Filed under: savvy tools
In order to complete our business plan, we need your help in completing some market research. You’ve all heard what our goals at Savvy are. We’ve told you about the products we’re trying to release. (Check out the description of the drill here: https://savvylifestyle.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/the-savvy-drill/) The question is, if the drill were available today for $69.99, would you buy one?
If no, is the price not right? Are there other features you think should be added? Leave us a comment and let us know.
Thanks for your help!
Savvy
Filed under: business, savvy tools | Tags: sean gourley, women 2.0, younoodle
Younoodle is a San Francisco based start-up that claims to be able to predict the viability of newcompanies. Its meant to give venture capitalits and other investors a quick evaluation tool for assessing the potential of new companies seeking funding. They accomplish this with their Startup Predictor software. Companies fill out a lengthy questionnaire that assesses things like the experiences, qualifications, and contacts of the entrepreneurs who start the company, the relationships between members, and what kind of buzz already exists about them. The answers are run through a sophisticated algorithm and presto, they give your company a score out of 1000 and estimate your company’s valuation after 3 years.
The website doesn’t just serve investors either. It’s also set up as a social network for start-ups. Membership is free, but while signing up the users provide data about their companies that YouNoodle can use to refine its predictor algorithm.
Just last week, they took it a step further and released a new product called YouNoodle Scores that quantifies a company’s presence in the market. They partnered with Sean Gourley, a Rhodes Scholar from New Zealand that focuses on how collective intelligence works. He found that you could predict the nature, size and timing of a company’s breakout by looking at things like cultural patterns, news reports, blog posts, etc. Companies are given a score out of 100 and its tracked daily. For example, Craigslist and Facebook are both leading the pack at 98.
They’ve also partnered with Women 2.0 for the upcoming Pitch Night. Whichever company has the most followers by May 1st will win “the Big Noodle: Best Idea” prize. So, check out Savvy Tools’ profile and become one of our followers!
Rebecca_SF
Change is good, right? Well, we hope so, because a lot has been changing around here! For starters, we’ve gone from a group of 5 to 3. (One of the reasons we’re switching away from Five Non Blondes.) Jackie is focusing on family and promises to give us Cade updates now and then. Abbie is focusing on her design career and her family as well and we wish them both the absolute best. We’ll miss their input!
We’ve also been re-evaulating our place in the market given this somewhat “uncertain” economic climate and the lack of interest in new investments. We decided to give it one more big push and enter Women 2.0’s Pitch Night 2009. It’s a business plan competition and 5 startups will be chosen to pitch their idea to hundreds of investors at their annual event in May. Wish us luck!
Rebecca_ SF
Filed under: savvy tools | Tags: business partners, LLC, partnerships, starting your own business
I’m proud to announce that on November 1, Savvy Tools will be an official business! We have decided to file with the State of Colorado as a Limited Liability Company (aka LLC). This wasn’t a quick and easy decision…believe it or not, we’ve been discussing our options and learning about the different types of entities for over 3 years! After careful consideration and a lot of conversations with lawyers and eachother, an LLC seemed to suit us best.
If you’re wanting to start your own business and not quite sure how, go to your Secretary of States Business Center’s website. It will teach you all you need to know about the different types of business organizations, trademarks, etc. We’ve learned that one of the most important things when creating a business is it’s Operating Agreement. This agreement is the foundation of your business and lists out how you intend to operate the company and is bound by the signatures of it’s partners. There are thousands of templates online to help get you started…all you have to do is be patient and committed!
Kelsey – Vail, CO
As we mentioned, we’ve been toying around with some ideas for our business cards. These are just to get us by for now. We’ll re-evaluate them when we’re ready to take on the entire company branding. As you can see, there are some double and some single sided options. Any thoughts or opinions you’d like to share with us about these ideas so far?
Rebecca_SF
Filed under: business, design, environmental issues, savvy tools | Tags: business cards, FSC, green printer, letterhead, recycled paper, soy inks
We’ve crossed a milestone in our “little” endeavor and it’s about time we have our own business cards! We’ve been meeting a lot of new contacts recently and decided that writing our contact info on the back of reciepts found at the bottom of our purses isn’t the most professional. Little did we know, there are so many choices to choose from in the world of business cards…. one sided, 2 sided, inks, papers, colors, and of course the overall aesthetic of the card.
If you haven’t noticed in our previous posts, we all have what one might call a “greener” conscience. This being said, we’ve decided to go with a company called Greener Printer. This is an eco-friendly online printing company that produces everything recycled from business cards, letterhead, brochures, catalogs, posters, etc. They have 8 different papers to choose from, all of which are 100% recycled or post consumer materials and 4 that are Forrest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. They also have the option of printing with soy or vegetable based inks…. This hardly breaks the surface of the company’s capabilites, environmental impact and green business practices.
I wanted to post the designs we’re leaning toward, but I’m not that computer savvy….hopefully we’ll have something for you to see soon!
Kelsey – Vail, CO
Filed under: savvy tools, Women + Tools | Tags: savvy tools, Women + Tools
I wanted to get some new shots of women with tools for our website, so I pulled together a quick photo shoot with the help of some fantastic friends. We borrowed a friend’s studio and had some fun. Check it out…
and just for fun…
Special thanks to Michael, Christina, Yunyi, and Adie. You guys were great!
Rebecca_SF
Filed under: savvy tools | Tags: colorado state unviersity mechanical engineering, savvy tools
I’ve often heard entrepreneurship compared to a roller coaster ride. We’ve barely begun the process and it already seems to be holding true. In our search for the right prototyping company, we began discussions with Colorado State University’s senior mechanical engineering class. Every year they partner with private businesses to provide real world projects for the students. The experience benefits the kids, there is the potential for job placement in many cases if the project goes well, and the businesses can benefit from the student’s enthusiasm and creative thinking. Some of their past projects have included race cars, sensors for space travel, and many bio-medical tools. It’s obviously a win-win situation for everyone involved and it seemed like the perfect fit for us.
We had hoped to be one of the partner businesses for this school year, but to our surprise, we found out 2 weeks ago that things didn’t pan out. C’est la vie. We’re pursuing the next lead and moving forward. At the very least, the prospect of the partnership helped us kick some things into high gear and get a lot done in a very short amount of time. Sometimes you need that little push to help you get over the next hill.
Rebecca_SF
These days, getting a website up is almost step one to starting a business. As designers, we all have a lot of ideas about what we wanted ours to look like, but with zero experience in programming, it seemed pretty daunting. So, we started out very, very simply. We called in some help from friends and family and we updated our site. You can now check us out at www.mysavvytools.com. It’s a work in progress. We’re learning some more basic software skills, improving the imagery and logos and you’ll be seeing continual changes from here on out. We’re trying to take things one step at a time…
_Rebecca, SF
Filed under: DIY, savvy tools | Tags: Be Jane, home improvement and women, savvy tools
I’m constantly googling women + tools, women + home improvement, etc. to find the latest news, trends etc. in the market. Just recently, I came across www.bejane.com– an online forum to help women with home improvement issues. It was started by Eden Jarrin & Heidi Baker (pictured above) to inspire women and give them the knowledge & confidence to achieve their goals at home and in life. You can get advice on just about any home improvement project you can think of and watch how-to videos for all sorts of things. Not only that, they have a whole section under lifestyles dedicated to going green with instructions on things like how to start composting. I think it would be hard to find another company with a mission more in sync with our own. As to be expected, the forums are filled with women lamenting about the lack of good tools appropriate to their needs. Hopefully, we’ll be able to provide those for them. We’re getting closer, but it’s definitely a long process. In the mean time, check out be jane and tackle your own DIY project.
Rebecca_SF
Savvy Lifestyle 
