When it comes to running a business in a way that helps people, Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder of Chobani, actually backs up his talk with action. Last year, Ulukaya made headlines when he handed 10% of his company over to his workers. He hasn’t stopped there. He’s also created the Chobani Food Incubator, which selects early-stage food companies to partner with to help them grow.
Subscription-software company Zuora added Magdalena Yesil, the first investor in Salesforce, to its board as it ramps up toward going public. San Mateo-based Zuora, a “unicorn” valued at more than $1 billion, has been on analysts’ lists for years as a company likely to go public. CB Insights rated it as one of the top five companies most likely to go public in 2017. Zuora has ridden the "subscription economy" to more than $100 million in annual revenue and around $250 million in venture capital funding. The 800-employee software-as-a-service company makes applications for businesses built around subscriptions, including Box, Zendesk and media outlets such as The Guardian and the Financial Times.
Yesil’s experience helping Salesforce transition from being a private company to a public company will be valuable to Zuora as it looks to do the same.
“We are starting to transform our board and shifting from an early-stage, venture-backed board to something that looks more like an independent, public company board,” Zuora founder and CEO Tien Tzuo told the Business Times.
“We are really looking at the next phase of our company,” he added.
Tzuo declined to comment on whether the company would try go to public this year, but he said it is “making initial moves” toward an IPO.
“The first step is really to have people sitting around a table who have experience with that, and then we’ll take it from there,” he said.
Yesil joins Ken Goldman, Yahoo’s chief financial officer, in the first group of independent directors on Zuora’s board.
Yesil was a general partner for eight years at US Venture partners and was an early investor in more than 30 companies. Prior to that, she founded two e-commerce companies, CyberCash and MarketPay.
“I’m delighted to join the board of Zuora as it matures into an global enterprise software leader,” Yesil said in a statement. “My first-hand experience with Salesforce from its initial funding to public market success will be integral to providing guidance to help Zuora reach its next stage of development.” - By Alisha Green Reporter San Francisco Business Times
SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA — Since the failed military coup in Turkey one year ago, it's been harder for startups to attract foreign investment, said entrepreneurs at a recent tech conference in California. After the July 15, 2016, coup attempt, the Turkish government cracked down on perceived opponents to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Many have lost their jobs and thousands have been imprisoned, including journalists, academics and activists. For Mustafa Acet, an entrepreneur in Istanbul, the coup and its aftermath have been a setback for the burgeoning tech ecosystem in Turkey. He recently attended Etohum San Francisco, an event bridging the Turkish startup community with Silicon Valley.
Looking at the foreign investor map of Turkish companies by region, American investors stand out, having invested in 161 Turkish companies through merger and acquisition transactions in the pharmaceutical and energy industries in the last decade. The greatest interest in Turkish companies abroad has been shown by American investors over the past 10 years. According to data compiled by Ernst & Young, an independent company offering audit, consultancy, corporate financing and tax services, American investors have invested in 161 Turkish companies over the past decade. Also, many foreign companies entered the Turkish market through mergers and acquisitions, transfers of enterprises or privatizations in the same period.
ISTANBUL (AP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to “rip the heads off” of terror groups and coup-plotters who tried to end his more than decade-long rule on Saturday, as Turkey marked the anniversary of the country’s crushed military coup with a series of rallies and other commemorative events. Accompanied by his family and the families of the victims of the coup, Erdogan joined a massive, flag-waving crowd near the iconic July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge in Istanbul to remember 250 people who died on July 15, 2016 resisting the coup. He inaugurated a hollow, globe-shaped monument featuring the names of the victims near the foot of the bridge, before flying to Ankara to attend a special session in parliament at the exact moment it was bombed a year ago. He also opened a second memorial opposite the grounds of his palace in Ankara.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Air Force has awarded the Sierra Nevada Corporation a more than $41-million contract to design, engineer and test a new aircraft for the Airborne Mission Networking System, the Department of defense said in a press release. "Sierra Nevada Corporation [of] Sparks, Nevada has been awarded a $41,041,058… contract for design, engineering, integration, and testing on one aircraft of the Airborne Mission Networking System," the release stated on Wednesday.
There has been some selling insider activity on Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:MXIM) recently. Senior VP Christopher J. Neil sold 3,500 shares at an average price of $45.69 on July 10th. That brings the Senior VP’s holdings to $6,286,624 as recorded in a recent Form 4 SEC filing. Tunc Doluca, President, CEO & Director disclosed the sale of 6,000 shares of MXIM stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $49.00. Doluca now owns $63,013,069 of the stock according to the SEC filing. Doluca sold 15,000 shares at an average price of $47.76 on Thu the 1st. Doluca now owns $61,705,013 of the stock as reported to the SEC.
CLIFTON, N.J., July 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Comodo, a global innovator and developer of cybersecurity solutions and the world's No. 1 certificate authority, today announced a competitive upgrade program exclusively for owners of Symantec, Thawte and GeoTrust digital certificates seeking greater relations and longer life for their extended validation (EV) certificates. Under the program, Comodo and its partners will provide an equivalent certificate that includes one year free for all existing Symantec, Thawte and GeoTrust certificates.
By Ebru Sengul, ISTANBUL, AA - Turkey has done an excellent job in hosting the 22nd World Petroleum Congress (WPC), Sylvester Turner, the mayor of the U.S. city of Houston, Texas, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday. Speaking exclusively to the agency, the Congress' global communication partner on its sidelines, Turner hailed Turkey's hospitality throughout the Congress. "The Turkish national organizing committee has moved the World Petroleum Congress forward. I have nothing but praise for all the representatives. They have set the bar very high for Houston for hosting the Congress in 2020," he asserted. Responding to the question of the U.S.' future policy on shale gas production, Turner said that susceptibility of the industry is linked to fluctuating oil prices and factors leading to price formation.
By Safvan Allahverdi, WASHINGTON, AA - Turkey’s ambassador to the U.S. on Wednesday criticized the U.S. reaction to the defeated coup last July. Serdar Kilic was speaking at a conference in Washington held by the Global Policy Institute think-tank in cooperation with Bahcesehir University and the July 15 Foundation. He said that after he was told of the coup attempt, he immediately called the White House and asked for a condemnation, but no statement was issued in support of Turkish democracy until late in the afternoon. “This was the greatest disappointment that I have ever suffered,” Kilic stressed.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iBeat, a wearable technology company empowering people to live longer lives, today announced it has closed another $3 million in funding, bringing its total seed stage funding to $4.5 million. New investors include WTI, SV Tech Ventures, Lee Equity, and renowned entrepreneurs and angel investors Michael Rubin, Mark Burg, and Harald Ludwig. They join original investors Maveron, Subtraction Capital, Correlation Ventures, Band of Angels, super-angels Ali and Hadi Partovi, KKR founding partner Henry Kravis, and cardiothoracic surgeon and host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” Dr. Mehmet Oz. The company is also pleased to share it is building out its executive bench with leaders from Stanford University and Apple.
“iBeat has truly set themselves apart in an industry that has had little to no innovation in the past three decades,” said Jun Li, Managing Partner at SV Tech Ventures. “While other personal emergency response products like LifeAlert are stigmatizing, and confine users to their homes, iBeat aims to help millions of older adults living at home retain their independence while being one of the only consumer devices on the market that can detect if you or a loved one is alive and well. We are glad to invest in such a promising startup.”
iBeat plans to use the additional funds to begin clinical testing, refine its sales and marketing strategies, and further scale its tooling and manufacturing operations fueled by significant user demand, including 42,000+ individuals of whom have shown early interest in the product. The company will also continue its commitment to growth and innovation through hiring a team of outstanding people, which now includes Dr. Mintu Turakhia, an Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford University and Apple product veterans Roby DeManche and Drew Atkinson.
Dr. Mintu Turakhia is a practicing cardiac electrophysiologist, outcomes researcher, and Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. As iBeat’s Chief Clinical Consultant, Dr. Turakhia will focus on clinical validation and outcomes studies that best leverage iBeat’s technology for patients, consumers, and caregivers.
“My passion is in developing, testing, and scaling tech-enabled health care solutions to improve outcomes,” said Dr. Turakhia, who is internationally recognized for his work in clinical trials and digital health in cardiovascular disease. “What iBeat is doing has extraordinary potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives. Their team is dedicated to finding new innovations through scientific rigor and validation, I look forward to helping them build a research and clinical program that demonstrates that.”
With nearly 20 years of experience in engineering, hardware operations, and global supply chain management, Roby DeManche will be leading iBeat’s manufacturing operations and logistics. He hails from several notable consumer brands including Apple, Samsung, home thermostat maker Nest, and Ford Motor Company. Alongside Roby, Drew Atkinson joins as Director of Hardware Engineering and will be responsible for iBeat’s mechanical and electrical hardware design. Prior to iBeat, Drew worked on the engineering teams at Apple, GoPro, and high-tech smart oven maker, June.
“Our ability to attract the best talent in the valley is testament to the power of our mission and business model. We’re thrilled to welcome these remarkable individuals to our team, and are humbled by the tremendous interest we’ve seen in our product and from our supporting network,” said Ryan Howard, founder and CEO of iBeat. “The funding from new and existing investors not only validates the important work our team has done in demonstrating the watch’s ability to recognize life-threatening heart emergencies, but is also an affirmation of our technology and will help sustain our greater vision to reduce preventable deaths from these emergencies. We look forward to continuing this mission and building out a team of remarkable individuals keen on making a massive impact on the community.”
iBeat expects to double headcount by the end of 2017 and is currently hiring. To see available positions and join a team of remarkable people building tech that saves lives, visit www.ibeat.com/careers.
About iBeat
Located in the heart of San Francisco, iBeat is a technology company empowering people to be fearless, explore, and live longer lives. The company is currently building a breakthrough cellular smartwatch that continually monitors users’ 24-7 heart activity, and can also be used to get help in an emergency. In the case of a life-threatening emergency, iBeat will instantly alert the user, their loved ones, and emergency responders in real-time, helping ensure immediate care and potentially saving the user’s life.
Luxury smartphone manufacturer Vertu has gone into liquidation after its famously expensive handsets failed to capture the imagination of the rich and famous. The closure of the UK-based firm, which made alligator skin, gold and diamond-encrusted phones priced from £11,100, will result in the loss of 200 jobs. Vertu was founded by Finnish mobile giant Nokia in 1998 and launched its first luxury mobile phone in 2002, before it was sold in 2012 to private equity group EQT VI.
Luxury smartphone manufacturer Vertu has gone into liquidation after its famously expensive handsets failed to capture the imagination of the rich and famous. The closure of the UK-based firm, which made alligator skin, gold and diamond-encrusted phones priced from £11,100, will result in the loss of 200 jobs. Vertu was founded by Finnish mobile giant Nokia in 1998 and launched its first luxury mobile phone in 2002, before it was sold in 2012 to private equity group EQT VI. SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE: Display of Vertu's world's most expensive mobile phones at a showroom in Singapore 13 August 2004. Despite their hefty price and relatively limited functions, sleek handcrafted phones manufactured by Vertu, an independent unit of wireless communications giant Nokia, are becoming sought-after status symbols in Asia..AFP PHOTO/JIMIN LAI (Photo credit should read JIMIN LAI/AFP/Getty Images) Vertu is a good example of how money can’t buy you taste (Photo: Getty) The phones, which featured sapphire crystal screens and ruby bearings, were hand-assembled in its factories in Hampshire, and attracted celebrity fans including actress Gwyneth Paltrow (Vertu’s first customer), Jennifer Lopez and Madonna, reportedly. The company was sold again for £50m to Turkish businessman Hakan Uzan in March, who promised to help Vertu “realise its full potential”.
Uzan slashed the price of the firm’s non-customised models to between £4,000 and £7,000, but reports continued to circulate over its poor finances. Its manufacturing arm went into administration last month. VERTU’S MOST RIDICULOUS PHONE Vertu’s most expensive handset was the Signature Clous de Paris Red Gold, which featured 18 carat red gold, black sapphire keys and a £39,100 price tag. Uzan will retain the brand, design licences and technology, and intends to rebuild the company at a later date, a person close to the matter told the Financial Times. While aimed firmly at a luxury market, Vertu’s creations failed to attract much praise in technology circles. They originally ran Nokia’s Symbian operating system before switching to Google’s Android in 2013, and failed to support Bluetooth or GPS when they first launched.
The tastes of the rich and famous gradually shifted away from blingy mobiles and BlackBerries to iPhones in the late 2000s, which more often than not are the celebrity’s handset of choice. iPhones have become aspirational status symbols for people on all incomes, but those with flashier tastes could employ the services of businesses built around blinging up existing iPhones with diamonds, or creating 24 carat gold cases, rather than splash out on an expensive handset which will still require replacing every few years. - By Rhiannon Williams - inews.co.uk
Read more at: https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/technology/luxury-phone-maker-vertu-bit-the-dust-because-the-rich-own-iphones/
July 12, 2017 – A year after the failed attempted military coup in Turkey that took place in the night of July 15, 2016, we are reminded about the universal value of a basic norm: in all modern democracies the military respects and abides by the principle of civilian rule. Any military uprising or coup against duly elected civilian authorities is treason. On July 12, 2107, the Global Policy Institute, (GPI), in cooperation with BAU International University, and the July 15 Foundation, a Turkish organization, held an event titled: The Failed Coup in Turkey: One Year Later Reflections by Turkish and American Experts and Eyewitnesses
Vahide Sevkatlioglu was willing to die. So was Ilhami Cil. They are two of the roughly 2,500 people who now carry the formal title "Gazi," or veteran, in Turkey after flooding the streets on July 15, 2016 to stop those trying to topple their government. For them, it was a mixture of duty and destiny; a unifying night for a country with a history of military coups. This was the night they said "enough." Even critics of the government made it clear they were relieved to see the coup fail. But the tumultuous months since have created a Turkey where democracy's definition depends on who you ask.
