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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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Citron Research Claims Shopify in Violation of FTC Business Opportunities Act: Newsletter October 6, 2017
Shopify’s shares fell c.15.6% between Monday’s close and the end of trading yesterday. The heavy fall comes off the back of the research note released by Citron, which claims the company is in violation of the FTC Business Opportunities Act. The report argues that Shopify makes too many bold claims that entrepreneurs can become millionaires in an incredibly short period of time, and that it doesn’t disclose when they pay affiliate marketers and influencers who refer others to Shopify.
Shopify Launches Publishing Partner Program: Newsletter September 29, 2017
Shopify announced this week that it will now allow merchants to earn revenue through their partner program in an effort to leverage the many third-party Shopify service providers in the market. Users of the program can earn money through affiliate links, merchant referrals, apps, and themes on the Shopify store. Business owners who use Shopify might want to strongly consider the partner program as a passive form of extra income. Read below for more information on how to sign up.
HubSpot Acquires Motion AI: Newsletter September 22, 2017
The SaaS world this week saw HubSpot acquire the chatbot builder Motion AI, which provides an editor for websites to build a chat function through Facebook, Slack, SMS and more. While the terms of the deal were not released, this should come as an indicator that AI will be incredibly important for companies gaining a competitive edge on their customer service. Equally disruptive in the tech space this week is Uber’s expulsion from London, as Transport for London announced this morning that they will not be renewing their license at the end of this month. Read below for the full story.
North Korea Accused of Stealing Bitcoin to Fund Regime: Newsletter September 15, 2017
North Korea has this week been accused of stealing bitcoin in order to seek other sources of funding for their regime with global sanctions tightening. Reportedly, hackers have targeted at least three South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges, likely motivated by the restrictive sanctions recently placed against them by the UN. Some countries, like Australia and Russia, are trying to introduce new legislation to regulate digital currency providers. China on the other hand has banned its use. If your business uses Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, be sure to check if you will be affected by any new legislation. Read below to see the full article.
China Targets “Heavy Polluters” in Factory Closures: Newsletter September 8, 2017
China has closed tens of thousands of factories across the nation this summer, targeting “heavy polluters.” Reportedly, the new Ministry of Environment is employing this method to lower pollution levels, which have skyrocketed during China’s period of industrial growth. E-commerce owners who source from China will want to reach out to their suppliers to check that products will still be available and how it may affect prices. Read below for the full article and to see which specific regions will be affected.
Congressional Hearings on Net Neutrality Postponed as Apple, Google, Facebook Refuse to Testify: Newsletter September 1, 2017
Congressional hearings to decide on net neutrality were postponed this week after tech executives from giants like Amazon, Google, Facebook and Netflix declined an invitationto testify, despite Apple’s letter to the FCC that the Internet should remain an open platform. This is a topic that we at FE International are very passionate about and would advise anyone with an active interest to voice your opinion on the measure by writing to the FCC.
Google and Walmart Partner to Take Down Amazon Newsletter August 25, 2017
Google announced this week that it has joined forces with Walmart in a new initiative to promote Walmart products via Google express. This is taking direct aim at Amazon, the dominant player in the e-commerce space. Walmart’s proactive steps in addressing the decline of its retail business is starting to succeed since the 2016 acquisition of Jet.com, with a clear two-horse race starting to emerge. This is big news for both e-commerce store owners and also affiliate partners. Founder, Thomas Smale, explores the merits of both platforms in his recent blog post on the topic.
Walmart vs. Amazon: A Comparison of Affiliate & Fulfillment Programs
After acquiring a number of high-profile online retailers of late – most notably Jet.com in the US in 2016 – Walmart has been adding hundreds more third-party sellers to their marketplace, Walmart.com, which is now home to an inventory of over 50 million individual products. Back in 2016, their inventory had only 10 million.
Quora Launches Ad Retargeting Platform: Newsletter August 18, 2017
Things are heating up in the customer acquisition space, with Quora announcing this week that it has launched an ad retargeting platform that will allow online business owners and advertisers to segment customers to a particular landing page or within a specific time frame, as well as track ad conversions from such targeted campaigns. Not to be left out, Reddit announced their release of a native video hosting platform. Users will now be able to upload original content directly to the site rather than having to link out, which will be an opportunity for business owners to expand promotional content through a major B2C video channel.
