Parents Spend Up to 15 Work Hours a Week on College and Career Planning for Their Children, According to New Report from myKlovr and Empowerly




Parents Spend Up to 15 Work Hours a Week on College and Career Planning for Their Children, According to New Report from myKlovr and Empowerly

95% of employed parents worry about helping their children with college and career planning, which eats into their work schedules

SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pathways, the employee education benefits product powered by myKlovr and Empowerly, today revealed findings from its new U.S. study, State of Employee Benefits & Family Mental Health. The national study, focused on the impact of college and career planning on employee performance and how relevant benefits impact recruitment and retention, found that family college and career planning is the second most requested benefit behind financial wellness. 

“Successful benefit programs lie in their ability to see and support employees as whole people. The pandemic illustrated the extent to which family and work overlap – our results further clarify the connections between mental health and wellbeing of our teens, the success of a workforce heavily made up of parents and caregivers, and the potential business impact for employers,” said Anthony Faulise, CTO of myKlovr. “Worried families result in worried, distracted employees, which can lead to struggling companies. College and career readiness benefits speak directly to family well-being, making it a must-have offering for competitive companies seeking to recruit, retain, and optimize their talent base.”

The Impact of College & Career Planning Benefits on Employee Performance

The results show that working parents are under significant stress because of concerns over helping teens prepare for a successful future, and it’s affecting their work. 

When breaking down the 95% of employed parents who revealed that they are nervous or stressed about helping their children prepare for college or start a career after high school, 51% of these parents said they are « Usually” or “Always » nervous or stressed. In regards to employee performance, 50% of employed parents reported that their teens’ mental health is negatively impacted by the stress of college and career planning, which falls largely on parents to address. This is further exacerbated by data from Education Week’s National Center for Education Statistics showing how only 14% of U.S. Public School districts meet the recommended student-to-counselor ratio and 40% of incoming college freshmen are the first in their family to attend school — lacking knowledge about the admissions process ‘around the dinner table’. Additionally, Pathways research found that 88% of parents have used time at work to help their teen with homework, plan for school, prepare for college, or aid in starting a career after high school. More specifically, 25% of parents spent an estimated 6-15 hours per work week helping their children with the aforementioned support.

Impact of College & Career Planning Benefits on Recruiting and Retaining Talent 

As the war for talent continues, the report found that college and career planning benefits significantly impact recruiting and retaining talent, as well as how likely employees are to recommend an employer. 

• 71% of employees reported they are more likely to stay at job if college and career planning benefits are offered
• 74% of employees said they are more likely to accept a job if college and career planning benefits are offered
• 74% of employees said they are more likely to recommend an employer to friend if college and career planning benefits are offered

“Uncertainty about the future has reached epidemic proportions for both teens and parents— our data makes it clear that there’s a connection between the stress students are experiencing and the impact it has on working parents,” said Changxiao Xie, co-founder of Empowerly. “With Pathways, we’re giving employers the opportunity to alleviate that stress and provide the support their employees want and need.”

To learn more about what this study revealed, check out the full report here. The Pathways team is currently in attendance at the Transform 2023 conference through March 29 in Las Vegas, NV, where attendees can learn more about its offerings and survey findings at booth #809. For more information, visit www.myklovr.com/pathways.  

Methodology
This SurveyMonkey online poll was conducted among 1,000 U.S. employed adults between March 23 and March 24, 2023. Respondents for this survey were selected from the nearly 3 million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. Data for this has been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the demographic composition of the United States. The modeled error estimate for this survey is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.         

About myKlovr:
MyKlovr is an AI-powered, virtual college and career counselor that empowers families by offering an affordable, accessible, and scalable solution to better help students achieve their personal path to success – whether through a 4-year university, 2-year college, career and technical education, or by launching a rewarding career immediately after high school. MyKlovr engages students as early as 9th grade to help them envision a path towards their future. The myKlovr system uses a combination of AI, behavioral analytics, and proprietary algorithms to deliver personalized expert advice, goals and opportunities including internships, scholarships, extracurricular and academic guidance, and real-world career insights.

About Empowerly:
Empowerly is a data-driven education technology company that provides personalized college and career guidance to students and their families. To date, Empowerly has raised $12 million from investors, including Goodwater Capital, FJ Labs, Scrum Ventures, Translink Capital, Azure Capital Partners, Spero Ventures, Thinkplus Ventures and Mentors Fund. The company’s mission is to empower students to become the most successful version of themselves. From college preparation, landing internships, and beyond, Empowerly supports students in achieving their academic and career goals.

CONTACT: Media Contact:
BAM for Empowerly
empowerly@bamtheagency.com 

Entrepreneurs Sam Parr and Joe Speiser Launch Hampton, a Private Community for High-Growth Startup Founders and CEOs




Entrepreneurs Sam Parr and Joe Speiser Launch Hampton, a Private Community for High-Growth Startup Founders and CEOs

Hampton provides a peer-based membership network, as well as practical resources, for the high-stakes, high-stress, and often lonely job of leading a startup

NEW YORK, March 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Hampton launches as the private community for high-growth startup founders and CEOs. The community was started by Sam Parr, founder of The Hustle (acquired by HubSpot) and co-host of the My First Million podcast, and Joe Speiser, serial entrepreneur and three-time founder. After operating in stealth for 10 months, Hampton has already welcomed over 260 members in over 35 states and five countries.

Hampton offers a peer-based membership network to founders and CEOs of fast-growing, tech-enabled startups. These leaders are responsible for making high-stakes decisions that have a profound impact on their businesses, teams, and customers. Every day, they face uncharted territory – fundraising, hiring, company culture, economic turbulence – and there’s no rulebook for making the right calls. The best decisions can’t be Googled. And unlike other positions, it’s difficult – and often not in their best interest – for founders to troubleshoot challenges with teammates, family and friends, investors, or online spaces like Twitter and LinkedIn. With Hampton, members gain access to a trusted community of peers with shared experiences who can help uncover new ideas, problem-solve, and provide support for what is often an isolated position of leadership.

“I didn’t know a thing when I started my first startup. I was winging it, but I couldn’t let my employees, customers, or anyone else know. So, I formed a group with a few other entrepreneurs and it changed my life. We succeeded, failed, and learned together,” said Hampton co-founder Sam Parr. “We started Hampton to make it easy for other entrepreneurs to have a life-changing group like this. Because opening up, getting feedback from a brain trust, and seeing how others solve problems not only helps us all make better business decisions, but makes the process a little less isolating.”

“Hampton was born out of Sam’s and my personal experiences,” said Joe Speiser, co-founder of Hampton. “For the past decade, we’ve leaned on each other for practical advice and emotional support during the highs and the lows. We both found incredible value and, frankly, comfort in having someone who ‘gets it’ in our corner. With Hampton, we want to offer that same kind of connection to founders and CEOs everywhere. Hampton can be part personal board of directors and part support group – and we believe that the combination will help create stronger leaders and better, more sustainable companies.”

Startup founders and CEOs who join Hampton receive access to the following core membership benefits:

• Monthly Core Groups: Monthly, virtual, mandatory core group meetings are the cornerstone of the Hampton experience. Each group meets for roughly 2.5 hours, 9-10 times per year (taking off in August and December) and includes eight founders as well as an experienced executive facilitator. Meetings are organized by the facilitator and structured to give members advice, offer critical feedback, and accelerate business growth.
• Digital Community: Members receive immediate access to the Hampton-wide Slack and digital community. With 85% engagement, Hampton’s digital community provides members with always-on support and relevant information. Other aspects of Hampton’s digital community include access to Hampton’s private member directory, access to Hampton’s full-time digital concierge, and access to a weekly newsletter that aggregates important updates and conversations taking place across Hampton.
• In-person Community: Hampton’s in-person strategy is centered around three pillars – monthly member dinners, annual retreats, and local adventures – all of which are aimed at giving members the opportunity to hang out and connect face-to-face. All in-person gatherings are planned, organized, and paid for by Hampton.
• Education: In an effort to help members learn from the best and brightest entrepreneurs and industry leaders, Hampton invites special guest speakers and hosts unique workshops on a variety of topics.
• Exclusive Perks: In addition to curating a list of preferred vendors within the Hampton community, Hampton also offers its members exclusive discounts with some of the most popular software vendors, tools, and apps.

“Direct access to brilliant founders is worth its weight in gold. They’ve been where I am, and their insights have saved me so much time, effort, and pain. The best part? I get to pay it forward. The community is filled with people who want to help,” said Jasmine Star, an inaugural member of Hampton and CEO of Social Curator. “Nothing is better than turning to a group of trustworthy peers, knowing a collection of streamlined answers is better than just one.”

Hampton is self-funded by co-founders Sam and Joe and led by CEO Jordan DiPietro, who served as the VP of Marketing at HubSpot prior to joining Hampton. To-date, the company has grown its membership base to over 260 founders and CEOs entirely through word-of-mouth. To learn more about Hampton or apply for membership, visit joinhampton.com.

About Hampton
Founded in 2022 by entrepreneurs Sam Parr and Joe Speiser, Hampton is a private, highly-vetted, peer membership community for founders and CEOs of fast-growing, tech-enabled startups. Hampton offers leaders a combination of practical business advice and emotional support from people with shared experiences who understand the loneliness and pressures associated with launching a startup. Members benefit from monthly core group meetings led by experienced facilitators, as well as an active and engaged digital community that provides always-on access to Hampton’s broader peer network. To learn more about Hampton or apply for membership, visit joinhampton.com.

Contact
LaunchSquad for Hampton
hampton@launchsquad.com

OQmented – $ 20 Million Series A financing success – also welcomes Sharp as a strategic investor




OQmented – $ 20 Million Series A financing success – also welcomes Sharp as a strategic investor

The company adds a new board member and will use the Series A funds to establish its leading laser beam scanning (LBS) technology as the key enabler for the first generations consumer Augmented Reality glasses, long-awaited by the public and advertised by the major technology companies.

ITZEHOE, Germany, March 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — OQmented, a technology leader in MEMS¹-based AR/MR display and 3D sensing solutions, announced today that it has raised $ 20 million in its Series A fundraising round. In the new financing round, Sharp², one of the world’s leading electronic device and display manufacturers, joined as a strategic investor in the company. It included participation of the existing investors Salvia, Vsquared Ventures and others.

OQmented enables tech companies and eyeglass manufacturers to build stylish all-day wearable Augmented or Mixed Reality glasses. To that end, the startup develops ultra-compact MEMS-based light engines, utilizing laser beam scanning. This technology offers several advantages over competitive approaches: lower power consumption, smaller size, higher brightness & contrast and superior display performance. All of these are requirements for lightweight consumer AR glasses, suitable for outdoor use. Technological research and consulting firm Gartner forecasts a booming demand for so-called head-mounted displays by 2026, associated with an increasing adaption rate of MEMS mirrors “to benefit from its lower cost, lower power consumption and smaller size”.³ The strategic cooperation with Sharp supports OQmented’s ambition to become the key enabler for consumer Augmented Reality glasses. It leverages the synergies of combining Sharp’s electronic device and display manufacturing expertise with OQmented’s unique IP and know-how in LBS-based micro-displays. The cooperation consolidates OQmented’s strategy to offer complete light engines as Plug and Play solutions, ready for integration.

“Big tech companies and other players are racing to accomplish consumer AR glasses that are ultimately able to replace the smartphone,” said Thomas von Wantoch, co-CEO and co-founder of OQmented. “There is overwhelming demand for our product and we will use the Series A funds to accelerate getting our light engines ready for the market. We are excited that we gained Sharp as strategic investor with years of experience as one of the largest suppliers for displays and electronic devices. Our unique cooperation bundles enormous know-how and enables us to offer an unmatched one-stop shop solution to our customers: a light engine with integrated MEMS, electronics and laser. This strengthens our position as key enabler for the Augmented and Mixed Reality market.”

David Woodward, President of Sharp Devices Europe GmbH, comments: “We look forward to accelerating our cooperation with OQmented and to realizing the developing market of all-day wearable Augmented and Mixed Reality glasses, along with the many differentiated markets that will eventually benefit from the key technologies and innovations driven by OQmented. Thomas and Ulrich are leading a fast moving startup company with a growing team of highly motivated dynamic staff, demonstrating leading edge innovation. We are very excited to utilize the many synergies available between OQmented and Sharp’s own technologies and device industrialization.”

OQmented was founded in 2018 by Thomas von Wantoch and Dr. Ulrich Hofmann. The company has grown to a team of around 80 people with five offices globally and plans to expand in office and laboratory space. Additionally, OQmented intends to hire several key employees and strengthen its business development team for access to the US and Asian markets.

About OQmented

OQmented is a deep tech company developing and selling ultra-compact LBS displays for Augmented and Mixed Reality devices and best-in-class 3D sensing solutions for mobile and stationary applications. The company offers complete solutions, including in-house developed ASICs that are highly customized and optimized to work with OQmented MEMS mirrors. The unique Lissajous scan pattern in combination with the vacuum encapsulation technology and proprietary electronics, algorithms and software enables new product categories in consumer, automotive and various other industries; the company’s extensive know-how and IP provide for numerous competitive advantages. With significant MEMS manufacturing experience, OQmented effectively designs for high-volume production. Further information can be found at www.oqmented.com.

____________________________

¹ Microelectromechanical System
² Sharp Corporation invested in the company through its group company Sharp Devices Europe GmbH
³ Gartner Reports: Gartner, Emerging Tech: Three MEMS Technologies Will Enhance Metaverse User Experiences, Stacey Yin, 14 February 2023

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: 
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ddabc401-b8b8-44dc-83b2-847a2622eece
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9a76ca7e-ec6f-47b1-8281-69cf072ed172

CONTACT: For Press Information Contact

Judith Woehl
Public Relations
OQmented
Email: media@oqmented.com

Global Impact Investing Market Is Expected to Generate $6.0 Trillion by 2031: Allied Market Research




Global Impact Investing Market Is Expected to Generate $6.0 Trillion by 2031: Allied Market Research

Rise in demand for impact investment products from institutional investors and high net-worth individuals serves as a potential opportunity for the expansion of the global impact investing market. Overall, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had a mixed impact on the growth of the global impact investing market, as it certainly brought both challenges and opportunities for impact investors.

Portland, OR, March 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global impact investing market garnered $2.5 trillion in 2021, and is estimated to generate $6.0 trillion by 2031, manifesting a CAGR of 9.5% from 2022 to 2031. The report provides an extensive analysis of changing market dynamics, major segments, value chain, competitive scenario, and regional landscape. This research offers a valuable guidance to leading players, investors, shareholders, and startups in devising strategies for the sustainable growth and gaining competitive edge in the market.  

Request PDF Brochure: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/54138  

Report coverage & details: 

Covid-19 Scenario:  

• The pandemic had highlighted the importance of investing in social and environmental solutions, and had led to an increased interest in impact investing among investors seeking to support pandemic response and recovery efforts.  
• On the other hand, the economic disruption caused by the pandemic had led to a slowdown in the growth of the impact investing market, with some investors shifting their focus towards more traditional investments.  
• Overall, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had a mixed impact on the growth of the global impact investing market, as it certainly brought both challenges and opportunities for impact investors. 

The research provides detailed segmentation of the global impact investing market based on sector, investor, and region. The report discusses segments and their sub-segments in detail with the help of tables and figures. Market players and investors can strategize according to the highest revenue-generating and fastest-growing segments mentioned in the report.  

Based on sector, the energy segment held the highest share in 2021, accounting for nearly one-third of the global impact investing market, and is expected to continue its leadership status during the forecast period. However, the education segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 13.8% from 2022 to 2031.  

Buy This Report (338 pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://bit.ly/3TKWjPd  

Based on investor, the institutional investors segment accounted for the highest share in 2021, contributing to more than two-thirds of the global impact investing market, and is expected to maintain its lead in terms of revenue during the forecast period. However, the others segment is expected to manifest the highest CAGR of 11.5% from 2022 to 2031. 

Based on region, North America held the largest share in 2021, contributing to more than two-fifths of the global impact investing market share, and is projected to maintain its dominant share in terms of revenue in 2031. In addition, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to manifest the fastest CAGR of 12.4% during the forecast period.  

Leading market players of the global impact investing market analyzed in the research include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Blueorchard finance ltd, Bridges fund management ltd., Vital Capital, Reinvestment fund, Manulife Investment Management., Bain capital, Leapfrog investments, Omidyar network. 

The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players of the global impact investing market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario.  

Key benefits for stakeholders 

• This report provides a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the impact investing market forecast from 2021 to 2031 to identify the prevailing impact investing market opportunity. 
• The market research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities. 
• Porter’s five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network. 
• In-depth analysis of the impact investing market segmentation assists to determine the prevailing market opportunities. 
• Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the global market. 
• Market player positioning facilitates benchmarking and provides a clear understanding of the present position of the market players. 
• The report includes the analysis of the regional as well as global impact investing market trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and market growth strategies. 

Impact Investing Market Report Highlights 

Sector  

• Education 
• Agriculture 
• Healthcare 
• Energy 
• Housing 
• Others 

Investor  

• Individual Investors 
• Institutional Investors 
• Others 

By Region  

• North America  (U.S., Canada) 
• Europe  (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe) 
• Asia-Pacific  (China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, Rest of Asia-Pacific) 
• LAMEA  (Latin America, Middle East, Africa) 

Key Market Players : Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Blueorchard finance ltd, Bridges fund management ltd., Vital Capital, Reinvestment fund, Manulife Investment Management., Bain capital, Leapfrog investments, Omidyar network 

Want to Access the Statistical Data and Graphs, Key Players’ Strategies: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/impact-investing-market/purchase-options  

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Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of “Market Research Reports” and “Business Intelligence Solutions.” AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. 

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. 

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Metagame Industries Receives Microsoft for Startups benefits to accelerate the development of its Web3 MetaGame – Abyss World




Metagame Industries Receives Microsoft for Startups benefits to accelerate the development of its Web3 MetaGame – Abyss World

CENTRO BIANCO, SINGPORE, March 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Metagame Industries(“Metagame” or the “Company”), a tech-driven gaming studio leveraging blockchain, AI, and cloud gaming to build next-generation meta-games, is proud to announce that it has received Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub benefits through the ID@Azure Program. This partnership will enable Metagame Industries to leverage Microsoft resources and support to accelerate the development of its Web3 title,Abyss World.

Abyss World is a dark fantasy action role-playing open world game. Players will explore the traces of the « old tide » in the vast Nordinian world and uncover the secrets behind it.

As a member of Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub, Metagame Industries has access to a range of benefits, including up to $150,000 of free Azure credits, OpenAI Services, technical support and business development resources. 

Metagame Industries has chosen to partner with Microsoft to discover the potential use of AI and cloud gaming in game development. OpenAI services can be used to enhance the gameplay experience by adding new features and capabilities to the game, such as in NPC dialogues and decision-making of combat tactics in Abyss World Bot v Bot (AI driven autobattler) mode. By using these services, Metagame Industries can improve the game’s overall performance and create a more immersive experience for the players.

Cloud gaming, on the other hand, can help Metagame Industries reach a broader audience by making their games accessible on multiple platforms and devices. This technology can also improve the game’s performance by reducing latency and improving the overall gameplay experience.

« We’re thrilled to join Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub through the ID@Azure Program, » said Joe Zu, CEO of Metagame Industries. « We’re excited to work with Microsoft’s tools and technology to create innovative and immersive gaming experiences and push the boundaries of what’s possible in the web3 gaming industry ».

About Abyss World

Learn more: https://www.abyssworld.games/ & https://www.metagame.industries/

Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2244780/_/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AbyssWorldHQ
Discord: https://discord.gg/abyssworldmg

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-0x…
Medium: https://medium.com/@ABYSS_WORLD
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/abyssworldlive
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Abyss_World/

About ID@Azure and Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub

Learn more about ID@Azure: https://www.azure.com/id 
Learn more about Microsoft for Startups: https://startups.microsoft.com

CONTACT: Romeo Kuak

Abyss World

info at abyssworld.games

Tome Launches First Instant Document-to-Presentation Feature To Millions, Triples User Base Since February Series B




Tome Launches First Instant Document-to-Presentation Feature To Millions, Triples User Base Since February Series B

Tome becomes first productivity company to launch document-to-presentation functionality live in-product to millions of users

SAN FRANCISCO, March 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tome, the AI-powered storytelling format that turns your ideas into compelling narratives, today announced a new, first-to-market document-to-presentation feature powered by GPT-4 that enables users to take an existing text-based document and instantly transform it into a synthesized, AI-generated presentation, story, or narrative. Tome is the first company to launch document-to-presentation functionality, and it’s now available to Tome’s millions of users for free. The feature will soon also generate bespoke or sourced images, as well as transform other types of information and content, such as web links, into a tome.

Tome became the fastest productivity company ever to reach one million users in February, and raised a $43 million Series B the same month. The company’s growth has since accelerated, tripling to three million users in the past month. Tome launched publicly in September 2022 and has cemented itself as the go-to productivity tool for every type of storyteller.

Tome’s innovative document-to-presentation feature ingests and understands entire documents before parsing them into intelligent narratives complete with pagination and layouts, structure, headers, and refined page content. Tome’s feature, which can process text documents up to 25 pages long, stands apart from other products, which simply paste content onto slides. For example, if a professional leaves the key points in a strategic plan at the end of a document, Tome recognizes the significance of those points and features them accordingly.

It’s the latest example of Tome becoming an increasingly versatile, collaborative AI partner that supports every stage of creation – from ideation, to information retrieval, concept synthesis, polishing, and more. Tome’s new document-to-presentation feature is accessible through a reimagined command bar that unlocks Tome’s generative and creation tools through simple, intuitive keystrokes.

“Tome is the first truly AI-native format for storytelling,” said Keith Peiris, co-founder and CEO of Tome. “Our first-to-market document-to-presentation feature is the latest proof point of how Tome’s innovative tile system and tech stack are primed to quickly leverage any model and power entirely new ways to express ideas. Our rapidly growing creator base sees the benefits of using the first productivity tool of the AI era: Tome unlocks faster and more personalized utility for real work – all through a refreshing, intuitive creation experience.”

Tome’s document-to-presentation feature is powerful for enterprise-grade work, such as turning a strategy document or industry analysis into a presentation with a click, or summarizing user research findings for team distribution. This feature also supports solo work by digesting complex ideas, manifestos and source documents into crisp points. The feature can be used by educators for lesson plans, within companies for synthesizing information and strategy, and for personalized learning and discovery – for example, distilling historic speeches or iconic essays.

“Everyone can relate to the struggle of creating a draft or even just a rough idea and needing to translate it into a visual artifact. It’s incredibly time-consuming, and the end result rarely comes out the way you envisioned it, » said Henri Liriani, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Tome. “Tome’s document-to-presentation feature expands the usefulness of generative AI beyond simply replying to a prompt or proofreading a memo. Instead, Tome is a true thought partner that helps you hone your ideas, and for the first time, use AI to reverse engineer your own work.”

Soon, users will be able to turn any live artifact or website link – whether it be a research study, a shared document, source code or more – into a polished presentation. Users will also be able to generate images with AI or through relevant image libraries to complement their narratives, empowering them to work more efficiently, while also creating more visually persuasive results.

“AI is in the process of transforming every aspect of knowledge work, including how we share ideas,” said Reid Hoffman, partner at Greylock and Tome board member. “Tome is primed to be a major productivity disruptor because it has both invented a powerful new format that can wield any type of tool integration, as well as designed an electric creator experience. The tripling of Tome’s user base in the past month is a testament to its resonance with every type of storyteller.”

Narratives in Tome are brought to life through the company’s innovative, web-based format, which powers any type of live content on a fluid canvas that responsively fits any device. Tome’s underlying infrastructure lets the company seamlessly leverage any language model, like GPT-4, or any tool integration, to generate narratives with any type of content. The company builds proprietary engineering layers to create a natural user experience that eliminates the need to work across disparate tools.

Tome’s document-to-presentation functionality builds on the company’s growing range of generative AI features, which enable users to generate full visual narratives with intelligent layouts, copy and images, from a single typed prompt. Users can also specify output type and image style, add pages with complete content, as well as rewrite text or adjust its length and tone. Additional generative storytelling functionality, such as the ability to critique your work with AI and intelligently integrate your favorite workplace tools, are part of Tome’s robust AI-powered roadmap for transforming how we share ideas in work and in life.

To use Tome to bring your next idea to life, create a free account at https://tome.app.

About Tome

Tome is the AI-powered storytelling format for work and ideas. Tome combines intuitive design with live content and powerful functionality to create an experience that feels like magic. Tome empowers anyone to express ideas naturally, so they can stop designing slides and start telling stories. To experience Tome yourself, visit Tome.app.

Media Contact

press@tome.page

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/778de373-3a63-46a5-bfc0-553c5a4039ad

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9aad6241-752e-409f-8b1d-90b065772f61

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Construction Tech Startup Mercator AI To Accelerate Growth With $3.75M USD In Seed Funding




Construction Tech Startup Mercator AI To Accelerate Growth With $3.75M USD In Seed Funding

Calgary, Alberta, March 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mercator AI, a real-time construction intelligence platform, today announced that it has raised $3.75 million USD and successfully oversubscribed its seed round to accelerate growth. Freestyle Ventures and Builders VC co-led the financing, bringing Mercator AI’s total raised to $4.46 million USD since its inception in October 2020. 

The newly-completed seed round also saw support from a consortium of other high-profile investors, including Standup Ventures and Zacua Ventures, with participation from The51, and Dustin DeVan (former CEO of Building Connected), alongside other notable angel investors.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support of our investors and to have had the opportunity to raise earlier than we planned. To be joined by such talented and influential industry leaders is a testament to the strength of our mission and the hard work of our team over the past 8 months,” said Chloe Smith, CEO and Co-founder of Mercator AI. 

With the newly raised funds, Mercator AI is poised to accelerate its expansion into US and Canadian markets in 2023. The funding will also allow Mercator AI to grow its team, thus accelerating the development of its platform to refine its current early project detection offering. Furthermore, Mercator AI plans to broaden its solutions to business development, operations, and marketing professionals across construction, real-estate, and manufacturing.

Business development workflows within the construction industry are still highly manual, with many firms relying on existing relationships and rudimentary research to identify new project and partnership opportunities. This approach is slow and arduous, often leading to missed opportunities with companies learning about upcoming projects far too late. 

“The magic in construction happens when we collaborate early on, get stakeholder input at the onset, and optimize for the best outcome together. That’s what we enable with Mercator AI,” said Chloe Smith.

Over the next 24 months, Mercator AI will accelerate the development of their early project detection tool to support pre-construction teams with macro industry insights, competitive intelligence, and client monitoring tools. 

Mercator AI is the first industry intelligence tool for construction that analyzes millions of construction activities from conception through to post-construction. Across commercial and industrial projects, Mercator AI is able to identify signals of early construction activity, reveal who’s involved, and surface personalized, viable opportunities to its users as-they-happen. Mercator AI’s data-first platform gives business developers a view they’ve never had before and the tools to make better decisions, faster. 

To learn more about Mercator AI and its real-time construction intelligence platform, visit their website and start a two-week trial. 

To stay up to date on Mercator AI news, make sure to follow the company’s LinkedIn page.

For more information and to schedule an interview with Mercator AI’s CEO, Chloe Smith, please contact Madhu Dhanapal at madhu@themicdropagency.com. 

About Mercator AI:
Mercator AI is a real-time construction intelligence platform enabling business developers across construction, real estate, and manufacturing to find and qualify new opportunities faster. By mining and analyzing millions of data points across commercial and industrial projects, Mercator AI is able to identify signals of early construction activity, reveal who’s involved, and tie this active project information back to rich company profiles. Their mission is to give business developers more time to do what they do best, and support them with the insights they need to have informed and productive conversations. More at mercator.ai 

About Freestyle Ventures:
Freestyle is an early-stage venture capital firm with over $565M AUM and investments in over 155 technology companies including Airtable, Intercom, Patreon, and BetterUp. General Partners David Samuel and Jenny Lefcourt are serial entrepreneurs and business operators with more than 25 years of technology experience. Freestyle was founded in 2009, being one of the first firms to specialize exclusively on seed-stage companies, be composed of founders turned VCs, and proactively work to improve diversity in the industry. More at freestyle.vc 

About Builders VC:
Builders VC is an early-stage venture capital firm with $450MM of AUM focused on investing where technology meets new business models to modernize antiquated industries including healthcare, agriculture, industrials and real-estate. Its thesis involves applying technology and new business models to sectors where the percentage of IT spending vs. revenue is minimal. In these sectors, there exists a significant gap between what is technically possible versus what is presently implemented. More at builders.vc

About Standup Ventures:
StandUp Ventures is a Toronto-based, seed stage venture capital fund focused on investing in high growth ventures with at least one female founder in a key leadership role. We believe that women led companies think outside the box, recruit great talent, and serve bigger markets. We invest in seed-stage, for-profit technology companies with at least one woman in a C-level leadership position within the company and an equitable amount of ownership. We’re dedicated to curious, confident, and fearless entrepreneurs building ground-breaking technology companies. We partner with ambitious founders across Canada to break through from Seed to Series A. More at standupvc.com 

About Zacua Ventures:
Zacua Ventures is an early-stage VC focused on investments in the Built Environment at a global scale. We partner with top-tier corporates in this space across every aspect of the value chain and enable our portfolio companies to connect with them seamlessly. We drive value and accelerate growth for our partners and entrepreneurs through access to innovative technologies, strategic insights into emerging trends and unrivaled scalability through our network of industry leaders. More at zacuaventures.com

The51:
The51 is a Financial Feminist™ platform where current and aspiring investors (particularly women* and gender-diverse* individuals), come together to democratize access to capital for women and gender-diverse founders. By driving capital and commercialisation, The51 builds mutual wealth and social/environmental impact, shares knowledge and experiences and practices intersectional feminism through financial action. Our community of influential feminist investors, innovators, and consumers are building the Financial Feminist™ economy. (*When we say “women” we mean all individuals who identify as women. Transgender women are women. The51 is built by women for everyone.) More at the51.com

Attachment

• Construction Tech Startup Mercator AI To Accelerate Growth With $3.75M USD In Seed Funding

CONTACT: Madhu Dhanapal
Mercator AI
647-867-5480
madhu@themicdropagency.com

Construction Tech Startup Mercator AI To Accelerate Growth With $3.75M USD In Seed Funding




Construction Tech Startup Mercator AI To Accelerate Growth With $3.75M USD In Seed Funding

Calgary, Alberta, March 21, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mercator AI, a real-time construction intelligence platform, today announced that it has raised $3.75 million USD and successfully oversubscribed its seed round to accelerate growth. Freestyle Ventures and Builders VC co-led the financing, bringing Mercator AI’s total raised to $4.46 million USD since its inception in October 2020. 

The newly-completed seed round also saw support from a consortium of other high-profile investors, including Standup Ventures and Zacua Ventures, with participation from The51, and Dustin DeVan (former CEO of Building Connected), alongside other notable angel investors.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support of our investors and to have had the opportunity to raise earlier than we planned. To be joined by such talented and influential industry leaders is a testament to the strength of our mission and the hard work of our team over the past 8 months,” said Chloe Smith, CEO and Co-founder of Mercator AI. 

With the newly raised funds, Mercator AI is poised to accelerate its expansion into US and Canadian markets in 2023. The funding will also allow Mercator AI to grow its team, thus accelerating the development of its platform to refine its current early project detection offering. Furthermore, Mercator AI plans to broaden its solutions to business development, operations, and marketing professionals across construction, real estate, and manufacturing.

Business development workflows within the construction industry are still highly manual, with many firms relying on existing relationships and rudimentary research to identify new project and partnership opportunities. This approach is slow and arduous, often leading to missed opportunities with companies learning about upcoming projects far too late. 

“The magic in construction happens when we collaborate early on, get stakeholder input at the onset, and optimize for the best outcome together. That’s what we enable with Mercator AI,” said Chloe Smith.

Over the next 24 months, Mercator AI will accelerate the development of their early project detection tool to support pre-construction teams with macro industry insights, competitive intelligence, and client monitoring tools. 

Mercator AI is the first industry intelligence tool for construction that analyzes millions of construction activities from conception through to post-construction. Across commercial and industrial projects, Mercator AI is able to identify signals of early construction activity, reveal who’s involved, and surface personalized, viable opportunities to its users as-they-happen. Mercator AI’s data-first platform gives business developers a view they’ve never had before and the tools to make better decisions, faster. 

To learn more about Mercator AI and its real-time construction intelligence platform, visit their website and start a two-week trial. 

To stay up to date on Mercator AI news, make sure to follow the company’s LinkedIn page.

For more information and to schedule an interview with Mercator AI’s CEO, Chloe Smith, please contact Madhu Dhanapal at madhu@themicdropagency.com. 

About Mercator AI:
Mercator AI is a real-time construction intelligence platform enabling business developers across construction, real estate, and manufacturing to find and qualify new opportunities faster. By mining and analyzing millions of data points across commercial and industrial projects, Mercator AI is able to identify signals of early construction activity, reveal who’s involved, and tie this active project information back to rich company profiles. Their mission is to give business developers more time to do what they do best, and support them with the insights they need to have informed and productive conversations. More at mercator.ai 

About Freestyle Ventures:
Freestyle is an early-stage venture capital firm with over $565M AUM and investments in over 155 technology companies including Airtable, Intercom, Patreon, and BetterUp. General Partners David Samuel and Jenny Lefcourt are serial entrepreneurs and business operators with more than 25 years of technology experience. Freestyle was founded in 2009, being one of the first firms to specialize exclusively on seed-stage companies, be composed of founders turned VCs, and proactively work to improve diversity in the industry. More at freestyle.vc 

About Builders VC:
Builders VC is an early-stage venture capital firm with $450MM of AUM focused on investing where technology meets new business models to modernize antiquated industries including healthcare, agriculture, industrials and real-estate. Its thesis involves applying technology and new business models to sectors where the percentage of IT spending vs. revenue is minimal. In these sectors, there exists a significant gap between what is technically possible versus what is presently implemented. More at builders.vc

About Standup Ventures:
StandUp Ventures is a Toronto-based, seed stage venture capital fund focused on investing in high growth ventures with at least one female founder in a key leadership role. We believe that women led companies think outside the box, recruit great talent, and serve bigger markets. We invest in seed-stage, for-profit technology companies with at least one woman in a C-level leadership position within the company and an equitable amount of ownership. We’re dedicated to curious, confident, and fearless entrepreneurs building ground-breaking technology companies. We partner with ambitious founders across Canada to break through from Seed to Series A. More at standupvc.com 

About Zacua Ventures:
Zacua Ventures is an early-stage VC focused on investments in the Built Environment at a global scale. We partner with top-tier corporates in this space across every aspect of the value chain and enable our portfolio companies to connect with them seamlessly. We drive value and accelerate growth for our partners and entrepreneurs through access to innovative technologies, strategic insights into emerging trends and unrivaled scalability through our network of industry leaders. More at zacuaventures.com

The51:
The51 is a Financial Feminist™ platform where current and aspiring investors (particularly women* and gender-diverse* individuals), come together to democratize access to capital for women and gender-diverse founders. By driving capital and commercialisation, The51 builds mutual wealth and social/environmental impact, shares knowledge and experiences and practices intersectional feminism through financial action. Our community of influential feminist investors, innovators, and consumers are building the Financial Feminist™ economy. (*When we say “women” we mean all individuals who identify as women. Transgender women are women. The51 is built by women for everyone.) More at the51.com

Attachment

• Construction Tech Startup Mercator AI To Accelerate Growth With $3.75M USD In Seed Funding

CONTACT: Madhu Dhanapal
Mercator AI
647-867-5480
madhu@themicdropagency.com

Bubblr Inc. Announces Signing of Crowdfunding Contracts With WeFunder and Crowdcheck for 2023 Strategy




Bubblr Inc. Announces Signing of Crowdfunding Contracts With WeFunder and Crowdcheck for 2023 Strategy

NEW YORK, NY, March 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via NewMediaWire – Bubblr Inc. (OTC PINK: BBLR), an ethical technology company focused on the development of an Ethical Web Open-Source platform for the advancement of a better Internet; today announce the signing of two contracts with WeFunder for a significant crowdfunding exercise.

Additionally, the Company signed a contract with Crowdcheak (a legal firm that specialises in SEC filing for listed companies looking to raise funds through crowdfunding exercises) on February 2nd 2023.

Bubblr CEO Steve Morris stated, « This is a key milestone on the execution of our new strategy for 2023. Bubblr had over 500 small investors prior to our list on OTC, so we know our proposition is extremely attractive to retail investors. »

« I am absolutely delighted to be working with WeFunder for our crowdfunding campaigns. Not only have we signed up to use the WeFunder platform, but we were also lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to sign a separate contract with them to conduct the accompanying marketing exercise. Wefunder is a leading crowdfunding platform in the world and a proudly B-Corp-certified entity whose values we completely share. »

We plan to launch the « Test The Waters » campaign before the end of March, which leaves us with a significant amount of work to complete in a limited timeframe. As such, we need to work diligently to ensure that we are adequately prepared for the campaign launch.

« The signing with Crowdcheck at the beginning of the month was also critical. Crowdcheck was highly recommended by WeFunder, and they have already proved to be extremely effective and efficient in preparing our SEC submissions, currently on schedule for the first week in March.”

Our new strategy for 2023 is gaining momentum, and we’re moving quickly towards our goals. Just two days ago, we submitted our application to uplist to OTCQB, which is a significant step forward. I’m thrilled by the progress our team has made and the speed at which we’re achieving our objectives.

About Bubblr, Inc.

Bubblr, Inc. is an ethical technology company that is on a mission to fix a broken internet. It is building an open-source Ethical Web platform that is the technological manifestation of its very valuable granted patents. This platform will make available open-source app templates for licensees to build their own community apps or integrate our software with any existing apps.

Important Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the definition of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such as in section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements should not be used to make an investment decision. The words’ estimate,’ possible,’ and ‘seeking’ and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which speak only as to the date the statement was made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties to which forward-looking statements are subject include, but are not limited to, the effect of government regulation, competition, and other material risks.

Contact:
Steve Morris
Bubblr Inc.
(646) 814 7184

Milestones Announces Launch with RE/MAX Results to Deliver Homeowner Portals




Milestones Announces Launch with RE/MAX Results to Deliver Homeowner Portals

AUSTIN, Texas, March 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Milestones Labs (Milestones), the all-in-one homeowner portal making it easier for consumers to buy, move, own, sell, manage and access mortgage services for their home, today announced that RE/MAX Results will be empowering all of their agents with the best tool for helping clients manage their properties.

“Customer for life, homeownership, and home maintenance portals have been buzzwords in real estate for years,” says Brenda Tushaus, CEO of RE/MAX Results. “Milestones is the first company to get it right with the features and functionality that will truly drive value to our client though our sales executives, mortgage executives, and title executives.”

Milestones uniquely combines the client engagement efforts of real estate professionals, mortgage loan officers and title representatives in a dashboard that supports the entire experience of homeownership. This includes functionality hubs for monitoring home value, searching for property, managing transactions, moving, and most importantly, managing the maintenance that homes require. “It has the potential to integrate with most of our tech stack,” says Nicole Biczkowski, Director, Product Strategy and Launch at RE/MAX Results. “What we felt like an unattainable consumer experience is finally here.”

With this launch, RE/MAX Results is among the first brokerage firms in the nation to deliver a comprehensive solution to customer portals that collapses multiple disparate software applications into one. “Our sales executives are our customers,” says Tushaus, “and we deliver tools like Homebot, Tribus websites and CRM, Skyslope, and many more great products. Unfortunately, this creates a disjointed experience for customers. Milestones consolidates all of those services into one place and makes some of those services redundant.”

Homeowners are only going to need one portal or “hub” to manage their home, just like consumers need only one to manage their health. This, along with Zillow’s planned “super app”, designed to steal the consumer’s eyes away from the Realtor or Loan Officer, is causing the increase in demand for companies to get Milestones implemented for their agents and loan officers quickly.

Today, industry publishers rank RE/MAX Results as the top firm in real estate by agent productivity. The firm manages 28,000 trades a year, an average of 24 per agent. The nearest competitor is at 12 transactions per agent. Tushaus says “With Milestones, we believe that the performance of our sales executives will lift productivity even higher by delighting clients with an experience that nobody imagined was possible.”

Introductory video to Milestones featuring CEO, Dustin Gray.

About RE/MAX Results  
RE/MAX Results operates out of the Twin Cities, St. Cloud, Rochester, Duluth/Superior, Mankato, Brainerd Lakes Area and Western Wisconsin markets. Based upon the principles of entrepreneurship and customer service, RE/MAX Results has grown to 49 offices and nearly 1,300 Sales Executives making it one of the largest and most productive RE/MAX franchises in the United States. For over 35 years, RE/MAX Results has been leading the way with the highest producing sales executives in the country. RE/MAX Results is committed to selecting the most capable people in real estate, providing the best, most streamlined operational infrastructure, management by participation, and the highest standards of professionalism in the industry. For more information, visit results.net.

About Milestones
Milestones is dedicated to helping real estate industry professionals break free from the transaction mindset by focusing on Homeowner Management. The integrated and open platform creates private client portals to stay connected and deliver ongoing personalized value — regardless of whether customers are buying, moving, owning, or selling. Instant access to verified trusted service partners ensures that clients never have to worry during any life event. The payoff from staying connected and helping customers solve problems: Fiercely loyal customers for life. Learn more at Milestones.ai.

Media Contacts:
Monika Sollee | Milestones
monika@wavgroup.com

Nicole Biczkowski | RE/MAX Results
nicole@results.net

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9ddf683c-c6f1-443f-93e0-fd502f9e9b92

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8e1ccf9d-eb09-431c-b53c-46d645f7ba87

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2e41f36d-e4ed-436e-8676-0db552b4a84a