A total of 20 Indian start-ups – all portfolio companies of Agility Ventures, a global angel investor network – raised over a million dollars cumulatively at the recently-concluded GITEX Global event at Dubai.
During the week-long tech expo, which is held annually at Dubai, these start-ups also made over 50 potential business connections and managed to bag more than $100,000 worth of potential business.
Some of the start-ups that received significant interest at the expo include BattRe, Kidbea, Brainwired, Fixigo, Glamyo Health and Marj Tech. Further, the raised funds will be utilised by the start-ups to expand operations, enter new markets and launch new products.
Agility Ventures was launched in June 2020 by angel investor Dhianu Das and chartered accountant Prashant Narang as an open platform for new investors, who could learn about start-up investing and angel investing. The aim was to democratise angel investing and allowing potential investors to experience a new asset class – start-ups.
Agility has got approval from capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for a Category 1, AIF – Alternative Investment Fund — for a ₹450 crore fund and since the start of the year is investing through the same in many start-ups.
Spread across over 25 chapters in India, Canada, the UAE, Australia and the UK, Agility currently has a network of over 2,500 angel investors from across the globe and over 35 start-ups under its banner.
It invests in high-growth, early-stage start-ups across sectors such as education, technology, healthcare, electric vehicles, robotics, agri-tech and manufacturing. Some of the portfolio companies include Glamyo Health, Battre, Power Gummies, FlipHealth, Gobbly, Pumpumpum, Vanity Wagon, SkyeAir, Monrow and Tagz.
“The success of our portfolio companies at this global event is testimony of our start-up selection process and nurturing,” said Das, Co-founder, Agility Ventures.
More importantly, he further added that while this year 20 portfolio companies of Agility participated in the global expo, the network aims to send at least 50 start-ups in the next edition of the event, which provides tech start-ups the opportunity to network with the ecosystem, potential investors as well as government agencies.
India’s largest platform for seed and early-age investing, Indian Angel Network (IAN), has launched a new Rs 1000 crore fund to further back its portfolio companies and make new investments.
The second fund, titled ‘IAN Alpha Fund’, comes nearly three years after the network achieved the final close of its maiden fund, IAN Fund, at Rs 375 crore in November 2019.
The SEBI Registered Cat II VC fund is built to leverage the portfolios of both IAN Angel Platform and IAN Fund I besides investing in new sustainable businesses, the company said.
The fund will add significant impetus to IAN’s vision of backing raising Rs 5000 crore to back 500 start-ups and creating 500,000 jobs. Its portfolio of over 200 companies, including three unicorns, has a market valuation of $9 billion collectively. The company has so far infused Rs 900 crore into early-stage start-ups and has created over 80,000 jobs, it claims.
“IAN is recognized in the industry for pioneering angel investing in India and it has continued to innovate by launching a VC fund (IAN Fund 1) along with the Angel Group to provide a seamless platform for seed and early-stage investing. The launch of the IAN Alpha Fund is the logical evolution of our desire to provide quality entrepreneurs with money, mentoring and market access,” Saurabh Srivastava, Co-founder of IAN said.
The Alpha Fund will back start-ups that leverage technology to solve real problems with large addressable markets. The Fund is looking to invest in cleantech and environment, healthtech, agritech, edtech, fintech, and emerging sectors like Industry 4.0, space tech, Web 3, robotics. It will invest with cheque sizes ranging from $1 to $5 million along with co-investors.
Padmaja Ruparel, Senior Managing Partner of IAN Alpha Fund, said the network’s first fund is fully deployed now and has started to return capital.
“This (the new fund) will, in fact, leverage and garner benefits from IAN’s global network, domain experts & high-quality mentors to help the partners build another high-return potential portfolio. We will be keen on investing in innovative ideas that have the capacity to generate profits and aim to solve real-world problems,” she added.
Alpha Fund’s investment committee includes Saurabh Srivastava, who was also the Co-Founder and past Chairman of NASSCOM; Ajai Chowdhry, Founder, HCL; Pravin Rao, who recently retired from Infosys as COO; Raman Roy, Chairman and Managing Director of Quatrro, and Atul Batra, Ex-CTO, Manthan Systems. The Fund’s advisory board includes Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-Founder, Infosys, Sunil Munjal, Chairman & MD, Hero Mindmine & Hero Corporate Services and CP Gurnani, MD & CEO of Tech Mahindra.
Many Asian countries introduced tougher Covid-19 restrictions than in other continents, a reality that has caused concerns about elevated levels of stress, anxiety and isolation. Now, a number of young entrepreneurs are leveraging technology to provide greater access to mental healthcare there.
In July, Singapore-based Intellect raised $20 million in its Series A funding, the largest amount raised by a mental health start-up in Asia.
Founded in 2019, Intellect runs a mobile app that regularly checks in on users’ mood, provides rescue sessions and exercises that tailor to their needs, and allows them to connect with therapists in real time if needed.
“The traditional form of therapy is in-person and on-on-one, and it is hard to scale,” said Theodoric Chew, the 26-year-old co-founder of Intellect. “When technology comes in, we can scale access to mental care to everyone.”
The start-up now serves more than 3 million users across the Asia-Pacific region in 15 languages since services began in early 2020.
Chew said he was inspired to try to popularize mental healthcare after battling a panic attack when he was 16 years old.
“I saw first-hand how therapy and working with professionals helped me become better,” he said. “On the flip side, I saw a lot of people struggling across the region – not clinically, but not having the right tools or know-how to access care.”
While Intellect was founded before the pandemic, it quickly grew in popularity as companies became aware of their employees’ mental health as Covid-19 related lockdown and quarantine measures were imposed.
“A lot of people were thrown into an array of things – anxiety of the pandemic, being locked up, and getting stay-home notices,” he said. “What has changed fundamentally was that mental health is no longer just a nice-to-have element that companies should consider, it’s something that’s needed across the board today.”
“It does benefit companies in very real ways … because if you’re not feeling well mentally, you tend to not perform as well,” he said.
Justin Kim, CEO and co-founder of Ami, another digital mental healthcare start-up based in Singapore and Jakarta, agreed that there’s a need to scale mental health offerings.
“Many companies are spending millions of dollars a year and paying for gym memberships. But why don’t people invest into their mental health the same way? It’s because there are no resources that are being offered to them, that’s just as accessible and affordable,” he added.
Since the start-up was founded in January this year, it has raised at least $3 million from a number of investors, including Meta, the owner of Facebook.
Kim’s team has been working on developing an app that would allow users to text or call mental health coaches confidentially at any time – without having to make prior appointments. He said this allows users to seek professional help whenever they need it in the most efficient way.
Both Chew and Kim are targeting employers in their business models – companies can pay for a subscription and workers will have unlimited access to their services, which are kept private from their bosses.
Alistair Carmichael, an associate partner at McKinsey & Company, said employers will benefit from better mental health in their workforce. “The impacts of poor mental health outcomes are significant. … If we focus on the employment and organizational level, those impacts can be things like presenteeism, absenteeism, lost productivity, lost engagement and attrition,” he said.
Depression and anxiety disorders have cost the global economy $1 trillion each year in lost productivity, the World Health Organization has estimated. And a report by the WHO in March showed the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25% during the first year of the pandemic.
Chew said Intellect is attempting to close the gap by proactively safeguarding mental wellbeing before symptoms get worse. When employees open the app, the system asks them how they feel at the moment. Mini “rescue sessions” are also provided to users who are experiencing a rough time, while live therapy sessions are also available for those who require them.
The app features numerous learning programs for users to overcome mental roadblocks, such as self-esteem issues, depression or procrastination. A journal function guides users through writing what’s on their mind, while a “mood timeline” keeps track of their stress levels.
Since launching the app, Intellect has served a number of high-profile corporate clients such as Dell, Foodpanda, and Singaporean communications conglomerate Singtel, Chew said, which allowed Intellect to expand from a team of two to 80.
Kim, whose start-up has been building a prototype, said employers could also benefit by identifying trends and general concerns among their workforces.
“With employees’ consent, we do share aggregated levels of data. And that offers employers a birds’ eye perspective of what their employees are actually struggling with, that they need to deep dive on,” he said.
“But we never identify who said that, because we don’t want employees to feel like this isn’t a safe space where they can freely address concerns they have.”
Karen Lau, a Hong Kong-based clinical psychologist with mental health initiative Mind HK, said addressing mental health in Asia comes with unique challenges.
“In Asian contexts, many cultures tend to uphold values such as honor, pride, and a concept of face,” she said. “Mental illness is usually viewed and judged as a sign of weakness and a source of shame for the family.”
“I think when it comes to mental health, just like your physical health, every issue is easier to prevent than fixed,” Kim said. “If people get out there and admit and celebrate the fact that they’re receiving coaching or services to invest in their mental health, it’s going to normalize the practice.”
Chew said one of his goals is to break social stigma and build a new mental healthcare system for the Asia-Pacific region.
“Mental health has long had a stigma across Asia, whereby traditionally we’ve seen it as a clinical issue, a crisis,” he said. “We see mental health just as important as physical health. You and I face things like stress, burnout, sleep issues, and relationship struggle as well. That’s where actually a lot of us should start working on our mental wellbeing.”
Are we finally starting to see the adoption of labor-saving robots in agriculture? The short and unfulfilling summary answer is “It depends”. Undeniably, we are seeing clear signs of progress yet, simultaneously, we see clear signs of more progress needed. (Hi-res copy of the landscape.)
Earlier this year, Western Growers Association produced an excellent report that outlined the need for robotics in agriculture. Ongoing labor challenges are, of course, a major driver, but so are rising costs, future demand, climate change impacts, and sustainability, among others. The use of robotics in agricultural production is the next progression of decades of increasing mechanization and automation to enhance crop production. Today’s crop robotics can build upon these preceding solutions and leverage newer technologies like precise navigation, vision and other sensor systems, connectivity and interoperability protocols, deep learning and artificial intelligence to address farmers’ current and future challenges.
So What is a Crop Robot?
We at The Mixing Bowl and Better Food Ventures create various market landscape maps that capture the use of technology in our food system. Our intent in producing these landscapes is to not only represent where a technology’s adoption is today, but, more importantly, where it is heading. So, as we developed this 2022 Crop Robotics Landscape, our frame of reference was to look beyond mechanization and defined automation to more autonomous crop robotics. This focus on “robotics” perhaps created the hardest challenge for us—defining a “Crop Robot”.
According to the definition of the Oxford English Dictionary, “A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically.” Putting agriculture aside for a moment, that definition means that a dishwasher, washing machine, or a thermostat controlling an air conditioner could all be considered robots, not things that evoke “robot” to most people. When asking “What is a Crop Robot” in our interviews for this analysis, the theme of “labor savings” came through strongly. Must a crop robot be a labor reducing tool? This is where our definition of a crop robot started us down the “It depends” path?
If a machine is only sensing or gathering data, is it saving labor enough to be considering a robot?
If a machine does not have a fully autonomous mobility system to move around—perhaps just an implement pulled by a standard tractor—is it a robot?
If a machine is solely an autonomous mobility system not designed for any specific labor-saving agriculture task, is it a robot?
If the machine is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)/aerial drone, is it a robot? Does the answer change if there are a fleet of drones coordinating amongst themselves the spraying of a field?
Eventually, for the purposes of this robotic landscape analysis, we focused on machines that use hardware and software to perceive surroundings, analyze data and take real-time action on information related to an agricultural crop-related function without human intervention.
This definition focuses on characteristics that enable autonomous, not deterministic, actions. In many instances repetitive or constrained automation can get a task completed in an efficient and cost effective manner. Much of the existing and indispensable agricultural machinery and automation used on farms today would fit that description. However, we wanted to look specifically at robotic technologies that can take more unplanned, appropriate and timely action in the dynamic, unpredictable, and unstructured environments that exist in agricultural production. That translates to more precision, more dexterity and more autonomy.
The Crop Robotics Landscape
Our 2022 Crop Robotics Landscape includes nearly 250 companies developing crop robotic systems today. The robots are a mix: some that are self-propelled and some that aren’t, some that can navigate autonomously and those that can’t, some that are precise and some that are not, both ground-based and air-based systems, and those focused on indoor or outdoor production. In general, the systems need to offer autonomous navigation or vision-aided precision or a combination to be included on the landscape. These included areas are highlighted in gold in the chart below. The white areas are not autonomous or not complete robotic systems and are not included on the landscape.
2022 Crop Robotics
Chris Taylor
The landscape is limited to robotic solutions utilized in the production of food crops; it does not include robotics for animal farming nor for the production of cannabis. Pre-production nursery and post-harvest segments are also excluded (but note that highly automated solutions for these tasks are commercially available today). Likewise, sensor-only and analytic offerings are also not included, unless they are part of a complete robotic system.
Additionally, we only included companies that are providing their robotic systems commercially to others. If they develop robotics only for their own internal use or only offer services then they are not included, nor are academic or consortium research projects unless they appear to be heading to a commercial offering. Product companies should have reached at least the demonstrable-prototype stage in their development. Finally, companies appear only once on the landscape, even though some may offer multiple or multi-use robotic solutions. They are also placed according to their most sophisticated or primary function.
The landscape is segmented vertically by crop production system: broadacre row crops, field-grown specialty, orchard and vineyard, and indoor. The landscape is also segmented horizontally by functional area: autonomous movement, crop management, and harvest. Within those functional areas are the more specific task/product segments described here:
Autonomous Movement
Navigation/Autonomy – more sophisticated autosteer systems with headland turning capability and autonomous navigation systems
Small Tractor/Platform – smaller, people size autonomous tractors and carriers
Large Tractor – larger autonomous tractors and carriers
Indoor Platform – smaller autonomous carriers specifically for indoor farms
Crop Management
Scouting and Indoor Scouting – autonomous mapping and scouting robots and aerial drones; note that robots appearing in other task/product categories may have scouting capabilities in addition to their primary function
Preparation & Planting – autonomous field preparation and planting robots
Drone Application – spraying and spreading aerial drones
Some of the task/product segments, like Large Tractor, span multiple crop systems, as the robotic solutions within them may be applicable to more than one crop type. Logo positions within these landscape boxes are not necessarily indicative of crop system applicability.
The diversity of offerings appearing on the landscape is perhaps the biggest takeaway; crop robotics is a very active sector across tasks and crops types. In the Autonomous Movement area, although autosteer has been in wide use for many years, more robust autonomous navigation technology and fully autonomous tractors and smaller multi-use motive platforms are just entering the market. In Crop Management there is a mix of self-propelled and trailed and attached implements. Vision-aided precision crop care tasks like spot spraying and weeding are areas of heavy development activity, particularly for the less automated specialty crop sector. Finally, high-value, high-labor crops like strawberries, fresh-market tomatoes, and orchard fruit are the focus for many robotic harvesting initiatives. As noted, there is a lot of activity; however, successful commercialization is more rare.
Traversing the Valley of Death to Achieve Scale
The Government of the United Kingdom recently released a report that reviews Automation in Horticulture. In the report they include the automation lifecycle analysis graphic shown below that they refer to as “Technology Readiness Levels in Horticulture”. If we were to map the more than 600 companies we researched in our analysis, well over 90 percent of these companies would still be labeled in the “Research” or “System Development” phases. Historically, many agriculture robotics companies have failed to succeed, perishing in the “Valley of Death”. Only a handful of companies have reached “Commercialization”, a phase where companies attempt to traverse the perilous journey from product success to business success and profitability.
“Automation in Horticulture Review”
Dept. of Environment Food & Rural Affairs, Government of the United Kingdom July, 2022
There are many reasons why ag robotics has had a high failure rate in reaching commercial scale. At its core, it has been very difficult to provide a reliable machine capable of providing value to a farmer on par with a non-robotic or manual solution at a cost effective price point.
Amongst the technical challenges crop robotics companies face are:
Design: In the early days a company may want to vary its product design to try new things. But at some point as it begins to scale, it needs to lock in standardization to the degree possible. Updating deployed systems remains a continuous challenge.
Manufacturing: Maturing companies move from custom to standardized manufacturing. One company we spoke with had gone from building machines itself, to just building a base and then having vendors doing sub-assembly. Now they have gotten to a point of maturation that not a single team member touches a wrench as all manufacturing is done by partners.
Reliability: A metric commonly used is hours of uninterrupted operation, and scaling requires going from “faults per mile” to “miles per fault”. The ability to handle the adverse and unpredictable conditions of agricultural production exacerbates the difficulty in creating a reliable machine. As an example, one person told about the unforeseen challenge of working in vineyards where the acid from grape juice accelerates equipment deterioration.
Operation: At some point in the scaling process, farm staff will operate the machine without the presence of robotic solution provider support staff. At this point, there are often knowledge gaps on how to effectively operate the machine that need to be resolved. A step in scaling is getting farm staff trained to operate the machines themselves.
Service: Another metric we heard was about decreasing service support resource requirements: How could a robotics company switch from having X number of people support a single unit to having a single person support Y number of different units?
A last technical facet of scaling is the ease with which a platform can be modified to serve multiple crops or multiple tasks. The space is still so early that we don’t have that many data points about repurposing technology for multiple crops/tasks. However, it is something many companies are obviously looking to prove to upsell customers or convince investors they have the potential to serve a larger market.
We heard from numerous crop robotic startups and investors that the technology challenges need to be tackled first, then the economic and business challenges can be addressed. The reality, of course, is that a successful crop robotic solution developer must face several challenges simultaneously: sustaining a business while refining product-market fit to get paying customers; refining product-market fit while sustaining the interest of investors; and sustaining the engagement of farmer customers.
On the business side, we tried to identify when a company could claim it had made it through the “Valley of Death”. One group we spoke with very simply said there were three key business questions to ask:
Can we sell it?
Does demand outstrip supply?
Do the unit economics work out for all parties?
The answer to the question of “Can we sell it?” usually equated to when and if the robot could perform the task on par with a human—a comparable performance for a comparable cost. That performance clearly varies by crop and task. As an example, there was a generally shared sense that “picking” was the most difficult task to achieve on par with the time, accuracy and cost of a human.
One thread that came up in our conversations is that many farmers may not yet see the longer-term potential of what robots can do in agriculture. They look at (and value) them merely as a way to replace the tasks a human does—but do not look at what more efficient approaches beyond the capabilities of humans that could be enabled with these powerful platforms.
In our discussions we probed on whether the business model of a crop robotics company made a substantial difference in whether they could sell it. Responses were wide-ranging as to whether there is a benefit to having a “Robotics as a Service” (RaaS) model versus a machine buy/lease model. Our net conclusion regarding business models is that, while it may be advantageous to offer “Robotics-as-a-Service” (RaaS) in the early stages of a company’s development, over the longer run companies should plan to operate under both a buy/lease and a RaaS model. The advantages of RaaS in the early days are that they 1) allow a farmer to “try before you buy” which lowers the complexity and cost, and, thus, lowers the barrier to adoption and 2) offer a startup to work more closely with farmers to understand problems and identify potential new challenges to solve.
Many startups have “hyped” their solutions too early, before they could conquer the many complexities involved with successfully operating in the market. This “hype” has caused many farmers to be leery of crop robotics in general. Farmers just want (and need) things to work and many may have been burned in the past by adopting technologies that were not fully mature. As one startup said, “It is hard to get them to understand the iterative process”. Still, farmers are also known as problem solvers and many continue to engage with startups to help mature solutions.
Of course, the “Can we sell it?” question should really be extended to “Can we sell and support it?”. An interesting point to watch between incumbents and new solution providers will be the scaling of startups and the resulting need for those companies to have a cost-effective sales and service channel. Incumbent vendors, of course, have those channels, and John Deere and GUSS Automation have announced just such a partnership.
Like farmers, investors also walk hand-in-hand with a robotics startup crossing the Valley of Death. Investor sentiment toward agriculture robotics is mixed. On the one hand, there is an acknowledgement that there have not been notable exits of profitable startups in this space (as opposed to those just having desirable technology). On the other hand, there is a recognition that agriculture’s labor issues are becoming more acute and large potential markets could be realized this time around. Investors also see that the quality of the technology and startup teams have improved in the last few years.
It is encouraging to see more investors looking at the space than a few years ago, writing bigger checks in later rounds, and investing at high valuations. Investors also understand the challenges better than before so that they can differentiate between segments developers are targeting, e.g., the difficulty of harvesting in an open field versus scouting in a greenhouse.
What Gives us Optimism Crop Robotics is Making Progress?
So, given the above, why do we feel optimistic that crop robotics is making healthy progress? For a number of reasons, the Valley of Death may not be as wide nor as fatal as it has been in the past for companies in this space.
Beyond the growing need for labor-saving solutions in agriculture, we are optimistic that crop robotics is making progress simply because of the underlying technology progress that has occurred in the last decade or so. Again and again in the interviews we conducted, we heard phrases similar to “this would not have been possible a decade ago”. Someone flat out stated that a few years ago “The machines weren’t ready” for the conditions of farming. Large scale improvements in core compute technology, accessibility and performance of computer vision systems, deep learning capabilities, and even automated mobility systems have come a long way in the last ten years.
In addition to the improved technology base, there is more seasoned talent than a decade ago and that talent brings a range of experiences from across the robotics landscape, including insight into scaling to success. In this regard, crop robotics can leverage the broader, better-funded robotics spaces of self-driving vehicles and warehouse automation. Equally important, most of the teams that are seeing success employ a combination of robotics experts and farm experts. Past ag robotics teams may have had the technological prowess to develop a solution but may not have understood the ag market or the realities of farming environments.
We are also optimistic because the depth and breadth of crop robotic solutions is expanding, as illustrated by the number of companies represented on our landscape. Although large commodity row crop farms—like those of the Midwestern US—are already highly automated and have even adopted robotic autosteer systems en masse, a very clear indication of progress is that we are seeing a more diverse set of crop robotic solutions than in years past.
For example, new robotic platforms are successfully undertaking labor-saving tasks that are of modest difficulty. Perhaps the best example of this is the GUSS autonomous sprayer that can work in orchards. The self-powered GUSS machine navigates autonomously and can adjust its spraying selectively based on its ultrasonic sensors. It has reached commercial scale. We are also starting to see more solutions targeting farmers who have been underserved by labor-saving automation solutions, such as smaller farm operations or niche specialty crop systems. Examples of this are Burro, Naio or farm-ng. Lastly, we are seeing the development of “smart implements”. By not taking on the burden of developing autonomous movement, these solutions can be pulled behind a tractor to focus on complex agriculture tasks like vision-guided selective weeding and spraying. Verdant, Farmwise and Carbon Robotics are examples of this kind of solution.
One encouraging trend we are also watching is the role of incumbent agriculture equipment providers, particularly in specialty crops. John Deere (Blue River,Bear Flag Robotics) as well as Case New Holland (Raven Industries) have signaled a willingness to acquire companies in crop robotics to complement their ongoing internal R&D efforts. Yamaha and Toyota, through their venture funds, have also shown a desire to partner and invest in the space. The question remains to be seen if other incumbent equipment players have the willingness to invest in the assemblage of technology and talent required to bring robotic solutions to the marketplace.
Looking Ahead
The drivers for increased automation in agriculture are readily apparent and are likely to continue to increase over time. Thus, a large opportunity exists for robotic solutions that can help farmers mitigate their production challenges. That is, as long as those solutions perform well and at reasonable cost in the real world of commercial farm operations. As we observed while researching the landscape, there is an impressive number of companies focused on developing crop robotics solutions across a breadth of crop systems and tasks, and with more commercial focus than past projects. However, the market continues to feel early as companies continue to navigate the difficult process of creating and deploying robust solutions at scale for this challenging industry. Still, there is more room for optimism and more tangible progress being made now than ever before. The Crop Robotics “Valley of Death” that so many startups have failed to cross appears to be becoming less wide and ominous in great part due to the break-neck speed of technological progress. While a robotic revolution in crop production is likely still some time off, we are seeing a promising evolution and expect to see more successful crop robotic companies in the not too distant future.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources and The Vine for their strong interest in crop robotics and their continued support of this project. Thank you to Simon Pearson, Director, Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology and Professor of Agri-Food Technology, University of Lincoln in the UK for his insights and the use of the graphic from the Automation in Horticulture Review report. Thank you to Walt Duflock of Western Growers Association for sharing his detailed perspective on the ag robotics sector. Most importantly we would like to acknowledge all the start-ups and innovators who are working tirelessly to make crop robotics a much needed reality. A special thanks to those entrepreneurs and investors that spoke with us and provided a unique view into the challenges and excitement of a crop robotic business.
Bios
Chris Taylor is a Senior Consultant on The Mixing Bowl team and has spent more than 20 years on global IT strategy and development innovation in manufacturing, design and healthcare, focusing most recently on AgTech.
Michael Rose is a Partner at The Mixing Bowl and Better Food Ventures where he brings more than 25 years immersed in new venture creation and innovation as an operating executive and investor across the Food Tech, AgTech, restaurant, Internet, and mobile sectors.
Rob Trice founded The Mixing Bowl to connect food, agriculture and IT innovators for thought and action leadership and Better Food Ventures to invest in startups harnessing IT for positive impact in Agrifoodtech.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
At some point, every startup founder comes to the idea that they may need to integrate PR into the proliferation strategy of their company. Indeed, with the right approach, PR efforts can easily become a powerful tool to accelerate growth. The list of goals that can be achieved through a thought-out public relations campaign includes the following:
Providing information about a startup’s products or services
Building awareness among potential customers and partners
Creating a favorable image for a company
However, all entrepreneurs should keep in mind that PR is not a magic pill. It works best under certain conditions and with a deliberate approach. Before turning to this tool, you need to evaluate its necessity for your company and the preparedness of your business for starting a public relations campaign.
Before turning to PR, make sure that your company needs it in the first place. Analyze the market and your product, and look at the goals you want to attain. PR will definitely be beneficial for your venture if:
But even if your company meets all the above criteria, you need to think twice to be certain that PR and media relations are the best way to address these challenges for your startup. It often happens that founders expect public relations to be a counterpart of advertising and a solution for direct sales. In reality, the first and main purpose of PR is to gain a reputation. Publicitymanagement impacts sales — but only indirectly and when it works in synergy with marketing.
Unfortunately, it’s not a rare situation when startup founders underestimate the efforts required for high-quality publicity management. As a result, they initiate a PR campaign too early and get disappointing results. There’s no sense in rashness. Take time to assess whether your startup is ready to launch a PR campaign. Here’s a checklist for that below:
Your product or service is fully developed and works with no mistakes: When you start pitching your company to mass media, it’s important that people can try what you have to offer and give it positive feedback.
You can clearly state the goals that you want to achieve with PR: There are different PR tactics and strategies for different aims. Approaches may vary even for different funding stages. Doing PR without precise goals is a waste of time and money and won’t help anyone.
You already have a brief clear description of your product or service and can explain how your company differs from competitors: Journalists, potential clients and investors should immediately understand what they are looking at and why it’s unique and worth their attention. Also, don’t forget to translate the description and other texts to languages of all the markets in which you are planning to launch.
You’ve articulated your startup’s mission, vision and key messages: Everybody loves a company with a mission and a visionary. It makes a startup more memorable.
You’ve found the appropriate tone of voice and brought all the text materials to a consistent format: This includes all the texts that can be found on your website, social media accounts and in newsletters. If a text goes public, it should agree with your communication strategy.
The company’s social media accounts and blogs are aligned with the current message and explain who you are and what you do: Journalists, potential customers, existing customers and investors will surely find those and analyze them as any other media publication would.
The speakers who represent your company have their social media profiles properly worked through: Today, any given person can research every aspect of your business that they are able to find online. So, use every little chance to make a favorable impression and explain the importance of it to the team.
You’ve decided on the positioning of each speaker: When you have a pool of media representatives for your startup (even if it’s only your CEO), it’s necessary to decide what topics they will be covering as experts and clearly communicate them to reporters and editors.
The speakers have appropriate photographs shot by a professional photographer and a short bio: These things may be requested by journalists when they prepare publications about your company. It always feels highly satisfactory when the people of your startup are properly introduced in an interview.
You are ready to share some exclusive data and analytics: It helps to build credibility, especially in the eyes of journalists who usually have no desire to copy and paste information that has been published already and always strive to impress their audience with something new.
Smaller startups may hesitate to hire a public relations agency because most agencies’ retainer fees look overwhelming for such companies. However, it’s hard for founders to control the crucial operations of a venture and simultaneously bootstrap their PR efforts. No effective communication with the media can exist in such circumstances.
A well-suited option may be to look for a PR agency that focuses exclusively on startups, including early-stage ones. Usually, such agencies are deeply aware of the needs and pains of their clients and offer reasonable contract terms. You need to find a KPI-driven PR firm —because, with them, you’ll have guaranteed results and be able to adjust your KPI requirements to your budget. An early-stage startup can agree to the minimal KPI and increase them later, when they can afford to do so.
Perhaps the most crucial thing to remember is that PR, being an effective tool, requires time to achieve the needed outcome and brings no instant success. However, with the right approach, it can be powerful and help early-stage startups achieve their key goals.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Until your startup is profitable and generating positive cash flow, there is one fundamental question you should be able to answer at any time: How much runway do you have left? Many founders think this question refers to when their cash balance hits zero. Unfortunately, you’ll be in trouble well before then.
As your cash balance approaches the danger zone, your auditors may issue a “going concern” memo. Your bank might get nervous, restricting access to critical debt facilities. Key vendors will become worried when you start stretching out payments, tightening credit terms or even requiring cash up front before they ship that next order.
You need to know the point at which your cash balance gets so low that you risk losing control of your company. Here are three essential steps to ensure you always have enough cash in the bank:
From the early days of Microsoft, Bill Gates insisted on having at least enough cash in the bank to keep the company alive for 12 months if revenue dropped to zero. Gates understood that cash equals control, and he never wanted to find himself in a position where he NEEDED money from someone else to ensure the company’s survival.
When considering how much of a cash balance you need to maintain, use your forward-looking monthly forecast for operating expenses, inventory purchases and capital expenditures. Don’t rely on historical spending patterns. Most startups are on a growth trajectory that regularly ramps costs and investments, which means your forward-looking targets will be higher.
2. Review these two simple ratios each month
Just looking at your cash balance as an indication of financial health ignores the state of the rest of your balance sheet. Most importantly, how do your current assets compare to your current liabilities, defined as liabilities that must be settled in the next 12 months? Two simple ratios should be a consistent part of your monthly reporting: the quick and current ratios.
The quick ratio measures your company’s ability to cover current liabilities with your most liquid assets, such as cash, marketable securities and net accounts receivable (“quick assets”). The formula for the quick ratio is: Quick Assets / Current Liabilities.
The current ratio, a less conservative measure, compares all of your current assets, including inventory and prepaid expenses, to your current liabilities. The formula for the current ratio is: Current Assets / Current Liabilities.
These ratios help uncover hidden problems that a seemingly healthy cash balance might mask. For example, when your business starts to miss sales targets, you will likely begin to stretch out payments to vendors to maintain your target cash balance. The current and quick ratios can let you know when those deferred payments are creating a risk level in current liabilities that could soon get out of hand.
The target for these ratios will vary from company to company. Big red warning lights should flash if you have a ratio under 1.0. Your Board of Directors might want you to maintain a certain ratio to avoid triggering a fundraise or sale process. There might be industry averages that you can use to benchmark your company against peers.
Assuming you have debt facilities in place, your bank might also have a point of view — which leads us to the third step.
3. Keep an eye on your bank covenants and “Events of Default”
Another reason that simply relying on your monthly cash balance is a mistake is that you likely have debt facilities that you’ve used to strengthen your cash position. Triggering a default with your lenders can leave your company in a precarious position.
First, be aware of your financial bank covenants. Often these covenants include a quick or current ratio target that you must maintain throughout the term of the loan. This is the bank’s way of ensuring you have enough liquidity to stay current on payments and eventually pay off your debt.
Also, be aware that insolvency can trigger a default condition, which allows your bank to call your debt and demand full repayment. This provision is usually tucked away deep in your loan agreement, under the section called “Events of Default.” Insolvency is a technical term meaning that your total liabilities exceed your total assets. You can have cash in the bank, make your debt payments on time and still be technically insolvent.
Maintaining adequate cash and liquidity levels is the key to always staying in control of your company’s prospects. With so much to think about as a founder, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds of weekly reporting and performance metrics. When all is said and done, spend a little extra time each month taking these steps to reassess your company’s financial health, and you’ll avoid nasty surprises that suddenly narrow your future options.
Kittyhawk, the electric air taxi startup backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, announced Wednesday that it plans to “wind down” operations.
“We have made the decision to wind down Kittyhawk. We’re still working on the details of what’s next,” the company wrote in a briefstatement shared on its LinkedIn and Twitter pages. Kittyhawk did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
Kittyhawk had the lofty mission of “building autonomous, affordable, ubiquitous and eco-conscious air taxis,” according to its website. It was founded by Sebastian Thrun, a former Google executive who led the company’s self-driving car efforts.
The startup operated in secret until 2017, when it publicly unveiled its first aircraft — an ultralight electric plane dubbed Flyer that was designed to fly over water. Page, one of the world’s richest men, was said to have invested $100 million in flying car startups, including Kittyhawk.
Flyer was ultimately retired in 2020, after more than 25,000 successful test flights, according to the company, and it reportedly laid off many of those who had been working on Flyer at the time. The company launched other electric aircraft prototypes and announced a partnership with Boeing in 2019.
The shuttering of Kittyhawk will not impact its joint venture with Boeing, which has been dubbed Wisk. In a tweet, Wisk said that it remains “in a strong financial position,” with both Boeing and Kittyhawk as investors.
Like Kittyhawk, Wisk is developing an “all-electric, self-flying air taxi” that it says “rises like a helicopter and flies like a plane,” according to its website. This “aircraft will remove the need for a runway and allow you to land where you need to be,” according to the company.
Seattle tech startup aims to solve the critical caregiver & nursing shortages in the senior living industry by building the nation’s largest employment network exclusive to CNAs, LPN/LVNs, RNs, and caregivers in senior care.
Press Release –
Jul 28, 2022
SEATTLE, July 28, 2022 (Newswire.com)
– CareListings, the nation’s largest employment network exclusive to caregivers & nurses in senior care, is now utilized by over 20% of all senior care facilities in the U.S. to source candidates and reach families seeking care. This includes over 15,000 skilled nursing facilities, assisted living homes, home care agencies, and home health & hospice agencies.
“We launched four years ago to provide a better way for families to find senior care options and have now become the most comprehensive resource for caregivers & nurses to find senior care employers. It is a privilege to help so many facilities and caregiver heroes who continue to go above and beyond for our elderly loved ones throughout the Covid pandemic,” says the founder and CEO of CareListings, Carl Rogers.
In addition to millions of people using CareListings to explore senior care options annually, thousands of experienced CNA, LPN/LVN, RN, and caregiver job seekers are now signing up every month on CareListings to access employment opportunities in all 50 states.
“The critical caregiver & nursing shortages in senior care are best addressed by connecting facilities directly with candidates for employment, not by overpaying temporary contractors or staffing agencies. With so many facilities struggling financially, it is more important than ever to improve the financial well-being of their employees vs paying third-party contractors.”
About CareListings
CareListings is the nation’s most comprehensive resource for families and healthcare professionals exploring senior care options online, with direct contact information for over 150,000 long-term care providers for free – including assisted living homes, home care & home health agencies, skilled nursing facilities, hospices, dialysis facilities, and other types of senior care providers.
Senior care employers hiring nurses and caregivers have the ability to update their business listing information, post job listings, and browse employment profiles for nearby caregiver & nurse job seekers at no cost. CareListings’ optional premium services are subscription-based and allow senior care facilities to reach even more families and source more candidates directly, without referral or placement fees.
Caregiver and nurse job seekers in senior care can create a centralized profile on the platform and notify hiring managers of their interest in available positions.
CareListings is based in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, and serves families, caregiver job seekers, and senior care employers across the United States. Learn more at carelistings.com.
NEW YORK, April 8, 2022 (Newswire.com)
– Black Women Talk Tech, a collective of Black women tech founders identifying, supporting and encouraging Black women to build the next billion-dollar business, officially announces its 6th Annual Roadmap to Billions conference. The conference will be held June 15-17 before Juneteenth Weekend at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York. The event will be hybrid, offering virtual activations and livestream content for the online audience.
This is the largest tech gathering for Black women in the World. 2,000 founders will be in attendance for the only annual tech conference created exclusively by Black women tech founders for Black female and non-binary founders and allies. The conference is built from the perspective of women and the goal is to showcase the brilliance of Black women in tech, create a stage for their experiences, foster deep connections, and create real funding opportunities. Attendees will gain insight and valuable lessons to inspire and guide them on their entrepreneurial and executive journey through the tech landscape. There are four different programming tracks this year: Culture + Marketing, Finance + Operations, Leadership, and Product + Technology.
Activations this year include an Opening Night Pajama Jammy Jam, live crowdfunding, and an NFT + Crypto Corner. Tickets for this year’s Roadmap to Billions conference are available at the following link. Early bird pricing is available now and prices will increase closer to the conference: https://bit.ly/3xagTiT
Confirmed speakers so far include Carla Harris, Vice Chairman and Managing Director at Morgan Stanley; Dee Tuck, CTO at ARRAY; Janis Bowdler, Counselor for Racial Equity at the US Department of Treasury; Kelly Ifill, Founder and CEO at Guava; David Williams, Assistant Vice President- Automation at AT&T; and Kenneth Ebie, Executive Director & Chief Development Officer, Black Entrepreneurs NYC.
“We are thrilled to be back in person for our sixth annual Roadmap to Billions conference,” says Esosa Ighodaro-Johnson, Co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech. “There have been many success stories from this event, but there is much more work to be done to enrich the Black community and build for the culture.”
Regina Gwynn, Co-founder of Black Women Talk Tech adds, “The 6th year of the Roadmap to Billions conference will provide something for everyone at every level in their career whether investor, entrepreneur, student or professional. We are helping people create their own seat at the table where people of color often get ostracized.”
This year’s sponsors include Brooklyn Navy Yard, Intuit, Bloomberg, Dell for Startups, Citi, Balsamiq, Lowenstein Sandler, First Round Capital, American Family Insurance, Morgan Stanley, and JustWorks.
The Black Women Talk Tech community includes entrepreneurs, professionals, professionals with side hustles, engineers, product development executives and UX/UI designers. Industries their members operate in include fashionTech, medTech, edTech, finTech and entertainment.
About Black Women Talk Tech: Black Women Talk Tech (BWTT) is a worldwide collective of black women tech founders who have a unique understanding of the challenges Black women startup owners face in the industry. The organization seeks to identify, support, and encourage Black women to build the next billion-dollar business. To learn more, please visit www.blackwomentalktech.com. Follow BWTT on social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
MIAMI, October 7, 2021 (Newswire.com)
– Black Men Talk Tech, a collective and conference series that supports emerging and elite Black tech entrepreneurs, officially announces this year’s 3rd Annual Unicorn Ambition Conference. Black Men Talk Tech Unicorn Ambition Conference is the only national conference that focuses on providing support for the Black man tech founder. This year, one of the special guests is keynote speakerRick Ross, a serial entrepreneur, rapper, songwriter, and bestselling author with an empire covering everything from fast-casual food, spirits, real estate, and music.
The Unicorn Ambition Conference is a national tech conference providing exposure and resources to Black tech founders who are building innovative companies and focused on massive growth or becoming the next “unicorn.” Since its inception, the conference has highlighted Miami and South Florida as an emerging tech hub, especially for the Blackcommunity. This year’s 3rd annual conference will be a hybrid event on October 21, over theHop.in virtual platform, with supporting in-person events in Miami before and after the conference programming.
Rick Ross added to his list of bestsellers with the recent release of The Perfect Day to Boss Up, which debuted on bestseller lists all around the country, including the prestigious New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.
“We are elated to have mogul Rick Ross as a featured keynote speaker,” says Boris Moyston, one of the co-founders of Black Men Talk Tech. “Looking forward to his insights about how he chooses his tech investments and advice for entrepreneurs that will surely benefit our attendees.”
:BLACKPRINT at Meredith Corporation is sponsoring the Rick Ross Keynote.
:BLACKPRINT has joined as a media sponsor of this year’s Unicorn Ambition Conference and represents the Black voice of Meredith Corporation – home to brands like PEOPLE, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, Shape, Health, Travel + Leisure and more.
Deleon, Crown Royal and Johnnie Walker are the official spirit sponsors for the Black Men Talk Tech Unicorn Ambition Conference Welcome Mixer. Additional sponsors of this year’s Unicorn Ambition Conference include JP Morgan Chase, Balsamiq, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, MorganStanley, Pitchbook, The Steve & Marjorie Harvey Foundation (SMHF), and Intuit.
About Black Men Talk Tech: Black Men Talk Tech is a tech collective and conference series that supports emerging and elite Black tech entrepreneurs. Despite the many successes of Black men in the tech industry, Black men are still underrepresented as founders. Black Men Talk Tech is fixing that problem by creating an authentic ecosystem for Black men who are scaling their startups to Unicorn status.
Media Contacts for Black Men Talk Tech: Demetria@PressPassLA.com Tiffany@PressPassLA.com
The European startup Payoro launches its fintech platform Payoro Connect — the first in a suite of innovative open banking initiatives from the young company
Press Release –
updated: Sep 29, 2021
TALLINN, Estonia, September 29, 2021 (Newswire.com)
– European fintech startups are growing fast. With solid regulatory frameworks, advanced technology and a dynamic, tight-knit European market, many consider these upstart fintechs well-poised to take on the global financial world.
Established in COVID-19-stricken 2020, Payoro is a new European fintech startup. Based out of Gibraltar and Estonia, Payoro aims to develop open banking technology products, offering both B2C and B2B bank-tech solutions. Now, Payoro launches Payoro Connect, a platform that may change how banking relationships are established.
Martin Osterloh, the newly appointed CEO of Payoro, comes from the traditional banking sector. For 13 years, he worked as Vice President Digital Sales at Wirecard Bank. He sees the launch of Payoro Connect as a vital step in the young company’s journey. “With the launch of Payoro Connect, we want to position Payoro as an innovative player in the banking technology and embedded finance space. Our solution allows large companies to move fast and adapt to the ever-changing financial landscape. What used to take days, maybe even weeks, now takes mere minutes — all whilst satisfying strict SCA rules.”
At its core, the Payoro Connect platform is a bank account servicing tool, connecting consumers with European financial institutions. Payoro Connect enables dynamic bank account servicing and money transfer through partner relationships and innovative fintech. In accordance with PSD2, all user information is verified based on strong customer authentication (SCA). Payoro Connect allows international banks and electronic money institutions to focus on what they are best at: handling money and building customer relationships.
Osterloh has high hopes for future products and services. “Payoro Connect is the first product we are launching, but certainly not the last. It makes great sense for Payoro to continue its innovation-fueled exploration of the exciting intersection of banking, technology and user experience. The embedded finance market alone is estimated to reach a market value of $3 billion by 2030. That is really where we see the opportunity — to lodge ourselves between traditional banks and future savvy consumers and companies.”
Established in 2020, Payoro is a banking technology company with offices in Gibraltar and Estonia.
More Information: Martin Osterloh, CEO of Payoro, martin@payoro.com
Robbie Cabral, creador de BenjiLock continúa cosechando éxitos e impresionando a más mercados de los Estados Unidos, su nuevo modelo de candado para bicicletas obtuvo el premio Twice Picks 2021 a la innovación.
Press Release –
updated: Aug 6, 2021
LOS ANGELES, August 6, 2021 (Newswire.com)
– Robbie Cabral ha sido el primer creador del mundo de candados con huellas dactilares, su creación BenjiLock ha conquistado el nicho de hardware a nivel mundial y hoy en día se ha expandido no solo en el mercado residencial y comercial, sino que está marcando la pauta de innovación y seguridad, también en el segmento de los ciclistas.
Desde que Robbie Cabral tuvo la oportunidad de presentarse en el programa “Shark Tank” de la cadena ABC, su vida dio un giro de 360° grados. En dicho plató tuvo la oportunidad de presentar su innovadora idea de seguridad tecnológica a través de huellas dactilares para cerraduras de seguridad personal.
Este gran proyecto cautivó de forma inmediata al presentador e inversionista Kevin O’Leary, mejor conocido como “Mr. Wonderful” quien quedó impresionado de las ideas de Cabral. La oportunidad que tuvo Robbie al asociarse con un inversor experimentado como lo es Kevin ha permitido que sus ideas puedan hacerse realidad y lograr grandes reconocimientos.
Hasta la fecha, BenjiLock no solo se caracteriza por su calidad y versatilidad, sino también por los premios que ha cosechado desde su creación en el mercado de la seguridad personal y la innovación. Entre ellos destaca el premio a la innovación del Consumer Electronics Show 2020. Además, continúa cosechando éxitos e impresionando a más mercados de los Estados Unidos, su nuevo modelo de candado para bicicletas obtuvo el premio TWICE PICKS 2021 a la innovación.
Estos logros permitieron que Robbie Cabral y Kevin O’Leary fueran invitados a una entrevista conjunta con Smartbrief y la corresponsal de TWICE, Jaimie Sorcher, para conversar sobre este nuevo producto de seguridad que beneficia a todos los ciclistas de los Estados Unidos. En la entrevista O´Leary describe la idea de la creación del candado para bicicletas como “La esencia del sueño americano”. Además elogió la calidad de BenjiLock, ya que considera que sus productos representan una nueva ola de innovación para la generación actual. Vea la entrevista aquí.
El candado de bicicleta con huella dactilar BenjiLock es el primer dispositivo de este tipo que personaliza la seguridad de la bicicleta con tecnología híbrida mediante una simple huella dactilar. Se caracteriza por ser elegante, fácil de usar y puede llegar a personalizarse hasta 10 huellas dactilares. El candado de bicicleta BenjiLock es el dispositivo de seguridad personal que está arrasando en el país.
Es importante destacar que en los Estados Unidos, más de dos millones de bicicletas son robadas cada año debido a la falta de candados o mala calidad de los mismos. Además, durante el 2020, Estados Unidos comenzó a enfrentar una escasez de bicicletas debido al repentino aumento de la actividad al aire libre en medio de la pandemia del COVID-19, y fue durante este período que surgió la idea de este innovador candado que llegó para eliminar el estrés y el dolor de cabeza que supone la pérdida de los bienes materiales.
Definitivamente BenjiLock llegó para innovar y regalar tranquilidad. Robbie Cabral destacó que próximamente sus productos empezarán a comercializarse a nivel internacional, iniciando por Canadá y México, y seguir expandiéndose a Asia, Europa y Latinoamérica.
Cybersecurity Startup by High schoolers, Asteria From Washington DC, Wins First Prize
Press Release –
updated: Jul 8, 2021
SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 8, 2021 (Newswire.com)
– The 12th annual TYE Global Final Competition 2021 was hosted by TIE Carolinas on June 18-19. It was the grand finale event for the 2021 TYE (TIE Young Entrepreneurs) Program, a global initiative where high school students are taught how to build real-world startups over a 6-month period.
First prize honors went to TIE DC’s Asteria, a machine-learning-based, predictive cybersecurity services startup. Second place went to TIE Boston’s Scollab, a collaboration platform for students, outside the classroom setting. The third-place winner was Intern-net from TIE Rajasthan, a platform for matching high school students to company internships. Total cash prizes worth USD 12,500 were awarded to student teams. Young startup teams pitched disruptive ideas ranging from tackling water contamination issues in the fracking industry to injury-reducing socks to a farmers’ marketplace to rent out expensive machinery.
The virtual event saw 105 students participating, representing 20 TIE chapters. It was judged by 23 esteemed international jury members and attended by 4,800 viewers, over the two-day period. Several TIE Carolinas leaders and TYE program leaders organized the event. For the 2020-2021 cohort, the TYE program enrolled 1,400 students worldwide and assisted them in building their first startups. Since its origin in 2005, TYE has impacted over 20,000 students. TiE Carolinas President Simmi Prasad underscored the global connectivity and participation that this event provided across several continents and geographies.
Tim Humphrey, Vice President of IBM’s Chief Data Office, was invited as the Chief Guest of the event. Mr. Humphrey is also the senior location executive for IBM’s largest site in North America, at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Guest speakers, Pree Walia, founder of Preemadonna and Sajan Pillai, former CEO of UST Global, encouraged the young students with their personal startup stories and to go forth and affect positive change for the future.
Praveen Tailam, chairman of TIE Global, was pleased to see six all-girls teams who made it to the TYE Global Final Competition. An innovative new category introduced this year was the People’s Choice award, where attendees could vote for their favorite startups.TIE Kerala’s Kaapiphile, an all-girl team selling premium filter coffee sachets took home the prize this year. Many cash prizes and sponsor awards were given out at the event.
The winning team’s captain said, Alisha Luthra, said, “Our application has drawn immense interest from local businesses … after winning the global competition, we are excited to develop our business further and launch our startup soon.” Addressing the students, one of the judges, Magda Sanchez said, “The ideas presented today were solid. My hope is that the kids realize how talented they are, and there’s nothing stopping them from moving forward and seeking funding.”
LOS ANGELES, October 12, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– Diversity recruiting platform Hallo has published the findings from their latest research report — Black Founder Funding Q3 2020.
In the midst of nationwide protests last June, many venture capital firms acknowledged the problem — less than 1% of founders who receive venture funding are black, despite making up over 13% of the U.S. population. Many outlined initiatives and action plans aimed at tackling this problem.
Hallo conducted the research in order to create a benchmark around the progress being made towards fulfilling those promises.
The report analyzed 1,383 companies who raised a round of capital between July 1 and October 1 with a total funding amount between $500,000 and $20,000,000.
Hallo’s research found that out of the 1,383 companies analyzed, 31 had black founders. The companies combined raised $5,882,471,765 with $114,852,638 being invested in black founder-led startups.
Commenting on the findings, Hallo’s founder and CEO Vern Howard said: “Real diversity means real change. It’s up to venture capital firms and the startup community to decide if they are willing to step up and take action or simply stand back and allow black founders to be held back and limited by the ability to access venture capital.”
Following the release of their first quarterly Black Founder Funding report, Hallo announced they will begin distributing a weekly report that analyzes the startups who raised venture capital to determine how many were led by black founders.
Howard said: “Our objective here is to keep a weekly pulse on progress being made so we can ensure that all the awareness and momentum that was built in June doesn’t slowly fade away.”
Hallo is a diversity recruiting platform that helps connect college students across the country with leading companies like Apple and Google. Hallo has raised $1.9M in funding from Canaan Partners, Tribe Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and many other leading VCs.
Methodology:
The numbers represent the global startups who raised a round of capital between July 1 and Oct. 1, 2020. The total funding criteria was $500,000 — $20,000,000. This data was sourced from Crunchbase. Companies with at least one black founder were included. Six startups with black founders raised less than $500,000 or did not have any funding data disclosed were not included in the final numbers.
LOS ANGELES, September 17, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– Robbie Cabral es el primer inventor del mundo de candados con huellas dactilares, su creación BenjiLock ha conquistado este nicho de hardware a nivel mundial y hoy en día se presenta en el mercado residencial y comercial para seguir llevando innovación y seguridad.
Su idea surgió en un gimnasio luego de enfrentar un aumento de peso que lo llevó a pasar parte de sus noches ejercitándose para recuperar su figura. Fue en ese momento cuando Cabral notó los desafíos que los asistentes y propietarios de los gimnasios tenían continuamente en el vestuario con combinaciones y llaves perdidas que conducían a candados desperdiciados. Fue allí cuando nació la idea de crear BenjiLock para solucionar esos problemas.
Sin embargo, como cualquier emprendedor exitoso, Cabral no se ha dormido en los laureles. Recientemente, dio a conocer la próxima versión de su tecnología habilitada por huellas dactilares que esta vez está dirigida directamente al mercado residencial, su nuevo prototipo denominado Fingerprint Door Lock lo llevó a la portada de la edición veraniega de la revista Residential Tech Today.
Con el lanzamiento este verano del Fingerprint Door Lock, BenjiLock se está abriendo camino en hogares, garajes y negocios. Actualmente ya cuenta con el premio a la innovación del Consumer Electronics Show 2020. Esta nueva tecnología consta de una pantalla táctil iluminada que almacena hasta 10 huellas dactilares y 25 códigos de usuario, se desbloquea con una huella dactilar, una llave o un código PIN, y viene en elegantes acabados de níquel satinado y bronce toscano.
El reconocimiento de BenjiLock como producto innovador y seguro lo ha hecho imprescindible en las tiendas minoristas y entre las generaciones Millennials y Z. La historia de su creación resulta ser especialmente bienvenida, en un momento en donde la humanidad necesita una dosis de esperanza e inspiración. Robbie Cabral es una fiel muestra de la esencia y perseverancia de la comunidad hispana en Estados Unidos, que todo lo que anhelan lo hacen posible. Durante el Mes de la Herencia Hispana, su ejemplo reaviva los deseos de muchos que desean lograr sus sueños.
Los candados que identifican a BenjiLock vienen en dos versiones: uno de huellas dactilares de 43mm y otro de huellas dactilares TSA. El primero almacena hasta 10 huellas dactilares, se desbloquea con una huella dactilar o una llave, cuenta con una duración de hasta un año con una sola carga y está encerrado en un anillo de acero endurecido cromado de alta seguridad. El modelo TSA, almacena hasta cinco huellas dactilares, se desbloquea con una huella dactilar o un código PIN, cuenta con una batería de iones de litio completamente recargable y está aceptado por la TSA. Ambos modelos vienen en una diversa variedad de colores.
Cabral pasó cuatro años perfeccionando la tecnología, funciones y el aspecto del producto antes de lanzar el prototipo en el Consumer Electronics Show. La exposición hizo que BenjiLock obtuviera los mejores premios y llamara la atención de Ace Hardware y The Grommet. El prototipo, obtuvo una invitación para aparecer en el programa Shark Tank de la cadena televisiva ABC, lo que le permitió obtener una inversión económica del miembro del panel, Kevin O’Leary, para luego obtener alianzas con Hampton Products International, empresa líder en innovaciones de seguridad, hardware y fabricantes de cerraduras BRINKS.
“Desde que se me ocurrió la idea, sabía que tenía un producto útil y que estaba llenando un vacío en el mercado con BenjiLock. No lo voy a negar, fue un trabajo duro el mantener firme la confianza de que mi idea iba a tener éxito. Además, considero que fue fundamental el apoyo que recibí de todas las personas que vieron el potencial de esta cerradura”, expresó Cabral.
En cuanto a la oportunidad de poder salir en la portada de la revista Residential Tech Today, Robbie manifestó “Obtener la portada de esta revista es un reconocimiento asombroso del potencial de nuestras cerraduras inteligentes en el espacio residencial y comercial. No podría estar más emocionado y agradecido por el futuro que le depara a la cerradura de puerta con huella digital Fingerprint Door Lock y todos los productos que vendrán para la marca “.
La revista Residential Tech Today está disponible en Barnes & Noble, Hudson News, Walmart, CVS Pharmacy, 7-Eleven y su quiosco de prensa digital como Amazon Kindle, Issuu, Magzter, Apple News + y ZINIO.
Four Hundred Next-Gen Leaders Selected to Carry Forward TFF’s Mission in 200 Cities Around the World
Press Release –
updated: Jun 14, 2019
BASEL, Switzerland, June 14, 2019 (Newswire.com)
– The Thought For Food (TFF) Foundation is expanding its global footprint with the addition of 400 Ambassadors who are tasked with multiplying the organization’s mission and impact in more than 200 cities across the globe.
The new cohort of TFF Ambassadors represents 65 countries around the world and will work closely with TFF’s Regional Coordinators as committed “boots on the ground” – helping to identify and develop strong relationships with promising talents and startups that can benefit from TFF’s entrepreneurial training and acceleration programs.
The TFF Ambassadors were chosen from a pool of nearly 2,000 applicants after going through a rigorous pre-selection process that included a four-week trial period focused on testing their practical skills, collaborative spirit and commitment to join TFF’s global community. As part of the trial period, the pre-selected TFF Ambassadors carried out over 500 grassroots activities to raise awareness about food and agriculture issues in their local communities, including farm tours, documentary screenings, discussion sessions, sustainable dinners, recording of podcasts and TV interviews.
“Becoming a TFF Ambassador is a great opportunity to create positive impact,” says Fernando Salerno, a TFF Ambassador selected from the Venezuelan capital Caracas and co-founder of Níspero, an organization which connects isolated small-scale farmers in rural areas, helps them to reach markets and supports them in regenerating depleted soils. “This role gives me the resources to expose the Venezuelan crisis and the opportunities connected to it, to work with the innovation community around me and to raise awareness about the pressing food and agricultural challenges we face here in my country.”
Despite facing severe gas, electricity and water issues in his country, Fernando and his team of TFF Ambassadors found creative and impactful ways to share the TFF story, including conducting interviews on one of the most-viewed national TV programs, as well as on a radio show focused on entrepreneurship. They also ran several workshops for small-scale produce farmers and business peers focused on community-based sustainable farming practices.
“It has been inspiring to watch the TFF Ambassadors demonstrate such passion and commitment to our cause throughout the trial period. These are a diverse group of talented leaders who are joining our global community, ready to share their experiences, expertise and local networks in supporting TFF’s mission,” stated Sujala Balaji, TFF Regional Coordinator for North America and founder of Kosha Foods, a Canadian startup for plant-based protein alternatives. “I am very excited and look forward to working with them in building stronger regional communities and collectively working towards the global challenges facing food and sustainability.”
The TFF Ambassadors will play an important role in recruiting innovative food and agriculture projects from every part of the world to join the next edition of the annual TFF Challenge on Oct. 16 (World Food Day). This year, TFF Challenge participants will gain access to the all-new TFF Digital Labs, the world’s first 21st-century learning and startup accelerator program optimized for next-gen entrepreneurs in the food and agriculture sector.
Interested to learn more about TFF’s work as the world’s next-generation innovation engine in food and agriculture? Want to get involved in TFF’s global community of purpose-driven entrepreneurs or explore partnership opportunities and other ways to support our mission? Follow our activities on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter or directly reach out to us via email.
About Thought For Food:
Thought For Food is the leading global organization to engage, empower and support the next generation to solve food and agriculture’s biggest challenges. To date, we have worked with over 15,000 next-gen talents in 160 countries, helped to catalyse thousands of ideas and have launched 50 startups on all continents and across all parts of the value chain. Our comprehensive suite of industry-shaping programs includes the TFF Challenge, the TFF Digital Labs, the TFF Academy and the TFF Summit. We help build talent, develop new innovations and raise the reputation of the industry as a whole. Thought For Food is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity. Find out more about Thought For Food at https://thoughtforfood.org.
SalesOps Central is taking the gender gap in management head-on by giving away management training for female leaders.
LOS ANGELES, February 20, 2018 (Newswire.com)
– SalesOps Central is taking steps to tackle the gender equality issues in tech by providing free sales management training and peer support for female leaders in venture-backed SaaS firms.
Sales Ops Central has announced the availability of free SaaS sales management training for emerging female sales leaders. Women accepted into the scholarship program are invited to attend a 2-day bootcamp covering the foundations of sales leadership, followed by participation in an alumni network with hundreds of peers.
2017 was a watershed year for bringing awareness of systemic issues in diversity & inclusion within the tech industry and we decided to do what we can to turn this situation around. We feel we can have impact by supporting women with greater access to peer networks and to accelerate promotions through education.
Matt Cameron, Managing Partner
“2017 was a watershed year for bringing awareness of systemic issues in diversity & inclusion within the tech industry and we decided to do what we can to turn this situation around. We feel we can have impact by supporting women with greater access to peer networks and to accelerate promotions through education,” stated Matt Cameron, Managing Partner, SalesOps Central.
Cameron is one of the Salesforce.com diaspora, an organization where he was inspired by the power of community and inclusion. In 2017 he decided to reserve 10% of all seats in the SaaSy Sales Management ‘Frontline’ training for emerging female leaders as scholarship places. Women are nominated by former program participants and the venture community alike.
“I have enjoyed the good fortune of a broad global network via my time working at Salesforce and Yammer, which is something that I want to provide for emerging female leaders through our SaaSy Sales Management network,” commented Cameron. Operating internationally, the program is coming to Los Angeles for the first time in March, which adds to peer networks in San Francisco, New York, London and Chicago.
Women working in venture-backed SaaS startups who wish to be considered for the scholarship should touch base here. Criteria for selection is working for a firm with fewer than 100 employees and be leading a team of salespeople in a SaaS business.
About SalesOps Central: SalesOps Central works with venture-backed SaaS organizations to design and deploy scalable sales operations. In 2016 we created ‘SaaSy Sales Management’, delivering the world’s premier SaaS sales management bootcamp and development program. Programs are available for all levels of sales leadership and supporting functions who want guidance in best practices and access to an active peer community.
Media contact Matt Cameron 415-349-0326 matt@salesopscentral.com
BOSTON, January 16, 2018 (Newswire.com)
– She Geeks Out (“SGO”) announced that applications are open for their new corporate program, The Vault. In this unique program designed specifically for executives, senior leaders, startup founders, venture capitalists and managers, attendees will learn about the historical context of oppression including racism and sexism, current terminology and thinking, and how to apply this knowledge to real-world workplace scenarios. In what is arguably a particularly challenging time for corporate leaders grappling with a heightened awareness of the importance of creating an inclusive and welcoming work environment, this program will provide a confidential space to discuss difficult issues with their peers and be facilitated by experts in workplace diversity and inclusion. The overarching goal is to translate this learning into action by helping attendees move the needle forward toward equity for all within their organization. Upon completion, participants will be more informed, be able to make a strong business case for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and have a better understanding of their own identities and their impact on the workplace.
The Vault will take place over six mornings beginning early Spring 2018. The public Spring program is open to individuals from various organizations; the program is also available to companies’ internal teams upon request. Each of the six sessions will focus on a different topic: Identity, Terminology, Power and Privilege, Skill Building, Multicultural Organizational Development, and Action Planning. SGO requests that interested parties apply on the SGO website as soon as possible to ensure availability.
I found The Vault excellent for gaining comfort in the language of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I was able to work with the facilitators and the rest of our group to assess current challenges, create an action plan and immediately begin working toward a more inclusive work environment. I highly recommend this training to anyone passionate about creating healthy, diverse, and inclusive teams.
Jaclyn Jussif, Recruiting Manager, EdX
Vault pilot program attendee Jaclyn Jussif from EdX had this to say:
“I found The Vault excellent for gaining comfort in the language of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I was able to work with the facilitators and the rest of our group to assess current challenges, create an action plan and immediately begin working toward a more inclusive work environment. I highly recommend this training to anyone passionate about creating healthy, diverse, and inclusive teams.”
SGO offers several corporate training workshops, of which the Vault is the newest. Other trainings include “Unconscious Bias in the Workplace”, “Recruiting and Hiring for Diversity”, and “Retaining Talent Through Inclusivity”.
About She Geeks Out:SGO’s mission is to educate, promote and support diverse and inclusive companies and organizations, by taking a holistic approach to fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace. They provide women in STEM an opportunity to network and connect with each other as well as with companies who wish to hire them. At the same time, they support companies in their diversity and inclusion efforts by providing them with the knowledge, skills, and tools to create an inclusive environment, in a safe and welcoming space. Learn more about She Geeks Out at www.shegeeksout.com.
Media Contact: Hannah Lesnik Phone: (617) 752-1144 Email: press@shegeeksout.com
LONDON, November 23, 2017 (Newswire.com)
– Premium car rental marketplace, Lurento, has announced the launch of its service in the United Arab Emirates. Customers can now rent luxury and sports cars in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
“Dubai is a leading location for luxury travelers and sports car enthusiasts alike. Our customers will have the opportunity to choose from a lot of models this holiday season, along with the best deals. In addition to top European brands such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Mercedes and BMW, Lurento now offers Cadillac, GMC, Lincoln and other premium cars from US brands,” says Milan Krstanovic, Partner Relations Manager.
Dubai is a leading location for luxury travelers and sports car enthusiasts alike. Our customers will have the opportunity to choose from a lot of models this holiday season, along with the best deals. In addition to top European brands such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Mercedes and BMW, Lurento now offers Cadillac, GMC, Lincoln and other premium cars from US brands.
Milan Krstanovic, Lurento Partner Relations Manager
As the largest luxury car rental service, Lurento offers an unparalleled selection of premium cars, luxury cars, sports cars, and supercars. Launched in 2016, Lurento has quickly increased its European operation, and is now based in 80 cities across the continent. The launch into the United Arab Emirates marks the next chapter in the firm’s exciting and ambitious expansion strategy, and is the company’s first venture outside Europe.
“While the premium and luxury car segment is covered by traditional car rental operators, the offering is more fragmented than the broader sector with a significant number of smaller, independent operators. This creates friction in the market, as independent operators often lack visibility to inbound travelers. Potential clients may, on the other hand, be wary of dealing with unfamiliar providers. Lurento bridges this gap through offering a neutral venue for operators and clients to interact, increasing visibility for small providers covering this niche segment while facilitating the process and creating trust for customers to rent their dream cars or specific, premium models,” says Nicolay Nedrelid, Founder & Corporate Advisor at Nedrelid Corporate Advisory, an independent consulting boutique focused on the car rental industry.
As two of the world’s most popular travel destinations, Dubai and Abu Dhabi offer a wide range of activities for the discerning traveler, with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix just one of the many highlights pulling in sports car fans from around the globe.
“With such strong supply and a lot of requests from our clients, we’ve decided to accept partner companies and make their inventory available for customers worldwide. It will also serve as sandbox for a number of features we’ll test to improve our service and provide the perfect rental experience for our customers,” says Mihailo Dhoric, CEO.
The next five years are anticipated to be a period of fast growth in the region too, with the government announcing projects such as The Dubai Marina development to further add to the region’s tourism credentials. While VAT will be introduced in 2018 at a rate of 5 percent, it is not expected to have a significant impact on the car rental sector.
About Lurento
Europe’s leading marketplace for luxury and sports car rental redefines the car rental experience for companies, clients and fast cars enthusiasts. Powered by technology, data and artificial intelligence, Lurento has lowered the entry cost into the luxury car rental market, making prestigious cars available to a wider audience. Lurento helps local car rental companies utilize unused inventory, prevent theft and fraud and get access to clients worldwide.
Diggz Officially launches its platform in 12 new major markets nationwide with aim to expand it’s national market share.
Press Release –
updated: Mar 14, 2017
New York City, NY, March 14, 2017 (Newswire.com)
– Diggz, a popular New York City-based roommate finder app, is officially expanding its services into 12 major metro areas and cities nationwide. Diggz has been operating successfully in New York City for over two years, and is now rolling out into new markets.
“We considered expanding into new markets earlier, but we really wanted to make sure that our product and strategy were solid before going nationwide. Today, we’re very pleased with what we’ve created,” says Ben Blodgett, Diggz’s co-founder.
We considered expanding into new markets earlier, but we really wanted to make sure that our product and strategy were solid before going nationwide. Today, we’re very pleased with what we’ve created
Ben Blodget, Co-Founder
The 12 new markets now available on Diggz include Los Angeles / Orange County, San Francisco / Bay Area, Chicago, Miami / South Florida, Washington DC / Baltimore, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Toronto with more major cities planned to be rolled out this year. Roommate seekers in these cities that are looking for a roommate or interested to sublet a spare room can now register for free on Diggz.
Diggz is an online marketplace for finding roommates that share similar lifestyles and preferences. Via Diggz, users can post their vacant rooms for rent, find a room, or link up with others to go apartment hunting together. What’s unique about Diggz is that it’s a dynamic marketplace, “We wanted to enhance the roommate search experience and allow those renting out rooms to be more involved and proactive in the process. They don’t have to sit and wait for someone to contact them. They can browse through those looking for a room and pick out the ones they think will be good fit” says Ben Blodgett, Diggz’s co-founder.
Diggz utilizes a proprietary algorithm to provide users with personalized search results of prospective roommates which takes into account a user’s preferred neighborhoods, work schedule, cleanliness, smoking and drinking habits, mutual friends and other attributes. Like on Tinder and other popular dating apps, users that have both indicated an interest (a “match”) can then talk directly and safely on the platform without the need to exchange personal contact information until they are comfortable to do so.
Unlike other roommate matching apps that make claims that they verify each profile, Diggz actually has a robust behind-the-scenes fraud detection tools as well as actual humans reviewing suspicious profiles, keeping the platform scammer and spammer free. In addition, Diggz is the first and only roommate matching app that enables users to request a tenant screening report from prospective roommates within the app. This feature is extremely helpful for those users who want that extra piece of mind.
About Diggz
Diggz is based in New York City and was founded in 2014 by Avi Burstein and Ben Blodgett. After both founders personally experienced bad roommate situations they found on craigslist, they decided to create something different and solve one of the most painstaking experiences New Yorkers have to endure, an experience that has almost become a rite of passage. Their aim was to make the roommate search experience efficient, fun and safe that will deliver a roommate that meshes with your lifestyle and preferences. Diggz is available on desktop and is mobile friendly, so it is easy to use at home, work or on the go without needing to install anything.
