Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/209902125?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Big venture firm raises the networking stakes
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Andreessen Horowitz, a three-year-old venture capital firm, has made a big mark in Silicon Valley partly through the sheer scale of its endeavors, with big funds totaling some $2.7 billion and big investments in high-profile companies including Facebook, Twitter, Zynga and Groupon.
Now it is aiming to go big with another aspect of venture investing, one it says has often been more talk than action: providing start-up companies with business connections that can help them succeed.
The company has built a special facility, dubbed the Executive Briefing Center, and hired a partner and a small staff to connect entrepreneurs with companies that might buy their products.
The idea of VCs opening their Rolodexes to help their portfolio companies is hardly new, and in fact is often part of the pitch that blue-chip VCs make to entrepreneurs when they want in on a promising deal.
"It's something we've been doing for a over a decade, in a formal way," Sequoia Capital partner Jim Goetz said of his firm's "customer days." At Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, several hundred connections a year are being made between portfolio companies and Fortune 500 companies, a spokeswoman said. Other large VC firms cited similar efforts.
The trouble is, these efforts in many cases don't ultimately amount to much, many entrepreneurs say. Sometimes, the contacts are at the right company, but the wrong level to help a particular project. Sometimes the partners fail to share contacts among themselves. It is something Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz found wanting when they worked together at Netscape and then at Opsware.
"We got 2-3 introductions from VCs that actually amounted to anything," said Horowitz. "It was underwhelming."
Andy Rachleff, the former partner at Benchmark Capital who handled the Opsware investment, acknowledged that such networking was not a priority. He called Andreessen's and Horowitz's requests for introductions to chief information officers during 1999 and the early 2000s "a source of constant frustration."
Rachleff says his most important contributions were in strategy, including in advising the company to move from service to software, and he remains close with the duo; they turned to him for tips when launching their own firm.
FOCUS ON INTRODUCTIONS
While Andreessen and Horowitz stress that their overall experience with VCs was positive, they felt there was an opportunity to systemize and upgrade the introduction process. They hired Mark Cranney, who had previously worked at Opsware and was an entrepreneur-in-residence at Andreessen Horowitz, to run the program full-time.
Cranney and his staff of three tap their contacts, as well as those of other partners, and invite established companies to visit the firm. Once a company commits, Cranney and his team select a group of portfolio companies to make presentations to them, one-on-one. About 200 briefings took place last year.
For the visiting company, the allure lies in getting a sense of what the latest developments are in Silicon Valley, and the possibility of finding a start-up whose services could help.
"What Andreessen is able to do is see these innovative technologies early," said Beth Comstock, chief marketing officer at General Electric, who estimates about 25 GE executives have been involved in briefings on topics ranging from consumer Internet technology to health data.
For the portfolio companies, the goal is customers.
On one recent morning, seven business-development executives from First Data, an Atlanta-based payment processor, sat in an Andreessen conference rooms as a stream of companies came through giving 25-minute presentations. It was First Data's third visit to the firm.
As they munched on pastries, the executives went over some of the company's challenges, including data-mining, improving customer service, and making sure all the companies' platforms work in the same way in each country where First Data operates.
Then the presentations began, kicked off by data-analytics company Quantifind. After Quantifind's corporate development director Sean Wilkinson wrapped up, the First Data executives peppered him with questions on topics like fraud analytics and how data is pulled from social-media sites.
"If you didn't have this, you'd have to try and get to those people, you'd have to fly and go see them, and the chance of getting more than 1-2 people in a room is difficult," said Tim Eades, chief executive of Silver Tail Systems, an online-fraud prevention company that was part of the First Data line-up. He estimated that business generated by the Andreessen Horowitz briefings have added more than 15 percent to 2012 sales.
At Lookout, a mobile-phone security company, chief executive John Hering said the briefing program had led to several deals, including one he plans to announce shortly with a leading mobile operator in a part of the world where he previously lacked a mobile partner.
Some companies say VC-driven networking is not a big concern for them.
"Sure, the introduction, at a high level, to the Verizon CEO is awesome," said Tony Zingale, chief executive of Jive Software, who recalls several helpful connections forged thanks to his position as a Sequoia portfolio company. "But what's more awesome is the strategic guidance." Jive's IPO late last year generated $161.3 million.
Indeed, some in Silicon Valley grouse that the executive briefings amount to little more than a slick branding move by Andreessen Horowitz. But Ben Horowitz takes no offense at that.
"Our companies really appreciate that we have a strong brand because it accrues to them," said Horowitz. "When they go recruit engineers they say ?We're backed by Andreessen,' and the engineers say, ?Oh great, they have a lot of money, I like what they're about.'"
He shrugs off the critics with a quote from the rapper Drake. "Jealousy is just love and hate at the same time," Horowitz said. "We welcome the love."
(Reporting By Sarah McBride; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Tim Dobbyn)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/big-venture-firm-raises-networking-stakes-164521889.html
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Thursday, February 23, 2012
Factbox: Winners of the 2012 BRIT Awards (omg!)
[unable to retrieve full-text content]omg! - (Reuters) - The BRIT Awards, British pop's top honors, were held in London on Tuesday. Following is the full list of winners on the night: BRITISH MALE SOLO ARTIST: - Ed Sheeran BRITISH FEMALE SOLO ARTIST: - Adele BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH ACT: - Ed Sheeran BRITISH GROUP: - Coldplay BRITISH SINGLE: - One Direction/What Makes You Beautiful MASTERCARD BRITISH ALBUM OF THE YEAR: - Adele/21 INTERNATIONAL MALE SOLO ARTIST: - Bruno Mars INTERNATIONAL FEMALE SOLO ARTIST: - Rihanna INTERNATIONAL GROUP: - Foo Fighters INTERNATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH ACT: - Lana Del Rey OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC AWARD: - ...
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Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Prada phone by LG 3.0 launches on T-Mobile UK
It's been available off-contract for a while, but now T-Mobile UK has launched the awkwardly-named Prada phone by LG 3.0 at subsidized prices. The Prada phone, which we first saw at its launch party in late December, features mid to high-end LG internals and a Prada-designed chassis and user interface.
Tmo UK is offering the phone for free on its 24-month, £36-per-month "Full Monty" contract, which includes unlimited texts, unlimited data and 2000 minutes. If you want to spend a little less, it's also available on a number of £31-per-month deals with unlimited texts, data allowances between 100 and 1500MB, and 300-900 minutes.
Source: T-Mobile UK
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/2lk52V93WRE/story01.htm
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Friday, February 17, 2012
Stephen Colbert: The Contraception Crusade (Little green footballs)
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Is This HGH Supplement Your New Source of Youth? | New Health ...
New Health And Fitness.Org - Health Information You Can Use
Chances are you?ll properly know, HGH means Development hormone. The considerably investigated and studied benefits of this hormone have clearly resulted in a rise in HGH products being released. Some are useful, some will not be so good.
I will give attention to what kinds of HGH you could find at present out there and in particular check out one very popular complement generally known as HGH Energizer to see whether or not its an effective GH answer when held up against different sorts of boosting human development hormone
But first, it is necessary for us to bear in mind what human growth hormone does plus the different kinds of HGH dietary supplements can be found to us presently. This is the research that i did before I bought Energizer.
Precisely what is Human progress hormone and particularly what does it do?
Properly it?s a hormone that is protein structured and the agent answerable for the expansion, cell making and copy in humans in addition to animals.
It?s primarily released via the night time time whereas in deep sleep however that is determined by your actual age. HGH is highest in growing adolescents and the older we get, the significantly much less we generate. (About half of what we?d once produce after we were turning into an grownup!). It?s accountable for these things.
* Promotes fat burning
* Will increase muscular mass
* Minimizes liver uptake of Glucose (helps prevent diabetes)
* Strengthens bones
* Strengthens immune system
* Increases Vitality Ranges
So you can easily observe how important this important hormone may be!
Now a couple of of the varied kinds available to buy HGH?
HGH Photographs
This is actually artificial human progress hormone and is the holy grail of HGH supplements. These are all nicely and good nonetheless they do come with a price. They?re just literally so expensive and can value round $100 for one days dose!
Moreover you even have a metaphorical worth to pay when you ever experience undesirable effects. Changing your bodies natural provide of growth by having an overdose might end up in excessive bone progress at the extremities which may be everlasting and by no means very pleasing to the eye. Fingers, forehead, jaw and feet are most effected.
The results vs the potential dangers of injections will not be worthwhile.
HGH Dietary supplements
Well being supplements really are a safer more pure option. What supplements purpose to do is improve your ?natural? human development hormone manufacturing that?s each efficient and safe.
Nevertheless, you should look at the ingredients and discover out if what is getting used is each pure and effective. Some growth hormone dietary supplements use disagreeable components which can be additionally not very reliable. At finest these merchandise are scams in disguise! (I?ve already been by way of it and done that!)
HGH Energizer works with a combination of pure amino acids (and that is what natural growth hormone contains of) to add to your pure manufacturing in addition to makes use of natural herbs to support your effectively being and vigor. It has positively helped me to appear and feel younger. I?m not blissful to get old yet and this complement has offered me extra time which I am grateful for.
for more about HGH energizer and Idol Lash visit my website
Source: http://newhealthandfitness.org/2012/02/07/is-this-hgh-supplement-your-new-source-of-youth/
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CMS - A power tool to Build Dynamic and artistic Websites - NAHRG
Even as we say change is the only constant. The idea of change holds for technology at the same time. After a while, many technologies have evolved which have renedered our lives simpler. Internet is one. Today, it?s possible to conduct business and purchase several items. Moreover, in the present hyper competitive time, it may be mandatory for each business to have the online presence. Earlier, developing a website involved a great deal of work, and efforts. However with the advent of CMS web design, the duty of website development has become easy. It?s no longer a period consuming and cumbersome process. CMS development guarantees a specialist, dynamic and inventive website for electronic cigarette reviews that is good for the business. That is why tastes people opt for aCMS design to acquire a user-friendly and visually appealing website that?s corresponding to their positive online image.
A content management system is a software which enables in managing, editing and updating this content in a very simple manner. It gives full chance to an individual and the modifications can be created easily without seeking any professional assistance. Thus a CMS decreases the dependence on professional experts.
CMS has great number of features that produce a website dynamic and inventive.
1. To start with, a CMS provides a great selection of basic functionality. It offers you full control of your content. The robust basic functionality lets you control and customize the website content much like your preferences, just like example for auction sites.
2. CMS has flexible WYSIWYG editors. This feature allows you to edit, add or affect the website content without having any understanding of HTML. It lets you insert links, margin headings etc. you can also add certain elements which otherwise require the understanding of HTML.
3. In terms of customization, a CMS provides a lot for users. You possibly can make any sort of changes you would like anytime. It offers you the liberty to customize and design your site to make it creative enough.
4. They have great management features that allow you to manage files efficiently. You are able to upload and fix PDF, Word documents etc.
5. A CMS has an excellent method of interaction with internet users. With an online business, you should get comments from customers and opinion making adjustments to the site accordingly. A good CMS has the feature that lets users and visitors to leave comments through chat or online community.
6. A good CMS has robust component and plug-in directories. These plug-ins give an excellent possibility to design a customised website remember all the specific requirements. These plug-ins also extent the functionality of the website.
7. Most significantly, a great CMS is internet search engine friendly. It helps to ensure that your site adheres to proper web standards and keeps ahead in the competition.
All these features offer with a CMS make certain you can get a dynamic and inventive website by way of example for mahjong that doesn?t only suits your business requirements but also works well for generating good returns when it comes to traffic, sales, and ROI.
Source: http://www.nahrg.org/2012/02/07/cms-a-power-tool-to-build-dynamic-and-artistic-websites/
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