Cool Person of the Day

Any parent that has ever volunteered to be a leader of any extra-curricular activity for their kids knows that trying to organize children from dozens of families is a harrowing venture.  Cool person in technology Yuval Spector wants to use the Internet to make this task far more manageable and less intimidating.  Mass emails with broken threads, missed phone calls and numerous other problems usually complicate things when trying to plan activities for large groups of children.  However, Spector’s company UpToUs provides parents with numerous organizational tools that can help group leaders keep things organized when working out details with so many other parents.  Spector wants to reduce the potential for chaos when parents are trying to coordinate activities by giving them a central organizational system. Read more »

Finding healthcare can be a serious pain for those who fall sick when traveling. When away from home, an ill person has no access to his or her usual physician, which can be even more of a problem if someone has a specific medical condition.  Worst of all, however, is when people fall ill in foreign countries and can’t even be sure if they are going to find a doctor that speaks their language.  Marcel Muenster, cool person in technology and CEO of TraveDoc, wants to get rid of the uncertainty and anxiety that comes with needing medical care while out of the country.  That’s why his startup connects people with foreign doctors who speak their language quickly and conveniently. Read more »

People have used technology and the web to change how humans interact with many different forms of media.  EBooks are changing how people read prose, video streaming services have changed how people watch television, and blogging has changed how people consume news.  Now, a cool person in technology wants to change the way musicians read sheet music as well.  Gregory Dell’Era founded his startup Weezic to give musicians access to interactive sheet music that actually helps people practice rather than simply giving them a metaphorical road map.  Read more »

Online shopping is already far more convenient than having to shop at brick and mortar stores, but now a cool person in technology wants to make the process even easier.  Cameron Chell founded his company Slyce to make online shopping instantly gratifying for users.  Chell wants people to make online purchases by simply taking a picture with their mobile device.  Chell’s product uses image recognition to determine the item someone is taking a picture of and immediately find it for sale online.  Of course, users with broken smartphone cameras will need smartphone PC repair before taking advantage of Chell’s technology. Read more »

Finding bookings as an independent musical artist has always been on one of the biggest struggles of the profession.  Even if artists use the Internet to promote themselves, building a solid, loyal fanbase pretty much requires playing constant live shows.  Live performances are also one of the best sources of income a band or artist can count on, assuming they get bookings frequently.  Without finding a manager or agent and paying them a significant amount of money, most artists struggle to find venues and promoters who will hire them to perform.  However, cool person in technology Danny Fiorentini is working to change that reality.  Fiorentini has created a platform named Muzeek that artists can use to connect with many promoters and venues without the need for an agent or manager.  This cool person’s startup looks to make it far easier for independent artists to find opportunities to perform live. Read more »

Making movies is an expensive undertaking.  Film production costs can grow excessively high.  Obvious costs like crew salaries and equipment are only part of the issue. Less apparent costs such as IT support for the computers used in editing and sound mixing also add up for independent filmmakers. Fortunately, there are online resources that can help independent projects find the funding they need. Cool person in technology Stephan Paternot is the CEO of Slated, a company that aims to give independent productions a better chance at finding the financing they need for a successful release.  Paternot’s site is a special directory of films looking for investors.  Slated hosts profiles for each film that detail the project’s plot, creative history, and production team.  Potential investors can browse through these profiles to find films that they want to help fund either for financial return or for artistic patronage. Read more »

Many entrepreneurs and young businesses waste time on faulty business models or make early mistakes that all but destroy the potential of a promising core idea.  One of the best steps in forming a new company is creating a detailed business plan that lays out every step of a startup’s business model, as well as the purpose behind each step. Detailed business plans can help people gauge the potential costs of their company, including things like business computer service and operation costs.  When a startup team has this information laid out, challenges and opportunities become clearer to them. However, the process takes an extensive period of time, and it’s difficult to find ways to gauge a plan’s success before implementing it. Cool person in technology Cynthia McCahon founded Enloop to help businesses gain insight to their potential success based on their plans.  Read more »

Many professionals have useful skills that they could pass on to others, but they don’t have the time or credentials for an official teaching position.  Cool person in technology Michael Karanjanaprakorn wants these skilled professionals to have an outlet where they can spread their knowledge.  That’s why he founded Skillshare, an online platform where professionals can apply to teach short video classes in subjects ranging anywhere from archery to sound mixing.  Karanjanaprakorn’s site doesn’t cater to one particular niche or industry, but to a wide variety of disciplines.  With experts teaching their disciplines on SkillShare, Karanjanaprakorn looks to build a more skilled global workforce.  This cool person’s website has video classes that can help people land new jobs or do better in their current roles, regardless of whether those people are laptop repair professionals, marketers, or even entrepreneurs themselves. Skillshare’s main goal is to spread knowledge by allowing experts to share what they know online easily. Read more »

Social good programs and nonprofit organizations often don’t have the same monetary resources as large businesses, but they still need skilled professionals in accounting, healthcare, finance, law and many other practices to help them accomplish their goals.  Fortunately, there are thousands of talented professionals who are willing to volunteer their services for good causes.  The problem for many nonprofits, however, is finding the professionals with the right skillset for the positions they need.  Enter Rachel Chong, who is both a cool person in technology and the CEO of Catchafire.  Chong founded Catchafire to be an online service specifically dedicated to matching up skilled volunteers with organizations that need their help. Read more »

Even when someone is generally a charitable person, life can be chaotic and prevent that person from donating to charitable causes very often.  Some charities offer donation plans where people pay on a monthly basis in the style of something like a computer tech support subscription.  However, these subscription plans are hard to market without a product and can flounder when trying to gain traction.  Cool person in technology John Ludlow presents a unique solution to this problem with his startup Snoball.  Snoball allows people to donate automatically on a regular basis, but uses a unique hook to draw more people to its program.  With Ludlow’s company, donations to charitable organizations trigger when a particular event that a donor chooses happens.  For example, a nonprofit could use Snoball to create a system where every a certain basketball team wins a game, people donate ten dollars to a special cause or foundation.  Read more »