RallyUp.com is an innovative new type of fundraising platform for nonprofits. From online charitable fundraising for Fortune 500 companies to school fun-runs, Arizona-based RallyUp is helping organizations simplify all aspects of fundraising campaigns. The company focuses on next-generation philanthropy that involves donors more directly in the causes they love. Founded in … [More]
Stress Relief where Tech and Healthcare Intersect
Buzzies is a new wearable technology that can reduce a person’s stress in as few as 30 seconds. Created by neuropsychologist Amy Serin, Ph.D., and launched last December by her Phoenix-based company The Touchpoint Solution, these non-invasive devices use patent-pending neuroscience technology to not only relieve stress and anxiety but improve focus and performance, reduce … [More]
Homes Are Getting Wired Up
Due to the type of progressive technologies out there, there is no limit to a “smart” home. Smart technology can now be added anywhere without ripping open a wall or ceiling. The technology that enables this has to do with not only how the user communicates with the it, but, more importantly, how the pieces of technology communicate with one another. Years ago, this type of … [More]
Personal Tech Training
GroovyTek, an education-based company providing hour-long, in-home, personal technology training sessions, recently announced the launch of its services to the Valley of the Sun. The company, which is headquartered and has an established customer base in Denver, was created to serve clients and to help navigate the roads of technology independently. GroovyTek is committed to … [More]
Simple Storage Innovates
Last year’s launch by Kat Nouri of her Stasher Bag was innovation that cut right through the commonly accepted green choice “plastic or paper.” Plastic containers, from storage bags to food containers, are ubiquitous in our lives, but plastic is petroleum-based. Nouri was worried about the effects of petroleum-based plastics on her family plus considered the cumulative impact … [More]
A Pathway to Filling Arizona’s Technology Jobs
In March 2015, President Barack Obama announced the TechHire initiative as a way to build a pipeline of tech talent for bringing new jobs to local economies, facilitating business growth and giving residents a pathway to the middle class. The key behind the effort is, the talent comes from the training and placement of undereducated youths ages 18 to 29 into the technology … [More]
Driven by Computer
My test ride last month in a self-driving car was boringly uneventful — which is exactly what the goal was. Waymo’s cars first hit the streets last April after logging one billion miles in a simulator where common and uncommon scenarios were imagined and tested, aiming to program the cars to drive like a responsible adult and not careen like a ride at Disneyland. One billion … [More]
Diamonds — Made in America
Disruption in the diamond industry? You betcha! Spence Diamonds brings to retail an innovative offering that pairs a fun, friendly, transparent and educational experience with a breakthrough product: Spence Artisan Created Diamonds™. “After decades of development, scientists have replicated the diamond creation process of applying temperature and pressure to carbon that created … [More]
Vacation Rental Platform for Sports Fans
Using technology to tie together vacation rentals and major sporting events, Mike Doyle expanded what was initially conceived around the idea of weekend apartment rentals for visiting college football fans and leads Rent Like A Champion as the company expands to the Avondale area for the 2017 NASCAR season. In fact, he says, “Our business is entirely technology-based. We … [More]
Custom Tailoring Online
Custom tailoring has gone beyond the province of brick-and-mortar to the global world of e-commerce. London-based Santamaria Shirt Makers adds an innovative advance that enables consumers to convincingly explore the virtual representation. The technology enables the online consumer to customize his design through the world’s only photorealistic, fully 3-D shirt customizer. … [More]
Driving Blind?
Test-driven on Austin’s public streets last October by a blind man, self-driving cars are becoming reality. The new company Waymo (the name stands for a new way forward in mobility) purchased a physical warehouse in Chandler and has been testing its cars on the streets of Chandler, Ahwatukee and Tempe since April. Previously known as the Google self-driving car project, it has … [More]
Protect Against the Top Three Financial Scams in Arizona
The typical business loses 5 percent of its annual revenue to fraud, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Financial statement fraud causes the greatest median loss, with an average of $975,000 per scheme. As a financial institution concerned with protecting our customers from scams, we bring experience in identifying scams and preventing being taken in … [More]
Address the Risk of Data Breach
More than 90 percent of data breaches worldwide involve small and medium-sized business organizations. Data breaches result in increased global economic debt — and the reality is, hackers attack anyone, with few to no exceptions. The governing body of the payment card industry (PCI) is the Standards Security Council that includes the major card brands, who addressed card … [More]
Personalized Systems Enhance Fire Safety
Technology has advanced the fire alarm industry from blaring horn strobes to intelligent voice communication. The trend is to provide more information and give directions, replacing the traditional “make a lot of noise and flash some lights to drive everybody away from the fire,” says David Burns, production manager with Siemens, a multifaceted engineering company. A key … [More]
AC in e-Commerce
“E-commerce dominates our buying patterns now,” says Erik Bryan, founder and owner of newACunit.com, observing that Amazon has changed the way people buy. “People want simplicity and affordability, and want what they want now. Bringing air conditioning to that platform was only a matter of when.” Buying air conditioning units over the Internet has already been happening — … [More]
Tee Time Mobile-ized
Folla Media LLC, a Scottsdale-based holding company of leading golf brands, has launched Golfpay, a golf reservation app that offers golfers a new way to book their tee times. The Web-based app is the first in the world to allow golfers to pay and check-in from their phone, creating a time-saving, hassle-free experience that is quickly becoming the norm in other … [More]
On-Demand Access for Homebuying
Real estate company Opendoor has launched an app for iPhone and Android that gives homebuyers instant access to hundreds of homes for sale in the Phoenix area. With a few taps, buyers can find homes that match their criteria, view home details, and instantly take the next step of visiting homes on their schedule. Opendoor has seen more than 60 percent of its home visits … [More]
The Costly Truth about Cloud Divorce
When it comes to storing data in “The Cloud,” most business executives sign with a provider, never thinking about divorce. But what happens when you want to leave or move to another provider? What are the risks associated with that split, and how costly can it be? While cloud divorce may seem fairly new, it’s been happening for several years — sometimes because a provider … [More]
