high quality and survive at the same time and the platform did not solve his problem.

Maybe the 2 expressions "for Audience" or "for Authenticity" are not independent of each other. But "Writing with Authenticity for the Audience" and "Writing a Draft for Yourself" are independent of each other.
Isoxya web crawler: 2.1 released, introducing open-source Community Edition
By: Nic Williams
Tags: Web Development, Programming, Startup, Open Source, SEO

I’m pleased to announce the release of Isoxya web crawler 2.1, an internet data processing system representing years of research into building next-generation crawlers and scrapers. Back in September 2020, I announced that a major new version of Isoxya was coming, and that it would be splitting off part of the commercial edition into a new open-source edition. Isoxya 2.0 was released in January 2021, along with 3 open-source plugins. Today’s release of Isoxya 2.1 completes delivery of that milestone, and for the very first time, introduces an open-source mini crawler with minimal dependencies-and usable absolutely free!

Community and Pro Editions

Isoxya now comes in two editions: Community Edition (CE), a free and open-source (BSD 3-Clause) mini crawler, suitable for small crawls on a single computer; and Pro Edition (PE), a commercial and closed-source distributed crawler, suitable for small, large, and humongous crawls on high-availability clusters of multiple computers. Both editions utilise flexible plugins, allowing numerous programming languages to be used to extend the core engine via JSON interfaces. Plugins written for Isoxya CE should typically scale to Isoxya PE with minimal or no changes. More details and licences are available on request.

Features

A table of features can be seen in the original post.

Availability

Open-source programs have been published to GitHub and Docker Hub: Isoxya CE (code, download), and the Crawler HTML (code, download), Elasticsearch (code, download), and Spellchecker (code, download) plugins. In addition, there are example scripts available, either as a demo, or for use on a CLI. Documentation for the Isoxya API and interfaces is also available. There’s a hands-on walkthrough, and a short video. If you’re interested in Isoxya PE, more details and licences are available on request.
Durians Daily #215: This week’s top stories feat. the surprising key to above-average profitability and trailblazing women in startups
By: Southeast Asia
Tags: Fintech, Women Empowerment, Startup, Healthcare, Women Entrepreneurs

Missed out the last Durians Daily? Go here to check it out.

You can also find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Durians family of funds. The 500 Durians funds have backed over 200 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.

This post is intended solely for general informational or educational purposes only. 500 Startups Management Company, L.L.C. and its affiliates (collectively “500 Startups”) makes no representation as to the accuracy or information in this post and while reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the information herein is accurate and up-to-date, no liability can be accepted for any error or omissions. All third party links in this post have not been independently verified by 500 Startups and the inclusion of such links should not be interpreted as an endorsement or confirmation of the content within. Information about portfolio companies’ markets, competitors, performance, and fundraising has been provided by those companies’ founders and has not been independently verified. Under no circumstances should any content in this post be construed as investment, legal, tax or accounting advice by 500 Startups, or an offer to provide any investment advisory service with regard to securities by 500 Startups. No content or information in this post should be construed as an offer to sell or solicitation of interest to purchase any securities advised by 500 Startups. Prospective investors considering an investment into any 500 Startups fund should not consider or construe this content as fund marketing material. The views expressed herein are as at the date of this post and are subject to change without notice. One or more 500 Startups fund may have a financial interest in one or more of the companies discussed.
White Paper: Moat:Model Fit
Tags: Venture Capital, Goingvc, Finance, Startups

White Paper: Moat:Model Fit

How VCs Can Identify the Newest and Strongest Competitive Advantage in the Marketplace GoingVC Follow Mar 19 · 1 min read

Download Our Latest White Paper: Moat:Model Fit

In our latest paper we start by asking the question, “What makes one company better than another?” and dive into what company value really means by looking at how competitive advantages turn into cash flows. We also discuss in detail how companies should align its operating and business models to their competitive advantage to create a sustainable moat.

We also position network effects as the most compelling competitive advantage available to companies and demonstrate how companies can boost the power of its network effects driven advantage with AI/ML.

About the Paper

How to understand and define company “value”

The difference between the business model and the operating model

How to match business and operating models to the competitive advantage

Why Network Effects are the best competitive advantage

How Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence can hyper charge network effects

To download the full paper, create your account for the GoingVC Research Library (and get access to all our papers, models, guides, and more).
Create React SPA to Authenticate Users Using Auth0
By: Ram Potabatti
Tags: Oauth, Web Development, Startup

Done, now use the following command to install Auth0 -

npm install @auth0/auth0-react

or

yarn add @auth0/auth0-react

Once, done with this —

Now, visit Auth0 Authorization Framework to use the services of OAuth 2.0.

Here, you will have to create an account, just provide all the details and go ahead.

Once you have Logged in, here’s how you create an application of Auth0-

You would see the services list of Auth0. Click on Applications as shown below.

Now, click on Create Application -

Here, we would keep the name of Application as My App(default), and choose for Single Page Application.

Now, choose for React App, as we gonna use the React framework .

And here, you have finished to create a Auth0 application.

Here, you have to make changes in the settings of Auth0 Application -

Visit Settings Search for Allowed Callback URLS, and add the following URL-

http://localhost:3000 //Since, we work using development mode.

You can, further change this setting to your Domain URL, when you work for Production.

3. Copy the same URL, and paste it in —

Allowed Logout URLS

&

Allowed Web Origins

4. Make sure to click on Save changes at the bottom of the page.
Customer Support — Dutch. ListMinut is a web start-up founded in…
Tags: Support, Dutch, Startup, Customer Support, Jobs

ListMinut is a web start-up founded in 2013 by 3 young entrepreneurs, which raised more than 1M euros. Today, the team is composed of 20+ young motivated people based in Brussels.

ListMinut has launched a new way to provide services and make daily tasks carried out in an easy, fast and interactive manner through a web/mobile application with more than 300.000 users. ListMinut is a two-sided marketplace where we allow our users to find reliable help for everyday tasks in their neighborhood (gardening, assembling IKEA furniture, babysitting,…)

We are currently looking for an outstanding Customer Support who will be in charge of our beloved users (both clients and service providers). He or she will be in charge to build strong relationships with them. Its mission will be to guarantee a super positive experience to all of them. 💪

Our users are the life-blood of ListMinut. Our goal is to have the most satisfied users everywhere in Belgium (and on an international level soon or later). 🚀

Last, but certainly not least, if you’re ready to work in a fast-growing start-up and to work side by side with a passionate team, we can’t wait to meet you! 💎

Mission

Manage by e-mail and phone the questions/issues that our users are facing.

and the questions/issues that our users are facing. Follow on a daily basis the entire customers processes (cancellations, profile validation, moderation, …).

(cancellations, profile validation, moderation, …). Onboard and follow our users for their first steps on the platform.

and follow our users for their first steps on the platform. Give all our users the best experience and solution.

and solution. Support the technical team through user feedback.

In short, becoming THE new pillar of our thousands users !

Required skills

You speak and write fluently Dutch.

You’re a human person.

person. You’re an outgoing and curious person who love contact with people.

and person who love contact with people. You’ve a passion for internet and collaborative economy is a plus.

and is a plus. You are comfortable on the phone .

. Your spelling in Dutch is perfect.

Desired skills
Customer Support — French. ListMinut is a web start-up founded in…
Tags: Support, Startup, Customer Support, French, Jobs

ListMinut is a web start-up founded in 2013 by 3 young entrepreneurs, which raised more than 1M euros. Today, the team is composed of 20+ young motivated people based in Brussels.

ListMinut has launched a new way to provide services and make daily tasks carried out in an easy, fast and interactive manner through a web/mobile application with more than 300.000 users. ListMinut is a two-sided marketplace where we allow our users to find reliable help for everyday tasks in their neighborhood (gardening, assembling IKEA furniture, babysitting,…)

We are currently looking for an outstanding Customer Support who will be in charge of our beloved users (both clients and service providers). He or she will be in charge to build strong relationships with them. Its mission will be to guarantee a super positive experience to all of them. 💪

Our users are the life-blood of ListMinut. Our goal is to have the most satisfied users everywhere in Belgium (and on an international level soon or later). 🚀

Last, but certainly not least, if you’re ready to work in a fast-growing start-up and to work side by side with a passionate team, we can’t wait to meet you! 💎

Mission

Manage by e-mail and phone the questions/issues that our users are facing.

and the questions/issues that our users are facing. Follow on a daily basis the entire customers processes (cancellations, profile validation, moderation, …).

(cancellations, profile validation, moderation, …). Onboard and follow our users for their first steps on the platform.

and follow our users for their first steps on the platform. Give all our users the best experience and solution.

and solution. Support the technical team through user feedback.

In short, becoming THE new pillar of our thousands users !

Required skills

You speak and write fluently French.

You’re a human person.

person. You’re an outgoing and curious person who love contact with people.

and person who love contact with people. You’ve a passion for internet and collaborative economy is a plus.

and is a plus. You are comfortable on the phone .

. Your spelling in French is perfect.

Desired skills
Celebrate Learning, Not Failing
By: Quinn Hanson
Tags: Success, Startup, Learning, Failure, Engineering

A popular trope in the business (read: tech startup) world over the last decade has been some variation of fail fast or fail forward or move fast and break things. These phrases can be empowering in certain settings and devastating in others. One contingency argues that starting with failure is a recipe for disaster. Another says that failure is the best way to learn. What matters more than what phrases a business uses, though, is what actions are taken. Setting out to fail, as a strategy, is going to bring failure. It’ll promote half thought out developments, low energy, and poor execution.

So, instead of setting out to fail, set out to do the best job possible and learn as much as possible. If a project fails, a launch flops, or service delivery is terrible, look for the lessons. Spend time reflecting honestly, on what happened, what was supposed to happen and where the disconnect was. Failure is not a goal, but it is a catalyst for doing better. Celebrate the new insights when they’re realized.
🌱 Kernal’s Fresh Five: Vol 7
Tags: Tech, Startup, Apps, Nft, Investing

New Messaging Feature, Gif and 5 Free Startup Ideas

When users ask, Kern.al delivers. Starting today, we’re piloting a new messaging feature to help you engage with other users on the platform. It’s in early access, so keep reading to learn how to get your hands on it 👇

New Members:

🙋‍ Word keeps spreading and we’re not complaining. New sign-ups from Channing Allen (Indiehackers, co-founder), Lindsay Craig (Shopify, Director of Growth), Jean-Loup Karst (Secret, founder) and Cassidy (Developer from Netlify).

📈 We’ve hit the 1500+ beta user mark and have 350+ startup ideas on the platform, including this startup idea giveaway including the domain, logo and code.

Product Updates

🗨 Have you received great feedback on your idea, but need to take the discussion further? We’re piloting a new messaging feature to engage with members that are interested in your ideas. Apply for early access

🎬 We added a bit more flavour to the Kernal logo. Should we mint an NFT for it?

🏆 Creator of the Week

Looking for great creators to follow? Same here. We’re launching a Creator of the Week feature to highlight the amazing projects you’re shipping.

This week’s shoutout goes to Damon Chen and his recent work building Testimonial.so. Check out his latest Kernal idea on using AI to generate personalized email.

Wanna add a friend to the Kernal community? Forward them this email or send them an invite code here

Your fresh 5 ideas of the week:

Journalism-As-A-Service (JaaS)

by Paul Burke

As distrust in the media is at an all-time high, driven by misaligned incentives, this idea is extremely compelling to me. Notorious Angel Investor… Read more

Upvote • Give Feedback

Platform that connects people who do meal prep with families who’ll pay for it

by Alexis Grant

For families where both parents work full time, it’s incredibly helpful to outsource meal planning, grocery shopping and meal prepping… Read more

Upvote • Give Feedback

NFT for tracking physical art

by Adrian Salamunovic

The problem with NFTs are they are not easy to “link” to physical objects. This would give living artists the ability to create tamperproof “stickers” that they… Read more

Upvote • Give Feedback

Personal trainer, but for intellectual growth

by Ideas from Twitter

Idea: You identify what you want to learn and the trainer tells you what to read, who to follow, & assembles domain specific tutors & peers… Read more

Upvote • Give Feedback

Glossier for Fitness

by Elaine Zelby

When Emily Weiss started her blog Into The Gloss in 2010, it began with interviews of celebrities and influential women discussing their beauty routines… Read more

Upvote • Give Feedback

Have a great startup idea you want to share with the community?

Share Your Idea on Kernal!

Till next week,

The Kernal Team
Build Lead Nurturing Model
By: Abhishek Dwivedi
Tags: Lead Generation, Startup, Entrepreneurship

Leads are the ultimate “to be customers” of the product. With the change of customer behavior, interest, advancement of the technologies it is quite important to go with current researches and outcomes and build high quality leads or potential buyers. This requires discipline, practical understanding of the market, and following some principals. On today date there are number of online tools to make the life easy, automated and cost effective. Find the place where you will get your customer as you will be going to spend time and money for it so spend in perfect place. Initially take action fast until you are convinced by the projections of lead scoring. Spend in only tools which let you track the maximum information how your market is doing.

Be an expert in the field while communicating to the customer in any form and build a confidence.

Advertisement to align with the people who could be your future customer or could bring future customer

Add leads into the system of regular valuable updates. Once in a week is good, once in a month is fine, but not daily. Find right interval between a week and a month based on the product and services user would be interested to see.

Don’t do sales pitch too hard. Provide only the content which user will be interested in or is valuable and not annoying regular spam like stuff.

Keep in touch with objective otherwise you will grow which will be taken by your competitor, which will be even worst.

Your first lead will often be not the customer but they will let you build your contact based on there excitement. Keep them motivated. Keep yourself motivated and have patience while the chain reach to sixth contact. Have tools to project it and so this be measurable and so to fine tune but not overdoing. After 6th contact you must have built the process and keep the process take things forward while you will start selling at the 9th contact in the chain.
What is your startup’s valuation?
By: Eiass Muhanna
Tags: Finance, Startup, Valuation, Fundraising, Investing

Any entrepreneur who is thinking about fundraising has to be prepared for the unavoidable investor question “What is your startup’s valuation?” This question becomes increasingly difficult when posed to early-stage entrepreneurs who are usually asked another equally difficult follow-up investor question which is “How did you come up with your valuation?”

Experienced entrepreneurs know that the answer to such a daunting question does not lie in a particular magical number, but instead the answer that investors would like to hear from founders relates to the method/s that the founder has employed to reach the claimed valuation.

The ideal answer to such a question would actually be to relate that several structured valuation methods were used to establish the startup’s target valuation.

The rationale underlying the use of valuation methods, such as the Scorecard method or the Risk Mitigation method, is that it helps entrepreneurs and investors alike answer key questions such as:

How much experience does the founding team have?

How much money has been invested so far?

How does the startup compare to other startups in the industry segment?

How big is the target market?

How have similar startups been valued?

By using multiple valuation methods, startup founders and investors can properly prepare for valuation negotiations and truly illuminate the progress of the startup, the capability of the founding team, and ultimately a good target value for the startup.

Given that early-stage startups do not have any historical financial data that can be used to calculate the value of the startup, investors focus on the value derived from the startup’s qualitative aspects.

The most well-known methods used in valuing early-stage startups are Checklist Method, Step Up Method, and as mentioned above Scorecard and Risk Mitigation Methods.

Startup Falcon’s AI-powered, automated valuation calculator was built based on the logic of these methods. The specialized valuation form that investors/entrepreneurs fill on their online platform inspects the quality of such qualitative aspects of the startup as the ones mentioned above (quality of the founding team, past investments, target market size, similar startup valuations, and more).

Their engine then quantifies the qualitative answers from the form to determine the final valuation amount per valuation criterion (team, product, business model, legal) and per valuation method. Providing both investors and entrepreneurs with a valuation they can use with confidence.

Startup Falcon Valuation Calculator: Try it out for free.

Stephen R. Poland, the author of Founder’s Pocket Guide: Startup Valuation
We Need Your Wisdom
By: Lizzy Levine
Tags: Marketing, Women In Tech, Startup, Womens Health, Sports

Laurie Jacoby

How do you get people in high positions to understand that a better experience leads to more revenue?

My name is Lizzy, and I am the founder of Viragoes — a feminine technology company dedicated to changing the way women experience life. One of our passions is improving the female fan experience. I am having trouble getting people to understand that creating a customized, better experience for women will lead to an increase in revenue. I would love the opportunity to interview you; hopefully, you see this!

I always wonder what it takes for people at the top to understand that spending money to improving the experience for women will not only lead them to long-term revenue but also will create lifelong fans.

Q1: How long did it take for others to buy into your vision and trust that you knew what you were doing?

I know trust comes with experience, but I am just trying to get a feel of how and when that comes and at what level.

Q2: Was there a time in your career where you felt like you had made it? Do you ever feel like you have to “fake it till you make it?”

Q3: As a woman with such an incredible career and many accolades, is there a single event you believe kickstarted your career?

Lastly, what advice would you give to women who aspire to be in high positions such as yourself?

“Laurie is one of the most talented and respected executives in the entertainment business, and we are thrilled to welcome her to the BSE Global family,” said CEO of BSE Global, John Abbamondi, in a release. “With experience in booking shows and events at award-winning and globally recognized venues, she is exceptionally qualified to lead programming efforts for Barclays Center. I am looking forward to Laurie leveraging her expertise to bring an incredible slate of events to Brooklyn.”
7 Questions to Get Value from Board Meetings
By: Dave Bailey
Tags: Pineapple2021, Business, Startups, Meetings, Entrepreneurship

7 Questions to Get Value from Board Meetings

How valuable do you find your board meetings? If you use them only to present results, share your learnings, or provide reassurance that you’re on top of things, you might be leaving value on the table.

Here are seven different ways of getting tangible value from board meetings, and how you might ask for it.

1) Opposing perspectives

‘I’d like to hear from someone who holds the opposite point of view. How did you come to this perspective?’

2) Experience

‘Has anyone been in a similar situation personally or via a portfolio company? What happened? What would you have done differently?’

3) Network

‘I need to meet people on this list. Please, can you check whether you have a direct connection? If not, could you please make an introduction to someone who is likely to have a connection?’

4) Data

‘This is our baseline. What benchmarks from other companies can you share? Do you have any reports on this?’

5) Approval

‘I’d like to move forward with this initiative. Are there any objections?’

6) Accountability

‘I see this as critically important, so I’ll add a quick follow-up to the next meeting agenda. Will you hold me accountable for this?’

7) Blindspot checks

‘From your point of view, is there anything missing from my agenda? What do you see as the most critical issue we’re facing?’

Before your next board meeting, reflect on this list and write out what would be most valuable to you right now. Then, ask for it. You can even put the questions in your board slides to give people more time to process them — and more time to help you. The worst they can say is ‘no’, right?
When it comes to marketing, startups are a completely different animal
By: The Delta
Tags: Commercialization, Corporate Innovation, Startups, Marketing, Commericialisation

By Jana Kotze, Head of Venture Marketing

We all know that marketing is essential for business, but even more so for startups. Startups are a completely different animal when it comes to marketing. We often don’t have the luxury of massive marketing budgets, resources or tools, so our approach needs to be lean and agile.

Product commercialisation is the business of launching new products or services to the market, driving demand and user adoption which will ultimately result in happy customers. In other words, we develop go-to-market strategies based on our knowledge, research, initial user feedback and assumptions. Ultimately, we want our products to have a certain stickiness which will increase the propensity of customers to return to the product, use it more frequently and, thus, deepening the relationship with the customer over time.

I believe in using an agile, iterative approach that helps us to test our assumptions quickly and change direction if we need to. The earlier we launch and learn, the better, and better insight translate into a better experience with less time, effort and money being spent fixing things later on in the process.

Commercialisation conceptualisation

During the initial stages of the project, our team will spend time understanding the customer, their wants, needs and what motivates them — whether intrinsic or extrinsic by nature. We define the product messaging and come up with a value proposition that clearly defines how the product features will benefit the customer. Getting the value proposition to stand out requires a combination of relevance, context, and education. It’s important to acknowledge that even if your value proposition is spot on, it might only resonate with a subset of your audience.

After the product launches, we keep a close eye on data, especially around user behaviour, so that we can make changes according to the feedback we receive. We’re constantly asking what worked, what didn’t and why. As a team, the onus is on us to keep up with the latest tech trends and tools we can use to perform at our best.

Lessons learned

I’ve learnt that even when you plan everything to the last detail, it doesn’t always go to plan. That’s when the agile approach really kicks in, as we can pivot quickly without too much impact on the project. Fast, lightweight iterations are the key.

I love what I do — the variety, the faced paced environment and the challenges. No day is the same. I love helping people grow and thrive. At the Delta, team culture is important to us, as is the constant drive to improve and learn, while having fun in the process!

I have also learnt that failure happens, but it is not a bad thing, as long as you take the lessons being offered. This gives us the opportunity to grow so that we can continue to build, and market, products and ventures in a way that resonates with clients and customers alike.
F is for funding.
By: Nomsa Ngoma.
Tags: Women In Tech, Africa, Funding, Startups

So this week we entered an agreement with a bus owner so we could pilot our system and develop a prototype. The plan is to lease the bus, and raise funds at the same time, because you know, we’re bootstrapping in these streets. It’s exciting and daunting because essentially, to develop our system, we’ll need funding.

Funding, sigh. The other ‘f’ word. One thing that has stood out to me about the African startup ecosystem, is that there is no shortage of ideas, just a lack of access to resources. We have the ideas. We just don’t always have the access to capital to develop our ideas. We know our problems better than anyone. Many of us also have solutions to some of them. It’s unfortunate that a lot of the time, it takes a person from Europe to come and be a partner, because they have access to funding from their governments and other organisations. Instead of funding, we’re taken through mentorship programs. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying these are bad, but it would be nice if we were guaranteed funds at the end of them, as well as the knowledge transfer.

So we’re bootstrapping. Which means asking family members and putting in our own money and all that good stuff. We are pre-revenue, so that makes it more difficult to actually pitch to VCs. People want prototypes and minimal viable products, they want to know you’ve tested what you’re offering on your target market. They want to see proof of concept. An idea isn’t always enough.

Thankfully though, with every step, and every day, this startup becomes more than an idea, more than a concept. The vision is being realised.

Shout out to First Check Africa (they can be found here) and Tony Elumelu Foundation (and here) for funding ideas and concepts and betting on ridiculously early stage founders. Love to see it.