1. Unearthing Market Opportunities

Market Magic: Dive into the market landscape. Is it a promising realm that holds the potential to disrupt the status quo? Seek out defined problems and scalable prospects.

2. The Team – Pillar of Power

Talented Troupe: It’s not just about credentials but also the zeal and commitment of the team. Look for a dynamic group willing to go the extra mile for their vision.

3. The MVP – Marvelous or Mundane?

Innovation Indicator: Assess the uniqueness and value proposition of their product or service. The underlying technology, intellectual property, and competitive edge are pivotal.

4. Revenue Realm: The Business Model

Moolah Mechanics: How will the startup generate revenue? Is the path to profitability clear? Keep losses short-term for a strategic market takeover.

5. Traction – Tracking Success

Growth Gauge: Numbers speak volumes. Observe user acquisition, revenue growth, and noteworthy partnerships. Traction is proof of market demand.

6. Stand Out in the Crowd – Competitive Landscape

Against the Tide: Identify competitors, their strengths, and weaknesses. Seek a startup that challenges norms in a distinctive manner.

7. Capital Chronicles: Funding Needs

Financial Fortitude: Understand the startup’s capital requirements and their financial strategy. A well-planned financial roadmap is crucial.

8. Steer Clear of Storms: Risks and Challenges

Hurdles and How-tos: Recognize potential challenges and how the startup intends to conquer them. Smooth seas never made skilled sailors.

9. The Endgame: Exit Strategy

Roadmap to Rewards: What’s the exit plan? Is it an IPO, acquisition, or a different route? Clarity here indicates a long-term vision.

10. Investigative Journey: Due Diligence

Deep Dive: Scrutinize every detail. Legal, financial, and technical reviews are your allies. No room for unexpected surprises.

11. Legal Labyrinth: Compliance and Conformity

Rule Book Compliance: Ensure the startup follows the law. Legal complications can drain resources and momentum.

12. Time is the Essence: Market Timing

Chronicles of Opportunity: Is this the right time to enter the market? Sometimes, success depends on being in the right place at the right moment.

Always remember that each investment is a risk, but it’s the audacious ones that often lead to the most remarkable rewards. Don’t shy away from grand visions; they could be the ones to change the world.

FantomStarter aims to provide security and confidence to investors with the first launchpad on Fantom that thoroughly vets prospective DeFi projects and protocols.

What is FantomStarter?

The Fantom Opera blockchain is a lightning fast secure smart contract platform and has quickly gained traction due to its ability to scale in user reach. It provides a secure and fast environment to build decentralized applications.

FantomStarter is a protocol that empowers investors to take part in groundbreaking blockchain projects. It allows investors to learn about projects and products, view their business plans and gain insight into the background of the companies and teams behind them.

The launchpad project aims to protect investors by carefully vetting projects and products before they are released into the FantomStarter ecosystem. They are providing professional advice to help investors navigate the volatile cryptocurrency space.

Why should investors use it?

Adoption of blockchain technology by corporations and governments is in its early stages. Industries like manufacturing, healthcare and education have benefitted from the increased security and transparency that blockchain transactions provide.

An increasing number of industries are exposed to the benefits of blockchain ledgers every day and FantomStarter is positioned to capture a significant portion of the market.

The FantomStarter team has created a thoughtfully executed risk rating score to protect investors against scams and vaporware projects. Their next generation decentralized investment protocol provides an intuitive user experience that makes it easy to judge risk and take action.

A tiered investment model has been created that offers options ranging from a lottery that will place you in the investment pool to being guaranteed an allocation in vetted projects. There are (7) tiers for investors to choose from.

Tiers 1-3 grant investors allocation rights in the form of a lottery. These tiers come with investor requirements like marketing of the projects on platforms like Twitter and other blockchain-centric networks. The lottery odds range from 10% to 50%.

Tiers 4-7 guarantees investors allocation and governance rights.

Beyond the tiered system are the Top LP and Ministry wallets. These tiers are intended for mature venture capitalists that are involved with tech incubators and are partnered with other companies in the space.

Why should Projects apply?

FantomStarter is a launchpad designed to support and grow blockchain projects in the Fantom Opera network.  They are following in the footsteps of early blockchain launchpads like DAOMaker and Polkastarter that provide strategic investments and structure for blockchain projects and products.

Unlike previous launchpads FantomStarter allows blockchain projects to integrate projects on most major blockchains including Ethereum, Polygon, Binance Smart Chain as well as Fantom.

Developers will submit their project’s business plans before entering a vetting process.

When accepted by the FantomStarter team the project will be eligible to access FS incubator in the way of financing, marketing, developer advisory, auditing and strategic planning. The launchpad has committed to providing as many resources as necessary to guarantee the chance of success.

When does this opportunity become available?

FantomStarter has pledged to open the launchpad to the public by the end of Q3 (September 2021). Accredited investors and venture capitalist firms are invited to register now, however, acceptance is not guaranteed.

The first public Testnet version of the alpha application was released this week and allows anyone to preview the features that FantomStarter will offer. FantomStarter’s alpha version requires use of Fantom testnet during the testing phase.

More details can be found at: https://fantomstarter.io

Media contacts:
Alex Strafalogea
alex@fantomstarter.io

With blockchain being so prominent on the global stage these days, it is worth noting that blockchain, and its many iterations, were founded on the idea of freedom for the masses. Cryptocurrency was founded on the basis of providing a currency that was not subject to the whims of a central bank or any single authority. DeFi has made strides in offering financial services whilst removing middlemen, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been instrumental in helping creatives make a living outside of the elite art world. All signs point to an incoming blockchain revolution.

Few people know quite as much about the revolutionary power of blockchain as Alexander Mamasidikov, the co-founder and CMO of MinePlex, a crypto bank that will allow customers to interact with cryptocurrency as both a financial tool and as a medium of exchange for everyday purchases. In the world we live in, money is freedom and allowing consumers to have control of their finances gives them this freedom 

“First of all, money is a tool that can be used in different ways. You can do charity work, you can build factories. Therefore, any financial assets are a potential key to freedom. You are free in your decisions. In this series, cryptocurrency has an additional property – decentralization. Digital assets truly belong to you, without reference to third parties. This is freedom without limits,” he says. 

The Political Implications of Blockchain 

Mamasidikov is in a unique position in that he is not only a businessman but an activist. Believe it or not, blockchain and activism are often very entangled. In China, activists often use blockchain platforms to spread the word about government oppression. Unlike a traditional website on a centralized network, these posts cannot be removed or changed and this creates a permanent record of these events. 

Mamasidikov sees a lot of potential for blockchain in the future of activism, saying, ‘‘The main advantage of the blockchain is its decentralization, where there is no controlling organization. Its strength is where transparency, objectivity and honesty are needed. In my opinion, one of the areas where blockchain implementation is needed is the Internet. Creation of a decentralized network and no monopolist with content creation. We know that politically inconvenient websites and content are blocked in a number of states. Each of us is subject to the influence of built advertising. This can be changed. Journalism in the decentralized Internet can solve its main tasks: objectivity, freedom and reliability. I look in this direction of blockchain development and see the future. Everything will be possible soon.”

This, among other things, has seen blockchain finding immense success, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bitcoin saw its biggest bull run to date during the pandemic as well as a wave of institutional support from firms like PayPal and JP Morgan, some of which had famously been critical of cryptocurrency in the past. According to Mamasidikov, all this was inevitable. 

‘‘The pandemic has made many processes irreversible. The financial system and the whole world are learning to live according to new laws. The removal of geographical restrictions, the development of digitalization and mobility came to the fore. This has strengthened the presence of businesses, including on the Internet. Cryptocurrency allows you to make transfers almost free of charge. The demand for digital assets, initially aimed at solving these problems, has finally found a way out. Therefore, we created a mobile cryptobank MinePlex with CrossFi technology, combining traditional financial services and blockchain capabilities,” he says. 

All this has not been without its roadblocks, though, as the industry has battled regulatory pushback all over the world, from India to China, and has been accused of being everything from a tool to commit crimes to a threat to economic sovereignty. 

Mamasidikov acknowledges these challenges but believes that the industry will come out on top, saying, ‘‘The main difficulty is that initially the cryptocurrency was created as a decentralized instrument, not subject to influence. Different countries have made different progress on the issue of regulation. In some countries, there is no clear position. Some are negative. Most countries are creating or exploring the possibility of regulating and using cryptocurrency. But a number of countries, on the contrary, understand that it is necessary to look for solutions. The Bahamas has its own sand dollar. El Salvador has approved bitcoin as a means of payment at the state level. China is trying to create an alternative to digital assets for mass use. The activities of crypto companies also depend on global regulation. MinePlex is currently in the process of obtaining all required banking licenses. This will allow providing financial services to all clients and introducing cryptocurrency into daily use.”

Conclusion 

Whether financial or political, blockchain is undoubtedly on track to change the world as we know it. A new generation’s idea of what money means and how to access it has been forever changed and firms like MinePlex are leading the charge. Moving forward, the industry will have to overcome certain roadblocks but Mamasidikov has faith that it will succeed. 

Mamasidikov is positive about the future of the industry and about his company MinePlex. ‘‘Blockchain will allow it to be applied in any industry where it is necessary to increase transparency and openness. These are payment systems, logistics, medical industry and healthcare, government activities, etc. Soon we will see the full-scale use of technology, since this is the best solution for the market in every sense today. MinePlex, thanks to CrossFi technology, is a full-fledged participant in the crypto market right now and a solution to the problems for 220 million potential crypto users,” he concludes

According to the agreement signed in March 2021, Fantom will digitize archives, establish a digital Central Business Registry (CBR), and integrate a range of blockchain solutions to increase efficiency, eliminate fraud, and bring transparency to the Ministry’s national operations. 

Highlights of the Pilot Program:

• The Afghanistan Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Fantom have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to upgrade the Ministry’s information infrastructure.
  
• Under the contract terms, Fantom will digitize archives, create a Central Business Registry (CBR), and implement blockchain-based tools for transparency and efficiency.
  
• Upon successfully demonstrating the prototype, The Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Fantom will explore contract agreements and a long-term, formal relationship.

A fully functioning prototype that will extend across all Ministry systems is expected to be completed within four months. Following the successful demonstration of the software, Fantom and the Ministry will discuss long-term plans for continued development. 

Fantom’s agreement with the Ministry falls under the auspices of a national initiative for the digital transformation of Afghanistan. By bringing transparency and innovation to the nation, the Afghan administration wishes to showcase to the world the country’s fortitude and capacities to adapt and solve major national challenges. 

“This agreement is one in a series of partnerships that Fantom has established with Afghan government offices,” stated COO Barek Sekandari, “and we are thrilled that the Ministry has chosen Fantom to transform their IT infrastructure into one of the most modern systems worldwide. We look forward to scaling with their operations and helping them stimulate private sector growth to improve the lives of Afghan citizens.”

Who is the Afghanistan Ministry of Industry and Commerce?

The Afghanistan Ministry of Industry and Commerce seeks to create a flexible, proficient, and viable private sector across Afghanistan by driving inclusive, sustainable economic growth and connecting the private sector with needed resources for innovation.  

Who is Fantom?

Fantom is a global technology firm offering smart-contract-driven blockchain solutions to enterprises, governments, and consumers worldwide. Built on a fast, scalable, and secure layer-1 infrastructure, the Fantom platform addresses a range of real-world use cases, including supply chain, health records, smart education, and decentralized finance.

Strengthening economies, e-commerce, and restocking are the three factors responsible for a global trade environment that saw air cargo demand outpacing supply by more than six percentage points for all four quarters of 2017.Air cargo is a relatively higher-cost transport mode, requiring a clear Return on Investment (ROI) and that is speed.

The year 2017 was a volatile year for the air cargo business due to consolidation in ocean freight, frequent strikes in Europe and airlines cutting down on scheduled freighters among other factors. This resulted in massive delays in airfreight.

“However, post Mid Dec we have seen it stabilizing and there are clear signs of it recovering soon. So, looking at current stability and forecasting that we are getting from our Global partner Airlines we can say that gradual shift to air cargo will reduce dwell time in logistics along with adding predictability and security to supply chain,” says Oliver Bohm, CEO, Schenker India.

The need for even greater security is likely to continue to dictate practices, operational processes and systems development in the industry. Comprehensive, shared electronic data will become more and more important. The air traffic in India has witnessed a significant growth by 18.9 per cent during the year 2016-17 along with air cargo growth at the rate of 9.3 per cent. Looking on this positive trend, the financial year 2017-18 also looks to be on optimistic end as far as India’s air cargo growth is concerned.

Importance of Air Cargo

The air cargo logistics plays a vital role in the economic development of a country.

As Tony Tyler, Former Director General and CEO, International Air Transport Association put it in the IATA Economics Briefing, “Air transport is one of those industries that have transformed the world. Providing rapid connections between the world’s cities by air has enabled the globalisation that has shaped modern business and the experiences of individuals. Airlines and the wider air transport supply chain clearly create substantial value for consumers and the broader economy. That value creation is why, over the past forty years, air travel has expanded ten-fold and air cargo fourteen-fold, compared to a three to four fold rise in world GDP. Yet over this period airlines have only been able to generate sufficient revenues and profit to pay their suppliers and service their debt. There has been nothing left to pay investors for providing equity capital to the airline industry.”

Tyler also explains how this matters in the grand scheme of things. “Well, now that 75 per cent of the world’s airlines are at least majority owned by the private sector, it should be a concern that today’s returns on invested capital do not justify retaining the existing capital invested in the airline industry. Of even more importance is the need to attract $4-5 trillion of new capital over the next two decades to buy aircraft to meet the needs of the expansion in the AsiaPacific and other emerging regions. Improving the efficiency of use of existing capital, and the returns it generates for investors, will be essential to attract new investment to the industry,” he explains further.

Being a very export-oriented country, Germany relies on an excellent infrastructure and connectivity – of course also by air, says Felix Kreutel, Senior Vice President for Cargo Development and Management, Fraport AG.

“Thus, Frankfurt Airport (FRA) is often even considered as the backbone of the German industry. Almost 50 per cent of all German air cargo is flown via FRA. In order to streamline a powerful international air cargo supply chain, it is very important that all players work together and commonly drive international standards, like for example the implementation of eAWBs.”

Air cargo industry must undergo digital transformation

Air Cargo works as the main nexus to connect to the world’s trade. The traditional air cargo process is very fragmented and characterised by many individual players. With their integrated logistics concepts, integrators have been disrupting the market for a while now. Also, sea freight is catching up with new product offers and of course in much lower rates compared to air cargo. Digital development provides us the opportunity to offer faster, more efficient and more transparent processes in order to stay competitive as an industry as a whole.

The air cargo industry must go through digital transformation to stay competitive, and Fraport AG is committed to help customers go through the necessary processes, Kreutel tells CargoConnect.

He adds, “One example of cargo digitisation at FRA is Fair@Link. Today, Fair@Link represents one of the most advanced cargo community systems at any airport in the world. The system enables the electronic exchange of data between participating companies. It digitally networks the players in the airfreight chain and, thus, improves the physical processes between them – not just within FRA’s CargoCity, but, also, well beyond its perimeters.”

In order to push this collaboration, the Air Cargo Community, Frankfurt can be seen as a perfect example on how we could work together in future. The association brings together all the players involved in the air cargo business on site and is dedicated to promoting the interests of air cargo-related companies at FRA and to optimizing logistics processes.

“Only together, we can leverage the chances that new technologies provide us with. Underscoring our position as innovation leader, end of September, we again invite the most influential thinkers in the business, the wider industry and the research sector to the next ‘Frankfurt Air Cargo Innovation Lab’ in order to discuss the future of logistics and engage in dialogue with one another on how to respond to current trends in the air cargo business. Our website innoFRAtor.com offers the industry a platform to get informed about new developments and exchange ideas so that we can actively pursue topics, Kreutel informs.

Booming E-Commerce

The traditional air cargo volumes though in the growth sector is likely to be in the low single digit while the main growth will come in double digits (likely to be 15-25per cent) in e-commerce/etail space, says an expert. This will ensure good growth in the overall air cargo industry. Traditional way of doing business will have to change. The likes of Flexport and Freightos etc are already bringing in the changes. All transactional will have to move into go on to electronic platform making all the processes transparent and more cost efficient. “Those who control the efficient last mile delivery (LMD) will be the winners of tomorrow. Changing consumer behaviour denotes that the industry has to change to cater to the new environment. Google, Amazon, Alibaba, Uber etc are the folks which will force the changes in the air logistics industry,” adds he.

The air cargo business is a dynamic industry and there are always new challenges to deal with – rising fuel costs, increasing competitors, over capacity in tonnage etc. Ram Menen, Retired Aviation and Air Cargo Executive shares his take on whether he believes the gradual shift to air cargo will reduce the dwell time in logistics.

“Technology like mass production via 3D printing which will allow design at a central location and producing (printing) at point of requirement in itself, will reduce the traditional volumes of movement of components, as well as, finished product. The good news is that e-tail business within e-commerce will grow in double digits. Of course, this business is predominantly producing great volumes in the regional arena. The growth in the transcontinental business will depend on how the governments regulate the e-commerce business. All in all, it will find its own flow and boost the air cargo business. It is the ocean side of cargo that might be seeing shrinking volumes as early as, in the next decade. Overall growth in air cargo business, driven by the activities in the e-tail business, is going to be higher than ocean. The biggest challenge for the air cargo business will be trying to take further costs out of the chain as e-commerce is extremely a competitive arena where volumes are going to be big but margins are going to very low. Consumers today have got used to free delivery to door. So, the cost of logistics will have to come out of the e-tailer’s margins and as the likes of Amazon and Alibaba will wield tremendous buying power and also get into the transportation and logistics business in order to control their own destiny.”

As far as the significant trends in the airborne freight and cargo services are concerned, Bohm believes there has been a shift in demand scenario from low to extremely high.

“Thankfully, our long term contract with Global Partners helped us to maintain our high service levels,” shares Oliver Bohm.

Also, a new class of cargo which is basically e-commerce is getting top priority of airlines and this will only increase going forward and will massively impact air traffic routes. Another upcoming epoch making trend to shape up the cargo service in the next couple of years is digitisation in terms of end to end paperless operations, Bohm agrees.

MultiModal Transport to facilitate optimising air cargo procedures

Felix Kreutel, Senior Vice President Cargo of Fraport AG shares how multimodal ways can facilitate optimising the air cargo procedures across the country.

“Road, rail and sea cargo play a very important role when it comes to transporting goods within the country or even within Europe. For cargo coming from or going to FRA, trucking is the most common way of transport. The road feeder services to and from FRA are massive,” he says.

“We have over a thousand trucks serving our cargo cities every day. Here again, it is crucial that the different players within the whole supply chain work closely together in order to have a smooth process when handing over the goods. Therefore, we also connect truckers to Fair@Link. Our gates are equipped with a license plate recognition system that indicates handling agents and forwarders that a truck has arrived on site. Regarding rail transportation, we have a dedicated railway line going directly into our CargoCity area. However, it is difficult to bring airfreight shipments by train to airports, with the frequencies and volumes necessary not available.” Adds Kreutel.

He also believes that air cargo should always be viewed as a multi-modal process, because it relies on fast and efficient transition from air to ground and vice versa. This requires innovation; the ability and knowledge to work with regulators and Customs bodies in order to encourage them to facilitate rather than hinder freight flows; investment in resources; and the installation of digital management systems that monitor transitions and highlight potential problems.

“Every location has its own unique features and characteristics, that dictate the intermodal options – but the underlying processes of putting it all together are always the same, and the key is always communication and collaboration among all stakeholders. Again, airports are in a strong position to create communities that can overcome local obstacles,” adds Whitehead.

Sandeep Chatterjee, Senior Manager, Deloitte on the other hand thinks that in India, the multi-modal mix is heavily skewed and not much thought has been given to why some things are done in a particular way.

Thus, it is important that we optimise the routes and if needed analyse whether a combination of rail, road and air is the most optimum option, feels Chatterjee. “Right now, there are multi-modals between rail and road but not much with air as these are three different players and it usually comes to trust issue why people do not want to collaborate. In India, labour is cheap, so, material handling is cost-effective when we weigh the savings in time and money in a multi-modal mix. The operators need to collaborate for maximum savings as it is very unlikely that the same player will have the facilities for all mode transportation,” says he.

Smooth multi-modal connectivity and movement is the ideal situation, states Menen. Though there is good interaction between Air and land; (Ocean > Road > and Rail), Direct interaction between Air and Ocean interaction is still a challenge, thinks Menen. “Having said that, since the highest growth is in the e-commerce space and for some of the changes I alluded to earlier, this is going to become less relevant in the future,” he says.

Recently, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping, Government of India, has involved Aviation Sector while framing up Multi-modal Logistics Hubs policy with a view to provide thrust to air cargo sector. The strategy involves a reset of India’s logistics sector from a ‘point-to-point’ model to a ‘hub-and-spoke’ model, which involves railways, highways, inland waterways and airports to put in place an effective transportation grid. Multiple initiatives to improve logistics efficiency are already underway including building of economic corridors apart from multi-modal logistics parks.

The multi-modal integrated logistics are likely to increase India’s export with reduced logistics cost, as also will provide employment opportunity for the country viz-a-viz making goods cheaper in the domestic market, he notes.

To support and strengthen multi modal connectivity, DELHI Cargo is strategically focusing on –

•             Transshipment cargo handling facilities and processes

•             Process simplifications involving Customs to further improve efficiency

•             Unbroken cool chain for movement and handling of perishable and pharma cargo

•             Enhancing cargo infrastructure and development of on-Airport Logistics facilities

However, the real challenge Edward believes, would be to create a smooth chain to make multi-modal successful, as in India all the business segments have their own aspirational developmental plan. Hence, integrated multi-modal operations plan and strategy are required to be meticulously devised to have seamless and sustained operation system.

The Way Forward

Ever since 2014, the incumbent Central Government has brought about numerous positive changes in the rules, regulations and procedures in multiple sectors. A large number of outdated regulations have either been abolished or updated to make them contemporary and suitable to the needs of industry, trade and business in the new millennium. This is a trend that should continue in a major way during the next few years to come to revamp the statutes across the board to make India a global hub for not only the airfreight industry, but also for trade and business, notes TA Varghese.

Throwing some light on the significant trends in the airborne freight and cargo services in the years to come, Felix Kreutel says that the industry forces us to increase efficiency and offer data transparency. Digitization and new technologies will therefore shape the industry in the long run, feels Kreutel. But, also Big Data and especially block chains will definitely have a huge impact by improving security and transparency throughout the supply chain. Interfaces have to be aligned and we need to implement data platforms where we integrate the whole supply chain. “Block chains can support the building of logistic data backbones by cloud solutions or other data networks. We must come to a point where all the community systems at various airports are able to communicate with each other – we need a network of trusted networks,” he adds.

Mark Whitehead stresses on collaboration as the main key to the industry’s future development. The task of fostering, setting, enforcing and maintaining acceptable standards across the entire global industry is too big for any one body. A viable alternative route is to foster the creation of local air cargo communities, generally led by airport owners, which will facilitate the sharing of information, ideas and best practice, ease communication and cooperation with local regulators and official bodies, and mobilise effective marketing efforts. “There are several examples of this policy in action, such as Hong Kong: and the results are highly positive, and demonstrate that more can be achieved by a team than by individuals. And, this practice should be promoted to increase the importance of Air Cargo across the country,” Whitehead signs off.

The world’s emerging market and regions are also expected to deliver the fastest growth in air cargo volumes over the next five years, led by the Middle East and Africa, observes Sanjiv Edward from DIAL. “Strongest forecast growth is foreseen on trade lanes between Asia and the Middle East, within the Middle East region too, and between North and South America due to several initiatives impelled worldwide to provide momentum to the freight and cargo services, especially in the new era of e-commerce and globalised economy,” he adds.

Chatterjee from Deloitte throws considerable light on the significant trends in the airborne freight and cargo services in the years to come. “In the coming years customer tolerance time will reduce further and we are already seeing a major shift towards mass customisation. The delivery lead times will be the key and, hence, airborne freight and cargo services are going to expand significantly. There will be specialised carriers who will be able to transport both passengers and cargo in the same plane (which happens mostly as we still do not have much of dedicated air freight carriers in India). We expect to see disruptions in business model in this sector,” he explains.

The governments should be investing in creating industrial parks and make land available for building facilitation centres around the airport areas. They should also invest in creating a good road transportation network for efficient distribution. Road transportation is a very critical component of air cargo. The government should also work on reducing bureaucracy and pull down the hurdles created by border control processes. Everything that the governments do should be done to facilitate trade and distribution rather than policing it. Today, there is no room for traditional way of doing business. In the air transportation business, the future will belong to fully autonomous aircraft. Cargo drone startups like Natilus will lead this space with large commercial drones ploughing the traditional air routes at much lower operating costs.

Companies providing flexibility in the form of greater personal and professional control over the private lives and careers of their employees are most asked for and searched firms in such times of pandemic. The remote working module can largely work how, when and where they want — whether from their home offices, coworking centers, or while working abroad and traveling as digital nomads.

Alongside, the biggest plus point serves to be the money saving aspect which is usually spent on daily transit, business attire and eating out. Yet the module wasn’t readily accepted and implemented until the onset of the fatal coronavirus.

But, then if we talk about the nuances of remote businesses, like any coin, it does have its own pros and cons.

Planning to extend telework options into the future? Thoroughly go through these five proven business benefits of remote work that could indeed help you influence your decision and inspire a modern retooling of your current practices:

Negligible business expenses

Who wouldn’t dare to agree upon the statement that Remote-enabled companies can save immense amount of money on some of the costs associated with onsite business operations, which includes office space, equipment and travel reimbursement? According to the estimates from the Global Workplace Analytics Telework Savings Calculator, a single company can annually save $11,000 per remote worker who telecommutes 50% of the time. Depending on the size of your business and amount of workforce engaged within your business module, this could lead to significant savings without radically changing your company’s structure or completely forgoing brick-and-mortar business activities.

Easy access to applicants

Leaving aside geographic impediments, isolating bosses from the best candidates for their opening, telecommuting wipes out recruiting outskirts and prompts more different working environments. From presenting employment opportunities on getting requests for employment and leading meetings, recruiting supervisors can choose, screen and assess applicants in a completely virtual setup. This selecting approach organises fitness, broadens the recruiting net and permits bosses to moderate aptitudes holes, as multi-language familiarity that might be available in their quick region.

Enhanced productivity

The myth behind remote working module where it is presumed that it only consists of lazy pseudo-professionals without real jobs is nothing more than a myth. Indeed, remote workers have demonstrated to be more beneficial than representatives who work from a physical office. Expanded proficiency among telecommuters is connected to the self-rule remote workers appreciate, prompting decreased work environment interruptions and more opportunity to work during hours they find generally gainful.

Proof of the far off work profitability help is archived in a 2020 Airtasker review report of 1,004 labourers’ daily habits. The overview demonstrated that while distant representatives invested more energy taking breaks all through the workday, they additionally dedicated additional time on work assignments. Furthermore, among representatives who had their mouse development and additionally screen time followed by their managers, just 39% of telecommuters searched out work interruptions, contrasted with 56% of in-office labourers.

Better foresight for sudden disasters

If a permanent telecommuting arrangement is not on your radar, figuring a distant work alternate course of action in case of a cataclysmic event, neighbourhood or national crisis, or a flare-up of a network spread sickness is an insightful decision. During an emergency, staff trivial to on location activities could telecommute, or another adaptable worksite, while using synergistic applications like web based gathering programming and texting. A transitory telecommuting activity plan will help guarantee your labourers are ensured and that your business tasks stay stable.

High employee retention

Telecommuting is one of the most wanted contributions businesses can reach out to work searchers, to such an extent that according to Mom Corps online review, it was found that 42% of representatives would take a compensation slice so as to have more adaptable work alternatives from their managers. Shockingly, working grown-ups matured 18 to 34 — regardless of the high joblessness rate among grown-ups in this age segment — would forfeit over 10% of their compensations to accomplish the expert adaptability working from home gives.

Repeating the attractive quality of distant employments and the decreased weakening rate related with them, the Owl Labs 2019 State of Remote Work report demonstrated that telecommuters are 13% almost certain than on location laborers to remain in their occupations over an all-encompassing period. This could be credited, to a limited extent, to the way that experts working distantly are bound to procure $100,000 pay rates than experts working in physical workplaces, as per Owl Labs.

Hello, I’m Jacob Newman, an entrepreneur, investor and aspiring politician. I was born in Detroit, MI, currently resides in Virginia Beach. I spent most of my professional career in the automotive industry, running multi million dollar dealerships for some of the largest private and publicly traded groups in the world since my early twenties.

You have been widely known as an entrepreneur and investor who brings unique investment opportunities in the cannabis sector, how did it all begin?

To tell you the absolute truth, with cryptocurrency. I spent the vast majority of my twenties really zeroed in on my profession in the automotive industry, outside of a few basic vanilla investments I was too preoccupied to look for opportunities outside of my day to day life. Luckily I happened across a customer one day that was trying to make a large purchase in bitcoin. Which of course at the time I had never even heard of, once I did and had the concept of crypto/decentralized currency put into my head i couldn’t get away from it. Especially once I realized how much money there was to be made in it. It became a point of frustration that I felt like I had let the early years of that opportunity slip away, so I became obsessed with finding a way to fully capitalize on what I believed would be the next breakthrough industry. 

What inspired you to choose this niche, considering the legal infrastructure is quite confusing and complicated in and around the US? 

That’s what makes it so exciting in my opinion, with such a large amount of grey area to operate in it really allows us to make cutting edge moves and attempt things that may have been regulated in a more established industry. I like to think of it as being ahead of the curve.

Your initiative, Invest Green, how does it stand unique compared to other similar ventures?

We consider investgreen to really be one of the pioneers in the cannabis industry, not in the sense that we allow mainstream consumers into the market. We all know that access has been on the rise for the past few years, but what makes us unique is our sector is our focus on crypto assets and how we can use them to further our consumers investments and offer a greater rate of return.

What gave you confidence to invest in cannabis stocks?  Did you ever consider it a risk

I’m a big believer in investing, the next amazon or bitcoin is always just around the corner and if you aren’t trying/looking for new things or ideas then the chances are you’ll be left out in the cold. I would much rather roll the dice and potentially lose out then to have never tried at all.

You have a strong point of view on our day to day political affairs and have been quite vocal about it lately, are you on your way to become a politician?

I am, and I’ve been lucky enough to be pointed in the right direction so far by a few much more experienced individuals. But to be honest we’ve only just begun laying the groundwork for what we’d like to do and how we’d like to do it. There are a myriad of laws restricting fundraising for political parties that aren’t mainstream, what we’re in the process of doing is fundraising for a movement that would give us the financial backing to start the legal process to level the proverbial playing field. 

In your opinion, especially when the world is fighting a pandemic, how should be our way forward?

Without touching on one side of the political spectrum or the other, the easiest answer is together. Whether you’re for or against all the current restrictions, people need to come together. Having a society where we’re so against and always up in arms against each other is not only bad for current relations in the country but if we don’t see things improve then we could be looking at long term societal damage. People need to realize, no matter your race, religion, outlook or political opinion we aren’t all that different and it’s time we started realizing that for the greater good.

You are often mentioned as a futurist and philanthropist, could you elaborate on some of your other initiatives?

I’m a firm believer that the current global banking and economic system is defunct, its impact on government and people moving forward is probably what I’m most focused on right now. I’ve tried to combat this by educating the masses about crypto and what a world with a decentralized currency would look like. As far as philanthropy I take a more traditional approach, I’ve been involved most notably with St Judes, Parents Without Partners and Big Brother Big Sister of America.

Being a highly experienced entrepreneur and investor, what advice would you give to others who wish to get started with investing on cannabis stocks?

The single most important thing I would tell anyone getting involved is to make sure you research and understand exactly what you’re getting into. Too many people make investments off of quick decisions and what they think looks and sounds good. This is an exciting time not only in the cannabis industry but for the entire financial sector, with the rise of cryptocurrency and the mainstream banking making moves to combat it along with wallstreet I think there is potential for huge growth over this coming decade. Don’t be afraid to take risks, find someone you can trust and be ready to roll the dice. 

Mr. Jacob Newman is very active on Instagram and can be followed at: https://www.instagram.com/jdnewman89/

This post is tagged with: Invest Green, Jacob Newman, Invest Green USA

With the new Google Feature launched recently, any individual can create an identity card within Google Search. This feature has been term by the company as People Cards (Virtual business cards).

People Cards is a new listing feature of Google that help users create their virtual Visiting or Business Cards and enhance their online presence. This latest unveiling allows individuals to link their website, social profiles, and other relevant pages all to one place. This feature has been in a testing phase for a few years in India and has finally just been rolled out and in English version; and according to the company, they are not looking to expand soon.

Only adaptable on mobile phones and tablets for now, this feature allows users to create their own virtual visiting cards which would make it easier for others to find them on Google Search. People card appears to be Google’s latest step to get more data from people to whom they could sell more; and obviously the data of those who could be sold.

How to get the Add me to Search People Card

The process is quite easy, first step is to sign into your Google Account, then simply search for “add me to Search” and tap the prompt “Add yourself to Google Search” that appears. Subsequently, you would be required to enter your mobile phone number to complete verification process, a description of yourself; links to your website or social profiles; and, if you want; Enter 6-digit Unique Code; Start building your profile on people card by adding your Location, choosing the image, adding description of yourself, adding links of your websites or social media profiles and email address, if any and click on save. According to Google, the more information you provide, the easier it is for people to find you (and even more easier for them to sell you).

Come on everybody, give us your mobile number please 

With this new feature, Google is allowing each user only one People Card and this card must be authenticated with the user’s Google account and a unique phone number. Google requires you to verify using your mobile number to help maintain the quality of information on People Cards. You will be asked for your mobile number so Google can send you a six-digit confirmation code.

Tricking 1.3 billion people? 

For the 1.3 billion potential users, the platform is free to use, but that’s how the digital ads framework works. They tend to have the concept of ‘if you aren’t paying for it, you are the product’. For Google, definitely users are their primary source of income. Obviously they would  want more of them so they can market those products and data generated from their daily transactions. Google is on a race and needs to keep collecting data and improve in order to increase demand for its platform. With the new add me search people cards feature, it hopes to acquire uniquely through its phone number verification, the data of millions of Indians.

Leveraging on its Popularity

Google’s pattern and practice of dominance is due to summation of the resulting perceptions based on the popularity of Google. The users typically have more than an inkling of what they are looking for but like flies get lured/attracted to the light, people tend to get attracted to fancy things like these because of the big name Google has and people don’t realise that they are just leveraging on that factor to compel usage of its services, and often to dominate competing offerings.

Google being Google; always here for the data (to sell?)

For Google, each user creating a People Cards is a data goldmine. It’s a data game where Google learns more about users and targets them. With its multiple, seemingly unrelated platforms, Google’s goal is common for — track and know what people do. This will translate into ads and revenue for Google. Woodward says,

Once Internet companies such as Google have user information, programmatic technology — or algorithmic sale and purchase of ads space in real time — steps in. In this case of Add me to search people cards, data is captured and could be used to ad purposes, we never know. Companies can in turn find multiple ways to monetise — advertise, cross sell, market data. If you have better data, returns can improve.

Of course, nobody is forcing you

As stated by Google, users can remove/delete anything at any time. You can also opt out of the experience entirely – this will stop your card from showing up in search. The question is can it be helpful? Yes, it sure can; No one is disputing the fact that this could be the help thousands of influencers, entrepreneurs, prospective employees, self-employed individuals, freelancers, or anyone else out there need to be discoverable.

But making it mandatory that everyone should share their phone numbers and enable their web and app activity sharing with google; while attempting to get this feature by Google deprive the people’s freedom and raises an eyebrow why it is necessary.

Affiliate Marketing is considered as the easiest way to start doing online business. But the complicated learning phases could make people walk away from it. The scope and profit on affiliate marketing is much bigger over the internet. An Infographic is by far the best way to demonstrate any idea or marketing plan. As it is a visual representation of information, data and knowledge, the viewer get a very clear idea about whatever the graphic is built for. That could be the main reason why the author has chosen this particular medium instead of a video or ebook to teach newbies how to make their first sale online.

Everybody wants to know how to sell online. But only a very few people actually understand the steps associated. Mervik Haums presented the infographic with the intention of providing a complete, free training on How to Make Your First Sale. It explains the different steps or phases in making one’s first sale online. The infographic visualizes three main stages to reach the fourth and final stage of start selling online.

The graphic shows how exactly to promote a website through organic traffic generation, referral/direct traffic building and pay per click traffic. It also explains why steps like spending some time commenting on popular and related blogs, having active engagement in social circles etc. are so important. It also suggests to add a product video to YouTube and promote it, and to start discussions in forums on related topics.

Reach out to existing customers

As about 20% of your customers contribute 80% of your revenue, consider prioritizing your high-value customers to ensure lifelong loyalty. Applications such as Endear act as customer relationship management systems and messaging platforms, all in one. This will make you and your staff more productive as you work remotely, allowing you to stay in touch with your customers through text messages and emails. You can submit personalized recommendations and user manuals that include links to buy online.

Add live customer support

You can add live support to your website and offer personalized service depending on customer requirements. Brands must meet consumer needs and rethink marketing and advertising. This could mean stopping certain campaigns for certain products and adjusting the copying and advertising on advertisements to better talk about the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, you may not want to advertise for baggage campaigns with “want to travel” messages when there is a global travel notice.

However, brands should be wary of rotating too far from basic brand messaging, or worse, be more opportunistic. Below are some examples of brands that have made simple changes to their messages to “read the cultural hall”, while remaining authentic.

Rely more on social platforms

In the absence of “IRL experiences”, isolated customers are increasingly looking for content and connections to social networks. Brands should be creative in how to support their presence on social media. From virtual showrooms to live yoga courses, brands become creative with social media channels and rely on their already loyal audience.

Over the past few weeks, influencer agencies have seen a significant percentage increase in daily likes accumulated on the #ad Instagram post and a 22 percent increase in Instagram campaign impressions from the last quarter. With a very engaged audience, Instagram can make your brand easier for existing and future customers to find.

Add paid marketing strategy

Digital marketing offers many opportunities to reach customers where they spend their time online. However, with reduced cash flow, this could be a good time to rethink the paid marketing mix, spend tactics where you can see the maximum return on investment and take advantage of the daily budget and life control options available through paid advertising platforms to control your expenses.

Add better return and exchange policy

Showing compassion with uncertain customers can go a long way in business. Due to the closure of stores, returns and exchanges will be more difficult and may prohibit online purchases. In short, people don’t want to be stuck with a product they don’t like. Extending the yield and exchange policy to recognize the current climate could reduce the buyer’s doubts and encourage online sales.

Startups can also consider applying for government relief

Raising more debt is usually a last resort, but governments around the world are implementing financial assistance measures to support small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have compiled a list of government financial assistance programs available for small and medium-sized businesses, including North America. We will update this list daily and advise you to familiarize yourself with the proposals of your regional government and your rights.