In 2010, Ben Milne made a journey across the Silicon Prairie for his first taste from the big tech trough. Then a twenty-something founder of a two-person startup in Iowa, Milne arrived in San Francisco with no business connections but a burning...
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Photograph by Steve Pope/Bloomberg
Dwolla plans to keep its headquarters in Iowa, a state known more for its pork than for tech startups.
Silicon Prairie’s Dwolla Strikes Out West to Find $16.5 Million
Photograph by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Leap Motion's computer accessory allows users to control a computer by waving their fingers and hands.
HP Hopes Leap Motion’s Hand-Gesture Controls Help Revive the PC
Personal-computer sales have fallen through the floor as people spend more time on mobile devices. The world’s largest PC maker is trying to lure some buyers back with an unusual new way to control their machines. Hewlett-Packard is partnering with...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Barry Diller's Aereo is perceived as a challenger to cable companies, but it may end up helping their bottom line.
Aereo’s Web TV Service May Be Cable Companies’ Ace in the Hole
If you’re thinking about canceling cable in favor of something cheaper, Aereo is a pretty attractive alternative at $8 to $12 a month. The online service, which is currently available in New York, plans to expand to 22 other U.S....
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Photograph by Ronda Churchill/Bloomberg
VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger, right, employs an acquisition policy that involves not meddling with startup culture.
Beer Friday Is Key to VMware’s Acquisition Strategy
VMware Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger is not interested in taking away startups’ Friday beer parties. Preserving small companies’ cultures is a key to successful acquisitions, the former EMC executive said today on a panel at the Economist magazine’s Ideas...
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Courtesy Jemstep
Jemstep provides algorithm-driven advice on how to save for retirement.
Why You Should Consider Taking Financial Advice From a Computer
Simon Roy prefers computers to professional money managers because machines don’t work on commission. The dark truth about the financial services industry is that brokers such as those found at a big bank branch or a strip mall often receive...
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Photograph by Tom Hawkins
Matt Mickiewicz left 99designs to start DeveloperAuction, an online marketplace that matches engineers and employers.
How Donuts Gave Rise to Site Where Employers Can Bid on Engineers
As co-founder of web startup 99designs, Matt Mickiewicz relied on 30 recruiters to find engineering talent for his company in the hyper-competitive market of San Francisco. Results were so poor that when one finally got a prospect hired, the recruiter...
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Photograph by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
At SXSW, Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, reminisced about the difficulties of building a business.
The Missed Airbnb Investment, Now Worth $250 Million
Airbnb Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky still crashes on couches. The difference is that now, Chesky, the co-founder of the service that lets people rent out rooms and homes online, doesn’t have to. Before the 6-year-old company took off, Chesky...
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Photograph by Jin Lee/Bloomberg
Venture capital firms are swiping executives away from Square, the hot mobile-payments startup.
Square Loses Another Exec to Venture Capital
For the second time in nine days, a high-ranking executive at the payments startup Square has landed in venture capital. This time, it’s Jared Fliesler, who served as a vice president of user acquisition and business operations at Square, the...
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Draper University Gets Aspiring Entrepreneurs Out of the Classroom
Welcome to the Draper University of Heroes, a new school in San Mateo, California, where aspiring entrepreneurs get a taste of the madness involved in running a startup. We featured the program in this week’s issue of Bloomberg Businessweek and...
Read more »SoftBank Capital Raises $250M Fund to Help Startups Expand to Asia
SoftBank Capital, the venture firm that backed the Huffington Post, Buddy Media and OMGPOP, is raising a $250 million fund to help startups expand internationally. And by “internationally,” they mostly mean Asia. SoftBank Capital is the venture arm of Softbank...
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