Special Reports

PEX Card Small Business Survey Results Are In

PEX Card recently released the results of its first SMB Mid-Year Survey of customers nationwide in honor of National Small Business Week 2013. The survey reveals that small business owners are optimistic with 87% of respondents indicating that their business is doing as well or better than expected halfway through the year. Among businesses making staffing changes, those planning to increase their staff outnumber those planning to decrease staff 7:1. Meanwhile 25% of survey respondents plan to increase online advertising spending and 30% plan to spend more on technology. View the full survey here.

Disruptive Founders

Meet ZendyPlace: The Priceline/Living Social of One-Stop-Shop Cosmetic Procedures

Name your price for cosmetic procedures? Double Board Certified surgeon Vish Banthia, MD FACS, aims to offer a one-stop shop for discovering, purchasing, and booking non-surgical cosmetic procedures from Board Certified providers. The free service, ZendyPlace.com, offers an economic way for customers to try Botox, laser hair removal, acne scar treatment, wrinkle relaxers and other non-surgical procedures at a 30% discount off retail prices. Learn more

Schoola Disrupts School Fundraisers with Groupon-Inspired Fundraising Platform

Forget bake sales or wrapping-paper drives. Founder Stacey Boyd aims to deliver a modern solution for schools struggling with fundraising. Schoola.com offers a Groupon-inspired school fundraising program called “Schoola Stitch” which gives moms, dads, PTAs and PTOs a platform to partner with local businesses and raise money online. Parents can collect used kids clothing to sell on the Schoola site (90% off retail) and 40% of purchases are given back to the school. The company reports that 10,000 schools have signed up to-date. Learn more

Rounds Mobile App Aims to Help Small Businesses On-the-Go

Co-browsing arrives inside mobile video chat on iOS and Android, thanks to VC-backed mobile app & Facebook-based hangout platform, Rounds. “For the first time, users can surf the same webpage together inside a video chat from their smartphones,” according to a company spokesman. The company aims to make it possible for businesses to host meetings and review materials together on the go — eliminating the need to open the laptops at airports, in the car or on the train. Rounds has raised a total of $5.5 million in funding to-date. Learn more

Can Bizzabo Turn You Into a Social Super-Connector?

Event networking platform Bizzabo plans to help event organizers, attendees and sponsors make the most out of events with their mobile networking app. By integrating LinkedIn, Facebook, and social media networks to build interactive communities around business events, Bizzabo wants to make it easier for startups to hunt down new connections at events and locate the best events to attend using the app’s event discovery feature. Learn more

 Meet Easynest: The Airbnb for Hotels and Resorts

Even if you get a great price on a hotel room, the rate is based on double occupancy quotes. So, why pay that rate when you can share the room with a like-minded person (or entrepreneur) and split the bill? Easynest, plans to disrupt the travel agency model and become the airbnb for hotels and resorts by giving customers access the best hotels, in the best locations, at the cheapest prices and the opportunity to meet new friends at the same time. Learn more

CallSnap Free Mobile App Let’s User Respond to Callers with a Photo?

Chicago-based software company, TIP Solutions recently launched CallSnap, a free downloadable Android app that allows users to respond to a phone call with a personalized photo. If it’s your business partner or most important client calling but you cannot take the call, CallSnap allows users to give a prompt and personal response with a photo of the convention, special speaking event or meeting you are attending without picking up the phone. Learn more

Events

Chattanooga’s 2nd Annual GIGTANK Accelerator Program is Underway

The second annual Chattanooga, TN-based GIGTANK program, hosted by The Company Lab, recently launched a summer-long business accelerator (the first of its kind) to focus on the development of ultra-broadband applications and the launch of businesses based on them. The program will conclude on August 6th — a Demo Day, when seven startups and 13 specialists will pitch their businesses and concepts to hundreds of investors and media. Ethernet Inventor Bob Metcalf will deliver the keynote address for the event. Learn more

Washington Post Live Small Business Forum Live Stream Event

Washington Post Live will host a breakfast discussion with Congressman Chris Collins and small business owners on Thursday, June 20, 2013, 8:30 – 10:00 am ET (Doors open at 8:00 am). The small business forum will explore ways to help millions of America’s small business owners flourish. The event will be streamed live at www.washingtonpostlive.com. To join the conversation on Twitter, follow #smallbiz2013.

In Other SMB News

Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) Offers Support to Microbusinesses

Did you know that “If just one in three microenterprises hired a single employee, the U.S. would be at full employment?” (Source: AEO) The AEO, a national membership organization geared towards supporting microenterprise development in the U.S., recently launched a new website to provide information and resources for microbusinesses and encourage hiring and expansion. Learn more

Founder Quote of the Week

“The only real failure is doing the wrong thing over and over and over and not changing the way you do things; not making progress at all. Try a hundred different angles to get your company off the ground. Even if ninety-nine of them don’t work, you only need one to work so that’s fine. Nobody will pay attention to the stuff that didn’t work; they’ll only pay attention to the stuff that did.” – Hank Leber; Read the full interview here.

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