The Fuel Team acquired by PR Newswire
Posted by: kelly in Business and Strategy on July 31st, 2009
We announced some huge news this morning for our company, The Fuel Team.
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/prnewswire/39408/
In 2002, Micha Hanson and I received a phone call from Dee Rambeau asking for some coding help. Dee and his business partner Jason Keller had a PR and software background and understood the opportunity for building easy to use tools to help the overworked PR professional. Micha and I were impressed by the idea. Jason moved from San Francisco to Denver, we teamed up with Rob Gwin and the first products were born.
Today’s announcement of the PRN acquisition is a great example of how a small company can be laser focused on building great products and the right strategic partnerships will develop. I’m so proud of our crew.
Setting up a 529 Plan in Colorado
We had a baby in January and I’ve been procrastinating setting up her 529 plan.
“A 529 Plan is an education savings plan operated by a state or educational institution designed to help families set aside funds for future college costs. It is named after Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code which created these types of savings plans in 1996.”
Source: savingforcollege.com
I’ve skimmed articles and listened to podcasts about the subject, here are some highlights:
1. You have to research and choose a State offered 529 Plan
I chose Colorado’s 529 Plan, my home state, mainly because I just love Colorado..and I wanted the tax benefits their 529 Plan gave me for being a resident. I then choose the Direct Portfolio Savings Plan because it was managed by Vanguard and I have an IRA with them.
2. Once you’ve decided on a 529 Plan, you have to signup and choose options
The Direct Portfolio Savings Plan 529 Plan that I chose offered 4 options, each based on level of risk. Of course, I have no idea what I’m doing so I just choose the first option, “Age-based”, it adjusts your level of risk over time beginning at high risk and moving to low risk as it gets closer to the beginning of college. This is the option the Obama’s chose for their kids.
3. Now you can start contributing
The maximum the 529 Plan can have in it is $280,000. You can contribute whatever you want each year until you reach that maximum.
4. When you are ready to pull money out:
Distributions from the Plan that go towards tuition costs come out tax-free. This makes sense because the money has already been taxed when it goes in but then comes out without being taxed. So, you are not double taxed on this money or it’s gains by the IRS. Read this FAQ page for more info
I also enjoyed listening to Marketplace’s Story on choosing 529 Plans.
What is Capitalization?
Posted by: kelly in Business and Strategy on April 12th, 2009
This email exchange between myself and a business partner explains Capitalization or Cap Structure:
From: KT
Subject: What is Capitalization?
You and Dave mentioned Capitalization today…..is this the right definition for what you were talking about?
Capitalization
Total amount of the various securities issued by a corporation. Capitalization may include bonds, debentures, preferred and common stock, and surplus. Bonds and debentures are usually carried on the books of the issuing company in terms of their par or face value. Preferred and common shares may be carried in terms of par or stated value. Stated value may be an arbitrary figure decided upon by the director or may represent the amount received by the company from the sale of the securities at the time of issuance.
KT
And the response:
From: John
Subject: RE: What is Capitalization?
Yes, but a simple definition would be the finical makeup/ownership of the company in terms funding and value. For example ACME’s current ownership structure is 50% ABC Holdings and 50% XYZ Corp (me). In bringing Steve aboard we will ask him for additional capital in order to join the company in exchange for his acquired percentage of ownership. We will determine a value of the company (lets say $1 million) and then exchange 10% of equity in ACME for $100,000.00. A simple example but on point. We could also go to a bank and get a loan and provide capital to the company. This would alter our capitalization or cap structure adding debt in place of equity funding. Let me know if you have other questions.
John
The future of Online Retail
Posted by: kelly in Business and Strategy on February 18th, 2009
I had the opportunity to ponder the state of online retail lately and came up with 5 topics relevant to the discussion.
Layaway
If an online retailer offered layaway I would use it. The concept seems easy enough, enter your bank routing and account info along with the amount you would like to apply towards your purchase each month. The retailer has a great interface for you to check on your progress and sends you email reminders each month, etc…for participating in the layaway you get a better deal from the retailer on the item. (Layaway would make chipping away at the price of that new Mountain Bike a bit easier!) By offering layaway the retailer would also be forging a relationship with the customer above and beyond a basic transaction. The ease of paying bills online combined with chatter about being more responsible with personal credit creates a great environment for layaway to become reality.
Customer Service via Social Networks
@comcastcares is the twitter handle for Comcast’s customer service department. Using twitter search tools they can monitor tweets about Comcast and respond immediately to customers. This type of customer interaction is revolutionary. The customer’s complaint and the Company’s response is out there for others to view. This trend will no doubt continue as the idea of picking up a phone to call and complain about something fades.
Sustainability and Used Goods
As people care more about their impact on the environment related to consumerism they will look at 2 things: how the item is manufactured and should they buy new or used.
Retailers like Apple and Patagonia are very transparent and offer information about their manufacturing processes which they use as a product differentiator. Environmental impact will not be as important as product performance but it will carry weight with customers.
“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” will continue as a trend causing consumers to look for used or second hand goods. Retailers need to prepare a solution to customers not wanting to buy brand new items.
Niche Advertising
Targeted niche advertising has, of course, been around forever. Using Facebook ads, Lijit’s ad network and other highly targeted advertising channels is becoming mandatory.
Interactive Video
The best experience I’ve had with any sort of Interactive Video was watching Obama’s inauguration on Facebook. A high quality video stream combined with my Friend’s activity displayed on the screen making for a unique, interesting viewing experience. This concept can certainly apply to online retailing. Imagine a ski gear website showing a live stream of the new, cool ski movie from Warren Miller on a Friday night. Your friends from around the world are posting comments realtime as you watch the video and see product specs and information displaying inline with your Friend activity.