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Wumdrop's MOBILE solution delivers a victory at the Entrepreneur SmartCamp Cape Town!

September 4, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Congratulations to Wumdrop for winning the SmartCamp Cape Town competition!

 

wumdrop

This year’s event in Cape Town had 5 outstanding startups competing for the win. Each startup had very different and unique solutions that included scalable transactional monitoring, ecommerce store builder, mobile identity, and even a micro-radar so a bicyclist can track automobiles for increased safety. I’d say the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Cape Town is producing some very creative startup solutions!

Wumdrop’s mobile solution allows you to request shipping service at the click of a button. No more waiting in lines at the post office or shipping kiosk! What’s so impressive about their solution is that it furthers the notion of mobile solutions making daily tasks easier and faster to complete. This is a great resource for business and personal use!

And a big shout out to Tech4Africa! SmartCamp Cape Town ran in partnership with Tech4Africa. Every time they are involved in a SmartCamp event, it is huge success for everyone! So THANK YOU to Tech4Africa!

TGIF: Rosie powers through to win SmartCamp Cambridge with mobile and predictive!

July 25, 2014 / / 0 Comments

I’m thrilled to announce that Rosie is the winner of the SmartCamp Cambridge event!

Rosie is a leading SaaS provider of predictive online and mobile shopping applications to local merchants. Their solution is aimed at improving the grocery store shopping experience by predicting the grocery items shoppers need before they run out, at the lowest price from local grocers and online retailers.

What does their solution do for grocery retailers? Rosie provides e-commerce, delivery opportunities, and deep data services. And for consumers, Rosie enables them to shop online for their favorite local stores for delivery or in-store pickup. No more running up and down the aisles looking for what you need! Rosie provides it in a mobile app!

And here’s another tidbit about Rosie: they’re focused on diversity with a workforce that is 50% women! Now that’s an ingredient for success!

rosie_group_pic

VacantBoards uses Big Data and Analytics for the SmartCamp Lagos win!

July 24, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Imagine a company that uses big data and analytic software to capture data on the flow of traffic to determine the value of advertising on billboards. A solution like that could help small businesses, as well as enterprise-level businesses, maximize their advertising dollars when selecting the right billboard.

You don’t have to imagine that company, because we found them at a SmartCamp event! VacantBoards was announced the winner of SmartCamp Lagos!

VacantBoards developed the very solution I described above. Driven by big data and analytics, their solution is a game changer in the African advertising industry. And, even better, their solution is provided at the touch of your fingers through a mobile app! How powerful is that?!

Congratulations to VacantBoards and to the Lagos ecosystem for putting on another great SmartCamp!

vacantboards_group_photo

Bluemix Girls Night out! Diversity improves performance and increases innovation

July 11, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Organizations that are the most inclusive of women in top management achieve 35% higher return on equity (ROE) and 34% better total return to shareholders versus their peers – and research shows gender diversity to be particularly valuable where innovation is key, according to research conducted by Illuminate Ventures.

Despite women making up more than 50% of the population, women are conspicuously absent in IT. Only 3% of tech companies were founded by women, and, of venture-backed startups, only 1.3% have a female founder and only 6.5% have a woman CEO. Women make up half of all consumers, but by not having their voice included in the development of today’s new technology, the world is missing out on a wave of new technology and products that would appeal to both genders.

Women in IT has always been low, but today it is even lower than 30 years ago. Today, women represent 12% of all computer science graduates. In 1984, they represented 37% of all computer science graduates.

Much of this has to do with exposure to computer science before college and during college. According to Code.org, nine out of ten schools don’t even offer computer science classes, and in 28 out of 50 states, computer science doesn’t count towards a math or science credit.

This is why I love the focus on more women in Computer Science!  Join our movement to get more women in Tech!

In Japan, our team hosted a great event for a “Girls Night Out” around the cloud!

If you are interested in hosting a “Bluemix Girls Night Out” in your region, please let me know!

japan girls night out

 

2014: Year of the Entrepreneur

July 10, 2014 / / 1 Comment

Have you noticed the new energy around Entrepreneurship?

For instance, Shark Tank is one of the most popular family shows.  Families are teaching their kids about the potential and the feasibility of changing the world.

We now have Restaurant Start-up and even Walmart is running a “entrepreneur” event to gather new products for its US stores.

And more women are also joining the trend …. did you know that  nearly 20% of angels  invested in women-led businesses — the percentage grew more than 40% from the previous year, according to the Center of Venture Research.

Why is this the case?

1.   There is more access to capital and it costs less to start a business.   With new technologies like cloud, the cost to begin a start up is less, and areas like social enable businesses to market like the large companies for less.

2.  There is more “hope” now in the economy that in the past few years.   Yes, CNBC says we are in the period of overjoy, there are signs that our economy is improving — it’s a good time to start a business.

3.  Corporate America isn’t fulfilling the “need to show value” and to “change the world.” To attract and retain the best employees, companies should be more proactive and willing to invest in their workers’ future.   Many believe they have to create their own company to get that culture.

4.  Mentoring abounds.   I see IBM offering business and technology mentoring.  Virgin is focused on mentoring in the UK and the list goes on.   Mentoring provides confidence to get started!

5.  Support is pervasive.  Unlike in the past, support for start-ups exists in networking groups, meetups, and beyond.  For example, for women entrepreneurs, some groups are National Association of Women Business Owners, Women’s Toolbox, PBWC, WITI, and Women 2.0.

I love this time of Entrepreneur Energy and know 2014 will truly be the Year of the Entrepreneur!

SmartCamp Entrepreneur Winners in France, Italy, and Africa!

July 8, 2014 / / 2 Comments

We have more exciting news coming from SmartCamps in Africa and Europe!

Last week, we had SmartCamps in Milan, Lille and Nairobi. And at each location, the local entrepreneurial ecosystem was engaged and participated!

Congratulations to Social Bullgard (Italy), Seclud-IT (France) and Digital Vision East Africa (Nairobi)!

Social Bullgard gathers and structures social media content to help companies react quickly to requests and opportunities, as well as avoid and manage crisis efficiently.

socialbullgard

Seclud-IT’s solution, Elastic Security, brings to cloud infrastructure providers the ability to provide on-demand computing resources to their customers, without compromising with security.

Pic SecludIT

Digital Vision East Africa’s solution, Chamasoft, is a simple to use web and mobile application that automates all activities in an investment group. Their solution also promotes transparency and accountability within investment groups.

digitalvision

What an impressive list of startups! And all that just from last week! There are more to come, as our SmartCamps are happening around the world. Find out more about a SmartCamp near you!

Our NYC SmartCamp winner is announced: Yosko!

June 27, 2014 / / 0 Comments

IBM SmartCamp season has begun, and we’ve already had some great SmartCamp events in Austin, Chicago, and Prague!

Earlier this week, we held a SmartCamp event in New York with a focus on Watson-related solutions. The winner was Yosko!

SC_NYC_Yosko_winner

With their mobile-based solutions, Yosko provides access to the electronic medical records, facilitates exchanges between physicians, and improves care team communication. Sounds like a great Watson for Healthcare solution!

As I said, SmartCamps are just getting started! Want to participate? Want to attend one? Check out our schedule of upcoming SmartCamps!

Austin SmartCamp – Start Up Winners Announced – BeehiveID & eyeQ

June 12, 2014 / / 1 Comment

Two winners for SmartCamp Austin 2014 were selected yesterday: a nearly unanimous popular vote from the public audience for BeehiveID and a clear Mentors choice for eyeQ Insights.

Event Highlights:

  • Ground breaking new relationship through partnering with TechRanch.
  • Standing room only with 120+ attendees
  • Two winners selected: a nearly unanimous popular vote from the public audience for BeehiveID and a clear Mentors choice for eyeQ Insights.

The EcoD Designcamp Team joined for the grand finale !!!

BeeHiveID

eyeq

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