On HealthMarket, Mr. Wiggins's start-up, consumers can get information, including professional profiles of doctors, fees and full charges for dozens of treatments.
Unlike Web start-ups, consumer stocks are often established companies generating cash and profits.
"Any organisations have abilities to produce something innovative," says Takuma Iwasa, founder of start-up consumer electronics firm Cerevo, which is one of the main tenants of the makerspace in Akihabara.
But around midyear, gasoline prices started to go up, consumer confidence started to wane and restructuring efforts, which Detroit seemed serious about, slowed down.
This move by Frank & Oak goes further than simply opening stores, but actually puts the onus on consumers to start up that conversation.
The U.S. mobile operators' empire of controlling content, distribution, and policy suffered its biggest blow in 2007, when Apple introduced the iPhone, which was one of the first devices in the U.S. where consumers did not start up on a carrier-owned device screen.
Pathway Genomics, a San Diego start-up, directed consumers through the ads to a toll-free number, where a customer service rep linked them to a panel of physicians, who ordered the test.
Steve Nash, the basketball star, is the other managing partner of Consigliere, which plans to invest in start-ups of consumer product companies.
Margaret Ryan has worked with venture capitalists and start-ups covering consumer tech, fashion tech and ecommerce.
Fast-forward to today, and Atolla is gearing up to start shipping to consumers in February.
Enter Enliken, a start-up that encourages consumers to sell their own data.
