A Dead Startup Tally Sheet
March 17, 2016
Startups are the buzzword for companies that are starting up in the tech industry, usually with an innovative idea that garners them several million in investments. Some startups are successful, others plodder along, and many simply fail. CBS Insights makes an interesting (and valid) comparison with tech startups and dot-com bust that fizzled out quicker than a faulty firecracker.
While most starts appear to be run by competent teams that, sometimes they fizzle out or are acquired by a larger company. Many of them are will not make it as a headlining company. As a result, CBS Insights invented, “The Downround Tracker: Which Companies Are Not Living Up To The Expectations?”
CBS Insights named this tech boom, the “unicorn era,” probably from the rare and mythical sightings of some of these companies. The Downround Tracker tracks unicorn era startups that have folded or were purchased. Since 2015, fifty-six total companies have made the Downround Tracker list, including LiveScribe, Fab.com, Yodle, Escrow.com, eMusic, Adesto Technologies, and others.
Browse through the list and some of the names will be familiar and others will make you wonder what some of these companies did in the first place. Companies come and go in a fashion that appears to be quicker than any other generation. At least in shows that human ingenuity is still working, cue Kanas’s “Dust in the Wind.”
Whitney Grace, March 17, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Tech Unicorns May Soon Disappear as Fast as They Appeared
March 15, 2016
Silicon Valley “unicorns”, private companies valued at one billion or more, may not see the magic last. The article Palantir co-founder Lonsdale calls LinkedIn plunge a bad sign for unicorns from Airline Industry Today questions the future for companies like LinkedIn whose true value has yet to result in ever-increasing profits. After disappointing Wall Street with lower earnings and revenue, investors devalued LinkedIn by about $10 billion. Joe Lonsdale, the Formation 8 venture investor who co-founded Palantir Technologies is quoted stating,
“A lot of LinkedIn’s value, according to how many of us think about it, is tied to what it will achieve in the next five to 10 years,” Lonsdale said in an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Alley” on Friday. “It is very similar to a unicorn in that way. Yes, it is making a few billion in revenue and it’s a public company but it has these really big long-term plans as well and is very similar to how you see these other companies.” He added a lot of people who have been willing to suspend disbelief aren’t doing that anymore. “At this point, people are asking, ‘Are you actually going to be able to keep growing?’ And they’re punishing the unicorns and punishing the public companies the same way.”
Lonsdale understands why many private companies postpone an IPO for as long as possible, given these circumstances. Regardless of the pros and cons of when a company should go public, the LinkedIn devaluation seems as if it will send a message. Whether that message is one that fearmongers similar companies into staying private for longer or one that changes profitability norms for younger tech companies remains to be seen.
Megan Feil, March 15, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Organized Cybercrime Continues to Evolves
March 10, 2016
In any kind of organized crime, operations take place on multiple levels and cybercrime is no different. A recent article from Security Intelligence, Dark Web Suppliers and Organized Cybercrime Gigs, describes the hierarchy and how the visibility of top-level Cybercrime-as-a-Service (CaaS) has evolved with heightened scrutiny from law enforcement. As recently as a decade ago, expert CaaS vendors were visible on forums and underground boards; however, now they only show up to forums and community sites typically closed to newcomers and their role encompasses more expertise and less information sharing and accomplice-gathering. The article describes their niche,
“Some of the most popular CaaS commodities in the exclusive parts of the Dark Web are the services of expert webinjection writers who supply their skills to banking Trojan operators.
Webinjections are code snippets that financial malware can force into otherwise legitimate Web pages by hooking the Internet browser. Once a browser has been compromised by the malware, attackers can use these injections to modify what infected users see on their bank’s pages or insert additional data input fields into legitimate login pages in order to steal information or mislead unsuspecting users.”
The cybercrime arena shows one set of organized crime professionals, preying on individuals and organizations while simultaneously being sought out by organized cyber security professionals and law enforcement. It will be most interesting to see how collisions and interactions between these two groups will play out — and how that shapes the organization of their rings.
Megan Feil, March 10, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Startup Semantic Machines Scores Funding
February 26, 2016
A semantic startup looks poised for success with experienced executives and a hefty investment, we learn from “Artificial Intelligence Startup Semantic Machines Raises $12.3 Million” at VentureBeat. Backed by investors from Bain Capital Ventures and General Catalyst Partners, the enterprise focuses on deep learning and improved speech recognition. The write-up reveals:
“Last year, Semantic Machines named Larry Gillick as its chief technology officer. Gillick was previously chief speech scientist for Siri at Apple. Now Semantic Machines is looking to go further than Siri and other personal digital assistants currently on the market. ‘Semantic Machines is developing technology that goes beyond understanding commands, to understanding conversations,’ the startup says on its website. ‘Our Conversational AI represents a powerful new paradigm, enabling computers to communicate, collaborate, understand our goals, and accomplish tasks.’ The startup is building tools that third-party developers will be able to use.”
Launched in 2014, Semantic Machines is based in Newton, Massachusetts, with offices in Berkeley and Boston. The startup is also seeking to hire a few researchers and engineers, in case anyone is interested.
Cynthia Murrell, February 26, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
AI Startups Use Advanced AI Technology to Improve Daily Chores
February 11, 2016
The article on e27 titled 5 Asian Artificial Intelligence Startups that Caught Our Eye lists several exciting new companies working to unleash AI technology, often for quotidian tasks. For example, Arya.ai provides for speeder and more productive decision-making, while Mad Street Den and Niki.ai offers AI shopping support! The article goes into detail about the latter,
“Niki understands human language in the context of products and services that a consumer would like to purchase, guides her along with recommendations to find the right service and completes the purchase with in-chat payment. It performs end-to-end transactions on recharge, cab booking and bill payments at present, but Niki plans to add more services including bus booking, food ordering, movie ticketing, among others.”
Mad Street Den, on the other hand, is more focused on object recognition. Users input an image and the AI platform seeks matches on e-commerce sites. Marketers will be excited to hear about Appier, a Taiwan-based business offering cross-screen insights, or in layman’s terms, they can link separate devices belonging to one person and also estimate how users switch devices during the day and what each device will be used for. These capabilities allow marketers to make targeted ads for each device, and a better understanding of who will see what and via which device.
Chelsea Kerwin, February 11, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
US and Europe Split After Much Attensity
February 9, 2016
Most companies that are split across oceans usually have a parent company they remain attached to, however, PR Newswire shares that “IMCap Partners Acquire Attensity Europe.” Attensity Group Inc. is a leading provider in customer interaction management and its sub-company Attensity Europe headed its solutions across the pond. Recently, IMCap Partners invested money in a deal for Attensity Europe to split apart from the parent and become an independent company. Thomas Dreikauss will remain the CEO and also become a new shareholder in the new company. None of the details related to the purchase price and other details remain private.
Attensity Europe plans to focus on developing its omni-channel customer service and its market-leading product Respond, multilingual and omni-channel response management software. Respond increases productivity processing customer written requests and ensures better transparency over the service level.
“ ‘The market for CRM solutions is growing by just under 14% a year on average, according to Gartner, and therefore at a much more rapid rate than the overall software market. With Respond Attensity Europe is focusing on the highly attractive and rapid-growth customer interaction management/customer care segment, providing a solution that also fully meets the requirements of very large customer service units. The solution’s analytics, scalability and integration capacity are setting standards in the industry. Respond is a highly flexible, future-proof platform for customer service covering all written communication channels, including social media,” indicated Rolf Menne, operating partner at IMCap. “In cooperation with the highly motivated team at Attensity Europe, we see extremely attractive growth potential.’”
Attensity Europe will be rebranded and already has plans to take off in the coming year.
Whitney Grace, February 9, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Jargon Watch: De-Risking
February 8, 2016
“De-Risking Technology Projects” presents some interesting factoids; for example: “Fewer than one in three software projects present successful outcomes.”
The factoid comes from a mid tier consulting firm’s “Chaos” report. The diligent folks who did the research analyzed 50,000 projects.
But the hook which snagged me was the use of the term “de-risking.” The idea is that one takes an assignment at work, works on it, and keeps one’s job even if the project goes down in flames.
How can this state of regular paycheck nirvana be achieved? The write up offers some advice which is obvious and probably has been embraced by those who crank out a collapsing bridge or a search and content processing system which cannot locate information or keep pace with inflows of content.
Here are the tips in case you napped during one of your business school lectures:
- Balance scope and time available
- Figure out how and what to deliver
- Design and implement the solution
- Prioritize simplicity and performance.
Now how does one get from high rates of failure to success?
Let’s consider implementing a search, content processing, and discovery solutions. Most of the information access systems with which I have examined deliver disappointment. Years ago I reported on the satisfaction users of enterprise search systems reported. The rate of dissatisfaction fell somewhere between 55 and 75 percent of users.
This means that if one third of enterprise software projects like search and content processing fail, the two thirds which survive crank out astounding users who are not happy with the deployed system.
The question “How does one make an enterprise search and content processing?” a success calls into question the products, interfaces, and functionality of many vendors’ work.
My view is that users cope. The belief that information access technology is making corporate work a joy is widely held. Like some other beliefs, reality may not match up.
Wonder why vendors are embracing open source technology? It is part of the de-risking approach. Let others figure out how to fix this stuff.
Does de-risking deliver excellence? In my experience, nope. Jargon is a means of closing a deal. Making something work for its users is a different challenge.
Stephen E Arnold, February 8, 2016
Hackers Revive Dark Web Forum Called Hell
February 8, 2016
After personal details of over four million Adult Friend Finder users was found on the Dark Web site called Hell, this notorious internet hacking forum was shut down by authorities around July 2015. Reported by Instant Tricks, an article Hell is back with Hell Reloaded on the Dark Web explains Hell is currently accessible again on the Dark Web. The article states,
“The exact date of the website’s returning on-line is troublesome to determine, for the posts don’t have a date next to them for security functions. However, judgement by the quantity of posts, it’s honest to mention that the web site came back simply over every week past. Hell is a web portal on the Dark internet that’s employed by hackers everywhere the globe to share their hacking tricks moreover as transfer and post taken knowledge.”
Hell is one of the world’s largest hacking forums on the Dark Web and, as such, is difficult to imagine the site will ever kick the bucket. Interestingly, in its re-emergence, it has been rendered with the same branding as if nothing had changed. “Stephen E Arnold’s Dark Web Notebook” describes this Dark Web resource. We recommend this read for security, law enforcement and information technology officials as these industries’ landscapes evolve due to the enduring presence of sites like Hell on the Dark Web.
Megan Feil, February 08, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Management 101: Sensitivity to Staff
January 24, 2016
I read “Yahoo CEO Cruelly Instills Fear in Her Workforce with Ominous Joke: No Layoffs This Week.”
I love this approach to motivation. I remember hearing Charles Colson, the pre-reformation version, gentle reader, explain to me and others in the meeting the value of fear and intimidation. By golly, I perked up. We may have been contractors to the president’s science advisor, but I got the message. Let’s see. I think that was in the early 1970s. I was useful to my employer because my father and his brother had been fund raisers for Senator Dirksen and Congressman Michel. As a result, I found myself in some darned interesting opportunity spaces when I was in Washington, DC. I saw the “hearts and mind” wall art.
If you are not familiar with the pre reformation Mr. Colson, you might find this obituary helpful. I highlighted this passage:
Charles W. Colson, the Republican political operative who boasted that he would “walk over my own grandmother” to ensure the reelection of President Richard M. Nixon and went on to found a worldwide prison fellowship ministry after his conversion to evangelical Christianity.
The write up about the fascinating Yahoo and its Xoogler leader reported:
The backlash is mounting against Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer for a horrible joke she attempted to make recently at a companywide meeting, and now many in her presumably deflated workforce fear for their jobs. Mayer reportedly told the company that there will be “no layoffs… this week,” and although her comments were intended to be humorous, many who call the tech giant home are left wondering about their employment status within the company. “This is the reason employee morale is so low,” said one employee to the New York Post, who wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution.
Yep, humor works really well as a management mechanism. Nothing relaxes an individual like a reminder that the mortgage may go unpaid, one’s home life is disrupted, and one’s professional standing is decimated.
Good stuff. Mr. Colson would have approved. My recollection is that he liked to be a bit more colorful. You know. The grandmother thing was a nice rhetorical touch. Xoogler management 101, gentle reader. Think what one does in management 102.
Stephen E Arnold, January 23, 2016
IBM and Severance: An Arbitrary Winter Chill
January 22, 2016
I read “IIBM Alters Severance Terms.” The idea is that an IBMer gets a review and learns that s/he is no longer needed. The reason may be incompetence; the reason may be downsizing; or the reason may be part of the IBM’s desire to outsource. Who knows? Saving money makes sense after 15 consecutive quarters of revenue decline and the massive spending to make Watson a household word, pay off Bob Dylan, and visit every possible media outlet with the tidings of gladness and joy about cognitive computing.
The write up points out:
Employees who took the IBM Separation Allowance Plan used to get 6 months pay. Now it’s one month.
That sounds fair. Some money may be better than zero money. The write up quotes the IBM explanation, which I find just thrilling for the employees soon to be affected by the change:
The separation allowance payment available under the Individual Separation Allowance Plan, regardless of the circumstance under which ISAP is offered, is one month of pay. For employees covered by IBM’s Growth Driven Profit-sharing program or on any type of sales or services incentive plan or any special program which is offered in lieu of the IBM Growth Driven Profit-sharing program, the one month of pay made under ISAP is paid in a lump sum, using the employee’s base pay amount (also known as reference salary) (full or part time). Any separation allowance payment under any of IBM’s plans is in lieu of any other form of separation pay to which the employee is, may, or might have become entitled. An individual separation allowance is not an automatic entitlement and will not accrue or be paid for reasons other than those listed above. No separation allowances under any of IBM’s plans will accrue if an employee has outstanding indebtedness to IBM or debts for which IBM may be responsible. However, if an employee makes arrangements satisfactory to IBM to repay any such outstanding debts, a separation allowance may be paid. Indebtedness to IBM could include, but is not limited to, a debit commission balance, an IBM US Mobility Plan equity loan, an unpaid balance on an installment purchase of an IBM product, credit card debt, excess tax loan, an outstanding travel expense account or failure to return IBM-owned property. In the event of rehire by IBM or any of its subsidiaries as a regular employee within 30 days after separation of employment with a payment under the Plan, IBM reserves the right to require repayment of the full ISAP payment.
Did IBM Watson assist in the writing of these statements? The conditionals add a bit of spice. Just what one needs as Joshua makes its way to IBM Federal Systems in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Stephen E Arnold, January 22, 2016
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