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Profitable from Day One : How a Bootstrapped SaaS Found a Successful Exit
“My key priority was securing a buyer capable of both shaping a long-term strategic vision for DropFunnels and seamlessly transitioning ownership. The team at FE International had already identified the perfect buyer within their extensive network, ensuring a perfect match for the company’s future growth. ”
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Google One Subscriptions Open, WPBeginner Growth Accelerator Fund, Apple Pulls iOS 12 Beta: Newsletter August 17, 2018
Google One, Alphabet’s new cloud-based subscription productivity suite, is now available to new users. Announced a few months ago and rolled out to existing Google Drive subscribers, Google One plans will start at $1.99 per month for 100 GB, $2.99 for 200 GB and $9.99 for 2 TB, up to 30 TB. Google One brings with it discounts on hotels when searched for via Google Maps, as well as Google Play credits. While storage can be shared across multiple users, Google One is currently a consumer product and only available for US subscribers.
Collection of the 150 Best Free SEO Tools – 2019 Edition
You might be a one-man band, a lean startup, or an SEO working within a marketing team. Either way, you understand the importance of a solid strategy and the right tools to do the heavy lifting. Of course, it makes it even easier if that tool is free! Below are 150 SEO tools that are either free or have free trials to pro versions you can check out before you buy. We found most free SEO resources online were generally outdated, contained broken links or recommended methods that have since been hit with Google penalties. We hope this collection of the 150 Best Free SEO Tools serves you well in your 2019 SEO efforts.
Salsify Raises $43 million in funding, Slack Raises $400 Million to Compete with Microsoft and Facebook, Amazon Launches Alexa Auto SDK: Newsletter August 9, 2018
Salsify has announced they raised $43 million in a new round of funding. Based in Boston, the SaaS company helps e-commerce brands manage customers’ product experience by ensuring content is optimized across points of sale, as well as measuring active insights. This Series D round led by Greenspring Associates brings Salsify’s total VC funding to $98.1 million to date. While CEO Jason Purcell declined to comment on either the funding or an impending exit, it was noted in a press release that Salsify spent 40% of its 1H’18 revenue on research and expansion. Salsify plans to leverage the funding towards further investment in products, global expansion and employee growth.
DocuSign Acquires SpringCM, Brandless Receives $240 million in Funding, Twitter Shares Search Ranking Methods: Newsletter August 2, 2018
DocuSign Acquires SpringCM, Brandless Receives $240 million in Funding, Twitter Shares Search Ranking Methods: Newsletter August 2, 2018
Facebook Stock Falls 21%, Slack Acquires HipChat, Amazon Shares Rise, Google Drops Public Submit to Index Feature: Newsletter July 27, 2018
Facebook’s stock fell 21% (or $120 billion) following its Q2 earnings release this week. Facebook’s earnings report showed quarterly user growth slowing to just 1.54% (to 2.23 billion monthly users) compared to a 3.14% increase in Q1. Daily active user growth also slowed to 1.44% (down from 3.42% in Q1), however, Zuckerberg noted that 2.5 billion people use at least one of the company’s apps—Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Reuters consensus forecast showed revenues coming in at $13.36 billion in revenue, which was marginally higher than the actual numbers posted ($13.23 billion).
Salesforce to Acquire Datorama, Amazon Prime Day Results, Facebook Messenger AI Payments Patent: Newsletter July 20, 2018
Salesforce this week announced an agreement to acquire Datorama Inc., a cloud-based marketing platform in an $800 million acquisition. CEO Ran Sarig indicated that the platform would be included as a part of Salesforce’s Marketing Cloud, chiefly providing improved data integration, intelligence and analytics enabling marketers to build custom reports of holistic marketing data captured by the platform’s native AI. To date, Datorama has only raised $50 million in funding but counts PepsiCo Inc., IBM Corp. and Unilever PLC. among its biggest clients. A closing date for the acquisition has not yet been announced.
Trump China Tariffs, Meero Raises $45M for US and Asia Expansion, Amazon Prime Day: Newsletter July 13, 2018
Global trade news saw President Trump propose a list of $200 billion in Chinese imports on which to impose 10% tariffs, which is roughly equal to China’s exports to the US. The list includes products which are part of the Made in China 2025 strategic plan to make China a leading producer in key global industries. While the list aims to disrupt the Chinese economy, China has retaliated by imposing their own tariffs on $34 billion in US exports to China, threatening another $16 billion, and causing US retailers to grow concerned over product price increases and sourcing complications.
What Is GDPR Compliance?
The world of digital business has been shifted by new legislation. As of May 25th, 2018, enforcement of the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has begun. Arguably the most sweeping and potentially punitive legislation governing the use of sensitive consumer data ever established, the GDPR is already changing how businesses worldwide use and safeguard customer information. The bar for data that is considered worthy of protection has been lowered substantially. Consumer IP addresses and even web cookies are now subject to similar standards regarding use and security as more overtly sensitive data such as Social Security numbers, physical addresses, and telephone numbers.
Opera Files for IPO, SaaS Capital Launches Third Fund, Google Speed Update for Mobile: Newsletter July 6, 2018
Opera, the Norway-based browser company, has filed for an IPO in the United States. F-1 documents filed with the application reveal that the company plans to raise up to $115 million in its initial public offering. Opera currently has around 182 million monthly active users across its mobile software products and 57.4 million users on desktop browsers. The business generated $128.9 million in 2017 operating revenues for a net income of $6.1 million, with their top two business partners contributing approximately 56.1% of the total operating revenue.
