Rent a Plane Almost as Easily as a Car with OpenAirplane
Many of us can imagine how frustrated we would be if we were required to take a driving test every time we rented a car, but that is exactly what private pilots deal with when they rent a plane outside of their home base or flight school. OpenAirplane works to remedy this problem, serving as a network of commercial airplane businesses and flight schools that lets pilots receive one annual checkout and then rent airplanes at locations across the country. It takes hundreds of hours of training and a lot of money to get a pilot’s license, but many airports and flight services do not always honor it. It often requires even more money for pilots to demonstrate their flying skills just to receive the right to rent, and many choose simply not to fly. Read more »
The use of video as a teaching aid is an old idea, though one increasingly utilized as the quality and relevance of the videos used grows. While it is useful in the classroom, it can also be useful in training teachers themselves as well as students, something of which a startup called Sibme is hoping to take advantage. Sibme is a private video collaboration platform educators can use to improve teaching and learning, serving as a powerful tool for developing teachers in schools and other education-related organizations. It makes the often-laborious process of recording and uploading easier by allowing teachers to easily record themselves teaching with a smartphone and upload their videos to a secure platform where they can review and improve upon their teaching practices with trusted colleagues. 
Technology works to make all of our tech devices smarter, and connecting each one to each other is a major step in technological innovation. While we have had Internet-connected televisions for some time now, the newest technology allows you to stream videos from other Internet-connected devices to your TV. Flinger.co is a service that allows you to start your own Smart TV Channel on your computer, your mobile tech devices, and/or your TV’s web browser. It links any video site to any device you want to view videos from, letting you choose whatever video you want to view and then transfer it to your TV with a single click remotely. 
In the Internet age, crowdsourcing now applies to blog writing as small and large companies alike hire freelance writers to write posts for them. Blogmutt is one such service that focuses its efforts on small businesses that know the importance of a blog but do not have the time or the ability to keep a writer on staff. It serves customers by offering a platform to find writers, who can then go through a review process with the customer. Writers post drafts on the website, and the client can review them and decide which post here or she prefers. Customers pay a monthly fee, and writers receive pay for every post that a company claims to use. While a few similar companies exist, Blogmutt fits somewhere in the middle in terms of cost and pay rate. 
When making a rental of any kind, it is wise to get local rent rates from multiple nearby vendors. Calling or visiting each one can take up a lot of time and effort, even with the myriad of online rental websites. Another problem with searching online is that individual websites tend to focus on a specific range of goods, items, or services, making it impossible to find a variety of different things in one place. This is where Rentabilities comes in. Rentabilities is a free website that helps you lets you find and rent nearly anything from nearby vendors. Some have said it works as “eBay for rental equipment and items,” and its range of goods certainly sets it apart. Its creators claim that it offers nearly 200,000 items from thousands of local merchants. It is beneficial to the consumer, who can get fast quotes for any item and get very different things for a single event without needing to shop in different places or view different websites. It is also beneficial to rental businesses, putting smaller ones on par with larger competitors so users can choose based on price and availability. 
The food distribution industry is a huge one fraught with broken supply chains and a general lack of price transparency. This makes it ripe for change at a time when there is an increasing interest in the combination of quality, speed, and integrity in business. Foodem is an online marketplace, business intelligence and process automation solution for the massive annual U.S. food distribution industry. It is a website where bulk food purchasers such as restaurants, hotels and caterers can buy food in an efficient, user-friendly and cost-effective matter. 
The online grocery delivery marketplace is rapidly growing, and a company trying to fit into this crowded industry needs something that sets it apart. Greenling is one of these companies, delivering fresh produce, meat, dairy, and just about any other grocery items to your house fresh from local farms on a subscription basis. The idea is to bridge the gap between those who want to eat organic and local but do not have the time or means to attain it. Most grocers, even large chains, have extremely limited selections of organic food, very seldom from local farmers. It is also distinct from other online grocery delivery services in that it does not require a group order and it is not specific to only vegetables or fruit or strictly meats. Greenling allows users to eats healthier, focusing on creating meal kits according to a customer’s desires, while at the same time helping small local farmers. 
E-commerce is a huge market in just about every field and industry. Any large retailer has an online presence as well as most small businesses. One of the biggest industries employing e-commerce either directly from a company’s website or secondhand through an online marketplace featuring many different companies is fashion. Along with the ability to purchase clothing online, there are also many blogs, recommendation services, and style magazines on the Internet. StyleSeek is a startup that combines e-commerce and analytics in a unique way, focusing on getting to know an individual’s style in order to make the best recommendations. It does this in a way that engages users without relying on trends or social media feeds, allowing each one to develop his or her own style. It is a service its creators call “Pandora for e-commerce products,” one that offers a distinctly different experience than the many other online fashion marketplaces. 
Booking a flight can be simple for some, but it can be a long and arduous process for those seeking the best price. Choosing between numerous airlines while prices rise and fall unpredictably can be quite stressful. Many end up regretting that they did not either book sooner or have the patience to wait until prices dropped. For these people there is Hopper, an app that can help them find the best time to fly and the best time to buy. The app analyzes billions of flight prices daily to predict how prices will change, which is not a new concept, but Hopper has been developing its own price prediction technology in order to focus on helping users get the best flight deals with better speed and precision.