Hello Boston, Meet LaunchSquad
Boston. Birthplace of the Revolution. Home of the Sox, the Pats, the C’s and the B’s. Clam chowder — the white kind. The original Tea Party. Harvard. MIT. The Pike. The Kennedys. And now us, LaunchSquad. We’re launching in Boston. Get ready, Beantown.
At LaunchSquad, we’re bullish on Boston. And today we’re officially announcing that Mike Farber has joined our team as GM and Founder of LaunchSquad Boston (click here for our official release).
This is an exciting announcement for us and I can’t say how thrilled we are to have Mike on board. In the late 90s, Mike was a close colleague of all four LaunchSquad partners, and we’ve stayed close with him throughout the past ten years. He was a great sounding board for us in the very first days of our firm, and many of our foundational values and philosophies stem in part from our collaboration with Mike during those pre-LaunchSquad years.
Mike’s passion in working with startups, his deep understanding of story and the media, and his success in embracing the new channels and opportunities within PR and social media align perfectly with what LaunchSquad is all about. Before joining us, Mike had a long tenure as a senior team member at Waltham-based Schwartz Communications.
As for the Boston opportunity, there is perhaps no better area in the country that unites education, invention and entrepreneurial spirit. Similar to New York (we recently made some news there as well), there is renewed energy in the region for the next wave of innovation, particularly in the area of clean and energy technology, which is becoming a core practice area for us. Our history of helping innovators spread the word and emerge into market leaders is an ideal match for what’s happening in New England. (Of course, I’m also selfishly hoping this new venture will get me back to beloved Fenway more frequently!)
Huge welcome to Mike from everyone at LaunchSquad. Here’s a brief video about Mike and our Boston launch.
Making Your Email Work For You: Introducing FewClix For Lotus Notes
LaunchSquad recently launched a new product from our client Synaptris called FewClix. It’s an email productivity application for Lotus Notes that gives users the tools they need to easily organize and search their inbox and archives. The product allows you to not only shave time off of the simple email processes you perform on a daily basis but also the frustration of sorting through hundreds of emails to find the one you are looking for. The beta was launched in January at IBM’s annual Lotusphere conference in Orlando.
FewClix enhances the Lotus Notes experience by allowing users to personalize their inbox and email archives so that they can organize their email in a way that is intuitive to them. For example, while sitting at your desk for several hours you may want to view your inbox with new mail coming in at the top. With five minutes between meetings though, you may want to view only mail that has been flagged by high priority senders. Or, perhaps you want to read only mail sent by people about to attend the next meeting. With FewClix, you can easily switch between these views within seconds. Check out the demo videos here. And, the free beta can be downloaded here.
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With over 145 million Lotus Notes users, FewClix has a tremendous opportunity to bring increased efficiency to a tremendously large number of corporate email users. It’s no surprise then that Computer World, TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, and PCMag have already written about the company.
This Spring, FewClix is going on the road to connect with the Lotus Notes community during Lotusphere Comes to You, a series of local IBM sponsored events that connect Lotus Notes users and developers around the world. Be on the lookout for their report back from these events and for more product updates in the weeks to come.
Infusionsoft Drives Email Marketing 2.0
One of the most exciting aspects of working at LaunchSquad is the opportunity to see our clients develop technology that truly changes their users’ lives.
There are millions of small business owners and entrepreneurs in the U.S., most of whom are constantly juggling a myriad of tasks and responsibilities each day. Often, marketing programs can fall by the wayside, as companies focus on meeting customer needs and more tactical day-to-day operations. LaunchSquad client Infusionsoft has been working to make it incredibly easy to help businesses keep the pedal to the metal through a variety of marketing tools and services, including email marketing.
Email marketing itself is not a new strategy for small businesses, but many have been losing customers and prospects by using old technology and inefficient methods. Many company and vendors have been stuck in the past and not embraced new ways and techniques to raise their level of engagement with customers. Infusionsoft is offering new intuitive tools to help automate and personalize emails, helping small companies target specific segments of their audience and market in a more relevant way than what other technology has offered in the past. Users save extraordinary amounts of time and also attract more customers and prospects by sending information in emails that pertain to their readers’ individual interests.
We have all been a victim of bad email marketing practices. Whether it’s SPAM or an email about a product or service we weren’t interested in, there are lots of fails. It is fantastic to see technology rise up that will keep our inboxes a place for relevant information, helping us navigate the marketplace rather than cloud it.
ACH Federal Provides Banks, Small Businesses With Secure Payment Technology
As computers and mobile devices are increasingly integrated into our everyday lives, we are using less paper than ever. In the banking world, this has translated to a dramatic increase in electronic payments over the past 10 years. Paper checks are quickly becoming a thing of the past, with more consumers ordering from online retailers, and companies, banks and financial institutions embracing electronic payment systems.
However, as more consumers and businesses actively rely upon and expect online banking options, not all businesses and banks have the technology infrastructure to support these new processes. LaunchSquad client ACH Federal has launched a suite of web-based payment processing and merchant services for banks and businesses who have had relatively little or no access to these tools before. Automated Clearing House transactions allow for seamless, electronic processing of credit and debit payments securely through the Federal Reserve. This fully hosted service allows these businesses to offer core functionality to their customers, without having to worry about building and maintaining expensive and complex infrastructure in-house.
Just last week, President Obama announced a plan to provide $30 billion to community banks with the goal opening up capital access to local businesses. This legislation would not only help to jumpstart economies in small towns, but also drive business innovation. With the number of ACH payments growing exponentially every year, these small to medium sized banks will need to adapt to the changing technologies to fit the needs of their customers.
ACH Federal hopes to utilize their experience in processing over two million transactions to provide local banks and businesses with the technology they need to offer more accessible online transaction solutions to customers around the country.
Super Bowl Ads Face Off In BrandBowl 2010
Many tune in to the Super Bowl not just for the game, but to see some of the most creative, and expensive advertising broadcasted all year. A 30-second advertisement during Super Bowl XLIV cost approximately $2.8m, down from $3m last year.
It is obvious to advertisers that this is some of the most valuable air time, as the record high viewership guarantees spots will be placed in front of a lot of eyeballs. But how do these brands really gauge the payoff?
Social media monitoring and engagement platform Radian6 (disclosure: LaunchSquad client) and creative advertising agency Mullen, joined forces and set out to do just that. BrandBowl 2010 utilizes Radian6’s technology to cut through the noise, measuring volume and sentiment around Super Bowl ads by pulling in comments from Twitter. Close to 100,000 tweets were tracked by the site, an astonishing number that sheds light on how eager consumers are to publicly share their thoughts and feelings around advertising.
The project highlighted social media and direct, real-time consumer sentiment as a viable and (now) measurable metric for the advertising industry. By identifying, as they happen, consumer reaction and sentiment, advertisers gain valuable insight into the popularity and impact of their ads, as well as general perception of their brands and products.
So who emerged as the winner? Doritos garnered the top spot, based on sheer volume of tweets, due to their four user-generated advertisements. Google’s “Parisian Love” came in second place, attributed mostly to the hype on the Web following a tweet from CEO Eric Schmidt.
For full analysis, check out Radian6’s BrandBowl 2010: Game Wrap-Up.
Fashion4Home.com lets you Buy Your Next Couch From Your Couch
Exciting news, furniture shoppers! As the retail industry attempts to recover from the recession, a new wave of companies are introducing innovative business models and ways for consumers to shop and save.
The most recent to break out is Fashion4Home, which is challenging the status quo in high-end designer furnishings and putting an interactive twist on the experience. The online-only designer furniture company started out in Germany last fall and launched in the US last week. They offer the latest contemporary and modern furnishings from international designers that range from sleek convertible sofa beds to hip modular coffee tables that can be rearranged in 1,001 ways.
At the core, Fashion4Home.com is about putting the modern designer in touch with the modern shopper:
Shoppers vote and comment on sketches of brand new designs, giving the creators direct feedback – a first in the retail furniture business. Designers then iterate on ideas based on the input and Fashion4Home.com puts the most popular sketches into production. VentureBeat called the idea “social furniture” and Thrillist said the company lets you “furnish your pad democratically.” GigaOm made a comparison to t-shirt company Threadless, pointing out that Fashion4Home brings crowd-sourcing to the much more high-end and design-oriented market of home furniture.
A sustainable and eco-conscious business model was built around the concept of democratizing design:
Shoppers reap 50-70% savings compared to traditional retail thanks to a super compressed supply chain made possible by the Web and a direct-to-consumer sales model, eliminating the costs required for in-store purchasing: no importers, warehouses, wholesalers or storefronts. Because the company only makes products that have been purchased, it saves energy, resources and costs, a very important point according to the green design gurus at Inhabitat.
Best of all, the company is celebrating its US launch with a 10% discount through February. To receive the discount:
- Follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Fashion4Home
- Mention @Fashion4Home in a tweet
Happy Voting!
We Make a Living Caring About Your Company
Last week, at Ultra Light Startups‘ January Entrepreneur’s Forum Managing Director Todd Barrish of LaunchSquad’s New York office, joined Rachel Honig of G.S. Schwartz & Co, Karl Schmieder of MessagingLab and Lloyd Trufelman of Trylon SMR for a panel about “PR, Branding and Buzz.”
Moderated by BizBriefs‘ John Adams, the panelists tackled strategies for startups that included what to look for when hiring an agency to DIY tips. Ultra light startups face the unique challenge of building themselves and their image from the ground up, which can make navigating public relations especially tricky. Graham Lawlor, Ultra Light Startup founder, noted that “PR clearly is something important to know about if you’re an ultra light startup” and just launching whether on your own or through an agency.
Barrish introduced LaunchSquad noting that “we make a living caring about your company,” emphasizing that public relations — whether for a young startup or a mature brand — is ultimately about creating a unique, intriguing story, understanding your business model and distributing your story in a targeted, strategic manner.
Offering advice to the entrepreneurs, Barrish noted the importance of creating a consistent, compelling story that can be carried across markets. “The first thing you can do as a small company is create that message and understand how you’re talking about yourself to your multiple audiences.”
The Ultra Light Startups’ Entrepreneurs Forum is a monthly meetup of about 100 entrepreneurs to participate in discussions of interest to individuals starting lightweight tech ventures. The meetings feature 60-second elevator pitch introductions from the attending entrepreneurs followed by pizza and networking and an interactive panel discussion.
Watch the panel in its entirety here:
Trekking Around With First Round
First Round Capital recently organized their first NYC Startup Trek, in part to commemorate the opening of their New York office this quarter and also explore the city’s incubator and co-working spaces. Partners from the early stage venture capital firm, which has already made investments in over a dozen NY-based companies, set out to meet with entrepreneurs and startups in their natural habitats to hear their ideas and discuss questions about technology, community, and investment. A couple of us out of LaunchSquad NY joined the trek and orchestrated some publicity around the event.
The day started at the NYU Poly Incubator at 160 Varick and followed with visits to Sunshine Suites, TechSpaces, New Work City and The Incubator at Rose Tech Ventures – a total of 8 different spaces throughout the day. What resonated most about the trek was the attitude towards First Round – many of the over 100 companies we visited were surprised and delighted at FRC’s grassroots approach to make themselves more available and approachable, seeking out the City’s most promising startups where they already are.
The trek ended at last week’s monthly New York Tech Meetup, where Charlie O’Donnell, FRC’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence, got up on stage for a few minutes to talk about the trek and play this video that we put together:
Read more of the great coverage in the Wall Street Journal’s Venture Capital Dispatch blog, CenterNetworks, and Charlie’s personal blog.
For background info on First Round Capital from Managing Partner Josh Kopelman, check out this video from Allen Stern:
Mochi Media acquired by Shanda Games
As the Internet evolves as a platform for both casual and console-quality games, tools like those that LaunchSquad client Mochi Media provides to help analyze and monetize these games are becoming tremendously valuable. That’s why Shanda Games, China’s largest operator of multi-player online role-playing games, announced today that they will acquire Mochi.
Mochi Media has been at the forefront of providing game developers tools to track distribution and usage analytics, enable version control and live updates to distributed games, and provide monetization via micro-transactions and real-time insertion of pre-game and in-game ads. As a result, the company’s network of games grew by leaps and bounds and now reaches more than 100 million people each month.
We’re thrilled for founders Jameson Hsu and Bob Ippolito, marketing gurus Josh Larson and Ada Chen, and the unbelievable Mochi team. The company will continue to operate as a separate brand developing the same products and services for developers, publishers and advertisers as before. But they’ll have a much deeper well of experience and technology to draw on as they continue to evolve our offerings as well as create new ones.
Keep a close eye on Mochi and this space, the opportunity is massive and we’ve only scratched the surface on how it will be addressed.
Todd Barrish Joins the Squad
LaunchSquad announced some pretty exciting news today: we’ve added Todd Barrish as the managing director of our growing NY office. Here’s our official announcement with more background on Todd and his accomplishments – and here’s some commentary from PR industry blog PR Newser.
Todd brings a ton of talent, passion and NY-market experience to our East Coast team. Over the past 3+ years, we’ve become increasingly inspired by what’s happening in NY as we’ve seen a growing and increasingly savvy ecosystem of entrepreneurs, investors and technology emerge. Working with innovative companies like Next New Networks, EPIX, UsableNet, Efficiency 2.0 and others has also opened our eyes to all the possibilities.
I had the opportunity to spend this past summer in NY, and saw first-hand the excitement and energy of the growing technology scene. Todd gives us scale and leadership to help make LaunchSquad the premier tech PR team in NY.
We’re not done though. We’ll soon be making other news about our plans and vision for LaunchSquad on the East Coast. Stay tuned.