Startup Talk: Fomer Acxiom Exec Cuts Teeth On First Deal With Verve
by June 11, 2015 7:37 am 185 views
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FORMER ACXIOM EXEC CUTS TEETH ON FIRST DEAL AS CEO OF NEW YORK-BASED VERVE MOBILE
Former Acxiom Chief Revenue Officer Nada Stirratt has scored her first big deal with Tuesday’s announcement that Verve Mobile was acquiring Fosbury, a beacon and mobile wallet startup firm.
Stirratt was named CEO of New York City-based Verve Mobile in April 20. Verve said the Fosbury acquisition provides marketers with an even greater and more precise ability to both initiate the engagement as well as validate when consumers are in-store and in the purchase mindset.
Little Rock startup Bfonics, headed by CEO Unni Peroth, is also seeking to bring beacon technology to the forefront. As a licensee of the latest iBeacon technology from Apple Inc., Bfonics is already testing several products and solutions that help retailers use cost-effective mobile technology to connect with their customers and offer customized deals.
Terms of the Verve deal with Fosbury were not disclosed. However, Verve said the beacon-triggered technology is expected to drive $44 billion in U.S. in-store retail sales next year, using mobile campaigns to help retailers engage consumers and influence sales through location-based messaging.
QUALCOMM, MERCEDES-BENZ PART COLLABORATE ON ‘CONNECTED CAR’ TECHNOLOGIES
Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler AG announced a strategic collaboration focused on pioneering innovation in the connected car. In the first phase of the collaboration, the companies will focus on transforming future vehicles with mobile technologies that enhance in-car experiences and vehicle performance such as 3G/4G connectivity, and wireless charging technology for in-vehicle use.
The companies also plan to collaborate on a new Qualcomm technology that will allow Daimler customers to charge their electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid EVs without ever having to actually plug them in. Talk Business & Politics recently reported on the “connected car” movement.
QBOX EMERGES STRONG AS ONE OF ARK CHALLENGE WINNERS IN 2012
Northwest Arkansas was buzzing in 2012 because of its unique startup accelerator dubbed ARK Challenge. The program, made possible from $2.15 million in federal funds, allowed 15 startups from around the globe access to mentoring and seed money to try and launch their business ventures following a three-month boot camp experience.
ARK Challenge was a partnership between Winrock International, the University of Arkansas and NorthWest Arkansas Community College. Mark Brandon, co-founder of StackSearch, now known as Qbox, shares his thoughts on what’s happened since his ARK Challenge experience and how he’s had to rely on out-of-state assistance to take his business to the next level. Read more here.
UTAH TECH FIRM SAYS IT HELPED ARKANSAS COURT SYSTEM IMPROVE WORK FLOW MANAGEMENT
Workfront, a Utah company that specializes in cloud-based enterprise work management solutions, said it has enabled the State of Arkansas court system to standardize its project management process, increase efficiency and collaboration, and improve document control.
According to the Utah company, the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) improved its productivity at meetings, gained 360-degree project visibility, and reduced eleventh hour struggles to meet project deadlines from 60% to 10%.
“With Workfront, project managers uncover issues much earlier, and our organization has matured so projects are repeating. Both have contributed to a significant reduction in the number of times we’ve had to scramble to meet a ‘go-live’ schedule,” Alex Rogers, head of the AOC Project Management Office, said in a news release this week.
Workfront has posted a case study of its work with AOC here.
UAMS LANDS $3.9 MILLION TO CONTINUE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), administrator of the Arkansas INBRE program promoting biomedical research across the state, has been awarded $3.9 million by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue the program.
INBRE stands for IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence. The total funding of the grant over a five-year period is $18 million. What all will the money be used for? Read more at this link.