tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70935988908116360022024-03-21T21:28:06.323-07:00 Sagg InsightsChristopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-6749410275124958342020-05-19T06:38:00.005-07:002020-05-19T06:38:54.050-07:00How Can Banks Meet the Challenges Created by COVID-19?<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The current pandemic has caused seismic shifts in the behavior of
people, especially when it comes to how / when /where they do business
with banks. It begs several questions: “What will the new normal look
like?” and what can banks do in response from a marketing and customer
service perspective.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">According a <a href="https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/qudini-wordpress-website/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/05131711/The-Covid-19-US-Consumer-Survey-Banking-Qudini.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">recent study</a>
conducted by Qudini of 2,000+ US consumers – 87% of respondents
indicated that outside of the COVID-19 outbreak they would normally
visit a bank branch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But now over half of branch customers <em>avoid </em>their bank
branch, and another 39% have reduced their branch visits. The research
went on to reveal that nearly two thirds of banking customers now want <em>virtual </em>banking services – by either phone (55%) or video (15%).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">J.D. Power’s 2020 US Retail Banking <a href="https://www.jdpower.com/business/financial-services/us-retail-banking-satisfaction-study" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Satisfaction Study</a> identified the following trends:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">· Approximately
one-third of retail banking customers plan to increase their use of
online and mobile banking services post COVID-19 (This percentage is
expected to increase as the duration of the crisis extends longer).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">· Key digital banking functions that will be impacted the most include mobile check deposit and P2P payments.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Large financial institutions have a greater penetration of high-engagement digital customers than regional or mid-sized banks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">· Midsize banks have a significantly lower online and mobile banking satisfaction index than larger banks.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D12AQFs-2pvN55rcQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0?e=1595462400&v=beta&t=z5LFo6PkG8J1WNG4h55tzPwtURgVBTgmYQVVc2-X-q4" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img alt="No alt text provided for this image" border="0" data-li-src="https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D12AQFs-2pvN55rcQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0?e=1595462400&v=beta&t=z5LFo6PkG8J1WNG4h55tzPwtURgVBTgmYQVVc2-X-q4" data-media-urn="" src="https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4D12AQFs-2pvN55rcQ/article-inline_image-shrink_1000_1488/0?e=1595462400&v=beta&t=z5LFo6PkG8J1WNG4h55tzPwtURgVBTgmYQVVc2-X-q4" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
COVID-19 pandemic could well be a catalyst for a new omni-channel
banking future, if banks are able to respond by evolving their customer
service model. This can include online events / thought leadership to
help engage and support customers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A good example of this was a recent
webinar and <a href="https://www.firstrepublic.com/articles-insights/life-money/protect-against-fraud/protect-yourself-from-covid-19-scams?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWkRjeFltWTNORFJoTVdZeSIsInQiOiJTVFg0aVwvcHlyVER3U0FLUFpYM2gwZ2NqbTFlOTdqOGVGcU9RUWR3aWtWUzh0bG1zZmdcL1RiZ1F0WXZKUTVqWnZZdDUrZmJZVHIrQkV2MHZSRUNEWjR0TWg1Y0JDSUdXOHhXeVhYSjRLNnd3eEgra2FHRnRxZTh5VkF2Q0pub2NcLyJ9" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">blog post</a> by First Republic Bank on helping customers avoid COVID-19 Scams.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Financial
institutions will also need to get more creative in term of the ways
they serve their customers remotely. For example, banks should make it
easier to for a branch manager or customer service representative to
access specialists – like a residential lending officer – via video
conference call. This way the bank can give their customers personalized
“high-touch” service via a remote digital channel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Banks can also employ Artificial Intelligence <a href="https://monkeylearn.com/blog/ai-in-customer-service/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">(AI) in their customer service</a>
platforms to better meet the needs of customers and “reduce friction”
in the process. Common customer question like “What is my balance?” and
“How do I re-set my debit card password?” can be quickly and efficiently
provided by encouraging customer to use a chat functions vs. having a
customer service rep answer the phone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is also the right time for data and analytics to take center stage in bank marketing. <a href="https://www.aberdeen.com/big-datapro-essentials/4-ways-predictive-analytics-can-boost-sales/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Predictive Analytics</a>
can use data, statistical algorithms and AI (artificial intelligence)
to help predict a customer’s “next need” in terms of banking products
/services. Behavioral data combined with clearly architected customer
journeys can identify engagement points for cross-sell / up-sell
efforts. According to a study by the Aberdeen Group – predictive
analytic users are twice as likely to identify high-value customers and
market the right offer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This approach is in stark contrast to the
“one size fits all” marketing approach that many banks have been taking
during the pandemic. For example Citibank recently sent out a blast
email to their small business customers encouraging them to take
advantage of <em>“a robust set of digital solutions that help you get what need more quickly”</em> with a somewhat simplistic call-to-action that encouraged them to sign up for online banking if they were not already using it.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhioudxa9QRniDr-ddBlHynpTg6JqATKLenCnAlm3TjJbZTxKOqoVHlTFxEnHmChwADEXyqNYAb65aIC7wllLDcEGT7fMV3sd7ATcEt1CFP0wmyZvQt130tKwUwBzusB53E3Cpr9tfMrwAr/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-19+at+9.36.29+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="171" data-original-width="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhioudxa9QRniDr-ddBlHynpTg6JqATKLenCnAlm3TjJbZTxKOqoVHlTFxEnHmChwADEXyqNYAb65aIC7wllLDcEGT7fMV3sd7ATcEt1CFP0wmyZvQt130tKwUwBzusB53E3Cpr9tfMrwAr/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-05-19+at+9.36.29+AM.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Customized
digital messages, informed by data, tracked by a CRM platform (e.g.
Salesforce) – can create more relevant and timely marketing
communications for customers. This will help evolve the bank’s
relationship with customers from being purely transactional to building a
mutually beneficial, long-term relationship.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In turn customer satisfaction and loyalty will increase, resulting in
positive word-of-mouth, favorable online reviews and new customer
referrals to the bank from existing customers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All of which will help
drive long-term profitable growth – a silver lining indeed for banks
coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-88476838616988255742017-09-15T12:06:00.006-07:002017-09-15T12:06:55.195-07:00Top 7 Tips to Nail Your Elevator Pitch <div class="MsoNormal">
I<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">n an era of increasingly short attention spans by most
people it is important for entrepreneurs to refine their “elevator pitch” or
2-minute speech on their start-up. At the first event in the <a href="http://empress.world/">Empress.world</a> Fall 2017 Business Innovation
Series, held in NYC on 9/12/17, a panel of venture capitalist offered tips on
how to do this. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnt0USgWrQAdgVTlL6akS5dGWRI359CPH-u_LWNC-CPco6gLF6Ltq-WQzNRga1JaG5IDyvuvTUFsk9OA4izZ7is5DTzPkdtkvLAQLxAWZ1IYZEwG6Bimv_btaiVAeSr_jNpsr5X5OL9e3/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-09-15+at+1.59.15+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="477" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpnt0USgWrQAdgVTlL6akS5dGWRI359CPH-u_LWNC-CPco6gLF6Ltq-WQzNRga1JaG5IDyvuvTUFsk9OA4izZ7is5DTzPkdtkvLAQLxAWZ1IYZEwG6Bimv_btaiVAeSr_jNpsr5X5OL9e3/s320/Screen+Shot+2017-09-15+at+1.59.15+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The panel included <a href="http://www.primary.vc/byron-ling/">Byron Ling</a> from Primary Venture
Partners, <a href="http://www.rbangels.com/team/meghan-a-b-cross/">Meghan Cross</a>
from Red Bear Angels, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/salliesaijian/">Sally
Jin</a> from Seed Invest and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tpbreeden/">Todd
Breeden</a> from Kiwi Venture Partners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They offered the following advice to a group of founders who pitched
that night:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Explain right upfront what you do / how you do
it / show it (if you can) / explain why it is a good business opportunity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Focus on numbers and key business milestones as
well as notable accomplishments – like SKUs and Revenue Targets. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Don’t define yourself by your competition, but
do have a good sense of your competitive space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->As the founder - emphasize your relevant
business experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Know the size of your addressable / primary
target market(s).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Be careful not to say: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“there’s nothing like this”</i> – instead focus on what makes your
business model unique.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Have a checklist of key points you want to make,
and then cover all of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A special thanks to the founders who pitched at the event,
including Helena Fogarty from <a href="http://mi-ola.com/">MI OLA</a> swimwear
– sexy bathing suits that stay on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Victoria Flores from <a href="https://luxbeautyclub.com/">Lux Beauty Club</a> – luxury hair extensions
at affordable prices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jean Poh from <a href="https://www.swoonery.com/en/">Swoonery</a>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kash Vyas from <a href="http://www.perfitly.com/">Perftily</a> – a 3D visualization solution that
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Om Kundu from <a href="https://www.inspirave.com/">InSpireAVE</a> – a social e-commerce platform
that inspires people to multiply their savings and afford big purchase. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-11536722719154039622016-12-12T13:59:00.000-08:002016-12-13T10:55:48.378-08:00The Alarming Future of Cyber Security.<style>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Technology is Fast Redefining Business Risk.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia28pySZNefc6KEfsvPTa8aohzgVfT5dymFzkFzaPmeJcT3PP3lafToAreP6y1dtj4F_NbcCcNGrw5STKAdQOhKuTvNNt6UNXmuzV3Kv5QkE0Cqyt54XX4atvV_nY67aYWPjouezFJx-Sx/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-13+at+1.50.03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia28pySZNefc6KEfsvPTa8aohzgVfT5dymFzkFzaPmeJcT3PP3lafToAreP6y1dtj4F_NbcCcNGrw5STKAdQOhKuTvNNt6UNXmuzV3Kv5QkE0Cqyt54XX4atvV_nY67aYWPjouezFJx-Sx/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-12-13+at+1.50.03+PM.png" width="200" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The whole notion of risk management is about as appealing as
watching paint dry for many business people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In business its defined as the forecasting and
evaluation of financial risks together with the identification of procedures to
avoid or minimize their impact. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These risks <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">have historically </span>come from uncertainty in
financial markets, threats from project failures, legal liabilities, credit
risk, accidents, natural disasters and deliberate attacks from an adversary. Managing
these risks typically falls to CFOs, corporate risk managers and insurance
companies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the 21</span><sup>st</sup><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> century a new threat is fast making
itself front and center in the risk management: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">cyber-attacks</b>. And they are making front page news – including new allegations
that Russian intelligence agencies may have <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/12/world/europe/russia-trump-election-cia-fbi.html?_r=0" target="_blank">impacted</a> the recent US elections
with hacks of key data base<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">s</span> in both the Republican and Democratic parties. </span></div>
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At a recently symposium on cyber security sponsored by St. John’s
University <a href="http://www.stjohns.edu/academics/schools-and-colleges/peter-j-tobin-college-business/school-risk-management-insurance-and-actuarial-science">School of Risk Management</a>, <a href="https://www.reactionsnet.com/">Reactions
Magazine</a> and global executive search firm Korn Ferry
the risks brought by this global trend were brought to vividly to life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This symposium looked at cyber security from
both a threat and business risk-management perspective. As Korn Ferry Partner
and Insurance Practice Leader <a href="http://www.kornferry.com/consultants/thomasrowe/">Tom
Rowe</a> noted <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“We
saw this event as an opportunity to help people understand the current and
future threats to cyber-security, and what many companies as well as government
agencies are prepared to do about them… or not… to deal with the problem.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The keynote speaker was <a href="http://www.pwsinger.com/biography.html">Peter Warren
Singer</a> - <span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">a Harvard-educated American political scientist, an
international relations scholar and a preeminent specialist and best-selling
author on 21st century cyber warfare. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A</span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">R</span></span>apidly Changing <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Technology</span>
Landscape </span></b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Peter Warren Singer </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Singer asked the
audience to think about forces that will impact the future, many driven by
revolutionary and disruptive advancements in technology. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">He observed “…this
gives governments and people capabilities that used to be only in the realm of
science fiction. ”He cited one example - “wet ware” or </span><a href="http://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2015-01-19"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">technology</span></a><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> that can translate human thoughts into
computer code then in turn to physical action. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Singer spoke about
what can be done with information: From collecting it on social media to stealing
it, blocking it as Russia did in the Ukraine, or changing it to a cyber- weapon
as Israel and the US reportedly did with </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet"><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">Stuxnet</span></a><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;"> – a malicious computer worm built to sabotage
Iran’s nuclear program. In the end it compromised Iranian programmable logic
controllers (PLCs) and caused fast-spinning centrifuges to tear themselves
apart. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSOYVvGfnZeDJWrvaSxl7WFp9wJS2Ipeg4HQXuoOQI9GEm6yCAOEldrpQxKau6xsrCSx3vbUpBzkSozuNWD83JtzlDmJxg_qozkohkCzF3dDA7Ad2tm0PgdwBCiU9Ps50TzkoJVrUgJiJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-12+at+4.27.05+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSOYVvGfnZeDJWrvaSxl7WFp9wJS2Ipeg4HQXuoOQI9GEm6yCAOEldrpQxKau6xsrCSx3vbUpBzkSozuNWD83JtzlDmJxg_qozkohkCzF3dDA7Ad2tm0PgdwBCiU9Ps50TzkoJVrUgJiJ/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-12-12+at+4.27.05+PM.png" width="168" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In
the current issue of Vanity Fair there is a chilling <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/11/how-bill-marczak-spyware-can-control-the-iphone">article</a> called “Invading Apple”
about the discovery earlier this year by UC Berkeley Ph.D. student Bill Marczak (left) of a spyware, and a previously unknown
Apple vulnerability, that allows hackers to infiltrate the Apple computers and I phones. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This “Jail Break” hack could spy on a person’s audio, e-mail and text messages
remotely. The story goes on to detail the on-going battle between “white hat”
good-guy hackers and “black hat” bad-guy programmers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Cyber Threats to Critical
Infrastructure </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
next panel helped define and navigate the cyber threat-landscape. They noted
three major types of threats to corporate IT infrastructure:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Malware:</b> An umbrella term used to
refer to a variety of forms of hostile or intrusive software, including
computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, scareware, and other
malicious programs. It can take the form of executable code, scripts, active
content, and other software.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ransomware: </b>A malicious software is
delivered that is designed to block access to files on a computer system
through encryption - until a sum of money is paid. After a victim discovers
they can’t open a file, they get a ransom note demanding money in exchange for
a private key. The attacker warns that if the ransom is not paid by a certain
date, the private key will be destroyed and the data will be lost forever. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Advanced Persistent Threats
(APT): </b><span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">A network attack in
which an unauthorized person gains access to a network and stays there
undetected for a long period of time. The intention of an APT attack is to
steal data rather than to cause damage to the network or organization.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Panelist
Sarah Roland Geffrey from AT&T observed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There
are two kinds of companies: Those who have been hacked, and those who don’t
know it yet.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>She said many threats
can be mitigated though risk assessment, being proactive about software updates
and proper training of employees. AT&T has <a href="https://www.business.att.com/cybersecurity/docs/cyberbreachresponse.pdf">published</a> “The CEO’s Guide to
Cyber-breach Response” on how to deal with DDoS attacks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Can Washington Keep Your
Data Secure? </b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwUlTs3B5zCI8NiWV6NawXjfk2Ri04qKlqTAivn5xfjspQIj5jQCj-XLP23MBxlARfIFNa1qtYBd2HtGE1T9KTE1Qpy-FjIxA5JvKk1xBCPmeN93q653JeowXUFlgkCI4lV-6Cc2PZKcY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-12+at+3.45.07+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwUlTs3B5zCI8NiWV6NawXjfk2Ri04qKlqTAivn5xfjspQIj5jQCj-XLP23MBxlARfIFNa1qtYBd2HtGE1T9KTE1Qpy-FjIxA5JvKk1xBCPmeN93q653JeowXUFlgkCI4lV-6Cc2PZKcY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-12+at+3.45.07+PM.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Apparently
not so well. Thomas Pace of <a href="https://www.cylance.com/">Cylance Inc.</a> gave the example of the
OMP.GOV (Office of Personnel Management) <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/opm-hack-was-classic-espionage-on-a-scale-weve-never-seen-before-2015-6">data breach</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In June of 2015 the US OPM announced that the
records of as many as four million people had been targeted. Later, FBI
Director James Comey placed the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/22/politics/opm-hack-18-milliion/index.html">number</a> at 18 million people,
including his own information. It was the largest data breach of government
data in US history. US law enforcement sources told Reuters news agency that a
“foreign entity or government” was behind the attack, identified as Chinese
hackers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Safeguarding Against Cyber
Attacks</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pace
offered some pragmatic advice: </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKejyIroPTeHuRIUykVqQiu22XiWAWOrDs17kU0v1LtaedZ4-oV7vVzaz_qjmpfJ9-fpYd8kEB2oLQQ_iQL0nVBEQtSP6xHFE-JQMoylQmiEhMxjse0WXJQ9iptklGjl7cHecfzkUMsNvd/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-12+at+4.57.12+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKejyIroPTeHuRIUykVqQiu22XiWAWOrDs17kU0v1LtaedZ4-oV7vVzaz_qjmpfJ9-fpYd8kEB2oLQQ_iQL0nVBEQtSP6xHFE-JQMoylQmiEhMxjse0WXJQ9iptklGjl7cHecfzkUMsNvd/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-12+at+4.57.12+PM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thomas Pace</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don’t wait until it is too late after a
cyber-attack. Be proactive about dealing with threats. Address “silo” problems
– be sure various parts of the enterprise collaborate on cybersecurity.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Lots of companies buy security software and
then simply don’t install it. If you buy it, install it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pace
noted most cyber-attacks come in via e-mail, so avoid clicking on links or
attachments from unfamiliar e-mails. Tell all employees to avoid opening .<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">exe</b> files, or executable files that run
as a program on a computer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He
advised that companies should pay ransom when facing ransomware, get the
decryption key and hope it works. Pace added “The #1 solution: have good,
secure data back-up.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Scott
Lailberte – Managing Director of the Cyber Security <a href="https://www.protiviti.com/US-en/it-consulting/cybersecurity">Practice</a> at Protoviti Inc.
identified the bad guy hackers as “The Red Team” and noted that “cyber security
attack factors have changed.” He advised “Take a kill-change approach. Accept
that you will lose at the initial phase. Then put controls in place to
safeguard the administrative rights – then guard the data.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He
added “Firms need controls at each stage, to monitor at various levels on the
detection side.” Continuing “Most firms are doing this very poorly.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/elissa-doroff-9100103">Elissa Doroff</a> -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who oversees risk management services for <a href="http://xlcatlin.com/insurance/insurance-coverage/professional-insurance/cyber-and-technology">cyber liability</a> at global insurance firm XL
Catin remarked: “The cyber insurance industry is necessarily ready to deal with
catastrophic exposure scenarios.” A scary though indeed, if anyone even knows
what this means. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.kornferry.com/consultants/aileenalexander/">Aileen Alexander</a> co-leader of the cyber
security practice at Korn Ferry noted that “There is a glaring lack of data
security specialists available to corporations today. That training, awareness
and a cultural awareness of cyber-security threats are the best things any
company can employ to safeguard against this threat.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She
concluded: “From the view of the hackers – the weakest link is the human
element.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Future of Cyber
Security</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For
a hair-raising view of future of cyber-security check out what the UC Berkeley Center
for Long-Term Cyber security came up with in their <a href="https://cltc.berkeley.edu/scenarios/">report</a> published in April 2016 called “Cyber Security
Futures 2020.” They describe the future in terms of five possible scenarios.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWrwdGk4gLOlbdbfd_SmS2Nkq6ENMPRDUTLkZlzoyO8ML4oAyc3fXkcvvlbA9DtgGWUHgjHSAL7zJbwrijsTfgwnn6AdZydVoIqZP2S6HxRaswZjRwC4xSA4r6uZenWIKbK1wd8tH0B26/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-12-12+at+3.47.56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWrwdGk4gLOlbdbfd_SmS2Nkq6ENMPRDUTLkZlzoyO8ML4oAyc3fXkcvvlbA9DtgGWUHgjHSAL7zJbwrijsTfgwnn6AdZydVoIqZP2S6HxRaswZjRwC4xSA4r6uZenWIKbK1wd8tH0B26/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-12-12+at+3.47.56+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Imagine
a world where computer algorithms are capable of predicting — and manipulating
— the people’s behavior with a high degree of accuracy; where economic collapse
puts our private information on the market to speculators or criminals; where
wearable devices track our thoughts and emotions, leaving us vulnerable to
surveillance, hacking, and blackmail; where the Internet of Things (IoT) takes
control of more and more of our lives; and where widespread distrust of
institutions’ security results in a digital “Wild West” of lawlessness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Scenario
thinking has really encouraged us to stretch our imaginations and expectations
about the future of cyber security,” said Betsy Cooper, executive director of
the CLTC. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I
get the feeling that the whole cyber security issue will be much more than an
academic exercise over the next 15 years. The CLTC scenarios are the stuff mind
boggling science fiction and really scary horror movies are made of.</span></div>
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-38868662275000377642016-07-11T12:57:00.001-07:002016-07-11T12:57:15.367-07:00Who wants to work at a Fortune 500 company? Apparently fewer than one in seven recent college graduates want to work at a big company, according to the Accenture Strategy <a data-mce-href="https://www.accenture.com/t20160512T073844__w__/us-en/_acnmedia/PDF-18/Accenture-Strategy-2016-Grad-Research-Gig-Experience-Unleash-Talent.pdf" href="https://www.accenture.com/t20160512T073844__w__/us-en/_acnmedia/PDF-18/Accenture-Strategy-2016-Grad-Research-Gig-Experience-Unleash-Talent.pdf" target="_blank">2016 US College Graduate Employment Study</a>.
This is a stark change from the many years when a large company
corporate career track was the preferred way to work and prosper in
America. The study found:<ul>
<li>Only 14% of the class of 2015 would “prefer” to work for a large corporation.</li>
<li>44% of new grads want to work either for medium-sized business or a small, entrepreneurial or start-up business.</li>
<li>University
grads are passionate, committed and willing to work hard – 69% cited
picked their major in college because they were passionate about that
area of study.</li>
<li>But just 42% picked a major because it offered
abundant job opportunities and only 23% indicated their choice was based
on how much money they could make.</li>
<li>Half of recent graduates surveyed feel they are underemployed.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Who is winning the battle for the top Millennial talent? </strong><br />
<br />
LinkedIn just <a data-mce-href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/behind-top-attractors-how-we-discovered-worlds-best-hirers-roth" href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/behind-top-attractors-how-we-discovered-worlds-best-hirers-roth" target="_blank">published a story</a> “Behind the Top Attractors: How we discovered the world’s best hirers and keepers of talent.”<br />
<br />
The
story noted that Fortune 500 CEOs see lots of change on the horizon,
and the ability to attract and retain top talent will be key to their
future success. But the story missed a blinding glimpse of the obvious.<br />
<br />
The
experience for many Fortune 500 employees, especially the entry level
millennial generation crowd, is not so great compared to what it used to
be.<br />
Are the Fortune 500 firms themselves are to blame for the talent flight to start-ups and smaller privately held firms?<br />
<br />
Here’s what many of the big companies <em>used to offer</em>,
but seem to have walked away from in name of cost-cutting and corporate
efficiency. But it’s interesting to note that a number of the LinkedIn
“top talent attractors” are bucking these trends and delivering what
clearly matters to their employees:<br />
<br />
<strong>Employee Training / Clear Career Development Paths:</strong><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5YI3lyxs7kgDqh7jw-tmDCah_FRdb4fXap3W1mglkHb_ajbSYfHTp3R1ozgpMlQTyHYH6oYSkfJl2eNMtM6NVr1_wu3RMBRcIEx8_O_suSkOpPuxl19KNdlCNf2ws0osg6oH11DiyrEN/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-07-11+at+3.52.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5YI3lyxs7kgDqh7jw-tmDCah_FRdb4fXap3W1mglkHb_ajbSYfHTp3R1ozgpMlQTyHYH6oYSkfJl2eNMtM6NVr1_wu3RMBRcIEx8_O_suSkOpPuxl19KNdlCNf2ws0osg6oH11DiyrEN/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-07-11+at+3.52.59+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
The Accenture study analysis suggested that the next generation of
workers are in fear being lost in the dense forest of a large
corporation. They are concerned their individual needs and talents will
be neither noticed nor nurtured. <br />
<br />
Big corporations continue to
cut back on formal training programs. The thought is “why bother
training them… they are only going to leave” is often the excuse. Larger
companies now emphasize on-the-job experience, coaching, collaboration
and self-directed learning. In short it’s sink-or-swim for many
employees, with no lifeguard on duty.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRd3r9eON2vDfRkH69YsJHAgqbSre9XivwJlXCKilNAFlTdv5C8YhAo7QG4Vj8lioOT0KaJ8_4A646HzmUT42vP33J5Y49bAGocbfF3rW2nDUvcM8gvZ_vI353N81G3iUKQ8n6xngwrur/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-07-11+at+3.53.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirRd3r9eON2vDfRkH69YsJHAgqbSre9XivwJlXCKilNAFlTdv5C8YhAo7QG4Vj8lioOT0KaJ8_4A646HzmUT42vP33J5Y49bAGocbfF3rW2nDUvcM8gvZ_vI353N81G3iUKQ8n6xngwrur/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-07-11+at+3.53.47+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<u><span class="underline">Current Best Practice</span>:</u> Microsoft offers a unique approach to career development: “an individual adventure” as <a data-mce-href="https://careers.microsoft.com/benefits" href="https://careers.microsoft.com/benefits" target="_blank">they define</a> it.<br />
<br />
Its
118,000 employees are encouraged to plot their own path, working
towards becoming a specialists or generalists. Career resources include
2,000 training programs.<br />
<br />
<strong>Long-Term Wealth Building Opportunities: </strong><br />
Many
emerging growth companies / start-ups are offering their employees
stock options as way to be competitive with larger firms and help
attract and retain the best and brightest people. In contrast most big
corporations reserve stock options for only their senior people.<br />
<br />
Nearly
all big firms have eliminated their defined benefit (pension) plans and
most have cut way back on their 401(k) matching contributions and
employee stock purchase plans. Many Millennials think it doesn’t pay to
hang around big companies waiting to get rich.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1dYscPOk7O_U_PjuhHiqGWXprGgI0BFprETloyt3XhU4ecSQ8sWFU18jzqgqEBLjeOLke46PP93C1eKkgwFS09tlMC9bWprepSvpC7HTel4RtYMUfYS4F-IQgl_RuKggo-DzPI5CX707/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-07-11+at+3.54.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1dYscPOk7O_U_PjuhHiqGWXprGgI0BFprETloyt3XhU4ecSQ8sWFU18jzqgqEBLjeOLke46PP93C1eKkgwFS09tlMC9bWprepSvpC7HTel4RtYMUfYS4F-IQgl_RuKggo-DzPI5CX707/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-07-11+at+3.54.35+PM.png" /></a></div>
<u><span class="underline">Current Best Practice</span>:</u> Last fall Apple <a data-mce-href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/10/14/tim-cook-memo-apple-launches-rsu-shares-program-for-all-employees-to-retain-talent/" href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/10/14/tim-cook-memo-apple-launches-rsu-shares-program-for-all-employees-to-retain-talent/" target="_blank">launched</a>
an RSU Grant (Restricted Stock Units) Program making everyone who works
at Apple eligible for the new program. Grants were given to employees
worth $1000-$2000 in Apple stock. This is addition to the existing Apple
Employee Purchase Stock Plan (ESPP) which makes Apple stock available
to employees at a discount.<br />
<br />
<strong>Willingness / Ability to Embrace Technology-Driven Innovation: </strong><br />
<br />
Many
Fortune 500 firms are on the back-end of the tech innovation curve.
Who’s still buying all the blackberry phones and PCs these days? How
many big firms have really cool smart-phone apps?<br />
<br />
How many have created
and tested highly disruptive business models? Have offered their
rank-and-file management an opportunity to learn computer coding?
Encouraged senior people to pair-up with junior digital natives as tech
mentors?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRoDOknULV3JQSnRGFPTXk-1BKPrgqV-bYWOVbOpNNePLqM4_fhL6ZhZah7Hjw_I3JHu3XMh4mVA31cqOMxjYlmMTkpbMSLOBMjFqvwq-wBGtVSjRCClQvLIIpAJf8Ie-NbNELNXJf7l23/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-07-11+at+3.55.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRoDOknULV3JQSnRGFPTXk-1BKPrgqV-bYWOVbOpNNePLqM4_fhL6ZhZah7Hjw_I3JHu3XMh4mVA31cqOMxjYlmMTkpbMSLOBMjFqvwq-wBGtVSjRCClQvLIIpAJf8Ie-NbNELNXJf7l23/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-07-11+at+3.55.16+PM.png" /></a></div>
<u><span class="underline">Current Best Practice</span>:</u> Goldman Sachs gets kudos for being an old-line investment banking firm that is <a data-mce-href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/23/its-the-end-of-goldman-sachs-as-we-know-it.html" href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/23/its-the-end-of-goldman-sachs-as-we-know-it.html" target="_blank">repositioning</a> itself as a tech company, with about a quarter of its 36,500 employees being engineers and tech staffers. The company is <a data-mce-href="http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/14/nydfs-4-major-banks-strike-deal-on-symphony.html" href="http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/14/nydfs-4-major-banks-strike-deal-on-symphony.html" target="_blank">actively investing</a> in early-stage fintech companies and partnerships are more common than acquisitions. They've even sponsored <a data-mce-href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/10/business/dealbook/wall-st-courts-start-ups-it-once-may-have-ignored.html?_r=0" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/10/business/dealbook/wall-st-courts-start-ups-it-once-may-have-ignored.html?_r=0" target="_blank">hackathons</a>.<br />
<br />
<strong>Placing Value on Seasoned Employees: </strong><br />
<br />
Seems
that being over 50 and making more than $150K+ a year puts many large
corporate employees on the “endangered species” list. Institutional
knowledge is being shown the door every day in corporate America in the
interest of cost-cutting.<br />
<br />
“Cheap and Cheerful” employees seem to be the
new order of the day. The younger employees often don’t even know what
they don’t know, worse yet senior management often doesn’t seem to care.
Customer satisfaction and loyalty can suffer in the end.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAlSAAAAJDcyNTBlMjAzLThjODUtNGEyMy1iZTM5LTliNzgxZGNkZWIzZg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="left" data-mce-src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAlSAAAAJDcyNTBlMjAzLThjODUtNGEyMy1iZTM5LTliNzgxZGNkZWIzZg.png" height="165" src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAlSAAAAJDcyNTBlMjAzLThjODUtNGEyMy1iZTM5LTliNzgxZGNkZWIzZg.png" width="169" /></a><u><span class="underline">Current Best Practice</span>:</u> Barclays Bank has launched an <a data-mce-href="http://realbusiness.co.uk/article/29208-barclays-shifts-perception-by-rolling-out-apprenticeship-scheme-for-those-over-50" href="http://realbusiness.co.uk/article/29208-barclays-shifts-perception-by-rolling-out-apprenticeship-scheme-for-those-over-50" target="_blank">innovative apprenticeship</a>
program for professionals over 50 years of age. The banks views this as
a way to up-skill the younger generation of their employees. The bank
predicts “that bringing in apprentices over 50 years of age will make
the institution more accessible, providing greater empathy with
requirements of certain customers.”<strong> </strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Attractive Corporate Cultures: </strong><br />
<br />
The
Accenture study shows that corporate culture matters to this new
generation. 74% of recent college grads would choose to work at an
organization with an engaging, positive social atmosphere, even if it
meant accepting a lower salary. And a striking 92% of 2016 grads say
it’s important to be employed at an organization that demonstrates
social responsibility.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAiwAAAAJDhhNDJkM2E0LWMxN2MtNDVkZS05MGIzLWMzMDM2MTcwODU3OA.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="left" data-mce-src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAiwAAAAJDhhNDJkM2E0LWMxN2MtNDVkZS05MGIzLWMzMDM2MTcwODU3OA.png" height="73" src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAiwAAAAJDhhNDJkM2E0LWMxN2MtNDVkZS05MGIzLWMzMDM2MTcwODU3OA.png" width="193" /></a><u><span class="underline">Current Best Practice</span>:</u> Last year Google <a data-mce-href="http://realbusiness.co.uk/article/29208-barclays-shifts-perception-by-rolling-out-apprenticeship-scheme-for-those-over-50" href="http://realbusiness.co.uk/article/29208-barclays-shifts-perception-by-rolling-out-apprenticeship-scheme-for-those-over-50" target="_blank">achieved</a> the #1 ranking for corporate social responsibility from the Reputation Institute. What put Google on top?<br />
<br />
The company has been carbon neutral since 2007 and has implemented numerous environmentally friendly initiatives, including <a data-mce-href="http://www.google.com/green/" href="http://www.google.com/green/" target="_blank">Google Green</a>.<br />
<br />
The
LinkedIn study was interesting because it was based entirely on actions
of users – drawn from LinkedIn primary behavioral data. It leveraged
actions such as job applications, engagement (non-employees viewing /
connecting with current employees) and new hire staying power.<br />
<br />
The
companies at the top of the list are disruptors, tech savvy, innovative
in creating new types of workplaces, provide professional growth
opportunities, job flexibility and even stock option plans to large
numbers of employees.<br />
<br />
An even more interesting data point is the
market cap and growth trajectory of the 40 companies on the LinkedIn
“Top Attractors” list. If the charge of a public company is to maximize
shareholder value, most of these companies are doing it in spades.<br />
<br />
By
delivering long-term profitable growth, the capital markets are
rewarding them with higher equity valuations. And this all may be
underpinned to a large degree by happy, hard-working, loyal and
satisfied employees. Go figure.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong> </strong> Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-8612012087679484272016-06-02T15:02:00.000-07:002016-06-02T15:14:46.692-07:00Disruption Decends on the Financial Services Sector. <style>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">A perfect storm is sitting on
top of the financial service industry today, one that is likely to massively
disrupt this business sector over the next ten years. The converging storm
fronts include the following:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">FinTech Competitors: </span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Many aspects of financial
services are under attack by a host of aggressive Fintech competitors including
consumer banking, wealth management, payments, lending, currency and insurance.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Players include <a href="https://stripe.com/">Stripe</a> who wants to redefine the way payments
are made (without banks), <a href="https://commonbond.co/">Common Bond</a> is radically
changing student loans, <a href="http://www.betterment.com/">Betterment</a> is
robo-advising people about their retirement savings at a much lower cost than
traditional financial advisors, and Bitcoin and other virtual currencies are
creating the digital cash marketplace. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">From the Silicon Valley to
NYC these fintech firms are primarily using technology to create new business
models that exploit inherent weaknesses present in banks and other financial
services firms: High costs, poor customer service, thin value propositions and glaring
lack of product / service innovations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPlaGuJl96l6ZNApHf-x9q1tQlejO3pd_R-gV_8ez_aMYLKDvBGxkqVPb0a5AghY2BPsfHB4RGGYTxCurHO1-q4lzz9dikHOvzjy5fcRJ9amEytYRXJzRw48gTOVF_X0DKgxKJ4TiUtXW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+5.02.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPPlaGuJl96l6ZNApHf-x9q1tQlejO3pd_R-gV_8ez_aMYLKDvBGxkqVPb0a5AghY2BPsfHB4RGGYTxCurHO1-q4lzz9dikHOvzjy5fcRJ9amEytYRXJzRw48gTOVF_X0DKgxKJ4TiUtXW/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+5.02.35+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The NY Times devoted an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/business/dealbook/fintech-firms-are-taking-on-the-big-banks-but-can-they-win.html?_r=0">entire
special section</a> to the subject this past spring called “FinTech’s
Power Grab.” The lead-in summarized the situation: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">“If you spend more than 15 minutes with any senior
executive of a large bank these days it is almost impossible to not to hear the
phrase ‘fin tech’ uttered. It is usually spoken with a sense of optimism, but
sometimes with a sense of dread.” </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">It is estimated that $19
billion has been invested in the fintech sector in the past year according to
Citigroup, up from just $1.8 billion just five years earlier. Big banks have
good reason to fear these well financed fintech competitors. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Environmental Issues: </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The banks themselves have
been distracted by huge increases in regulatory requirements coming out of the
financial crisis of 2008. </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">For example, JP Morgan has
hired an additional 13,000 people in the area of compliance since 2012.</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJLzeTeuR1MFNTXE3l8ZCpZIsXpF69DGOV3zwt-8if7VlbyGEWYtpcRpoTYwjJ-rkHOVaMuOyV8UjMhqfS8yBLqbDHp1ZGeID3-0J5PBC-jbO9gDvkVjgiIt2EVIDs5K2PA4wW4eYeIeG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+5.43.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJLzeTeuR1MFNTXE3l8ZCpZIsXpF69DGOV3zwt-8if7VlbyGEWYtpcRpoTYwjJ-rkHOVaMuOyV8UjMhqfS8yBLqbDHp1ZGeID3-0J5PBC-jbO9gDvkVjgiIt2EVIDs5K2PA4wW4eYeIeG/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+5.43.32+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Banks have also been forced
to make massive investments in IT to fend off new cyber-security threats. The
American Banker <a href="http://www.americanbanker.com/gallery/top-5-security-threats-banks-will-face-in-2015-1071763-1.html">identified</a>
a number of them last year including: mobile banking being ripe for attacks,
SMS and malware strikes on Android devices, payment breaches surging ahead of
the shift to EMV chips in debit / credit cards and the Internet of Things (IoT)
creating new vulnerabilities. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Financial services firms also face extraordinarily
stiff competition from start-ups when it comes to attracting and retaining
bright and motivated employees, especially in the IT and senior management
professional tracks. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Cuts backs in training
programs and the glaring lack of long-term wealth building opportunities for
most financial services sector employees have made working in the area far less attractive than it
once was. Many of the best and brightest business school grads are opting for
careers with start-ups and in the tech sector rather than banking. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">The Trust Factor:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">There is also a glaring lack
of trust on the part of many consumers and businesses in the banking sector. Banks
have undertaken huge cost-cutting initiatives that have adversely impacted the
quality of customer service, continued to increase fees and focused a large
amount of energy on their own trading activities in an attempt bolster sagging
profits. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">In the end - bank customers
have gotten the short end of the stick and are more than ever customers are considering
non-banking options for their financial service needs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgSf_20zRX5hUOMbuccX3bkjojZZ0AxC4ZzSep2mZXPb56BIsjr2wwI_md21HP_hm7NzXm3XscuEu5ofxLA-x_U0v2lICG1UhyNyLSuZii2R5cBO1_OLbJOM3W5W77m9QlYzseFk_0gA0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+11.26.55+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVgSf_20zRX5hUOMbuccX3bkjojZZ0AxC4ZzSep2mZXPb56BIsjr2wwI_md21HP_hm7NzXm3XscuEu5ofxLA-x_U0v2lICG1UhyNyLSuZii2R5cBO1_OLbJOM3W5W77m9QlYzseFk_0gA0/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+11.26.55+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">According to the most recent
Chicago Booth / Kellogg School Financial Trust Index survey fewer than half of
the people <a href="http://www.financialtrustindex.org/">surveyed</a> trust
banks in general and even fewer trust national bank brands. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Branding Challenges:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">In 2015 the Harvard Business
Review wrote an <a href="https://hbr.org/2015/03/why-our-trust-in-banks-hasnt-been-restored">article</a>
entitled “Why our trust in banks hasn’t been restored.” They reported “</span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">Since the financial crisis of 2008, a major question has been
how banks can restore the trust of their clients. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">For example, JP Morgan has hired an additional
13,000 people in the area of compliance since 2012.” I suspect this was a reactive
and defensive measure on the part of Chase. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">The banks seem to be missing a blinding glimpse
of the obvious: Financial service brands are built on trust, and that is earned
based on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">positive customer experiences</i>.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">At the top of the list for improving the customer
experience by banks is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">timely problem
resolution</i>. This seems to be a lost practice these days. Think about how
many times you’ve been put on hold when calling your bank’s toll-free service
number, only to be connected to an overseas-based customer service rep, with a
limited knowledge of the English language. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">The HBR goes on to suggest that banks would be
better served rebuilding trust, and thereby their brands, by focusing on three
elements identified by research:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">Ability:</span></b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">
Are you competent?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">Integrity:</span></b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">
Are you honest?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">Benevolence:</span></b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">
Do you care about my interest?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial";">Most people might be hard-pressed to apply any
of these attributes to a major bank – therein lies the opening for many alternative
/ disruptive financial services businesses. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Changing Consumer Expectation and Behaviors </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Millennial consumers are
especially unhappy with banks. A recent study published by <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scratch – part of Viacom Media found that
banks are at the highest risk of disruption. Why? </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">53% don’t think their bank offers anything different than
other banks. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">71% would rather go to the dentist than listen to what their
bank has to say. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1 in 3 are open to switching banks in the next 90 days. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All 4 of the leading banks (JP Morgan Chase, Bank of
America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup) are among Millennials’ ten least loved
brands. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">73% said that they’d be more excited about new financial
services options from Google, Amazon, Apple, PayPal or Square than from their
own nationwide bank. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These
data points should strike fear into the hearts of senior management and
marketing executives at the larger banks, but alas, they’re probably in a
compliance meeting and won’t notice. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Surviving in a Disrupted World?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The Deloitte Center for
Financial Services recently issued a compelling report called “Banking
Reimagined – How disruptive forces will transform the industry in the decade
ahead.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6lAakpz-GJg9UCDQ-3LUUFg4fWA-H0K_jyNaDyzJS1pNSjKBZOsYKhKuUfdp3j1PK-lFBinqrmJE6v2zIyNkzM25RHtx67exdGu-OjP05oneA_0SDUbAPAe5FrTusD6ptF8BJUsK3py0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+11.10.07+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6lAakpz-GJg9UCDQ-3LUUFg4fWA-H0K_jyNaDyzJS1pNSjKBZOsYKhKuUfdp3j1PK-lFBinqrmJE6v2zIyNkzM25RHtx67exdGu-OjP05oneA_0SDUbAPAe5FrTusD6ptF8BJUsK3py0/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+11.10.07+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Deloitte’s basic premise is
not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If</i> the banking sector will be
disrupted, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">when</i> and to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what degree</i> it will change.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The question is not whether
the disruptions that we are witnessing today will transform banking and capital
markets, but rather how will they do so?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Which entrants will have the
most success? What technological disruptions will take root and transform the
way business is done?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>What does the future hold?</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The likely outcome of all this disruption will be a vastly different competitive landscape for the financial services sector. New entrants will leverage technical expertise with a clear focus on improving the customer experience. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">There will be greater industry fragmentation as consumers turn to alternative financial service offerings, many web and mobile based. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The big banks will face pressure to adapt new business models or face massive customer defections and market share losses. They will need to make big investments in talent and technology if they hope to remain relevant, viable, competitive and profitable. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-66372224852613483502016-02-22T12:10:00.000-08:002016-02-22T12:10:51.197-08:00Who on Earth Wants to Work at IBM? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDawY-hxJ_iWAXjnjme080ALAoypyqXuSxwpKHV4npVw1jFNYio0MFBEU_5yx7_rItYdsAseEGHLIhDLwNDW_MqqCMeTTLbKtstahPeO8sjnT_Vnlremx67cLiaXp_MTpenfTdcP-93be/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-02-22+at+2.57.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDawY-hxJ_iWAXjnjme080ALAoypyqXuSxwpKHV4npVw1jFNYio0MFBEU_5yx7_rItYdsAseEGHLIhDLwNDW_MqqCMeTTLbKtstahPeO8sjnT_Vnlremx67cLiaXp_MTpenfTdcP-93be/s200/Screen+Shot+2016-02-22+at+2.57.41+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: din, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
Who on Earth wants to work at IBM these days? Or for that matter, any other Fortune 500 corporation? That seems to be the sentiment among a huge number of millennial business school graduates these days.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: din, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
“For the first time ever last spring – top investment banks (Goldman Sachs) and consulting firms (McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group) were not filling their on-campus recruiting interview schedules with enough interested candidates,” according to Ellis Chase at the Career Management Center of the Columbia Business School.</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: din, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
And there is good reason for millennials to turn their backs on Fortune 500 firms. As Reid Hoffman points out in his book<span class="Apple-converted-space"><em> <a href="http://www.thestartupofyou.com/" target="_blank">The Start-up of You</a></em></span><a href="http://www.thestartupofyou.com/" target="_blank"> </a>the traditional corporate career escalator simply does not work anymore.</div>
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As Hoffman states, “that escalator is jammed at every level. Many young people, even the most highly educated, are stuck at the bottom, underemployed or jobless.” Unpaid internships now seem to be a part of the “career path” of many college grads.</div>
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Is there anything large Fortune 500 firms and other old-line prestigious firms can do about attracting and retaining the best and brightest millennials entering the job market?</div>
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They might start by focusing on what’s important to millennials these days when it comes to considering a potential employer. According to a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <a href="http://www.epageflip.net/i/363323-universum-top-100-us-2014" target="_blank">recent survey</a></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>of American college students by HR consulting firm Universum, students focus on employers that will offer:</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Respect for their employees.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Secure employment.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A creative and dynamic work environment.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Professional training and development.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A friendly work environment.</li>
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It’s little wonder that startups present themselves as such an attractive alternative career path to large corporations. Millennials came of age during the Great Recession, a time when headlines were rife with mentions of massive headcount reductions, cutbacks in training programs, and reports of generally staid and often boring work environments.</div>
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Hoffman later advocates in his book that people should adopt the same principles that have propelled the massive success of Silicon Valley startups: take intelligent and bold risks to accomplish something great; pivot to a breakout opportunity.</div>
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Savvy Fortune 500 firms are adopting this philosophy with the rise of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">employer branding</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>initiatives.</div>
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The Harvard Business Review<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://hbr.org/2015/05/ceos-need-to-pay-attention-to-employer-branding" style="border: 0px; color: #111111; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline; transition: all 0.2s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;">reported</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>the trend earlier this year. The HBR states: “As the global economy picks up, there is a growing concern among CEOs about finding and keeping the best talent to achieve their growth ambitions.” Many firms reported talent shortages and are concerned about the availability of new skills.</div>
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<b>So what are Fortune 500 firms actually doing about this recruitment problem?</b></div>
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IBM is a company in transition, moving from mainframe computers to a new set of strategic imperatives including data management, security, cloud computing, mobile technology, and cognitive computing with IBM Watson. But it is a safe bet that most college graduates are unaware of this shift, or even what it is like to work at IBM.</div>
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IBM has wisely adopted the lingua franca of millennials: social media. They’ve developed<span class="Apple-converted-space"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/8OpSkOvhq3/" target="_blank">surprisingly attractive</a></span> content that is driving their reach, engagement, and message amplification. All of these elements are key to successful employer branding in 2016.</div>
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“While we certainly enjoy widespread brand recognition, we need to help overcome their murky perception of what IBM does…we need to communicate our strategic imperatives: Data management, security, cloud computing, mobile technology, IBM Watson,” noted Jennifer O’Brien, Global Candidate Attraction & Social Media Recruitment leader at IBM.</div>
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Other companies, GE for example, have taken to using expensive, high production value <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xGoBlI_fdg" target="_blank">TV ads<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>for their employer branding. This new campaign from Madison Avenue ad agency BBDO uses humor to explain how GE is evolving as a company, and that it is a great place to work. This message seems contrived, less than authentic, and potentially easy to ignore, or for the viewer to feel “talked at” with hype rather than being engaged with a relevant message.</div>
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Even companies that rank near the top of the “Ideal Employer Rankings” are finding it necessary to address the concerns of potential employees. Take for example consulting giant McKinsey. While consulting has always been considered a great career path for top business school graduates, it comes with a well known cost: 70+ hour work-weeks and the constant need to be on the road.</div>
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McKinsey has countered this problem with its <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/your-growth-at-mckinsey/work-life-flexibility/take-time" target="_blank">"Take Time"</a> program that allows consultants to take off between 5-10 weeks per year between engagements to pursue personal interests and passions. And they are aggressively promoting this program on social media and with digital marketing.</div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; color: #111111; font-family: din, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #111111; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: din, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">Looks like savvy Fortune 500 firms are embracing the new world order of employer marketing that attracts and engages their millennial audiences, and using smart phones, social media, and employee generated content to make their message authentic. Pity the firms that miss the boat on this trend, as they will need to endure fast thinning ranks of qualified recruits to build their futures.</span> </div>
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-67821680817833577262015-11-17T08:59:00.005-08:002015-11-18T14:13:30.771-08:00Can better customer service disrupt financial services? <style>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">It is no secret that
customer service at most financial services companies is just awful. Banks,
brokerage and insurance companies have been cutting back on customer service
for years in an attempt to reduce costs and improve profitability.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">At a recent Harvard Business
School alumni event in NYC entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Innovation
in Financial Technology: The Startups”</i> three founders shared their
successful (and disruptive) business models focusing on delivering better customer service in
financial services. The common thread for all three featured firms was their involvement in marketplace lending. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Marketplace Lending </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Marketplace lending is
“about the reinvention of consumer finance” according to the American Bankers
Association. Until recently it was better known as “peer-to-peer lending” lead
by the likes of <a href="http://www.businessfinancenews.com/26256-lendingclub-corp-all-good-things-come-to-those-who-wait/" target="_blank">Lending Club</a> and Prosper. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">David Klein </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">David Klein</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial";">
is the CEO and co-founder of CommonBond and he described marketplace lending
succinctly in a </span><a href="https://commonbond.co/blog/what-is-marketplace-lending/"><span style="font-family: "arial";">blog post</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial";">
this past summer: </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The
rise of marketplace lending in recent years is part of a massive wave of
disruption that has taken hold in the financial services industry – and it will
only grow larger, as marketplace lending is projected to be a trillion-dollar
industry within the next 10 years.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Klein
describes marketplace lenders as:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
non-banking financial institution.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Heavily
leveraging technology to drive simplicity and speed of process.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Serving a
two-sided market of consumers and investors.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">More Affordable Student Loans</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://commonbond.co/">CommonBond</a> describes itself as “A values-driven
fintech company that is re-imagining the student loan experience.” Klein
described the origins of his business based on a very personal experience: the
pain of student loans. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7f4Ujyk-4i9ExyAgy_zPvOcjqnLaT95QykObLLqbvc2LAG2I5U-jzWKSlXRohH5xUv-eyAGYlgdwvhmMPB7fjOncC4iSc7a6bmaWbVAPsKslaiKK3fanww09v1I9efeK6KhYSw_F68llD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-11-17+at+10.38.19+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7f4Ujyk-4i9ExyAgy_zPvOcjqnLaT95QykObLLqbvc2LAG2I5U-jzWKSlXRohH5xUv-eyAGYlgdwvhmMPB7fjOncC4iSc7a6bmaWbVAPsKslaiKK3fanww09v1I9efeK6KhYSw_F68llD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-11-17+at+10.38.19+AM.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While
he was attending Wharton he had only one option: The Federal Government,
offering one rate, no matter where the people when to school or what their
credit record was like. “It was a hard process with really bad service, and I
knew there were lots of other people in the same position. But what could they
do?”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Klein
looked at the simple math of student lending: Investors were getting 2%
returns, while students were paying 8% interest. “I saw the opportunity there
to refinance student loans, saving student borrowers 2-3% in interest in the
process.” A more affordable student loan option was born. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Some
call us a shadow bank, but we consider ourselves a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sunshine bank</i>, doing something good for consumers.” Klein is
adamant about CommonBond’s benefits: “We offer a better product choice, a
cheaper price, and use technology to speed up the process and offer improved
customer service.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
observed “We as marketplace lenders are closing the cost of capital and closing
the customer service gap versus big banks. This will allow start-ups in the
fintech sector to win.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Faster
Small Business Loans </span></b></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfVqePcUq49hDfnPM8tNL5yrpM-nC1kAFEX32uAICsWRlONzf2YT858zx6lea8jH35Ir1G6WuN7jvGuzTlQ0lS88wlFbJ6xKFGdWjx_Y6DmKXBAxcLzI948ZXo43EJXE9Nb8ZDP5bm4OO/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-11-17+at+10.39.39+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfVqePcUq49hDfnPM8tNL5yrpM-nC1kAFEX32uAICsWRlONzf2YT858zx6lea8jH35Ir1G6WuN7jvGuzTlQ0lS88wlFbJ6xKFGdWjx_Y6DmKXBAxcLzI948ZXo43EJXE9Nb8ZDP5bm4OO/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-11-17+at+10.39.39+AM.png" width="136" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">David Haber </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">David Haber</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is the
co-founder and CEO of <a href="https://bondstreet.com/">Bond Street</a>. The
firm is transforming small business lending through technology, data and
design. The company believes small business owners are the foundation for
growth in the economy, and yet today’s banking system has left them behind. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
Haber explained he took an unconventional path to fintech, having studied
biochemistry at Harvard. He then worked at a small venture capital firm.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
saw small businesses struggling to raise money, along with the fact that big
structural issues faced banks serving the small business lending market. He
told the gathering: “In most cases you can’t apply for a small business loan
from a bank online. Then 80% of the applicants got rejected. It’s a really bad
customer experience.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkexIQpZUgMITdU5-fP9e1BRIO9bKMxybTlXU_oG7JQhPmwvQ7KVeCWUJXgQ33haKpZuir_g-kIpdEGWKjL9utBD0lNyzBUMOnDtWktAFjiXny5m9V1PGbxwAMJQNtttAbIW2bVLtQeBuT/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-11-17+at+10.41.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkexIQpZUgMITdU5-fP9e1BRIO9bKMxybTlXU_oG7JQhPmwvQ7KVeCWUJXgQ33haKpZuir_g-kIpdEGWKjL9utBD0lNyzBUMOnDtWktAFjiXny5m9V1PGbxwAMJQNtttAbIW2bVLtQeBuT/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-11-17+at+10.41.31+AM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Haber
further noted that the consolidation in the banking industry has concentrated
assets, and as a result the percentage of banking assets available for small
business lending has dramatically declined. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“A
$5 million loan takes the same time to process as a $150,000 loan.” So there
isn’t much incentive for banks to lend at the smaller end of the spectrum. “And
banks don’t want to cannibalize their lucrative credit card portfolios with
more attractive lending options from the customers perspective.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bond
Street offers small business loans from $50k-$500k with rates starting at 6%
and offers and a vastly improved customer experience in terms of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">speed</i> and convenience. Applications are
made online and approvals are given in less than 7 day versus the typical 6-8 weeks
a bank takes to evaluate small business loan applications. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Better Marketplace Lending Information </span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAMkZdgNsF3YbUx2Hhio7bg1wqWICarky7cP8-JRC9kmZ0RjPWevJJQ12CK-TqF11IVTAvuVgBsw5CeP0D8t4nu4k8gN92WybDOpNW2UEydF8ygqgf12Fyj56VXZOFJq1yI-feHCiwa7K/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-11-17+at+10.43.33+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAMkZdgNsF3YbUx2Hhio7bg1wqWICarky7cP8-JRC9kmZ0RjPWevJJQ12CK-TqF11IVTAvuVgBsw5CeP0D8t4nu4k8gN92WybDOpNW2UEydF8ygqgf12Fyj56VXZOFJq1yI-feHCiwa7K/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-11-17+at+10.43.33+AM.png" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Matt Burton </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matt Burton </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">works the B2B side of fintech.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> He’s the Co-Founder & CEO
of </span><a href="https://orchardplatform.com/"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Orchard</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, which provides
analytics to the marketplace lending industry. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
company serves three distinct targets: Investment managers who need data to
analyze potential lending investments for risk and yield criteria. Loan
originators who need access to a wide spectrum of high quality investment
managers and institutional investors, and institutional investors interested in
entering the marketplace lending sector. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
essence Orchard provides analytics to the marketplace lending industry. They
also created a unique marketplace platform between institutional investors and
borrowers, show in a great “</span><a href="https://orchardplatform.com/company/lendscape/"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">online lending ecosystem</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">” chart on
their website. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matt
admitted that he fell into his start-upbackwards. “I was working as consultant
to the hedge fund industry, looking at small money managers, hoping one would
have good system for tracking portfolios of small loans. They didn’t.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Burton
saw the opportunity to fill the analytic gap with great customer service. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“All
these guys tried to do it on their own” Burton said. “I decided to start a
business that would provide analytics to the marketplace lending industry.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Forbes
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/robbmandelbaum/2015/08/19/the-next-moodys-orchard-platform-is-a-guide-to-the-exploding-peer-to-peer-lending-industry/" target="_blank">reported</a> earlier this year that the volume of loans made by online matchmakers
last year totaled $14 billion and will grow by a compound annual rate of 47%
through 2020. </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJVJ55kvan-uKr5dg2g5d60iAk8GsdtU63ExecgTPsDSI-OrQz6VfPBb5HgcEPyesjjBlPwUfn5heSyoDUw6ifxH05z-YlO3sSUHWTSoM4l5n7t8R6Pb_cmxcs8ve7Vp0YXHnf6YU3GAq/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-11-17+at+10.46.24+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJVJ55kvan-uKr5dg2g5d60iAk8GsdtU63ExecgTPsDSI-OrQz6VfPBb5HgcEPyesjjBlPwUfn5heSyoDUw6ifxH05z-YlO3sSUHWTSoM4l5n7t8R6Pb_cmxcs8ve7Vp0YXHnf6YU3GAq/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-11-17+at+10.46.24+AM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Orchard
typically charges clients about three basis points against the amount invested
or managed through the company. This year Orchard expects to have about $3
million in revenue. In July the company’s 59 clients make $227 million in loans
using Orchard. They’ve raised $12 million in financing, which valued the
company at $50 million. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Backers
include a prestigious group of former big-time Wall Street executives including
Virkam Pandit (former CEO of Citigroup), Jack Mack (formerly of Morgan Stanley)
and Capital One<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>founder Nigel Morris. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">in the Forbes article Jay Posner, managing director of client Blue Cub Capital Management, said Orchard "levels the playing field. The ability to buy loans milliseconds after they're available allows me to compete with larger funds that have more resources." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Burton observed at the HBS event "Lots of people are fleeing banks, especially the under 40 crowd. This will only build the marketplace lending sector." He continued "Traditional banks are facing death from 10,000 cuts from startups."</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">Measures of Success </span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">These three startups are delivering compelling evidence that focusing on superior customer service, expressed as a lower cost, faster service or better information can indeed disrupt the financial services sector. </span><b><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">The clearest vote of confidence in these companies has been their success at fund raising and business growth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">In September of this year, CommonBond <a href="http://www.inc.com/zoe-henry/lending-startup-commonbond-raises-35-million-from-august-ventures.html" target="_blank">raised</a> $35 million in a Series B funding round led by August Capital, and surpassed $100 million in refinanced student loans.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Bond Street <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bond-street-raises-110-million-2015-6" target="_blank">announced</a> $100 million in funding last June from venture capital firm Spark Capital and global investment bank Jefferies. "Our biggest challenge for the past year was not having enough lending capital" said David Haver. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In September Orchard Platform <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/10/orchardplatform-funding-idUSL1N11E2EC20150910#QV05kDVv27TuSOkT.97">raised</a>
$ 30 million. The NYC based venture capital firm
Thrive Capital lead the round of new investors, which also included former
Goldman Sachs president Jon Winkelried, Victory Park Capital and Thomvest
Ventures. This latest round brings Orchard’s total fund raise to $ 44.7
million. </span></span></div>
Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-52243059449186230772015-11-11T07:16:00.002-08:002015-11-11T07:29:03.121-08:00What my dog taught me about social media.<style>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I got an important lesson
about social media recently from my dog, or rather from his passing. </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">I posted the following piece
on Facebook without giving it much thought: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<i><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Decoy our Black Labrador
Retriever died peacefully on Monday night 10-12-15 at the Animal Medical Center
in NYC. </span></i><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZLY1RBR2CdnTBxTMszCNmk8z5rd-HI3-_qTV_StnO1T-ZXfEfAR587OX0ZGYO1CwksdtqwdlbLEQONerRsHmrMvcFA_zceDFsspENPdtGQdezVFSTj-IzyvvaEP5LdYoyu4q_XyLO7Z9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-11-11+at+9.31.26+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbZLY1RBR2CdnTBxTMszCNmk8z5rd-HI3-_qTV_StnO1T-ZXfEfAR587OX0ZGYO1CwksdtqwdlbLEQONerRsHmrMvcFA_zceDFsspENPdtGQdezVFSTj-IzyvvaEP5LdYoyu4q_XyLO7Z9/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-11-11+at+9.31.26+AM.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Decoy</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">He came to NYC over eleven
years ago as a rescue dog from Charlottesville, VA. Since then he enjoyed a
full life with long walks, ocean swims, interesting smells in NYC, frolics in
the snow, back rolls on the beach and dog treats at every port of call. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Decoy made many friends
throughout his life, including the staff at our apartment building, the owner
of our dry<span class="textexposedshow"> cleaners and the guys at the local FDNY
firehouse, in fact anyone with a biscuit in hand. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">He was a member
of our church, where he often worked as an usher and appeared in the annual Christmas Pageant - as a black sheep. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Despite his best efforts
both in Central Park and on Eastern Long Island, Decoy never successfully
caught any rabbits, squirrels, ducks, geese or deer, and he made hundreds of
attempts at the chase. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">He was a family member and
friend who will be missed, and never forgotten. RIP Decoy.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The response I got back was
overwhelming. So what did I learn about social media? </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigzLF0l-mmET9Z4sl1f-NsnzQ_nS0n-ycwn0p0MSg0nITy1ds8I73CgDjxvXHNmi5VUQn0klcTzhaffSoUJMOBf3c7QkEZN7eZZvMw6owcIubgeX1Ia9v6GVBcEAIUhsfEqKOIAPE1QHXq/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-11-11+at+9.36.29+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigzLF0l-mmET9Z4sl1f-NsnzQ_nS0n-ycwn0p0MSg0nITy1ds8I73CgDjxvXHNmi5VUQn0klcTzhaffSoUJMOBf3c7QkEZN7eZZvMw6owcIubgeX1Ia9v6GVBcEAIUhsfEqKOIAPE1QHXq/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-11-11+at+9.36.29+AM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Write from the heart </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">if you want to connect with people. I have to put aside all the logic, process and strategy I learned in business
school and practice professionally once in a while, and let my heart speak in my writing.
Apparently it resonates with lots of people. </span><br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Live in the moment. </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Decoy never worried about what happened yesterday. He lived
for our early morning runs in Central Park and visits to the beach on Long
Island. As far as I could tell he never worried about the future. I shared this
in my Facebook post. Capturing the simple moments that make up our lives and sharing
them is what social media is all about.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOYMe-_I1cKygKm0_wpJWO-SB4Q-_A4nt_6pVLeITwL4hIBXw9pPgzaTmpDZNvAzyc1jitQ1zkCrSgYPRITxbAheZQQylB_bnumn9PsHIxxqeaUmJFesuishtPTwXkFX7lUmH8828eajP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-11-11+at+9.38.51+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOYMe-_I1cKygKm0_wpJWO-SB4Q-_A4nt_6pVLeITwL4hIBXw9pPgzaTmpDZNvAzyc1jitQ1zkCrSgYPRITxbAheZQQylB_bnumn9PsHIxxqeaUmJFesuishtPTwXkFX7lUmH8828eajP/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-11-11+at+9.38.51+AM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Trust the Data: </span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I work with lots of clients on social media marketing
programs, and tell them to closely observe what creates engagement with
their audience; then use that data as a guide to creating content that matters to
people. After my article on Decoy appeared, my <a href="https://klout.com/home" target="_blank">Klout score</a> (measuring my online
social influence) went through the roof. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Of all the messages I got
back from the Decoy Facebook post, my favorite was the following: </span><br />
<br />
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<i><span style="color: #1a1718; font-family: "arial";">Dogs
come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span style="color: #1a1718; font-family: "arial";">A new dog will never replace an old dog. It merely expands the heart. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span style="color: #1a1718; font-family: "arial";">If you
have loved many dogs, your heart is very big. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Decoy expanded my heart in countless ways, and in turn opened my perspectives on how to share that gift, using
social media. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>
Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-47480657221740179392015-07-28T15:43:00.001-07:002015-07-29T12:52:01.078-07:00The Need for Substance Behind Disruption. <style>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswtaSoADhbkf9cPpgtEHTWwOIPBgr98YUJJaSpRO4p91F4nKwOj6FpRxDU2-gB1_Duvpf_AVA1hmt_J_UKDG8Yk8wm9EAcFYsYOufloYEVagUTyfATE7SgdTOxwyXhLddqfcL_JGm-dRX/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.41.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswtaSoADhbkf9cPpgtEHTWwOIPBgr98YUJJaSpRO4p91F4nKwOj6FpRxDU2-gB1_Duvpf_AVA1hmt_J_UKDG8Yk8wm9EAcFYsYOufloYEVagUTyfATE7SgdTOxwyXhLddqfcL_JGm-dRX/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.41.47+PM.png" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">Much has being written about
the merits of disruptive business models. They are redefining numerous business
sectors and creating new companies with massive valuations in the process. But
many startups, using disruptive business models, fail for the lack of a sound
strategy and basic business acumen. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Many young entrepreneurs,
founders and investors dive into business sectors they don’t know much about.
And for all the creativity, drive and vision of gifted programmers and founders
- writing code is a completely different skill-set than many years of industry
expertise, or the basic lessons learned in graduate business schools. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Here are four cornerstones
of “substance” that emerging growth companies should consider:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sound Business Acumen:</span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Groupon offers deals and
coupons for restaurants, retailers and service providers. It made a big splash
back in 2011 when its IPO it went public raising $805 million. Investment banks
including Goldman Sachs made millions in fees. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6Lqt82Q-b9AA6JrQnRCGMx5cApOk6qx5xkBqtZqwzxkYgt09BYJelB-2D8c8qiZ-SL_1Ss9GWg8Tj7VPRo4H_Hk8Iv9wh1mKoQtc7nP56yLjloLq6TaNW5FX44_hbz5Evm5EVd8bkr3N/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.38.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil6Lqt82Q-b9AA6JrQnRCGMx5cApOk6qx5xkBqtZqwzxkYgt09BYJelB-2D8c8qiZ-SL_1Ss9GWg8Tj7VPRo4H_Hk8Iv9wh1mKoQtc7nP56yLjloLq6TaNW5FX44_hbz5Evm5EVd8bkr3N/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.38.31+PM.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Only a few months later,
regulators flagged some questionable accounting practices. The company admitted
to “material weakness” in its internal controls, restated its 4 Q 2011
financials and the stock tanked by 44%, and $350 million in equity valuation
vaporized<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. </i>Groupon’s <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2012/04/03/groupon-accounting-scandal-and-were-surprised/" target="_blank">accounting practice</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2012/04/03/groupon-accounting-scandal-and-were-surprised/" target="_blank"> </a>gaffe reflected the extreme downside risk of not having sound business
acumen, especially in accounting matters. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Industry Expertise: </span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Some startups simply don’t
understand the business sectors they’re entering. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The American Bankers
Association recently <a href="http://www.americanbanker.com/video/fintech-recruitment-lessons-from-star-wars-1075269-1.html?utm_medium=email&ET=americanbanker%253Ae4986477%253Aa%253A&utm_campaign=-jul%2013%202015&utm_source=newsletter&st=email" target="_blank">posted a video</a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">on the need for financial technology startups to hire both seasoned
executives that understand the industry (including regulations) and younger developers
who bring creativity, innovative and disruptive ideas. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A great example of this
combined skillset in practice is <a href="https://www.pollyport.com/" target="_blank">Polly Portfolio.</a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzg0LyNeen_gbMXk-k9bUrEtBeQ9oHeCs3U0DxoFRQar6XNZnzdnnnjJ5tvTPz5a7BF0UJAbQyAioFptPu2IfoKVdJHAE8yOzeVtuZ64XfsbAA5dGOtLLPaor0Rzpow_aH2eGXtGJpP4Cs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.16.29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzg0LyNeen_gbMXk-k9bUrEtBeQ9oHeCs3U0DxoFRQar6XNZnzdnnnjJ5tvTPz5a7BF0UJAbQyAioFptPu2IfoKVdJHAE8yOzeVtuZ64XfsbAA5dGOtLLPaor0Rzpow_aH2eGXtGJpP4Cs/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.16.29+PM.png" width="128" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Barron’s recently featured a <a href="http://online.barrons.com/articles/robo-advisors-take-on-wall-street-1432349473" target="_blank">cover story</a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">on the rise of “Robo Advisors.” Firms like Wealthfront and Betterment offer web
portal access for investors seeking a simpler and less expensive way to manage
their investments. This approach is perfect for Millennials who don’t see the
value in an expensive investment advisor sitting a fancy office. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But do the developers and
founders behind these online asset allocation algorithms have the investment
management experience, regulatory insight and proven track record to match Wall
Street? The jury is still out. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYE9_He-4KrX9pJXIvRebL9uR8UZngYz6NS7PZOmTfDcECx9kr9JFyIEhDlRnDcpS6kTXkEU4eeVQ4jqZIFiG0x0EKPVsTvy4GZGRffugovL1tZlBfp0CyjjBy3bqpIuQpiUKTzUye-Sy/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.35.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYE9_He-4KrX9pJXIvRebL9uR8UZngYz6NS7PZOmTfDcECx9kr9JFyIEhDlRnDcpS6kTXkEU4eeVQ4jqZIFiG0x0EKPVsTvy4GZGRffugovL1tZlBfp0CyjjBy3bqpIuQpiUKTzUye-Sy/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.35.43+PM.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Polly Portfolio has the
pedigree of some leading Wall Street hedge fund managers and their quant
investment models. The company offers a sophisticated portfolio asset
allocation customization feature with great graphics, and the benefit of active
portfolio management and rebalancing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you don’t quite
understand all this, it simply translates to turbo-charged
industry expertise in investment management, delivered conveniently to your
laptop, at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional investment advisors. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Clear and Tangible End Benefits:</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A basic tenant of good
marketing is that people are much more motivated to buy benefits from a product
or service rather than features. K Mart sells lots of Craftsman drills with
nifty features, but in the end people buy a hole in the wall. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjof1nUaT7L0RpC4ttepC0JtH__Ol8P9xB7nF2MCuSMraXwND3K2iTTa5oVPjx78S4cIC6VzLzJyByY-nRh8-5MH1mOgwx0TBwr4KlcOWMLXr-9S6QMa7oVBe1F6FJwxdak5QhB-MjRx7RG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.33.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjof1nUaT7L0RpC4ttepC0JtH__Ol8P9xB7nF2MCuSMraXwND3K2iTTa5oVPjx78S4cIC6VzLzJyByY-nRh8-5MH1mOgwx0TBwr4KlcOWMLXr-9S6QMa7oVBe1F6FJwxdak5QhB-MjRx7RG/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.33.55+PM.png" width="127" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Uber stands at the pinnacle
of the startup unicorns, companies valued at a billion dollars or more. They closed $1.6 billion in financing earlier this year. Their
<a href="http://online.barrons.com/articles/robo-advisors-take-on-wall-street-1432349473" target="_blank">concept</a> of affordable and safe, on-demand transportation delivered by a
smartphone app has translated into 58 countries and 300 cities worldwide. They
use a clear and simple “value proposition.” Uber makes makes local travel in all these cities easier, more accessible, and often more affordable than options, in most cases local taxis. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">They are presently estimated
to be worth $50B on annual revenues of $10B. Not a bad growth track for a
company that started with $200,000 in seed funding back in 2009. </span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sustainability:</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Smart entrepreneurs design
business models that are sustainable. Sometimes this requires them to “pivot”
or evolve their business models over time to find something that works. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRsII11H4wS3R8i7MOFxnCTyCK_WsYBuIiaGALzsba5TpWZa2CZfoCqw8Ld0Ybz8M2TgvJ7rUnLQuKJ1-9egI8uCiVSypAljGaueEAJT4eLZ9NZjbbaM97d_eAhUi4LyDN3K7-aRlkJtM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.30.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRsII11H4wS3R8i7MOFxnCTyCK_WsYBuIiaGALzsba5TpWZa2CZfoCqw8Ld0Ybz8M2TgvJ7rUnLQuKJ1-9egI8uCiVSypAljGaueEAJT4eLZ9NZjbbaM97d_eAhUi4LyDN3K7-aRlkJtM/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-07-28+at+6.30.44+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Zygna is the company behind online games such as FarmVille, a farming simulation social network game they launched back in 2009. Despite the initial success of the game, it garnered some negative reactions. TIME magazine called the game "one of the 50 worst inventions" in recent decades, due to to its being "the most addictive of Facebook games" and a "series of mindless chores on a digital farm.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Zygna launched its IPO in late 2011 and raised $1.2B with a $20B valuation. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In the end Zygna became a "one hit wonder" of sorts with FarmVille, and the stock quickly went from $15 per share to $2 per share and it has bounced around that value for the past three years. While the company still have a market cap of $2.4B, many investors took big losses on a company that did not have a sustainable offering. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The company is now facing a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/26/zynga-lawsuit-idUSL2N0WS1GQ20150326" target="_blank">lawsuit</a> that contends that they defrauded shareholders about its financial prospects before the December 2011 IPO. Shareholders also claim that Zygna hid its true earnings potential to enable insiders to sell $592 million in stock before a post-IPO lockup was to expire, thus avoiding the 75% drop in share price. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">It's clear from these huge success stories, promising up-and-coming startups, and roadkill just examined that a combination of sound business acumen, clear end benefits, relevant industry expertise and a sustainable business model will go a long way towards driving long-term startup success. </span></div>
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-53250604582375005252015-06-22T12:45:00.000-07:002015-06-24T06:58:19.261-07:00Fintech Sector: Vive la Revolution. <style>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmeFWSy9XvVUypVDaBlOLtOWtDPyY0kA1kMFBczydw6AFnMRUwhPvRnSH7rGZTlExxUNy4Le-S-F01YNlpGZEUiMIoZp_43tX3J5VJjOldrmiZSnLwv_TjH9HDBpOB-LeycNwPMf5I-1MG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.01.18+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmeFWSy9XvVUypVDaBlOLtOWtDPyY0kA1kMFBczydw6AFnMRUwhPvRnSH7rGZTlExxUNy4Le-S-F01YNlpGZEUiMIoZp_43tX3J5VJjOldrmiZSnLwv_TjH9HDBpOB-LeycNwPMf5I-1MG/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.01.18+PM.png" width="139" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Bastille Day will be celebrated next month. Known
formally in France as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">La Fête</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nationale</i> it commemorates the beginning
of the French Revolution with the storming of the Bastille, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">the
symbol of the absolutism of the French monarchy, </span> on 14 July 1789.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Much like the French Revolution, there is a new revolution in the works today with the rapid rise of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_technology" target="_blank">financial technology</a> or FinTech sector, characterized as a battle between the old and new ways of doing business.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But what exactly is FinTech? The Wharton Business School FinTech blog <a href="http://www.whartonfintech.org/blog/what-is-fintech/" target="_blank">defines it</a> simply as</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> an economic industry composed of
companies that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">use technology</i> to make
financial systems <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">more efficient. </i> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The explosive growth of the FinTech Sector is being fueled by a combination of innovative tech entrepreneurs (using disruptive business models) and billions in venture capital investments. Global investments in the sector exceeded $5 billion in 2014 according to Silicon Valley Bank <a href="https://www.svb.com/News/Company-News/2015-Fintech-Report--Investment-Trends-in-Fintech/" target="_blank">estimates</a>. </span> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvT7t4qRov3a6_xnq90VlCCnriUyrmf8QC6_x5KZVgA16BTdI3-LpbZFYT1WdkbjnoOHkwIyikjn-SS2OGrxPIMKF6UaGGIcYfZ19m_HDoiJ-gdSjGDDTGqyWyaNY0kgrop7ydM1W99RiI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.10.56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvT7t4qRov3a6_xnq90VlCCnriUyrmf8QC6_x5KZVgA16BTdI3-LpbZFYT1WdkbjnoOHkwIyikjn-SS2OGrxPIMKF6UaGGIcYfZ19m_HDoiJ-gdSjGDDTGqyWyaNY0kgrop7ydM1W99RiI/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.10.56+PM.png" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The fintech space has reached the point where it is now considered competitive
across all financial services categories: lending, personal finance,
payments, retail investments, institutional investments, equity financing,
remittances, consumer banking, financial research and banking infrastructure
with well over 1,000 funded start-up companies in the sector. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Particularly vulnerable to such disruptive business models is the financial services industry including global and regional banks, investment advisory firms, financial information providers and securities brokers.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQlgH-i5OBUKyDVbOzMEQWgzevU3WZBdaDM5SyifRCVq1TZy4nPiIsvCd_Ho4kj1i0OQWed-4KVIEjg7zjqrpE6ES2idIp54oYtRWySy-wMKenyeKlpjRkAeqD7BTaxoeYfXfZdq177Sf/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.37.09+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="97" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQlgH-i5OBUKyDVbOzMEQWgzevU3WZBdaDM5SyifRCVq1TZy4nPiIsvCd_Ho4kj1i0OQWed-4KVIEjg7zjqrpE6ES2idIp54oYtRWySy-wMKenyeKlpjRkAeqD7BTaxoeYfXfZdq177Sf/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.37.09+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21650546-wave-startups-changing-financefor-better-fintech-revolution" target="_blank">Economist has defined </a>the FinTech revolution as a
wave of start-ups that is changing finance – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">for the better</i>. They accurately observe that FinTech firms are not
about to kill off traditional banks. But these start-ups will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cut costs</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">improve the quality</i> of financial services, unburdened by
regulators, legacy IT systems and expensive branch networks. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Innovative data-driven lending will
provide better ways to assess risk versus a single credit score or the meeting
of a bank loan committee. Algorithms are more objective, and risk assessment
using online information is better than a loan officer in a bank branch. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78xpbprPlMUW4AapbaVoZCgF15QJQm20d-uI1s_-IQumDE5gbuMVpC0kqxlD_z1I1wim-thj0kbrkae41mIW9TQU08GADxM7N2tJOzsRkSmdjEUtKDropdaRwr8sszYpQHkA3EoV-WDP_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.17.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78xpbprPlMUW4AapbaVoZCgF15QJQm20d-uI1s_-IQumDE5gbuMVpC0kqxlD_z1I1wim-thj0kbrkae41mIW9TQU08GADxM7N2tJOzsRkSmdjEUtKDropdaRwr8sszYpQHkA3EoV-WDP_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.17.04+PM.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Barons boldly stated on a recent cover,“<a href="http://online.barrons.com/articles/robo-advisors-take-on-wall-street-1432349473" target="_blank">Meet Your New Advisor</a>” that robo-advisors (using website backed by sophisticated
software) will help put many investors into asset allocation models that meet
their various financial goals. This change will bring high quality investment
advice to the masses, for a fraction of what traditional advisors charge. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Two great examples here are <a href="https://www.wealthfront.com/" target="_blank">Wealthfront</a> and
<a href="https://www.betterment.com/" target="_blank">Betterment </a>– which keep the process simple by asking users a few questions
about their goals, risk tolerance and investment horizon. From there,
algorithms provide an asset allocation, with zero human interaction. Brilliant.
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Wharton Business School's students observed the biggest
obstacle to growth in the fintech sector will be psychological, as the
financial services sector has long been dominated by big firms that are
resistant to change, stalled by inertia. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But there is a blinding glimpse of the obvious
here. The UX or “user experience” for small businesses and consumers with large
money center banks and brokers is simply awful. It is expensive, impersonal and
can be very unpleasant. Problem resolution is at times slow to non-existent. </span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMo8MddeBGOhodOkOAHM_qxlyVE9Yxz-280O1hjFrvN-DzvcyFHZeTq6N424Cqf1i-OGVU8eYa6kIGSs9MJlxOdbt0Icddx9eS30IHQSWvSiC0Fr8Nkpfm40RbDVUTbHQcZkPyAN77vnXG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.18.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMo8MddeBGOhodOkOAHM_qxlyVE9Yxz-280O1hjFrvN-DzvcyFHZeTq6N424Cqf1i-OGVU8eYa6kIGSs9MJlxOdbt0Icddx9eS30IHQSWvSiC0Fr8Nkpfm40RbDVUTbHQcZkPyAN77vnXG/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.18.53+PM.png" width="130" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">David Reilly</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">While many large Wall Street firms have long
chosen to ignore start-up (and develop software solutions themselves in-house)
a number of firms are starting to take an interest</span>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We owe it to ourselves, our customers, our clients and our
shareholders to cast a wide net and find new ways to solve existing and new
challenges,” said David Reilly, a technology infrastructure executive at Bank
of America. “Engaging with the start-up and venture capital community forces us
to think about innovation in a different way, more revolution than evolution.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Recently Goldman Sachs hosted a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/10/business/dealbook/wall-st-courts-start-ups-it-once-may-have-ignored.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=3" target="_blank">hack-a-thon</a>
featuring developers from Kensho, a firm that is out to shake up the $26 billion financial
data industry, dominated by Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWGPT1SnMTYiL5IRMnf4ubzH_AAbMIcDi8E065aKjAHl_LKzA2CbZXffNTZ5Z5Z2XylpL5b1FzEWvgMU3WJLi43e9EXp265y-ATl5NMnzC9Ph7m-y0a7IdgD2GIEjKjwSqm-zUkT3YgPH/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.22.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRWGPT1SnMTYiL5IRMnf4ubzH_AAbMIcDi8E065aKjAHl_LKzA2CbZXffNTZ5Z5Z2XylpL5b1FzEWvgMU3WJLi43e9EXp265y-ATl5NMnzC9Ph7m-y0a7IdgD2GIEjKjwSqm-zUkT3YgPH/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.22.17+PM.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Kensho’s <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2014/05/07/can-kensho-bring-google-style-search-to-stock-picking/" target="_blank">software</a> gives the masses the type of
complex, quantitative computer-generated data currently only available to top
hedge funds like Bridgewater Associates. In essence, they offer a Goolge-type search for very complex investment questions, posed in plain English. Goldman was impressed enough by this
cloud-based software data firm to invest $15 million late last year. </span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIh1c0spu_XZF4w6y4A7w0RG4S7MQoFFqkdYeT4hXZQgSFrN16vyPxjXihWXoiF1IX1mu57ppGTwjKDXowgmSSs3BR1JgMxMVD6_gj2XEFDhyIhY28XEWntGhnsKfACSsLBq3xDk7KgJHl/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.34.37+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIh1c0spu_XZF4w6y4A7w0RG4S7MQoFFqkdYeT4hXZQgSFrN16vyPxjXihWXoiF1IX1mu57ppGTwjKDXowgmSSs3BR1JgMxMVD6_gj2XEFDhyIhY28XEWntGhnsKfACSsLBq3xDk7KgJHl/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-06-22+at+3.34.37+PM.png" width="140" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Daniel Nadler</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Such an event reflects Wall Street’s growing recognition that the old-school view of ignoring
start-ups may be short sighted. <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“There’s a certain cultural moment
now that is quite palpable,” said Daniel J. Nadler, the 32-year-old chief executive
of Kensho about the hack-a-thon and Wall Street's broader engagement with start-ups
like his.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Fintech firms are using disruptive business
models in their most positive sense – to cut costs, provide better / easier
access to information, and improve the quality of customer service. And that
formula will always attract new customers and drive long-term profitable
growth. A fact that prescient venture capital firms have known about, and profited
from for years. </span></span></div>
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-15383199893307303562015-05-29T06:23:00.001-07:002015-05-29T06:37:22.402-07:00Why Non-Tech Execs Should Learn to Code.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4fQk_w1XCzL-ciemqMKdiWvHlVLxsypVQP34tz0WZ4VXgNeWBdJbTgrSWoAgmwBvw1oBjV8c9Zzhbh4Nie0UnkuVZtZX8QeKalGFcsIPNgVdvgmtvpifRanRT0x5JToSwT8cPfQOsP1O/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-29+at+8.49.12+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp4fQk_w1XCzL-ciemqMKdiWvHlVLxsypVQP34tz0WZ4VXgNeWBdJbTgrSWoAgmwBvw1oBjV8c9Zzhbh4Nie0UnkuVZtZX8QeKalGFcsIPNgVdvgmtvpifRanRT0x5JToSwT8cPfQOsP1O/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-29+at+8.49.12+AM.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Smart phone apps are fast
becoming the lingua franca of the tech world. They offer much higher user <a href="http://mashable.com/2013/09/04/mobile-app-metrics/" target="_blank">engagement rates</a> than traditional websites, and are supporting thousands of
highly successful start-up business models. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The use of apps will
increase exponentially later this year when Google evolves its search engine
algorithms to allow for mobile <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_deep_linking" target="_blank">“deep linking”</a> or a way for their search engines to go
inside apps and link to a specific location rather than just launch the app. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">As a marketing executive
with a long history of helping create websites, digital and content marketing
programs I always felt at a distinct disadvantage when it came to talking to
web and app developers. I just didn’t “speak their language” nor fully understand
the development process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpElfO0OPpJo8WwqVUXfnwAOWeA9bQy9hV_mGGAP9W2OVc4G4Z9_tQSKPbRc1t0knM1GH2XJgp8QwtiRQEbOZM65tMfXxeQ89-T3km6mpwTxUyiDX4EOr_ZyHT3cZcMfzrSGsEwQEIITN4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-29+at+8.52.04+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpElfO0OPpJo8WwqVUXfnwAOWeA9bQy9hV_mGGAP9W2OVc4G4Z9_tQSKPbRc1t0knM1GH2XJgp8QwtiRQEbOZM65tMfXxeQ89-T3km6mpwTxUyiDX4EOr_ZyHT3cZcMfzrSGsEwQEIITN4/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-05-29+at+8.52.04+AM.png" width="194" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I decided to take the plunge
earlier this year enrolling in a part-time <a href="https://developer.apple.com/swift/" target="_blank">Swift</a> development course at a NYC
Flatiron district coding school – <a href="http://turntotech.io/" target="_blank">TurnToTech</a>. Swift is the relatively new iOS
app development language from Apple. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In class we learned about
the basic process of designing and building apps starting with downloading Apple’s
<a href="https://developer.apple.com/xcode/downloads/" target="_blank">Xcode 6</a>. We became familiar with strings and characters, control flows,
functions and closures. We learned about classes and structures, properties and
methods. As I said, learning a whole new language.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Lots of Swift code is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_software" target="_blank">“open-source”</a> and available online in places like <a href="https://github.com/" target="_blank">github</a>, so you don’t need to “cook
from scratch” every time you start the development process. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNO2nEY7yLdKb2bdpjxnJV3uLOt8b8Fy3_XEMgDL_cZkVkCDSSUPVtqy8oqF6u9OHb6sKdjIB8W5H1vWzhMfruHkJeVWXB2Fac_4tYGIrcQy14zOk9SyEyaNtl2bIVxvASDZW8zV10and0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-29+at+9.15.22+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNO2nEY7yLdKb2bdpjxnJV3uLOt8b8Fy3_XEMgDL_cZkVkCDSSUPVtqy8oqF6u9OHb6sKdjIB8W5H1vWzhMfruHkJeVWXB2Fac_4tYGIrcQy14zOk9SyEyaNtl2bIVxvASDZW8zV10and0/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-05-29+at+9.15.22+AM.png" width="196" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My co-workers asked the
obvious question: “What’s it like?” and “Is it really hard?” My answer was
simple “It is like being in France and jumping on the TVG bullet train. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">They’re speaking a foreign language, and it’s
moving really fast.</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I learned how to do business
effectively with people in the EU by getting on a plane and spending time on
the ground in the UK, France and Italy. I needed to learn both the culture and
process of how they get things done, which in many cases was different from the
way I learned to do business in the US. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The same applies to learning
code and working with developers. They have their own culture and process for
getting things done, one that needs to be understood and respected by non-tech
executives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0frsuJMcle9lSaNPgHc9eSvCI7hJJHmEBrUVslabmTnhHm3UunKLrvXjcAtYUmYLZyYVcy64YJMmD2tn5vMJsVYSd7bNUVGsl-QkUu4LMF7I1w5IQ9o164FBAz5RY6iU6CQaxC8xdEOl/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-29+at+9.12.59+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0frsuJMcle9lSaNPgHc9eSvCI7hJJHmEBrUVslabmTnhHm3UunKLrvXjcAtYUmYLZyYVcy64YJMmD2tn5vMJsVYSd7bNUVGsl-QkUu4LMF7I1w5IQ9o164FBAz5RY6iU6CQaxC8xdEOl/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-05-29+at+9.12.59+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I now have a much better
idea of how apps are developed, that there is usually more than one way to
accomplish a task, how long development should take and a better idea of how
much it might cost. I also know how to look at “source code” and have an idea
of what it is trying to accomplish. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This kind of knowledge would
be helpful to all sorts of non-tech business people, from senior marketing
executives to operations people. I’m sure the business people in many start-ups
would also benefit from having a better understanding of how websites and apps
are created, tested and optimized without having to learn-on-the-job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I don’t have plans to become
an app developer anytime soon, but I will be much more effective working with
developers moving forward, and I owe a debt of gratitude to the instructors and
my classmates at TurnToTech in NYC – who where patient and helpful as I ran
hard to catch up with the technology that is redefining the way business is
done in so many ways. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-53852752414126013672015-05-15T07:55:00.000-07:002015-05-19T05:14:48.095-07:00Time to leave your big bank?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Community banks are fast
emerging as the unsung heroes of the US economic recovery, following the
fall-from-grace experienced by their big money-center bank brethren. Is the time right for more consumers and small businesses to take a hard look at their relationship with big banks in favor of community banks?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Community banks as a sector
of the banking business have seemed always to have their priorities straight:
Putting the interests of their customers first, reinvesting in the communities
where they live and do business, and avoiding high-risk investments / business
practices like derivatives and currency / commodity trading. They also seem
able to sidestep most bank regulatory entanglements. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Turns out these smaller
banks are now are looking like both a sound investment and a critical part of the economic
recovery. The Wall Street Journal cited these trends in a <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/good-banks-come-in-small-packages-ahead-of-the-tape-1428866309" target="_blank">a recent article </a>“Good
Banks Come in Small Packages.” The smaller banks now hold a majority of the
commercial real estate loans. They also have boosted key lending like C&I
(commercial & industrial loans). Earnings results for smaller banks are
robust as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">There are some obvious
reasons that the community banking sectors is on the rise, including: </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">
</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Community
banks offer a better value to customers</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">: Most locally owned banks deliver the same range of services from
checking accounts to debit and credit cards at a much lower cost than big
banks. They often offer, on average, better interest rates on savings and
better terms on credit cards and other loans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Community
banks invest in growing local economies</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">: Small businesses, which have been at the forefront of the economic
recovery and have created the majority of new jobs depend heavily on small banks for
financing. Although small and mid-sized banks control less than ¼ of all bank
assets, they make more than half of the volume of small business loans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bank with
an institution that shares a commitment to your community</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">: The fortunes of local banks are intimately tied intimately to
the fortunes of their local communities. The more the community prospers, the
more local banks benefit. Big banks generally are generally not tied to their places
where they operate. Indeed, they often use a community’s deposits to make
investments in other regions, on Wall Street or to help pay big regulatory
violation fines. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Support productive investments, not gambling</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">:
Community banks are in the business of turning deposits into loans and other
productive investments. Meanwhile big money center banks devote lots of their
resources to speculative trading and other Wall Street bets that may (or may
not) generate big profits for the bank, but provide precious little economic or
social value to it customers or communities where they do business. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Local decision making</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">: Community banks
make loan approvals and other significant decisions on a local basis. They often using
personal knowledge of the businesses or individuals to help provide qualitative
insights into the lending decision, approving loans that a big bank, using computer generated models and less personal evaluative criteria might
reject.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Independent Community Bankers of America trade association provides an excellent overview of itself and the advantages of community banks and overview community bank facts at <a href="http://www.icba.org/files/ICBASites/PDFs/cbfacts.pdf" target="_blank">Independent Community Banks of America overview</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A final and somewhat
blinding glimpse of the obvious is around the issue of honesty and integrity.
Big banks continue to make headlines by pleading guilty to a seemingly endless
stream of criminal and anti-trust violations for activities such as price
rigging foreign currencies, mortgage related charges and tax evasion and manipulating interest rates.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A study by the <a href="https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/financial_institutions_growth_building_transparent_bank_global_risk_2014_2015/" target="_blank">Boston Consulting Group</a> determined that legal claims against the world’s leading banks have
reached $178 billion since the financial crisis. The study concluded that big banks have now come to accept big fines as another cost of doing business. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Despite these massive legal
charges, banks recently have returned to profitability for the first time since
the financial crisis. Any wonder their fees and rate charges have skyrocketed? </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Seems that nearly any way
you look at it, community banks are the smart choice for personal and small
business banking, and will continue to help empower success and growth for the
US economy into the foreseeable future. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></div>
Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-65971084306581089672015-05-11T11:54:00.004-07:002015-05-12T11:00:26.806-07:00Finding the Right Partners for Start-Up Success.<style>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qJ1uCicWcUNxlYSq5ZQExtrSFLDhXL5YzJukJvAWGKcxXM6CKRSYYqJ-DTj2Tlfl8aopTI3tSgtw6vF7PoZ9BxDwaCh1S2UY0yIWvSzzITxzx8mjjDKzjcFUXTG7PBPuAN5eYAo9l8eE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.15.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5qJ1uCicWcUNxlYSq5ZQExtrSFLDhXL5YzJukJvAWGKcxXM6CKRSYYqJ-DTj2Tlfl8aopTI3tSgtw6vF7PoZ9BxDwaCh1S2UY0yIWvSzzITxzx8mjjDKzjcFUXTG7PBPuAN5eYAo9l8eE/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.15.26+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2014 saw 478 venture deals in NYC worth $ 5.0 B</span>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/blog/techflash/2015/01/the-2014-venture-capital-lesson-big-valuations.html" target="_blank">has been reported </a>that over $5
billion in venture capital funding flowed into the NYC “Silicon Alley”
start-up sector in 2014. This represented 478 venture deals for the region
according to a report issued by PWC and the National Venture Capital
Association using Thomson Reuters data. It is likely that the level of venture
financing in 2015 will equal or exceed that number.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A host of high-profile NYC-based venture capital firms including Union Square Partners, Thrive Capital and Lerer Hippeau continue to make venture investment in start-ups hoping for successful outcomes, a few big winners and maybe even the elusive "unicorn" - a firm that achieves a billion dollar plus valuation. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yet many start-ups who find
seed and even series-A financing end up failing. One of Silicon Valley’s most
striking mantras is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Fail fast, fail
often”</i> and it is widely circulated at tech conferences. Many tech
entrepreneurs view failure as a right-of-passage. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcu9NwL6dZaQ2GzRUE8lhPux2xLht8AeaZxXq5pQmqxiZo5oiJEHBGaDkZGttWZ-KT_Py-FXTRZtNKuAzIp3fgZjzlBBWR0Uwv0Qc8WskwCo64XvSKUL7ipocJr_l7u5Z0xHCSKNXMdp7/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.33.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcu9NwL6dZaQ2GzRUE8lhPux2xLht8AeaZxXq5pQmqxiZo5oiJEHBGaDkZGttWZ-KT_Py-FXTRZtNKuAzIp3fgZjzlBBWR0Uwv0Qc8WskwCo64XvSKUL7ipocJr_l7u5Z0xHCSKNXMdp7/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.33.35+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The estimated rate for the
failure of start-ups goes as high as 90%. Companies typically die around 20
months after their last financing round, and after raising an average of $1.3
million according to a study from CB Insights titled <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/startup-death-data/" target="_blank">The RIP Report – Start up death trends.</a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A venture capital firm that
that takes a deep and active role in its portfolio companies <i>after</i> the
investment is made is <a href="http://greycroft.com/" target="_blank">Greycroft </a>Partners, based in NYC and Los Angeles. The firm currently manages 120 investments, and has $ 600MM under management.
They have also done $2.6 billion in exits over the last 24 months. Recent deals include <a href="http://www.makerstudios.com/" target="_blank">Maker Studios</a> - a global leader in short-form video, which was acquired by Disney for $950 million; and a personalized clothing service for men called <a href="https://www.trunkclub.com/" target="_blank">Trunk Club</a> which was acquired by Nordstrom for $350 million. </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTFiXxLhjAG2a2izecL6qvl11sG0nHhqq1MBhHy3BTCnJVE3uNBt_c2RD1EZgwsjgcpguE4p-a9K4Iel9l3KfX4eHM4MXcuLp9iiMk9KOt6oO3zFLXpfWK0AkRdl6XIVDV4wWF7d-36at/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.37.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTFiXxLhjAG2a2izecL6qvl11sG0nHhqq1MBhHy3BTCnJVE3uNBt_c2RD1EZgwsjgcpguE4p-a9K4Iel9l3KfX4eHM4MXcuLp9iiMk9KOt6oO3zFLXpfWK0AkRdl6XIVDV4wWF7d-36at/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.37.36+PM.png" width="163" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Eliie Wheeler</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Ellie Wheeler – a NY based
Principal with Greycroft noted recently “We don’t leave entrepreneurs asking
<i>‘Now what?’ </i>after we’ve made an investment. We take a very active role in
business development for our portfolio companies.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Wheeler went on to say “We
typically focus on Series A investments worth $1-3 million. We then often syndicate
the investment to a second party to add additional perspective.” She continued
“We focus on sales and marketing KPI metrics, like B2B companies having paying
customers and audience / engagement data for media companies.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">She said that they also make
introductions to larger companies (like GE) through the company’s extensive
network to help them gain visibility, build strategic partnerships and plan for
successful exits. “We want to see portfolio company KPI data points move to the
upper right quadrant.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRXbzCfQ-RKWF2bPau2rSzlKrJqsGr40muzFDgsolqNLdVVoViFSLhdNNfEMe1pY-lmXriLBwg4_7BOUHJ-D-S-eYuVMwhj0n8eCZ7GDNgXpNpQBpyZl4n-LJoDG4JYchvMCiktYAoEXr/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.43.15+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRXbzCfQ-RKWF2bPau2rSzlKrJqsGr40muzFDgsolqNLdVVoViFSLhdNNfEMe1pY-lmXriLBwg4_7BOUHJ-D-S-eYuVMwhj0n8eCZ7GDNgXpNpQBpyZl4n-LJoDG4JYchvMCiktYAoEXr/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.43.15+PM.png" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Good legal counsel is also
of paramount importance to start-ups. A Palo Alto, CA -based firm (with a big
NYC office) that is offering great online advice to start-ups is Cooley and its
website cooleygo.com.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Cooley GO website offers
a wide range of legal resources to entrepreneurs of all sizes, tracking their
life cycle stage from formation to M&A and sale. Launched in 2014 the site delivers legal and business know-how. Content
covers issues like financing, building a team, working with directors and
advisers, intellectual property and is updated by Cooley partners on a regular
basis to keep it fresh and engaging. </span></div>
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<div style="text-align: right;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“We work with the innovation
community 24/7 and we’ve listened” said <a href="https://www.cooleygo.com/people/cj/" target="_blank">Craig Jacoby</a>, chair of Cooley’s Emerging
Companies Group. “In Cooley GO, we have developed a platform to assist start-ups
though all states of growth. Cooley GO is designed to help entrepreneurs
fulfill their goals with a toolkit that is easy to navigate and use.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAGAXoWK2fd7zGoErBVfcpHFlr9p24fAIanac9Bn_irZnjKZnOFQlMqWX8AYOPoYr9HTYmLSShK1WhD_5p5oiUnoX-jkMd71Hsfpblr-A6AFZ07CU0PFXF33pIOrEO6_CozZVgTzEYk5p/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.46.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAGAXoWK2fd7zGoErBVfcpHFlr9p24fAIanac9Bn_irZnjKZnOFQlMqWX8AYOPoYr9HTYmLSShK1WhD_5p5oiUnoX-jkMd71Hsfpblr-A6AFZ07CU0PFXF33pIOrEO6_CozZVgTzEYk5p/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.46.17+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Many tech start-up firms are
founded by visionary entrepreneurs, who are adept at digital development and IT
related skills, but may have missed attending a business school. As a
result they may lack finance and accounting acumen. Enter <a href="http://www.markspaneth.com/" target="_blank">Marks Paneth</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- a NYC based financial advisory and
accounting firm. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSzHAPkg7imqzwpnYRIheUmRQyVV8tZjIv9rkbNIzyTHCz-qxJrliuHkW9FY5391PvebefkeukT-MmTMXEznh0b-hNWSPdMVtZlXIrj10BsXLxTIX6SYHO8mBWydcGCM61wPScpi7Xgxc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.48.23+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSzHAPkg7imqzwpnYRIheUmRQyVV8tZjIv9rkbNIzyTHCz-qxJrliuHkW9FY5391PvebefkeukT-MmTMXEznh0b-hNWSPdMVtZlXIrj10BsXLxTIX6SYHO8mBWydcGCM61wPScpi7Xgxc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.48.23+PM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jeanne Goulet</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.markspaneth.com/bio/jeanne-p-goulet" target="_blank">Jeanne Goulet </a>is the Senior
Consultant at Marks Paneth (MP) that oversees the firm’s tax and accounting
practice for NYC tech start-ups. Jeanne spent the majority of her professional
career at IBM, so she’s no stranger to tech. In her role at MP she’s developed
a series of Marks Paneth <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS0-KMIkBJw" target="_blank">webinars</a> / <a href="http://www.markspaneth.com/publications/the-road-map-of-a-start-up-and-the-entrepreneur" target="_blank">white papers </a>addressing the finance, tax and accounting
needs of start-ups, with MP being able to play the role of a “scaling CFO” for
start-ups. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ojY1UOsWSylaMsyWDp6XmTTKeE24HM96oCJKiI2P_vrG8dQXDPCcOCmZtf6QgBuWO9X9Byokl99_ZhHWXCvtjrPeMSs0nr4aIbYulDPQ-bab7mMHO7tpQulMrihDbJX6BZz-lihL4yUW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.53.31+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ojY1UOsWSylaMsyWDp6XmTTKeE24HM96oCJKiI2P_vrG8dQXDPCcOCmZtf6QgBuWO9X9Byokl99_ZhHWXCvtjrPeMSs0nr4aIbYulDPQ-bab7mMHO7tpQulMrihDbJX6BZz-lihL4yUW/s200/Screen+Shot+2015-05-08+at+5.53.31+PM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">She’s focused on issues such
as how to build the financial infrastructure of a new business and relevant
topics such as “How to craft a better exit” with six steps that help
entrepreneurs maximize their return on time, effort and money. Her
recommendations include how to establish a solid foundation in terms of
structuring a start-up, how to minimize tax liability risks and cash outflow,
and how to take advantage of tax benefits to increase current or future cash
flow. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then there is the
tech-talent pipeline issue in NYC. The huge demand for high quality web and
smart-phone app developers has created a shortage of qualified developers. In
response to this need, a whole host of “coding academies” has sprung up in NYC
including <a href="http://turntotech.io/" target="_blank">TurnToTech</a>, General Assembly and the <a href="http://flatironschool.com/" target="_blank">Flatiron School</a>, which just raised $ 9
million in Series B funding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
May 2014, Mayor de Blasio <a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/114-15/mayor-bill-de-blasio-nyc-tech-talent-pipeline-industry-partners-commitments-to" target="_blank"> launch of the NYC tech talent pipeline</a> to
support the growth of the tech sector and train New Yorkers to be tech
companies' premier hiring choice. </span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-wzyjhRBgXNyzyiYh7iAjlYngyDMCnUoGvn-A8hP3OW9xyPUZssrWzCnKe51Hv2s7KGcXMoRUIlUPQR0vVSUFB2OxiZeP7-Slgi8triziFtaXeW58mvLfRMuwa0xEgO6_kZNRqXuTpQc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-05-11+at+2.50.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-wzyjhRBgXNyzyiYh7iAjlYngyDMCnUoGvn-A8hP3OW9xyPUZssrWzCnKe51Hv2s7KGcXMoRUIlUPQR0vVSUFB2OxiZeP7-Slgi8triziFtaXeW58mvLfRMuwa0xEgO6_kZNRqXuTpQc/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-05-11+at+2.50.42+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Building
on existing relationship with CUNY and the Department of Education, and the
Department of Small Business Services, the <a href="http://www.techtalentpipeline.nyc/" target="_blank">NYC Tech Talent Pipeline</a> will
combine city, state, federal, and private funding to reach a budget of
approximately $10 million, distributed across three years, to recruit and train
New Yorkers; design new curricula to meet employer need; and engage employers
in building the talent pipeline.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span> </span><br />
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the end savvy entrepreneurs should work hard to find strategic business
partners that will help keep their best interests in mind, and offer
complementary skills and expertise to the founders. By selecting an engaged VC,
a good law firm, smart accountants and by working with the likes of the NYC
Tech Talent Pipeline and <a href="http://turntotech.io/" target="_blank">leading coding schools</a> for developer talent - there is
a good chance that aspiring NYC-based entrepreneurs will be able to avoid the
“fail fast, fail often” scenario. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-54582873232136488512015-04-21T06:16:00.000-07:002015-04-28T06:23:13.859-07:00Brand Engagement: Inviting Conversations and Measuring the Results. <style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">According to a <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/the_dawn_of_marketings_new_golden_age" target="_blank">recent report </a>by global consulting giant McKinsey & Company the efficacy of the estimated $1 trillion in global marketing expenditures is under deep scrutiny by business heads and marketers alike. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5HcnEXGrkovHspSqiZnoLtyVpIl9oLpwtNQruCSc9CwQLIOQqhpib74MHvTiaKKY_E0mOmesA13GJSconqrIuPrZWfK_IEIL8L7C9WOJhOAc1UV7F4wbIspZFIWHkAnBg4smcWX-lhh0N/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-19+at+7.56.25+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5HcnEXGrkovHspSqiZnoLtyVpIl9oLpwtNQruCSc9CwQLIOQqhpib74MHvTiaKKY_E0mOmesA13GJSconqrIuPrZWfK_IEIL8L7C9WOJhOAc1UV7F4wbIspZFIWHkAnBg4smcWX-lhh0N/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-19+at+7.56.25+AM.png" height="237" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A popular view of marketing expenditures from the C Suite. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In a survey of CEOs three
out of four agreed with the following statement: </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marketers “are always asking
for more money, but can rarely explain how much incremental business this money
will generate.” Chief marketing officers (CMOs) agree. In another recent
survey, just over one-third said they had quantitatively proved the impact of
their marketing outlays.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The good news is that technology and social media can effectively invite a conversation with consumers by encouraging (and measuring) engagement, through offering audiences a meaningful value exchange. </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9p8B0OPnbqyzhAViaGbtPNjlG4kjQyLBot_HcuKwMSstZ4jb_XYykUPlrp8LsZHe1dolVTaNbLlW6K-vXN7xbgDhsW9DdtNhlJTdd98CkixrxaKepCfYBGz0ru9OMLZ5vJgGj4nX_Ko4_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-19+at+7.47.36+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9p8B0OPnbqyzhAViaGbtPNjlG4kjQyLBot_HcuKwMSstZ4jb_XYykUPlrp8LsZHe1dolVTaNbLlW6K-vXN7xbgDhsW9DdtNhlJTdd98CkixrxaKepCfYBGz0ru9OMLZ5vJgGj4nX_Ko4_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-19+at+7.47.36+AM.png" height="200" width="196" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Content Marketing: Invite a Conversation</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Consider
the rise of “content marketing” which is really old fashioned brand story-telling with a new name. The Content Marketing Institute defines it as “A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing
valuable, relevant, and consistent <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">content</b>
to attract and retain a clearly-<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">defined</b>
audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Michael
Brenner was formerly a VP / Marketing at German multinational software giant
SAP. In 2014 he literally <a href="http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/bet-career-content-marketing" target="_blank">bet his career</a> on content marketing by taking the
position of Head of Strategy at content marketing SaaS start-up NewsCred. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brenner
defines content marketing as simply being at the intersection of what brands
publish and what consumers want. He observed that consumers see over 5,000
marketing messages a day, and manage to ignore nearly all of them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0xfpuod4sDiQLBzv6QfSnyojWQS7_IQDPgbSjZUUTX2RJxiYeQJbT0ICWbZVRJAyNBUdmRNMLMBgzzqW0E5XAGFQ54FJnk5cO3ctpvMWcxbjSZ_qHSynCr-akwIgO56IZSVhqX1DeX-e/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.01.47+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0xfpuod4sDiQLBzv6QfSnyojWQS7_IQDPgbSjZUUTX2RJxiYeQJbT0ICWbZVRJAyNBUdmRNMLMBgzzqW0E5XAGFQ54FJnk5cO3ctpvMWcxbjSZ_qHSynCr-akwIgO56IZSVhqX1DeX-e/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.01.47+AM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Michael Brenner</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“In
today’s always on, hyper-connected world, the only option for brands to connect
with an audience is to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">create, publish
and share stories people love,</i>” Brenner wrote last summer, he recently
observed he was hoping for a more rapid transition from traditional to content
marketing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He
views his current job at <a href="http://newscred.com/" target="_blank">NewsCred</a> as “one part education and two parts strategy”
by sharing best practices and showing clients how content marketing can connect
and resonate with consumers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brenner
still sees 90% of corporate marketing budgets going to traditionally based brand
and product messages. But he thinks a much larger portion of the “ineffective
digital display ad-spend” will go over to content marketing in the next 2-3
years. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIOU6eGFPpwT7acKQ5tv4xjEXvcIXSBj1aa3XNlprjKO8x2le0ytXrBKayQ-G31EbvbZeCkQfBzFiZUuxcK1K7xYfX0W___PK9m0dWxcTN3-IoRTWKAx3hEYPM1yhrhwy2BIIQHTCp2Y7/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.05.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrIOU6eGFPpwT7acKQ5tv4xjEXvcIXSBj1aa3XNlprjKO8x2le0ytXrBKayQ-G31EbvbZeCkQfBzFiZUuxcK1K7xYfX0W___PK9m0dWxcTN3-IoRTWKAx3hEYPM1yhrhwy2BIIQHTCp2Y7/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.05.31+AM.png" height="85" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“NewsCred
software helps corporate marketers focus more on improving the customer
experience.” He went on, “we’re working with digital marketers, ad agencies, PR
and social media teams, as well as those people who manage the customer
touch-points to find value in content marketing, by aligning it with their
business objectives.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY4Oh96AVfv5uxFPHPrxrheQ41xyffRwb0iEenZ_xUjwGoP08A0sfmyLBdH6sryFXY-vIuRCDsTWsMaZ7F2Yzs7BEaaWUUuFnqF5lWapCFeLG1aX3SuY10fssQ1VbrvV-4ziePecl9DbNC/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.07.05+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY4Oh96AVfv5uxFPHPrxrheQ41xyffRwb0iEenZ_xUjwGoP08A0sfmyLBdH6sryFXY-vIuRCDsTWsMaZ7F2Yzs7BEaaWUUuFnqF5lWapCFeLG1aX3SuY10fssQ1VbrvV-4ziePecl9DbNC/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.07.05+AM.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While
creating compelling content is a tall order for many marketers, effectively
measuring consumer engagement with content can be equally challenging. A great
place where marketers can measure engagement is in social media, the venue for
virtual word-of-mouth marketing, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and
Instagram. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
leader in monitoring and helping manage social media is NYC-based <a href="http://getcommandpost.com/" target="_blank">CommandPost</a>
is a venture-funded start-up founded by Tom Chernaik that was just named a 2015 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.gartner.com/doc/3031921" target="_blank">Cool Vendor in Social Marketing</a> by Gartner. The subscription data
analytic / social intelligence platform offers proprietary social media monitoring software that
rolls up engagement data and identifies engaged social audiences, both on a corporate and brand-specific level for client brands and their competitors.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSgOoH_Ia03yvzGM-q2ODHag1HrXMxj_HMLzbdbCJwKTLNZGIZuzSvyno4Wb-GeKnN4sVK5lwhVI9PLZBf8yRcmZwjXdRmGRXsfJvhZaXq-3DTwminJWeOH9bx1rCMOCKva3Y1mxwy03P/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.08.43+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSgOoH_Ia03yvzGM-q2ODHag1HrXMxj_HMLzbdbCJwKTLNZGIZuzSvyno4Wb-GeKnN4sVK5lwhVI9PLZBf8yRcmZwjXdRmGRXsfJvhZaXq-3DTwminJWeOH9bx1rCMOCKva3Y1mxwy03P/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.08.43+AM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tom Chernaik</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chernaik
points out that not all types of social media engagement are created equally. “For
example Twitter can be the most active channel for publishing content, but often provides only a small
part of overall consumer engagement when compared to other channels. The data is easy to get publicly, but is only showing part of the story” he observed. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">CommandPost generates
real-time, actionable insights into the people (who), the content (what) and
the social media platforms (where) that drive a brand / company’s social value.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By understanding what works, and what doesn’t when it comes to content and
its ability to effectively and efficiently engage consumers, marketers can
better manage content subject matter, authors, editorial tonality and
publishing frequency in order to optimize their content marketing efforts. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRt6qK5eFpBb3MzMGewF8St640hqSihte57KSgh_jBKRVurS4DQLz8bghbBc6u1bmERH5Uz_PGyNqUSRDpbD6923Mu6tPrOCeB1QjNM8sO8STkGZOpdDZCYuPgL9yn0SbeF4ON5UY8Hhpz/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.10.56+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRt6qK5eFpBb3MzMGewF8St640hqSihte57KSgh_jBKRVurS4DQLz8bghbBc6u1bmERH5Uz_PGyNqUSRDpbD6923Mu6tPrOCeB1QjNM8sO8STkGZOpdDZCYuPgL9yn0SbeF4ON5UY8Hhpz/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.10.56+AM.png" height="194" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
CommandPost platform also allows brands to track and benchmark competitive
social media activity, and “drill-down” to look at, segment and manage individual advocate
/ influencer initiatives. These opinion leaders are the most active (and valuable) people in
your social media audience and the hardest to find and organize. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Using CommandPost, you can better understand "the most engaged audience members that really matter along with the context of what gets them to engage with the brand" </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">according to Chernaik. </span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">CommandPost
can also automate the process of “tagging” and grouping specific posts / content in order to
track engagement effectiveness and actual audiences on a very granular level, and in turn
determine if the content is resonating with desired audience and estimate “earned media value.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
recently Linked In – the social platform with 350 million users where people
network for business deals, new jobs and news – announced its move into social
media management with the launch of its <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2015/04/13/linkedin-announces-elevate-app-to-help-employees-share-company-content/" target="_blank">Elevate app</a>, that will help employees share company content. </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gTB-pJXaSbHvFilirwXbHIoCXZ_NjlzJuPisA0AllrXN2vIKTMtdj8pv5P1AGxL69Ay7DpZz3U1lAYzIaUcR-Yl2l7rce-2NlK8fs5B71EoLosxJFSFeja1JyHcumxYpOXfIRCX4Htg-/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.15.14+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gTB-pJXaSbHvFilirwXbHIoCXZ_NjlzJuPisA0AllrXN2vIKTMtdj8pv5P1AGxL69Ay7DpZz3U1lAYzIaUcR-Yl2l7rce-2NlK8fs5B71EoLosxJFSFeja1JyHcumxYpOXfIRCX4Htg-/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-04-21+at+9.15.14+AM.png" height="272" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">LinkedIn Elevate: Harnessing the Power of Employees. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elevate
is a new paid mobile and desktop app that suggests articles to users – based on
algorithms from Linked In’s news recommendation service Pulse and Newsle, as well
as “human curation.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Elevate will let its users schedule and share those links across Linked In and
Twitter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will also reportedly help
companies empower their employees to share content. <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/12/linkedin-elevate/" target="_blank">TechCruch </a>characterized the
new service as “a very pared-down, LinkedIn-focused Hootsuite. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For
marketing professionals, it will them keep the social media wheels
turning, with story suggestions and being able to staying active even when they
have no links of their own to share, and the data analytics to track how well things are
performing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All
of this points to a new world order for marketing, one that balances the art of
compelling story telling with the science of data analytics. Savvy marketers are
now increasingly able to harness and optimize the power of consumer engagement
using social media. This will in turn likely return marketing to being a
cost-efficient and more effective enterprise-level growth driver for companies.</span></div>
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-58851916743326210662015-03-19T10:37:00.000-07:002015-03-22T16:31:54.610-07:00Growth Hacking: Expanding Beyond the Silicon Valley. <style>
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</style><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Growth hacking” originated
in the Silicon Valley, where start-ups approached marketing by focusing on low
cost and innovative ways to create awareness and attract customers to their unknown companies.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
practice of growth hacking eschews traditional, more expensive advertising and
marketing in favor of search engine optimization, web analytics and content
marketing to attract potential customers (or simply be easier to find on the web)
versus paid promotional messages. In many ways, it is more about attraction
versus promotion, with a healthy dose of data analytics thrown in. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Famed
Bay Area tech blogger Andrew Chen has <a href="http://andrewchen.co/how-to-be-a-growth-hacker-an-airbnbcraigslist-case-study/" target="_blank">described a growth hacker</a> as being a hybrid of marketer and coder. Chen observed: A
growth hacker asks the traditional question of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“How do I get customers for my product?”</i> and then answers with A/B
tests, landing pages and e-mail bounce / open rates. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
crop of start-ups, ignoring traditional marketing and advertising, have
used growth hacking and disruptive marketing to create multi-billion dollar
valuations, ranging from Twitter and Linked In, to Uber and airbnb.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
a result, does the growth hacking approach leave older and more traditional
business sectors on the sidelines? </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Is the practice restricted to
digital marketing efforts?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hardly,
as growth hacking can be adopted as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a
mindset of innovation</i>, a commitment to testing new approaches to attracting
and engaging customers, then identifying and expanding the “winning” tactics
while quickly abandoning those that don’t work. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marketing
is fast becoming equal parts art and science in the spirit of growth hacking,
as clearly detailed by McKinsey & Company in their recent report <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/the_dawn_of_marketings_new_golden_age" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">"The dawn of marketing's new golden age."</span></a></span></div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
<a href="http://www.economist.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Economist</span></a>
Group is an excellent example of an old-line publishing company that is
aggressively growth hacking its way into the 21<sup>st</sup> century. This
venerable, 172-year-old brand has made great strides in developing innovative
marketing strategies to engage consumers and the B2B community. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Economist Group President Paul Rossi <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/media/2014/10/8553799/60-second-interview-paul-rossi-president-economist-group"><span style="color: blue;">noted late last year</span></a> to Capital NY, “</span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The key
model that will change the dynamics of the media business is paid content. The
ad side of the business will continue to be pressured by the abundance of
inventory and data. The likes of content marketing and event sponsorship will
be increasingly important to media businesses.”</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
keeping up with consumers who have greatly increased their use of smart phones,
the Economist has launched a full range of apps to deliver its content, including
the <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2014/11/economist-espresso"><span style="color: blue;">Economist Espresso</span></a>, the first daily news offering
from the publication in its history. The app offers a morning news briefing
that “outlines what is on the global agenda in the coming day, what to look out
for in business, finance and politics and, most important, what to make of it.”
</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other
<a href="http://www.economist.com/digital/apps"><span style="color: blue;">Economist
apps</span></a> include the “Anthology Series,” featuring collections of
Economist articles on key issues; “Traveler Briefing,” with essential country
backgrounds; and even a GMAT tutor prep course with “adaptive online learning.” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One
of the best venues the Economist has found to leverage editorial firepower and
build its brand in the B2B community are <a href="http://www.economist.com/events-conferences/americas" target="_blank">its live events</a>,
with topics ranging from marketing best practices to addressing trade issues,
or from alternative finance to healthcare and higher education. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA41vTBV4xIPx3sXoMjIKxzaH68r5PeauBTqxSnwRqUwN-3sdu7c2_YXSiqHBaWjjJhyED3HqSvCMnIvv_PCt1BSygBwWTZmGTS-fjWSYH3oGMecZbY1TA41_UK13slLOjRg0BfQ9wtvTQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-21+at+1.20.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA41vTBV4xIPx3sXoMjIKxzaH68r5PeauBTqxSnwRqUwN-3sdu7c2_YXSiqHBaWjjJhyED3HqSvCMnIvv_PCt1BSygBwWTZmGTS-fjWSYH3oGMecZbY1TA41_UK13slLOjRg0BfQ9wtvTQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-21+at+1.20.53+PM.png" height="264" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Recently
the Economist sponsored the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"<a href="http://bigrethink.economist.com/" target="_blank">The Big Rethink" </a>- The age of the Entrepreneurial CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) in NYC, which featured an eclectic mix of Fortune 500
companies from Cisco to Goldman Sachs and IBM, as well as leaders of some
spunky start-up firms. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
panelists, moderated by savvy Economist writers, addressed issues ranging from embracing the growth
of mobile communication to the digital evolution of marketing, and from
defining the role of marketing in corporate America to marketing spend
accountability. </span></div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
tech start-up community has also been big on peer-to-peer, in-person meetings,
many of which are called <a href="http://www.meetup.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Meet-ups.</span></a> They bring together like-minded people
to hear thought leaders share their start-up experiences and knowledge,
allowing for networking opportunities.</span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These events are an open-source venue for intellectual capital, as exemplified by
the <a href="http://www.meetup.com/ny-tech/"><span style="color: blue;">NY Tech Meet-up</span></a>,
which has over 42,000 members and over 700 in attendance at each of its monthly events. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dozens of other NYC meet-ups gather the best and
brightest in both speakers and attendees, including <a href="http://datadrivennyc.com/"><span style="color: blue;">Data Driven</span></a>
NYC and <a href="http://www.meetup.com/hardwired-nyc/"><span style="color: blue;">Hardwired
NYC</span></a> (both run by Matt Turck from VC firm <a href="http://firstmarkcap.com/"><span style="color: blue;">FirstMark Capital</span></a>)
which focus on tech start-ups that create and manufacture products, including
those in the IoT (internet of things) sector. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTSy4WJqQFF5RbxvOc-mZNqVsdKZg5pAWVk1A10BNu79tVMtqz8pm6c3bCTPhrJuEutBgDvP3ZlOsvEhmmr0CXeRAtTYy90qLdyCY4in1s4UkXIVVBMDKAGmUnZIFc567p4aoAyMRPOhm/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-22+at+6.44.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTSy4WJqQFF5RbxvOc-mZNqVsdKZg5pAWVk1A10BNu79tVMtqz8pm6c3bCTPhrJuEutBgDvP3ZlOsvEhmmr0CXeRAtTYy90qLdyCY4in1s4UkXIVVBMDKAGmUnZIFc567p4aoAyMRPOhm/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-22+at+6.44.14+PM.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
San Francisco and NYC, a well-established law firm is using growth-hacking
events to build its presence quite effectively in the tech start-up and venture
capital communities. <a href="https://www.orrick.com/Pages/default.aspx"><span style="color: blue;">Orrick</span></a>, Herrington & Sutcliffe traces its
roots back to 1863 and is the oldest, continuously operating law firm in San
Francisco, with over 1100 lawyers in 25 offices worldwide.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Professional
referrals have long been the order of the day for finding a lawyer. Orrick
sought to go beyond this approach for building business by appealing directly to the fast-moving
entrepreneurs running start-ups in the Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley in NYC. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Orrick
created <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezjn7unqVcQ"><span style="color: blue;">“Total Access” events</span></a> to feature panels of
experts discussing issues of interest to start-up entrepreneurs and venture
capitalist alike. Topics range from securing start-up financing to managing a
company board, as were discussed recently in NYC. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncIEWeKUwxiFaTk9hK6th-OiIqCOUkISsqwNmmxIZG0UuO1K6vtY7ga6BINjbq4ICzcl9JiEI7SEJ8irPzn5QUABd6niFiplSjVR2a85_sXGpf9oyYn1NpwOJ97l9YaCmVMc12breT2_h/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-22+at+6.51.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncIEWeKUwxiFaTk9hK6th-OiIqCOUkISsqwNmmxIZG0UuO1K6vtY7ga6BINjbq4ICzcl9JiEI7SEJ8irPzn5QUABd6niFiplSjVR2a85_sXGpf9oyYn1NpwOJ97l9YaCmVMc12breT2_h/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-22+at+6.51.04+PM.png" height="138" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Danielle Weinblatt (Take the Interview) and Cheryl Swirnow (Sherpaa)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These
events allow for great networking opportunities for both participants and
panelists. The interactions between entrepreneurs, venture capitalists,
potential investors and lawyers have likely spawned and fostered many business
deals, with a low-key presence from Orrick partners and the firm’s marketing
team. This is a testament that face-to-face marketing is alive and well in the
tech-focused 21<sup>st</sup> century. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Back at the Economist CMO event - Matthew
Bishop (Globalization Editor) asked Ogilvy & Mather ad agency Chairman
Miles Young to comment on the state of marketing in 2015: </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">“The 30 second TV ad is dead...The most
important thing marketing</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">professionals</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">need today is a strong content marketing
strategy.”</i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBYlAC97WaskU3YxjOSj4aS9hTHKDq0eZ9Kdths5Op21uK0odj5OF1XeIdCZaieLTbUcl0V_-1Rjqw1J1cGt0-Fvei25O9mi9Gof5QfIvXtdaVIa40WZ8b-RqUFMzLTu6eXyZjKqbQHxH/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-19+at+9.38.52+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBYlAC97WaskU3YxjOSj4aS9hTHKDq0eZ9Kdths5Op21uK0odj5OF1XeIdCZaieLTbUcl0V_-1Rjqw1J1cGt0-Fvei25O9mi9Gof5QfIvXtdaVIa40WZ8b-RqUFMzLTu6eXyZjKqbQHxH/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-03-19+at+9.38.52+AM.png" height="163" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Matthew Bishop (Economist) and Miles Young (Ogilvy)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Looks like the leader of one of the world’s
leading ad agencies is abandoning a “Mad Man” view of the world, in lieu of
promoting a key tenant of growth hacking--an approach that would likely serve many large corporate marketing officers well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Then again the Fortune 500 crowd is not renowned
for being nimble and quick, and being able to pivot their business models –
another key tenet of growth hacking. Maybe that’s one reason why the growth in equity
valuations of many big companies (like IBM and GE) have severely lagged those of
most successful (and growth hacking) tech start-ups. </span></div>
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-31477268775942332012015-02-23T14:50:00.002-08:002015-02-24T07:14:30.030-08:00Is Social Responsibility a Viable Start-Up Business Model?<style>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilV8HK4c3wNvK3bcCe_WkymTvG2_u-FJuD1uRUpGmiSXLBO44zVt_KAE5p-EAmy7DD6YRf2zEecUrVz4C97oO67speZdcswBBQCESZrz9dqBi6YxM_yKXhiEfndQDvcFA6veANOkDlefbA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+4.59.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilV8HK4c3wNvK3bcCe_WkymTvG2_u-FJuD1uRUpGmiSXLBO44zVt_KAE5p-EAmy7DD6YRf2zEecUrVz4C97oO67speZdcswBBQCESZrz9dqBi6YxM_yKXhiEfndQDvcFA6veANOkDlefbA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+4.59.52+PM.png" height="181" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">Much has been written about the
emergence and growing popularity of corporate social responsibility (<a href="http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4679-corporate-social-responsibility.html" target="_blank">CSR</a>).
This phenomenon has created <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/opinion/david-brooks-how-to-leave-a-mark.html?_r=0" target="_blank">"Impact Investors"</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/opinion/david-brooks-how-to-leave-a-mark.html?_r=0" target="_blank"></a>who are seeking out companies
that are intentionally designed to both make a profit and provide a measurable
and accountable social good. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">This trend can pose questions for
entrepreneurs: </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">Is social responsibility a smart and
viable business model? Can it achieve key goals like establishing a social
good-focused MVP (minimum viable product), then attract customers, demonstrate
traction in the marketplace, and ultimately help raise venture capital? </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">Can “doing good” translate to “doing
well” and even help create a blockbuster company or so-called <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/business/investors-create-a-billion-dollar-baby-boom.html?ref=business&_r=1" target="_blank">“unicorn”</a> – a
business worth $ 1 billion or more – on paper at least?</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">Turns out that using social
responsibility as a business model can cut both ways, resulting in either failure or great
success. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBl0_TKts8Pm5883Ok6pFIqft7g9l3-cBYwTlUxtJTuAzvJ60Q7I4u2fkjVflIouNSIhkbx6v7ejYUJlIJGXVXcnUYKAEl8ubJGv7EcfNI1iIwa5k6RvkdWSOlc8ikt4k4G7ObmI4JLMOq/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+5.04.23+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBl0_TKts8Pm5883Ok6pFIqft7g9l3-cBYwTlUxtJTuAzvJ60Q7I4u2fkjVflIouNSIhkbx6v7ejYUJlIJGXVXcnUYKAEl8ubJGv7EcfNI1iIwa5k6RvkdWSOlc8ikt4k4G7ObmI4JLMOq/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+5.04.23+PM.png" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">For example, this approach has not worked for
<a href="http://www.sodastreamusa.com/" target="_blank">SodaStream</a>, an Israeli company that sells machines that turn tap water
into sparkling soda using recyclable CO2 cartridges, designed and marketed with a special emphasis on
sustainability.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: .75pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Its soda machines have been marketed as
being an <i>“active green product.”</i> This means consumers can reducing their carbon footprints every time they make a soda or
sparkling water using it, versus buying canned / bottled beverage from the
likes of Coke or Pepsi. </span></div>
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<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">The company seemed destined for greater success when they hired former Nike executive and Harvard MBA Dan Birnbaum as CEO
in 2007. Later, the company issued a highly successful IPO in 2010, raising over $109
million, becoming a darling of Wall Street. SodaStream enjoyed huge growth
success in Europe, with significant household penetration in countries like
Sweden. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMRCh0XVB8JO0kKsvcMNrAvxPZhR1XLMKyXimkFBUzbtadrLMBSBtj3mV6Q0v6T1c1oFpbxyVkuU8gWlzNPgYTMBQDgPsG2Hu_qodVKXKEailWwQMrCBpik_G4U0mKtUw9WMc_fBQYQMZ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+5.06.13+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMRCh0XVB8JO0kKsvcMNrAvxPZhR1XLMKyXimkFBUzbtadrLMBSBtj3mV6Q0v6T1c1oFpbxyVkuU8gWlzNPgYTMBQDgPsG2Hu_qodVKXKEailWwQMrCBpik_G4U0mKtUw9WMc_fBQYQMZ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+5.06.13+PM.png" height="200" width="155" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: .75pt;">In 2014 SodaStream
tried to jump-start its business in the US by way of an expensive
and splashy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7ivSdvc4S0#t=17" target="_blank">Super Bowl Ad</a>. It featured saucy Hollywood superstar Scarlett
Johansson, emphasizing an environmentally friendly message.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">Unfortunately this Super Bowl ad did not work, in
fact it bombed. The message did not resonate with US consumers, and failed to motivate
people to buy SodaStream machines. Sales tumbled in the US by 40% last year.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTl-rU39WxBRW_iS30M4hmFInLQsyxnM5ZC3-61USxapCn1N9tfCZOzbsQLQIYLtifP1BYeBjGPvw4KwRj_ZUNfk4gJTotjKZKAiGcFaLaE4xDm4gI7IHj_xSQl6kFnrxt8LNTQvNRvkG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+5.07.11+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTl-rU39WxBRW_iS30M4hmFInLQsyxnM5ZC3-61USxapCn1N9tfCZOzbsQLQIYLtifP1BYeBjGPvw4KwRj_ZUNfk4gJTotjKZKAiGcFaLaE4xDm4gI7IHj_xSQl6kFnrxt8LNTQvNRvkG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+5.07.11+PM.png" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">Since then the company has retrenched,
repositioning the brand to accent “stream,” with a new tagline <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Water Made Exciting. </i>"I don't think we have it figured out yet" Mr. Birnbaum was recently quoted. "We're not perfect, but we're on the right path." He may be more than a little overly-optimistic. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">On-going take-over rumors by the likes of Pepsi have failed
to materialize. The NY Times business section front page just <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/23/business/sodastream-hits-reset-as-its-sales-and-profit-fall.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0" target="_blank">featured a story</a> on the woes of SodaStream, as well as their plan to introduce new fruit flavors and a litany of other new products for later this year in an attempt to halt their business misfortunes. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">It appears that<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>institutional investors and analysts do not share Mr. Birnbaum's view that the company is on the right track. </span>The company's stock hit a new 52 week low this week. Listed on NASDAQ, SodaStream's shares have lost
more than half their value in the last 12 months, which translates into $ 48.3
million in market cap that has simply vaporized. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">The flip side of CSR as a success story is Burt’s Bees, which developed into a near billion-dollar "unicorn" after Clorox
<a href="http://investors.thecloroxcompany.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=272197" target="_blank">acquired the company</a> back in 2007 for cash. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKd9qm44rFJNY2Tq1mXBzIT3rplWYlBOISLIkot515Rmne4zvgT7-ptZlJWyy8lhB3OIhIBhuRHzvjaz1fdZN8I5geNLwwvws2mLSYrwv5v62Ba6xJu_O36tBL-wABjp94g3BQPCm2PIAP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+5.12.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKd9qm44rFJNY2Tq1mXBzIT3rplWYlBOISLIkot515Rmne4zvgT7-ptZlJWyy8lhB3OIhIBhuRHzvjaz1fdZN8I5geNLwwvws2mLSYrwv5v62Ba6xJu_O36tBL-wABjp94g3BQPCm2PIAP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+5.12.27+PM.png" height="196" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"><a href="http://www.burtsbees.com/" target="_blank">Burt's Bees</a>,</span> an American personal care products
company that describes itself as an <i>“Earth Friendly, Natural Personal Care
Company,”</i> makes products for health, beauty, and personal
hygiene.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">In 1984 Burt Shavitz, a beekeeper
in Maine, met a 33-year-old single mother Roxanne Quimby, as she was
hitchhiking to the post office in rural Dexter, Maine. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">Roxanne offered to help Burt tend his
bees, and the two hooked up both in romance and business and shortly thereafter they founded Burt’s
Bees. The company became famous for its beeswax lip balm, lotions, soaps and
shampoos. Its packaging, and eco-friendly marketing set it apart in the crowded
health and beauty-aids market. (The bearded man on their packages is modeled
after Mr. Shavitz.)</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">By 2007 the company made nearly 200
products for facial and body skin care, lip care, hair care, baby care, men’s grooming,
and outdoor remedies. They were distributed in nearly 30,000 retail
outlets including grocery stores and drug store chains across North
America, UK, Hong Kong and Taiwan.</span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 14.65pt; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">From 2000 to 2007 sales soared </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">from $23 million to $164 million</span> at the
privately-held company, far outpacing
competitors as consumers moved towards products that promised organic and
environmental benefits – the DNA of a socially-responsible company like Burt’s
Bees.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0_jtM_J1zpezpsoN2LPFQv5a7OKYTbvavHEmIyIiE3A2grhuEWeO8p_9u_fU9-Ia8Q2Nl3UBhJvVfM_vQ3f8O72PBWVGV9gMrx0J9CHFnWRp-yAH-8849m2Jj1vf3m1Yfdc36vw4ZMT7/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+5.27.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0_jtM_J1zpezpsoN2LPFQv5a7OKYTbvavHEmIyIiE3A2grhuEWeO8p_9u_fU9-Ia8Q2Nl3UBhJvVfM_vQ3f8O72PBWVGV9gMrx0J9CHFnWRp-yAH-8849m2Jj1vf3m1Yfdc36vw4ZMT7/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-20+at+5.27.33+PM.png" height="155" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Funny, it doesn't look like a unicorn. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: .75pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Clorox saw </span><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: .75pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: .75pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">a big opportunity in the market for “green products”
(reflecting a socially responsible approach to life and business) and therefore was highly motivated to pay</span> nearly $1 billion for Burt’s
Bees. This was a bold move for a company best known for selling bleach, and strong smelling
cleaning products. As stated on the Clorox website today: Burt’s Bees’ ultimate
goal is to be the <i>“greenest personal care company on earth.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: .75pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It appears that
Clorox is reaping big growth and profits from its investment in Burt’s Bees, as the brand has become one of
the crown jewel in the company’s product diversification strategy. Clorox
shares have jumped + 77% since 2007, with Burt's Bees playing a big part in the company's "2020 Strategy" to drive long-term profitable growth in new categories, channels and countries. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">Both companies are worth examining for start-ups considering
the use of social responsibility as the core value proposition. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">If social responsibility is to be used as a business
model it should align with what consumers are looking for in terms of products and/or services, offer a compelling brand message and deliver a great user experience<span class="apple-converted-space">. This alignment is usually </span>helpful in achieve key business objectives –
like customer engagement and sales traction, which in turn feeds
profitable growth. </span></div>
<div style="background: white; margin-bottom: 11.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt;">This business formula is always music to the ears of the venture capital
community, and may even conjure up dreams of the mythical unicorn for potential
investors. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-14393507478242494692015-02-03T13:28:00.001-08:002015-02-04T07:43:33.138-08:00Disruption isn’t just for start-up companies. <style>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Conventional
wisdom these days points to the prominent role that disruptive business models
play for start-ups. Using the “disruptive” play has upended many business
sectors and created companies with huge marketplace valuations, from car
services / taxis with Uber to the hotel business with airbnb. </span></span></div>
<span style="color: #444444;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Perhaps
no business sector has been challenged more than the media business, in
particular magazine publishing.</span></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjID-f54RxB0ZJjMte7b3Ol2Qq0POB9mGfQ-F82RaVVBuS_UnKU6kho1viTPGKSQZ9OZgJcxblnXKUmTyohJ_B6TmS8Rvx3d6xbQqlyJiTfpAvRgcsjEqXZlPZ87hwngYD7z1CdT97xmAU_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-03+at+3.38.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjID-f54RxB0ZJjMte7b3Ol2Qq0POB9mGfQ-F82RaVVBuS_UnKU6kho1viTPGKSQZ9OZgJcxblnXKUmTyohJ_B6TmS8Rvx3d6xbQqlyJiTfpAvRgcsjEqXZlPZ87hwngYD7z1CdT97xmAU_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-03+at+3.38.32+PM.png" height="320" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Paying homage to a master of disruption.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Consider
one company at the center of media disruption storm: <a href="http://www.timeinc.com/" target="_blank">Time Inc.</a> founded back in
1923 by Henry Luce, who was one of the original news-aggregators. He went on to
build a highly profitable stable of magazines. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">TIME
was the first news magazine in the US Market. It emphasized brevity so a busy
person could read it in an hour, launched with the tag line <i>“Take Time – it’s</i>
<i>brief.”</i> Time Inc. enjoyed a meteoric rise for the next 80 years. Time became
part of Time Warner in 1989, in turn becoming part of AOL when they purchased
Time Warner for $ 164 billion in 2000. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As
the Internet exploded flooding the market with compelling and competitive
content offerings (many for free) - Time Inc. watched the circulation and ad
revenues of its core titles including TIME, Fortune, Money and Sports
Illustrated take a nosedive. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In
June of last year Time Inc. was spun-off from it more profitable corporate
parent Time Warner, following some tough restructuring moves that included the elimination
of over 500 jobs. </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicSg_1pVfAezFPuMEIKHDfi8h8PdFTZTghDxogI7dBcMPU5pkM4bj8UUgzUisBSPG3Z8ltSYbuHb0jH3rQ7FM9X1EOA0-dX2JM2FNrEi4YRjIvHQtsJE41AcYkNAPm_HVEMQ7-bB1Xa5bT/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-03+at+3.50.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicSg_1pVfAezFPuMEIKHDfi8h8PdFTZTghDxogI7dBcMPU5pkM4bj8UUgzUisBSPG3Z8ltSYbuHb0jH3rQ7FM9X1EOA0-dX2JM2FNrEi4YRjIvHQtsJE41AcYkNAPm_HVEMQ7-bB1Xa5bT/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-03+at+3.50.27+PM.png" height="200" width="154" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">As
Time Inc. CEO Joseph Ripp <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/b/d3786419-2d0b-4e73-afb1-b31d53149926" target="_blank">recently told Bloomberg</a> “We’re in the content
industry now, we’re not in the magazine industry anymore.” He went on “For
quite a while Time Inc. had thought of itself being in the magazine
industry…the moment you define yourself that way, you put yourself in a paper
box.”</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Time Inc.’s existence
as a standalone entity will test both the sustainability of print advertising
and the value of brand recognition in an ever-changing media landscape, where
decades-old titles are competing with the likes of Buzz Feed and Vox, and new
players are entering the crowded field every day. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Moving forward Time
Inc. will need to prove its ability to effectively disrupt its historic
publishing business model, and find new ways to generate revenue. </span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To start, Time Inc.
has <a href="http://www.timeinc.com/about/news/press-release/time-inc-to-move-corporate-headquarters-to-brookfield-place-in-lower-manhattan/" target="_blank">announced plan to relocate</a> from its iconic headquarters in mid-town to
Brookfield Place at 225 Liberty Street in lower Manhattan. There are also
reports that Time Inc. is making a huge and ambitious <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/time-inc-has-partnered-ifttt-and-wants-to-create-standalone-apps-2014-12" target="_blank">bet to become a tech company</a> with some key outside hires (from the likes of Amazon) and announcement
that it will be the first major publisher to accept bitcoin.</span></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamU533WmXMjRNKhxxF9DzMciY9_JOnrRv_HUEQkKEarxjQyXVB7UA2ahRs6S84vXt3Xll9sJLxLAebXwL4zcDEyOJwuJSrI0XykXOwSNzNi5RyjRUmazmVzz2llh6keIYVD4TncdtgDqb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-04+at+10.39.58+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamU533WmXMjRNKhxxF9DzMciY9_JOnrRv_HUEQkKEarxjQyXVB7UA2ahRs6S84vXt3Xll9sJLxLAebXwL4zcDEyOJwuJSrI0XykXOwSNzNi5RyjRUmazmVzz2llh6keIYVD4TncdtgDqb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-04+at+10.39.58+AM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Newell Thompson </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But Time Inc. is also
taking a disruptive approach to redefining the way its core brands are doing
business, including Time, Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated. Enter Time’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Content Marketing & Strategies </b>unit
(CM&S) headed by Newell Thompson. He is a veteran publishing executive, who
then spent fours years in start-ups before returning to Time Inc. in late 2010.
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I understand the pain points of start-ups. It
helped me grasp the importance of recognizing opportunities, and then pivoting
quickly with products that could be successfully monetized” observed Newell. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He is taking a
disruptive start-up mindset to building the content marketing suite of products
for the Time Inc. News Group. Newell and his team are re-defining “magazine”
from an ink-on-paper business to being a high-value content hub, one that
leverages the distribution power of some of the world’s best know publishing
brands. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Cultural disruption is needed to expand our brands into areas where we can build value for marketers and avoid the commoditization model of media buying houses." said Newell. “We’re now in the business of selling <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">brand-building ideas </i>for our clients<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> -</i> by delivering powerful content and
distribution.”</span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmH5-J6jPVZjlGoaZGs9yEzEO6Xv4D2vWC_L3h-eIBVigzf260fXKAzzvNW79q7FDL0_dX130frpoX3Xg3r6KjVr7G5fcskCGbq-gOmauVXQ5L2UeI2ahV4tFcHPGDCN6R2dfyyL05z3ax/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-03+at+4.10.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmH5-J6jPVZjlGoaZGs9yEzEO6Xv4D2vWC_L3h-eIBVigzf260fXKAzzvNW79q7FDL0_dX130frpoX3Xg3r6KjVr7G5fcskCGbq-gOmauVXQ5L2UeI2ahV4tFcHPGDCN6R2dfyyL05z3ax/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-03+at+4.10.48+PM.png" height="232" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Newell is clearly on
the inside at Time Inc. and out to disprove the conventional wisdom that
traditional publishing companies can’t adopt new ideas and effectively monetize
them. His charge is to help make CM&S an enterprise-level growth driver,
something worthy of sharing with Wall Street. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">CM&S is helping
create vertical thought leadership topics and conversations. The team is
able to offer a unique combination of Time Inc.’s content creation assets and
distribution network; coupled with a broader contributor network of writers,
designers, photographers and videographers to built highly engaging content for
their clients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Time CEO Joe Ripp
said “I have 2000 of the world’s best content producers in the world working
for me, and our content can be produced and delivered in all sorts of different
formats.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Time Inc. has been in
the story telling business for over 90 years, and they are exploring new ways
to deliver these compelling stories to better engage audiences on behalf of
their branded sponsors in the process. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While Newell
acknowledges that the profit margins in digital media are much less than those
of print media, he is helping carry the CM&S mission and message with
infectious enthusiasm. </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEX6eamWflbjHerV1y9jcsYmEDGArfMhc45jkSH-dOB9EYRzsbK82F0nwPZNr30xb2TjGqJPLWlSKwfvWvrmgaQ_Bu_rZYkXzBhlX0O_un1nyusibMLrjIB8wD__wiGsOwbrXf6HKg6spM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-03+at+4.08.10+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEX6eamWflbjHerV1y9jcsYmEDGArfMhc45jkSH-dOB9EYRzsbK82F0nwPZNr30xb2TjGqJPLWlSKwfvWvrmgaQ_Bu_rZYkXzBhlX0O_un1nyusibMLrjIB8wD__wiGsOwbrXf6HKg6spM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-03+at+4.08.10+PM.png" height="320" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TIME is giving analysts a reason to take a hard look. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This type of
disruptive innovation may the catalyst Time Inc. is looking for to propel its
planned phoenix-like rise from the ashes, from the old world order of media
companies. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A leading indicator of
Time Inc.’s potential for success may be the 30%+ jump in the value of TIME
stock since early October of last year. The stock is now trading near its 52
week high - impressive in light of the fact that equity analysts and
institutional investors are a hard group to fool, as most people know. </span></span></span></div>
Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-55953828632716790072015-02-02T09:28:00.000-08:002015-02-04T12:00:06.085-08:0012 Weeks To A 6-Figure Job: But What’s the Best Path?<style>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRC7Zidu6je55vqr97_nSxnLq04cIC9TfapK0UY5pSo1k-zU9LmToI5ncm7F6_spAypNmFrb0tljIuDl1W-cNV5xKGFg2dGaLtX-ccet40qm5Rpjyu3FZgmetnoK9DObtFGLslNOxmhiZ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-30+at+5.07.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRC7Zidu6je55vqr97_nSxnLq04cIC9TfapK0UY5pSo1k-zU9LmToI5ncm7F6_spAypNmFrb0tljIuDl1W-cNV5xKGFg2dGaLtX-ccet40qm5Rpjyu3FZgmetnoK9DObtFGLslNOxmhiZ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-30+at+5.07.20+PM.png" height="233" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Student at coder boot camp in NYC.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In late 2014 NPR issued a
story called </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/12/20/370954988/twelve-weeks-to-a-six-figure-job" target="_blank">“12 weeks to a 6-figure job”</a> featuring the explosive growth of a
brand new kind of trade school: The immersive web-development program, also
know as “coder boot camp.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The NY Times wrote a similar story back in October called <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/us/web-era-trade-schools-feeding-a-need-for-code.html?_r=0" target="_blank">"Web-era trade schools, feeding a need for code."</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And Crain's NY Business just issued a story <a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150203/TECHNOLOGY/150209970/coding-schools-arent-just-for-kids" target="_blank">"Coding Schools aren't just for kids"</a> about how Gen-X career changers are flocking to digital boot camps. Some are transitioning from related tech fields to in order to build digital products, while others are embracing technology that may have put them out of a job.<a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150203/TECHNOLOGY/150209970/coding-schools-arent-just-for-kids" target="_blank"> </a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The promise is simple: For
several thousands of dollars and an investment of 10-12 weeks, people can become
job-ready web developers. At least 50 of these programs have sprung up
worldwide, with over a dozen in the metro NYC area. They are all capitalizing on the explosive growth in demand for web and mobile app developers, and related positions. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The top programs tout they
are placing a vast majority of their graduates in great jobs with salaries
approaching six-figures in a fast growing field, at a fraction of the time and
cost of getting a college degree in computer science program from a top-tier school like MIT
or Stanford, or dozens of other of well regarded schools offering engineering / computer science majors like Rutgers or the NJ Institute of Technology. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlz8yT-27w8J4af3szW_ybgEQbjrtttRVnW_BEq6dkleA0hFmaHg-KdIrQNfLfvvqzXCU907V0BlOdvOX6xjWYC4YFv0IF9kurd7kkHJrWK5EEVfDEbaVgdWSB6ZDozU4P3zJmoPoNhyV/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-30+at+10.13.10+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlz8yT-27w8J4af3szW_ybgEQbjrtttRVnW_BEq6dkleA0hFmaHg-KdIrQNfLfvvqzXCU907V0BlOdvOX6xjWYC4YFv0IF9kurd7kkHJrWK5EEVfDEbaVgdWSB6ZDozU4P3zJmoPoNhyV/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-30+at+10.13.10+AM.png" height="289" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But there is a murky side to
this tech-focused “yellow-brick-road” – not all coding schools nor even the classes
themselves are created equal. Some classes offer full time immersion-style
teaching, while other are offered part time during evening and weekend hours. And
there is no standard certification for the schools or graduation credential,
like a BA or BS from an accredited university. And few coding schools offer hard data on actual placement rates or the entry-level salaries of their graduates. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pchPHU-8vxdB_Eu83wJFZScrxmNHynBGjAruIrmGZYmiisBjk3-VxntXIMBRnBeUrEYJzxuA6V_FmmgaTo855R2GTx38c9IMaSm_wNnekYs2g-yUJecoz_oygTKpCdz_U8Lr66Y8X4oe/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-30+at+5.11.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_pchPHU-8vxdB_Eu83wJFZScrxmNHynBGjAruIrmGZYmiisBjk3-VxntXIMBRnBeUrEYJzxuA6V_FmmgaTo855R2GTx38c9IMaSm_wNnekYs2g-yUJecoz_oygTKpCdz_U8Lr66Y8X4oe/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-30+at+5.11.01+PM.png" height="199" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Apple's new coding language: Swift</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So with “caveat emptor” in
mind, I went “shopping” recently for a simple part-time iOS Swift app
development course in NYC. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="st"><i>"<a href="https://developer.apple.com/swift/" target="_blank">Swift</a></i><a href="https://developer.apple.com/swift/" target="_blank"> </a>is an innovative new programming language for <i>iOS</i> and OS X with concise yet expressive syntax that produces lightning-fast apps" according to Apple. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I quickly found two Swift coding class offerings right in the heart of
“Silicon Alley” in the Flatiron District, near Madison Square Park. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">One course was offered at
what is likely the best known schools in the sector, the other at a smaller
school just two blocks away. Both promised be ability to program fluently in
Swift in 8-12 weeks, with tuition costing from </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">$ 3,000 - $ 4,750.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But a closer examination of
the offerings and instructors revealed some telling differences. The larger well-know school is
known for hiring part-time free-lance instructors, and this was the case with
the mobile development course I learned about at a recent information session. In fact I got the feeling that instructor knew precious little about the school at all.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV6faWSyR-Jp8jlFlwdYIY5MwO9QLTi5kvHKt6FXxhskzQGq1YqRJRMR-XSu-tboDT5n1Iz9obJM2GE0OV2X9UzLUU7tBzDzgEYd3ZCo9LfozTpaAeb9FZFIxjaFuhUIkKZUPj9ULxcGpF/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-02+at+12.23.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV6faWSyR-Jp8jlFlwdYIY5MwO9QLTi5kvHKt6FXxhskzQGq1YqRJRMR-XSu-tboDT5n1Iz9obJM2GE0OV2X9UzLUU7tBzDzgEYd3ZCo9LfozTpaAeb9FZFIxjaFuhUIkKZUPj9ULxcGpF/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-02-02+at+12.23.59+PM.png" height="148" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I know enough about programming that various languages share a common process, but I found it strange that the instructor had worked at Google and was therefore likely to be a strong advocate of <a href="https://www.android.com/" target="_blank">Android</a>, which is a primary competitor to Apple's iOS languages. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The instructor is also a principal at a NYC-based "stealth" start-up
scheduled to launch its main product this spring. So I was skeptical when he
said he’d "be available at any time to answer student questions outside of the
classroom sessions." The estimated class size: 20-25, which meant limited one-on-one
attention from the primary instructor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A few blocks away I found
the smaller school offering a class of 5-7 people (more personal attention)
with two full-time / dedicated instructors with a long history of iOS mobile
development. They also talked about offering career advice and encouraged
potential students to share any apps they might already be working on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And as a non-tech person by
background, they made the whole process seem approachable and inviting to me. They
also offer an online learning management system with videos, reading
materials, quizzes and assignments. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Other area schools are working
with New York City to offer fellowships and provide free training to
underrepresented groups in the tech community. They also offer part-time
courses, corporate training and programs for high school students. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71iNw4nH9_26PJ1zMn_Jm2siLi2NuRbpXuO37RfuPV7xVbpBxrA4Mw_iQAmyMq_R_Izo90fFV2FBkIY5jKkFLsWfX8nvDk5PRxubxe-M0Qv-e8hrXLMd15CJzCu8RkxikOJfrbX3mixx4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-30+at+5.19.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71iNw4nH9_26PJ1zMn_Jm2siLi2NuRbpXuO37RfuPV7xVbpBxrA4Mw_iQAmyMq_R_Izo90fFV2FBkIY5jKkFLsWfX8nvDk5PRxubxe-M0Qv-e8hrXLMd15CJzCu8RkxikOJfrbX3mixx4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-30+at+5.19.53+PM.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are several websites
that can act as a third-party resource for prospective students. <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A good place
to start is <a href="http://coursereport.com/">coursereport.com</a> founded by Living Social alumni Adam Lovallo and
Liz Eggleston. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
site features reviews, tips for applying to the schools, and interviews with founders,
students, and instructors. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All this information
can help equip prospective students with insights that may be helpful when
trying to figure out which boot camp is right for them. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
simple search function based on “topics” (coding language / discipline) and
location yields a menu of schools. Each school is further profiled based on a
general “about” description, course offerings, reviews and “news” which
includes items like student profiles. </span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IPD11RekJWvmVkHkuLlN0VL1U1Ug0YsJ2qmBBkSEHWIy1oOUN4ZbC7BJTwEh5mQfG1Oz_Gtm40wMLpy8bGJrZFNz4GZHoK_XPfrYxQ-LVunZADdrKpp9eZUXV7QRB7tBLZEc7MMpi-3W/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-30+at+5.29.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IPD11RekJWvmVkHkuLlN0VL1U1Ug0YsJ2qmBBkSEHWIy1oOUN4ZbC7BJTwEh5mQfG1Oz_Gtm40wMLpy8bGJrZFNz4GZHoK_XPfrYxQ-LVunZADdrKpp9eZUXV7QRB7tBLZEc7MMpi-3W/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-30+at+5.29.06+PM.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So if you’re considering
pursuing web / app development courses from NYC to Austin, from San Francisco
to Toronto – you’ll have plenty of choices and great professional prospects. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But it will really pay to do some up-front planning, comparative shopping and due diligence, including visiting prospective coding schools and meeting the instructors before making a final decision on your new school. </span></div>
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-91966174690357361512015-01-06T13:13:00.000-08:002015-01-07T13:17:03.853-08:00What will create value in the Internet of Things ?<style>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8Olo3p93g0RSUeDJly7qUGMq5qrn6Eneo4iC9kQ-4EoZABHNe_DUgDp8oUkJWRJ3SejfskH0gnqCW104Re_XdrPHAKjuH-WivaC0I65aMVscU3n7Tvc9ul8cj6LsXuq6mKn55Tjb5WcP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+11.31.55+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-8Olo3p93g0RSUeDJly7qUGMq5qrn6Eneo4iC9kQ-4EoZABHNe_DUgDp8oUkJWRJ3SejfskH0gnqCW104Re_XdrPHAKjuH-WivaC0I65aMVscU3n7Tvc9ul8cj6LsXuq6mKn55Tjb5WcP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+11.31.55+AM.png" height="268" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>Explosive Growth:</b> The Internet of Things or “IoT” is a red-hot
topic. Business and tech pundits are citing predictions that some 30 billion
objects may be connected to the Internet of Things by 2020.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Impressive numbers, but getting back to basics
- what is the IoT and how will its growth create tangible economic value? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Let’s start with a simple definition: According
to <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/high_tech_telecoms_internet/the_internet_of_things_sizing_up_the_opportunity?cid=other-eml-alt-mip-mck-oth-1412" target="_blank">McKinsey & Company</a> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the Internet of Things refers to the networking of physical
objects through the use of embedded sensors, actuators, and other devices that
can collect or transmit information about the objects. </span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjmLR6eSN66U8HcZjUSL7vMsR-z-rL5p5-7kE9XD3pq6T9-1PsyLpX-sG0S-Bd8fF9vypZWieR1VYajSI-Qf1OKhJz-Xde9LZdl6IeR-aqLck_O88zXLnfE_My_D-OlhwAxnOqqHC1EWi/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+11.30.05+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjmLR6eSN66U8HcZjUSL7vMsR-z-rL5p5-7kE9XD3pq6T9-1PsyLpX-sG0S-Bd8fF9vypZWieR1VYajSI-Qf1OKhJz-Xde9LZdl6IeR-aqLck_O88zXLnfE_My_D-OlhwAxnOqqHC1EWi/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+11.30.05+AM.png" height="320" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 5 years - 30 billion objects may be connect to the IoT. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What’s
good about all this? The data amassed from these devices can then be analyzed
to <i>optimize</i> products, services, and operations, and this can lead to redefined and new business models. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An
early success story for the IoT includes energy optimization: Sensors deployed
across an electricity grid can help utility companies remotely monitor energy
use and adjust generation and distribution flows to account for peak times and
down times. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
US power grid is the largest interconnected machine on earth with 9200 electric
generating units with over one million megawatts of generating capability. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
it’s being rebuilt today using IoT technology. Check out the US Department of
Energy’s <a href="http://energy.gov/oe/downloads/smart-grid-introduction-0" target="_blank">“The Smart Grid”</a> for a non-technical overview of this undertaking. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NozLwcqp8nIrPjEjJfbsDgrAIXQ66Il3I-7rsEIoASAYO14j46lROzMbtqCP9pxngDIWgdbh2LWWK3Z51meEwKGu6OyyyQ-ffVkgzW1A5JH6T8IhGxWmxEqcpRg9WhP9wAnN9eAmtPgR/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+2.54.37+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-NozLwcqp8nIrPjEjJfbsDgrAIXQ66Il3I-7rsEIoASAYO14j46lROzMbtqCP9pxngDIWgdbh2LWWK3Z51meEwKGu6OyyyQ-ffVkgzW1A5JH6T8IhGxWmxEqcpRg9WhP9wAnN9eAmtPgR/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+2.54.37+PM.png" height="198" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Redefined Business Models:</b> Consumers
are buying smart thermostats and smoke / carbon monoxide alarms from <a href="https://nest.com/" target="_blank">NEST</a> –
a start-up company <a href="http://investor.google.com/releases/2014/0113.html" target="_blank">acquired by Google</a> in early 2014 for a staggering $ 3.2 billion in cash. Following
the acquisition announcement, the jokes flew: <i>“If your house is burning down
you’ll now get G Mail ads for fire extinguishers,” </i>Valleywag’s Sam Biddle <a href="https://twitter.com/samfbiddle/status/422838234230448129">tweeted</a></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/01/googles-3-billion-nest-buy-finally-make-internet-things-real-us/" target="_blank">Wired</a>
has observed that this deal sets the stage for an for an entire world populated
with Google-powered smart devices. And Google got Nest CEO Tony Fadell, a real
product master – best known for designing the iPod. Nest will also help evolve
the Google business model to include the interconnectedness of hardware. As the
devices talk to each other it helps build an aggregate picture of human
behavior, anticipating what we want before we even know we want it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Efficiency:</b> Other
IoT uses include <a href="http://mashable.com/category/wearable-tech/" target="_blank">“wearable” devices</a> to track personal physical fitness and insurance
companies installing sensors in cars so they can base premiums on actual
driving behavior versus projections. Axeda is a leader in <a href="http://www.axeda.com/node/1141" target="_blank">“vehicle tele-matics”</a>
that is empowering car insurance underwriters like <a href="https://www.esurance.com/" target="_blank">Ensurance</a> to use hard data on
driving behaviors to help set their rates. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Physicians
are using information collected from wireless sensors to improve their
management of chronic diseases. McKinsey predicts that continuous monitoring
versus periodic testing might reduce treatment costs by 10-20% saving billions
in the care of congestive heart failure alone. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFS_q_jzJWTDfCaUCqoAx55InRZnQcz_zj1OvkWfCF-y9fWe_DyM28R480RebWpdRvtWKEfIOg_7DpI-enzTd_yMNVqnSdD6CI5ZfdDCN8PBXomJSyi7s5RU6t1BsdH1TDtRGPHCD19Ofq/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+3.21.05+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFS_q_jzJWTDfCaUCqoAx55InRZnQcz_zj1OvkWfCF-y9fWe_DyM28R480RebWpdRvtWKEfIOg_7DpI-enzTd_yMNVqnSdD6CI5ZfdDCN8PBXomJSyi7s5RU6t1BsdH1TDtRGPHCD19Ofq/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+3.21.05+PM.png" height="200" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Joep van Beurden from CSR.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
an <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/high_tech_telecoms_internet/making_connections_an_industry_perspective_on_the_internet_of_things" target="_blank">interview</a> with McKinsey & Company – <span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Joep van Beurden the CEO of
semiconductor company <a href="http://www.csr.com/" target="_blank">CSR</a> (that produces many wireless technologies) provided
some fascinating insights on the IoT sector: </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“A
lot of analysts have evaluated the potential financial value that Internet of
Things applications may create over the next five to ten years—it’s a $300
billion or $15 trillion opportunity, depending on whom you listen to.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Connectivity:</b> van Beurden continued “When
you drill down, however, you see that about 10 percent of this value is created
by the 'things,' while 90 percent comes from connecting these things to the
Internet. The Internet of Things is not just about storing information in the
cloud; the data only becomes interesting when you combine them with sensors and
analytics.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Van Beurden went on to qualify the factors that will impact IoT growth: “But
a certain degree of alignment must happen for those connections to take place
and for the Internet of Things to take off. The industry must adopt common
standards and business models, and it must address issues relating to privacy
and security.”</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrC324_HgLOZPLMbW6BNUF7o4_8FbAG_XpfrtxTVWPRFKrMRHA0e16TH_mfCNpWQj1ukj5khYGdcSyVoIfZq847J9dKXB05_6xxB-6SqLwy6L_rc-dGvH_V3-pkc9o7vY2ol6zUIpZX96/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+3.29.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrC324_HgLOZPLMbW6BNUF7o4_8FbAG_XpfrtxTVWPRFKrMRHA0e16TH_mfCNpWQj1ukj5khYGdcSyVoIfZq847J9dKXB05_6xxB-6SqLwy6L_rc-dGvH_V3-pkc9o7vY2ol6zUIpZX96/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+3.29.35+PM.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>Economic Impact:</b> The
McKinsey Global Institute research estimates that the impact of the Internet of
Things on the global economy might be as high as $6.2 trillion by 2025. At the
same time, the corporate leaders polled admit they lack a clear perspective on
the concrete business opportunities in the Internet of Things given the breadth
of applications being developed, the potential markets affected—consumer,
healthcare, and industrial segments, among others—and the fact that the trend
is still nascent.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
<a href="http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2905717" target="_blank">Gartner recently observed</a>: Connected things, such as automated teller machines
and airline check-in machines, have previously existed. But, new and novel
devices, and many ordinary objects, are also being reinvented with digital
sensing, computing and communications capabilities. </span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdRJIpfb-7akLAyJWlKH8cC6Ud8TX5aNAfMC4_gFGuiJh6mdAsbU7tTQssgrtvXq6TtM9yntNaFRBKukOZnK7aXswaRKP_dCOfK-CTABOOg-vHBf5nAvWzn_x0wqgtCeGhkcYtP4BLMqx/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+3.29.50+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdRJIpfb-7akLAyJWlKH8cC6Ud8TX5aNAfMC4_gFGuiJh6mdAsbU7tTQssgrtvXq6TtM9yntNaFRBKukOZnK7aXswaRKP_dCOfK-CTABOOg-vHBf5nAvWzn_x0wqgtCeGhkcYtP4BLMqx/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+3.29.50+PM.png" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The "digital voice" is comprised of data. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
functionality provides both new and previously passive objects with a
<i>"digital voice",</i> and the ability to create and deliver an information
stream reflecting their status and that of their surrounding environment. Such
developments radically change the value proposition of many businesses,
creating new services and usage scenarios and driving new business models.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The
digital shift instigated by the Nexus of Forces (cloud, mobile, social and
information), and boosted by IoT, threatens many existing businesses. They have
no choice but to pursue IoT, like they’ve done with the consumerization of IT,”
said Jim Tully, an analyst at Gartner. </span></span><br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>Widespread Applications:</b> Tully continued "This sudden expansion will
boost the economic impact of the IoT as consumers, businesses, city
authorities, hospitals and many other entities find new ways in which to
exploit the technology." Gartner estimates that IoT will support total services
spending of $69.5 billion in 2015 and $263 billion by 2020. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPAbiTtncxecxPQ9yu6ls8XRgcHXuQtDr6ii3uBSKPOnXd3ekM8SqsDpGAQvteOH6v1kvQ6vNx9AtcmLZZZatqoOwe6Pd6SOf1u4Fo090qxPQN0R7HcsxDpkcQPU5RheeIlAg0M9FDbWb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+3.38.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTPAbiTtncxecxPQ9yu6ls8XRgcHXuQtDr6ii3uBSKPOnXd3ekM8SqsDpGAQvteOH6v1kvQ6vNx9AtcmLZZZatqoOwe6Pd6SOf1u4Fo090qxPQN0R7HcsxDpkcQPU5RheeIlAg0M9FDbWb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+3.38.27+PM.png" height="181" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Automotive sector will have fastest growth.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Consumer applications will
drive the number of connected things, while enterprise will account for most of
the revenue. Gartner estimates that 2.9 billion connected things will be in use
in the consumer sector in 2015 and will reach over 13 billion in 2020, about half the McKinsey estimate. The
automotive sector will show the highest growth rate at 96 percent in
2015. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From an industry perspective, manufacturing, utilities and
transportation will be the top three verticals using IoT in 2015 – all together
they will have 736 million connected things in use.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHgFDFk8e-FEjFRlqobPTRIBJ061vRaD7hqqDJWXHvUk4naLPNUjvqvFA_Y-95zRMB1f_IGkuNsf255l7edcLkeMsCsIQwIzfN-nSbWel1YJJ9CjlsgeR_Hy8dhZChidNyFSyymFy6ny2/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+3.42.57+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHgFDFk8e-FEjFRlqobPTRIBJ061vRaD7hqqDJWXHvUk4naLPNUjvqvFA_Y-95zRMB1f_IGkuNsf255l7edcLkeMsCsIQwIzfN-nSbWel1YJJ9CjlsgeR_Hy8dhZChidNyFSyymFy6ny2/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-01-06+at+3.42.57+PM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Steve Prentice from Gartner. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The number of connected intelligent devices will continue
to grow exponentially, giving ’smart things’ the ability to sense, interpret,
communicate and negotiate, and effectively have a digital ‘voice’," said
Steve Prentice, vice president and Gartner Fellow. He continued, “CIOs must
look for opportunities to create new services, usage scenarios and business
models based on this growth.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So the IoT sector is likely to see exponential growth the next ten
years, and its ability to spawn new business models and create economic value
is already evident. It may be time to listen carefully for the “digital voice”
of the future, a chorus being created by technology, throwing off valuable
“data exhaust” - one device at a time. </span></span><br />
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-65677401200680204722014-12-23T08:52:00.000-08:002015-01-05T07:00:08.154-08:00A “Mash-Up” as a Business Model <style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The term “mash-up” is most
commonly used in the context of web development. It happens when content from
more than one source is used (via an open API) to create a single new service
that shows information in a new way. <a href="http://www.mapdango.com/" target="_blank">Mapdango</a>, is a good example in which </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Official
National Park Service<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> (NPS) maps are overlaid on Google Maps.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A “mash-up” can also
describe a business model that mashes-up digital / web based content or
services with the analog world. There are two smart start ups using this
approach to meet some very basic needs: food and shelter. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_EVShMOQjmcGyPql6cH2uPqEZ0_M0MB-Q9q6b6NYBll0bOeVGsdjYaGjgv9mxwd8vD7qOE2kta8VtEoTFggQEV1sx3Cex1T3lrmPIVBm44wrinN2nmYmcUqa3piMzRiCmIlcvO5bDJS8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-22+at+5.28.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_EVShMOQjmcGyPql6cH2uPqEZ0_M0MB-Q9q6b6NYBll0bOeVGsdjYaGjgv9mxwd8vD7qOE2kta8VtEoTFggQEV1sx3Cex1T3lrmPIVBm44wrinN2nmYmcUqa3piMzRiCmIlcvO5bDJS8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-22+at+5.28.22+PM.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The food example, “<a href="http://www.maryssecretingredients.com/" target="_blank">Mary’s Secret Ingredients</a>,” started with a simple love for food and cooking by Mary
Pisarkiewicz. She is a St. Louis native who was trained at <a href="http://www.newschool.edu/parsons/" target="_blank">Parsons The New School for Design</a> <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">and has owned a highly successful marketing and design boutique in
NYC for many years. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">However cooking is her true passion. A couple
of years ago, when she wanted to publish a cookbook, publishing experts told
her she did not have any credibility in the food / cooking world. She responded
by starting: “<a href="http://lovethesecretingredient.net/" target="_blank">Love- The Secret Ingredient</a>” blog. Three years later it now has 29K+
followers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Her blog features
engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship </span><span class="yschttl"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">interspersed</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> with proven, scrumptious, healthy recipes. Mary
confides the "secret ingredient" for all this wonderful food is love.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnq2OsmnDQQkSPoT1mJGcJPbjrUw1xwE4QS_Yr9Xhb9iiaHnhX-lFcCzQO47V7JtMVSaRlTPOH6lS7cZJj0ATbAJcjyKDIliVtG8tA58ggWNfv0UjUzpIE4g-d2YUFrWLX6ped1xClhvf1/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-22+at+5.32.30+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnq2OsmnDQQkSPoT1mJGcJPbjrUw1xwE4QS_Yr9Xhb9iiaHnhX-lFcCzQO47V7JtMVSaRlTPOH6lS7cZJj0ATbAJcjyKDIliVtG8tA58ggWNfv0UjUzpIE4g-d2YUFrWLX6ped1xClhvf1/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-22+at+5.32.30+PM.png" height="180" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mary's Secret Ingredients Gift Box.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">She
then developed the idea for creating a sampling / surprise subscription gift box as way
to share the special natural ingredients she uses with fellow food lovers – and
in the process a mash-up business was born. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
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<div class="site-slider-slider-one-text-description">
<a href="http://www.maryssecretingredients.com/" target="_blank"><span class="mary"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mary’s</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.maryssecretingredients.com/" target="_blank"> </a><span class="marying"><a href="http://www.maryssecretingredients.com/" target="_blank">Secret Ingredients</a>
(MSI)</span> is a limited edition culinary surprise box containing unique
gourmet and artisanal ingredients, along with innovative small kitchen
products. Every season, a limited number of themed boxes are filled with
surprises to inspire cooking, delivered right to the subscriber’s door. </span></div>
<div class="site-slider-slider-one-text-description">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VpGPl20pysSXXLDhgAKrv3qUjEcyMjx8HbQYj5JezthmivijtDKfsinMkuwngHMaxZkzw8pirtb7TkJ0izxwLYZDyHKOo3VaUXCqpss-aS8B1sbAqCCOflW4__aHvqp3Vy28s7pjmk9z/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-22+at+5.35.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VpGPl20pysSXXLDhgAKrv3qUjEcyMjx8HbQYj5JezthmivijtDKfsinMkuwngHMaxZkzw8pirtb7TkJ0izxwLYZDyHKOo3VaUXCqpss-aS8B1sbAqCCOflW4__aHvqp3Vy28s7pjmk9z/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-22+at+5.35.16+PM.png" height="271" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One of her most popular creations is Bruce Cost <a href="http://lovethesecretingredient.net/2014/07/14/bruce-cost-ginger-ale-spice-cake/" target="_blank">Ginger Ale Spice Cake</a> made with Bruce Cost ginger ale – created in Brooklyn, with real fresh
ginger and pure cane sugar, was part of the Summer MSI 2014 gift box. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">The blog’s
engagement numbers really tell the story in terms of a low “bounce rate,” tens
of thousands page views, numerous comments, and social media “likes” on Facebook
and loads of Twitter impressions. Some fans have even taken to making original <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKRFh-F6-40" target="_blank">streamed video reviews</a> of her surprise gift boxes. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">MSI is
being marketed with a “growth hacker” approach that will use creativity,
analytical thinking, and social metrics to sell products and gain exposure. The
MSI team is in the process of delivering an optimized mix of owned, earned and
paid media to build sales volume. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mary, who is in the process of seeking an initial round of
seed funding for early 2015, envisions a digital marketplace and a mobile app
that will connect the recipes to the marketplace, along with streamed web content.
She would also like to see a line of MSI cookware and a Mary’s Marketplace (in brick and mortar) akin to famed NYC venues like <a href="http://www.chelseamarket.com/" target="_blank">Chelsea Market</a> or <a href="http://www.eataly.com/nyc/" target="_blank">Eataly</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If Mary’s business acumen is like her cooking skills, she is
sure to have a recipe for success. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="faq-a">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3_cTw8EeOaXD5G_OA3fWv2WDz0iUPumtK1mVqmUp0J85oBES5mxPsYfcNKHdJPn8vPF4Sf7_dOO-XTEb6pMTTUlB-KZ2xuCIdWjTQm8wstuQT-tAL4-Jdze-1r7LcK1cX9FV8LatIJOz/s1600/zenly_logo_white_300x115.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3_cTw8EeOaXD5G_OA3fWv2WDz0iUPumtK1mVqmUp0J85oBES5mxPsYfcNKHdJPn8vPF4Sf7_dOO-XTEb6pMTTUlB-KZ2xuCIdWjTQm8wstuQT-tAL4-Jdze-1r7LcK1cX9FV8LatIJOz/s1600/zenly_logo_white_300x115.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The shelter example is NYC-based <a href="https://www.zenly.com/" target="_blank">Zenly,</a> co-founded by Isaac
Palka and Omer Palka. Zenly is </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">the first online apartment rental marketplace that lets people browse various
Manhattan venues with <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">video tours</span>
and <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">rent online without a broker</span>.</span></span></div>
<div class="faq-a">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="faq-a">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Before Zenly, a
typical Manhattan apartment hunter poured over Craig’s List then made numerous
calls often in search of elusive apartments. The alternative was to run around
town with a residential real estate broker. With rental apartment vacancy rates now hovering at near all-time lows, the whole process is
considered a real nightmare.</span></span></div>
<div class="faq-a">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="faq-a">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">For the first
time ever, Zenly’s innovative web-based business allows people to see what
apartments <i>actually</i> look like without having to run all over town. </span></span></div>
<div class="faq-a">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLqS1p7GJlq0bmRpgl_fVPHh_CcWRNgMDLGobE5inJGf5wu2fpdPMq10XBNN9ch3F5AZbUaFUhVz7K07UkLjWHKhjPtmJlxaTUiNdYUDJ9B-LdDZTBQcAfirIqb7B3Dd6ab9NOpm_l7sg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-22+at+5.39.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLqS1p7GJlq0bmRpgl_fVPHh_CcWRNgMDLGobE5inJGf5wu2fpdPMq10XBNN9ch3F5AZbUaFUhVz7K07UkLjWHKhjPtmJlxaTUiNdYUDJ9B-LdDZTBQcAfirIqb7B3Dd6ab9NOpm_l7sg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-22+at+5.39.44+PM.png" height="175" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Zenly's online apartment listing: An end-to-end solution. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="faq-a">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Zenly offers an
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8vte0D1ynE" target="_blank">end-to-end solution</a>, from viewing properties online to scheduling visits to the
apartments without a broker, to an online application process on a secure
web-based platform. The business offers to greatly reduce the stress normally
involved with the apartment search process, making it more “Zen” as it helps drop illusions and allows things to be seen without distortion. </span></span></div>
<div class="faq-a">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="faq-a">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Zenly also
employs a pricing model that makes this business quite attractive to
prospective customers. The Zenly “no-broker” model charges a 5% fee only one
third of the15% traditional Manhattan broker’s fee. </span></span></div>
<div class="faq-a">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="faq-a">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Underpinning
the Zenly brand is a genuine “trust factor” as their listings come directly
from property managers, and then Zenly sends “apartment verifiers” out to every
listing to review the listing for accuracy and create video tours. Brokers cannot
list on Zenly, and listings are not aggregated from other websites. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I suspect that Zenly may get a call from Douglas Elliman Realty in NYC early in the new year with a big fat acquisition offer. Elliman will likely make this move to simply shut down Zenly, as a defensive measure to protect their massive broker sales force. </span></span></div>
Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-49380437071903361232014-12-08T13:53:00.000-08:002014-12-08T13:53:25.224-08:00Should we Fear or Embrace Artificial Intelligence? <style>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Elon Musk, the mind behind <a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/" target="_blank">Tesla Motors</a>, CEO of
Space X and a co-founder of Pay Pal generated lots of news starting last August
from his comments on Artificial Intelligence, including a comparison to nuclear
weapons. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In October the billionaire tech guru warned an
MIT audience, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"With artificial intelligence we are summoning the
demon" He went on to say, "In all those stories where there's the guy
with the pentagram and the holy water, it's like yeah he's sure he can control
the demon. Didn't work out…"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Adario
Strange from Mashable wrote a sensible <a href="http://mashable.com/2014/11/17/elon-musk-singularity/" target="_blank">follow-up article </a>to Musk’s comments
that takes into account the perspectives of other leaders in the AI field, and
at a recent <a href="http://www.meetup.com/BlueWaterLabs/" target="_blank">BlueWater Labs NYC meet-up</a> he declared: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Musk may have ready too much science fiction…”</i></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxarjcyD-kddnJQ7plrtr1nwehc5Vs7a2A095ppwIRxGQI5ZKc158K4kBest7IXbNSY82hWaQAfrq0AyP640y80s2MFiwRaCFDgBxBpBsHgfr-sdzKupqI1hJoN4mLQ7fCyqXYey-iIQl/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-08+at+11.44.54+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxarjcyD-kddnJQ7plrtr1nwehc5Vs7a2A095ppwIRxGQI5ZKc158K4kBest7IXbNSY82hWaQAfrq0AyP640y80s2MFiwRaCFDgBxBpBsHgfr-sdzKupqI1hJoN4mLQ7fCyqXYey-iIQl/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-08+at+11.44.54+AM.png" height="75" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">AI has not escaped the attention of many tech
giants with deep pockets. Google paid $ 400 million last January for a British start-up
<a href="http://deepmind.com/" target="_blank">Deep Mind.</a> Indeed, its stated mission is simple if not ambitious: Solve
Intelligence. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The new company combines the best techniques from machine
learning and systems neuroscience to build powerful, general-purpose learning
algorithms.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The <a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/view/532156/googles-secretive-deepmind-startup-unveils-a-neural-turing-machine/" target="_blank">MIT Technology Review</a> reported that Deep Mind has unveiled a prototype computer that mimics some of
the properties of the human brain’s short-term working memory. This apparently
solves one of the great challenges of neuroscience to replicate the same kind
of memory <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in silico</i>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Deep Mind computer is a
type of “neural network” that has been adapted to work with an external memory.
The result is a computer that learns as it stores memories which can later be retrieved
to perform logical tasks beyond those it has been trained to do. Wow.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWC6AEM-knDXNYhoI6OP2rHR8x4Vmmdq9OClmMfVdXolobpFdKlb7cIgIpKkvrV5y33vki3r017OvIzhh4G0-1joqmy8A3cEiX5hWyfv_-n0OSJB8IsVZALrk3dItaKAB2COca_p1b_D9T/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-08+at+11.48.08+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWC6AEM-knDXNYhoI6OP2rHR8x4Vmmdq9OClmMfVdXolobpFdKlb7cIgIpKkvrV5y33vki3r017OvIzhh4G0-1joqmy8A3cEiX5hWyfv_-n0OSJB8IsVZALrk3dItaKAB2COca_p1b_D9T/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-08+at+11.48.08+AM.png" height="175" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The future of the mundane work commute?</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yet there is still confusion
about the basic definition of AI. Some think of AI as a machine that learns a
specific algorithm, while others talk about autonomous robots or self-driving
cars.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The AI discussion has in
fact created a whole new vocabulary unto itself. Last month Vanity Fair took on
the AI debate in their article entitled <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/11/artificial-intelligence-singularity-theory" target="_blank">“Enthusiasts and Skeptics DebateArtificial Intelligence.”</a> Topics included the evolution from “soft” to “hard”
AI, and the debate around “Singularity” - defined as, "A technological singularity is a predicted point in the development of a civilization at which technological progress accelerates beyond the ability of present-day humans to fully comprehend or predict."</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An argument has come up between the "Singularitarians" versus their skeptics about the moment when machine intelligence will surpass the human kind. This fascinating, if not somewhat ethereal debate is raging among the "digerati" - the elite of the computer industry and online communities. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Maginot Line for this
inflection point between the opposing camps is simple: A computer will be able
to pass for human by 2030. The test for this is known as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test" target="_blank">“Turing Test”</a> in
which an average human interrogator will not have more than a 70% chance of
distinguishing a computer from a human after five minutes of questioning. A
partial threshold was passed last summer at the Royal Society in London when a
computer fooled 10 of 30 judges, or 33%.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6hVMGUF_k_tmODhlZK36t0Tsmxg00Tlu_hvXMT7FLxazr0PM21iH_IwFHyHulzpJYOMxLxfrg94YJdlaF_-k81afHN2J4QND1Pd-SPUV1QhcBeUz8ku-FvoH5SCvBD0lrfQeNa9n0Lrp/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-08+at+11.51.28+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6hVMGUF_k_tmODhlZK36t0Tsmxg00Tlu_hvXMT7FLxazr0PM21iH_IwFHyHulzpJYOMxLxfrg94YJdlaF_-k81afHN2J4QND1Pd-SPUV1QhcBeUz8ku-FvoH5SCvBD0lrfQeNa9n0Lrp/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-08+at+11.51.28+AM.png" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hans Moravec and robots. </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But let’s take a moment for
a reality check. One of the major stumbling blocks for AI research is called
“<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravec%27s_paradox" target="_blank">Moravec’s Paradox</a>,” <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">which says things that are easy for people to do are
extremely difficult for computers to do. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Moravec observed: "It is
comparatively easy to make computers exhibit adult level performance on
intelligence tests or playing checkers, and difficult or impossible to give
them the skills of a one-year-old when it comes to perception and
mobility."</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
problem does not appear to be deterring the likes of Apple (with Siri) or IBM’s
billion-dollar investment in Watson – its cognitive computing platform that
uses natural language processing and analytics. Watson processes information
akin to how people think, representing a major shift in an organization’s
ability to quickly analyze, understand and respond to Big Data. Watson’s
ability to answer complex questions posed in natural language with speed,
accuracy and confidence is transforming decision-making across a variety of
industries.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Frankly
I like the pragmatic approach to employing AI that one well-known company is
taking: Amazon is currently unleashing a robot army to speed holiday package sorting
in their million-square foot order fulfillment center in Tracy, CA. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Whether it's
consumables or toys or electronics, with 3,500,000 items plus in this building,
the odds are, pretty much anything you wanted was likely here," says Dave
Clark, Amazon's Senior Vice President of worldwide operations and customer
service.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVgHQ5vGtCg3u_kYGbZQoiFEaHPZsrzRo8GPccXwuMwGSQqgvbW1-VWRp88_DRLa2GMme5J_zEFaXT9SMCUqOhqnXPiysU999_F7gSHChcQkLwfYnNKaNFupIFaQgE9QgYWTqaH7pn3br/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-08+at+11.43.04+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVgHQ5vGtCg3u_kYGbZQoiFEaHPZsrzRo8GPccXwuMwGSQqgvbW1-VWRp88_DRLa2GMme5J_zEFaXT9SMCUqOhqnXPiysU999_F7gSHChcQkLwfYnNKaNFupIFaQgE9QgYWTqaH7pn3br/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-08+at+11.43.04+AM.png" height="192" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kiva robots at work at Amazon facility in Tracy, CA. </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">At most </span></span></span></span>warehouses, goods
are stored on shelves, and it's up to humans to out stock or retrieve stuff.
But with the technology that Amazon acquired when it <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-19/amazon-acquires-kiva-systems-in-second-biggest-takeover.html" target="_blank">purchased Kiva Systems in March 2012</a>, the goods come to the humans. Orange robots the shape and size
of ottomans zip to the shelves, lift up the desired goods and whisk them to
stations where workers complete the packing process.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With this system, not only is there no need for warehouse workers to march for miles up and down the aisles collecting orders, there is no need for aisles at all. This means Amazon can squeeze 50% more product into its already massive warehouse. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am not quite ready to sleep with lights on in fear of Skynet - the self aware evil intelligence system featured in the Terminator franchise. It served as the series main antagonist and succeeded in scaring the daylights out of me starting back in the mid 1980s. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3zZdxAQeZLSl5f1H8V-DKpt7r4HhtHyRZ-gL9Abq8CowxUnlnTsRVE1x3XjDEbdhvj2sdU7EA86_BtwNC1ZF3gJZ2Kd2C-ARPijtTOjmt9MQWi7Rz3FPOqZ8NmtwZMWq6pAAFtzgQBUav/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-08+at+11.53.42+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3zZdxAQeZLSl5f1H8V-DKpt7r4HhtHyRZ-gL9Abq8CowxUnlnTsRVE1x3XjDEbdhvj2sdU7EA86_BtwNC1ZF3gJZ2Kd2C-ARPijtTOjmt9MQWi7Rz3FPOqZ8NmtwZMWq6pAAFtzgQBUav/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-12-08+at+11.53.42+AM.png" height="243" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wonder about their IPO valuation?</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But I do plan to give the whole matter of AI further investigation, all the while hoping that Amazon promptly processes my last minute holiday gift purchases this year, as I will surely wait until December 23rd to place my orders. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-33115690567639396192014-11-24T14:25:00.001-08:002014-11-25T06:30:02.711-08:00How the Internet of Things will evolve business models. <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">At a recent <a href="http://hardwirednyc.com/" target="_blank">Hardwired NYC</a> meet-up, Tim Chang a
partner at </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Silicon Valley </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">venture capital firm</span></span> </span></span><a href="http://www.mayfield.com/" target="_blank">Mayfield</a>, shared where he sees opportunity in the emerging tech company sector: The <i>Device-as-Service</i>
business model. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JGFbQ7pCcDgf6C2zMx6Gx7gMoDZwpyK7WuyZbZWpGbajzT88RT391Zan8nS51yqqbB8MY2Ii38-3sUbsu3YVJ6dKpC4Sy8iv16Zim4hiTc0qxkenuJ3CUoPZuB8-qXsLYnFdu5ZTqskD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.25.19+PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JGFbQ7pCcDgf6C2zMx6Gx7gMoDZwpyK7WuyZbZWpGbajzT88RT391Zan8nS51yqqbB8MY2Ii38-3sUbsu3YVJ6dKpC4Sy8iv16Zim4hiTc0qxkenuJ3CUoPZuB8-qXsLYnFdu5ZTqskD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.25.19+PM.png" height="200" width="198" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Tim observed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Assume everything in your life will become cloud connected, the</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nest-tification of things in your life, like
night lights and thermostats.” </i>He continued <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There will be beautiful, smarter versions of existing devices that will be
connected to the cloud, with services so compelling people will be
willing to subscribe just to access them, on devices that might even be given away in some cases."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">There is a logical link here in what Tim was saying to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things" target="_blank">The Internet of Things</a> (IoT) and his idea seems compelling, if not more than a little
out there. It warranted further investigation. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">For many years the
traditional manufacturing-driven business model reigned supreme. Service
after a sale was viewed as an afterthought, of secondary importance for most businesses from a strategic and revenue
generation
standpoint. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJe5F8jt1N5f0iXSKl-FShgt4nz8FaRpAXGtB862kL0jQQb8Us7BFXSnJ6tQN-OR2-Tm71yGpzronEoduqE05SryRxyYb7zycgHjjgtO7pBMtv6vW00Dd_X5KO1LqV-wORzaiqMLw7XV_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.29.42+PM.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJe5F8jt1N5f0iXSKl-FShgt4nz8FaRpAXGtB862kL0jQQb8Us7BFXSnJ6tQN-OR2-Tm71yGpzronEoduqE05SryRxyYb7zycgHjjgtO7pBMtv6vW00Dd_X5KO1LqV-wORzaiqMLw7XV_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.29.42+PM.png" height="198" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">28 billions reasons to make money.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">This conventional view is being upended by the the rapid growth of IoT. For example </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><a href="http://www.goldmansachs.com/" target="_blank">Goldman Sachs</a> is estimating that over 28 billion "things" may be connected to the Internet by
2020, ranging from wearable bracelets to cars and even <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/dog-gone-pooch-pooped-out-fitness-trackers-keep-pet-owners-in-the-loop-1416002309" target="_blank">your dog</a>. That number will be more than triple the projected global population in 15 years. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In <a href="http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/outlook/internet-of-things/iot-report.pdf" target="_blank">“IOT: Making sense of the next mega-trend” </a>Goldman does a great job of giving dimension to the IOT sector. From
the early IOT success stories like fitness trackers and thermostats, to the
five early verticals of adoption, and IOT building blocks including “enablers”
(Wi-Fi sensors) “platforms” (software apps for managing communications between
devices, middle-ware, storage and data analytics) to “industrials” (B2C: home
automation. B2B: factory floor optimization).</span></span> </span></span> </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OmYiDsFMf_fDMVI1ljK-C27qKVimTBCzoMS20gBzt-ZssOKHp1fqeTEeOvgce-yzHlZ_IJJhlLkP-9JhPlc2ZMkEku9ETKFXAxW7xaUtu3DBcX-7v83Q_0tsI0T6CS5RUfNj4YEsnzZD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.27.13+PM.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1OmYiDsFMf_fDMVI1ljK-C27qKVimTBCzoMS20gBzt-ZssOKHp1fqeTEeOvgce-yzHlZ_IJJhlLkP-9JhPlc2ZMkEku9ETKFXAxW7xaUtu3DBcX-7v83Q_0tsI0T6CS5RUfNj4YEsnzZD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.27.13+PM.png" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tim Chang of Mayfield.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Chang went on to observe that moving forward
there could be products so dependent on a service layer that they’d be useless
without it. People will be willing to pay for the service, more so than the
hardware. He posed: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Is there an emotional
connection made through the service layer?” </i>and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “Can it be made to be part of the work flow of the user’s life?”</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">One of Mayfield's portfolio companies is <a href="https://www.ouya.tv/" target="_blank">OUYA</a>
- a micro-console gaming manufacturer that runs on its own version of
the Android OS. OUYA targets people who love to play and make games. <i> </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><i>"The offering is useless without the community, </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJ62KAhTWNtWB0bxvTnIH1vtwFz6hsb2C0_naaLaL9fC_MBTFZc7-v8bZEyj5rzVY53HP45TLM9kxMocp-GGADScW91qxdhZ8NsX6j1_bXeYYF2BOafBet4gRgfg5naRT558aRYCW94sJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-21+at+3.11.41+PM.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiJ62KAhTWNtWB0bxvTnIH1vtwFz6hsb2C0_naaLaL9fC_MBTFZc7-v8bZEyj5rzVY53HP45TLM9kxMocp-GGADScW91qxdhZ8NsX6j1_bXeYYF2BOafBet4gRgfg5naRT558aRYCW94sJ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-21+at+3.11.41+PM.png" height="200" width="123" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><i>game store and marketplace" </i>according
to Chang. Each OUYA console empowers the user to also be a developer.
The revenue tail comes in the form of users purchasing game credits. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The overall ability to couple products with a
wide variety of after market services is emerging as a requirement to stay
ahead in business, as well as a fertile ground for innovation. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Consider AT&T’s <a href="http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/connected-car.html#fbid=jtI76Ed6aH6" target="_blank">“Connected Car”</a> Service. It
uses the <a href="http://www.att.com/devices/audiovox/car-connection-elite-series.html#fbid=jtI76Ed6aH6" target="_blank">Audiovox car connection</a> device for $100 that plugs into most cars
made after 1996 and sends real time wireless updates to smart phones, tablets
and PCs. Then there are the added monthly subscription fees of $10 month for
mobile share, and another $10 month for data. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfL59GYIfU7M6ez6sZ0VLeCcC-s_ZNfvVHaOwSfbe63kac7tQDf2W0zkqtr_pAM4QIHFHZDjfK2-h2qu4SKc-adjm48MDrCj151uxLa8xRV9KZesdFO1mrGNGpUJz61ypIasYEHypetE4T/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.32.44+PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfL59GYIfU7M6ez6sZ0VLeCcC-s_ZNfvVHaOwSfbe63kac7tQDf2W0zkqtr_pAM4QIHFHZDjfK2-h2qu4SKc-adjm48MDrCj151uxLa8xRV9KZesdFO1mrGNGpUJz61ypIasYEHypetE4T/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.32.44+PM.png" height="195" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The "connected car" allows the owner to track the car location,
and get walking to directions to where it is parked</span>. <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It
also automatically sends notices for maintenance issues and safety alerts for excessive speeding, and towed or stolen vehicles. It can produce “driver scores” for
feedback on driving habits that could be improved. An additional smart phone app
is available to discourage or block use of a mobile phone while the vehicle is
being driven. Both are suitable for parents who want to remotely manage teen drivers. It can
even be used to start the car remotely, just like in a James Bond movie. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">M2M </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">(machine-to-machine) </span></span>applications are mostly growing in the B2B context, such as equipment manufacturers developing
remote services and support tied closely to their equipment and service
contracts. Customer support and automation are the key benefits. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlU0xs_N0jgqz-suF6IPb0q5cYHgYbEB1cWkJjdmn6HSS5CjS5Ile3Y5C7F0doH54-MDsdxouKLVjvIRuI5wK8KPhMWYPtzAWPvE-19u00pjcq4BgNlfqzp-1MBIoE8YoePQk3S3cXs5PP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.37.03+PM.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlU0xs_N0jgqz-suF6IPb0q5cYHgYbEB1cWkJjdmn6HSS5CjS5Ile3Y5C7F0doH54-MDsdxouKLVjvIRuI5wK8KPhMWYPtzAWPvE-19u00pjcq4BgNlfqzp-1MBIoE8YoePQk3S3cXs5PP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.37.03+PM.png" height="200" width="189" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Making the dip-stick obsolete. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://atekcompanies.com/access-technologies" target="_blank">ATEK Access Technologies</a>, uses IoT generated data for the
oil and gas industry to create a profit-generating service.The
technology company uses the IoT to “service-ize” their business in a move that
has differentiated them from the entire industry. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From her office in
Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Sherri McDaniel, President of ATEK, can see all of the
company’s tank monitoring
devices with a cloud interface. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Look, here are eight devices at
one site in Nebraska,”</i> she said.
Sherri pointed to a icon on the screen that
represented all the
locations on a Tank </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Scan® monitor.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2m_aFpNUSqkaFWmbQn21VyryzX59zL2Zs72X_C8ZUTzbGBEa7JGZlqGdZQMsXeeis4q51VwnlWxGysZrF7gpzH4aJ5DyfiZPIQR6IVpdovf1l9PwbrzN0OrH_XdcV4viq-cqUFa0b3Uf/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.38.44+PM.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp2m_aFpNUSqkaFWmbQn21VyryzX59zL2Zs72X_C8ZUTzbGBEa7JGZlqGdZQMsXeeis4q51VwnlWxGysZrF7gpzH4aJ5DyfiZPIQR6IVpdovf1l9PwbrzN0OrH_XdcV4viq-cqUFa0b3Uf/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.38.44+PM.png" height="194" width="200" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sherri McDaniel of ATEK</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tank Scan</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">®</span>
eliminates
the need for physical inspection of tanks holding liquids in terms of measuring fluid levels. The device in the tank measures fill
levels from a sensor and
sends the data to a gateway, which
aggregates data from up to 20 tanks, and
transmits that
information to the cloud. </span><br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">As Goldman Sachs observed, “The
Internet of Things will create new winners and leave in its wake a host of
losers based on companies’ abilities to adapt to a world where things are
connected.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The end benefits of all these connected IoT devices will:</span><br />
<div style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span>Help <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">make lives easier</b> (think: turn on the heat before you get home)</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Improve efficiency</b> (think: turn on the washing machine when electricity usage and prices drop in the middle of the night)</span></div>
<div style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Anticipate the need for services</b> (think full-body
health monitors or car care diagnostics) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsiJuBS3Z0AtDv2IB6MOI21sBx_vyvQS_hdR8y8od762VEr7-JMytp8EQP0ZUrUZyBRK1UdnrglnPkJTWv5AKUVdlnjkE9dUdPh27audk4X4uRm0P_bIxqaJ4yfaO1CBl3p9T15k1r0f3/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.39.43+PM.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsiJuBS3Z0AtDv2IB6MOI21sBx_vyvQS_hdR8y8od762VEr7-JMytp8EQP0ZUrUZyBRK1UdnrglnPkJTWv5AKUVdlnjkE9dUdPh27audk4X4uRm0P_bIxqaJ4yfaO1CBl3p9T15k1r0f3/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-19+at+3.39.43+PM.png" height="264" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">At the end of his talk Tim
Chang pondered the possibility of an <a href="http://www.raspberrypi.org/internet-of-things-toilet/" target="_blank">IOT toilet</a>. I did a little research, and
in fact it is already in the works. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">This might give a whole new meaning to
using “data exhaust” …to feed the “Potty Logger” spread sheet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">At least it
might make the "toilet experience" smoother, for people who have the time to worry
about such things. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">All kidding aside, the smart business bet is on the future of IoT.</span>Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-80616434659039269452014-11-10T07:25:00.000-08:002014-11-11T07:21:51.160-08:00Match-Click: A revolutionary approach to online recruitment advertising.<style>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A typical online job listing: <br />About as interesting as watching paint dry.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Seems that the HR profession may be firmly
stuck in 1990, at least from a recruiting standpoint. Online job listings rely
on key word searches, long and boring job descriptions, use of cheesy jargon
and bullet pointed candidate background requirements. There is a glaring lack
of relevant dynamic content or streamed videos for today’s tech savvy job
seekers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">No
wonder that response / click-through rates to text only help wanted posts on
job boards hover at 5%. A study from </span><a href="http://cdn.theladders.net/static/images/basicSite/PRpdfs/TheLadders_EyeTracking_Study_2013_FINAL.pdf" style="font-family: Arial;" target="_blank">The Ladders</a><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">showed that the average job
seeker spends about </span><i style="font-family: Arial;">one minute</i><span style="font-family: Arial;"> mulling over an online job posting. That
translates to consuming about 250 words of content. All this spells poor
engagement between hiring companies and potential candidates.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
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to this user engagement at <a href="http://www.gotinder.com/" target="_blank">Tinder </a> – the match making smart phone app
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
average Tinder user spends an astonishing <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">77
minutes a day</b> on the app, a spokesperson for the company recently told <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/31/77-minutes-tinder_n_6082468.html?utm_hp_ref=online-dating" target="_blank">The Huffington Post</a>. That's a lot of time, especially considering the app moves
fast. That’s the power of engaging content.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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frustration with staid and boring online job boards and corporate recruitment
sites.</span><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdXTOkGcwK1jI7Ae51grYJXiD2lGCZdVAJBhXg09887ksmy1dQqhsfJFUZ7tp4gjLmBpHykNH4VX3qWY9k6ZJnmpacXrcS9dnN4aUzAPF2zhbOwuIC8O2bj0NKB0taa5_HZulhnH9bGMo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-11+at+10.11.43+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdXTOkGcwK1jI7Ae51grYJXiD2lGCZdVAJBhXg09887ksmy1dQqhsfJFUZ7tp4gjLmBpHykNH4VX3qWY9k6ZJnmpacXrcS9dnN4aUzAPF2zhbOwuIC8O2bj0NKB0taa5_HZulhnH9bGMo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-11+at+10.11.43+AM.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maury
has a 20-year history of working as a consultant to Fortune 500 firms on HR
strategies, along with being tech savvy from her Duke computer science
education. She saw the opportunity to use technology to deliver useful,
relevant and highly engaging job information to candidates in a new smartphone
app.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A blinding glimpse of the obvious
for Maury was that people don’t go to work for a company per se -- they go to
work for and with other people, within a defined corporate culture. Text-based
job descriptions offer absolutely no clue for candidates to that side of the
job under consideration.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Candidate’s
prospective manager & co-workers and Top 3 reasons to apply are
front-and-center.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maury
says this approach delivers a staggering 40% response rate, with user curiosity
driving this higher engagement number. All it takes is about a minute of time
from the prospective candidate to get great insights about a listed job. </span><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Match-Click discourages the use of defined scripts. <i>"Canned conversation lacks authenticity</i> <i>and therefore is much less engaging"</i> says Maury. <i>"The Match-Click service offers real people talking about real jobs in a credible way. It leverages a company or an employer's most compelling asset - it's people."</i> That's what is missing from the traditional text-only job listing.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But
it is Match-Click's simple presentation of the job online that is the big draw
– allowing prospective candidates to begin to answer the big question fast: <i>“Is
this the right job for me?”</i> </span><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Conventional
HR wisdom asks: Is the candidate willing and able to do the job with a high
degree of excellence? Most candidates ask themselves: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Will I fit in?”</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“What
will the people be like that I would be working with?”</i> Match Click offers
specific context for them to judge the opportunity. It hooks prospects with the
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Maury says the "secret sauce" for Match-Click is that it's scalable for <a href="http://www.match-click.com/home/marketajob" target="_blank">larger enterprises,</a> those hiring upwards of 5,000+ people each year. This comes in the form of a simple and highly effective back-end CMS / Content Management System. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Match-Click CMS dashboard for Employers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Match-Click's current clients include a broad range of business sectors from <a href="http://www.match-click.com/job/124" target="_blank">Ernst & Young</a> to <a href="http://www.match-click.com/job/183" target="_blank">Citrix</a> and <a href="http://www.match-click.com/job/158" target="_blank">L'Oreal Paris</a> to <a href="http://www.match-click.com/job/105" target="_blank">Cisco</a> and these actual job listings are the best way to see this business model in action. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Match-Click is currently in the process of seeking $ 2.0 million in seed funding. As
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Match-Click is one of those really good business ideas that will leverage mobile technology to help redefine a multi-billion dollar industry, with more
engaged and satisfied users on both sides of the transaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-8114625767769369962014-11-04T09:56:00.000-08:002014-11-04T11:11:21.949-08:00Will ad agencies ever embrace content marketing?<style>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSfwEURLl7NLnmk7NXnu7jaO9YfqSWOraRoLnnFa57G905q8rfz9zoWlskxa1AMETMqaEdY1VP9Ak4WKA52zt4zyJIyw5JakFyJ_bHnzT4yEDsZsrPEMtLFkTs9fxGeIf-HgIduCK0rNw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-31+at+12.02.22+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSfwEURLl7NLnmk7NXnu7jaO9YfqSWOraRoLnnFa57G905q8rfz9zoWlskxa1AMETMqaEdY1VP9Ak4WKA52zt4zyJIyw5JakFyJ_bHnzT4yEDsZsrPEMtLFkTs9fxGeIf-HgIduCK0rNw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-31+at+12.02.22+PM.png" height="145" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The golden age of advertising. Remembrance of things past. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">At Advertising Week in NYC
last month, a panel of senior executives from some well-known agencies discussed
the current state of affairs for the agency business. Their “big news” was the
evolution of the traditional copywriter – art director team approach to ad
development </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">–</span> to a “tripod” approach that now includes a digital expert. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvtYqE-lwWg4tzkPBL3JurDnUZoB_9DYROUu02D6RDDvIoyPcvxmdTpCmXQt3LNA4ux9EHMnOuUSzd6AfFdGlprtGsAIftnrj7_SfyvoY8rOLsZx_Pgw-WsmntHm3djAFCH7VmqIeSk9h/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-04+at+2.10.01+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvtYqE-lwWg4tzkPBL3JurDnUZoB_9DYROUu02D6RDDvIoyPcvxmdTpCmXQt3LNA4ux9EHMnOuUSzd6AfFdGlprtGsAIftnrj7_SfyvoY8rOLsZx_Pgw-WsmntHm3djAFCH7VmqIeSk9h/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-11-04+at+2.10.01+PM.png" height="200" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">Similar statements from other traditional creative agency executives made it seem like they thought they
were still in the “golden age” of advertising. This was back when a top agency would get
paid a large sum of money to come up with a “killer” creative concept, executed by high production value ad campaigns in TV, print and then digital venues, supported by extensive media buys. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The result? Advertising campaigns created many memorable and iconic brands, and made clients
and ad agencies rich in the process.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This "mad men" business model worked
well when there were only three big TV networks, a few dozen prominent magazine
and newspaper brands, with captive audiences willing to endure advertising in
order to get to the entertainment and news content. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">However, once disruptive technology in the form of computers, the
internet, social media, blogs and user-created content erupted, traditional audiences became their own programming directors and news editors, consuming exactly the content they wanted, where and when they wanted it, with the advent of </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Netflix, Hulu, DVRs and digital
readers</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> there was no need to tolerate intrusive advertising interruptions. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6dMl5HXSbhGQVaXsZzBivJ87sBe9F-hwXBUWTW_nwiMMz3Bb6quyYU94YfEr5qlyKmAOK4rd7vDgY1d3dsHPfeaL14FZpcr-m3960AstvVg44ZnIMzr9uLh3YIEhTVjNA_YliubFfhBS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-31+at+12.05.51+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL6dMl5HXSbhGQVaXsZzBivJ87sBe9F-hwXBUWTW_nwiMMz3Bb6quyYU94YfEr5qlyKmAOK4rd7vDgY1d3dsHPfeaL14FZpcr-m3960AstvVg44ZnIMzr9uLh3YIEhTVjNA_YliubFfhBS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-31+at+12.05.51+PM.png" height="200" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Master of her own content realm.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Consequently, most of us today
are looking for relevant content that offers a "fair value" exchange for our
time and attention. In fact, we may go so far as engaging in conversation with
content creators, and share “remarkable” content (as coined by Seth Godin) – that
is, content worth remarking about, or at least sharing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Savvy marketers now use content marketing to initiate a conversation, giving people a reason to
come back for more relevant content. Simply blasting messages at a loud volume is no longer an effective nor motivational marketing tool, and the decreased value placed on ad creation reflects this. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGUkaPoQih_nDUr5EnNR15AfVQIiJ8rSvOkhJH3CZj0Z2mt_ha4K-7hDOhAe0zm2LIygK4AriKZhbXXldDkZTix-_Jx3ETlnRWTPo7VcuObHCG8-xqyTSRN2aJ9m-42-YLzKnupy0Xteb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-31+at+12.08.56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGUkaPoQih_nDUr5EnNR15AfVQIiJ8rSvOkhJH3CZj0Z2mt_ha4K-7hDOhAe0zm2LIygK4AriKZhbXXldDkZTix-_Jx3ETlnRWTPo7VcuObHCG8-xqyTSRN2aJ9m-42-YLzKnupy0Xteb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-31+at+12.08.56+PM.png" height="200" width="185" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">$ 90K per second just for production.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">Brad Jakeman, President of
The Global Beverages Group at Pepsico, says his firm used to give agencies
between four and six months to produce a single piece of marketing content
(usually a :30 or :60 second TV ad) and would pay between $ 700,000 and $ 2million
for each of them. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now we need an agency
that can produce content in days, with each piece costing $ 10-15,000."</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Remember the 2002 Pepsi Superbowl extravaganza</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYywiQ3-6To" target="_blank"> "For those who think young" </a> that featured Britney Spears (in her prime) and cost a whopping $ 8.1million to produce.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">No wonder the agency
business is suffering so badly, with shrinking margins and an inability to attract,
retain or even afford the talent needed to effectively compete with the
likes of Google and Facebook. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Yet, will content marketing be
the saving formula for agencies? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Unfortunately it is unlikely because:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Most agencies still rely on creating the “big idea,” and have little interest in a conversation with
consumers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqejcwiWxGAINUsj7b7r33mFp8BDUZpK7aUDiFAlqbUxYqNGyK-qjbBLYU3xxXsMIrK90ZIofushPAfu5q9cbBJoMz3l6Ol0INKIA_piGrItoBCcQ2oc41p_n-NGWq1NHZGiBM2y6bfiS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-31+at+12.24.25+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqejcwiWxGAINUsj7b7r33mFp8BDUZpK7aUDiFAlqbUxYqNGyK-qjbBLYU3xxXsMIrK90ZIofushPAfu5q9cbBJoMz3l6Ol0INKIA_piGrItoBCcQ2oc41p_n-NGWq1NHZGiBM2y6bfiS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-31+at+12.24.25+PM.png" height="168" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Agency execs respond to ROI question.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Creative agencies by and
large are scared to death of accountability. Agencies like to sell “The Magic
of Hollywood” and duck for cover when asked about marketing effectiveness,
return on investment and use of big data mining. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Content marketing is all
about using engagement metrics (views / shares / comments / downloads / etc.)
to help guide future content development, and optimize marketing spend. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Silos reign supreme: Many creative
agencies disparage “direct marketing” and “digital” as a second-class tools, even sister agencies within the same holding companies like WPP
and Omnicom rarely work across disciplines. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Agencies are also facing fierce competition from
content marketing start-ups like Contently and NewsCred to traditional
publishing companies like NY Times, Meredith and The Economist Group. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkKWoEW5kGszMZb4an2Knx7ato2KC9vYjeixWPhHmqN3_O_1ZOJxrT88ZN5zsr3iUArPaXcYdzL9U9BJvF36DNe0QOYwU-tt4ITqbP98UrXCAQv9zHsteO1iUYor1wo_lunI9BVP69ppH/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-31+at+12.26.29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkKWoEW5kGszMZb4an2Knx7ato2KC9vYjeixWPhHmqN3_O_1ZOJxrT88ZN5zsr3iUArPaXcYdzL9U9BJvF36DNe0QOYwU-tt4ITqbP98UrXCAQv9zHsteO1iUYor1wo_lunI9BVP69ppH/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-31+at+12.26.29+PM.png" height="138" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Was that a billable expense?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So it looks like the martini
glass is still half full for most agency executives, though it is resting precariously on
the edge of the table. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Pity, as advertising used to
be such a fun, lucrative business. Then again, so was the trans-Atlantic
cruise ship business before passenger airplanes came on the scene in the late 1950s.</span></div>
Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7093598890811636002.post-25930677202190298782014-10-22T12:32:00.000-07:002014-10-27T11:34:56.005-07:00If content marketing is king, who should attend the coronation?<style>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57qJ8P4KGH_YI_XBdl_X-fZ-YD8JuxZBjfe9K9KzU1_xjfoLRN6iimrwigd_dKDZLudIduBuG06l7gXwEPgcqNmjCukjIRX7VJNV537Di5dDpk2FkRsRJJ1jUwYDKtdGFq79ZDrLnC9aS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-22+at+3.36.18+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh57qJ8P4KGH_YI_XBdl_X-fZ-YD8JuxZBjfe9K9KzU1_xjfoLRN6iimrwigd_dKDZLudIduBuG06l7gXwEPgcqNmjCukjIRX7VJNV537Di5dDpk2FkRsRJJ1jUwYDKtdGFq79ZDrLnC9aS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-22+at+3.36.18+PM.png" height="174" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Content marketing is trending
as the fastest growing marketing discipline of recent years; likely a direct result of the fact that traditional marketing and advertising just don't work
very well anymore. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Successful content marketers are taking a similar process-driven approach today. From innovative product and brand marketers to traditional and emerging publishers, they are proving themselves members of "content marketing royalty" using the following formula: </span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Start with a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">strategic road map</b>: A clear sense of their brand in terms of a benefit-based “value proposition,” and well defined targets.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Employ the</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> art</b> of high quality and engaging story-telling.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Use the</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span>science</b> of data analytics to help determine what content proves to be
attractive and engaging, and what doesn’t work.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Embrace a <b>test,</b></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">
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--></style></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>learn
and apply</b><i> </i>approach that make their content marketing programs a <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“permanent beta”</span> exercise. </span></li>
</ul>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Marketers:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;">
</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVW41rVzt7XU8jwg0a_F-Yxg0vj7tcTx6SRC0paZMS_UGGTabefDEQlM-uvIipkEhXP47M0HHIdd-YHvELu_H_fYnqBDTFAgrTUm0cJF6bhIzxNXTBD_cgrsn5NNd8Psuc-xMxxTaAJdGo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+5.50.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVW41rVzt7XU8jwg0a_F-Yxg0vj7tcTx6SRC0paZMS_UGGTabefDEQlM-uvIipkEhXP47M0HHIdd-YHvELu_H_fYnqBDTFAgrTUm0cJF6bhIzxNXTBD_cgrsn5NNd8Psuc-xMxxTaAJdGo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+5.50.44+PM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The look before the epic leap.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A shining example is <a href="http://energydrink.redbull.com/" target="_blank">Red Bull</a> energy drink. From the start, Red Bull sought out people who actively participated in extreme sports and adventures. They exemplified that "high energy" is what it takes to get to the top level of their pursuits. These extreme athletes and adventure seekers had amazing stories to tell, and their stories became the fabric of the Red Bull brand. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The Red Bull brand was created<i> “By giving wings to people and ideas,” </i>according to
Werner Brell, Managing Director of Red Bull Media House. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">As an example, Brell cites the <a href="http://www.redbullstratos.com/" target="_blank">Red Bull Stratos</a> space parachute jump, that has garnered 5.7 million You Tube views since it occurred in October of 2012 .
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“It was a scientific</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">venture – delivering relevant content
connected to an authentic brand” </i>according to Brell. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner reached a speed of Mach 1.25 during his
23.4 mile drop to earth, becoming the first human to break the sound barrier without any form of
engine power. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">GE leads the way in the corporate branding
space. <a href="http://www.ge.com/" target="_blank">GE</a> has mastered social story telling through visual channels. Its Twitter
campaign <a href="http://3dprintmygift.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">#3DPrint My Gift</a> helped the firm shed its reputation as a household
appliance company, and reposition itself as an innovative and leaser in
science and technology.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSrsnvPms_M88mJThDuwS6RMaohq2NZEBwigc4VpA_TalWGZ4hVQBzXRP4go4xWDEVvnlBtki6yF46GCmAV4XxVZsXGgj4BRUyycr8ngUuVyAKZbwJLL77oruqhp5svr7EwWA980SnAnb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+3.16.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSrsnvPms_M88mJThDuwS6RMaohq2NZEBwigc4VpA_TalWGZ4hVQBzXRP4go4xWDEVvnlBtki6yF46GCmAV4XxVZsXGgj4BRUyycr8ngUuVyAKZbwJLL77oruqhp5svr7EwWA980SnAnb/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+3.16.33+PM.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beth Comstock</span></td></tr>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"We've
done some research on our content marketing."</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> said GE
CMO Beth Comstock, last year at the ANA Masters of Marketing conference. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"And we</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">get 30 percent extra value for every dollar spent."</i> She
continued <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"I think social media has
been a big part of it because it makes us relevant in a lot of new ways." </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For
brands trying to catch up in content marketing, Ms. Comstock offered these tips:
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"It starts by knowing who you are
and what you stand for—without that, you are all over the place. And try a lot
of things.You need to experiment. It doesn't cost a lot
of money." </i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just look at GE’s content marketing site, <a href="http://www.gereports.com/" target="_blank">GE Reports</a>. It is all about innovation, science and technology and lives at the intersection of GE's purpose and what their audience is interested in. Over 28K people follow it on Twitter. </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjHqyz2ysGCv1eFwu3EhVRKPobavws0-tiqQeMeBT8xE7wSgr2kUYhr8uuTT4qdyPhrcv0K5iPa5aMDQ_ucFqvwZsBTQcenif9SpVSVvqc5BVXRkL3B3GvOY2f-muIB3R5HYVlYL0cG5R/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+11.31.22+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjHqyz2ysGCv1eFwu3EhVRKPobavws0-tiqQeMeBT8xE7wSgr2kUYhr8uuTT4qdyPhrcv0K5iPa5aMDQ_ucFqvwZsBTQcenif9SpVSVvqc5BVXRkL3B3GvOY2f-muIB3R5HYVlYL0cG5R/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+11.31.22+AM.png" height="200" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kurt Vonnegut </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yet perhaps what is old is new again. Ad Age <a href="http://adage.com/article/news/meet-ge-s-content-marketers-kurt-vonnegut/295375/" target="_blank">recently reported</a> that famed author Kurt Vonnegut was hired to interview GE
scientists back in 1947-50. He took their most exciting developments and
pitched them to the media. Even more remarkable, what he saw at GE reportedly served as inspiration
for his first novel “Player Piano” and helped inspire the central character in his 1963 classic novel
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_Cradle" target="_blank">“Cat’s Cradle.”</a> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Publishing Companies: </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Perhaps the most logical members of the content
marketing royal court are publishing companies. Many have been producing high quality
content for years. Take for example The Economist, which just published a great
special report called "<a href="http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21615869-technology-radically-changing-advertising-business-profound-consequences" target="_blank">Little Brother" </a>on the changing business of advertising and technology, and
their <a href="http://www.economistgroup.com/leanback/" target="_blank">“Lean Back” blog</a>. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lean Back is The Economist Group’s forum for top marketing
thinkers and practitioners, to share ideas for engaging with consumers in new
ways, and discussing the evolution of multi-platform marketing. </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglH_a6XXWz3XCIFvMV06dPoz13O3p_YMxG1QhPGO6KRfy8aUESELNzznRmXn6ZoU_RsmBHFUS7SWoBs0KAlie7YUkR1RRwwe-hI9bOr1htsN0kW2ZEECF7_2gsh_7WoG_-pIMh9WG-uF9_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+11.53.50+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglH_a6XXWz3XCIFvMV06dPoz13O3p_YMxG1QhPGO6KRfy8aUESELNzznRmXn6ZoU_RsmBHFUS7SWoBs0KAlie7YUkR1RRwwe-hI9bOr1htsN0kW2ZEECF7_2gsh_7WoG_-pIMh9WG-uF9_/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+11.53.50+AM.png" height="207" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NY Times Branded Content Example.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
growing number of major newspapers and magazines now sell sponsored content or
native advertising, a good example is <a href="http://www.forbes.com/find-more/brandvoice/" target="_blank">Forbes Brand Voice</a>. The New York
Times has created their own in-house content creation operation called <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/09/20/can-this-advertising-innovation-at-the-new-york-ti.aspx" target="_blank">T Brand Studio</a>. Chicago based Tribune
Publishing recently <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/media/2014/09/8552660/tribune-publishing-takes-stake-content-marketing-firm-contend" target="_blank">took a stake</a> in content marketing firm Contend. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
reflects a broader trend for publishing companies who are creating content for brands
independently of their editorial operations. This approach adheres to the age-old
church-state divide between journalism and advertising. Operations like these
create new revenue sources, that are attempting to offset the </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span data-dobid="hdw">precipitous drop in </span>print
advertising revenues caused by declining audiences. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
branded content is the main money-maker for new media players like <a href="http://www.vice.com/en_us" target="_blank">Vice</a> and
Buzzfeed. </span> </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlDRGGLka2e6iTl3OrNcoaNBrr2TyXzkZ11_g4dr6VILoDMLhEzVl6NQG7Vs2F4EYzoVPgTM8jAtTH3IxNpPs8LP-Q9395s9rn0lBn6KXtNGEqd7TgY1Vdx0muTS3-bbrhbR2JxZyNV1s/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+11.15.26+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlDRGGLka2e6iTl3OrNcoaNBrr2TyXzkZ11_g4dr6VILoDMLhEzVl6NQG7Vs2F4EYzoVPgTM8jAtTH3IxNpPs8LP-Q9395s9rn0lBn6KXtNGEqd7TgY1Vdx0muTS3-bbrhbR2JxZyNV1s/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+11.15.26+AM.png" height="202" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Audience growth metrics tell the success story. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/" target="_blank">Buzzfeed</a> has become a growth phenomenon in the media businesses, successfully evolving from a widely derided content aggregator (packed
with pet memes) to a profitable content marketer with rocketing audience numbers. Its growth is being
driven by high quality editorial content that is worth sharing on social media. Their approach to content creation is informed by constant measurement, testing and web analytics. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">As Buzzfeed founder Johan
Peretti stated in an <a href="http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2014/02/features/buzzfeed" target="_blank">interview</a> with Wired magazine:</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU1kXvjcOfPjrVkJ-u8Ys6QCLyIyJF0ja7ecg47befrbq-dKiSlhyTs0FzMcd_Mf2Pv476gYeYLqw_zB466Fnr4LwDxbFiLHOlU90jcB_NfcSZDhNDcTv0tjmbpFpuKSTVQPzJQek4Pw0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+4.17.59+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU1kXvjcOfPjrVkJ-u8Ys6QCLyIyJF0ja7ecg47befrbq-dKiSlhyTs0FzMcd_Mf2Pv476gYeYLqw_zB466Fnr4LwDxbFiLHOlU90jcB_NfcSZDhNDcTv0tjmbpFpuKSTVQPzJQek4Pw0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-10-21+at+4.17.59+PM.png" height="200" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Johan Peretti</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">“You can make a crap
article that’s perfectly SEO’d and generates a lot of traffic, but you can’t
call that a win if it gives people a bad experience. In the SEO era, getting
readers was about smart tricks. We think differently. </span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">What need does a story
play in someone’s life? When you’re having a rough day at work and see ’13
Simple Steps To Get You Through A Rough Day’, that’s servicing an emotional
need: look at this hedgehog wearing a tiny hat — you feel better, you share it
with your friends.”</span></i><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">No wonder publishing companies are aggressively
moving into content marketing with the likes of<a href="http://meredithxceleratedmarketing.com/" target="_blank"> Meredith’s MXM</a> content agency
and Time Inc. <a href="http://www.timeinc.com/businesses/time-inc-content-solutions/" target="_blank">Content Solutions</a>. But will this be too little, too late for
these venerable firms?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Next in Part II: Ad agencies enter the content
marketing arena. </span></div>
Christopher Abelt http://www.blogger.com/profile/14935892303187489952noreply@blogger.com2