Venture Candy – TWiSTldn Alumni do Battle
Let battle commence!
TWiSTldn has given a platform to many companies to compete for share of voice, to fight for a place on the the live This Week in Startups show. But, such is the fast growing competitive environment we now exist in, it’s only a matter of time before that competition spills out into the streets. We’re talking full-on drunken street-fighting, bandaged fists dipped in glue and nails, baseball bats with nails through the end, winner takes all, fight to the death.
Or maybe not. I may just have a slightly over active imagination, let’s reign it back into reality for a second.
Instead, we’re talking about a prestigious competition run by Venture Candy. Those companies to which we refer are in the “Green” category – that is, companies that strive to make the world a cleaner, greener, more enjoyable place to live. It’s come down to the final three candidates, and proudly we know, you’ll recognise a couple of them.
The Finalists:
GoingGoingBike - James Johnson and crew help cyclists to verify that bikes they buy are not stolen, obtain information about bikes through their Bikepedia, and match buyers with bikes through their Bike Match product. VOTE!
CampingNinja - Founders Rhian Evans and Geoff Vaughn have brought the old process of finding, booking and enjoying Campsites online, in a beautifully designed booking engine. No more trawling outdated websites, phoning/faxing/emailing numerous campsites and turning up to campsites to be dissapointed with what you find. VOTE!
GiveaCar – Tom Chance helps people dispose of their old cars in an environmentally safe and legal way (believe it or not, this doesn’t always happen!). A social enterprise, a highly significant 75% of the proceeds go to charity. VOTE!
You may recall Rhian and Geoff pitching their UK Campsite booking engine, at TWiSTldn 2, back in August 2010 and James Johnson, who pitched at TWiSTldn 3 in February 2011 and made it onto the live show. If you liked either of these really great entrepreneurs and companies, take a minute to vote and make a difference.
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TWiSTldn 4 – Image Gallery
It’s been a little while since our last meetup, so what better way to revisit the event than to browse through some selected stills, expertly captured by Olly Freeman. You can view all of the images on our Flickr Stream
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Google Plus? Minus me…
Feeling a little like the kid who arrived late at the party, only to find the doors bolted tight and everyone inside having a right laugh. I can just about see in through a window, I can hear a little bit of what’s going on – sounds like fun, a lot of people like the different games being played and some people don’t. But at least they’re able to play.
Well, that’s my relationship with Google today. I’ve been trying to get in on the act, had invites from various people who’ve tried to sneak me in the back door, but to find at every turn that my name’s clearly not down and definitely not coming in. And for someone who loves their early adopter status, this is tough to bear. Especially considering some of the features i’ve seen people talking about and what the guided tour – a veritable kick in the teeth – suggests I am missing out on.
Now let me just talk about that early adopter thing. Remember Google Wave? I was there, I was early, I used it, I loved it and I miss using it. I use all the Google products everyday – you would have thought perhaps I’d be valued sufficiently as a customer to be allowed in the club, but nooooooo.
Any way, I’m not alone and at least I ‘ve found solace. Every Google Plus related post I’ve seen is filled with comments from people wanting to get in on the inside. More than there was with wave and that was pretty intense.
So, Google – get your act together, gather your kahuna’s and open this puppy up!
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