Startup

In the latest episode of mediabistroTV’s “Elevator Pitch,” host Alan Meckler chats with Gauri Manglik, the co-founder and CEO of Fondu.

Fondu is an iPhone app that allows users to share bite-size restaurant reviews with their friends (sort of like Yelp meets Twitter).

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Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

In the latest episode of mediabistroTV’s “Elevator Pitch,” host Alan Meckler meets with Storyville co-founder Paul Vidich. Storyville is a mobile app for short stories that connects readers and authors.  A former music executive, Vidich helped Steve Jobs bring music singles to iTunes. He hopes Storyville will do for the short story what iTunes did for the single.

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

Also, find out who’s hiring on the Mediabistro job board.

In the latest episode of mediabistroTV’s “Elevator Pitch,” host Alan Meckler chats with Jux CEO Ted Metcalfe. Jux is a personal publishing platform that allows users to create immersive, full-screen collections of photos, videos, and words. The startup says it’s like blogging without all of the crap.

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

Also, find out who’s hiring on the Mediabistro job board.

Kaplow has launched a new business group, Knext, that will focus on communications for young, up-and-coming companies.

Kaplow MD and chief digital officer David Richeson is leading the new division alongside SVP Chaim Haas. The firm is also partnering with the New York Angels Network, a group that funds and mentors young companies. According to the news release, the New York Angels Network has invested $45 million in 70 companies.

Knext will operate out of Kaplow’s New York and Silicon Valley offices, focused on the fashion, technology, lifestyle, and beauty areas. The firm has previous experience working with companies like eBay, Target, and Laura Mercier.

In the latest episode of mediabistroTV’s “Elevator Pitch,” host Alan Meckler chats with Sonar founder Brett Martin. Sonar is a mobile app that helps you uncover the social connections you may have with people nearby. Martin talks about how he got his first round of funding at SXSW and describes his vision for the future of social interaction.

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From Sunday, March 11 at 6p.m. to Monday, March 12, Zeno Group will be giving free 45-minute consultations to start-ups and emerging tech companies at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin. The “consult-a-thon” is an event they’re calling “6to6 off Sixth.”

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In the latest episode of “Elevator Pitch,” host Alan Meckler talks with entrepreneur Ella Gorgla about her startup, I-Ella, an online marketplace where users can buy, swap, sell, and borrow clothes, accessories, and shoes.

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Entrepreneur published a 12-point list of tips for startups, courtesy of Mark Cuban, that included at number 11: “Never hire a PR firm.”

Well now you done did it Mark Cuban, because, of course, the PR industry will respond. On Forbes, Flatiron Communications’ exec/blogger Peter Himler (also a blogger) notes, “Trust me, Mark, many startups, especially those on the brink of losing their media virginity, will derive and be thankful for the considerable benefit a smart PR firm can bring to the mix.” In another article, Himler agrees with a couple of Cuban’s points, but shoots down a few others.

Four Corners Communication’s Drew Kerr also goes in on his blog, noting the media relations know-how that a publicist can bring, particularly when you look at the sample pitch that Cuban himself used.

“Weirdly enough, the subject line Cuban uses in his sample letter to the press — Tracking Traffic to Reduce Vacancies — looks like spam or a press release,” Kerr writes. Zing!

Cuban later clarified his comment further on his own blog, bringing up the cost to a startup of hiring a PR firm and the PR needs of a small business that’s just getting its footing. And today, the PRSAY blog has a Q&A with Cuban.

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In the latest episode of “Elevator Pitch,” host Alan Meckler talks with Kogeto founder and CEO Jeff Glasse about the Dot, his company’s panoramic video iPhone attachment, which was built with funding from Kickstarter.

For more videos, check out Mediabistro.tv, and be sure to follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

In the latest episode of “Elevator Pitch,” host Alan Meckler talks with Andy Leff about his startup Meporter, a local news site that empowers citizen journalists to share stories as they’re happening (not to be confused with Stephen Colbert’s meReport 6700).

For more videos, check out Mediabistro.tv, and be sure to follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV