Interview with Weezic, the place to play classical music
Posted on March 29, 2011
Filed Under Startups | Businesshackers
A new music website called Weezic has been recently launched and is already popular. Businesshackers dot com has interviewed the founders of this innovative website.
Why is it amazing ?
Weezic changes the way musicians play classical music !
Classical music often goes with disheartening rehearsal at home alone.
Weezic makes practicing classical music more spontaneous, vibrant and stimulating.
Don’t play music alone in your room anymore, go out and have fun on Weezic.com!
The existing resources for classical musicians on the internet lack richness and structure.
Many websites are offering free sheet music, but often with limited effort on the user interface design and limited structure, making it painful to find a quality resource when you need it.
Very few websites offer enhanced content like mp3 accompaniment tracks to play along. The ones that do are often “retail-oriented” : you don’t want to spend much time on these sites, there is not much to do except paying for your sheet music and mp3, and downloading the files.
Weezic is the first website bringing rich internet applications to classical music.
Based on the latest technologies in digital music manipulation, Weezic creates new ways of practicing music. Our Customizable backing orchestra available for every instrument is just for starters…
Weezic also brings a structure for exploring classical music. On Weezic, everything is well structured around classical music works: content resources (sheet music, mp3s, etc.), musicians interactions, online tools… This simple organization allows easy and direct access for the musician to always relevant content, while the dimensions around a given work remain unlimited.
Weezic is designed to be a place where you spend time playing music.
We want musicians to connect everytime they play their instrument and enjoy a world of resources and applications, well structured around classical music works.
Bringing some social features along with the resources for playing is also a new approach for classical music, allowing many new applications in the future.
How much does it cost ?
Weezic is currently in beta version.
During the beta you can subscribe and access the whole website for free.
We’ll then offer a freemium platform: part of the content will become only available to premium members for an annual fee (equivalent to a few euros per month). Scores/Sheet music will always remain free, as well as basic interpretations sharing. Mp3 accompaniments and advanced applications will be included in the premium membership.
How is it going to develop?
Weezic will develop following three dimensions:
Allowing musicians to play what they want through unlimited access to enhanced resources. The most basic need for every classical musician is to find sheet music. That’s how we want the first musicians to get to know Weezic: by looking for a specific classical work in a search engine and finding what they are looking for on Weezic.
Allowing musicians to have fun while working their instrument through advanced edutainment software.
Allowing musicians to play together online.
About the team
Weezic is driven by two french colleagues and friends: Nicolas Arbogast and Grégory Dell’Era
Grégory graduated from the french engineering school Mines de Paris. He has a strong musical background, having been practicing the bassoon and the flute for years.
He is responsible for product innovation, content production and community management.
Nicolas graduated from ESCP Europe business school in Paris. He has a good knowledge of end-to-end development. He has developped the whole beta of http://weezic.com and will be managing both further web development and Weezic communication in the short term.
Nicolas & Grégory met when working at the Paris Office of Bain & Company, the strategy consulting firm, where they both developed good working capabilities and team management skills. They share the same work methods and vision, allowing them to work together with great efficiency.
DesignCrowd – an international crowdsourcing marketplace for design outsourcing and creative services
Posted on March 9, 2010
Filed Under Startups | Businesshackers
Graphic design service DesignCrowd.com is an international crowdsourcing marketplace for design outsourcing and creative services.
DesignCrowd turns the graphic design process inside-out by helping businesses harness thousands of creative people (brains) in a few days. Businesses can use DesignCrowd for any design related project from custom logo design to web page design. Here’s how it works:
1. You post a project on DesignCrowd and set a budget
2. Scores of designers from around the world submit creative designs
3. You select and download the best design
DesignCrowd eliminates the risk of not getting the design you want by letting you tap into over 10,000 graphic designers on every project – if you don’t get the design you want, you extend your deadline and get more designs. The business model is called ‘crowdsourcing’ and the average design project receives close to 100 custom designs. DesignCrowd’s process offers a refined, fairer form of crowdsourcing by allowing designers to reserve participation payments so that they can guarantee themselves income regardless of the client decisions.
On the other side of the marketplace, graphic designers can use DesignCrowd to market themselves internationally, find clients and earn money with their spare time. It’s free for designers to register, submit designs and quotes but they pay 10% commission on anything they earn.
The site was originally launched as ‘DesignBay’ in January 2008 by Alec Lynch. Lynch, a former management consultant, raised capital from investors in late 2009 and adopted the name DesignCrowd when they acquired freelance marketplace www.designcrowd.com. Currently DesignCrowd is based in Sydney Australia, has the backing of 4 private angel investors and is run by Lynch with Adam Arbolino a former IBM consultant.
DesignCrowd operates in a highly competitive space. Competitors include other online marketplaces (like Elance), other online design firms (like Logoworks) as well as a long tail of traditional design studios and other emerging crowdsourcing sites. DesignCrowd’s competitive advantage is its business model, process and higher quality designers.
Irehab, a startup that effectively cures musculoskeletal pain
Posted on December 6, 2009
Filed Under Startups | Businesshackers
Where are you located?
We are based in Kamuela, Hawaii on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Why are you unique?
We are revolutionizing how people use the web to obtain information on and treat Back Pain specifically and musculoskeletal pain in general. Instead of offering general text based information commonly seen on other health related websites, we are offering a customized engaging solution for the individual browsing the web for help with back pain. We ask questions, receive answers then select, group and send exercises to a private individual login area within Irehab where users can view, learn and implement their exercises in the comfort of their own homes, at their workout facility or if they’re traveling. We are directly selling treatment plans to the General Public browsing on one side and offering the Medical Professional (Doctor, Physical Therapist etc) a portal to help their patients on the other side. The Medical Professional uses Irehab to select, group and send exercises to their patients in seconds increasing office efficiency, patient follow up and results.
What is the technology behind it?
Our exercises are delivered in the form of perfectly animated and executed videos shot from multiple angles ensuring complete understanding and therefore results. Treatment plans for both our General Public user and our Professionals and their patients are delivered immediately via the web.
Is your StartUp free?
We are currently free during our BETA period but will soon charge $39.99 per treatment plan for the General Public which will come with a customized back pain treatment plan (as it does now) plus an opt in phone or email consultation including unlimited question and answering follow up. After 4 weeks of access, members will be able to maintain access to their user profile and treatment plans via subscription of $5.99 per month. Our Professional user will pay Irehab .99 cents per treatment plan they send to their patients.
What is the main idea behind it?
To make it possible and affordable for the general public to receive quality exercise based help for back pain via web. To take the next step moving away from text based information and toward solution based information by delivering a customized engaging experience in and around back pain help on the web. Currently, people are searching the web looking for help for their musculoskeletal pain (back pain) and they get text, and increased confusion resulting in seeing their doctor anyway most times. We believe people are ready and want more from the web than just text. From office and clinical experience we know it’s possible to treat back pain with properly demonstrated and executed exercises if they are customized specifically for each user. Now we are doing that on the web.
What are your future plans?
Our General Public functionality (80+ users registered) is currently up and running which you can view @ www.irehab.com. We will be adding to that functionality as mentioned above. On the bottom left hand corner of our current home page you will see a button “Doctor or Physical Therapist”. Clicking on that button will bring you to an information page on our Professional portal which we expect to launch within 8 weeks. Future plans include launching our Professional user portal then branching out into additional treatment capability for neck, shoulder, hip, knee, foot/ ankle, elbow and hand/ wrist. We will also include post-rehabilitation, fitness and sport specific programming in the long run.
Who are your main competitors?
Our main competitors are health related websites such as WebMD, Spineuniverse and Livestrong that display exercises and or information related to back pain and musculoskeletal pain in general. These sites tend to offer exercises and information but in a fragmented, random and non-customized manner. Irehab is paving new ground with a customized experience and delivery.
How does Irehab customize?
During the users registration experience Irehab asks narrowing specific questions that allow us the knowledge to provide correct safe effective exercises specific for that individuals needs. This questionnaire will continue to evolve as we go forward as well as the aforementioned inclusion of opt in consultations and unlimited follow up via phone or email if desired.
Musichunt, a startup to help musicians to find a job
Posted on September 17, 2009
Filed Under Startups | Businesshackers
Musichunt (http://www.musichunt.pro) is an international professional network of musicians and musical organizations. It was founded by two friends, Rinat Kaleev and Michael Podrabinek, in November 2008. In the middle of April 2009 a testable beta-version appeared in the russian part of Internet and the network became open for registration. From August 2009 it is available for english-speaking users too.
The main purpose of the startup is to help musicians from all over the world to find jobs, colleges and ensembles, educational programs, musical professional events such as competitions, masterclasses, festivals, exhibitions, conferences and etc., promote themselves, share their experience and gain it from others. Musichunt is open for musicians of any musical styles: from classical music to national or contemporary. Among registered users there’re performers, composers, teachers, arrangers, conductors, sound producers, musical managers. There’re also registered companies which are interested in musicians or in offering special services to them, e.g. employers, musical equipment shops, educational institutions, recording studios, producing centers and so on.
Both musicians and organizations can benefit from the network because unlike many professional unions Musichunt is absolutely open, worldwide and free and it gathers services specially designed for professionals and those who want to become one.
The main feature of the project is a unique multilingual interface which is very flexible and is made to organize interaction among users in the most efficient way. It assumes that all users’ content is stored in one place but each user can easily filter information shown to him according to the list of languages he chose and this list can be changed in any time with a few clicks. It also contains many unified and system-translated services that allow (e.g.) English-speaking users to be aware of russian-speaking users’ requests and offers without a need to speak Russian.
The project is financed from the private capital of its founders. Future plans concerning Musichunt include:
• expert rating system on the website
• expansion of different languages support
• friends news
• integration with modern means of communication (e.g. twitter)
Interview with DesignersCouch dot com
Posted on September 16, 2009
Filed Under Startups | Businesshackers
Who are the founders of the site? Where is the startup based?
The founder of Designers’Couch is Damian Madray, creative director at Depthskins Design Studio. This start-up is a project by the creative studio.
What makes this startup unique? What is the technology behind it?
This design community is unique because of the mantra on which it’s built on, not exactly its technology. Designers’Couch is a community that accepts members based on their portfolio and passion towards design. Once a member have benefits include receiving special discounts on design products and services, free access to webinars and Designers’Couch events.
The site is built on PHP/MySQL and offers a slew of features like rating critiques, submitting portfolio, keeping designs private, member directory and many other features.
What are the main characterstics of your startup?
The main characteristics of Designers’Couch are:
Critique System – this allows members to enter no less than 140 characters thus encouraging and requiring constructive critiques instead of one liners.
Experts – our expert system is meant to encourage friendly competition and points are earned through every useful critique given on a design. It will also highlight those who are experts at their craft thus putting them on the forefront to employers.
Discounts – through the community our partners offer special discounts on products and services designers use. For example, Firehost.com would offer a special discount on its hosting or Subernova offers a discount of it’s own. These servers can allow designers to save on everything things the use for their freelance business.
Collaboration – though not completely done, this will be a key characteristic of Designers’Couch that will allow members to collaborate easily with each other.
Is your startup free?
Yes, it’s completely free to join. All we ask is for members to submit 5 of their own design for review. Once they pass this review stage, full membership is granted.
What is your business model?
Designers’Couch is a non-profit model developed as our way of giving back to the design community.
What is the main idea behind it? Why is your startup worth spending time?
The idea is to target a niche: designers; offer them the key items they need as designers, that is, a place to interact, learn, inspire and be inspired.
What are your plans for the future?
We’ve have great plans for the future that will help us meet our goals of bring exposure to members, creating an educational environment and interactive one. Many of these plans cannot be revealed but the near future involves perfecting our system and promoting the community.
Who are your main competitors?
In the design community we all do our part to give back to the community so competition is not like it is in the business world. However, our competitors in this area would be Behance.net. There’s many more but we like Behance the most. I think they’re doing a great job so since we look up to them, they are our biggest competitors.
Interview with bizonbytes.com
Posted on June 2, 2009
Filed Under Startups | Businesshackers
Could you please provide some information concerning the founders?
BizOnBytes.com, affectionately nicknamed Bob, was thought, built and delivered by two people connected by the power of love and driven by creative ideas. Our mission was to develop a business community based on the social networking model. This website was a labour of love that took years to complete during our spare time. We are convinced that the passion we’ve injected into this project and our unwillingness to give up until we got it right transpire in the final product you see today.
Why it is amazing and how the project is going to be improved/developed?
BizOnBytes.com will continue to work on opening the doors to the expansion of the community of businesses where members will not only be able to share their products and services with others but to share their 
business talent. Another important objective we have in mind is to break the language barrier by providing bizonbytes.com in many languages as possible to give everyone a chance to profit from this business model.
How can users benefit from this startup?
Entrepreneurs looking for new business opportunities by finding new clients and suppliers will be happy to hear about the new business community on bizonbytes.com. As an added bonus, bizonbytes.com also allows you to manage your day-to-day accounting activities, create and send invoices to your customers and create your own online store to sell and promote your products and services all this at no cost to you! Unlike other accounting solutions, we offer a community of people who are looking for new clients and suppliers and have a vested interest in expanding the community to meet their financial goals. It’s time to introduce your company to the world at no cost… Don’t pay the price of a wasted opportunity!
Is it free or not?
We have 2 options, a Lite version which include a few restriction and a Premium edition that give them the option to sell their products online at no additional cost and create unlimited invoices.
What are the main features of the startup?
We are proud to promote the community has the main advantage compare to our competition at invoice.com and quickbooks that only provide the accounting option. We have made sure that the system had usability in mind, that members could make money and promote their business and that it could give them the opportunity to find new business.
What are the plans of founders?
This project is our solution to independence. We wish to live now and not at 50. We wish to live free of money and not letting money make our life decision.
How was is financed and are the founders still looking for investors?
Still looking…
Anything else that might convince us and our readers that your startup is really worth spending time on…?
The time you will spend with Bob (BizOnBytes.com) will cost you nothing. But not only that, it could make you money. Don’t take my word for it, just take the time to visit us, I’m sure you will find something that interests you.
Help us and spread voice:
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