Sunday, July 6, 2014

Bootstrap Spotlight

Bootstrap Spotlight Part 1


In today’s economic environment there is little or no room for chance and even less for attracting backers. Project J.A.R.S. understands this and has developed a way to get you the exposure you need to bring in real clients, investors and partners. Project J.A.R.S. will help shape the future of conferences by showcasing your ideas that matter in any discipline and create connections in an environment allows attendees and speakers from vastly different fields to cross-fertilize and draw inspiration from unlikely places.

Project J.A.R.S. is proud to announce the first edition of Bootstrappers Spotlight. (We will be a section to our website within a few days.) Once a month Project J.A.R.S. will spotlight bootstrapped startup companies, engineers, artist, programmers, musicians with the intent on shedding some light on what's next in the world of innovation. Project J.A.R.S. operates on the premise that not everyone can make it to a TED conference or join any of the major technology conventions. So we provided one for our members. 

Mobile applications


+Nguyen TAN PHAT has developed Appstruc their business model is simple "Appstruc is a small technology company with a big mission to change the business interaction with end customers. We focus on mobile app and we want to make mobile apps are more accessible to all businesses around the world. We are small but we are doing a big thing. We are making the best thing for every one from every industry." quoted from their site. This little beauty is in beta phase but get this, he developed the app for business owners who would like to build apps for their particular business. Now as you know I am not the best at coding but I can use an app like this because it allows you to modify your application and tailor it for your business. I suggest giving Appstruc a try and give us your feedback we would like to know your thoughts.


+FollowLater now these guys put some thought into this application. The premise is very simple, okay imagine your in say New York or Philadelphia and you are walking thru the shopping district and you see something you like but do not have the time or the money to stop in and purchase the item. According to FollowLater website "Customers walks into the store, naturally she likes something. But maybe she is not ready to buy it right now. She snaps the QR code with the phone, and then it goes to her wish list. You, the store owner, will see on your side what customers scanned and liked. We have created easy and simple to manage service for the customer, where the customer will have a reminder from us. You don't have to do anything except to print our free QR code. We will do the rest! Somebody might say this is old QR marketing, however we provide something better, this is the way to connect to the customer and get retention." quoted from their site. 

I see this as being a great way to get people to the brick and mortar businesses. Imagine if every time someone walked out of your storefront that they would have a virtual list of your products that they can purchase from you later. No more notes or guessing where you saw the item you were looking to purchase. Just snap a pic and buy it later from that same retailer. If you have a storefront business this is something you may want to promote with your customers. Return business is good business in my book. You can find more information about FollowLater on their site www.followlater.com

Sites Built to help you succeed  


I like startup developers who create websites with intent on helping others like themselves who are looking to build something new but don't have the money to purchase or license expensive software. Project J.A.R.S. has seen the development of websites specifically designed for the bootstrap community in an effort to help them with the management or development of their company or projects. As you may know when working as a team collaboration of ideas springs forth great products and services, but how do you and your team communicate these ideas? Emails, phones calls or weekly meetings? 

These forms of communication can get time consuming and even frustrating at times. When your working as a team you have to collaborate on everything from the company logo to the mission statement. Project J.A.R.S. is comprised of four brains who are constantly jumping back an forth between projects, research and our personal lives. We collaborate online using Google, but even Google has it's limits.....yes I said Google has limits!!! So to spare our members hours of emailing and phone calls we decided to spotlight Babele.

 
According to +Ruxandra Creosteanu is "an online platform that helps entrepreneurs and wannabes structure their business model in a collaborative way by receiving contributions from the community." This is a great way to figure out what you want to do if your thinking of starting a business. Babele has a ton of features that everyone needs when starting a business venture. With Babele you will be immersed in a community of people who will help you with your business plan and project management. They offer mentoring solutions so that you can make your company  project attractive to potential investors.

The community allows members to ask questions and share ideas without all the fees attached that you normally get from business coordinators or planners. It provides its members with "co-working spaces, incubators and accelerators. It's an online tool that strengthens the existing community of entrepreneurs by stimulating the collaboration between them and offering them access to an international network of mentors." quoted from their site.
 If you are looking for the tools of success Babele is one you should put in your belt.


"Sproutr is an open peer-to-community social network specifically for entrepreneurs to discuss ideas and solve problems. Users build a reputation based on other users voting on their posts/responses and are able to showcase themselves and their startups by building a high enough reputation." +Ryan Ovas I thought this was an interesting twist on social media, because on this site your reputation speaks volumes. Its hard to build a reputation online but I like this site because it follows a similar premise. Actions speak louder than your words... Having a solid reputation can enhance your business in ways I can't even verbalize. So many companies forget that your customers help build your reputation and its important for customers to hold vendors and service providers responsible for their work. 
Sproutr holds an interesting position our view, very few people are willing to lay it on the line to get the job done. Sproutr gives you the ability to build a community around your services or products which works as a two way street, you get honest feedback and at the same time you get to build your company credibility with consumers, your customers and potential business partners or investors.

Well that's all for Bootstrap Spotlight for this week keep an eye out for part part 2 next week.  If you have a bootstrap company, project, or technology you would likes us to showcase join us on Project J.A.R.S. or follow us on Twitter @projectjars and Google+





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