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Jared Heyman took a break"a long one"from the company he founded. To everyone's surprise, both he and the company thrived.

Here's how two companies turned B-List star power into A-List promotions. Paying a celebrity thousands of dollars to promote your company in 140 characters or fewer may seem crazy.

Recently, the free service rolled out a variety of services for businesses, including the ability to run specials designed to attract and retain customers. Launched in 2009 , Foursquare now boasts some 10 million users eager to let their friends know when they have "checked in" to a hip new store or favorite restaurant.

Want to go viral?

How Sweet Spot, a hair removal salon, used Blue Calypso's word-of-mouth solution to generate sales and repeat clients, something LivingSocial had failed to do. The Company: The Sweet Spot, a Dallas hair removal salon that specializes in sugaring, an alternative to waxing The Goal: Attract customers to the newly opened salon The Execution: The Sweet Spot's founder, Erin Cox, noticed links to products and services on her friends' Facebook Walls that looked a lot like promotions. She followed the links and realized they all originated from Blue Calypso, a mobile marketing platform through which businesses reward people for sharing ads via Twitter, Facebook, or text message.

Navigation, thanks to a bunch of innovations, is about to get futuristic in a way Star Trek's Mr. Chekov would be impressed with ..

Fast Company is tracking developments in the increasingly intense competition between Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon to show just how fast the big four are creeping into each others' spaces. Here's what changed in the 30 days since we published The Great Tech War of 2012 . Check back often

Movember cofounder Adam Garone describes how to grow a massive charitable community by bringing the fun. Adam Garone never thought a silly beer-fueled bet to grow a mustache would turn into a multi-million-dollar global charity and the largest non-governmental funder of prostate cancer research. Seven years later, Movember expects more than 600,000 men to ask their friends to contribute donations in exchange for growing an artful caterpillar lip in the annual Movember mustache challenge, which starts Nov.

It can take a bit more than a 30-second elevator pitch to understand Kaggle , a new Silicon Valley startup founded by 28-year-old Australian Anthony Goldbloom. After all, it's not selling anything, creating another social network, or peddling yet another useless app.

It can take a bit more than a 30-second elevator pitch to understand Kaggle , a new Silicon Valley startup founded by 28-year-old Australian Anthony Goldbloom. After all, it's not selling anything, creating another social network, or peddling yet another useless app

It can take a bit more than a 30-second elevator pitch to understand Kaggle , a new Silicon Valley startup founded by 28-year-old Australian Anthony Goldbloom. After all, it's not selling anything, creating another social network, or peddling yet another useless app

Despite a drop in venture capital investment in the third quarter, venture capitalist Jeff Bussgang says he is seeing a surge in entrepreneurial activity. Total dollars invested through venture capital dropped 12 percent in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the previous quarter, according to an October report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the National Venture Capital Association. While the venture capital market is up so far this year relative to 2010, the drop-off in the third quarter is likely related to the general uncertainty in financial markets.

Despite a drop in venture capital investment in the third quarter, venture capitalist Jeff Bussgang says he is seeing a surge in entrepreneurial activity. Total dollars invested through venture capital dropped 12 percent in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the previous quarter, according to an October report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the National Venture Capital Association

Despite a drop in venture capital investment in the third quarter, venture capitalist Jeff Bussgang says he is seeing a surge in entrepreneurial activity. Total dollars invested through venture capital dropped 12 percent in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the previous quarter, according to an October report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers and the National Venture Capital Association

Game maker--and game changer-- Sifteo is building the future of play by incorporating the best of its past, combining the interactive nature of video games with the hands-on feel of timeless classics like dominoes, chess, and the Rubik's Cube.