Mompreneur jumps into the ‘Shark Tank’

It all started with a 4 a.m. email nearly a year ago: “Do you think a baby bib could change the world? I do...”

Then Susie Taylor included a link to her website, bibbitec.com, and off it went to Shark Tank, the popular ABC television show where entrepreneurs pitch their companies to investors on the show — and by extension, 7 million viewers.

Four months later, as the “mompreneur” was leaving her Biscayne Park home to pick up her kids from school, she got a call from the show asking her to pitch on the spot. Driving with her phone on her shoulder, she told the Bibbitec story.

Shark Tank bit. After a few more back and forths, her segment was filmed last summer.

Friday night, Taylor is scheduled to be on the show pitching Bibbitec’s main product, “The Ultimate Bib,” a patented generously sized, stain-resistant and fast-drying child’s bib made in the USA — Hialeah, to be exact. Bibbitec’s $30 bib can be a burp cloth, changing pad, breast feeding shield, full body bib, place mat, art smock and more, Taylor says.

We won’t be getting any details on what happens Friday night when she and her husband, Stephen Taylor, get into the tank with Daymond John, Mark Cuban and the other celebrity sharks; Taylor has been contractually sworn to secrecy. But whatever the outcome, she believes it will be worth it for the marketing pop.

Taylor was inspired to create her bib after a long and very messy plane ride with her two young sons and started Bibbitec in 2008. She and her team — her husband is CFO, her sister, Heather McCabe, handles sales and marketing, her uncle, Richard Page, is in charge of production, and her aunt, Marcia Kreitman, advises on design — have expanded the line to include The Ultimate Smock for older children and the Ultimate Mini for babies. Coming soon: a smock for adults.

Taylor already got a taste of what a national TV show appearance can do for sales. In September, Bibbitec’s sales jumped 40 percent after she was on an ABC World News "Made in America" segment. “Within 30 seconds, we started getting sales from all over the country and they didn’t even mention our name on the air,” Taylor says. She said that confirmed her belief that a Shark Tank appearance would be worth it.

Plus, Taylor has been hooked on Shark Tank since the first time she watched it in 2008 as she was developing her product. Trained in theater, she admits she didn’t know much about business and learned from the show. She would practice how she would answer the questions.

“I’m all about empowering women who are sitting on the couch watching, because that’s what I was four years ago,” says Taylor. “All I wanted to do was to be on Shark Tank because I believed if I got on Shark Tank the world will see what I am trying to do and that’s all I need. I know it’s a great product.”

Will that theater training come in handy Friday night? Stay tuned. Shark Tank airs at 9 p.m. on ABC and Taylor hopes viewers will join in on Twitter using the hashtag #sharkbib.

Read More..

Man in wheelchair robbed of his ‘man-purse’ and dumped to the ground

A man in a wheelchair was robbed of his “man-purse” outside of a Southwest Florida store late Tuesday.

The 53-year-old victim, whose name was not released, was leaving a Dollar General Store in Bradenton when a man approached him from behind and attempted to snatch his man-purse, which was wrapped around his right arm, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

During a struggle, the suspect pulled the victim out of the wheelchair and onto the ground. The suspect grabbed the purse and got into the backseat of a waiting car, according to the sheriff's office. The vehicle then took off from the shopping center.

The victim went home and called police about 40 minutes after the robbery.

Read More..

Yandex puts mobile app blocked by Facebook on hold

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian internet company Yandex has put an experimental application that allows users to search social networking sites from mobile devices on hold after it was blocked by Facebook.

Facebook, which launched its own search tool earlier this month, blocked the Wonder app three hours after its launch on January 24 for U.S. users.

The application allows users to look for recommendations on, for example, music or restaurants based on information from their friends on social network sites.

Facebook believes Wonder violates its policies, which state that no data obtained from Facebook can be used in any search engine without the company’s written permission, Yandex said on Wednesday, adding access to Facebook would not be restored.

“Since this access was revoked, we decided to put our application on hold for the time being,” the Russian firm said, adding it would consider partnership with other social networks and services.

Existing Wonder users are still able to search in Instagram, Foursquare and Twitter, a Yandex spokeswoman said, but marketing and further development of the application is on hold.

(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Mark Potter)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Yandex puts mobile app blocked by Facebook on hold
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/yandex-puts-mobile-app-blocked-by-facebook-on-hold/
Link To Post : Yandex puts mobile app blocked by Facebook on hold
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Rihanna Talks Chris Brown Relationship

Rihanna has come under fire for reuniting with her ex, Chris Brown, given their very public split, which involved police reports, hospital bills and a 20/20 interview.

RELATED - Girls Creator Disapproves of Chris Brown & Rihanna

But the Unapologetic singer is just that about this new phase of their relationship, telling Rolling Stone, "I'm not apologizing for [dating Chris Brown again]. I decided it was important for me to be happy and I wasn't going to let anybody's opinion get in the way of that. Even if it's a mistake, it's my mistake. After being tormented for so many years, being angry and dark, I'd rather just live my truth and take the backlash. I can handle it."

RELATED - Chris Brown Under Investigation After Frank Ocean Fight

Although Rihanna does understand why the public is having such a hard time accepting their reunion. "When you add up the pieces from the outside, it's not the cutest puzzle in the world," she says. "You see us walking somewhere, driving somewhere, in the studio, in the club, and you think you know. But it's different now. We don't have those types of arguments anymore. We talk about sh*t. We value each other. We know exactly what we have now, and we don't want to lose that."

RELATED - Rihanna Sparks Controversy With Pot Pic

Given how much Chris has changed, the singer is hoping to get some of The Rihanna Navy back on his side. "He made a mistake, he's paid his dues," she says. "He's paid so much, people need to support and encourage him instead of criticizing and bashing."

Plus, she adds, "He doesn't have the luxury of f*cking up again. That's just not an option. I can't say that nothing else will ever go wrong. But I'm pretty solid in the knowing that he's disgusted by that. And I wouldn't have gone this far if I ever thought that was a possibility."

Rihanna's issue of Rolling Stone hits stands on Friday.

Read More..

Cuomo's approval rating plummets after NY passes gun control law: poll

ALBANY – Gov. Cuomo’s job approval rating dropped like a speeding bullet this month as Republicans and gun owners started turning against him after he rammed through the nation’s first post-Newtown gun control law, a new poll has found.

Democrat Cuomo’s approval marks slid from 74-13 percent last month to 59-28 in the Quinnipiac poll out today — a day after the New York-affiliate of the National Rifle Association filed a notice of claim to sue to stop enforcement of the law, arguing it unconstitutionally deprives New Yorkers of their rights.

While voters in non-gun homes still gave Cuomo thumbs up by a whopping 68-19, those who live in households with guns turned against him by 50-40, the Jan. 23-28 telephone survey of 1,127 state voters found.

Shannon DeCelle

Governor Cuomo

Cuomo himself had predicted the slide during a radio interview yesterday with Post columnist Fredric U. Dicker on Albany’s Talk 1300 AM radio.

While Republicans gave Cuomo a 68-18 percent approval mark in a Quinnipiac survey Dec. 12 — two days before a crazed gunman killed 20 first-graders and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. — the GOP is virtually evenly split on the governor now.

Support for Cuomo dropped across the board. His approval rating among independents fell from 70-12 to 54-32, among Democrats from 82-9 to 74-14, among women from 73-12 to 64-23 and among men from 74-14 to 54-33.

Some 34 percent of voters – and 59 percent of Republicans – said Cuomo’s law goes “too far” in restricting gun owners’ rights, while 30 percent of all voters said it doesn’t go far enough in protecting public safety.

But another 30 percent of voters, including 20 percent of Republicans, say the law is “about right.”

Cuomo shouldn’t necessarily worry, according to Quinnipiac’s poll director.

“With approval ratings that consistently topped 70 percent, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had the political capital to spend when he set out to pass the toughest gun control laws in the nation,” Maurice Carroll said. “It is possible that the gun law cost him some of that political capital, but a 2-1 job approval rating still makes him the envy of most governors.”

Carroll also noted Cuomo lost some GOP support after legalizing gay marriage in 2011 but “got it back.”

And voters gave strong approval to a key element of the gun law: a requirement that mental health professionals report potentially dangerous patients to police for possible confiscation of weapons. Democrats backed that provision 76-19, Republicans by 71-24 and independents 71-23.

And by 56-32 percent voters rejected the argument that fewer mentally ill people will seek help because of the new gun law.

Additionally, voters by 48-40 percent said stricter gun laws will do more to reduce gun violence in school than armed guards – as the NRA proposed.

Quinnipiac found voters in blue New York by 46-22 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the NRA leadership.

The poll also found a slight dip in job approval ratings for President Obama (57-39 percent, from 62-35 last month) and US Sens. Chuck Schumer (60-30, down from 63-23) and Kirsten Gillibrand (57-21, down from 61-18).

The poll has a a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

Read More..

Tablets take their screen tests

Screen quality is critical to a great tablet, and in 2012 we saw the quality of tablet screens advance in leaps and bounds, especially in terms of clarity. Here are our favorites.

Barnes & Noble Nook HD

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 (Very good)

The good: A light, comfortable design with a sharp screen and a well-implemented user profiles feature. Books, videos and magazines look great and the microSD slot takes some of the sting out of the lack of internal storage.

The bad: App, movie, TV show and game options are thin and there’s no native music service. It’s missing some typical tablet features and 8GB is low for the price. Fingerprints easily sully the screen.

The cost: $199

The bottom line: The Barnes & Noble Nook HD can’t match competing tablets in media library breadth, but as long as you’re not looking for bells and whistles, its sharp screen and comfortable body make it an ideal tablet choice for books and magazines.

Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: High-resolution screen rivals the new iPad’s display in sharpness and clarity. Also, apps launch quickly, GPS works well and its rear camera is the best we’ve seen on any Android tablet. The tablet’s body has the same great thin and light design as the Prime.

The bad: So far, not enough Android apps take advantage of the TF700’s higher pixel count. Also, its battery life isn’t as good as the Prime’s.

The cost: $479.88 to $590.37

The bottom line: The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700 is one of the fastest Android tablets out there, combining an already proven design with a better camera, a faster processor, and a beautiful screen.

Google Nexus 10

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 (Excellent)

The good: A beautifully sharp screen is light, durable and has the fastest processor of any Android tablet. Photo Sphere is an incredibly cool concept. Google’s content ecosystem is only getting better.

The bad: The included charger isn’t fast enough to power the battery while playing a game; even while idle, it charges painfully slowly. There’s no storage expansion option, and apps that take full advantage of the screen are currently few and far between. Navigation isn’t quite as smooth as on the Nexus 7.

The cost: $399

The bottom line: The Nexus 10’s superior design and swift performance make it one of the best Android tablets to date. We expect post-launch updates from Google to make it even better.

Apple iPad (fourth generation)

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5 (Outstanding)

The good: A6X processor adds extra system speed and graphics power. Improved worldwide cellular compatibility makes the LTE model a more appealing proposition. And the iOS App Store remains best in class, with the widest selection.

The bad: The fourth-gen iPad is otherwise identical to its recent predecessor — same size, weight and Retina Display screen. It’s heavy to hold in one hand, and most older accessories won’t work without investing in a pricey Lightning adapter.

The cost: $499 to $539.99

The bottom line: The latest iPad adds several tweaks and improvements to secure its position at the top of the tablet heap. It’s better all around, but third-gen owners don’t need to upgrade.

Read More..

Related developers find themselves in court over tactics

His company on trial over its tactics in a controversial condo project, Jorge Pérez, the celebrated developer, found himself on the witness stand Monday answering to an unexpected foe: Jorge Pérez, the author.

Pérez, the chairman of the Related Group, testified in the trial of a lawsuit brought against his company by The Vizcayans, a fundraising and support group for the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. The Vizcayans have accused Pérez’s company of secretly manipulating the zoning process at Miami City Hall to win approval in 2007 for a three-tower condo project next to Mercy Hospital in Coconut Grove — forcing the Vizcayans to spend more than $1 million in legal fees in its successful effort to kill the project.

The Vizcayans, who objected to the project because it would have intruded on the views from the historic property, have also accused the developers of quietly buying the approval of two local neighborhood associations by offering them $8 million in exchange for their support.

William Davis, a lawyer for the Vizcayans, questioned Pérez about the arrangement by citing passages from Pérez’s 2009 book, Powerhouse Principles: The Ultimate Blueprint for Real Estate Success in an Ever-Changing Market (foreword by Donald Trump). In the book, Pérez discussed his efforts to build the Mercy Hospital project, and said his team decided to keep the payments to the neighborhood groups secret because “we gave them a lot of money,” and he feared other groups would ask for more if they got wind of it.

Pérez sheepishly conceded that he didn’t exactly write his book — it was the work of a ghostwriter with whom he worked.

“They were my thoughts interpreted by a person that was writing,” he said.

Davis also tried to hoist Pérez on one of his powerhouse principles from the book: “neutralize the opposition.”

He suggested that Related sued the Vizcayans seeking public records in an effort to harass them. Pérez denied the allegation and said he had no recollection of that lawsuit.

Pérez insisted that there was nothing sinister about the deals with the neighborhood groups; he said the payments to the groups were simply a routine practice his firm follows when it seeks community support for its projects.

“I’m doing that on probably 10 projects right now,” Pérez said.

Yery Marrero, the president of the Natoma Manors homeowners’ association, told jurors that her group supported the condo project not because of the promise of money, but because they thought the condos would prevent Mercy Hospital from expanding and bringing even more traffic to their already congested neighborhood.

“Our issue in our neighborhood is traffic,” Marrero told jurors. “Per day we have so many cars going through there.”

The Vizcayans’ lawyers have portrayed the payments as part of a larger scheme to win over the Miami City Commission, which had to endorse zoning and land-use changes for the condo project. They have accused Related’s staffers, lawyers and lobbyists of working behind the scenes to essentially rig the commission vote.

In one January 2007 email, a Related vice president told Pérez that they had confirmed the votes of three commissioners in favor of the condo deal — days before the first public hearing on the project.

The City Commission ultimately approved the project in a 3-2 vote. But following a suit from The Vizcayans, an appeals court later overturned the decision, finding that the city ran afoul of state zoning laws and that then-Mayor Manny Diaz had improper contact with Pérez during the veto period after the vote.

Diaz is expected to testify Tuesday.

Related’s lawyers, John Shubin and Israel Reyes, have asked Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Daryl Trawick to throw out the case, saying The Vizcayans have failed to prove that the developers set out to deliberately harm the nonprofit.

The developers’ lawyers also called Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado as a witness Monday. Regalado, who was on the commission at the time of the 2007 vote, said he never heard anything suggesting that the developers were trying to harm The Vizcayans.

Shubin said the Vizcayans are wrongly seeking to punish the developers for simply petitioning the government for a zoning change.

“This is all about petitioning activity,” Shubin said. “They can’t even cite to you a case that looks remotely like this one that has been brought.”

Pérez took his day on the witness stand with good humor. “I’m glad someone is reading my book,” he said when his testimony ended.

The trial, now in its fourth week, is expected to end this week.

Read More..

'NCIS': Pauley Perrette and Brighton Sharbino on Young Abby

Pauley Perrette has been playing the role of endearing forensics specialist "Abby Sciuto" on NCIS for ten seasons now, since the show's premiere in 2003. As cherished as her quirky character is, the show doesn't explore into her past very often; however, viewers will have a rare opportunity to delve into her past as young actress Brighton Sharbino portrays a childhood Abby.

Perrette brought the young Sharbino along with her to ET for her first ever interview to talk about her upcoming episode as Abby on NCIS.

PICS: Star Sightings

"We really don't know much about Abby's past. It's the character with the least past development that we know of," Perrette said. "So, I was really, really super excited when they were like, 'We're going to show Abby as little.' I was like, 'Yay! Who's going to play her?'"

Perrette revealed that she and Sharbino struck a kinship when they were filming and she would come to the set on her off-days just to spend time with the young actress. While it was her first appearance on NCIS, Perrette said Sharbino did an excellent job of portraying her character's young counterpart.

The young actress has previously appeared on a few shows, including the Hannah Montana and The New Normal and will have two films coming out soon. She is the younger sister of The Touch regular Saxon Sharbino, whom she is determined to surpass in Twitter followers.

VIDEO: Pauley Perrette Spills 'NCIS' Secrets

As the crime drama's current rate of success, we may see Sharbino for many flashbacks to come, as the show is thriving in its tenth season and posting impressively high numbers in the ratings.

Perrette attributed the show's continual success to its analogous relationship to life with the various elements of action, humor, and drama combined in every episode. If anything, she assesses, people love the characters.

"Also, it's the characters," the 43-year-old actress said. "It's these characters that people feel like they know; they feel like they're their family. In between Tuesday to Tuesday, they're like, 'I wonder what those goofballs are up to.' You miss them. I miss 'em. I want to see what's going on."

VIDEO: 'NCIS' Cast Teases Season 10 as the 'Best'

Check out the full video for Brighton Sharbino's first interview and a sneak peek at her portrayal of a young Abby on NCIS. The full episode airs tonight at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Read More..

NYC pulling down 'Don't Honk' signs

The city's "Don't Honk" signs are coming down, but it's still against the law to blow a car horn unnecessarily.

The city Department of Transportation says all the signs will be removed by the end of the year.

City officials say the decision is part of an effort to de-clutter the streets of signs that generally go ignored, according to The New York Times.

Unnecessary honking carries a $350 fine but is rarely enforced.

The DOT says complaints about honking have declined 63 percent since 2008.

But City Councilwoman Gale Brewer said in a letter to the DOT: "I can't tell you how many requests I get for 'no honking' signs."

Angel Chevrestt

The signs were introduced during Mayor Ed Koch's administration.

Read More..

Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge opens for entries

Entrepreneurs, please don’t let the name of our contest scare you.

As we launch our 15th annual Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge today, we are putting out our annual call for entries. But we aren’t looking for long, laboriously detailed business plans. Quite the contrary.

More and more, today’s investors in very early stage companies want to see a succinct presentation of your concept and how you plan to turn it into a success. We do, too.

If you have a business idea or an operating startup that is less than two years old, you can enter the Challenge, our annual celebration of South Florida entrepreneurship. Sponsored by the Pino Global Entrepreneurship Center at Florida International University, our contest has three tracks — a Community Track, open to all South Floridians; an FIU Track, open to students and alumni of that university; and a High School Track, co-sponsored by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.

Your entry may be up to three pages and you may attach one additional page for a photo, rendering, diagram or spreadsheet if you wish. Think of it as a meaty executive summary. Experts in all aspects of entrepreneurship — serial entrepreneurs, executives, investors, advisors and finance specialists (see judge bios on MiamiHerald.com/challenge) — will judge your short plan. In doing so, they will be looking at your product or service’s value to the customer, market opportunity, business model, management team and your marketing and financial strategies. See the rules on page 22, which also include tips on preparing your entry.

Your entry is due by 11:59 p.m. March 11. Entries should be sent to challenge@miamiherald.com, fiuchallenge@miamiherald.com or highschoolchallenge@miamiherald.com.

Don’t worry, we’re here to help!

“Frame your business from your customer’s perspective and not yours. Rather than diving into a detailed explanation of your product or service, a more compelling way to tell your business story is to clearly share the problem that you are solving for your customers and how your business is different, better, faster, cooler, cheaper, smarter,” says Melissa Krinzman, managing director of Venture Architects and a veteran Challenge judge.

On Feb 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Miami Dade College, we’ll host a free Business Plan Bootcamp, where you can bring your working plan with you for advice from experts, including Krinzman. Find the sign-up link on MiamiHerald.com/challenge.

And each week in Business Monday and on MiamiHerald.com/challenge, we’ll be bringing you advice and answering your questions. You can post your questions on the Q&A on MiamiHerald.com/challenge or email your questions to me at ndahlberg@miamiherald.com. Follow @ndahlberg on Twitter.

The top six finalists in the Community and FIU Tracks will present their 90-second elevator pitches for our popular video contest. Last year our People’s Pick contest drew more than 18,000 votes.

On May 6, in a special section of Business Monday, we will profile the winners — the judges’ top three selections in each track plus the People’s Pick winners. Along the way, we will unveil semifinalists and finalists to keep the suspense building.

Today, though, we are looking back on the entrepreneurial journeys of our 2012 winners. Funding was a nearly universal challenge, and many faced setbacks in developing their platforms. Throughout the entry period, we’ll also look back on other winners from the past 14 years.

Show us what you’ve got. Let’s make this the best Challenge yet.

Read More..