This is a list of my favorite companies from 2015 that I really appreciate.
Zen Float Company is the amazing company that created the Zen Float Tent. They raised $295,000 on
Kickstarter to get production going for their first version of the tent. The Zen Float Tent has been an extremely useful tool for myself and my roommates for relaxation, recovery from workouts, introspection, clarity, etc. The best part about having one of these is that we can float anytime in the comfort of our own home. I like this company so much that I’ve even started sponsoring them.
Note: clicking the image above will take you to their site and I get a portion of the sale :)
The Raspberry Pi Foundation is the awesome company that created the Raspberry Pi. If you haven’t heard of a Raspberry Pi it is basically a small computer about the size of a credit card. It costs less than $50 and you can interface with all sorts of sensors (motion, temperature, etc). Recently they released the Pi Zero which is a $5 version of the Pi. This is going to make it very easy for anyone even with a small budget to learn about software development and servers. I’m so grateful for this company for opening the doors to the masses to get involved in cool projects without spending a fortune on hardware.
Trello is an amazing software tool that can help you utilize kanban which is a scheduling system for lean production. This can be applied to software development, home improvement projects, starting a business, etc. I’ve been using Trello for over a year now and it has been extremely useful especially for side coding projects I work on. If you are a person who loves todo lists and checking things off Trello would be worth a shot. It can really help you stay on top of your work and collaborate with others on projects.
Slack is a communication tool which is designed for businesses and other organizations which can replace email. I started using slack Summer of 2014 and it really made me see how communication could be done differently. The value of having more real time communication seems to cut back drastically on how long it takes to get to the point of a conversation. Also the formality of email seems to go out the window when using Slack. It also seems to encourage group conversations better than emails. These are just a few of the many reasons why you should consider using Slack over email.
Twilio is a developers best friend if they need to send affordable text messages or voice calls over the internet. Twilio is an API used by developers at companies including: Uber, Box, Intuit, Hulu, Ebay, and more! Twilio is also used for two-factor authentication, appointment reminders, sales leads, and more. If you’re ever needing to send out texts or do any sort of communication involving software and phones I would highly recommend choosing Twilio.
Summary:
I’m very passionate about companies doing the right thing and that are making the world a better place. If you have any favorite companies that you really love leave a comment below :)