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Watch out, Netflix. YouTube is for you — or at least, it’s trying to do it.
Last October, YouTube announced YouTube Red , a subscription service for US customers that offers ad-free video, offline viewing, and free access to Google Play Music — all for just $9.99 a month. Now, YouTube is sweetening success with series original content its own, created in part with homegrown YouTube stars.
The move marks YouTube’s biggest attempt to compete with premium content-focused subscription services like Netflix and Hulu. But if YouTube Red’s ad-free model succeeds, it could have a huge impact on marketers. Let’s see why.
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Releases in the past few weeks include Lilly Singh’s documentary Trip to Unicorn Island the reality series by PewDiePie Scare PewDiePie AwesomenessTV’s movie Dance Camp, and the movie Rooster Teeth Laser Group – with other expected to come from YouTube Creators next year.
Based on the first round of shows and movies, it looks like YouTube wants to entice viewers who are already loyal to these video creators and are willing to pay for exclusive content. That’s not a bad idea; These creators generally have tens of millions of subscribers. But given that these viewers are largely millennial and millennial, the model might make others uninterested in spending $10 a month on new content produced by the people they love. never known before.
To put that into perspective, The average age of Hulu’s ad-free content subscribers is 33, which seems higher than YouTube Red’s content target audience. Also of note: Users on Netflix and Hulu don’t need to be familiar with previously published content to fully appreciate original shows.
As Digiday reported, it is it’s too early to let know the impact of YouTube Red’s initial subscriptions on the video platform, but it would be interesting to see if they release any numbers based on this new original content.
Interrupt pre-roll ads
As of now, marketers have largely supported YouTube by buying pre-roll ads, but YouTube Red could disrupt this pattern. If consumers are used to watching ad-free videos from their favorite creators, they may lose their tolerance for watching videos that are promoted by pre-roll ads.
Specifically, if Generation Z-ers and millennials start signing up for YouTube Red and watching less free content, that could hinder marketers from reaching them. In September, YouTube’s director of product management told Advertising age Product video views grew 40 percent from 2014 to 2015. And throughout the last year, YouTube continued to evolve its ad products, providing brands with new call-to-action buttons that help with shopping. easier. According to Adweek , some brands are already starting to get dramatic results from the changes. For example, Sephora has seen an 80 percent increase in brand consideration and a 54 percent increase in brand awareness.
YouTube brings billions of dollars advertising revenue each year. There’s certainly a chance YouTube Red could undermine that source of income.
Right now, the biggest argument as to why YouTube Red can be successful is because, unlike other original video providers, it has a built-in network of creators who know themselves. exactly what works on the platform. While brands won’t be able to rely on advertising, they can still try to get involved in the content creation process.
If YouTube prioritizes original content, the next step could be for brands to create their own shows for YouTube Red. Over the past few years, companies have become more ambitious in producing their own branded web series their on YouTube with varying degrees of success. It’s hard to predict whether a digital video will succeed, but at the very least, brands like Nike, McDonald’s, and Glacéau have shown the ability to create video content that can stand on its own without elaboration. public brand.
YouTube is not Netflix or Hulu yet…. But the fact that the popular free platform is experimenting with a paywall will be enough to keep marketers. And that must be a sign that it’s time to start thinking about new ways to reach YouTube’s massive audience.


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Apple CEO Tim Cook says he had to take a 'meat axe' to his notifications to reduce his screen time
Tim Cooksaid he had to take "a meat axe" to his iPhone notificationsto cut back on screen time.
AppleCEO discussed his iPhoneusage during an interview on the "Outside Podcast" this week.
- "I started asking myself, why do I need all these notifications? Why do I really need this? Do I really need to understand things in the moment that they're happening?" Cook said.
- Apple's screen time feature, launched in 2018, tracks how much time users spend on their phones every day and on which applications.
Tim Cook said he had to cut down on his iPhone notifications after realizing how much screen time he was clocking every day.
The Apple CEO discussed screen time during an interview with Michael Roberts on the "Outside Podcast" this week. Cook didn't reveal the exact number of hours he was spending on his iPhone every day, but said it was "very high." The realization led him to make some changes to his settings, he said.
"My estimates versus the reality were very different," Cook said. "I started asking myself, why do I need all these notifications? Why do I really need this? Do I really need to understand things in the moment that they're happening?"
Cook said he decided to take "a meat axe" to the app notifications that were grabbing his attention in order to "free me up to do other things," he said.
Read more: The battle between Facebook and Apple over privacy is about more than just ads - it's about the future of how we interact with tech
Apple debuted its screen time feature in 2018 as part of its new iPhone operating system, iOS 12. The tool allows users to track how much time they're spending on their phone every day and on which
For parents, there are parental control features that allow for setting time limits on apps and blocking certain sites (though many teens have figured out ways around these limits).
Cook said on the podcast that Apple's goal is not to have its users spend more time using its devices and that its business model isn't set up to profit off people clicking around on their phones.
"We do not want people using our products too much," Cook said. "We want to create them in such a way people get the most out of them in short periods of time to free themselves up to do whatever it is that they want to do."
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is privately reassuring developers using the company's tech that it won't compete with them beyond ChatGPT
- The crowd at the unveiling of Apple's Vision Pro headset let out a collective groan when they found out how wildly expensive it was
- My twin and I were in separate classrooms in school. Our joint math lesson made me realize how silly that was.
- Dalal Street set for a sustained upswing as RBI interest rates peak
- Workplace toxicity is common but not enough gets recorded, say HR veterans
- Sensex, Nifty50 likely to open on a tepid note amid mixed global cues: Adani group, Torrent Power, Mazagon Dock among stocks to watch
- These midcap stocks can be the next multibaggers, according to Goldman Sachs
- Auto and BFSI seen driving India Inc’s earnings growth this financial year

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N2 Publishing Franchise News
Browse the latest corporate news from N2 Publishing .
N2 Publishing recently ranked #5 on the Fast-Growing Franchises for 2019 list by Entrepreneur.
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Li & Fung Restructures
May 16, 2005,
Li & Fung USA has re-aligned its operation into a Home Brands Group and an Apparel Brands Group.
In additional, Scott Maddalene has been promoted to senior vice president for the Cannon and Cannon Royal Family brands. He had previously been vice president of global brand development for Cannon Brands. His career includes turns at WestPoint Stevens as vice president of bed merchandising and managing director for WestPoint Stevens Europe.
Lou Casali, senior vice president for the Royal Velvet brand, now reports to Toolan.
In addition, Ron Ventricelli has been promoted to executive vice president of operations. He will oversee financial, customer services and all operating issues related to the Global Brand Business Group. Ventricelli, Toolan and the new executive vice president of the Apparel Brands Group, Robert Crocco, all report to Rick Darling, president of Li & Fung USA.
“By creating this new management structure, we are in a better position to pursue our goal of adding great consumer brands,” said Darling. “Additionally, with Ron's experience in finance and operations, we will be able to execute and operate a more efficient back-end process.”
Related Content By Author
Live From New York: Fashion Comes Across the Pond
Home & Textiles Today eDaily


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Shri Deora calls upon state Governments to bring down High rates of VAT on Petrol Diesel ; replace Ad-valorem Levies by Specific ones
High VAT rates by some states ON PDS Kerosene needs review in view of lighting and cooking usage by the common man
Shri Murli Deora Deora, Minister of Petroleum and natural gas has called upon the State Governments to reduce and rationalize Sales Tax / VAT on Petrol and Diesel. In a letter to the CMs of various State Governments he said that a rise in the international oil prices exerts an upward pressure on domestic prices of petroleum products. “Ad valorem rates of VAT imposed by the State Governments further aggravates the impact of international oil prices on the consumer,” Shri Deora added.
The Minister underscored the commitment of the Central Government to ensuring supply of essential fuels to the common man at affordable rates. “To achieve this objective, the Central Government has provided financial assistance of Rs.26,000 crore to the public sector OMCs, while the upstream oil PSUs have contributed Rs.14,430 crore towards under-recoveries of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) during 2009-10.,” Shri Deora said.
Enclosing a statement of VAT rates in different States, the Minister pointed out that the VAT rates are very high in most of the States, and need to be reduced. In some of the States, the VAT on Petrol and Diesel is as high as 33% and 24.7% respectively. Further, he said, in the current taxation structure, VAT is levied by the State Governments on an ad valorem basis, i.e., as a percentage of the price of the product. This means that when oil prices are high, the taxation on the products is higher, rendering the product even more expensive. At a time of rising prices, ad valorem taxes have a cascading impact on the retail price of petroleum products. “To address this issue, the ad valorem component of the VAT can be converted into a specific component, at the current levels,” Shri Deora suggested.
The Minister informed that the Central Government has already done away with the ad valorem component of Excise Duty on Petrol and Diesel, and the Excise Duty has been made specific. It is desirable that the State Governments also undertake similar tax rationalization on Petrol and Diesel. “Also, some of the States are levying high VAT rates on a product like PDS Kerosene, which needs to be looked into in view of its usage in lighting and cooking purposes by the common man,” he emphasised
Urging an early action on the part of State Governments, Shri Deora asked the CMs to have this subject reviewed at your level at an early date so that the much-needed tax reform can be implemented. Levying specific VAT rates instead of at ad valorem rates will help cushion the effect of rise in international oil prices. “While I appreciate your need for revenue mobilization, the current high levels of local taxes on petroleum products are clearly unsustainable, if we are to protect the interests of the consumers, particularly the vulnerable sections of society,” the Minister stressed.


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It all started with a comment made by designing duo Dolce & Gabbana in an Italian interview last weekend about children born via IVF. In response, one of the biggest starts in the world, Sir Elton John, turned to Instagram to vent his anger at the designers about their comments. It quickly turned into one of the biggest celebrity PR spats on social media for quite a while, leading Sir Elton to call for a boycott of Italian luxury fashion house designers Dolce & Gabbana, and the dispute seemed to be getting worse.
Several well known celebrities (many of whom Sir Elton would regard as personal friends) have backed his campaign to boycott the fashion brand and taken to social media to lend their support using the hashtag #BoycottDolceGabbana. The likes of Victoria Beckham, Ricky Martin and Courtney Love have all declared their support with the latter stating she wants to: ‘round up all my Dolce & Gabbana pieces, I want to burn them.’ She isn’t the only one willing to get rid of her expensive designer wear with Martina Navratilova declaring: ‘My D&G shirts are going in the bin – don’t want ANYONE to wear them.’
The story, which trended on Twitter since the hashtag was created, doesn’t seem to be going away. By the Tuesday, two days after Sir Elton’s Instagram mention, it had been reported that apparently 1,500 people tweeted #BoycottEltonJohn, whereas the hashtag, #SupportDolceGabbana, received 2,700 tweets. However, both pale in comparison to #BoycottDolceGabbana which has been used more than 30,000 times.
Such is the power and pace of social media that a story can now escalate beyond control quickly with retweets, hashtags and sharing all adding to the mix. After all, a quick look online, and there are many alarming stories of how celebrities and non-celebrities have fallen in deep trouble in the hands of social media. One wrong tweet or message on social media and their lives as they know are over ….none more so than Justine Sacco, a PR executive who sent out an ill fated tweet to her 170 followers before boarding an 11 hour flight. The initial tweet was continually retweeted creating further damage and it soon cost the lady her job and lifestyle.
With so many celebrities declaring their unequivocal support for Sir Elton, is there anyone left in the show business world that would dare wear Dolce & Gabbana in the future? Has the brand, built since the design duo first showed their collection in October 1985, alienated its cash rich customers in one fell swoop?
The Italian’s PR team will now be working in a ‘damage control’ context before the brand is eradicated and hoping the story can be managed. But with so many saying they will no longer wear the brand, they face an uphill challenge.
However, just before we were ready to post our blog this week, pictures emerged today of Sir Elton carrying a D&G bag with many asking whether the boycott was already over? We are confused as everyone else but are sure Sir Elton’s PR will explain all with a well versed statement shortly …..watch this space!http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2999023/Elton-John-seen-LA-holding-Dolce-Gabbana-shopping-bag.html


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Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions, announced today that PayActiv will enhance employee financial wellness by streamlining access to earned wages with money movement capabilities from Fiserv.
PayActiv’s mission is to bring security, dignity and savings to American workers. It allows businesses to provide employees with a holistic financial wellness solution that includes real-time access to up to one half of their earned wages prior to receiving their paycheck, helping workers alleviate financial stress by avoiding payday loans, overdraft charges and late fees.
The company processed more than $1 billion in earned wage access for workers nationwide during 2018.
The Expectations & Experiences consumer trends survey conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Fiserv found that 30 percent of consumers consider managing money to be a burden and that 38 percent of consumers – and half of millennials – say it would be difficult or impossible to pay back a $500 loan today.
“Many people live paycheck to paycheck, and any sort of urgent or unexpected financial need can cause them significant stress that detracts from their daily lives,” said Safwan Shah, CEO, PayActiv. “PayActiv can eliminate that stress by giving people a convenient way to access the money they have already earned.”
Timely access to pay addresses the needs of any worker, including gig and hourly workers, who can benefit significantly from the ability to move money when and where it is needed, even at 3 a.m.
“With the rise of the gig economy and new ways of working, people increasingly expect to be able to access their pay right away,” said Tom Allanson, president, Electronic Payments, Fiserv. “PayActiv is enabling employers to meet that expectation.”
PayActiv utilizes Digital Disbursements from Fiserv* to enable users to move money in real time to a U.S. checking or savings account via a direct push to their card account. While users have always been able to send money to bank accounts, the process could take a few days. Now, with a connection to Visa Direct via Digital Disbursements, users can move money to their bank accounts in near real time, usually in minutes.
PayActiv users can transfer funds directly to a bank account or prepaid card, pay unlimited online bills, or pick up cash at a Walmart location. The PayActiv app also includes access to financial counseling, literacy, and a savings tool that encourages long-term financial wellness.
Earned wage access can set an employer apart in competitive employment environments, and business owners benefit from more empowered and productive workers, as well as increased retention.
“We can serve a business with five employees or 2 million employees,” said Shah. “The majority of Americans are employed by small businesses, so it’s important for us to be able to reach the entire market.”
PayActiv was confident in choosing Fiserv because they knew Fiserv could handle their current volume and scale as PayActiv grows.
PayActiv is offered by employers as a benefit to employees. Nearly 500 businesses in a range of industries including healthcare, retail, and hospitality, offer PayActiv. While the service is available to all employees, use of the service is voluntary, with 30 to 40 percent of an employers’ eligible users typically using the service.
In a world moving faster than ever before, Fiserv helps clients deliver solutions in step with the way people live and work today – financial services at the speed of life. Learn more at fiserv.com.
*Digital Disbursement services are provided by or through CheckFreePay Corporation (NMLS ID# 908760), a licensed money transmitter, and/or its affiliate CheckFreePay Corporation of New York, which is licensed and regulated as a Money Transmitter by the New York State Department of Financial Services, each a wholly owned subsidiary of Fiserv, Inc.


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Mid-South Food Bank locating in Batesville
Published 12:45 pm Thursday, May 7, 2020
Mid-South Food Bank has leased 35,000 square feet of warehouse space in Batesville to be used as a satellite location for distributing food to its partner agencies in North Mississippi.
The Food Bank services 18 counties in North Mississippi including Panola. The warehouse is located at 875 Hwy. 51 S., at the rear of the existing building.
Cathy Pope, president & CEO at Mid-South Food Bank, said the addition of the warehouse in Batesville will make possible a 20 percent increase in the Food Bank’s distribution in North Mississippi or approximately 5,531,000 pounds of food per year, the equivalent of more than 4.6 million meals for people struggling with food insecurity and hunger.
“We are so excited about the opportunity to have a strategic location in Batesville to better serve our north Mississippi counties,” Pope said. “We hope it will make it possible for us to access even more food for the partner agencies that depend on us to serve their clients.”
Mid-South Food Bank plans to hire a warehouse manager and two warehouse associates immediately, with positions for truck drivers coming at a later date. They will also be purchasing warehouse equipment and supplies from local vendors, as much as possible, Pope added.
“We are delighted to be in Batesville. The people we’ve met have been so friendly and easy to work with and the town is just charming,” she said. “We are glad this all worked out for the Food Bank and for our agencies.”
Mid-South Food Bank plans to keep an average inventory of about 540,000 pounds of food, including refrigerated and frozen food in approximately 2,900 cubic feet of space. Food will be procured through the Food Bank’s network of food donors and vendors, and restricted for distribution in North Mississippi only. Partner food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other agencies will be able to pick up food orders at the facility or arrange for delivery, the same as they are now doing from the Food Bank’s 150,000 square-foot facility in Memphis. The Food Bank currently partners with nearly 80 agencies and Mobile Pantry sites in their 18 counties, including the South Panola Food Pantry and the Boys & Girls Club of the Mississippi Delta in Batesville.
Mid-South Food Bank serves the following counties in North Mississippi: Panola, Tunica, Coahoma, Quitman, Tate, Tunica, Union, Marshall, Lafayette, Prentiss, Pontotoc, Lee, Monroe, Tishomingo, Itawamba, DeSoto, Benton and Tippah.


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AOC walks picket line with striking New York workers
New York, New York – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez skipped the glitz of President Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday to walk on a chilly picket line with striking workers at the Hunts Point Food Market in her home borough of the Bronx.
"We have to support them in their demands for a better life," Ocasio-Cortez said.
The firebrand lawmaker used a bullhorn to rile up the crowd of workers rallying for a $1-an-hour wage hike and better health benefits.
Earlier in the day, AOC headed to the sprawling Costco supermarket to buy hot chocolate and Bustelo coffee to help keep the members of the Teamsters union warm as they walk the picket line.
More than 1,400 union workers started picketing Tuesday after voting Sunday to go on strike at the sprawling Bronx market, which supplies about half of the city’s produce.
Chanting workers tried to block trucks and cars from getting into the market early Thursday morning.
Even before AOC showed up, the strike had already attracted the support of Representative Ritchie Torres and mayoral wannabes Maya Wiley and Andrew Yang.
It’s the first strike in 35 years at the lucrative fresh fruit and vegetable hub, and if the walkout continues for long, it could have a serious impact on produce supplies in the five boroughs.
Workers make between $18 and $21 an hour. Management is offering a $0.33 an hour pay hike.
Cover photo: imago images / UPI Photo


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Apple treasurer, Gary Wipfler, retires after working for 35 years. He handled Apple’s 200 billion dollars’ money pile, as well as other financial activities.
Being Apple treasurer, he managed the company’s cash balance, investments, etc. At a certain stage, he was a fixture on the company’s trimestral earnings calls, too.
The Tenure of Wipfler
Till the time Wipfler worked at Apple, he covered many of the company’s CEOs. Wipfler even worked at the company before the return of Steve Jobs in 1997. While Tim Cook became the CEO, Wipfler participated in a shift in the company’s money plan that entailed dedicating more cash to share buybacks and dividend programs. Remarkably, the company’s plan regressed from key achievements.
Apart from being Apple treasurer, Wipfler too assisted in managing Braeburn Capital, a company’s subsidiary that handles assets of Apple. It was entailed in racial justice and affordable house efforts of Apple. Till his departure, Wipfler answered Luca Maestri (Chief Financial Officer).
The company finished the second quarter of this year with 194 billion dollars in cash and securities. It has been functioning to lessen its balance as it tries to level its amount of cash and dues.
Bloomberg sources initially reported the retirement of Apple treasurer. However, neither the executive nor the company has confirmed the news to date. As per Wipfler’s LinkedIn page, he started working at Apple in 1986, a couple of years following the introduction of the first Macintosh and a year after Steve Jobs left the company.
The Bloomberg, as per the report, the director has silently chosen to retire from his job recently.
Huge Pile of Cash
The cash and investments of Apple initially surpassed 200 billion dollars in the financial year ended in 2015. As of then, it has aggressively attempted to bestow it. It has also declared strategies recently for billions in capital outlays. It is too increasing its stock buyback program by 90 billion dollars.
The company at the moment has 195.57 billion cash on hand, as per their financial first-quarter earnings. Apple has constantly organized on the biggest cash pile among the companies in the United States. Still, it is undergoing pressure from the global pandemic. It says that it will persist in purchasing its stock back during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In addition, it has authorized a rise of 50 billion dollars in the company’s share repurchase plan, as well as a bonus of 0.82 dollars a share. In 2019 fiscal, Apple spent 67.1 billion dollars repurchasing shares and 14.1 billion dollars on bonuses.
Apple’s retail stores across every part of the globe, excluding China, and Korea, are shut until further notice. Yet, the company has carried on to unveiling new products in its second quarter, among indications of a worldwide financial slowdown.
The company reported that the revenue of its iPhone product was down 7 percent over the year, even if that was partially spanned by a 16 percent increase in services revenue. Full revenue progression for the quarter declined from 9 percent to 0.5 percent a quarter before.
However, the opportunity cost of having so much money is incredibly enormous. Apple carries on to print cash quicker than it can eliminate it. A 1.62 percent return on 204 billion dollars is only 3.3 billion yearly. Placing that big sum of cash to better usage could be very gainful. The same amount invested in the company’s stock a year ago would have led to a profit of 174 billion dollars.
Investors are too planning for a big leap in buybacks. S&P Global Market Intelligence says that S&P 500 companies have invested 130 billion dollars in getting their shares back in the 4th quarter of the previous year. The companies in the US gave out only 192.3 billion dollars in debt in March.
Tim cook purchased a New property
The Chief Executive Officer of Apple, Tim Cook, has bought a property worth 10 million dollars. The property is about 920 square feet, located in posh residential society in La Quinta, CA.
The property is comprised of 6 bathrooms, 5 bedrooms. This residential society is home to celebrities like Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Lori Loughlin, Mossimo Giannulli, Cindy Crawford, and Phil Knight.


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The identical twin brothers, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss popularly known as the Winklevoss twins. $65 million awarded $65 in 2004. When they used the Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. For stealing their ConnectU idea to create Facebook. The suit alleged that Zuckerberg copied their idea and had illegally used the source code intended for the website. While they were at university.
The Winklevoss brothers were born in Southampton, New York. They raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. Howard Winklevoss, father to the twins was an adjunct professor of actuarial science. At the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the author of Pension Mathematics with Numerical Illustrations and the founder of Winklevoss Consultants and Winklevoss Technologies.
The twins competed in the Oxford Cambridge boat race and also in the Olympics. Before moving forward to study economics at Harvard. They attended an elite private school in Connecticut that counts George HW Bush among its alumni.
ConnectU and Facebook
ConnectU, a website which was initially called Harvard Connection, was a social networking website. Winklevoss twins alongside Divya Narendra, Winston Williams, and Wayne Chang created that. And the founder of i2hub back in December of the year 2002.
At Harvard University, the twins asked some computer science students to create a website for them. They called the website Harvard Connection. Among computer science, students were Mark Zuckerberg who was three years their junior and already involved in a networking project of his own.
ConnectU users were being placed in networks based on the domain names, that is linked with their email addresses. On the network, they could add friends, send messages and update their personal profiles.
When Zuckerberg launched “Facebook” in the year 2004.
The Winklevoss twins claimed that their website was being reflected in it, and sued Zuckerberg. Many say litigation is a big part of the problem for the Winklevoss brothers. They spent four years suing Mark Zuckerberg. And during that time, the other Winklevoss websites and their online businesses launched and expanded. One hundred million people also signed up to Facebook during that time.
Neither the Winklevoss twins nor Mark Zuckerberg had a genuinely original idea at the time of launching ConnectU as Open Diary first recognizable social network online since 1998. After the lawsuit, Zuckerberg, the student. That they never paid to fix their website gave them $65m including $45m in stock to leave him alone. They responded to this by using him again but that was unsuccessful. They then went on to sue their own lawyers.
Ben Mezrich wrote The Accidental Billionaires in (2009). Later on, it was directed by David Fincher as The Social Network and the twins were played by a digitally replicated Armie Hammer. In Ben Mezrich’s new book, he tells the story of what the “Winklevi” did next.
The Winklevoss twins and Bitcoin.
Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto as a decentralized digital currency, that can not be counterfeited and also requires no central bank. After the creation of Bitcoin, Nakamoto has since disappeared and has never been conclusively identified.
For the Winklevoss twins what might have been part of what attracted them to Bitcoin was that there would be no Zuckerberg and so they bought everything they could. They also invested in a Bitcoin trading business called BitInstant. BitInstant is a Bitcoin payment processor, an investment round of seed funding where the twins raised $1.5 million dollars.
The Winklevoss twins moved to become so invested in Bitcoin that they attended meetings on private jets and started speaking at Bitcoin conferences while having dinner with Richard Branson. Bitcoins value continued to grow. Not just because of their efforts. But also because it offered a way to pay for things anonymously. Which was convenient for a lot of people.
Before the emergence of cryptocurrencies, when people wanted to carry out illegal transactions on the internet such as buying drugs or weapons or illegal pornography. They would at some point have to use a payment method that is able to successfully identify them. Bitcoin, however, is able to conceal an estimated $76bn of illegal activities each year. It has also reportedly been proven to facilitate illegal activities such as money laundering, people trafficking, cybercrimes and many more.
Facebook’s Mobile payments ambition
The Winklevoss twins has been continually rumored that Facebook is building a cryptocurrency. Which will allow it’s up to two billion users worldwide to be able to send money to each other.
They have a feature is most likely to be used through WhatsApp and was confirmed at Facebook’s annual developer conference by Mark Zuckerberg where he stated the company’s ambition in mobile payments.
Though he didn’t reveal much, Zuckerberg at the conference. Said that payments are one of the areas where they have an opportunity to make it a lot easier. He also said that he believes it should be as easy to send money to someone as it is to send a photo to someone.
As reported by the Financial Times, this secretive crypto effort is moving at a serious pace. Though people familiar with the project have said that Zuckerberg has already met with two major cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase and Gemini Trust, owned by the Winklevoss twins to discuss his interest in the industry.
Gemini Trust was successfully launched by the Winklevoss twins in 2015 after a few investment failures and regulatory rejections when they were exploring the field of venture capital with a particular interest in cryptocurrencies. Also reported by The Financial Times, Zuckerberg has talked to Jump and DRM. Which are Chicago’s biggest high-frequency trading firms, about creating a market for their digital coins?


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For a growing number of Internet retailers, offline is the new online. Across the country, retailers that existed only in cyberspace are now opening - or thinking of opening - traditional stores at a time when e-commerce's explosive growth has spawned a slew of dire predictions that bricks-and-mortar retailing will become irrelevant or even extinct.
For a growing number of Internet retailers, offline is the new online.
Across the country, retailers that existed only in cyberspace are now opening — or thinking of opening — traditional stores at a time when e-commerce’s explosive growth has spawned a slew of dire predictions that bricks-and-mortar retailing will become irrelevant or even extinct.
Online giant Amazon is actively exploring a store concept. Specialty retailers such as Warby Parker, which sells eyeware, and Bonobos, a men’s clothing company, already operate stores.
In Minnesota’s Twin Cities area, Sigma Beauty, a fast-growing, 4-year-old online makeup retailer, recently opened its first outlet — at the Mall of America.
“I feel that everything we’ve done with this company was backward,” said Simone Xavier, who launched Sigma with her husband, Rene Xavier Filho. “But we wanted to put a face on the brand, and we wanted people to touch and feel the product.”
Moving from websites to storefronts might seem counterintuitive, as online retailers enjoy lower costs than bricks-and-mortar chains such as Best Buy and Target, which have to pay store leases and hire salespeople. And more and more shoppers are buying products online, using their laptops, smartphones or tablets.
For the first three months of 2013, e-commerce sales jumped 13 percent, to $50.2 billion compared to the same period a year ago, according to comScore. The double-digit growth in online sales often has come at the expense of physical retailers, which is why companies such as Best Buy and Target are spending millions of dollars to upgrade their websites and mobile software.
But today’s retailers will gladly record a sale any way they can get it, said Jeff Green, a Phoenix-based retail consultant.
“It is strange to see e-commerce sites open physical stores,” Green said. “But when you think about it, it’s not surprising. The most successful retailers are going to have a combination of bricks-and-mortars and digital sales. For online retailers, you might as well get to the sale as close as you can.”
Bricks-and-mortar retailing may seem outdated, but the physical store still offers a credible and safe place for customers to examine the product, ask questions, buy and, if necessary, return it.
“It’s about taking the risk out of buying,” said Steven Dennis, a retail consultant and a former top executive with Neiman Marcus and Sears. That’s especially true of certain products like clothing, shoes, handbags and eyeglasses, for which consumers still prefer real store interaction to a purely digital experience.
In some cases, consumers may think a deal is too good to be true. For example, Warby Parker markets itself as a place where consumers purchase designer eyeglasses for as low as $95. That low a price might prompt shoppers to suspect there must be a catch — either the product is poorly made or the website is a scam altogether. Opening a store would help alleviate those fears, Dennis said.
But don’t expect online retailers to completely shed their digital roots. It’s one thing to open one experimental store in a suburban shopping center to showcase products; quite another to operate dozens of stores in big malls or large cities, which requires money and expertise that often are beyond the reach of Internet firms.
“If you’re going to a high-traffic area and paying a decent amount of rent, it puts the pressure on you to know what you are doing,” Dennis said.
Take Sigma Beauty. Founded in 2009, the New Brighton, Minn.-based Internet makeup retailer quickly grew, thanks to its international reach and deft use of social media such as YouTube. The company expects to generate $25 million in sales this year compared with $18 million in 2012.
Opening a store wasn’t part of the original plan, Xavier said. “The cost of maintaining and building the store is humongous. I was very hesitant.”
Added Filho: “Financially, it doesn’t make any sense. You’re going to lose $1,000 per day.”
But when the couple learned of available space at the Mall of America, they quickly jumped on it.


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By FWi staff
THE demand for ruminant straights – which reached record levels at the start of March surprised many suppliers – has created a shortage throughout the UK.
Values for imported maize gluten rose £4 this week to £105/t on the back of tight supplies. “You cant buy maize gluten anywhere,” said David Clark of KW Alternative Feeds.
A boat is due in tomorrow (Thursday), but this will only cover orders that are already existing, he said.
More is due in later this month, but prices are likely to remain very expensive until April, noted Mr Clark.
Rapeseed meal was the biggest climber of the week, with home-produced rapeseed rising £7 to £99/t. “Theres no rape to be had in the UK at all,” said one trader.
There is only one rapeseed seller, and his stocks are imported, said Mr Clark.
“The main crusher cant crush fast enough and prices are likely to stay at this level for the rest of the month.”
Soya-bean meal hi-pro climbed £3 to £130/t this week, while Brazilian 48% pellets rose £2 to £126/t. These price increases are due a current shortage from Brazil.
There are five to six commodities that have run out at present, noted Mr Clark. “The cold weather really surprised people. In previous years demand has fallen away at the start of March.”
But this year, if farmers want it, theyll have to pay for it, he said.


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Shares of Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) reached $150 for the first time Thursday.
This is proving to be Alibaba’s breakout year.
Alipay, the online payment platform for #Alibaba, will bid to acquire Snapdeal’s Freecharge. Snapdeal is based in India. Alipay will be bidding alongside Indian banks Axis Bank and Bank of Baroda, and India’s Paytm, an electronic payment company.
Among analysts covering the company, the mean price target is $166. However, analyst ratings are all over the map. Of two with $130 price targets, Guotai Junan Securities has a Buy rating on the stock, while Atlantic Equities has a Hold rating. Deutsche Bank Analyst Alan Hellawell has the highest target on the Street at $201. Meanwhile four analysts, including those at Raymond James and China Merchants Securities, have $190 price targets.


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It’s fairly known in the technology world that Apple and Samsung don’t always see eye to eye, occasionally taking a trip to court over patents or tech inside their individual units.
But it seems like all is fair in love and war, even if it means using the competition’s chips in your device – and that is exactly what the two companies will be doing.
According to Korean’s Maeil Business Newspaper, Apple and Samsung have reportedly signed a deal that would see Samsung supply Apple with processor chips for its next iPhone models. It’s not the first time that the companies have come to this agreement, as Samsung powered Apple’s iPhone 5s with the A7 SoC.
The South Korean newspaper said that Samsung would be responsible for around 75% of the chips – but it’s not because the two companies have suddenly kissed and made up.
The major reason why they opted to work together on the next iPhone, is because Samsung is one of the few companies that have the capacity to make chip in the large quantities that Apple require.
The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus doesn’t make use of any Samsung technology, as Apple signed an exclusive deal with TSMC for last year’s phones.
While neither company has officially commented on the matter, common sense should state that Apple will still design their own chips, while Samsung will be responsible for the fabrication thereof – or at least the wafers.
[Source – Reuters]


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U.S. Governor Exploring business and tourism possibilities for Americans to enjoy Cuba holidays
Sonny Perdue, Georgia's Governor took the chance to explore the Cuba holiday market in the prospect that one day it might be open for American travellers to enjoy. During his visit he met with official from Cuba's Chamber of Commerce.
During his recent visit to Cuba, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue took the opportunity to explore the Cuba holidays market once it’s open for Americans to enjoy. Gov. Perdue met Monday with officials from Cuba’s Chamber of Commerce and its food import company as part of a two-day visit to explore his state’s trade and future tourism possibilities in the island.
The Republican governor is leading a 43-member delegation that includes state lawmakers, port officials and representatives from agribusiness and the University of Georgia and hopes that once the Cuba travel and trade bans are lifted the option of taking Cuba holidays for Americans will be a 'profitable' dream (for tour operators and travel agents across both sides of the pond) come true.
The meetings were “as much about building a relationship with Cuban officials as learning about the business environment there,” spokesman Bert Brantley said when explaining how the future possibility of establishing stronger commercial ties seemed to be nearing its due date.
Perdue’s schedule did not include a meeting with President Raul Castro or his brother Fidel. Washington’s 48-year-old embargo currently prohibits most trade between the two countries. And yet sales of American food and farm items to Cuba have been allowed since 2000, and the U.S. has been the island’s main source of agricultural goods since 2004.
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Georgia ranks third among states in exports to Cuba, including nearly $16.3 million so far this year in goods such as poultry, soybeans, pork, sausage and margarine.
In a statement, Perdue said Georgia could one day be a hub for Cubans visiting the U.S. via Atlanta’s international airport (and viceversa - Georgians going on Cuba holidays) —although now it is hard to imagine droves of islanders holidaying in the U.S. since overseas Cuba travel requires expensive, often hard-to-obtain official permission.
However, U.S. tourism to Cuba — outlawed in most cases under a federal travel ban that bars American tourists from coming to the island — rose 24 % last year, according to Cuban government statistics posted online Monday.
The National Office of Statistics reported that more than 52,000 American tourists took "secret" Cuba holidays last year, with most presumably coming through third countries like Mexico, Canada and Jamaica, compared with about 42,000 in 2008. The statistics office shed no light on the explanation for the increase.
That figure does not include Cuban-Americans, who have been able to make unlimited trips to visit family on the island since the Obama administration eased restrictions in April 2008, allowing them to take more frequent Cuba holidays.
Visits by U.S. governors are fairly common, most recently by New Mexico’s Bill Richardson last August. Most duck questions about lifting the embargo since it is currently written into federal law.
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- Stay at two of Cuba’s most cutting edge hotels, bursting with modern comforts
- Relish an all-inclusive beach retreat, boasting an overabundance of facilities
- Explore Havana’s charismatic, timeless and bustling streets
A superb combination of great accommodation and exciting activities make this resort one of Cuba's hottest properties
- Enjoy a complimentary Cultural Presentation
- Previous winner of the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence, and ranked in the top 5 Hotels in Varadero
- Full range of Spa treatments for a more relaxing break, or a selection of water and land sports to choose from for the more active traveller
- Couples can benefit from a free bottle of sparkling wine and a romantic dinner for two, plus a 30 min massage per couple
A couples' special - enjoy the perfect mix of history, local culture and laidback beach retreat for the perfect romantic Cuban experience.
- Enjoy all kind of the Spa treatments, water and land sports at Blau Varadero
- Fantastic views to the ocean from the modern and elegant rooms with balcony or terrace
- The perfect location of Blau Varadero beside the pristine sandy beach
The unlimited heaven of tranquility in a perfect setting
- Iberostar Parque Central Hotel is a great base to discover Havana's historic Old Town.
- Activities throughout the day at Iberostar Varadero Hotel , including aerobics, archery, basketball, beach volleyball, football, kayaking and more.
- The luxurious 5 star accommodation ensures a comfortable adventure.
Soak up the history of Havana as well as the magnificence of Varadero beach on an unforgettable twin centre holiday to...
One of Havana’s most historically popular mafia-run hotels of the 50s, the Capri is a legendary property with over...
If you want to really feel Cuba's beating heart and pulsating rhythms, this is one of the best for an unforgettable...
This 1920s colonial house is surrounded by lush vegetation and terrace areas and boasts a stunning array of antiques,...
Look out onto the day to day life of Havana's streets from the Casa Santy's balconies, with its great location and a...


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Bitcoin Price Key Highlights
- Bitcoin price has been able to push for more gains but the rally is slowing as it approaches the all-time highs.
- Profit-taking could happen at this point, probably taking bitcoin down for a quick pullback or a larger correction.
- Technical indicators are giving mixed signals on the 4-hour time frame.
Bitcoin price is within striking distance of its record highs, so a quick bounce from profit-taking might be in the cards soon.
Technical Indicators Signals
The 100 SMA is above the longer-term 200 SMA so the path of least resistance is to the upside. This means that there’s a possibility of the resistance breaking and bitcoin price going for new record highs.
Stochastic is also pointing up to show that bullish momentum is in play, but the oscillator is closing in on the overbought region to signal rally exhaustion. RSI is already turning down from the overbought level to show that bearish pressure is kicking in, possibly taking bitcoin price back down to near-term support levels.
The moving averages could serve as inflection points around $4000-4200, which are also near a rising trend line connecting the lows of bitcoin price action towards the latter part of September. A steeper selloff could find support at the lows near $3000.
Dollar demand has taken another hit this week after the FOMC statement reflected a divide among Fed members, casting doubts that a December rate hike is in the cards. While many policymakers thought that another rate hike is appropriate, many also expressed concerns that the drags to inflation might not be transitory.
The attention now turns to the CPI and retail sales reports due on Friday as traders try to get a better idea of how inflation is faring. Stronger than expected figures could revive tightening hopes and dollar gains versus bitcoin price while disappointing figures could allow the cryptocurrency to advance.
Traders are also positioning ahead of the bitcoin upgrade in November as many believe that it might have a similar reaction to the August hard fork.


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Microsoft Opens Up Office To Other Cloud ServicesPosted: February 17, 2015
Microsoft has announced cloud storage integration for Office with other than their own cloud service. According to office.com, one of Redmond’s official blogs, in addition to OneDrive and Dropbox, you now have built in file integration for iPad and iPhone. They are also working on Android, Salesforce, Box and Citrix.
Patentlyapple.com reports that Apple has patented a video headset that you slide an iPhone or iPod into for the video. It has picture in picture, so you can still see your surroundings or view email and the like. It’s controlled by haptic touch and Siri.
Worldwide, 1.2 billion smartphones were sold last year, according to German analysts GfK, in a report picked up by tech crunch.com. That was a 23% increase, mainly powered by bigger screen models and South America. They see 14% growth this year, due to saturation of countries in Asia.


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The Los Angeles Times notified subscribers Monday that it is temporarily combining several of its newspaper sections, noting that most of its advertisers are unable to continue advertising.
In a letter emailed to readers, company executives noted that the work schedules at its printing and distribution facilities were being adjusted as the company takes additional precautions to ensure the health and safety of its workforce.
“With so many businesses in the region and around the world dealing with this crisis, most of our advertisers are unable to continue advertising, which makes your subscription and support of our journalism more important than ever,” the newspaper’s president and chief operating officer, Chris Argentieri, and executive editor Norman Pearlstine wrote in the letter.
The temporary changes include:
— in weekday papers: the main news and business sections being combined; California and sports sections being combined, with the Calendar remaining a stand-alone section;
— in Saturday papers: the main news and business sections being combined; California; sports; and the Saturday section with the newspaper’s lifestyle coverage; and
— in Sunday newspapers: the main news and business sections; California and sports; food; and Calendar and Arts & Books combined.


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This year, from 15 to 18 May, Solano Horizonte will feature interesting innovations incorporated to their machinery intended for the olive industry in this significant event.
The 40th edition of the prestigious International Fair of Agricultural Machinery FIMA 2018 will take place in Zaragoza from February 20 through 24.
We would like to thank all the people who visited our stand at DEMOAGRO 2017, where we exhibited the most representative agricultural machines of our 4 lines of products (soil working, sowing, spraying, olive and almond harvesters) and our new products for 2017.
We have the pleasure to inform you that will exhibit at DEMOAGRO 2017, that is organized by ANSEMAT and that will take place from May 9th to May 11th in San Clemente (Cuenca, Spain).
In last FIMA, which took place in Zaragoza from Feb 16th to Feb 20th, SOLANO HORIZONTE S.L. exhibited on a 320 m² stand the most representative products of its wide range of agricultural machinery (soil working, sowing, harvesting and spraying), and presented two new models in the seeder line:
As usual now, we exhibited at SOMMET DE L’ELEVAGE 2014, which welcomed 85.500 visitors and 1.302 exhibitors.


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Copper Cellar Corporation Provides Robust Payment Protection Solution
The Copper Cellar Corporation, which owns and operates 19 Copper Cellar, Calhoun's, Smoky Mountain Brewery, Cherokee Grill and Chesapeake's restaurants, will be serving more than quality dining and memorable experiences to its guests moving forward: it will also provide peace of mind with a robust payment protection solution.
The Copper Cellar Corporation recently installed TransactionVault™, Merchant Link's tokenization solution, and the Merchant Link Payment Gateway™ across all of their locations in Knoxville, Nashville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Maryville and Lenoir City.
"It's comforting to not have to worry about the security of our guests' credit card information," said Mike Gaston, vice president of information services for Copper Cellar Corporation. "The fact that it is not stored anywhere on our network is a huge relief."
The company chose to utilize these solutions to safeguard customer's sensitive payment data and remove it from the premise to ensure that it is transmitted safely and effectively while reducing their PCI DSS compliance footprint.
The Merchant Link Payment Gateway sends payments quickly, while detecting and correcting errors along the way. It ensures funds are delivered accurately and consistently, prevents expensive chargeback fees and reduces clerk or system errors and prevents them from showing up on customer credit statements.
TransactionVault removes customer credit card data at the point of sale where it would be at risk from hackers. The data is instead stored in Merchant Link's hosted "vault," effectively securing "data at rest" and reducing the cost and effort of attaining and maintaining PCI compliance. Through TransactionVault, Merchant Link processed 1 billion transactions at more than 15,000 merchant locations in 2010.
The Copper Cellar Corporation utilizes a Squirrel point-of-sale (POS) system for customer payments. Their previous payment processor and data security solution created problems for them by posting batches twice. Merchant Link's full suite of reporting and error detection tools help to eliminate failed batch attempts, duplicate batches or no settlement attempts.
"Our old processor had double posted batches before," said Gaston. "Despite not being directly responsible for the error, it made us look bad in the eyes of our guests. Merchant Link monitors for potential batch issues and ensures that problems such as these are a thing of the past for Copper Cellar, its restaurants and its customers."
Published March 9, 2011, 1:22 p.m.
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PENTA is Marketing Partner for Corridor Nine’s Open for Business EXPO
Westborough, MA. _ Massachusetts integrated marketing firm, PENTA Communications, Inc. celebrates its ninth year as the marketing partner for the Corridor Nine Open for Business EXPO, which took place on Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at the Double Tree Hotel on Connector Road in Westborough.
This year, the event drew more than 1,000 business executives representing companies from Central Massachusetts to Boston.
Booths for the show sold out in six weeks and represented 120 companies ranging from professional services to banks, credit unions, technology companies to food and beverage establishments, and more.
“The Corridor Nine Business EXPO is one of the most well-attended business events in the region and we’re delighted to provide the marketing needed to help it succeed as a front-runner with respect to business tradeshows. It has excellent attendance, and it’s always well received,” said CEO Deborah Penta.
“Between the attendance and amount of positive feedback we have received, the Corridor Nine EXPO continues to be the best trade show in the region for its great energy, traffic, and exposure for our members’ businesses,” said Corridor Nine Vice President Karen Chapman. “We thank PENTA Communications, Inc. for being a tremendous business partner to us in marketing both this show and the Corridor Nine Chamber of Commerce.”


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Saturday, December 24, we continue our tradition of offering a Creole Reveillon dinner in the spirit of New Orleans holiday dining. Through most of the 19th century, Reveillons were held in the homes of the French Quarter’s Creole population, when churchgoers would arrive home after midnight mass famished, ready to break the pre-communion fast. As […]
With the weather cooling and the harvest underway, we look forward to the coming season and our favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving. It takes place during our favorite time of year to cook, and as the weather turns colder we always feel a special warmth in the gift of hospitality, family, and friends. It […]
We’re pleased to announce our Whiskey of the Month for October is Old Forester 1897 Bottled in Bond. Distilled and aged under the watchful eye of Master Distiller Chris Morris at Old Forester Distillery in Louisville, Kentucky, this fine bourbon is part of a lineage from the oldest continually-offered brand of bourbon still sold today. […]
We will be open 10am-3pm on Labor Day, Monday Sept 5th 2016. We will be closed for dinner.
We’re honored to be on Phil Vettel’s Top 50 Chicago Restaurants list for the Chicago Tribune with so many other great restaurants. Check out the entire list.


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Jan 17, 2017
Jeffery-West, manufacturer and retailer of some of the most luxurious and eye-catching men's shoes, boots and accessories, has integrated the latest EPoS technology from two specialist suppliers into its five characterful UK stores.
Jan 09, 2017
Le Gavroche, one of London's most respected restaurants will be 50 next year. Reflecting on its success and planning its future, it has invested in new POS terminals from AURES Technologies to run the latest version of Acorn's Squirrel software.
Nov 11, 2016
AURES Group and its CEO and founder Patrick Cathala have won the prestigious BFM Award for Export Performance. The prize was presented during the 2016 BFM AWARDS ceremony held at the renowned Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris on 3 November 2016.
Nov 07, 2016
Omni-channel retailing: blurring boundaries, converging sectors and convenient choices. Here are 5 things to consider in 2017.
Nov 01, 2016
UK disability charity Sense has partnered with EPoS and retail management software provider Cybertill to implement its CharityStore system across the charity's retail estate to help boost profits and streamline processes.
Oct 31, 2016
One of the UK's best loved family attractions, Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea, is well advanced with its point-of-sale hardware upgrade project.
Sep 27, 2016
London-based specialist fashion technology company has marked its 30th anniversary with the launch of a new One Stop Shop multichannel retail solution.
Sep 16, 2016
League 1 football club Oxford United has invested in state-of-the-art EPoS terminals. New touchscreen Yunos from AURES Technologies have gone live as part of an upgraded point-of-sale solution from specialist provider Retail & Sports Systems.
Aug 23, 2016
Comment from Ian Tomlinson, CEO of cloud retail software provider Cybertill
Jul 27, 2016
Food services provider Levy Restaurants has chosen MCR Symphony to consolidate POS across its Heritage and Leisure businesses. 100+ AURES Ninô terminals are running the solution. Customer engagement and Business Intelligence benefits are expected.


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- 1.Japan Post looks to sell Toll?
- 2.Maersk and MSC upgrade Asia-Europe sweeper to a weekly service
- 3.Why millennials overlook a career in logistics – by a millennial
- 4.Maersk and Cargo iQ clash over how to buy air freight capacity
- 5.Asia-Europe misery for shippers: four-week delays, rate hikes and surcharges
- 1. Ariaen Zimmerman on Maersk and Cargo iQ clash over how to buy air freight capacity
- 2. Rayhan ahmed on Lawmakers question Swissport over $170m in Covid-19 funds
- 3. firstname.lastname@example.org on Plan for cargo hub at Manston Airport seriously flawed, says consultant
- 4. Peter Forbes on Plan for cargo hub at Manston Airport seriously flawed, says consultant
- 5. Rayhan ahmed on AirBridgeCargo ready for surge in freighter volumes in Asia Pacific peak season


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- Account-based marketing (ABM) is extremely or very important to the 2016 marketing efforts of 87 percent of B2B companies
- In addition to investing in ABM technologies and tools, marketers are planning to invest in ABM services
- Insights and content creation are key areas for which ABM marketers are turning to service providers
B2B organizations are embracing account-based marketing (ABM) at a rapid rate. According to our recently released 2016 State of Account-Based Marketing Study, 87 percent of B2B companies say that ABM is extremely or very important to their overall marketing efforts in 2016.
Furthermore, they’re not just paying it lip service – they’re voting with their wallets. To that end, 58 percent of respondents stated that they would invest in ABM technologies or services in 2016, 52 percent stated that their overall ABM investment would be “greater than last year,” and an additional 21 percent stated that their overall ABM investment would be “significantly greater than last year” (an increase of more than 30 percent).
In her recent blog post, my colleague Megan Heuer discussed some of the key investments B2B organizations are making in tool and technology categories (e.g. advertising technology, marketing automation, analytics). In this blog post, I’ll review a few services ABM practitioners are planning to invest in:
- Custom third-party account/contact information sources. More than 36 percent of respondents are planning to use service providers to help gather custom account and contact information. Identifying key organizational or buying center imperatives, awareness and interest in solution categories, active buying cycles, and senior decisionmakers who are part of the purchase decision and what those individuals care about/are talking about can help ABM marketers pinpoint who to engage and tailor their messaging for. Marketers must work closely with sales to assess what information is already in sales account plans and what currently exists in sales force automation (SFA) and marketing automation platforms, as well as identify gaps of significant importance for custom profiling requirements.
- Third-party content development services. In our study, 69 percent of respondents said they are responsible for creating content for ABM needs (in addition to activities like gathering account/contact data, working with sales to define account goals and plans, executing plans and measuring program success). As a result, more than 36 percent of marketers doing ABM are turning to agencies or other third parties to help develop content for ABM. Marketers should first direct content support requests internally, but when getting outside help is necessary, make sure a process exists to adhere to master and product brand guidelines, and conduct a review to ensure compliance.
- Predictive analytics services. Nearly 29 percent of respondents said they plan to invest in predictive analytics service providers in the coming year for help identifying such characteristics as propensity to buy. An additional 26 percent stated that they’re planning to invest in predictive analytics tools as well, showing that regardless of the approach (tool or service), this is an emerging area for B2B marketers, including those doing ABM. The most common use cases we see marketers evaluating for ABM efforts are for identifying the right prospects, prioritizing the right accounts, determining the best cross-sell and upsell areas, and identifying customers at risk of defection. Marketers must articulate a clear strategy for their ABM program (e.g. acquisition, growth, retention) and work with service (or tool) providers to see how their predictive solutions can be applied for their specific situation.
- Non-custom third-party account/contact information sources. More than 24 percent of respondents (up from 17 percent last year) stated that they plan to invest in service providers to help gather non-custom account and contact information. Having reports that identify basic firmagraphic, demographic and account data (e.g. number of employees; revenues; contact names, email addresses and/or phone numbers), as well as intermediate data attributes (e.g. current technology install base, senior decisionmakers and professional groups they belong to), can help supplement marketing databases and SFA systems. Marketers must ensure that service providers have coverage depth and accuracy, and should ask for small samples from each to compare to their current database.
Want to learn more about ABM and the technologies that power it? Join us in Austin in November at SiriusDecisions 2016 Technology Exchange, where we’ll have new content to help with strategy and execution and a great group of sponsors showcasing how their tools and services have helped their clients bring ABM to life.


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- UPS facing backlash for thanking police after employee killed in shootout Saturday 5:02 PM
- Sanders campaign fires staffer after anti-Semitic, homophobic tweets surface Saturday 3:13 PM
- Brother Nature was attacked, says everyone just watched with phones out Saturday 2:45 PM
- Ryan Reynolds’ gin company hires Peloton wife for ad Saturday 1:24 PM
- Ex-vegan YouTuber accused of fraud after following meat-only diet Saturday 1:11 PM
- The 15 best Disney+ hidden gems and deep cuts Saturday 12:23 PM
- Everyone in GoFundMe scam involving homeless veteran has now pleaded guilty Saturday 12:06 PM
- Boy invites kindergarten class to his adoption–and people are emotional Saturday 11:56 AM
- Reddit links leaked trade deal documents to Russian campaign Saturday 10:44 AM
- How to stream Alistair Overeem vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik Saturday 8:30 AM
- Amazon sends customers condoms and soap instead of Nintendo Switch Saturday 8:28 AM
- How to live stream Jermall Charlo vs. Dennis Hogan Saturday 8:00 AM
- Apple TV’s ‘Truth Be Told’ is a criminally dull drama Saturday 6:00 AM
- Thousands of Uber users have reported sexual assaults, company says Friday 5:40 PM
- ‘Astronomy Club’ reformats the sketch show Friday 4:58 PM
These Quidditch jerseys let you sport your ‘Harry Potter’ fandom everywhere
Oh Etsy, you never let us down.
If you missed your chance to play Quidditch at Hogwarts, you’re in luck. The delightfully geeky Etsy shop FanFash has a number of quality Quidditch jerseys in men’s and women‘s styles, featuring designs for all four Hogwarts houses.
The store also sells jerseys for the other European wizard schools, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. There’s also plenty of other Harry Potter apparel—enough to make any fan feel like they’re back at Hogwarts.
The cool thing about the Quidditch jerseys is that there are not only separate designs for men and women, but also hard-to-find plus sizes for both styles.
FanFash is the brainchild of Savanah Simmons and her friend Nicky, two geeks from Connecticut who love Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and hanging out at events like LeakyCon (now GeekyCon). Their modus operandi seems to be emblazoning well-made apparel and accessories—for example, this Gryffindor backpack—with insignias from Potter, Thrones, Avatar, and other big franchises with devoted fanbases.
But that’s not all they do. Check out this Weasley sweater.
Happy Friday! For those of you who haven’t met Fred, our mannequin… this is Fred, our mannequin. He’s modeling our second Weasley sweater! #etsy #initial #weasley #weasleysweater #mrsweasley #weasleyisourking #quidditch #happychristmas #harrypotter #hogwarts #diagonalley
A photo posted by Teta (@twilfittandteta) on
You can follow the store on Facebook or Instagram. But if you want to snag a Quidditch jersey, you’d better hurry—many of the sizes are already sold out.
Aja Romano is a geek culture reporter and fandom expert. Their reporting at the Daily Dot covered everything from Harry Potter and anime to Tumblr and Gamergate. Romano joined Vox as a staff reporter in 2016.


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The Reading / Listening – Cuba – Level 6
The government in Cuba is legalising the ownership of small and medium-sized businesses. This represents a monumental shift in policy from the communist-ruled country. State-owned companies have traditionally been the norm in Cuba, following the revolution in 1959 that brought Fidel Castro to power. He nationalised Cuba’s industries to put them into state hands. The new policy allows entrepreneurs to operate businesses that have up to 100 employees. The change of heart from the government came after a month of street protests. Thousands of Cubans demonstrated against dire economic conditions. People also protested about a lack of food and the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said he would introduce new initiatives to revitalise his country’s economy. Cuba relies on tourism for much of its foreign currency reserves. Global restrictions on travel during the pandemic have severely impacted this sector. Another key industry in Cuba is the production of sugar. Bad weather has resulted in poor harvests and reduced revenues. These events have depleted the government’s reserves of foreign currency, which means it has become difficult for the country to import food and medicine. Cuba expert O’Neill Diaz said “many entrepreneurs from the private sector have spent years striving, working and trying to contribute” to Cuba’s economic well-being.
1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).
- Entrepreneurs can now start any size of company in Cuba. T / F
- There was a revolution in Cuba in 1959. T / F
- Street protests prompted a change of heart from the government. T / F
- People protested in the streets about food shortages. T / F
- Cuba’s president said there would be no further initiatives after this one. T / F
- Cuba had a bumper sugar harvest this year. T / F
- Bad weather has helped to reduce Cuba’s foreign currency reserves. T / F
- Entrepreneurs have worked to help Cuba’s economic well-being. T / F
Taliban capture first Afghan provincial capital city (8th August, 2021)
TRUE / FALSE
1 T 2 T 3 F 4 T 5 T 6 F 7 T 8 F
SYNONYM MATCH (p.5)
- d 2. g 3. j 4. b 5. a
- h 7. e 8. i 9. f 10. c


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Friday, 7 April 2000
PLASA EXCLUSIVE:PLASA Publishing has this afternoon learned that US-based Matthews Studio Equipment Group - one of the largest suppliers of professional equipment to the entertainment industry, has today announced that it has filed a voluntary petition for reorganisation under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The NASDAQ-listed company supplies conventional and automated lighting, grip, transportation, generators, camera equipment, audio and video equipment and theatrical supplies via its worldwide distribution network.Carlos D. DeMattos, chairman and CEO, said: "We have spent the past several months attempting to come up with a proposal that would address the company's challenges outside of a court proceeding. Ultimately, the time required to complete a restructuring transaction and the uncertain cost of closing unprofitable locations were too great to overcome."He continued: "This procedure will bring order to a disorderly process. It should have little or no impact on our customers, our vendors, or our employees. We intend to continue to compete vigorously in all of our markets and to work diligently to meet the needs of our customers."Certain of Matthews' subsidiaries were included in the filings as a result of last-minute demands by the company's lenders, to which the company was forced to accede.


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Expedia Group (EXPE) reported a 69% dip in earnings for the fourth quarter due to an increase in costs and expenses as well as a rise in provision for income taxes. However, the online travel services provider’s results exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Net income plunged 69% to $17 million or $0.11 per share. Adjusted earnings soared 49% to $1.24 per share.
Revenue grew 10% to $2.56 billion, driven primarily by growth in Brand Expedia and Expedia Partner Solutions. Total gross bookings increased 11% to $21.96 billion, driven primarily by growth in Expedia Partner Solutions and Brand Expedia.
Looking ahead, the company expects to begin moving to the new Seattle headquarters in late 2019 with new construction began in late 2017. The company had spent a total of $290 million from 2016 to 2018. The spending for the headquarters construction is expected to be of $425 million to $475 million in 2019 and $135 million to $185 million in 2020.
For the fourth quarter, as a percentage of total worldwide revenue, lodging accounted for 69%, advertising and media accounted for 9%, air accounted for 8% and all other revenues accounted for the remaining 14%.
Lodging revenue increased 10% as growth in Expedia Partner Solutions, Hotels.com and Brand Expedia drove room nights stayed higher. Air revenue grew 18% driven by higher air tickets sold and a rise in revenue per ticket. Advertising and media revenue rose 9% on continued growth in Expedia Group Media Solutions, which was partly offset by declines at Trivago. Other revenue rose 10% on growth in the travel insurance product.
For the fourth quarter, total stayed lodging room nights increased by 11% and HomeAway stayed property nights grew by 20%. Expedia Group exceeded 1 million properties available on its core lodging platform as of December 31, 2018, including over 370,000 integrated HomeAway listings. Room night growth declined by 360 basis points to 13% from 16% in the prior-year quarter.
In 2018, Expedia Group returned $1.1 billion to shareholders, including repurchasing 7.7 million shares for $903 million and paying $186 million in dividends.
Shares of Expedia Group ended Thursday’s regular session down 0.01% at $127.87 on the Nasdaq. The stock has fallen over 1% in the past year while it has risen over 11% in the past month.
Last month, the IPO market was in a full swing. IPOs of Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) and JFROG (NASDAQ: FROG) had an impressive opening day in September, the former creating a
PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) beat market expectations on both revenue and earnings for the third quarter of 2020. The company saw the momentum continue in its snacks business while the
With more and more people turning to virtual entertainment sources, amid the virus-related movement restrictions, video game publishers like Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) are witnessing unusually high demand. Not surprisingly,


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Details regarding a proposed Ubisoft games presentation were recently leaked by gaming website, Xfire. What’s interesting about the contents of this leaked presentation is that, while most of the mentioned games are already public knowledge, three of the titles have yet to be officially announced.
The Crew 3, the sequel to The Crew 2 that has been long presumed to be in development or at least planned for development, is confirmed to be in active development on this list. More of a surprise is Immortals Fenyx Rising 2, a sequel to 2020’s Immortals Fenyx Rising.
Immortals Fenyx Rising 2 will be the first sequel in what now seems like a new video game franchise for Ubisoft.
The biggest surprise is an unannounced Prince of Persia title which, according to the Xfire report, will be a 2.5D platforming game inspired by the Ori games on Xbox and Windows. This Prince of Persia game is a completely separate project from Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake, the modern remake of Sands of Time which was announced back in 2020 but has since been delayed.


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Golden Fig Books, an independent Durham bookstore, is opening a new store in Carrboro at Carr Mill Mall on Friday, Nov. 18.
According to its website, the store focuses its inventory on used and children’s books with the addition of certain new titles to highlight a diverse array of authors. The store aims to keep its books sustainable and affordable for the community.
David Bradley, owner and founder of Golden Fig Books, said he has had his eye on Carrboro as a prospective location for a shop since his time as a UNC student.
He said as a tight-knit, artistic community, Carrboro has been "calling out" for a bookstore. He added he felt he had to take the space in Carr Mill Mall when the opportunity presented itself.
According to its website, the name of Golden Fig Books was inspired by a quote from Bradley’s favorite novel "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath. It is part of the store’s goal to help customers find books that will lead them to their own "golden figs".
For the first months of business, Bradley said the store is going to focus on getting itself established.
"Once we're here for a few months, I really want the store to become sort of like a Carrboro community space," he said.
Bradley said because of the layout and large square footage of the Carrboro location, Golden Fig Books will be able to expand more of its sections and create a more established kids section than its space in Durham.
He said he also hopes to host more events at the store, in addition to hosting authors.
Jaime Fiocco, owner and general manager of Flyleaf Books, said she thinks the more independent booksellers there are, the stronger the community.
“I just think it's a good thing that someone else feels like another store can be supported because it helps people understand and learn about their world around them,” Fiocco said.
She said independent booksellers in North Carolina are collaborative and band together for events, such as independent bookstore day.
Ondrea Austin, a Chapel Hill resident, said she thinks the store will benefit the local community, as it will provide access to a quality used bookstore. She said options for used books are currently limited in Carrboro.
“Having a kind of locally owned bookstore is a good idea for me,” Fred Joiner, poet-laureate of Carrboro, said. “For me as a poet and writer, just to support a locally owned bookstore and to be able to have one to support, to be able to walk to or ride your bike to is cool for me, I love the idea of a bookstore here.”
Carrboro Mayor Damon Seils said he is also excited to welcome the business to the town and that it will only improve the community.
“I think especially the focus on kids' books is going to be especially welcomed for families in Carrboro,” Seils said. “I've heard a lot of people already talking about how excited they are to have that option.”
Bradley said while the store will maintain the same principles as the Golden Fig Books in Durham — which focuses on accessibility and sustainability — he wants the new location to be Carrboro’s bookstore.
Bradley added that the store in Carrboro will also help him expand the business's abilities.
He said some people are unable to buy brand-new books due to financial limitations and he wants people to be able to buy more books than they could at other stores.
"So, having that as an opportunity in Carrboro — I think that's definitely expanding our mission,” Bradley said.
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Sadly, Suzuki is still dead in America.
Currently, the world of electric off-roaders is pretty upmarket. Vehicles like the Rivian R1T define the segment, but cheap and cheerful Suzuki may be changing that. Maruti Suzuki has announced that the company will introduce two new SUVs and an electric SUV at the India Auto Expo next month.
For now, Suzuki is pretty light on specifics. We should also note the brand calls this mystery electric SUV a concept, so a production model is a ways off. However, Toyota has helped Suzuki with the development of EVs, so expect at least some showing soon.
"Auto Expo'23 is yet another opportunity for us to showcase our commitment towards the future of mobility through our range of sustainable & technology driven products. Our showcases at Auto Expo'23 will highlight Maruti Suzuki's commitment towards cleaner, greener, sustainable and carbon neutral offerings for tomorrow. We are confident that our range of all-new SUVs, futuristic Concept EV, Hybrid, flex-fuel prototype and products will capture the imagination of enthusiasts," says Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO of Maruti Suzuki India Limited.
Rumors say the two new models could be based on the Jimny, which quite frankly is really why we're here.
However, there's no word on the brand's plans for these new models. Suzuki serves some of the largest markets across the globe but hasn't been in America for some time now. There are ways to get a Jimny here in the States, but these methods are a far cry from going to a dealer and ordering one.
Back in 2020, Europe banned sales of the Jimny because it no longer met C02 emissions regulations, but the carmaker introduced the Jimny two-seat commercial model without rear seats as a brilliant solution to the problem.
If the rumors are true, we'd imagine the Jimny's current pint-sized 1.5-liter motor will be donated to the two upcoming Jimny-based SUVs. Recent spy shots show a five door Jimny is already in the works, so it's a fair assumption that it will be one of the new models introduced. For now, we'll have to wait for the expo, which starts next month.


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Published: May 2, 2001
The AnnTaylor Stores Corporation, which has struggled with slow sales for the last several quarters, named Kim Roy, a top merchandising executive at Liz Claiborne Inc., as president of its AnnTaylor store division. Ms. Roy, 42, who resigned from Liz Claiborne immediately, will start her new post on May 29, the retailer said yesterday. She fills the void left by Patricia DeRosa, president and chief operating officer, who left in January after the company's poor holiday performance. Ms. Roy's responsibilities will include directing product design and merchandising, as well as strategic brand development. AnnTaylor's stock rose $2.85, to $30.10, on the Big Board.


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Shopify shares rise as they expand beyond online shopping, while analytics software company Copperleaf slips along with tech stocks. Here are the winners and losers from last week
Shopify Inc. SHOP-T (+15.51%)
Shares of the Ottawa-based e-commerce giant rose after reporting third-quarter earnings that beat estimates. While Shopify shares are still down more than 78% from their November 2021 highs, revenue hit $1.37 billion (US) in the third quarter – a 22% increase from the same period in 2021. Chairman Harley Finkelstein attributed the move to expanding the business beyond online shopping, including the launch of point-of-sale hardware.
Nevada Copper Corp. NCU-T (+10.87%)
Last Friday, the Vancouver copper producer closed a financial package of up to $123 million (US) to help restart operations at its Pumpkin Hollow copper mine. The copper mine, located southeast of Yerington, Nevada, has reserves of copper, gold and silver. Nevada Copper shares have fallen more than 56% in the past six months, but rebounded nearly 16% in October.
Air Canada AC-T (+6.81%)
The stock price of Canada’s largest airline took off, more than doubling its third-quarter revenue from $2.10 billion to $5.32 billion. Staff shortages hurt Air Canada’s return to the air last summer, but improving disruptions helped the airline fly more than 11 million passengers in the third quarter and hit its first ever profit. operating positive since the start of the pandemic. Air Canada is up more than 18% over the past month.
Copperleaf Technologies Inc. CPLF-T (-18.33%)
The economic headwinds that sent shares of big tech companies like Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. tumbling last week are also hurting smaller companies like Copperleaf Technologies. The Vancouver-based business intelligence software company‘s stock price has fallen more than 60% in the past six months and more than 30% in the past month alone. Rising interest rates and a poor economic outlook will continue to weigh on technology companies.
WonderFi Technologies Inc. WNDR-T (-16.67%)
Last week, amid a brutal bear market for digital currencies, the Vancouver-based cryptocurrency trading platform announced a management change, along with plans to expand into sports betting and online trading. actions. Shares of WonderFi have fallen more than 60% since its IPO in mid-June and around 40% in the past month. The management change, which saw Dean Skurka take Ben Samaroo’s position as interim CEO, should help WonderFi weather tough economic times.
Teck Resources Ltd. TEAK-BT (-10.79%)
Shares of Teck Resources fell after it agreed to sell its stake in the Fort Hills oil sands project to Suncor Energy and reported a $195 million loss in the third quarter. The news comes just over a month after the Vancouver-based miner cut its third-quarter steelmaking coal sales forecast. Teck Resources has fallen more than 16% in the past six months as high inflation exchange rates and production issues risk hurting its results.
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PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — It took longer than expected, but a local barbeque joint’s expansion is almost done.
Smo-King Pit has been at the Northwoods Mall for more than 16 years. It closed on Aug. 7 for the renovation.
Owner Michael Citchens said they initially planned to re-open in October, but supply chain shortages in metal and stainless steel caused delays.
He said the restaurant has doubled in size to seat up to 100 people, and is designed to be COVID-friendly.
“So instead of doing table service, we’ll do counter service. It will take away from a lot of one-on-one contact with our customers, and hopefully we’ll keep everybody safe,” he said.
The expansion will also help increase catering orders. Citchens said catering made up 35-40% of pre-pandemic sales, but has dropped to 5%.
“That was our second objective when we expanded. We put in more refrigeration space and more freezers so we can do more in the catering side as well,” he said.
Citchens said the restaurant will open mid-January.
“Its been a dream come true,” he said.


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Solarcycle plans to advance its solar recycling platform after raising $6.6 million in growth funding from leading renewable energy and circular economy investors including SolarCity founders Peter and Lyndon Rive, former CEO/CTO of Sunpower Corporation Systems Tom Dinwoodie, Urban Innovation Fund, and Closed Loop Partners.
“It is exciting to have the financial backing of investors who helped launch and scale the solar industry, as well as venture funds specializing in creating the needed infrastructure for the circular economy,” said Solarcycle CEO Suvi Sharma. “This funding will allow us to scale our advanced recycling operations in North America, enabling us to start handling the millions of solar systems that will be retiring in the coming years.”
Solarcycle, based in Northern California, was founded this year by industry experts from leading corporations and institutions such as Solaria, NEXTracker, Sierra Club, and the University of New South Wales. Solarcycle launched its recycling platform last month and announced that Sunrun was its first partner.
The recycling solution can recover more than 95% of vital materials that can be re-used, according to Solarcycle. Its technology allows it to extract metals including silver, silicon, copper, and aluminum and to recycle or repurpose 95% of panels currently in use.
“I firmly believe the transition to a renewable economy must be coupled with full attention to developing a circular economy for addressing the mineral scarcity and looming waste problem coming our way,” said Tom Dinwoodie, co-founder of Sunpower.
The market for solar recycling is strong and growing, as solar installations increase at a rapid pace. One group that is studying reuse of solar panels is at the National Renewable Energy Lab, which has published research that describes how to motivate the market first to reuse solar panels, and then recycle them by guiding national industrial policy to create a financially viable end-of-life solar panel industry. The researchers’ projections showed that 40% of all solar panels could be reused and recycled using subsidies equal to $18 per panel for 12 years. At that price, a profitable and sustainable solar panel recycling industry could establish itself by 2032.
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it sounds good until you realize that there is a scarcity of solar panel manufacturing here in America , so it will mean that we will still import solar panels from China still under tariff?
We cannot make money manufacturing solar panels here . We will be exporting recycled metals back to China to make new solar panels . Will it be economical even with our government continuing to subsidize rooftop solar installations?
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realme adds a new phone to the realme 8 Series: the realme 8i with a MediaTek Helio G96 processor, a 50MP main camera, and a 120Hz display!
Posts tagged as “realme 8 series”
I find the realme 8 Pro very intriguing thanks to its 108MP camera. But should you buy it for that alone? Here's my realme 8 Pro review.
Shortly after the company launched the realme 8 5G, realme is bringing a more affordable 4GB+128GB variant! The company recently…
realme is bringing its first 5G smartphone to the Philippines! Say hello to the realme 8 5G with the MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor.


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Currently, Instacart is a great solution as it allows us to get our groceries delivered at home in as little as one hour. Now, is it really making the brand's path to the consumer more efficient? Many large CPG companies feel the current route to market is very inefficient as there are too many layers (distributor, warehouse, retailer, etc.) between the product and the consumer. Thus, the problem with Instacart is that it’s an additional layer to an already complicated RTM. Many companies such as Amazon and Boxed are redesigning the route. Additionally, CPG companies are also trying new ways to get the product into people’s hands in the most efficient way possible.
The outcome of all these RTM improvements could impact Instacart's future.
This is certainly an interesting move by both Walmart and Shopify as a step to growing share in e-commerce. Walmart has already been successful at gaining share in food and beverage mostly due to pickup, which is a great competitive advantage for them vs Amazon. It's going to he interesting to see how far this partnership takes both Walmart and Shopify.


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Valassis Says News Corp. Ignored $500M Antitrust Settlement
The complaint, filed in Michigan federal court, alleges News Corp. has employed a slew of anti-competitive business methods to freeze Valassis out of the market and maintain a de facto monopoly on the two advertising methods.
“Instead of changing its illegal practices, [News Corp.]...
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Ember CEO: Silicon Labs Acquisition for $72M Is “Right Thing for the Company”
It seems like it takes most tech companies about 10 years to run their course—if they survive the first few years, that is. Boston-based Ember is no exception.
The wireless-networking firm said today it is being acquired by Silicon Laboratories (NASDAQ: SLAB) of Austin, TX, for an initial price of $72 million plus earnouts. Silicon Labs makes chips for consumer devices like TVs and cell phones, as well as applications in telecom, industrial, and automotive markets. The acquisition appears to be a good fit, as Ember’s technology—particularly its wireless networking software—will strengthen and broaden Silicon Labs’ offerings across industries.
The deal seems to be an OK, but not great, outcome for Ember’s investors. Over the years, the firm raised some $89 million from venture capitalists and strategic partners including Polaris Venture Partners, GrandBanks Capital, RRE Ventures, Vulcan Capital, STMicroelectronics, Hitachi, and MIT.
Ember CEO Bob LeFort defends the acquisition on three counts. One, “This was more than a fair deal financially,” he says, in terms of the multiple of the company’s revenue. Two, he says, “This is also about the employees and the potential, and it’s the right thing for the company.” And three, he says, the firm’s investors saw Silicon Labs as the right acquirer at the right time, because Ember needed more investment to reach a bigger market. While everyone loves a $15 billion IPO, he says, “It just made sense. This is not a reluctant deal for them.”
Indeed, Bob Metcalfe of Polaris—an Ember board member and a professor at UT Austin—calls Silicon Labs “the perfect partner going forward,” in terms of its product line (more on that below).
The deal is pretty significant for those of us who’ve followed Ember since its early days. The company started in 2001, the brainchild of MIT grads Rob Poor and Andy Wheeler. Their vision was to build software for wirelessly networked sensors and systems for supply-chain management, factories, and other applications.
Poor and Wheeler eventually moved on to other companies, but Ember evolved to become a maker of software, chips, and tools for secure wireless networking. Its main market is smart energy—working with utility companies and selling its technology to smart-meter makers like Itron and Landis+Gyr, so the meters can talk to the utilities and help make the power grid more efficient and reliable.
Reached by e-mail, Poor says, “From what I can tell it’s a great thing.” Citing Ember’s talent, technology, and reputation in the wireless industry, the firm’s co-founder elaborates: “The Silicon Labs acquisition means that Ember will have the financial and marketing resources to do even more. Also—as someone who cares deeply about the people that make up a company—I’m really glad about the acquisition since it will give everyone at Ember a little more room to breathe and innovate.”
The vast majority of Ember’s 60-odd employees are staying through the merger, LeFort says, and the company is keeping its offices in Boston and Cambridge, England. LeFort’s new title will be general manager for wireless mesh networking, within the “wireless embedded systems” business unit of Silicon Labs, headed by vice president Diwakar Vishakhadatta.
The deal has been in the works for the past few months. “We saw this market is starting to really take hold,” LeFort says. “But in order to continue our leadership, it was going to take a significant investment. We needed a larger company backing us.”
As he explains, when a whole country like England is planning to deploy smart-meter technologies, and is using Ember’s products, officials “want to make sure we have the resources to be able to support that level of pressure.” The same goes for Comcast’s home security products, for which Ember is the main supplier of wireless networking technology. Big customers need a big commitment to things like continuous supply and investments in future products. “Those are very hard for us to do as a standalone entity,” LeFort says.
It sounds like Ember will provide much-needed expertise in wireless networking software—particularly for self-organizing mesh networks—while learning a lot from Silicon Labs about developing chips and hardware for broader applications. Smart energy is an emerging market area for Silicon Labs, but it’s just one of many.
So how does Ember plan to remain innovative and deal with the inevitable challenges of being integrated into a bigger company? For starters, Ember “doesn’t fit into some other procedure or process” at the firm, LeFort says. “They’re a young company [started in 1996]. This isn’t an IBM that has 100 years of experience.” Also, both sides harp on the cultural fit between the firms—does anyone not say that?—starting with a focus on products and innovation.
“We still look and think of ourselves as a small company built on innovation,” says Silicon Labs’ Vishakhadatta. From the Ember side, LeFort adds, “We’re going to be able to have much more focus on what we do well.”
To that end, Ember is expected to contribute $10-12 million in revenue in the second half of 2012. That figure is a bit down from the company’s numbers in late 2010, when it was projecting $30-35 million in sales for the year (its first profitable one), up from $13 million in 2009. At the time, LeFort said Ember was not looking to be acquired. “We should manage our business every day as if we are going to IPO and be the next Intel,” he said. “If something else happens along the way that makes sense, then so be it.”
Which brings us to today. I asked Metcalfe, who now lives in Austin during the school year, whether the Ember deal is a “score one for Austin” moment. He says he doesn’t keep score among different cities, as he isn’t into regional economic development. “I am into innovation and what’s best for startups out of research universities,” he writes. “Hm, score one for MIT?”