The goal of the program is to connect talented, low-income students from underserved neighborhoods with resources, skills, and support to prepare them for careers in technology and innovation. Both 1776 and General Assembly are major players in DC’s startup community. 1776 is a global incubator and seed fund that funds and promotes startups in the fields of education, energy & sustainability, health, and smart cities. General Assembly is an educational institution based in DC where they offer online and in-person classes in areas such as web development, digital marketing, and product management....

The duo’s friends were enthusiastic about a site that could predict their academic future; after all, no nervous college applicant wants to wait until they receive an envelope in the mail. So they started StatFuse.com. Colleges release information every year about their freshman classes, including SAT scores, GPAs, and extracurriculars. Banerjee knew he could create an algorithm based on this data that could predict anyone’s chances for next year. But he didn’t know how to program, so he turned to trusty Microsoft Excel....

However, what you don’t know about the ecommerce industry may shock you. Make sure you understand this complicated market before entering, as it could be a bump ride without a little information. 81 percent of people research online before buying it either offline or online. Only 60 percent of people use search engines to search the products, the rest 40 percent directly land on the ecommerce portals or have direct links....

Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be true. There are many apps and websites geared towards making students more productive and ultimately more successful. Here are 20 of them: 1. Koofers This website has several functions. However, for students interested in improving their grades, the most important feature is the ‘practice exams and flash cards’ module. This is where students can study flash cards and take study tests that are based on the textbooks they are using....

It’s no secret that the phone market has been slowing down. Fewer phones are being launched every year and fewer people are buying them as they hold onto handsets for longer. Plus, with a global pandemic forcing people inside, production lines are being affected, while economic anxiety means fewer people will be able to buy them. Here’s why 2020 might just be the smartphone’s annus horribilis. Production Slowdown Almost all phones are manufactured in south east Asia....

If you ask the tech community about blockchain innovation, however, you will receive a far more vocal and usually staggeringly enthusiastic response. There is an equal level of intrigue and debate over whether blockchain can be a core technology and for good reason. Not without its own set of challenges, the technology can make most areas of business operate more transparently, with less middle-men and a far higher level of efficacy....

Instead of looking at what great advice we can get from our forebearers, with the rapid pace of change in the Internet and the modern marketing world, we need to focus on our contemporaries. Here are three key pieces of marketing tips for startups based on the practices of the most successful companies: Broaden the customers you appeal to When you look at customer profile, marketing advice suggests that you push yourself to the most specific definition possible....

1. E-Commerce is not as high margin as expected When online-only brands started popping up eight years ago, one of the main promises was it would be cheaper for consumers but also allow the brand to maintain a high margin. However with the combination of sales costs, fulfillment and heavy marketing expenses to build brand awareness in a crowded digital landscape, finding operating margin has been challenging. But with stores, Warby Parker’s Co-CEO, Neil Blumenthal says “triple threat – profitable, brand elevating and awareness generating....

Keep reading to learn about the best gadgets and products today that use science and technology to give you a better night’s rest: Hi-Tech Alarm Clocks Most people already use their phones as alarm clocks, so this is the perfect place to start. The old clock-radio style wake-up isn’t your only option anymore, and now there are technologically advanced units available to help you fall asleep and wake up peacefully....

That number could have ballooned by now. Can you hazard a guess? Can you also imagine how your startup is contributing to this vast data ocean? You will keep adding bytes as your business grows. There’s no better time to discuss how you manage, share, and protect your digital data than now. If you’re thinking of cloud storage, that is not enough, especially when you’re preparing to raise funds. You don’t want to appear disorganized to potential investors....

The key to improving your startup and being an effective manager is acknowledging the fact that all your employees have something valuable to offer. Just because you’re in charge doesn’t mean your employees can’t contribute ideas or have accountability for projects. The new year is your chance to implement some positive changes in your startup and create more success in 2014. Develop employees’ leadership skills. As a startup manager, you should encourage all of your employees to become leaders....

A high-quality email list can get the traction you need on a product launch, encourage higher numbers of store visits, and strengthen the relationship between you and your customers. These strategies are going to ensure that your email list grows at an exponential rate. 1. Ask Them to Join It may seem obvious to you, but a lot of startups are afraid to ask people to sign up to their email lists....

That’s why it’s never too early to start using storytelling marketing at your startup. The tools below could help you become a pro at attracting customers from around the world. Storehouse Today’s consumers often find media appealing, and you should consider it a necessity to have a target audience full of tech-savvy, gadget-loving people. An app called Storehouse helps you arrange videos and pictures in strategic ways to tell your story effectively....

1. Shift from Traditional Retailing There are places located in the interiors of the country that simply do not make it worthwhile to open a store. The electricity bill, maintenance staff, and salesmen alone all involve a significant financial commitment. In comparison, a dedicated group of online assistants are enough to run an online website for several places at once. And even where it’s convenient, it’s likely that e-commerce will change how people buy, transforming shops to places reserved for product demos....

PrestaShop If you want to jump-start a business that offers customers the ability to shop online, you will need a fully functioning online store. PrestaShop gives you the ability to create a fully functional online store within a matter of minutes. They have designed their site so people who have programming experience can fully customize the site, while beginners can use templates. Nevertheless, more importantly, they offer you the ability to make the store user friendly with product overviews, cross-selling ability, ability to filter the search, and much more....

Kickstarter will help you raise funds for your projects without all that hassle. Since their inception, the crowdfunding platform has helped people raise billions of dollars for everything from innovative products to revolutionary startups. To date, the most funded campaign was in 2015 by Pebble Time, who raised $20,338,986 (4,067 percent of their goal). Pebble Time also currently sits in the top five of the most profitable campaigns of all time....

As technology continues to infiltrate the education system, institutions and private enterprises are hoping to create more engaging content to achieve better learning outcomes. Technology not only provides educational content but also improves the educational experience in a holistic way. Here are five ways academia is leveraging technology to improve learning environments: Gamification of Education Gamification is predicted to be a $5.5 billion dollar industry with 80 percent of learners saying that engaging in this context makes them more productive....

Empower Your People Change agents aren’t born, they’re made. Awareness of the issues facing people outside yourself and your inner circle is an acquired skill. Company leaders have the responsibility to provide their employees with the guidance and resources to transform diversity of thought into action. As an example, at SapientRazorfish, recruiters and hiring managers undergo Unconscious Bias training in which participants are asked to confront their inherent biases and commit to tangible actions they can take to overcome them....

As founder and managing director, I’ve tackled a number of challenges inherent in making a distributed team thrive, from maintaining work-life balance to improving communication. By cultivating an environment that places a premium on both accountability and work-life integration, we’ve attracted motivated employees who work hard while embracing the flexibility the company provides, and we’ve developed these best practices to overcome the common challenges virtual teams face: Hire Employees Who Are Suited to Work Virtually Our company has learned to identify people who thrive in remote environments on the basis of their personalities, needs, and life stages....

Given the city’s low cost of living, high quality of technology talent, as well as being an excellent location choice for foreigners to live, Buenos Aires (also known as BA) is attracting more startups than ever before. There are a few reasons why. 1. Reasonable cost of doing business The Argentine government welcomes foreign investments and businesses, so startups can expand or move their business to BA with relative ease....