Scot Wingo

Kudos to aifleet on its $16.6M raise to fund growth in tech-enabled trucking. Its investors include Heron Rock Volvo Group Venture Capital, Obvious Ventures, Ibex Investors, Compound, Winthrop Square Capital and Cooley LLP. Aifleet is doing something different. Most other startups in this field are focused on pure technology. They have 204 drivers and power units. Will they be able to make it work with a combination of trucking and technology? https://lnkd.in/ePytPHx7

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Why Buying Your First Business is the hardest & Financing The Fear is Being seen as too risky by lenders and investors. The Solution: Prepare a solid business plan with detailed financial projections. Work with a financial advisor to enhance your credibility. Consider alternative financing options like SBA loans or seller financing.

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That's why it's often very difficult to recognize new leaders – their ideas go beyond the conventional frameworks we're accustomed to. Keep your mind open. Don't let yesterday's templates define your future. #Leadership, #Innovation, #OpenMind, #FutureThinking, #venturethinking,   https://lnkd.in/eASPGsuu

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🗞️ Breaking News: Red Ventures Selling CNET at a huge Loss❗️ Context: Red Ventures, the privately held digital media and marketing juggernaut based in Fort Mill, South Carolina, is selling CNET, one of the largest tech publishers on the web, to Ziff Davis for just $100 million. For context: Red Ventures bought CNET for approximately $500 million. Reason for the Sale: Total traffic to CNET has dropped by a staggering 50% over the last three years. The main driver behind this decline is a 68% drop in organic traffic (loss off Google rankings and traffic). Tables turned: This sale is a stunning turn of events for CNET, which once bought Ziff Davis (then a tech magazine firm) in a deal worth roughly $1.6 billion - more than two decades ago. Catch Up: - Ziff Davis trades publicly with a market value of $1.94 billion. The company lost about half of its marketcap over the course of the last 48 months. Strategic rationale: If Ziff Davis is able to ink a content licencing deal with Google, Bing/Microsoft or ChatGPT (or else e.g. X.AI) - like Reddit did - it might turn out to be a very smart deal …

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In this video I discuss 5 Ways to Find Investors for Your SMB Acquisition in 2024 https://lnkd.in/equZPg5t

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✨ Breaking: Halogen Ventures Announces New Fund.- Halogen Ventures Halogen Ventures focuses on early-stage consumer technology startups with at least one woman on the founding team. The fund announced a $10 million investment to support female founders in Alabama. https://halogenvc.com/ Please share to let other #Founders know For the ❤️ of Startups #Fusion42 #Startups #Venturecapital

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This is spot on for how #AI will very quickly change the #retail industry and how quickly it will happen over the next 3-5 years.

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We're transforming Aithor into the go-to #multitool and have rolled out 3 new features in A/B testing mode. Here’s what’s new: (1) #Topic Generator – Crafting clear titles for coursework. (2) #Structure & Logic Builder – Creating a table of contents and essay plan. (3) #CoPilot – An AI-driven text creation assistant, suggesting whole paragraphs based on your writing and chosen topic. Big deal. Great plans. We're in the middle of a #repositioning, which is priority-1 right now. We’re moving away from our current positioning to better resonate with our #academic commitment. Sticking with our old vibe was tough; including restrictions from a few platforms. As AI skeptics are watching, any negative publicity makes us a target, since #AI is still viewed with suspicion. We're expanding our toolset to reach a broader audience and be more helpful to the academic community. We’re not focusing just on students & scientists anymore; we're also stepping into marketing and text creation. The core of what we do is to #reduce the time spent on routine tasks and #focus more on generating better ideas. With the new positioning, we're also on the hunt for funds to accelerate our growth, aim higher, and plan our grand exit in 2025. Keep your eyes peeled — I’ll share more about our repositioning soon!

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Imagine wiring $60k to someone you've never met, purely based on their social media presence and reputation. Trust and transparency are everything in the car business. I had the chance to catch up with Yusuf Benallal who shared some incredible stories about the power of trust in the dealership world. From finding the perfect car to delivering it sight unseen, his approach to building genuine connections and delivering exceptional service is next level. Hear more on how trust can truly drive success in the automotive industry here: https://lnkd.in/guH2TVtF #CarIndustry #SocialMedia

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https://lnkd.in/gG3v7d74 Hidden Transmission Codes : account for 5.5% of used cars sold in the auctions. $6 Billion Industry Problem This article was written by me based on the OBD Diagnostics results of 10,000+ Used Cars at Auctions in the USA. The cars were testing with "The most advanced Dynamically Reconfiguring Pin OBD Scanner" - CarDr's Ultra. Conclusion: The automotive industry cannot afford to ignore the financial impact of undetected DTC codes. With Dynamically Reconfiguring Pin OBD Readers, auctions and dealerships can: 1.         Detect hidden issues with advanced diagnostics unmatched by static tools 2.         Protect profits by reducing arbitration and repair costs. 3.         Build trust with buyers and sellers. https://lnkd.in/gG3v7d74 Take action now. Protect your business and bottom line. Visit www.cardr.com to schedule a live demo.

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Fun session with Silas Mähner 🔍🌎 Hopefully non controversial takes on how we think about adaptation and resilience Third Sphere. Also weighed in on thinking about engagement with Big Oil. Absolutely not possible to generalize here. TLDR on one end of the spectrum is Norway, generating substantial GDP from oil, but leading the way across multiple climate efforts, like EVs and heatpumps. On the other end are some state actors that have worked to undermine organizations like COP and sew broader chaos, very, very likely as a way to shift resources away from energy transition (likely very, very hard to spend on defense and green transition at the same time in the US and EU, for example).

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Wilmington North Carolina USA is #1 Startup Ecosystem in the WORLD for small cities under 300,000 people #2 in North Carolina behind an ecosystem that is 40 years old #22 in the USA no matter what size population #61 in the WORLD and the fastest climb up the rankings by moving up 32 spots  in StartupBlink #WilmingtonNC #startup #entrepreneur #investor #NorthCarolina

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Have you ever noticed that the word Uber is both a noun and a verb? I have spent years studying shared economy, supply chain and logistics. The first and last mile space has proven profitable and lucrative but also fickle and unpredictable. And I love it. In the world of Yahoos and Googles, Ubers and AirBnBs, a person could argue that branding has very minimal impact on the potential success of a company. I have also spent years studying branding, marketing, product management and customer experience. People love all-inclusive. Sometimes when you're dealing with consumers, a little bit more goes a long way. In WebVans defense, while I'm sure they had the most advanced inventory management system, at the time, I'm sure they didn't have automated storage and retrieval, they didn't have the 5G ecosystem, they didn't have RFID and IOT, they didn't have shared economy and they obviously believed, like Jeff Bezos, that because they had figured out how to deliver a book to your door, they could innovate the entire supply chain. And I love the tenacity. They tried to create an all inclusive customer experience. But like, what happens when the name just kinda sucks? Is it possible that the plateau is being caused by a crappy name? Why would people think Cost Plus is a company that would give them a discount on pharmaceuticals? Why would people think WebVan or GoPuff is the best solution for getting things delivered? Branding is part of the customer experience. It's where the brand loyalty begins and creates the potential for evangelism. Don't forget that part.

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Want to build wealth faster? Skip startups. Buy Boring Old Businesses. Here’s why: 1. They’re already making money. 2. They come with customers, systems, and momentum. 3. They’re undervalued – 2.5x profits is standard. 4. SBA loans or seller financing make them accessible. 5. Easy profit boosters: raise prices or add new products. 6. They’re easier to scale than startups. Startups fail 65% of the time within the first 5 years. But "boring" businesses? They’re built to last. Don’t build from scratch. Buy something proven. If you could buy a "boring" business, what type of business would you buy?

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Summary: Trucks Venture Capital has announced a new $70 million fund to support early-stage startups in the transportation industry. Led by co-founder Reilly Brennan, the firm plans to invest in a diverse range of companies, including those working on autonomous vehicle tech, electric air taxis, and mobility data platforms. This is the firm's largest fund to date and its investment strategy has evolved to focus on great founders rather than specific sectors or ideas. Key takeaways: Trucks VC has a new $70 million fund to invest in early-stage transportation startups. The firm's investment strategy has shifted to focus on great founders rather than specific sectors or ideas. Previous investments from the new fund include charger installation-as-a-service startup Treehouse and zero-emissions jet aircraft company JetZero. Counter arguments: Some may argue that focusing on great founders rather than specific sectors or ideas may limit the firm's potential for success. The transportation industry is constantly changing and evolving, making it a risky investment for any venture capital firm. #startups #venturecapital #transportation

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***SCORED CONTRACT WITH WALMART TO SELL PRODUCT IN THEIR RETAIL STORES IN U.S. MARKET: 7/5/2024. Serial entrepreneur, Dr. D. Anthony Miles CEO and founder of Miles Development Industries Corporation ® and CMO/Equity Partner of “Safe Drop®” secured a deal with Walmart. The company just signed a lucrative deal with the global retail giant, Walmart. They will be distributing the company’s product. They just signed a lucrative deal with the global retail giant, Walmart. They will be distributing the Safe Drop® product worldwide. The projected sales for Safe Drop® in 2024 is in the billions. The company’s CEO, founder and inventor, Bob Safstrom, the mastermind behind Safe Drop®. and Dr. Miles have secured a vendor contract with Walmart Inc. Safe Drop® will be sold in Walmart’s retail stores around the country. Also they will be selling “Safe Drop®” on Walmart.com. They are both very exited to have secured the deal with Walmart. This gives them the opportunity partner a global and dominant firm like Walmart.

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