This morning I was about to buy something but changed my mind because the checkout process was too annoying. While I probably shouldn’t be so lazy, that should never happen. E-commerce software is a solved problem. Why would a retailer invest in building their own proprietary site when they can license it from a provider like Demandware? They’re a Burlington, MA based company that offers an “enterprise-class cloud commerce platform” that powers “more than 150 retail brands across more than 575 sites around the globe.” If you regularly buy stuff online, you’ve almost certainly come into contact with Demandware’s platform. You probably had no idea, and that’s just how Demandware wants it.
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Sometimes you have to feel bad for ridiculously rich people. They’re investing millions of dollars with hedge funds, and they don’t have access to the kind of tools that I have access to in my Scottrade account. Ok, you don’t have to feel bad for them, but you have to agree that it’s weird that individuals who have the most invested have the least transparency into what they’ve invested in and how its doing on a day to day basis. AlphaMetrix is a Chicago, IL based company that aims to solve this problem by “connecting highly qualified investors with fund managers.” They do this through a software platform that enables investors to look at detailed information on a hedge fund’s holdings. This allows investors to make more informed decisions, and it allows hedge fund managers to better communicate what they’re doing with the money that they manage to investors.
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Up to this point I’ve been able to build my business with only my own investment and a little from my family. I don’t know if I’ll ever take outside capital, but I do know that most businesses require some form of investment to get off the ground. In the United States getting capital is pretty easy—there are both equity and debt options to fund your business. In developing nations, capital isn’t nearly as free flowing—mostly because the investments are far too risky. The microfinance movement has helped, but many upstarts are too big for the kind of capital that they offer. Root Capital is a Boston, MA based non-profit that has created “a new class of capital sitting between microcredit and commercial lending, enabling rural communities to unlock wealth and build sustainable livelihoods.” They seem to be modeled after for-profit investment firms, but there investments are obviously done with a very different focus.
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“Go Local” is a pretty common buzz phrase these days. You’re supposed to eat local, shop local, and even study local. To some people this is a new idea, but businesses like Travers Collins & Company have been focusing on working locally for a long time (in their case since 1995). They saw a void in the Buffalo, NY area when it came to advertising, public relations, interactive and investor relations, so they filled it. Judging from the number of times “Buffalo” shows up on their client list, that seems to have been a smart move. They’re now “one of Buffalo-Niagara’s largest locally owned and operated integrated marketing communications firms,” as they have more than 40 employees.
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