A vacuum bag looks like a disposable detail. Home Care Industries built a business around that detail, then tackled the harder problem: helping people buy the right one.
For three decades, Digital River took the paperwork out of selling across borders. Its shutdown exposed the risk hiding between a successful checkout and money in the bank.
A concert, a satellite feed, nine rooms full of people. The Los Angeles publicity company built a business moving footage where its clients could not be - then tried to follow audiences onto the web.
With $14 million behind it, State tried to turn everyday opinions into a network of their own. Its experiment reveals the distance between giving everyone a voice and giving them a reason to return.