On April 17th, Pop Labs was honored to be a guest and a sponsor for the Rice Alliance Business Plan Competition 2010. Over 40 teams competed for the chance to win more than $1 million dollars in cash and prizes from local and national sponsors.

Pop Labs’ Gene McCubbin, Audra Jackson, Victoria Rabin, and Stephanie Elsy judged the Twit Pitch portion, where contestants were challenged to develop a marketing pitch in 140 characters or less. The top 3 winners were awarded with a cash prize and services equaling $15,000 each. (more…)

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Three weeks ago I was awakened out of my sleep by my phone alarm, telling me that I had an email message. Half-awake, I opened the message to find a flight confirmation email from Southwest Airlines. This must have been a mistake because I certainly did not book a round-trip flight to Florida. After sitting up, turning on the lamp on my bedside table, I noticed there is a message attached from my boss:

“Pack your bags, you are going to Florida. Hope you can find a babysitter. – Gene”

Was this a new employee appreciation program where people are randomly awarded with a vacation package? Nope. It was one better! I was getting the opportunity to attend the @IncEvents conference #GrowCo, in Orlando, Florida!

Perfect! Except, I have never networked for my company before, and certainly not at an Inc Magazine event. Before departing, my boss gave me a few pointers to lead me in the right direction. Below are the 5 things to know when being a beginner networker. (more…)

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Sparking Creativity in the Workplace

Officer Chief Star Pop

It starts off with a slow annoyed tap of the foot. A few seconds later, your receptionist has locked herself in the storage closet, your accountant is missing in action, 2 of your project coordinators are missing limbs and stumbling around like zombies, all the while you are struggling to put your intestines back into the gaping hole in your stomach. Mediocrity is a merciless monster that will ravage your office and leave nothing but destruction in its path. Luckily, you have been blessed with the gift of reading and this isn’t your everyday typical “how do I get my employees to be more creative” half assed, cookie cutter, bullshit article. This my friends, is pure gold. If you were to print this out and take it to the bank, the teller would hand you a check with more zeroes than a Google, I mean googol. (more…)

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