As you guys may be aware, I’m a pretty voracious reader and generally share a bunch of news & reviews via my social platforms. Here’s a countdown of the top six most important articles I’ve shared in the last day. I curate this top six based on number of retweets, clicks, favorites, and mentions, so you guys are a large part of what ends up listed here :).
#6 Backed By $900K From Keith Rabois And Angels, Breakthrough Is Your New Online Shrink
Did you know that one in four Americans suffer from a diagnosable mental illness? To go along with that, only one-third of those people are treated! Its no secret that the poor are a few of many that can’t afford treatment. Rip Empson writes for TechCrunch about Breakthrough, launched out of TechCrunch50, and how it offers a way for users to privately connect with mental health professionals via email, phone or HIPAA-compliant video chat.
#5 Y Combinator-Backed Canopy Labs Unveils A Self-Serve Approach To Customer Modeling
Canopy Labs, one of the startups in Y-Combinator’s current class, is aiming to help mid-sized businesses organize their sales leads and focus on high-value customers. Anthony Ha delivers a TechCrunch article outlining Canopy’s value proposition, and how an “actionable and quick” solution is better than a custom solution built in-house.
#4 Boutine Lets Women Build Their Own Virtual Boutiques
A new website called Boutine allows women to browse and create new looks by mix-and-matching items. Similar to Polyvore in many ways, the website aims to be the place where you actually purchase the items you mix. Founder Pramod Dabir, was inspired to try his hand at a fashion startup after years of working in investment banking thanks to a little inspiration from his then fiancee, now wife. Yet another fashion-focused startup, but this one looks like it has the business model to stick around if it gains any traction.
Apple put a 24-hour ban on users changing their Apple ID password via phone, after at least one hacker used some phone trickery to get access to users’ accounts.
#2 Google to Include Gmail Results in Search Results
Yesterday, I reported that Google is looking to include Gmail results inside regular web search queries, and explored what this could mean for the future of search. Read the piece to see how to sign up for the private beta.
#1 Square Partners With Starbucks, Raises $25M For Series D; Howard Schultz Joins The Board
While Square started largely at a grassroots level, here’s one more indicator that it’s heading for the bigtime. Beginning this fall, Square will be the exclusive debit and credit card transaction partner for Starbucks across the U.S. Plus, pay with Square users will be able to the nearest Starbucks by accessing the Square Directory from their iPhone or Android phone. This is a huge coup for Square in becoming a mainstream transaction handler.
