Poketo

There are times when art and commerce collide in a great way. In the case of Poketo, that collision was quite literal: The company got its start selling wallets that were designed by emerging artists.

Poketo has been bringing affordable, art-minded products to the masses since 2003. That year, founders Ted Vadakan and Angie Myung invited six artist friends to design vinyl wallets to sell at a gallery show, to great success. The married couple decided to do another wallet series, then branched out to artist-designed stationery, housewares and T-shirts. They now sell their products at Poketo.com, the MoMA Store, Anthropologie, CB2 and Urban Outfitters.

Their philosophy, Vadakan says, is "art for everyday: bringing art into your everyday life, things you can wear and use."

Poketo has been commissioned to design wallets for MTV, Nike and bands such as the Shins, Arcade Fire and Weezer. But the biggest boon came in 2010, when its 52-piece collection for Target sold out in weeks. "The challenge," Vadakan says, "is retaining that audience and continuing to grow."

Revenue has increased every year since launch (aside from a blip in 2009, when much of retail took a hit). 2010 sales were $750,000, and a 15 to 20 percent gain is projected for 2011.

Most items are produced in limited editions that range from less than 100 to a few thousand, and each product comes packaged with the artist's bio. "There's a story behind it, and people can connect with it in a human way," Vadakan says.

Poketo's artists receive a percentage of sales of their work. For them, Poketo and sites like ideeli and One Kings Lane offer new opportunities for exposure. "It's one of the ways the internet is allowing people to be discovered in different ways than being seen in the aisle of a store," says Dan Butler, vice president of merchandising and retail operations at the National Retail Federation.

And for creative people who lost jobs during the recession, artwork may be a way to replace lost income. "It's a way of engaging their skills differently," Butler explains. "In some cases, it makes sense to create new products."

For artists and consumers, Poketo represents commerce with a genuine personality. "It's not only the products," Vadakan says of the company's appeal, "but a connection with the brand."

Here is their website: Poketo Art for Your Everyday

Goldstar

Startup #1: Goldstar It is the world’s largest online seller of half-price tickets to a broad range of live entertainment.

How’d they do it?Starting with $1000 ($800 being paid to the state) Rich Webster, Jim McCarthy, and Robert Graff noticed something wrong with the ticketing business.

Venues were giving away tickets for free to shows that were unsellable. Instead of being able to fill up a show, venues found themselves with a lot of unwanted seats. The trio quickly realized that it was a lose-lose situation for both the consumers and the venues, and decided to take action. “No venue wants to be told that their product is worthless, and no customer wants to go see a show that’s unsellable,”  said Robert Graff.

In October of 2001, Webster, McCarthy, and Graff decided to do just that and GoldStar was born. They were able to get the company off of the ground by focusing on their solution for popular undersold shows.

Already disenchanted with the waste of funds and inefficiency caused by accepting VC investments they’d seen at another Startup, the trio decided against seeking any outside funding. “We purposefully didn’t want anyone else’s money because we didn’t want their advice” said Graff.

Today, Goldstar works directly with 4,000 venue partners to connect them with their huge and growing audience. Venues list tickets with Goldstar to sell to their members for a discounted price. The company has over 1.5 million subscribers and offers over 900 tickets to events at one time.

Here is the link to their website: Goldstar International Express Couriers :: Providing a full range of ...

RecycleBank

RecycleBank

New York
Founders: Ron Gonen and Patrick Fitzgerald
VC (Venture Capital) Investment over the last four quarters: $30 million

Founded in 2004 by Columbia Business School grad Ron Gonen, RecycleBank is a recycling system designed for municipalities that rewards people for recycling with points that can be redeemed at retailers. The company, which has raised a total of $45 million, contracts with cities and towns to set up systems to collect and track recycling. Currently running in 15 states and dozens of cities from Alexandria, Va., to Albuquerque, N.M., RecycleBank makes money by taking a cut of the savings municipalities realize by reducing the amount of waste they send to landfills. With local government looking to save during the downturn, Gonen calls it a "unique time in our growth curve."

Key to startup success: "The most important thing, more important than price, valuation, or EBITDA, is the quality and character of the person with whom you are doing business."

Here is a link to their website:
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=recycle%2Bbank&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CHIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.recyclebank.com%2F&ei=r3XCTubtB8iX8QOg97mzBA&usg=AFQjCNEA2oxDHlkxLS6Fkj1ACRs_s5lAfw&sig2=ib-gxxk-DBGUoZYtb6XKdw

Groupon

Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. Groupon was launched in November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston,New York City, and Toronto. As of October 2010, Groupon serves more than 150 markets in North America and 100 markets in Europe, Asia and South America and has amassed 35 million registered users. In October 2011, a report from Forrester Research suggested that the Groupon business model was a "disaster", and that the firm had become an example of "how fast an Internet darling can fall."

The idea for Groupon was created by now-CEO and Pittsburgh native Andrew Mason. The idea subsequently gained the attention of his former employer, Eric Lefkofsky, who provided $1 million in "seed money" to develop the idea. In April 2010, the company was valued at $1.35 billion. According to a report conducted by Groupon's marketing association and reported inForbes Magazine, which was reported by the Wall Street Journal, Groupon is "projecting that the company is on pace to make $1 billion in sales faster than any other business, ever".

Groupon was born out of The Point in November 2008. Its name blends from “group” and “coupon”. Groupon's first deal was a half-price offer for pizzas for the restaurant on the first floor of its building in Chicago.

Groupon serves 500 markets and 44 countries, the many major geographic markets internationally include cites in the United States, Canada, Taiwan, Brazil, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy,Poland, Portugal, Spain, Puerto Rico, Japan, Poland, Turkey, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, South Korea, Sweden, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Norway, Romania, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Russia and South Africa .

In Australia, development of Groupon has been slow owing to legal disputes between Groupon and an Australian company, Scoopon. Groupon now operates in Australia as "Stardeals" while the legal problems are worked out.

On February 19, 2011 The Wall Street Journal reported that Groupon was preparing to launch in China.

Groupon is also expanding into the MENA region with its launch of Groupon UAE on June 16, 2011.

Groupon New Zealand launched on 10 May 2011 in conjunction with local Facebook tourism hub Gotta Love NZ. The New Zealand market is already crowded with over 50 deal sites active.