The Davos Gang Makes Us Look Smart

Tweet

The World Economic Forum—the non-profit best known for it's annual star-studded gathering in Davos, Switzerland—just named the winners of it's 2009 Technology Pioneers competition, an annual innovation award. Etsy, the online market for handmade goods, and Mint.com, the personal finance website, were among the honorees. Coincidentally enough, both companies' founders—Rob Kalin of Etsy and Aaron Patzer of Mint—were among the up-and-coming entrepreneurs we featured in our October cover story. (Kalin appeared on the cover.) The honors are well-deserved. Etsy is a revolutionary company that combines the power of e-commerce and social networks with the ancient idea of craftsmanship. And Mint offers a powerful way for people to keep track of their finances—a worthy goal in our debt ridden society.

Senior contributing writer Max Chafkin has profiled companies such as Yelp, Zappos, Twitter, Threadless, and Tesla for the magazine. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. @chafkin