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Startup of the Month: wimZr
With this app, it's not just who you know but when you meet them
New app wimZr’s main focus is people. The interface is straightforward. You view the profiles of people going to the same place. If you like them, click “Connect Me.” If you want to pass, click “Next Time.” If the person you like likes you back, you can start talking. For upcoming events, you can scan guest lists and either connect one-on-one or openly in a public forum.
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Streamlining the Network
MySwirl aims to create the best features of social networking on one platform
While creating MySwirl, Tracy Saville envisioned a network and personal app that could help women unlock their potential, become more mindful, and better collaborate and connect professionally.“ I wanted people to have the freedom to unleash their potential, to collaborate without boundaries, to pursue their ideas and passion to make an impact in the world with as few boundaries as possible — and without having to use twenty different tools to do it,” Saville says.
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Book Review: Eyeing New Frontiers of Innovation
'Flash Foresight' helps readers see the future a bit more clearly
Like a prophet from on high, global futurist and author Dan Burrus’ has a rare knack for technology predictions that provide us with a blueprint for change in the business world. His book Flash Foresight challenges leaders to examine hidden trends, using them to shape the innovations of tomorrow versus allowing for aimless solutions that lack relevance.
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Striking Back Against Cyberattacks
California takes collaborative step to stop cyber threats, but is it enough?
From small businesses to big chains and state agencies, no system is 100-percent hacker-proof. But in September, Gov. Jerry Brown took another step to prevent cyberattacks that cause data breaches with an order to create the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC).
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Vision Reframed
VSP is changing the way we think about eyewear — and ideation
“In order for a company like VSP to be around for 60 years, we’ve had to be innovative — to change who we are,” says incoming CEO Jim McGrann, who used to be the company’s Chief Technology Officer. Plenty of companies like to toss around buzzwords like “innovation,” but it’s usually just an empty slogan. VSP has spurred innovation by creating The Shop, launching their Project Genesis, and supporting a 90-day rotational program that lets everyday employees — no matter what division they work in — pitch new ideas and brainstorm new products.
![Hacker Lab co-founder Gina Lujan Hacker Lab co-founder Gina Lujan](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/_mg_0087ver4.jpg?1577874530)
Tech for All
Hacker Lab co-founder Gina Lujan on the power of making
Hacker Lab co-founder and CEO Gina Lujan has been focused on entrepreneurship for over two decades. Hacker Lab’s 10,500-square-foot space in midtown Sacramento had become a hub of innovation for numerous creators and doers in the Sacramento Region, from artists to engineers. The site has been so successful it has opened a second site in Rocklin. We sat down with her recently to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the hacker innovation space.
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Sexism in Hackerspaces
Hacker Lab founder Gina Lujan says gender doesn’t matter
The most significant challenge for tech coworking spaces is usually having enough physical space, equipment and bandwidth for multiple creators to be able to work on a diverse number of projects at the same time. But women using hackerspaces often face another challenge as well – overcoming the tech world’s male-dominated “brogrammer” culture.
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Startup of the Month: Rocket Department
A business that helps other businesses launch ideas
Rocket Department. started as a joke. It was 2013 and the 5-member team decided to design an offbeat product for a local hackathon.
![Mytrus' secure system allows doctors to gather patient data remotely. Mytrus' secure system allows doctors to gather patient data remotely.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1215_feat_medtech.jpg?1577874530)
Where Do I Sign ?
With an innovative mobile app, Davis medtech company fills the virtual gap between health providers and patients
Anthony Costello had the next generation of medicine in mind when he launched Mytrus in 2009. The Davis-based company created a system that helps patients fill out consent forms electronically and participate in clinical trials for new drugs and therapies from the comfort of their homes.
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You’ve Been Blocked
What the expansion of ad blocking software means for small publishers
According to Fast Company, as ad blocking software becomes more ubiquitous (consider Apple’s new iOS 9, which supports ad blocking applications), the entire ecosystem of small publishers and bloggers is threatened by an inability to adequately fund their sites