There are already questions surrounding Facebook’s purchase of Instagram for $1 billion yesterday. Was it a talent purchase (of 13 employees)? Is it the peak of social media purchases before the bubble starts bursting? Is Facebook only interested in companies with zero revenue? Is this a play against Google+? Twitter? There’s one question that was clearly answered: “How do you build a billion dollar company in 17 months?” In this Instagram Infographic, Visual.ly takes us down the path that started in March, 2010, when Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger raised $500,000 in seed funding for burbn,…

Startups are a big part of President Obama’s economic plan, with more than $48 billion in tax breaks earmarked for small companies creating jobs, annually. The initiative was bolstered by a recent report from the Kaufman Foundation stating that fast-growth companies, while making up less than 1% of US employers, are responsible for up to 10% of national hires in a given year. …

Some say the tech industry is entering a golden age where development of new products and services are yielding a rise in the number of startups that are hitting the streets and finding success. We’ve seen in recent months a shift in the economy that is translating in Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley, and beyond into more money being spent. Founders of tech companies need to know the “buzzwords” if they want to ride the wave. Thankfully, our friends at Udemy have put together this nice graphic that details the various terms that are at the heart of entrepreneurial success. Click to enlarge. …

The internet is rife with theft. People take content and concepts from others on a regular basis and pawn it off as their own. It’s so common that many websites (including this one) have given up on fighting content-scrapers, spammers, and intellectual property thieves altogether. If you can get by without being too-badly hurt by them, it often isn’t worth the fight. Sometimes, however, it is so blatant that it cannot be ignored. Such is the case with Y Combinator startup Curebit who took design ideas and code directly from 37signals. The startup just received $1.2 million in funding from Dave…

The “Startup Sea” is broad and loaded with life. There are those who are considered predators, which means someone has to be the prey. It’s a self-sustaining culture as long as there’s enough people (and dollars) looking for “the next big thing” coming into our lives. That part, at least, seems to be consistent. Everyone from angel investors to tech bloggers play a role. It can be an ugly process to create something wonderful. This graphic by our friends at Udemy examines this ecosystem and makes the distinct roles come to life. Click to enlarge. …

Investing in technology is always a gamble. It goes up and down, both in the amount of money invested as well as the number of investors themselves. We’ve recently seen a large influx of money being invested that has been replaced by a more recent freeze due to America’s financial woes. That can be expected. What isn’t as expected (and much more alarming) is the increase in the number of employees at the tech companies themselves cashing out their shares. There’s nothing better than inside information. Insider trading may be illegal, but when employees with equity sell of their shares, it’s a sign…

Everyone in the tech industry has heard of Silicon Valley, but how many have heard of Silicon Alley? New York is known for business and money, pizza and people, but in recent years the most populated city in America has become a center where tech companies are finding their groove. This infographic by our friends at GPlus takes a detailed look at the culture developing in New York surrounding start-ups. Check it out and see how many have planted more than apple seeds in the northeast. …

Michael Arrington and Techcrunch have been called many things by many people over the years. They have a tendency to push towards the controversial side of tech reporting. They are fearless, sometimes obnoxious, and generally loved or hated, depending on which side of the fence you’re on. They’ve also been called disruptive, and thus their tech-startup extravaganza every years goes by the name “Disrupt”. Can they pick winners? As this graphic by our friends at Namesake shows, it can be argued that they have a sense for what’s going to work and what will fail. While predicting the success of startups…

Building a startup represents the 21st century equivalent of the “American Dream.” It’s not a direct comparison, as it has become a global endeavor and it’s also much harder to break in than it was in the early parts of the 20th century when “the dream” was really first born. What does it take? What are they doing right or wrong? How can they succeed? This graphic by our friends at Focus takes us through the various challenges and pitfalls associated with starting a tech company. Click to enlarge. …