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Recycle Track Systems Wants To Be The Next Uber For Garbage
By Susan Adams
Legacy garbage giants like Waste Management and Republic Services are starting to feel pressure from startups aiming to reinvent the way garbage is carted and dumped. Forbes has written about Rubicon Global, a decade-old Atlanta company that uses technology to connect haulers with municipalities and businesses. Rubicon, which hit a $1 billion valuation at its last capital raise in September 2017, has attracted controversy, including a critical Bloomberg story that cast doubt on the $300 million in annual revenue Rubicon founder Nate Morris has claimed. While Rubicon has made headlines as the Uber for trash, another disruptor, Recycle Track Systems, has been quietly adding customers and expanding its reach beyond its home base in New York City. RTS was founded in 2014 by former Bank of America senior vice president Gregory Lettieri, 35, and his buddy Adam Pasquale, 41, whose great grandfather started in the garbage business with pushcarts on Mulberry Street in Manhattan's Little Italy in the early 1900s. RTS has raised $11.7 million in investment capital and signed up more than 500 customers including WeWork, Whole Foods, Soul Cycle, the Barclays Center and the Pierre Hotel. It's servicing WeWork and Soul Cycle locations in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, in addition to other customers in those cities. RTS's main offering is its software platform and mobile app, which allow customers to schedule on-demand pick-ups of, say, a half-dozen dented desks from a WeWork location in Soho or a pile of broken stationary bikes from a Soul Cycle on the Upper East Side. Along with this Uber-like service, RTS does regularly scheduled pick-ups. It contracts with local haulers, providing them with tablets that run RTS software. Though it has no trucks, RTS owns trash and recycling containers that it supplies to clients. RTS staffers train clients in how to separate trash to comply with city regulations. Last year, RTS had revenue of more than $10 million. In this interview, which has been edited and condensed, RTS CEO Lettieri describes how he and Pasquale got the company off the ground and why he believes it can compete for a share of the $65 billion garbage market.
Tagged: In The News, Recycle Track Systems
Dynamic Pricing Disrupter Broker Genius Raises $15 Million In Series A Funding
The pioneers of dynamic automated pricing technology continue to revolutionize the industry, making a huge investment into machine learning with big data.
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 09, 2017
Broker Genius (http://www.brokergenius.com/), the New York-based pioneers of dynamic pricing technology for the secondary ticket market, secured a $15 million Series A round of funding from Boston-based growth equity firm Volition Capital.
The proceeds will support additional product development, expand coverage, and enhance big data and machine learning capabilities. Advancements in the technology will enable ticket resellers to augment the quantitative market information with qualitative variables. For example, when pricing a baseball game, the company's software augments market related information with qualitative factors, such as opposing team, starting pitchers, weather and standings. This will improve a reseller's ability to predict the optimal value of each ticket and maximize returns.
Broker Genius is the leading pricing automation technology in the live event secondary market. Instead of a historically arduous process of manual pricing, Broker Genius' technology automates a reseller's pricing strategy, leading to increased profitability and rapid growth.
"It has been an exciting period in our history," said Broker Genius CEO and founder Sam Sherman. "The future of Broker Genius relies on constant innovation which is centered increasingly around big data and machine learning. Volition Capital's investment will allow us, among other things, to continue investing in data science so we can more accurately forecast market trends and behaviors."
"We were extremely impressed by the caliber of Broker Genius' technology, team, and vision. In less than three years, the company grew from a few people working in Sam's basement to over 100 employees focused on solving some of the industry's most complex problems," said Volition Capital Managing Partner Sean Cantwell.
"Partnering with Volition Capital allows us to continue enhancing and scaling our world-class pricing services, while introducing new features and products that will deliver incremental value to our customers," said Broker Genius CFO John Lucier.
To accommodate their customers' around the clock needs, Broker Genius recently opened two new offices. The Reno, Nevada location will expand support and pricing coverage, while the Barcelona, Spain office will continue to optimize the product, making it more stable, versatile, and faster than ever before.
To date, Broker Genius technology has priced over $2 billion of ticket inventory on their innovative platform, helping the world's largest sports and entertainment ticket resellers maximize profits and accelerate growth.
Synopsys to Enhance Software Integrity Platform with Acquisition of Black Duck Software
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and BURLINGTON, Mass., Nov. 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) and Black Duck Software, Inc. have signed a definitive agreement for Synopsys to acquire privately held Black Duck, a leader in automated solutions for securing and managing open source software. The addition of Black Duck's highly respected Software Composition Analysis solution will enhance Synopsys' efforts in the software security market by broadening its product offering and expanding its customer reach.
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Synopsys will pay approximately $565 million, or $548 million net of cash acquired. In addition, Synopsys will assume certain unvested equity of Black Duck employees. The transaction will be funded by Synopsys with U.S. cash, and is subject to Hart Scott Rodino regulatory review and other customary closing conditions. The acquisition is expected to close in December 2017.
"Our vision is to deliver a comprehensive platform that unifies best-in-class software security and quality solutions," said Andreas Kuehlmann, senior vice president and general manager of the Synopsys Software Integrity Group. "Development processes continue to evolve and accelerate, and the addition of Black Duck will strengthen our ability to push security and quality testing throughout the software development lifecycle, reducing risk for our customers. We look forward to working with Black Duck's experienced team as we drive our combined solution to the next level of value for our customers."
Software development is undergoing sweeping and rapid change, including the increasing use of open source software (OSS), which makes up 60% or more of the code in today's applications. While the use of open source code lowers development costs and speeds time to market, it has been accompanied by significant security and license-compliance challenges, because most organizations lack visibility into the OSS in use. Black Duck's industry-leading products automate the process of identifying and inventorying the open source code, detecting known security vulnerabilities and license compliance issues. It also provides automated alerts for any newly discovered vulnerabilities affecting the open source code.
Customers are seeking to address security and quality as early as possible in the software development cycle to enable Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) and the move to the cloud. Given open source's prominence in application development, early identification of security and compliance issues increases the ability to deliver secure, high-quality software more quickly.
"Today, software security is top of mind for every organization and their Boards of Directors. As reliance on open source grew rapidly over the last decade because of its economic value, most organizations have struggled in their efforts to secure and manage it effectively. Many high-profile, costly breaches resulted. Our rapid growth and success over the last four years is evidence that organizations are taking open source security very seriously," said Lou Shipley, chief executive officer of Black Duck. "We're excited to join an organization that shares our commitment to addressing security and quality issues at the earliest phases of the software development process. Doing so will enable us to provide leading solutions that enable customers to develop and deliver more secure and higher-quality software faster than ever before."
While Synopsys has not yet provided financial guidance for fiscal 2018, the preliminary review indicates that, due to the impact of purchase accounting and the associated deferred revenue haircut of approximately $25-30 million, Synopsys expects Black Duck to contribute approximately $55-60 million to fiscal 2018 revenue. Synopsys currently expects the acquisition to be approximately 12 cents dilutive to 2018 non-GAAP earnings per share, reach break-even in the second half of 2019, and be accretive thereafter (all on a non-GAAP basis). Investors should no longer rely on previous preliminary commentary regarding 2018 consensus estimates.
Barclays acted as exclusive financial advisor to Black Duck on this transaction.
About the Synopsys Software Integrity Platform
Synopsys offers the most comprehensive solution for building integrity —security and quality— into the software development lifecycle and supply chain. The Software Integrity Platform unites leading testing technologies, automated analysis, and experts to create a robust portfolio of products and services. This portfolio enables companies to develop personalized programs for detecting and remediating defects and vulnerabilities early in the development process, minimizing risk and maximizing productivity. Synopsys, a recognized leader in application security testing (AST), is uniquely positioned to adapt and apply best practices to new technologies and trends such as IoT, DevOps, CI/CD, and the Cloud. For more information, go to www.synopsys.com/software.
About Synopsys
Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) is the Silicon to Software™ partner for innovative companies developing the electronic products and software applications we rely on every day. As the world's 15th largest software company, Synopsys has a long history of being a global leader in electronic design automation (EDA) and semiconductor IP and is also growing its leadership in software security and quality solutions. Whether you're a system-on-chip (SoC) designer creating advanced semiconductors, or a software developer writing applications that require the highest security and quality, Synopsys has the solutions needed to deliver innovative, high-quality, secure products. Learn more at www.synopsys.com.
Organizations worldwide use Black Duck's industry-leading products to automate the processes of securing and managing open source software, eliminating the pain related to security vulnerabilities, open source license compliance and operational risk. Black Duck is headquartered in Burlington, MA, and has offices in San Jose, CA, London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing. For more information, visit www.blackducksoftware.com.
Connatix Raises $15 Million to Fund Innovation as More Publishers Expand Into Video
Volition Capital Leads Investment to Close Gap Between Consumer Demands and Publisher Capabilities
New York, October 24, 2017 – Connatix (www.connatix.com) today announced that it has secured $15 million in growth equity funding to accelerate its position as the fastest-growing video technology provider and syndication platform for premium content publishers.
Volition Capital led the round of funding and Larry Cheng, Managing Partner at Volition Capital will join Connatix founders David Kashak and Oren Stern on the board of directors. "Connatix makes it simple for publishers to overcome the challenges of monetization, quality, and limited reach of valuable video content ," said David Kashak, CEO of Connatix.
"This capital gives us additional resources for rapid expansion and strategic innovation, as we deliver on our vision of ensuring publishers stay ahead of emerging trends and media formats."
Founded in 2014, Connatix has consistently earned industry acclaim, including a #2 ranking in comScore's Video Metrix measurement of audience reach. The company pioneered native video by simplifying how publishers develop unique video content and new monetization channels where they can tap into growing advertising dollars . Connatix gives publishers the tools to rapidly create unique video content from their own or Connatix' library and further enables outlets such as Mashable, Time Inc., Billboard and Entrepreneur to syndicate their video content across their own properties or those outside their business. Today the company serves more than 3 billion video views-per-month as a platform that automates the creative process with efficient ad serving and the best available levels of brand safety.
"As demonstrated by their remarkable triple-digit growth and the widespread adoption among premium content publishers, Connatix is the clear market leader in the development and delivery of innovative video solutions," said Cheng. "We look forward to working alongside Connatix and bringing all of our resources to bear to support their continued growth."
Connatix has remained consistently profitable while bootstrapping its organic growth. Connatix opted to work with Volition and raise outside capital to accelerate innovation in product development and invest in additional sales and marketing resources.
"As the digital publishing industry continues to rapidly evolve, Connatix has always been the first to identify market trends and provide solutions to help publishers stay ahead of the game," said Kashak. "Our ability to move fast and introduce new capabilities is a testament to the strength of our team and allows us to uphold our commitment to being a true partner with our publishers."
About Connatix
Connatix (www.connatix.com), is the most advanced native video syndication and monetization platform for publishers. It provides publishers the ability to easily integrate videos inheriting the styles and look and feel from the page, keeping bandwidth utilization to a minimum and providing a fast user experience across all devices. Connatix has created a strong foothold in the native advertising world since its founding in 2014, working with more than 4,000 publishers and partners and was ranked #2 in comScore video metrix.
JazzHR Ranks No. 1 on Capterra's List of Top 20 Most User-Friendly Applicant Tracking Software
The HR software provider was also selected by the Gartner company as one of the most affordable ATS options available
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- JazzHR, the leading recruiting solutions provider for small and medium-sized businesses, was named the No. 1 most user-friendly Applicant Tracking Software, in addition to being the seventh Most Popular ATS and one of the 20 most affordable solutions by Capterra. Capterra, a Gartner company, measured ATS vendors for user-friendliness using a proprietary Customer Experience algorithm, which produces a weighted and ranked score based on usability, customer service, and customer reviews.
JazzHR received the top spot on the list of most user-friendly solutions thanks to its highly-intuitive interface and its ability to efficiently and effectively automate repetitive recruiting tasks. In tests measuring recruiting tasks on both completion times and the number of clicks it takes to complete, JazzHR ranked higher than any other provider.
Purpose-built for small businesses, JazzHR's intuitive recruiting platform streamlines all facets of the hiring process, taking the place of inefficient processes, like email and spreadsheets, to create a quality experience for candidates and employers.
In addition to ease-of-use, JazzHR was recognized for offering simple, powerful tools at a flexible price point: Customers can select the right tier of services that gives them everything they need—and leaves out everything they don't—to tackle their recruiting and hiring challenges. With the introduction of JazzHR Hero, the company now offers an affordable alternative for very small, lean businesses (typically 1 to 10 employees), disruptively priced at just $39 per month.
"In today's competitive talent market, successfully attracting and hiring top talent is mission-critical for SMBs, but there are few options available right now that can help improve recruiting functions and are low cost," said Pete Lamson, ceo at JazzHR. "The ranking from Capterra further validates our commitment to providing enterprise-level recruiting features at a price uniquely designed for small business budgets."
For more information about JazzHR solutions, visit www.JazzHR.com, email hello@jazzhr.com, or call +1 (888) 885-5299.
ABOUT JAZZHR
JazzHR is powerful, user-friendly, and affordable recruiting software that is purpose-built to help growing companies exceed their recruiting goals. JazzHR's best-in-class software replaces time-consuming and manual hiring tasks with intuitive software designed to help recruiters and hiring managers find, recruit, and hire the right talent, fast. To learn more about JazzHR, visit www.jazzhr.com or follow us at twitter.com/JazzDotCo.
Capterra is the world's most comprehensive, free web service to help you find and compare software for your business. More than 3 million businesses use Capterra each month to search for their best-fit solutions. As part of the Gartner Digital Markets network, Capterra combines over 200,000 user reviews of more than 30,000 software companies to help you find the right software quickly, allowing your business to operate more efficiently.
Nielsen Agrees to Acquire Visual IQ
Global Leader in Measurement and Data Analytics to Integrate Premier Independent Provider of Multi-Touch Attribution Software into Existing Nielsen Marketing Effectiveness Suite
NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2017 /CNW/ -- Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Visual IQ, a leading independent provider of multi-touch attribution (MTA) modeling of advertising on digital platforms that helps improve ROI for brand marketers. With this transaction, Nielsen will acquire Visual IQ's industry-leading MTA software platform, along with the underpinning data, technology and intellectual property. The acquisition of Visual IQ will improve Nielsen's ability to automatically ingest and process large datasets, as well as provide Nielsen with access to more proprietary big data from advertisers, publishers and retailers. The deal is expected to close in October 2017. Terms were not disclosed.
Visual IQ enables brands to measure consumers across channels and devices to deliver better, coordinated experiences by connecting advertising exposure with brand engagement, online conversion and in-store sales or other metrics. The integration of Visual IQ with Nielsen's current marketing effectiveness capabilities and products will enable marketers to make better decisions about how they allocate cross-channel advertising and marketing spend for maximum effect on varying consumer segments.
"Our acquisition of Visual IQ strengthens Nielsen's powerful capabilities in the marketing effectiveness space, bringing speed and granularity at scale to ROI measurement," said Matt Krepsik, Global Head of Product Leadership for Marketing ROI, Nielsen. "Visual IQ's rich history of marketing attribution and digital intelligence combined with Nielsen's gold-standard marketing effectiveness solutions will provide advertisers, publishers and agencies with a holistic platform that offers the transparency to optimize and improve the return on marketing investments."
Nielsen's marketing effectiveness data and metrics are the industry leader in audience segmentation, including reach, resonance and reaction measurement, helping marketers optimize their multichannel marketing, sales and operations strategies. The acquisition extends Nielsen's marketing effectiveness footprint into new business verticals and global markets.
MTA and marketing mix modeling (MMM), which measure ROI at the individual person-level and the store level, respectively, are rapidly gaining traction. With an increasing amount of marketing budgets going to digital channels, brand advertisers continue to push for more accountability and for faster measures of impact on the dollars invested. According to a recent study conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), "The Outlook for Data 2017," cross-channel measurement and attribution are still top priorities for brand marketers.
"Our mission at Visual IQ has always been to drive marketing effectiveness with algorithmic attribution technology that allows customers to view tactical advertising performance through the lens of key audience segments," said Manu Mathew, Co-founder and CEO at Visual IQ. "Our team is excited to be joining the Nielsen family as we integrate our capabilities with theirs, and provide increased value to clients and a more powerful combined solution to the industry as a whole."
With this acquisition, Nielsen clients will gain access to Visual IQ's marketing attribution expertise and a comprehensive software platform for analyzing customer profiles, in combination with tactical marketing performance across all channels and devices. Visual IQ's Marketing Intelligence Platform delivers the real-time insights that brands and agencies need to optimize marketing performance through the combined power of audience and attribution.
Securonix Raises $29M to Expand Leadership in Next-Gen Security Analytics Market
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Sept. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Securonix, the market leader in big data security analytics, announced today that it raised $29M in Series A funding to fuel its accelerating growth and leadership in the user behavior analytics, next-gen security information and event management (SIEM), and log management market spaces. The company will use the funding to extend its investment in technology innovation, and expansion in domestic and global markets.
The funding round was led by Volition Capital. Roger Hurwitz of Volition Capital will be joining the Securonix Board of Directors. Eight Roads Ventures also participated in the round.
"Securonix has the foundation, vision, and management team to lead the security analytics market," said Roger Hurwitz, Managing Partner of Volition Capital. "Securonix's SNYPR Security Analytics platform is enabling organizations to quickly detect, triage, and mitigate the risks of advanced threats."
Protecting critical company assets against advanced internal and external attacks is the number one issue in cybersecurity. As the methods of attacks become more sophisticated, organizations are seeking a modern approach that provides a forceful deterrent with effective detection and timely response capabilities. Securonix is transforming the security log management space using a Hadoop open data platform and machine learning capabilities to transform massive volumes of data into actionable intelligence.
The company's dramatic growth is driven by the significant increase in its customer base domestically and across EMEA, APJ and Latin America. Securonix customers span across industry verticals and include more than a third of the Fortune 500 companies. Over the past year, Securonix has grown from 180 employees to over 300 located across the globe.
"We are excited about the opportunity to invest in Securonix as the company continues its global growth," said Raj Dugar, Managing Partner, Eight Roads Asia. "Organizations are looking for a solution that detects and responds to threats in real-time, and Securonix's modern approach and patented machine learning technology positions it to be the market leader in this space."
"I am very excited to have high-caliber investors like Volition Capital and Eight Roads that understand our business and share our passion for innovation, customer satisfaction, and global market leadership," said Sachin Nayyar, CEO and Founder of Securonix. "We have a tremendous opportunity to establish Securonix as a platform of choice for security analytics, and this investment and the experience the partners bring will help us reach that next level of growth."
About Securonix
Securonix, the leader in Security Analytics, uses the power of Hadoop and machine learning technology to radically transform enterprise security with actionable intelligence. Our purpose-built UEBA and Next-Gen SIEM platforms consume, enrich and analyze massive volumes of data in real-time to detect and prioritize the highest risk threats to organizations. Using out of the box content, Securonix detects insider threat, cyber threat, cloud and fraud attacks automatically and accurately. Visit us at https://www.securonix.com.
Tagged: Press Release, Securonix
Pramata Names Tech Industry Visionary Patrick D. Quirk Executive Chairman
BRISBANE, Calif., Sept. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pramata, the first-ever commercial relationship operations company, today announced that Patrick D. Quirk has been named Executive Chairman to play a key role in Pramata's sales and strategic alliances strategy going forward. Quirk will directly report to Pramata Founder and CEO Praful Saklani.
"We enthusiastically welcome Pat into his larger role as our new Executive Chairman," said Saklani. "His proven track record of delivering solid ROI to enterprise customers combined with more than 25 years of experience managing companies in ERP, Supply Chain, and other high-tech industries will be instrumental in driving this high growth period at Pramata."
"Since my first introduction, I knew the combination of Pramata's unique solution and phenomenal company culture would prove to be game-changing for the enterprise market," said Quirk. "It's rare to find a company like Pramata that consistently exceeds customers' expectations, delivers an attention-grabbing ROI, and has quickly established itself as a must-have solution for Global 1,000 companies. In my new role, I look forward to working with the world-class team Praful has cultivated."
Utilizing its platform with human-assisted AI, Pramata operationalizes the details of commercial relationships so that sales, legal operations and finance teams can get a 360-view of customers, suppliers and partners alike.
About Patrick D. Quirk
Patrick D. Quirk is a renowned software leader with more than 25 years of experience in enterprise software, research and development, marketing and sales, and global operations. As the CEO of Emptoris, Quirk helped the company grow more than 200% in 2.5 years. He was responsible for an organization of 850+ global professionals with customers in over 40 countries, and oversaw the acquisition by IBM. Previously, he served as the Senior Vice President for worldwide sales at GoldenGate Software, leading the company to record growth which resulted in its acquisition by Oracle in 2009. Patrick has served as General Manager & Group Vice President of PeopleSoft's Enterprise Supply Chain Management division. While at PeopleSoft, he led the $1.7 billion acquisition of JD Edwards – the largest software acquisition in ERP history at that time. He also served on the board of Plex Systems for 5 years and helped negotiate its sale to Francisco Partners.
Pramata operationalizes the details of commercial relationships so large organizations can maximize revenue, reduce risk and drive business efficiencies. Pramata has created millions of dollars in value for some of the largest companies in the world, including Allergan, CenturyLink, Comcast Business, FICO, HPE, NCR, Novelis and Vertafore. Pramata is headquartered in Brisbane, Calif., with offices in Kansas City, MO, and Bangalore, India. For more information please visit: www.pramata.com.
Independent Research Firm Cites Insite Software as a B2B Commerce Suites Leader for Midsize Organizations
MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Insite Software, a leading B2B commerce platform, was among the select companies that Forrester invited to participate in its Forrester Wave™ evaluation, entitled The Forrester Wave™ B2B Commerce Suites for Midsize Organizations, Q3 2017. Forrester identified the 11 most significant companies in the category and evaluated them against 35 criteria. The report assessed how well B2B commerce suite vendors are meeting the needs of midsize organizations across a range of business and technology criteria. Insite Software was noted for unifying self-service and sales-enablement with a single-tenant SaaS offering, and was recognized for a strong vision for a unified value proposition that includes eCommerce as well as salesperson-centric and persona-driven selling.
According to the report, "the B2B commerce suites market is growing because more digital business professionals see B2B commerce as a way to engage in true full spectrum customer engagement — which includes research, sales, and servicing."
"We believe Insite has been recognized as a commerce leader based on our ability to listen to our customers and stay in front of their projected needs and wants," said Steve Shaffer, CEO of Insite Software. "With so much native, out-of-the box capability, InsiteCommerce is a solution that accelerates the competitive position of midsize manufacturers and distributors very, very quickly. In today's rapidly transforming market, that's the most important critical success factor."
Each vendor included in the report possesses the following criteria:
Illustrates a strong focus on B2B commerce.
Possesses critical components of a standalone B2B commerce suite.
Produces at least $10 million in total B2B-specific commerce revenue.
Has notable mindshare among Forrester clients and is frequently mentioned in the context of inquiries, briefings, and consulting engagements.1
According to Forrester, "Minneapolis-based Insite Software has a strong vision for a unified value proposition that includes eCommerce as well as salesperson-centric and persona-driven selling…. Insite Software is even crossing over into B2C by offering basic B2C-specific features to B2B companies that now want to sell directly to consumers. Customers consistently describe Insite Software as 'very responsive to client needs' and willing to incorporate direct customer feedback into the product development process."
The methodology for The Forrester Wave™: B2B Commerce Suites for Midsize Organizations, Q3 2017 includes primary research, user need assessments, vendor and expert interviews, and 35 evaluation criteria.
To learn more about how Insite Software is positioned for the midsize market visit our blog here.
About Insite Software – Built for B2B™, Insite Software is a leading commerce platform for manufacturers and distributors that unifies e-commerce, sales channels, content and data to power superior commerce experiences across the enterprise. Insite's revolutionary technology integrates with leading ERP, PIM and other popular solutions common in the B2B industry. For more information, visit Insite Software at insitesoft.com.
Ellie Mae to Acquire Velocify
Velocify's Lead Management Functionality Accelerates Ellie Mae's Digital Mortgage Vision
PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ellie Mae® (NYSE:ELLI), the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Velocify®, the leading sales acceleration platform. With the acquisition of Velocify, Ellie Mae is accelerating our vision of offering a fully digital mortgage by combining Velocify's lead management, engagement and distribution capabilities with Ellie Mae's Encompass CRM's unique approach to automated one-to-one personalized marketing and the Encompass Consumer Connect digital consumer experience. Together, the robust solution will meet the needs of today's lenders by delivering a complete digital lead capture and conversion solution for creating interest, turning that interest into an application and then funding that loan quickly and at a low cost.
Velocify's lead management solutions help sales teams keep pace with the speed of opportunity by driving rapid lead response, improving productivity and offering actionable selling insights. The company helps sales teams sell more by streamlining and optimizing the sales process from start to finish by enabling teams to accelerate lead engagement, and implement effective workflows, ultimately helping lenders find and convert more leads, faster. Many of Ellie Mae's Encompass® all-in-one mortgage management solution customers use the Velocify solution today.
"As part of our comprehensive strategy to deliver the first true digital mortgage to the industry, we are helping lenders to originate more loans, reduce costs, and complete the entire mortgage process faster," said Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae. "The combination of Velocify's solution with our Encompass CRM and Encompass Consumer Connect solutions will accelerate our delivery of the most robust digital mortgage solution in the market. The acquisition will enable us to provide the first combined solution that helps lenders turn consumer interest into applications by offering a personalized, high-tech and human-touch experience. Going forward we will empower lenders' sales teams to keep pace with the speed of opportunity, drive down costs of origination through greater lead capture and conversion, and improve productivity through actionable selling insights."
"A digital transformation is occurring across the financial services industry, especially in the mortgage vertical in which Velocify has a leading position," said Nick Hedges, president and CEO of Velocify. "Successful sales teams offer an end to end digital experience combined with as much human touch as the consumer desires throughout their buying process. The team at Velocify has built the leading software solution for consumer sales engagement during the early stages of the sales process. By joining forces with Ellie Mae we are very excited to extend that capability throughout the consumer buying cycle."
Under the terms of the agreement, Ellie Mae will acquire Velocify for $128 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017 and will have no impact on third quarter financials. Ellie Mae will provide additional financial details when the company reports its third quarter results.
About Ellie Mae
Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI) is the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry. Ellie Mae's technology solutions enable lenders to originate more loans, reduce origination costs, and shorten the time to close, all while ensuring the highest levels of compliance, quality and efficiency. Visit EllieMae.com or call (877) 355-4362 to learn more.
Velocify® provides a sales acceleration software platform that helps high-velocity sales teams turn more prospects into customers. More than 1,500 companies streamline, automate, and optimize their sales processes using Velocify. Velocify's software delivers a prescriptive approach to selling and surfaces actionable performance insights to ensure salespeople stay focused on activities that lead to more sales.
New York City-based Recycle Track Systems, a waste and recycling management tech company, has raised $11.7 million in funding. Volition Capital led the round.
New York – July 7, 2017 – Recycle Track Systems (RTS), a waste and recycling management technology company that provides real-time accountability and transparency for daily waste removal, including on-demand, recycling, and composting options, has closed an $11.7 million financing led by Boston-based growth equity firm Volition Capital.
RTS, co-founded by Gregory Lettieri and Adam Pasquale in 2015, is currently working with some of the most prominent businesses in the country, focusing on sustainability through efficient routing, training and on-demand orders; streamlining the waste removal services for clients such as, Whole Foods, WeWork, Juice Press, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The RTS platform operates similarly to popular on-demand car and food services applications; providing waste removal service to its customers by leveraging its local independent hauler network. RTS tracks their customers recycling material to appropriate facilities including waste to energy facilities and local area farmers and who process large amounts of organic food waste for composting; providing validation the material was recycled or reused.
"The amount of waste Americans created is staggering, and our customers want a company that can confirm that all their work on site leads to the material being recycled. We saw an opportunity to help support and enhance a very large and underappreciated business while helping cities like New York reach their Zero Waste goals," said RTS Co-Founder and CEO Greg Lettieri.
"Coming out of our recent exit Chewy.com, we have been looking for the next opportunity to build a disruptive multi-billion-dollar company in a large underserved market – and we believe RTS is that company in the commercial waste management market," said Larry Cheng, Managing Partner at Volition Capital. "RTS aims to become the market leader in waste management by bringing the highest levels of service, technology and transparency to its customers, and we are thrilled to partner with them on this journey."
"Volition Capital's investment gives RTS the ability to continue to expand and implement waste management technology solutions throughout the northeast," said Adam Pasquale, RTS Co-Founder and COO. "RTS is the waste management solution focusing on our hauler's optimized route logistics, customer experience and building towards the future smart cities."
About RTS: Recycle Track Systems (RTS), a waste management technology company headquartered in New York, provides proprietary tracking system to empower businesses with accurate data and real-time accountability of waste and recycling removal. RTS increases efficiency, and provides insights into waste and recycling streams and service pickups using a combination of proprietary software, algorithms and experts from the waste management industry. The company was founded in 2015 and focuses on environmentally friendly avenues for waste removal and processing. In March 2017, RTS was certified as a B-Corp for its dedication and commitment to environmental and social responsibility, sustainability, and profitability for all stakeholders.
Volition Capital is a technology growth equity fund based in Boston, MA. Volition specializes in investing in high-growth, principally bootstrapped technology companies across several sectors including software/SaaS, enterprise and consumer Internet application, technology-enabled services, and mobile companies. The firm has managed over 20 portfolio companies with over $500 million in assets under management.
Canada's Assent Compliance raises $31.4M Series B round to help businesses stay in compliance
Assent Compliance, an Ottawa-based startup, isn't in a sexy space. The company focuses on helping enterprises collect the necessary data to keep their global supply chains in compliance with local and international regulations. But while that may not sound like the most exciting space to be in, the company today announced that it has raised a $40 million CAD Series B round (that's about $31.4 million U.S.) led by Greenspring Associates.
Other participants include existing investors Volition Capital, Open Text Enterprise Application Fund, Business Development Bank of Canada, National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program, Royal Bank of Canada and a number of private investors. With this round, the company has now raised $60 million CAD, making it one of the better-funded Canadian startups at the Series B stage.
It's worth noting that the company has been around since 2005, but as its current CEO Andrew Waitman told me, the focus on compliance only really came in 2010. For the next five years, the team iterated on this idea. When Waitman came to the company in 2014 (after having met the company's VP of marketing Matt Whitteker in the boxing ring), the company had about 20 employees. Today it has 225 employees and, according to its own numbers, works with 40 percent of the S&P 500 product companies, which gather data from more than 300,000 companies around the globe.
For most international companies, compliance is a major pain point, especially with regard to how they keep the various players in their supplier ecosystem in compliance. For some companies this is about avoiding conflict minerals or staying in compliance with Europe's REACH regulations for chemicals or California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. Currently, even major Fortune 500 companies still tend to use Excel spreadsheets to audit and track their vendors, which isn't exactly the most efficient way of doing this.
The company focuses on helping businesses request information from their suppliers and validate it. It also helps businesses report their findings to the respective authorities. While the company does some basic work on validating this information automatically, the plan is to use machine learning to better understand this data, which is often in standardized formats, but also often comes in as unstructured data.
It's worth noting that Assent also offers its customers training and a number of educational materials to help companies understand the regulatory environment they work in.
As Waitman told me, the company's $20 million CAD Series A round was mostly about expanding its product. With this Series B round, the team plans to focus on expanding its sales and marketing efforts. "It's about air cover — making companies aware we exist," he said. Because there aren't really all that many companies that play in Assent's space, Waitman doesn't expect that the company will use the funding for acquisitions, though he left the door open for potential data acquisitions that will help it in its efforts to improve its data validation services.
Tagged: Assent, In The News
Velocify LeadManager Honored for Helping Clients Improve the Customer Experience
Los Angeles, CA – July 10, 2017 — Velocify®, the leading sales acceleration platform, announced today that TMC, a global, integrated media company, has named Velocify LeadManager™ as a recipient of a 2017 CRM Excellence Award, presented by CUSTOMER magazine.
"It's an honor to be recognized as a 2017 CRM Excellence Award recipient," said Matt Reid, VP of Marketing at Velocify. "This distinction further validates the importance of sales acceleration to not only improve sales velocity and efficiency, but to also improve the customer experience delivered."
Velocify LeadManager is designed to help high-velocity sales teams rapidly respond to new prospects, prioritize daily activities, drive more consistent selling practices, and generate predictable revenue.
With Velocify LeadManager, sales managers are able to build ongoing intelligent distribution and redistribution programs for leads or opportunities. Sales managers can also set up sales flows to ensure sales leads and opportunities stay on a disciplined and consistent track. Sales reps can swiftly call through their activity list, using a single, consolidated, prioritized view. Finally, with Velocify's granular lead response and sales process data, sales leaders gain visibility and insights for performance monitoring, coaching, and improvement.
"The 18th Annual CRM Excellence Award honors Velocify for being a true CRM partner to its customers and clients," said Rich Tehrani, TMC's CEO and Group Editor-in-Chief. "Velocify has demonstrated to the editors of CUSTOMER magazine that Velocify LeadManager improved the processes of their clients' businesses by streamlining and facilitating the flow of information," added Tehrani.
The 2017 CRM Excellence Award winners are highlighted in the June 2017 issue of CUSTOMER magazine.
Velocify® designs sales acceleration software to help high-velocity sales teams turn more prospects into customers. More than 1,500 companies streamline, automate and optimize their sales processes using Velocify. Our software delivers a prescriptive approach to selling and surfaces actionable performance insights to ensure salespeople stay focused on activities that lead to more sales.
Velocify was voted one of the best sales software products by customers on G2 Crowd and has been recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte and Inc. For more information about Velocify or its technology, please visit the company's website and blog, or follow the company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Volition Capital Leads an $11.7 Million Series A Financing in Recycle Track Systems (RTS)
RTS tech platform creates accountability and ecofriendly options for waste management
New York - June 29, 2017 – Recycle Track Systems (RTS), a waste and recycling management technology company that provides real-time accountability and transparency for daily waste removal, including on-demand, recycling, and composting options, has closed an $11.7 million financing led by Boston-based growth equity firm Volition Capital.
"Coming out of our recent exit Chewy.com, we have been looking for the next opportunity to build a disruptive multi-billion-dollar company in a large underserved market – and we believe RTS is that company in the commercial waste management market," said Larry Cheng, Managing Partner at Volition Capital. "RTS aims to become the market leader in waste management by bringing the highest levels of service, technology and transparency to its customers, and we are thrilled to partner with them on this journey."
For more information please visit: RTS.com Instagram/FB/Twitter: @RTSBulk
An 'Uber for garbage' picks up steam, and $11.7 million in Series A funding
Sometimes, it seems like every possible on-demand service that could be created has already come along — and, in some cases, gone away. But Recycle Track Systems (RTS), a two-year-old, New York-based waste and recycling management technology company, serves to remind that there remain plenty of opportunities for startups looking to turn our smartphones into lucrative businesses.
Indeed, while companies have sprung up around everything from on-demand family care to shipping, the waste industry — valued at anywhere from $45 billion to $65 billion when accounting for collection services, treatment and disposal — has largely been left untouched by tech founders.
That's changing. Already, one company, nine-year-old Rubicon Global in Atlanta, has raised more than $145 million from investors — including private equity king Henry Kravis — to steal away market share from incumbents like Waste Management and Republic Services. Now, RTS is aiming to do the same by making it simple for customers to schedule on-demand pick-ups through its phone app.
A high-tech garbage service may sound ridiculous to the uninitiated. But it's no joke to customers like WeWork, Whole Foods and SoulCycle that have signed multi-year contracts in exchange for RTS's flexible pricing options, along with notifications about when a truck has arrived and reports about exactly where their waste is being sent.
Investors are taking the company seriously, too. For starters, RTS is an asset-light business. Instead of purchasing its own trucks, RTS is partnering with a growing number of mid-size, independent haulers that it provides with feature-rich tablets to make their work more efficient — even when they aren't being used in service to RTS.
Another apparent part of RTS's appeal is that it's profitable, though that might change, now that the 17-person company has raised $11.7 million in Series A funding from the Boston-based growth equity firm Volition Capital — money it plans to use to hit the gas. (Notably, Volition was the first outside money into Chewy, a pet supplies company that sold to PetSmart earlier this year in the biggest e-commerce sale to date, ever.)
To learn more, we talked yesterday with RTS co-founder and CEO Gregory Lettieri about the company and the opportunity it's chasing. Our chat has been edited for length.
TC: Your business is centered around taking the guesswork out of the garbage-collection process. How did you decide this was something you could turn into a business?
GL: I met my co-founder Adam [Pasquale] about 12 years ago. We lived in the same apartment complex in New Jersey. A couple of years ago, I was working as a SVP at Bank of America, building tech portals for traders. Adam is meanwhile four generations in waste recycling; his father and grandfather before him [operated their own sanitation company]. One day, we were on a couch, watching a soccer game, and we got to talking about this idea and I think within 30 days we'd created the company.
TC: Is the idea to sort of complement the waste management services that are out there, or to replace them? Is this a service that's focused mostly on customers who care about sustainability?
GL: It matters a lot to high sustainability customers, who want to know that their efforts to separate out food waste isn't [a squandered effort]. They can now see that an organic truck picked up their material and took it to a waste energy facility or to a farm, and we can provide real numbers, not estimates.
We could work alongside [traditional waste vendors]. But there's no reason to do that. We can compete head-to-head with them and beat them. In this business, you want to own the entire waste stream. That's when you can affect change. You can train customers: here's how you divert more, here's how you get more out of the landfill . . .
TC: Say I'm using a waste service that's basically fine. Beyond the tracking piece of your technology, why do I stop using my service and start using yours? How does the on-demand piece work?
GL: You want to get rid of something, extra material, anything that doesn't fit in a garbage bag. WeWork has broken chairs sometimes, broken desks. Throughout its portfolio, especially when it's remodeling a space, it has materials to get rid of. We pick them up.
TC: How do you charge? One fee for an unlimited number of on-demand pick-ups per month?
GL: We establish yearly contracts, charging so much per month for an office space after we do an audit on the business and establish that it generates, say, 50 bags of garbage in a set amount of time. Everything above that then is extra.
TC: Whose trucks are you using?
GL: Trucks that we don't own. There are 18,000 mid-tier independent hauling companies in the U.S., and what [we're telling them is that] we have the technology; we can get these clients. We're using tech to fill out these routes that already exist. These trucks are traveling seven days a week anyway, but we're providing them access to business that they didn't have before. We're bringing together these independent operators to create our own virtual fleet.
TC: You're in New York, where Waste Management doesn't operate anymore because it was too expensive.
GL: They pulled out five-plus years ago because it wasn't profitable for them. New York is very competitive. There are 120 licensed [waste management] companies. But it's a great breeding ground for us. We work with 10 operators in New York, and we might add another one to two operators, but that's sufficient enough to have operators to service the entire city.
TC: Where else are you operating?
GL: Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. We're also in other markets, including Boston and San Francisco, but we haven't employed our full approach there.
TC: What does your business look like in those other markets?
GL: San Francisco is a single territory market, for example, so we operate there as a consultant for our East Coast-based clients that have sites in California, like WeWork.
TC: You're basically overseeing a marketplace. Can you share any metrics with us that highlight your growth to date?
GL: We'd rather not get into our numbers publicly. But we do have two [groups to please]. One is the "generator" as we say in this industry — it's the customer that's producing waste, like Whole Foods. Our other customer is the companies that own the garbage trucks.
You need customers, because the more customers you have, the more hauler relationships you have; it's additional revenue for them. And the more haulers you have, the more access you have to cities and markets.
In some markets, we approach haulers first, then we're putting salespeople there. In other markets, we have more salespeople and we need more hauler relationships.
TC: There's also another market you might try tackling eventually. Can you elaborate?
GL: Because we're able to separate out and track what's on these trucks, we can turn that material into additional revenue. There's a $90 billion secondary market for commodities like plastic and cardboard that are taken in big quantities and then sold to [specific] markets in the U.S. and Asia.
For example, right now, some of our customers will have us pick up broken light fixtures or construction materials. Sometimes, they'll ask us to pick up and handle their electronics recycling. We have relationships with local facilities that will break up the circuit boards and tubes and separate them into different containers and send them out to the appropriate buyers. It's not a huge part of our business today but it will be as we grow over time.
People are interested in smart cities and smart trucks, and controlling the flow of material and waste is only becoming more important.
JazzHR and PrismHR Partner to Deliver Best-in-Breed PEO Hiring Solution
Integration simplifies and streamlines hiring for PEOs & ASOs and their customers
PITTSBURGH, June 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- JazzHR, the leading recruiting solutions provider for small and medium-sized businesses, today announced a strategic partnership with PrismHR, the largest technology provider to professional employer organizations (PEOs) and administrative service organizations (ASOs) in the United States. The partnership integrates JazzHR's award-winning recruitment solutions with PrismHR's payroll, benefits and HR tools.
"PEOs and HR service providers are perfectly positioned to bring HR technology solutions to their SMB customers," said Peter Lamson, CEO of JazzHR. "SMBs look to their service providers to provide powerful, user friendly solutions that save time, money and produce better hiring results. JazzHR's partnership with PrismHR fills this need in a way that it easy for PEOs to implement and share in the value we jointly create."
The PrismHR-JazzHR partnership enables PEOs to work directly with clients to exceed their hiring objectives. JazzHR's applicant tracking systemsimplifies and standardizes all aspects of the recruiting process – from candidate sourcing to offer letters and everything in between.
"SMBs are adopting both technology and HR services to improve their efficiency, employee retention and experience. Having a complete solution that automates key HR functions, including hiring, helps both HR service providers and SMBs deliver and use world-class HR," said Gary Noke, president and CEO of PrismHR. "JazzHR and PrismHR are helping HR service providers address those needs with this highly collaborative and scalable solution."
JazzHR and PrismHR's partnership will be showcased June 13- 15, 2017 at PrismHR LIVE 2017, the largest technology conference for PEOs and ASOs, in Nashville, Tenn.
JazzHR is a powerful yet user-friendly recruiting software that is purpose-built to help growing SMBs exceed their recruiting goals. JazzHR's groundbreaking software replaces time-consuming, manual hiring processes with intuitive hiring tools that help recruiters and hiring managers build an effective recruiting process that results in great hires. To learn more about JazzHR, visit www.jazzhr.com or follow us at twitter.com/JazzDotCo.
ABOUT PRISMHR
PrismHR creates exceptional software and services, empowering human resource outsourcing service providers such as Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) and Administrative Service Organizations (ASOs) to deliver world-class HR, benefits and payroll to small and medium sized businesses. PrismHR powers more than 80,000 organizations, delivering payroll, benefits and HR to greater than 2 million worksite employees and processing greater than $55 billion in payroll each year. For more information, visit http://www.prismhr.com.
Velocify Recognized as a 2017 SalesTech Award Winner
Los Angeles – June 6, 2017 — Velocify, the leading sales acceleration platform, has been recognized by Crowd Research Partners and the 100,000 member B2B Technology Marketing Community on LinkedIn as a 2017 SalesTech Award winner. This annual competition recognizes companies and products that demonstrate excellence, innovation, and leadership in the sales technology space.
"We are honored to be recognized amongst some of the top innovators in the explosive sales technology category," said Matt Reid, vice president of marketing at Velocify. "The SalesTech award is particularly meaningful as it is a result of votes from the sales technology community."
Here is some of the notable companies recognized this year:
bpm'online
Cirrus Insight
DiscoverOrg
KiteDesk
LeadGenius
LeadIQ
Revegy
SalesOptimize
Velocify
"All winners and finalists reflect the very best in today's sales technology industry," said Holger Schulze, founder of the 100,000 member B2B Technology Marketing Community on LinkedIn. "This year's SalesTech Awards clearly reflect how rapidly salestech is gaining traction in sales organizations to boost productivity and revenue."
For a complete list of winners in each category, visit: http://salestechawards.com
Velocify® is the leading sales acceleration platform. The company helps more than 1,500 sales teams sell more by bringing speed and control to the entire sales process. Velocify helps sales teams prospect with more precision, accelerate lead engagement, and implement optimized workflows, ultimately helping sales teams find and convert more leads.
Velocify has recently been recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte and Inc. For more information about Velocify or its technology, please visit the company's website and blog, or follow the company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube.
About Crowd Research Partners
Crowd Research Partners creates unique, fact-based thought leadership content that delivers market insight and benchmarks for today's B2B professionals. For more information, visit http://www.crowdresearchpartners.com
Manly Subscription Boxes Dad Will Enjoy Month After Month
These are the gifts that keep on giving—literally
Shopping for Father's Day can be tough. In addition to actually finding him something he'll like, you have to spend time at the store, spend time in line, spend time schlepping all of the stuff back…you get the point.
For the, ahem, lazier sons out there, subscription box services can make your gift-buying experience a breeze. These companies curate the boxes for you, and then send them to any desired location—in this case, your father's front door step. And if you like, you can send dad the gift that keeps giving. Many of these boxes have monthly delivery options, so you can make sure he gets a new microbrew or grill kit every month.
Whether dad wants to stay fit as a fiddle (check out this guide for more fitness gift ideas) or enjoys the feeling of a fresh shave, these ten subscription boxes will have him covered.
BOMBFELL
Does your dad need some help in the style department? If yes, Bombfell is here to help (and so is our style gift guide). The service has three simple steps: One, have your dad take the style quiz (yes, a quiz) to find out his fit and fashion tastes. Two, he has seven days to try on the clothes picked by one of Bombfell's stylists. And three, he only pays for the clothes he likes—the rest are shipped back.
Tagged: In The News, Bombfell
PetSmart Completes Acquisition of Chewy
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PetSmart, Inc. ("PetSmart") today announced it completed the acquisition of Chewy, Inc. ("Chewy"), the nation's leading online retailer for pet products. The combination of PetSmart and Chewy creates one of the leading brick and mortar and online pet retailers, providing the most convenient, high-touch customer experience to serve the needs of pet parents and pets across every channel.
PetSmart will benefit from Chewy's e-commerce expertise as it continues its transformational journey to be the most convenient, best-in-class pet retailer. Chewy will focus on its current business strategy and have access to PetSmart's infrastructure and scale.
"We are excited to team up with Chewy," said Michael Massey, President and Chief Executive Officer of PetSmart. "The addition of Chewy will help accelerate and drive the success of our digital strategy and the combination will provide customers with the most convenient experience and the widest selection of products and services available, both in-store and online. Ryan and his team bring extensive experience in providing customer-focused solutions for pet parents across digital channels, a key strategic focus for PetSmart. We look forward to developing new and innovative offerings and continuing to be the trusted partner to pet parents and pets."
Chewy will operate largely as an independent subsidiary of PetSmart. Ryan Cohen will continue to lead as CEO of Chewy and will serve as a member of PetSmart's board of directors.
"I am looking forward to working with Michael and the PetSmart team," said Ryan Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Chewy. "Our companies have a shared mission centered on a love of pets and serving pet lovers, which will be the foundation for everything we do together. Chewy will continue to wow our customers with personalized customer service and speedy delivery of their pet's favorite food and supplies."
As previously disclosed, PetSmart financed the transaction through the offering of $1,350 million of 5.875% senior first lien notes and $650 million of 8.875% senior notes, together with proceeds of an approximately $1,000 million equity contribution by PetSmart's existing investor group and cash on hand.
JazzHR Wins Bronze Stevie Award in 2017 American Business Awards
The Company's Easy-To-Use Recruiting Platform Honored as Top HCM Tool for Small Businesses
PITTSBURGH, May 30, 2017 -- On the heels of winning top honors from Brandon Hall Group and the Best in Biz Awards, JazzHR, the leading recruiting solutions provider for small and medium-sized businesses, was named the winner of a Bronze Stevie® Award in the 15th Annual American Business Awards (ABA).
JazzHR's performance recruiting solution, which empowers SMBs to automate the most tedious aspects of recruiting and make better hiring decisions, was highlighted as one of the year's best software solutions in the Human Capital Management category.
More than 3,600 nominations were submitted from organizations of all sizes, in virtually every industry and in a range of categories this year.
"JazzHR is honored to be recognized as an innovative recruiting solution for small businesses among many of our industry peers," said Pete Lamson, CEO of JazzHR. "In today's competitive job market, it is increasingly difficult to successfully attract and hire top talent – especially for small businesses that have limited low cost options for improving their recruiting function. That's why JazzHR purpose-built its Applicant Tracking System platform to do just that: Provide SMBs with the intelligence to hire candidates faster, while taking the hassle out of recruiting."
The company recently expanded its SMB recruiting lineup with the launch of JazzHR Hero, an intuitive software platform designed and priced specifically for businesses with under 25 employees. Hero simplifies recruiting for anyone single-handedly coordinating the hiring process, by managing all aspects of recruiting – from sourcing and interviewing, to hiring and onboarding – for just $39 per month.
For more information, please visit www.JazzHR.com, email hello@jazzhr.com, or call +1 (888) 885-5299.
JazzHR is a powerful, user-friendly and affordable recruiting software that is purpose-built to help growing SMBs exceed their recruiting goals. JazzHR's groundbreaking software replaces time-consuming, manual hiring processes with intuitive hiring tools that help recruiters and hiring managers build an effective recruiting process that results in great hires. To learn more about JazzHR, visit www.jazzhr.com or follow us at twitter.com/JazzDotCo.
ABOUT THE STEVIE AWARDS
Stevie Awards are conferred in seven programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 10,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 60 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.


If you have been thinking it would be fun to get involved with a great group of women who enjoy helping others while having fun doing it, the San Elijo Hills Women's Club (SEHWC) Annual Membership Drive is in full swing during the month of April. This is a philanthropic and social group of women of all ages who want to make a difference in our community and world. We live in SEH and surrounding communities. We work inside or outside the home or are retired, and find a few hours to contribute to club events and programs. Meetings are held the second Tuesday of every month at 7pm.
Some of our upcoming social and educational activities include: Wine and Cheese Party Fund Raiser with Silent Auction (in May), Cooking Class, Trip to the Dr. Phil Show, Luau Party Fund Raiser (in Sep), and Holiday Parties.
The Membership Drive will culminate on Tuesday, April 12 at 7pm at the home of Mehry Roohi at 1458 Misty Sea Way, San Elijo Hills. Meet the members and learn more about the club to see if this is the right connection for you!
Contact Martha Kaloogian, President, at sehwc@yahoo.com or 760-736-4044 with any questions.


You can't expect to become healthy and lose the extra weight you have been carrying if you don't eat well and exercise often. Nutritrack for iPhone is a handy app that helps you count calories and track your food. You can track carbs, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals. The app has a database of over 1M foods.
Nutritrack for iPhone allows you to create custom foods and recipes. You get food suggestions based on what your diet may be low in. You can sync your data to HealthKit if you sign up for the pro version.
Nutritrack is customizable to fit your diet. You can even use it to track your exercises.


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Gordon Stobart
Emeritus Professor of Education at University College London
Gordon Stobart is Emeritus Professor of Education, Institute of Education, University College London and an Honorary Research Fellow at Oxford University.
Having worked as a secondary school teacher and an educational psychologist, he spent twenty years as a senior policy researcher, firstly as head of research at an examination board, then at government education agencies. He was a founder member of the Assessment Reform Group which has promoted Assessment for Learning (AfL) internationally. He is a former editor of the international journal Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice and author of Testing times- the uses and abuses of assessment (Routledge).
His recent OECD Working paper Upper-Secondary Education Student Assessment in Scotland: A Comparative Perspective (2021) considers options for better aligning examinations with a changing curriculum and the increasingly diverse student body in Scotland.
Gordon Stobart's contributions

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Q: Can I install Node.js on Android either rooted or not? I'm Trying to install node on android
I have tried:

*

*Complete Linux rooted with Ubuntu and debian 4. Always getting troubles with repositories not followed and/or troubleshots

*Linux deploy with one/two distros

*Gnuroot with fedora remix
Having troubles with GCC not installés ans yum troubleshots probably due to repositories.

I have some questions:

*

*Has anyone tried using Debian without Root and installing node?

*Does anyone know if it might work on Ubuntu touch?

*There is a post on how to compile node but I don't understand why jxcore is mentioned in comments and why there is an Android version of jxcore when it's not an APK?

A: It [is possible] 1 to get node on Android. In fact, in 2020, at the time of this writing, there is an app available through Google Play store. The app called Dory node js. It comes with not only node, but also npm, password encrypted dev server (completely set up, you need only flip a switch in the context menu - and set up the password, especially if port forwarding).
There are a few minor issues, due to Android's security policies (namely file access.) Also I read in the reviews that the version is outdated. But, as it comes with npm,  an issue.
Keep in mind, I have no idea who created this app. I researched it myself for about 30 minutes, and I saw a lot of decent reviews, with nothing that scared me. With that said, as I don't know the source, I am not recommending it, just letting everyone know it's there. As always you need to do the research, especially as you'll have to give the app the read write permission for npm.

A: It doesn't matter rooted or not.
Node.JS doesn't support mobile targets primarily. JXcore is a fork of node.js that works on both desktop and mobile OSes. JXcore's primary target is mobile, you can find JXcore Android release binaries from this link

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Cheat Sheet: BofA Supplied Default Answers for 'Independent' Foreclosure Claims Reviewers
The Independent Foreclosure Review is the government's main effort to compensate homeowners for harm they suffered at the hands of banks — and, as its name indicates, it's supposed to be independent.
But until recently, that was hardly the case with Bank of America. Supposedly independent, third-party reviewers would sit at a computer, analyzing each homeowner's case by going through hundreds of questions, such as whether the bank had properly reviewed a homeowner for a modification or had charged bogus fees. But the reviewers weren't starting from a blank slate. Bank of America employees had already supplied the answers, which the reviewers would have to override if they did not agree.
For the Full Story Click Here
Financial Freedom Acquisition LLC v. Evelyn L. Jac...
ANOTHER WIN FOR THE LAW OFFICES OF ROBERT E BROWN!!
Cheat Sheet: BofA Supplied Default Answers for 'In...


Fulcrum biometrics has released FbF LiveScan, an EBTS 9.3/Appendix F certified electronic fingerprint system, for Defense Industry Applicant ID. The system is compatible with the Secure Web Fingerprint Transmission (SWFT) program and provides a compliant method for Department of Defense contractors to submit electronic fingerprint images taken for security clearance background screenings.
FbF LiveScan meets specifications listed in the Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification 9.3 Appendix F Live Scan Specifications of the FBI's Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems Image Quality Specification. It also has been tested for backwards compatibility with the Electronic Fingerprint Transmission Specification 7.1 format. The FBI includes FbF LiveScan on its IAFIS Approved Product List.
The system has a Microsoft Silverlight customizable user interface and produces high image quality for both flat and rolled fingerprints. It can be used at the local, state and national level. The software is integrated with the Futronic FS60 fingerprint scanner, but it can also work with other Appendix F certified live scan hardware.
The product supports Microsoft Windows XP or higher, Microsoft .NET 4.0 or higher and the MS SQL database.


As a follow-up to my post last week that talked about comScore's May 2010 report about online video stats, I want to talk a bit about online video news viewing statistics.
According to the comScore report, online video news and information clips consumption in the United States has more than doubled (up 104%) from May 2009 when 277 million news videos and information clips were viewed online to 565 million online news videos viewed in May 2010.
Another interesting statistic from the comScore report tells us that online news and information videos are watched by a larger percentage of the U.S. video population than the prior year. In May 2010, 34.2% of the U.S. online population watched news and information clip videos online, which is up from 31.6% in 2009.
It's important to point out that overall online video consumption is still on the rise, but online news and information clip viewing still has some catching up to do. For example, in May 2010, online news and information clips made up just 0.7% of the total minutes of online video viewed by the U.S. Internet population, and the total number of news and information clips viewed is just 1.7% of all videos watched online in that month. Of course, one can confidently assume that these numbers will continue to grow for news-related non-news online video consumption as news providers learn how best to connect with the online audience.
The Associated Press is churning out video content quickly with approximately 45 videos published and distributed online per day (via Beet.TV). The strategy of quantity seems to be working for the Associated Press with online video views for the organization's YouTube Channel up from 77 million views in January 2009 to 430 million views today. The Associated Press already has a reputation for providing authoritative content as well as a broad reach, so it's not surprising that the organization's strategy of publishing lots and lots of video content is working.
However, as online video consumption continues to grow, it's highly likely that news organizations (large and small) will have to find ways to differentiate their content from their competitors. It's likely that several broad-based news organizations will stay on top with other niche video news and information publishers snatching up market share across the web.
What do you think about the future of online video news? Do you watch news and information clips online yet? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.


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Amaarae shares visuals for "JUMPING SHIT" featuring Kojey Radical and Cruel Santino
by Pan African Music ,
Amaarae shows her powers of attraction on new track featuring British rapper Kojey Radical and Nigerian Cruel Santino. It is the third single from her album The Angel You Don't Know.
Her voice is recognizable from the first note! Amaarae gives off an air of being silky smooth, but she can be as sharp as a needle when it comes to rap lyrics and delivery. While her Ghanaian friends once recommended that she stick to afrobeat or highlife to succeed in the country, she is convinced that her life in the American diaspora has given her an artistic edge. This free-wheeling, almost nonchalant figure is what makes the alternative African scene crackle. What's more, she refuses to limit herself to a single musical style.
This video was filmed in London with stars Cruel Santino and Kojey Radical and few saw it coming. Somewhere between Baile Funk and RnB on a slick guitar melody, the track is sung by Amaarae with delicate mastery. "Jumping Ship" is inspired by Baile Funk and Garage records from the early 2000s and reflects the artist's chameleon personality: " I'm working within different genres and styles and really pushing my personal boundaries – faster tempos, ballsier lyrics, edgier textures and tones, the same is evident in the visuals as well. Spiritually, the energy is God level. The confidence. The audacity is evident throughout the record. I'm not backing down on any song. There's a range of moods and energies – sometimes it's sexy, sometimes it's anarchist, sometimes it's sad and other times it's playful. At its core, this project is my form of gospel. I'm on a quest to evangelize the people. If you weren't an Amaarae believer before. You have no choice now. I went to great lengths to make sure that there was something for every sort of person." On this track we find her in touch with her own powers of attraction, something that pushes her to question her relationship with her partner. It is a position of strength in which she fully asserts her desires without fearing the gaze of men.
Ama Serwah Genfi, known as Amaarae, grew up between Accra, Atlanta and New Jersey. This interculturality has informed her drive and outlook, and she has formed her experience into asingulare style. As a child, she listened to the songs of Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin with her mother, but she also discovered 50 Cent with a cousin. In Atlanta she fell in love with Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak and while in New Jersey, she forged a personal style that fused funk with the gothic influences of rural environments at the time. She's a multifaceted artist to be closely followed.
The Angel You Don't Know is available on all streaming platforms.
Listen to Amaarae in our Songs of the Week playlist on Spotify and Deezer.
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Max Payne turns 17 today.
On this day, 17 years ago, Max Payne was released to the public. Max Payne was one of the first games to introduce us to the concept of Bullet time. Bullet time was one of the core gameplay mechanics of the game; When activated, bullet time slows down Max's environment while movement speed and aiming remain at default, allowing the player to choreograph gunplay.
Max Payne also introduced us to graphic novels, incorporating voice-over and flashbacks to build a complex, layered narrative. Max Payne's budget was tight and so the use of graphic novels saved costs that were otherwise required to create fully animated cinematics. A costy venture back in the day. Graphic novels would become one of the hallmarks of the franchise.
Fans of the series are also well aware Remedy used studio personnel and even family members to portray various characters in the game. Yet another method to save costs instead of hiring proffessional actors. Most notably, Remedy's writer Sam Lake would portray Max Payne (with the infamous grimace) while his mother portrayed Nicole Horne. Remedy would even go as far as to feature the person that refilled their coke machine as one of the goons in the game.
Max Payne was one of the first games to use photo-realistic textures. While other games before it were mainly using textures drawn by hand. Max Payne's textures were based on photos of real life objects or persons, increasing the game's graphical fidelity.
Fast forward seventeen years and Max Payne is still known as one of the greatest cinematic action games to date. Ported to numerous devices and two sequels later, the game is still cherished by many of its fans. Here's to you Max (raises a glass of Kong), on to another year of Payne.
Gamesindustry sat down with Remedy CEO.


text:
gigoid
Exploring Consensual Reality
Counting to infinity….
Posted on November 9, 2017 by gigoid
Ffolkes,
"Dragon? What dragon?"
~~ Famous Last Words ~~
Winery entrance road, Sonoma Valley….
Hajime…. Elements of style & grace notwithstanding, there is a lot to be said for virtuous industry, even if the root cause remains an anomaly. In the larger sense, this implies a certain responsibility, to find purpose wherever it may hide itself, allowing no stray miscreants opportunity to fail, hirsute as they may be. Untidy, as a descriptive adjective, falls consistently short of successful parody, while an old, broken pantheon of forgotten gods sits, weeping silent tears, in memory of faded glory. All remains dark on the horizon, where the sun has forgotten to rise, again….
There. That, I think, is a sufficiently strange opening paragraph, which demonstrates both my erudition, and my insanity. The latter, in particular, holds me at ransom this morning, in spite of waking in a relatively common manner. The oddity of my own mind's path often washes me up on the shore like this, leaving me high & dry with nothing but what passes for thinking to consume. As you may guess, it can be somewhat tricky to deal with reality, &, as the opening paragraph clearly shows, that's no small feat. Since the only way to get past all of it is to let it flow out of my head as quickly, & ruthlessly as possible, such displays of perversion become the norm.
Ah, well, one can't have everything, can one? No, of course not. Where would one put it all? Moreover, one remains responsible for one's own words, no matter how oddly they strike the psyche of the world. My own manner of coping, as you can plainly see, is to take it to the limit, where the boundaries of sanity are stretched past their own belief; only there can I find my own balance, teetering in jeopardy, but, safely insane…. So be it….
I did manage to put this Pearl together, though without the new poem, which continues to dribble out, rather than gushing. Since all the proper elements are in place, and, we have sufficient blather accumulation here in the intro, why don't we just cut our losses, & get on with it, so we can all move on to bigger, or better things…. It should be easy today; I've already softened the edges of reality, right in front of your eyes, so, the transition should be pretty seamless…. Watch and learn….
Shall we Pearl?….
"Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination."
~~ Roy Goodman ~~
I had a hard time deciding on music today; eventually, I went with my own preferences, which is why y'all are being treated to one of the finest musicians alive today, who has been entertaining millions of people for several decades. Fine, fine blues & slide guitar, a voice like an angel, a red-haired beauty…. what's not to love about her? Here she is, ffolkes, live in Oakland in 1989, it's Bonnie….
Neurons/Parade Rest
Forlorn, he thought, but, then,
no, not really so.
Old, sad, strong; polluted by time's red pen.
Nowhere left, to be, nor to go.
Tricks, not treats, forever remote,
strike fear into hearts fettered in fog.
Biting deep, stinging, we simper by common rote,
mired eternally in such bilious bog.
Torturous vision, bloody, capitulates in duplicate;
don't ask for whom the spell trolls.
Ambiguity is real, impossible to extricate,
that's how it rocks, then rolls.
Spiteful instruments offer no respite, patently.
Filigree lacks properly significant doubt.
Alternative answers formulate motivation, elegantly,
portraying reality as a vulgar lout.
Poltroons, there's a good word,
for idiotic farmers, enthusiasts who borrow
time, filled with the blood of a bird;
solitary, the trickster cannot follow.
Affable moments trip the light, fantastic;
salacious intimacies fill a shimmering bower.
Night falls, eventually, monastic;
eternity calls with irresistible power.
~~ gigoid ~~
8/11 – 8/15/2016
Naked Pearls
Living & dying in 3/4 time….
"Dum vivimus, vivamus."
(While we live, let us live…)
~~ Latin proverb ~~
"You see things, and you say "WHY?"
But I dream things that never were,
and I say "WHY NOT?"
~~ George Bernard Shaw, "Back to Methuselah" ~~
"In the bigger scheme of things,
the universe is not asking us to do something,
the universe is asking us to be something.
And that's a whole different thing."
~~ Lucille Clifton ~~
"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."
~~ Bertrand Russell ~~
"If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else,
you will have succeeded."
~~ Maya Angelou ~~
"I feel better about world problems now!"
~~ Zippy the Pinhead ~~
"Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me.
That means nothing.
People like us, who believe in physics,
know that the distinction between past, present, and future
is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."
~~ Albert Einstein ~~
I am not too sure what happened today, but, it happened, so, I'll be content with that. And, so will you. By the power vested in me as a human in good standing, I declare this version of the Daily Pearl to be complete. I'll even forgo the usual nonsense, & merely say, see y'all soon. I'm going walkabout….
Y'all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest Carole, Mark,Theresa, & Richy
and everyone else, too…
When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.
Which is Why….
Sometimes I sits and thinks,
and sometimes,
I just sits.
gigoid, the dubious
The *only* duly authorized Computer Curmudgeon.
PLEASE STOP READING THIS MESSAGE NOW.
"SCRAM!!!!!!!!!!"- Oscar the Grouch
À bientôt, mon cherí….
This entry was posted in Daily Pearls of Virtual Wisdom, Life stories and tagged Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Bonnie Raitt, Death, Dragons, Famous Last Words, George Bernard Shaw, Latin proverbs, Life, Lucille Clifton, Maya Angelou, Philosophy, Poetry, Roy Goodman, You Tube, Zippy the Pinhead by gigoid. Bookmark the permalink.
1 thought on "Counting to infinity…."
katiemiafrederick on November 9, 2017 at 5:55 PM said:
But wait.. i found it in the mirror without words..:)
Move just Move
alWays NoW..:)
Dance and Sing.
YeS.. iMaGinE MoRE than ever before..:)
The UniVerse is us now Let's Do
Verse..:)
"Let's Do the Time Warp Again"
Even iF Hallo
iS NoW..:)
True and Thanks God Time iS oNly aN iLLusion oF NoW God..:)
Love WinS iN Human Form aS Essence MoRE..:)
Nature gets it all done one way and the other..:)
Time out of Time Distance out of Distance Space out of Space LoVE NoW
An onLY
Science Degree
Required iS ArTNoW..:)
Thanks for visiting! Please feel free to comment, and, please, play nicely.... Cancel reply


text:
Liberty Property Executive Highlights Benefits of Green Leases for REITs
Marla Thalheimer, director of sustainability at Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LRY), joined REIT.com for a video interview at NAREIT's 2015 Leader in the Light Working Forum in Reston, Va.
Liberty Property Trust owns industrial and office space throughout the United States and United Kingdom. Thalheimer discussed the impact on sustainability of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Better Building Initiative, which seeks to make commercial and industrial buildings 20 percent more energy efficient by 2020 and accelerate private sector investment in energy efficiency.
She noted that programs launched under the initiative are "making a great impact." For example, the data accelerator program, which involves local governments working with utilities to make it easier for building owners to get access to energy usage data, is "really making strides." Another DOE initiative, the Green Lease Leaders program, last year recognized the efforts of Liberty Property in this area, Thalheimer noted.
"Green leases are an important piece of the puzzle," she said. "It's not a magic wand that suddenly makes everything easy. But at the same time, it is a contract between us and the tenant, and it's important to put a few things in there to be able to accomplish our goal."
Thalheimer also commented on the particular difficulties that Liberty Property faces in connection with the collection of energy and water data.
Within its large industrial portfolio and its triple-net lease structure, tenants have all their own data, according to Thalheimer. "We have to work with the tenant to get the data because the landlord is the one responsible for reporting, so it can be challenging," she said.


text:
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Executive Silence: How Poor Communication at the Top Lets the Rest of Your Business Down
Diversity, technology, innovation, globalisation; these are just a few of the many drivers behind the frightening pace at which our workplaces are transforming. Change is now the norm, which is resulting in more fluidity in company structures and working practices. However, the way we assess performance is lagging some way behind this transformation.
The biggest complaint I hear from senior Managers is about individuals not doing what was expected in the way that was expected. When asked whether they've spoken to them about what is working or what is not, or offered to coach them through it, most say 'no'. As you'd expect from business leaders, all of them say that they want a high performing team, but if the Chairman and the CEO are not modelling what needs to be done with their direct reports, how can they expect the team to to lift its game?
With top talent becoming harder and more expensive to find, why is more attention not being paid to effective communication? Some say they do not have time, but is not the role of a Manager to develop their people?
Change is coming from all directions at an incredible pace. The structure of the workforce has already altered considerably over the last 30 years, and it will continue to evolve. For example, employment relationships are now far more short-term than ever before and the days of building a career with a single company are long gone. With that in mind, it's astonishing to hear that many executives still rely on structures or frameworks that don't have the agility to enable this change. Senior Managers are generally Baby Boomers who have grown up in a traditional hierarchical organisation, are now managing a variety of generations in an interconnected, technologically ubiquitous world.
Instead of being happy with a role that offers job security, younger professionals are now prioritising roles that will engage and develop them. This has also resonated throughout the rest of the workforce, with workers of all ages now wanting more flexibility and adopting a "free agent mindset". To achieve the engagement that they're looking from their job, high quality 'just in time' communication is crucial. The opportunity for performance improvement can only come from meaningful two-way discussions on a regular basis, focused on KPIs and personal development.
Unfortunately, we rarely see this approach in action. High-quality communication that's delivered in real-time is rarely happening. If senior Executives are not initiating and modelling the feedback loop, then a lack of direction will filter down through the business, which can drive away talent.
The key is to have regular conversations that are meaningful and relevant to an individual while also ensuring there is mutual understanding around KPI's or expectations required to deliver. Managers must prioritise high quality, one-on-one conversations with their direct reports. When this is happening, staff feel valued, are engaged and feel committed to their roles and the organisation. A strong culture of internal communication and feedback has been shown to increase performance, morale and retention.
Although today's rapid rate of change has many New Zealand business leaders concerned about the future, the challenges of today's market do not have to be that complicated. We need to acknowledge that we're not very good at changing our traditional approaches and having courageous conversations, and that perhaps all too often we expect people to 'just know' what is expected of them.
Strong communication lies at the heart of great leadership and with technology providing us with new ways to connect with others, there's really no excuse to not provide this anymore. Take this opportunity to examine your own structures, go beyond annual performance reviews and to have braver, better conversations. The future of your business might depend on it.
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There's an old City point oft made, that the next crisis will happen when all the people who remember the old one have retired. We seem to be having a replay of this as some 6 Labour MPs are considering leaving the party – no doubt claiming that the Party has left them – to become a new centrist organisation in Parliament and the country's political life. You know, we're all just crying out for technocratic trimmers to vote for.
What the City actually means is that the same crisis only happens when the greybeards have gone. Banks will only overlend into a property boom and then all go bust when the last Managing Director and CEO whose formative years as a trainee were spent terrified for their jobs as banks went bust as a result of overlending into a property boom have collected their pensions. Brokerages will only collapse in a pile of speculatives when the people who lived through Leeson and Barings are off playing golf seriously. Losing the lot on chasing yield, a la Corzine, isn't going to happen until the 00's crop are scouring Florida for Steradent.
Which means we must assume that politics is now clear – in an active sense – of those who recall Woy Jenkins, Shirley Williams and the Gang of Four. Sure, Lord Owen's still around but who is listening?
The point being that we've been here before. Labour moves left – or perhaps allows the extant left within the party to have rather more of a say – and the centrists think this a bad idea. So, they leave for the centre and within a few years are electorally wiped out. The SDP currently has some 41 members and an annual income of £750 odd. That's party members, not elected representatives. There's absolutely nothing at all to indicate that won't happen again this time around.
For that's just the way the party and electoral systems work in Britain. More to the point, that's the way leftish such does. There's just too much inertia for anyone but the extant Labour Party to harvest 25% or so of the vote. In a first past the post system that's enough to keep a party in contention. Not enough to win, someone can siphon enough of the vote away to make sure power isn't achieved, but not enough to kill off the organisation.
Which is exactly what the SDP managed. Kept Foot and Kinnock out of office and not much else. A Grand Service to be sure and one we'd be delighted to see repeated with Jezza. Except, of course, that's not what the breakaways want. They want power and office, the very things they're not going to get by breaking away.
The past century has only seen this done the once, the SNP. Ukip tried it, managed it with the non-FPTP voting system for the EU Parliament and never came anywhere in the Westminster one. Lots and lots of votes, nary a seat. If we stretch our century a tad, the rise of the Labour Party itself, to eclipse the Liberals, works.
But then consider why those two did work. There was a real cause to be fought for there. The representation of the working man, the porridge wogs against those who paid for them. Real causes in a manner that voting for technocratic centrists – careerists – just doesn't flow those juices.
Sure, we all look forward to the Gang of Six and their keeping Jezza out of office. But that that's all they'll manage is why it's unlikely to happen.


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Located on a hidden court just blocks from the Sonoma Plaza. This elegant residence was lovingly constructed by the owners to blend 21st Century technology with traditional architecture.
Light-filled, approx. 2,843 sq. ft. has 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. Open plan consists of a great room with living room open to dining area with built-ins and access to the rear covered entertaining deck with skylights and access to the yard and spacious chef's kitchen with dining/preparation island, plenty of storage and energy efficient appliance. The property was designed to be a "forever home" being completely ADA accessible indoors and out including an elevator (battery and generator backup). The second floor include a luxurious master suite and bath with in-floor heat, den, second laundry closet and three finished storage areas. The two main floor guest bedrooms have ample closets with built-ins and each has access to the grounds. Beautiful architectural details include high coved ceilings, smooth wall texture, picture mould, wainscoting, imported white oak floors, Zola triple paned European windows and doors, detailed European tile in the baths and furniture quality cabinetry.
Platinum LEED Certification offers the highest energy efficient/sustainability standards. Some features include: Airtight, vapor permeable construction, super insulation, CleanCrawlspace, Zehnder whole-house heat recovery, Omega Flex stucco exterior, Vaculflo True Cyclonic built-in central vacuum system and more.
Technologically forward features include: Sonos audio system, Sonance high quality speakers indoors and out, television cabling in each bedroom, Energy Star appliances, LED energy efficient lighting throughout, Waupaca Paca-Ryde elevator.
Exterior features: Reclaimed redwood decks and raised planters, redwood fencing and fountain pergola, low maintenance landscape, Lutron Graik Eye lighting, Hunter Solar Sense irrigation controller, rainwater recovery for irrigation.
This home is located approx. 3 blocks to one of Wine Country's favorites downtown with fine dining establishments, shopping and plenty of activities year round on the historic Sonoma Plaza.
Craftsman Inspired Architecture Combined with the Highest Energy Efficient/Sustainability Standards.