SpecterOps is a Seattle, WA-based cybersecurity solution and assistance provider specializing in profound knowledge of enemy tradecraft to support clients in detecting and defending against sophisticated attackers. SpecterOps was funded $25 million led by Decibel with participation from Kevin Mandia, Jon Oberheide, Dug Song, and other strategic angel investors.
With the new funding, SpecterOps plans to continue building its team and further develop its technology to remain ahead of the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape. The platform encountered quick customer adoption in 2022, with significant product income growth and new customer purchase growing by more than 600%. Today, BloodHound Enterprise is operated worldwide by companies like Capital Group, the University of Texas at Austin, and Woodside Energy.
According to the company, the funding will accelerate SpecterOps’ growth and expand its capabilities, including its proprietary software platform, RITA (Real Intelligence Threat Analytics), enabling organizations to detect and respond to advanced threats faster and more effectively.
CEO at SpecterOps David McGuire said they are thrilled to partner with Decibel and their existing investors as they continue to grow and expand our capabilities. This investment will allow them to develop their technology further and provide even greater value to our customers, helping them stay ahead solution of the evolving threat landscape.
SpecterOps has quickly gained recognition for its innovative approach to cybersecurity, and they have also been called a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Managed Security Services worldwide.
Decibel Founder and Partner Jon Sakoda said SpecterOps is uniquely positioned to help organizations defend against the most advanced threats. They are excited to support their continued growth and success. The team’s deep expertise in cybersecurity, combined with their innovative technology, sets them apart in a rapidly evolving market.
By: K. Tagura
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Everyone who starts a business starts it with great passion, strong ambition, and a clear vision. However, things don’t always go the way the founder of a business wants them to. When people see a failing small business, they can wrap up the whole discussion within a second by saying something along the lines of, “Just shut it down.” What they don’t realize is that shutting down a business is a much more difficult decision than starting one. No matter how unadvisable, there is an undying emotional attachment of a business owner with his/her business. So, what can you do if your small business is not performing well?
Pinpoint the Reasons for Failure
What do the doctors do when patients go to them with an illness? They don’t hand over a bunch pills, and tablets straight away do they? The first step, of course, is the diagnosis of the issue. Once the doctor knows the problem, he/she can prescribe the right medicine. This is exactly what you have to do with your business. The first thing you have to do is make efforts to pinpoint the reasons and problems that are causing your business to fail. If you don’t have the expertise, you should hire a professional accountant to look into your profits, losses, incomes, and expenses. Maybe you are doing business perfectly, and it is just your tax calculation that is causing the damage.
Don’t be the Business
Many times it is the owner who causes the failure of a business. When you think you are the business, this is the recipe for a business’ failure. You must learn to delegate responsibilities and become comfortable with the idea of taking help from others. Don’t act like an owner when it comes to using the money that your business making. Keep yourself on a salary, and this salary should be based on the current condition of the business. Make the team and involve some of your best employees in deciding what the solution to the problems should be. You are in the business, and so you will see everything from your perspective. A neutral person will tell you what they find lacking in your business strategy.
You have to be very patient and understanding when you ask others to help you. They might point out factors that you might not like. They might even raise questions about your strategy, and that’s when you have to show real patience.
Use the Funding Options
Sometimes, you just start on the wrong foot. You are so eager to start your own business that you don’t even arrange the proper capital to support it. You might spend too much on arranging your office furniture and be left with nothing to spend on marketing. In this particular situation, you want to arrange funds to meet the needs of your business. Whether it’s marketing, the lack of staff or the wrong location, you can fix any of those issues when you have the money. If you think your business is built on a unique idea and that more people need to know about it, you should look for ways to arrange the funds.
Look around, and you might come across friends or family members who could help you arrange some funds. If you don’t have any contacts that can help you with business funding, you should consider online crowdfunding. You always have options like Funded.com available to arrange the right funds to support your unique business ideas. The thing about online funding is that you can always find people who understand your idea no matter how unique it is.
Set Goals and Measure Their Progress
No matter how hard the times are for your business, there is always going to be a way out. However, the emotional setback and mental stress that come with business failure can eat up your positivity and optimism. Despite such hardships, you have to know how to set realistic goals and achieve them. Set defined realistic and achievable goals and measured the progress. When you are facing hard times, you have to set small goals. It is important at this point that your goals are defined in the form of numbers. The ambiguity of goals makes them less achievable. If you are losing customers and you want to retain them, you must first know the rate at which you are losing them.
Now, the example of a weak goal at this point will be setting something like, “I will not lose customers in the coming month.” That’s an ambiguous goal, and no set point will define how badly you have failed or how tremendously you have succeeded. Instead, you should set the goal by first defining a period during which you will calculate customer retention or attrition. Secondly, you will calculate the customers acquired during that period. Thirdly, you must know how many customers you had at the start of that period. You will now set your goal regarding retention percentage during that period.
Reconsider Your Pricing Strategy
More often than not, businesses fail because the owners don’t set the right price for their product or services. You might be pricing your products too low or too high. What if you have already started charging your customers for the value you haven’t provided them? A business must price its products/services to cover their expenses. Later, the business can start making a profit. The third and last stage is to charge for the business value. You have to be constantly looking into your customer data to know how much value your customers find in your services/products before you charge them for it.
As mentioned earlier, it much more difficult to shut a business down than it is to start it. Furthermore, you cannot let go of the mission and vision that’s associated with your business that easily. For this reason, you have to show tremendous perseverance, patience, and determination, and try all your options before deciding to shut down your business
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Native AI is a New York- and Cincinnati, OH-based startup specializing in artificial intelligence development—developer of cloud-based business-to-business customer service software designed to democratize data to enable market transparency.
Native AI was funded $3.5 million, guided by Ivy Ventures and JumpStart Ventures, with participation from other strategic angel investors, 11 Tribes Ventures, and Connetic Ventures. The company aspires to help brands make digital clones of their customers, utilizing generative artificial intelligence to answer questions and provide insights.
Native AI technology is designed to help businesses automate their customer service operations. The company’s software uses natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to understand customer inquiries and provide accurate and helpful responses. This can help companies reduce response times and improve customer satisfaction.
Frank Pica, the CEO of Native AI, commented that they are thrilled to have the support of investors as they continue to build out our technology and grow our business. Their goal is to help companies provide better customer service while reducing costs, and this funding will help them achieve that.
Several large businesses, including a major airline and a telecommunications company, already use native AI technology. The company plans to expand into other industries and markets in the coming months.
The seed funding round comes when many businesses seek ways to improve their customer service operations. With the rise of digital communication channels like chatbots and social media, there is a growing need for businesses to be able to respond quickly and accurately to customer inquiries. Native AI’s technology solves this problem, and the company is well-positioned to take advantage of this growing market.
By: K. Tagura
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Sarna Finance is a Chicago, IL-based developer of a digital trading platform designed for individual investors at zero commission. The company’s platform exchange-traded stocks, traded equities, options ETFs, and opportunities through its advanced mobile trading application, enabling investors to have a better trading experience.
Sarna Finance was funded $2.5 million. Motivate Ventures and Simplex Ventures led the funding round. It included participation from Wedbush Financial Services, Wedbush Ventures, and several angel investors with trading, clearing, and financial services backgrounds. The capital input will help the business bring its mobile investing app, currently in beta, to market in the United States this summer and Europe at the end of 2023. The company will also continue making its best-in-class risk management engine for real-time customer buying power calculations, enabling T+0 settlement.
Dominik Sarna, the founder of Sarna Finance, said they’re thrilled to have the support of their investors as they continue to grow and expand their services. This funding will allow them to reach even more businesses and provide them with the financial services they need to thrive.
Sarna Finance has grown enormously since its launch, with a rapidly expanding customer base and increasing revenues. The company’s success is due in part to its focus on providing personalized service and support to its customers and its use of advanced technology to streamline its operations.
The Founder and Managing Director at Wedbush Ventures, Petra Griffith, commented that Sarna’s team of industry veterans is building the next-generation retail brokerage platform for US and European investors. Rather than putting a modern spin on legacy infrastructure, Dominik and the team are building the technical backend and internal risk management capabilities for today’s trading volumes and volatility with intraday buying power calculations and margin capabilities. Wedbush Ventures is proud to support Sarna’s mission to reset the technical standard for the digital brokerage industry.
By: K. Tagura
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Wilderness Labs is a Portland, OR-based developer of real embedded and secure enterprise-grade IoT designed for enterprises and professional developers. The company offers a complete IoT platform with defense-grade security that runs full .NET standard applications on embeddable microcontrollers, enabling developers to build secure enterprise.
Wilderness Labs was funded $3.3 million, led by Apertu Capital and strategic angel investors such as Miguel de Icaza and Scott Hanselman.
Wilderness Labs founded in 2016 by a group of experienced engineers and entrepreneurs who wanted to build a platform to make it easier for developers to build IoT applications. The company’s platform includes various hardware and software tools, including an operating system, development boards, and a cloud-based management platform.
The company aims to enable developers to build IoT applications quickly and easily without worrying about the underlying hardware or software. The platform designed to be flexible and scalable so that developers can build applications deployed in various environments and scenarios.
With the new funding, Wilderness Labs plans to continue developing the Meadow platform and expanding its team. The company also plans to launch a range of new products in the coming months, including a new development board and a range of sensors and other IoT devices.
Bryan Costanich, CEO of Wilderness Labs, is the inventor of Meadow, a Secure, Production-IoT that enables developers to create embedded-IoT solutions and allows organizations to securely manage those devices in the field at scale with Meadow.Cloud.
The IoT market expected to increase in the coming years as more and more devices become connected to the internet. With its range of hardware and software tools, Wilderness Labs well-positioned to take advantage of this growth and become a leading player in the IoT space.
By: K. Tagura
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Social media has become a powerful tool for businesses to reach their target audience and connect with customers. However, creating a successful social media marketing campaign can be challenging. Here are some tips on creating a successful social media marketing campaign.
Define Your Goals: Before creating a social media marketing campaign, defining your goals is essential. What do you want to achieve with your campaign? For example, do you want to increase brand awareness, drive more traffic to your website, or generate more leads? Your goals will guide your social media marketing strategy and help you measure the success of your campaign.
Know Your Target Audience: Understanding your target audience is crucial for the success of your social media marketing campaign. Who are your ideal customers? What are their interests, needs, and preferences? Knowing your target audience will help you create content that resonates and engages with them on social media.
Choose the Right Social Media Platforms: Many social media platforms are out there, but not all are suitable for your business. Instead, choose the platforms where your target audience is most active and where you can showcase your brand in the best possible way. For example, if you target young adults, Instagram and TikTok may be more effective than LinkedIn.
Create Engaging Content: Social media users are bombarded with content daily, so creating content that stands out and grabs their attention is important. Your content should be informative, entertaining, and visually appealing. Use high-quality images and videos, and keep your captions concise and engaging.
Be Consistent: Consistency is vital when it comes to social media marketing. Post regularly and at the right time to reach your target audience. Use a content calendar to plan your posts and ensure your content aligns with your brand’s messaging and values.
Engage with Your Audience: Social media is a two-way conversation, so engaging with your audience is essential. Respond to comments and messages promptly, and ask for feedback to improve your content and customer service. Use social media to build relationships with your customers and show them that you value their opinions.
Measure Your Results: Finally, it’s essential to measure the success of your social media marketing campaign. Use analytics tools to track your reach, engagement, and conversions. Use this data to refine your strategy and improve your results over time.
Creating a successful social media marketing campaign takes time, effort, and creativity. By defining your goals, understanding your target audience, and creating engaging content, you can build a strong presence on social media and connect with your customers in meaningful ways.
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Artera is a Los Altos, California-based biotechnology company specializing in developing AI-based predictive and prognostic cancer tests. The company’s products use machine learning algorithms to analyze complex data sets from patients’ tumors and provide personalized treatment recommendations.
Artera was funded $90 million in a recent funding round led by Coatue, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Walden Catalyst Ventures, TIME Ventures, Breyer Capital, The Factory, and 11 angel investors.
The funds raised will be used to advance Artera’s product pipeline, including developing and commercializing the Artera One test for early-stage breast cancer and other lung and prostate cancer tests. The company also plans to expand its clinical trial programs, develop its AI platform, and grow its team.
Artera’s CEO, Andre Esteva, said in the press release that the company is excited to have such a strong group of investors backing them as we work to revolutionize cancer care with our multimodal AI platform.
One of Artera’s most profitable products is the Artera One test, designed to predict the likelihood of recurrence in patients with early-stage prostate cancer. The test uses genomic and imaging data to generate a risk score to help doctors determine whether patients need additional treatment after surgery.
The company has made significant progress in recent years, and this funding round is a testament to the potential of its technology and the demand for more personalized and accurate cancer treatment options.
By: K. Tagura
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San Francisco, CA – Shennon Biotechnologies, the operator of a proprietary single-cell platform, intended to develop single-cell platforms to unlock a critical bottleneck in immunotherapy. The company’s platform enables the functional profile of millions of immune cells on the single-cell level at the same time, pulling out rare and difficult-to-find targets, analyzing, understanding, and manipulating massive numbers of cells on the single-cell level to develop more effective treatments for human diseases, enabling medical industry to create immunotherapies that are more targeted and more effective.
Shennon Biotechnologies was funded $13 million in seed financing led by DCVC, with participation from Foundation Capital, AV8, and angel investors. The company plans to use the funds to expand the platform’s capabilities further and raise discovery actions to build a pipeline of effective targets for solid tumors and gene therapies.
Shennon Biotechnologies was founded in 2021 by a team of experienced scientists and entrepreneurs to develop innovative gene and cell therapies to treat various diseases. The platform technology combines advanced genetic engineering techniques with state-of-the-art delivery systems to target specific cells and tissues.
Li Sun, Ph.D., CEO & Founder of Shennon Biotechnologies. Excited to have the support of such a powerful group of investors who share their vision for developing transformative gene therapies. It will enable them to advance their preclinical programs and accelerate their path toward clinical development.
Shennon Biotechnologies’ lead program focuses on a novel approach to treating inherited forms of cell tumors caused by mutations in the gene. The company’s gene therapy designed to restore functional by delivering a standard gene copy.
Ruchita Sinha, General Partner of AV8. They impressed by the science behind Shennon Biotechnologies’ approach to treating genetic diseases and are excited to support the company’s growth. They believe that the company’s platform technology has the potential to transform the field of gene therapy, and we look forward to seeing its progress.
By: K. Tagura
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More and more businesses are looking for investors to fund a global expansion. More and more investors are looking for businesses ready to go globally. The business landscape is changing rapidly, and small businesses are expanding internationally right along with the big corporations. The internet can probably be named as the primary motivator for this trend because it made it so easy to communicate with people around the world. Orders can be placed with a click of the mouse. Governments recognized the opportunities this created and have created laws and regulations that promote global business.
Naturally, investors want a piece of the action. They are looking for companies that can successfully expand through globalization because the opportunities are unlimited. Of course, participating in international trade can be expensive so it’s not a decision made lightly. Yet there are so many advantages to expanding internationally that it makes sense.
What are those advantages? For one thing, a business can increase sales and thus profits which makes the company more attractive to investors. Other reasons include gaining greater market share, spreading risk by expanding market access, stabilizing seasonal sales cycles and establishing a foundation for unlimited growth. All of these reasons are exactly what can make a business attractive to investors.
Of course, expanding globally takes money. There are import and export fees, expanded production costs, higher shipping costs and the expenses associated with new promotions like marketing and travel. Investors will balance the higher costs to the expected increase in revenues and profits before making a decision. Investors will also weigh the risks associated with the global expansion. This balancing act though is one that the business should have already mastered in the business plan.
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Lonestar Data Holdings is a St Petersburg, FL-based space startup that provides space data services intended to extend terrestrial data services to the moon. The company supports space operations with data analytics, archival services, and broadband relay to terrestrial public and private clouds, providing archival and edge services to customers.
Lonestar Data Holdings was funded $5 million seed financing round. The funding was led by Scout Ventures and joined by Seldor Capital, 2 Future Holding, The Veteran Fund, Irongate Capital, Atypical Ventures, other strategic angel investors, and KittyHawk Ventures.
According to Lonestar Data’s CEO Chris Stott, the funding will accelerate the company’s data management platform development and expand its team. In addition, the company aims to help businesses streamline their data operations and better use their data.
The new investment is a significant milestone for Lonestar Data, enabling the company to scale its operations and grow its customer base. The company’s data management platform has already gained traction among businesses looking to improve their data operations. The new funding will help Lonestar Data further establish itself as a leader in the data management space.
Brad Harrison, the Scout Ventures Founder and Managing Partner, commented that they believe that expanding the world’s economy to encompass the moon, which happens to be the Earth’s most stable satellite, is the following whitespace in the New Space Economy. Data security and storage will be necessary to lead the new generation of lunar exploration.
Overall, this news is a positive development for Lonestar Data and the broader technology industry. It highlights the continued interest and investment in companies that provide innovative solutions to businesses’ data challenges.
By: K. Tagura
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