年值得關注的五大初創新興企業
One of the biggest trends I’m noticing in entrepreneurship right now focuses on access. Innovators are taking what was once costly, time-intensive, or otherwise beyond reach and efficiently offering it to consumers. Whether it’s learning new skills, inspiring a new interest, or tapping into formerly cost-prohibitive markets, entrepreneurs are finding new ways to bring the unique and specialized to a more mainstream market. We started to see this with collaborative consumption business models and I predict we’ll continue to see an influx of ‘access-based’ business models in the year ahead.
目前我在創業領域中所關注的大趨勢之一是“接觸或獲得的權利”。創新者們正在將曾經昂貴的、耗時的，或是不可能獲得或效率極低的產品帶給消費者。無論是學習新技能、激發新興趣，亦或是叩開此前成本高昂的市場，創業家們正在尋找全新的方式來將獨一無二且術業專攻的產品帶向更爲主流的市場。我們開始看到合作消費商業模式中出現了這個趨勢，而我預測，我們將在未來幾年看到“基於接觸或獲得的權利”商業模式的潮涌。The below are 5 companies that stand out from the rest and are startups to watch in 2014.
以下是五個脫穎而出的、值得在2014年加以關注的初創企業。As computer programming is being hailed as the untapped opportunity in the American economy, New York Code and Design Academy is making it easier to speak code. By 2020 there will be 1.5 million computer science jobs with only 400, 000 computer science graduates. Moreover, computer science jobs are growing at twice the national average as other positions. But what if you didn’t graduate with a computer science degree, and have no plans to go back to college? New York Code and Design Academy is making it easier to learn web design and development by offering both night programs and intensive workshops — where it’s not uncommon for someone to walk out of the program having built a new website or setting sights on a new tech-based position at work. From where Founder Jeremy Snepar sits, you can’t afford to not know how to code in today’s digital economy. He sees coding as a technical skill that can and should be easier to learn, and New York Code and Design Academy is filling an important gap for anyone who’s ever said “if only I knew how to code.”
鑑於計算機編程被冠以“美國經濟中尚未開墾的處女地”稱號，紐約編程及設計學院正在努力讓“談論”代碼變得更簡單。到2020年，美國市場上將會有150萬個計算機科學相關崗位，而計算機科學專業畢業生則僅有40萬人。此外，計算機科學相關崗位在全美的平均增長率是其他職位的兩倍。但是如果你並沒有計算機科學專業學位，也沒有計劃重返校園又該如何呢？紐約編程及設計學院通過提供夜校課程和密集型研討會的方式正在令學習網絡設計和開發變得簡單——從該項目畢業後，創建一家全新的網站，或是着手尋找技術相關的職位，並不是什麼稀罕的事情。正如創始人傑瑞米•司乃帕（Jeremy Snepar）所言，在當下的數字化經濟中，你不能不懂得怎樣編程。他將編程看做是一種技術能力，一種能夠也應該以更爲簡單的方式學習的能力，而紐約編程及設計學院正是爲那些曾經感慨過“如果我懂怎樣編程就好了”的人填補了一個重要的空白。
Goldie Blox:
Goldie Blox：Goldie Blox is a toy company on a mission to redefine the “pink aisle” in toy stores. Men dramatically outnumber women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and careers, with girls largely losing interest in these topics by age 8. Goldie Blox toys are designed to inspire future engineers by engaging girls in a way that draws on their strong verbal and storytelling skills — while still offering opportunities to build the skills that can later translate into an interest in engineering. And speaking of opportunity, how does a start-up toy company stand out against the big names that have been dominating the toy space since the beginning of time? In a savvy move, Goldie Blox recently released a video that went viral with their take on the Beastie Boys song “Girls.” Though the video was ultimately taken down, Goldie Blox did an excellent job raising awareness of the need to get more women and girls interested in STEM … and of the Goldie Blox toys.
Goldie Blox是一家玩具公司，使命是重新定義玩具商店中的“粉紅走道”。在科學、技術、工程和數學（STEM）教育和職業領域，男性數量要大大多於女性，大部分女孩往往在八歲前就對這些領域失去了興趣。Goldie Blox所設計的玩具則通過吸引女孩發展強大的口頭及故事講述能力的方式——同時仍提供機會來發展日後可轉化成對工程學興趣的技能——來鼓勵和啓發未來的工程師們。說到機會，一家玩具初創企業如何能在和一開始就統治着玩具行業的大公司的抗衡中脫穎而出呢？Goldie Blox走出了明智的一步：最近，該公司發佈了一段視頻，採用了Beastie Boys的歌曲《女孩們》（Girls）做背景音樂，該視頻得到了病毒式傳播。儘管這段視頻最終被撤下，但Goldie Blox在提高公衆對讓更多女性和女孩對STEM產生興趣——以及對Goldie Blox玩具——的認知上，做了一份相當不錯的工作。Sixty Vocab:
Sixty Vocab：Despite our global economy, only 20 percent of Americans speak another language. Sixty Vocab is aiming to change that with it’s online foreign language game. Based on the premise that 2000 words equals 60 percent of a foreign language, Sixty Vocab is aiming to make learning essential vocabulary fun. The games teach the words most commonly used in conversation and applies time-based discipline — the faster you guess the word, the more rapidly you move on to the next one. Bridging the gap between your high school classes and a pricey foreign language program, Sixty Vocab is offering a unique option for those who want to learn a foreign language during their morning coffee or commute.
儘管當下是一個全球性的經濟環境，但僅有約20%的美國人會說第二門語言。Sixty Vocab的目標就是以其在線外語遊戲改變這一現狀。基於2000個單詞相當於一門外語的六成精髓的假設，Sixty Vocab試圖使學習必要詞彙的過程變得有趣。這些在線遊戲能教你在對話中最爲常用的詞彙，並輔以限制時間的規則——你在越短的時間內猜出單詞，你就能越快地進入到下一個階段。Sixty Vocab填補了你高中課程和昂貴外語學習項目之間的空白，爲那些想要在早餐咖啡或通勤時間學習一門外語的人提供了一個獨一無二的選擇。Eleven James:
Eleven James：Newly launched Eleven James is bringing collaborative consumption to men’s watches. With a membership program offering access to a curated collection of high-end watches, Eleven James is extending the membership model that has previously been associated with private jets, luxury cars and vacation homes. Beyond the watches, members are enrolled in a dedicated loyalty program which includes a concierge service, access to partner benefits and unique experiences like watch-themed events. Sounds a little bit like men’s watches meet a Net Jets experience? Founder Randy Brandoff has deep experience in luxury marketing, having previously served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Net Jets and the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Marquis Jets. Combining his expertise with a watch industry that’s grown year over year and a business model that’s proven successful in other markets, it looks like Eleven James could be hitting the market at just the right time.
新近成立的Eleven James正在男表領域引入合作消費的概念。該公司的會員項目能令你獲得親近一系列精挑細選的高端腕錶的機會，這一曾經只和私人飛機、豪華汽車及度假屋聯繫在一起的會員模式正在Eleven James的手中發揚光大。除腕錶外，會員還能註冊專享忠誠度項目，其中包括禮賓服務、合夥人利益專享及諸如腕錶主題活動等獨一無二的體驗。聽起來有點像男士腕錶和飛機租賃公司Net Jets體驗的大碰撞？公司創始人蘭迪•布蘭多夫（Randy Brandoff）在奢侈品營銷領域擁有深厚經驗，曾經在Net Jets擔任高級副總裁和首席營銷官、在Marquis Jets擔任過執行副總裁和首席營銷官。他的專長，加上年復一年增長勢頭良好的腕錶行業，以及一種在其他市場證明行之有效的商業模式——看起來Elven James正是在恰當的時間叩開了市場的大門。Plum Alley:
Plum Alley：Despite the overall upward trends in financing, the amount of capital raised by women-owned businesses has historically lagged when compared to men. For example, in the first half of 2013, women made up only 16 percent of businesses seeking funding, with only 24 percent of the women receiving angel funding, Plum Alley, an online e-commerce platform for female entrepreneurs, recently launched a crowdfunding platform specifically focused on helping women innovators get to the next level. And as the first platform of its kind in the exploding crowdfunding space (expected to hit $3.98 billion next year), we can certainly expect Plum Alley to play a big role in the entrepreneurial landscape for women in the year to come.
儘管金融行業整體趨勢向上，但相較於男性，女老闆執掌的企業籌得的資金歷來處於落後狀態。例如，2013年上半年，尋求融資的企業中，老闆是女性的企業僅佔16%，而其中又僅有24%的女性接受了天使資金。Plum Alley是一家爲女性創業者提供在線商務服務的平臺，最近該公司推出了一個專注於幫助女性創新者推進到下一個事業階段的衆籌平臺。作爲呈現爆炸式增長趨勢的衆籌領域（預計明年規模將達到39.8億美元）中的首個此類平臺，我們應該能看到Plum Alley在未來一年中在女性創業領域扮演重要角色。
