Keep it Casual There’s a distinct difference between “professional” and “corporate”. In today’s digital world, where there is an abundance of young, sleek startups and innovative tech companies, the corporate approach to business is considered boring. Don’t be afraid to be yourself in and around the office and reflect your relaxed nature through décor. Most people would rather deal with other people than a corporate entity. Add Some Greenery Plants and flowers will make your boring office space look brighter and calmer....

If you haven’t heard of LevelUp, this five-year-old startup is partnering with Chase on the Chase Pay app, the company’s mobile payments product. With advanced technology that allows customers to order food ahead of time to avoid the lines, LevelUp and Chase Pay are aiming to transform the way you think about payments. Now in select cities including Dallas, Chase Pay app users can save $5 the first time ordering ahead from participating restaurants....

The SBIR/STTR programs provide support for the physical sciences (advanced materials, nanotechnology, electronics, telecom), biological sciences, health-related issues and advanced computing. You probably won’t find much in the way of federal funding for a web company or social media startup that doesn’t have a lot of technical risk, but if you’re on the leading (bleeding) edge, you should leverage your capital with government money. The federal government has myriad programs available that fund the development of critical technologies....

Simple tasks – like scheduling meetings — can be overwhelming and time-consuming because finding a time that works for everyone based on availability and time zones. Unfortunately, you can’t just stop by a co-workers desk to ask them a quick question. On top of that, with everyone working on different tasks, a project can go haywire without continuous communication between meetings. Thankfully, today meetings and project management can be accomplished through streamed video, audio or even text messages....

To fund this new model, SpeedX created another crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, which has already reached its initial $50,000 goal. The amount already collected to this point indicates that, just like the latest model, Unicorn will be an astounding success. In addition, the company recently netted a B-round funding of $22 million. Raggy Lau, SpeedX’s head of global marketing, provided an explanation for the company’s success: Unicorn was announced on the CES Unveiled Las Vegas event, which took place on January 3rd....

In order to eradicate this feeling from consumers, the cloud industry features some players that take cloud cyber security very seriously. Spinbackup is a leading startup in cloud-to-cloud backup and cloud cyber security, and they just announced a new solution with increased security. Spinbackup is making this solution available along with cloud-to-cloud backup and recovery, as part of the company’s comprehensive package. The enhanced product in question is Cloud Cybersecurity for G Suite Version 1....

As it has evolved and grown exponentially, we have learned to take the bad with the good – the bad being privacy and security issues and increasing limitations and restrictions. A lot of companies want to fix this problem and are attacking it from different angles, like Personal, which I just covered – they are co-hosting an online security code-a-thon with the Wall Street Journal next month – and Spotflux, a NYC-based startup that launched this morning....

There is certainly a market for this service – this past weekend, SpotHero won the Apps for Metro Chicago hackathon, which came with a very nice $5,000 prize. According to this article on MyFox Chicago, founders Mark Lawrence and Jeremy Smith will use the money to expand, natch, and create a mobile version of the app. So here’s how it works: You reserve a spot by neighborhood or event, checkout in one easy click, and, when you park, put your reservation on your dashboard....

According to co-founder Lauryn Sargent, “Stories Inherited works with families to document, preserve and share a loved one’s life story using new and traditional media. The model serves two purposes: one, to help individuals create and control their legacy by documenting their life story in their own words, and second, to give families the gift of everlasting memories.” This season, Stories has worked with late-stage cancer patients, early-stage Alzheimer’s patients, and residents for a HUD-subsidized retirement community in DC to document, preserve, and share their life stories....

As ever with TCL’s products, these phones and tablets are priced very aggressively. In fact, it makes you wonder if consumers who are used to paying more for similar devices might be put of by the tiny price tags. Let’s take a closer look at the new TCL 20-series phones and those affordable tablets. TCL 20 5G – Affordable 5G The TCL 20 5G promises to be all things to all people – affordable, speedy, 5G-compatible, and stylish....

If you’re thinking about a new career or wanting to work at a different company, then check out some of the recent Tech.Co job posts and consider applying for one! If you’re looking for jobs at startups – or anywhere else – look no further than the Tech.Co Jobs Board. Here are this week’s top technology jobs: IT Technician Snail Games USA in Santa Monica, CA Snail Games USA is seeking an IT technician Some responsibilities include installing, maintaining, troubleshooting, and updating PC and server hardware and software for office and game IDC site; monitoring performance and utilization of network, ensuring efficient operation and data protection; and maintaining detailed records of equipment, hardware and configurations....

Looking to buy a 4K? Read this holiday guide first: If you are in the market for a 4K system, you also likely know that size does in fact matter. You may see many doorbuster deals this week for purportedly 4K TVs, but if they are under 55 inches and you plan on sitting less than four feet away, you’re not going to get the viewing experience that you desire....

In response to the increase in socially conscious startups launching around the world, Techstars launched Techstars Impact Accelerator, the first program backing for-profit, mission-driven founders building technologies to solve our most pressing issues around the world. Techstars Impact Accelerator will be based in Austin, TX. As the fastest-growing city in the US, Austin is an emerging leader bridging technology and social innovation and consistently attracts top tech talent from around the world....

Fortunately, we’ve put together a few steps that should help you keep you goal setting on track. Take a look and start 2017 on the right foot. Edit Your Notes After your notes are compiled, go back and reflect on what you wrote. Spend time on each note and determine whether you really want to accomplish that idea. Continue to do this until the list is edited to include only the goals you truly desire to tackle....

Yesterday in DC, I had the honor of talking about startup ecosystems and the mechanics behind hypertribes like Startup Weekend. As part of our discussions, I addressed my favorite subject: startup mythbusting. I’d like to share with you some of the major myths I’ve been fighting against in the past five years. Most of them rely on some solid academic observations (and others are just from me). Please share these around to make the entrepreneurial world a better one!...

The service is provided with tech from Automated Insights and data from MLB Advanced Media. Automated Insights has already helped the AP with automated writing in 2015, a year in which “the news cooperative has generated 3,000 stories per quarter, ten times its previous output,” according to a report from Poynter. The stories are also said to have fewer errors than those written by human reporters. The news on the minor league coverage decision follows additional adoption of automated writing by other media organizations....

Over the last year, Microsoft Teams has added a wide range of new features and functions to its platform, improving productivity, facilitating team communication, and even adding a little fun to the workplace. In fact, there are so many new additions to the platform that we wanted to make sure our readers were fully up to date on what you can do with Microsoft Teams. In this guide, we’ll cover some of the tips and tricks that make Microsoft Teams such a popular collaboration platform in the business world....

I first came across Audi, who was showcasing their Audi Connect feature that works in conjunction with their MMI Connect app. It’s currently in the A3 model, and the idea is to bring certain native features of smartphones into the car: sharing navigation destinations between smartphone and car, travel information, and media control. As I worked my way onward, I began to notice that the connected car was following a slight pattern of using the smartphone to do the heavy lifting for the onboard computer....

For many job seekers today, pursuing a remote job comes with a lot of benefits – lower commute time, increased productivity, and serious flexibility are among the most often cited. It can actually be change that benefits the environment. Because three quarters of millennials, one of the fastest growing adult segments of the population, are actively looking for changes that they can make to be more environmentally conscious, this should be big news....

The Benefits of In-Office Jobs? People who are currently doing cubicle jobs enjoy a guaranteed salary. Some jobs even come with added benefits such as a car, mortgage, and probably medical insurance. This could be one of the numerous reasons why many people would rather continue working in-office versus remote. For people who have never done remote jobs it’s hard for them to understand what freelancers go through. It is, however important to note that both remote and in-office options come with pros and cons....