Monday, June 30, 2014

my linked in professional network map

CHICAGO PREMIERE OF ROGER EBERT DOCUMENTARY

Harley-Davidson’s Project LiveWire Begins Historic Route 66 Journey at 1871 in Chicago

Harley-Davidson’s Project LiveWire

Begins Historic Route 66 Journey at 1871 in Chicago

1871 Member Companies Among the First to React and Shape the Future of this New Bike

WHAT: To celebrate the innovation and authenticity of Project LiveWire – the first electric Harley-Davidson – company executives plan to ride the new motorcycle the 2,451 mile length of Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif. beginning Tuesday, July 1.

Project LiveWire is a prime example of American reinvention at its finest. In keeping with that theme, Harley-Davidson plans to kick-start their Route 66 journey with a visit to 1871, the Midwest’s leading technology hub, which is the epicenter of the entrepreneurial and tech scene in Chicago.

During the visit, Harley-Davidson’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mark-Hans Richer will share insights about the genesis behind Project LiveWire, as well as gather feedback from 1871 member companies.

Additionally, 1871-affiliated platform technologies will be on display, including MagicTags and WiNote, that will be available for demonstrations and use by 1871 members.

WHEN: Tuesday, July 1, 10:30 a.m.

INTERVIEW

OPPORTUNITY: Mark-Hans Richer

Chief Marketing Officer, Harley-Davidson Motor Company

WHERE: 1871

222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, 12th Floor

CONTACT: Alev de Costa

312-286-9218

adecosta@webershandwick.com

Laura Clark

1871

laura@1871.com

MORE ABOUT LIVEWIRE:

This exciting new ride blends the company’s styling heritage with the latest technology to deliver a new expression of the signature Harley-Davidson look, sound and feel. The bike offers a visceral riding experience with tire-shredding acceleration and an unmistakable new sound.

ABOUT 1871

1871 is the flagship project of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center. 1871 was launched in partnership with the State of Illinois on May 2, 2012 and provides a collaborative home dedicated to supporting designers, developers and innovators who are charting the future of the nation’s economy. Located in The Merchandise Mart, the soon-to-be-75,000-square-foot facility provides Chicago startups with programming, access to mentors, educational resources, potential investors and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs that help them on their path to building successful businesses. To date, 1871 has graduated nearly three dozen companies, who collectively have created nearly 400 jobs and raised nearly $40 million in venture capital funding.

10 Angel Investors to Watch

Barry Moltz

Getting Small Businesses Unstuck, Shafran Moltz Group

Save to PlaybookComments (0)

Angel investors invested $23 billion into small business startups last year. Here are 10 who are most likely to fund the next big thing.

JULY 10, 2013

Angel investors are a critical part of the funding for many startups. They swoop in with money, connections and advice and can be just the thing your early-stage company needs to turn a great idea into a viable company.

The press has given celebrity status to a select few angels, who either have sold their companies or are corporate CEOs like Marissa Mayer (Yahoo), Reed Hastings (Netflix) and Kevin Rose (Digg), but don't be fooled by the seemingly scarce number of angels; there are in fact hundreds of thousands of these types of investors, and last year they invested $23 billion in startups.

Want a piece of the action? First thing to know is that not every angel is right for every company. There needs to be an alignment of business philosophies and principles.

Here's a list of 10 exciting angel investors to watch. Learn about their philosophies, who they're investing in and what they look for in up-and-coming startups.

1. The Mentor: Peter Relan
Investment philosophy: Relan chooses which companies to invest in based on an entrepreneur's intelligence over an idea. He practices cradle-to-grave mentorship.
Type of investments: Betting on the person, not the industry
Wins: ZipPay/X.Com (PayPal), Scient, FastForward Networks (Yahoo)

2. The Team Player: Tony Shipley
Investment philosophy: Shipley invests in pre-revenue and early-stage companies that are focused on building “strategically” important applications.
Type of investments: Technology-oriented businesses, including IT and life sciences
Wins: ShareThis, Fortis

3. The SuperAngel: Dave Berkus
Investment philosophy: Berkus is a role-up-your-sleeves kind of guy, who likes to digs into the numbers.
Type of investments: Strictly technology
Wins: GameSpy Industries, Green Dot

4. The Game Changer: Shlomo Kramer
Investment philosophy: Kramer looks for scalable companies that either solve a new problem or introduce a disruptive idea for solving an existing problem within an already established market.
Type of investments: Security technology and IT businesses
Wins: Palo Alto Networks, Worklight (IBM), Business Layers (CA) and Digital Fuel (VMware)

5. The Coach: Boris Wertz
Investment philosophy: Wertz looks for passionate entrepreneurs with deep domain knowledge who know they need help.
Type of investments: Consumer Internet, e-commerce, SaaS and mobile opportunities
Wins: AbeBooks (Amazon), Indiegogo

6. The Creative: Howard Tullman
Investment philosophy: Tullman focuses on disruptive technologies in industries where he can add industry connections and experience.
Type of investments: Automotive, insurance, data management, media and publishing, education, customer satisfaction measurement and management
Wins: Indiegogo

7. The Builder: David Rose
Investment philosophy: Rose chooses people who have scalable business models.
Type of investments: "Platform" type businesses, which provide an infrastructure to enable other companies and individuals to make money
Wins: Google, Facebook, Mashery (Intel)

8. The Action Hero: Gil Penchina
Investment philosophy: Penchina primarily considers two things: data and his gut feel.
Type of investments: Consumer Internet, payments, marketplaces and consumerization of the enterprise
Wins: LinkedIn, PayPal, Evite

9. The Co-Founder: Steve Miller
Investment philosophy: Miller likes to think and act like a co-founder of the business and will invest time and energy into getting to know founders and their ideas at a deeper level.
Type of Investments: Consumer Internet, social media
Wins: Golf.com (Time Inc.)

10. The Collaborator: Angela Lee
Investment philosophy: Lee focuses on how the founders interact with each other and create synergy.
Type of investments: Health care and education technology
Wins: Legend Fighting Championship

Which other angel investors would you add to the list?

Read more articles on small-business funding.

Photo: Thinkstock

Save to PlaybookComments (0)

Barry Moltz

Getting Small Businesses Unstuck, Shafran Moltz Group

I get small business owners unstuck through speaking , writing and consulting. I am a big technology, antique car and karate enthusiast.

MILESTONES

TWITTER FOLLOWERS

> 5000

BLOG PAGEVIEWS

> 600,000

How Music Agencies of Record are Shaping the Sonic Identities of the World’s Top Trademarks

Your Brand Hear: How Music Agencies of Record are Shaping the Sonic Identities of the World’s Top Trademarks

By: Eric Sheinkop, CEO, Music Dealers Jun 30, 2014

Tags & Topics:

One thing at the 2014 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity was remarkably clear: We are witnessing a revolution within the traditional Agency of Record framework. The rise of specialty agencies is shifting the paradigm to a new model, including the birth of the Music Agency of Record.

With major brands moving away from the Agency of Record model, they’re leaving their identities in the hands of more teams spread around the world. Doing so threatens the consistency of a brand’s voice and message. This is especially the case in areas like the music a brand uses in its campaigns, or its overall sonic identity, which needs the same formatting and guidelines as other communication elements such as logos or fonts.

When a brand switches agencies, the logo and branding are carried over to the new partner through style guides, visual identity systems (VIS) and more. Until now, tools and resources like these have never existed for a brand’s sound.

Today, brands are working with more specialized agencies to create more content than ever before. Music is not only showing up as a pain point, but as one of the largest missed opportunities to drive positive engagement, build a cohesive brand identity and create value. You wouldn’t let an editor change your company’s logo based on personal preference, but that’s exactly what’s happening with the use of music.

In Cannes past, Music Dealers, a creative licensing agency, has simply been considered a vendor to other agencies to supervise a music search and clear songs for commercial use. But this year, top brands including McDonald’s, which was named Creative Marketer of the Year, and Coke, who owned that title last year, introduced us to their more traditional agency partners.

Music Dealers is the first company to be appointed Music Agency of Record for some of the world’s most respected and creative brands. Earlier this year, The Coca-Cola Company introduced Music Dealers to 142 of their above-the-line creative agencies around the world. This move came after Music Dealers worked with Coke’s global brand teams to identify the right music to properly reflect the personalities of the brands. Fanta looks and tastes the same everywhere in the world, but the sound of the brand has come down to the personal taste of the local team. We needed a way to create more consistency and use every opportunity we have to create strong connections with consumers.

Eric Sheinkop

Music Dealers curated “on brand” music for Coke, Sprite, Coke Zero and Fanta. Instantly we saw a pickup in use around the world from creative teams who appreciated the music that would help drive value for their productions. We’re cutting down the time it takes to find and source the perfect track using artists from more than 85 countries.

And Coke isn’t the only company catching on. McDonald’s recently introduced Music Dealers to their creative agencies to help with music selection on TV spots after completing a Music Dealers-run Sonic Identity workshop. Microsoft, Bacardi and other global brands have gone through similar workshops and created musical style guides to help inform their music choices.

These workshops think through what a brand represents and how it wants to be seen and talked about before curating the right music for a campaign. Music doesn’t just help tell the story of what’s on screen; it evokes emotion so strong that it can carry the relationship with the consumer beyond the 30-second spot and help a brand become part of the consumer’s life in an organic way. Once a brand’s musical style guide has been created, the music they use in-store, in-restaurant, in radio, TV, Internet and any other touch point can be a proper reflection of the brand and help drive true value.

As brands are creating more content through different sources and teams, the role of the music agency of record becomes even more important to help drive consistency.

People need music. They have a strong desire to discover new music and share that music with their friends. Brands have the opportunity to be their trusted filter and help deliver music that makes a difference in their lives.

Eric Sheinkop is co-founder and CEO of Music Dealers.