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Tuesday, December 27, 2011
A startup’s plan to sell solar like cell phones: Simpa networks
By Katie FehrenbacherDec. 27, 2011, 5:00am PT
Cell phones are one of the few products that have found mass success in developing countries; there are 600 million mobile subscribers in India out of the 1.2 billion population. So why not use the model to sell other stuff, like solar power? That’s the idea behind Simpa Networks, a startup based in Bangalore, India.
Simpa Networks is taking advantage of the popularity and standardization of pay-as-you-go cell phone plans and mobile payments in developing countries like India, and the group has launched a home solar system for off-grid customers controlled by a mobile, pay-as-you-go system. Customers pay for only the electricity produced by the solar panel at their home, in addition to a small upfront payment for the system.
The basic solar system size Simpa sells is around 25 watts to 50 watts, which can power a couple of CFL lights, a mobile phone charger and maybe a fan or a TV cable box, Simpa Co-Founder Jacob Winiecki told me in a phone interview. Remember, these are off-grid, often rural homes that don’t have access to the power grid, and the households commonly live on $4 or less a day. These customers often don’t have predictable income and are often farmers who only get paid when they sell their goods at the end of the growing season.
Simpa doesn’t make or install the solar panels, but works with a partner – Selco India – which installs a Simpa-powered solar system for Simpa’s customers. The customer pays a certain amount of their choosing as a down payment for the hardware — say, 10 percent of the total cost of the solar system (the total cost of the system can be between $200 and $300).
The customer then also pays for the solar power as they go, using purchased pay-as-you-go cards (similar to the kinds you’ll find for cell phone minutes in every gas station) commonly in the increments of 50, 100, or 500 rupees. Customers type the code on the cards into the keypad on the Simpa box, which unlocks the system. Over time — usually two or three years — the customer has paid off the system, then owns it outright and can use the solar power for free.
Simpa’s business model
The payment system is attractive to these customers, because many of them don’t have enough savings to buy a solar system outright, or can’t take out a loan to buy a system outright. Getting into debt isn’t something that many of these customers are willing to do, so pay-as-you-go makes sense to them. These customers are also very used to paying for cell phone minutes with cards.
But these customers are really interested in getting a better option for energy. Most of them currently use kerosene for lamps, or diesel or wood burning — all these things are more hazardous to health and more expensive than grid power and off-grid solar. These customers often end up paying a lot more per capita and per their income than someone with grid-connected power.
There are a few things that need to happen for Simpa to actually make money off this philanthropic-sounding business model. Simpa screens potential customers for those who will use a certain amount of electricity — for instance, those who have a few cell phones per household instead of one. That’s because if the customer gets a solar system installed but then doesn’t use the power and pay off the system, Simpa doesn’t make money. Simpa makes money by taking a small cut of the watt hours used per system, as well as the markup on the hardware.
Since Simpa is the payment system as well as the solar business model I could see the company working as the enabler for all sorts of clean power products in the developing world, like rural wind turbines.
Simpa is about a year old and has raised a seed round of $1.3 million from angel investors (which it is calling a Series A round) to launch its product commercially. Winiecki tells me that there are about 50 Simpa systems installed in the Bangalore area so far, and about 8 customers are within months of paying off the systems.
Up next: Simpa is looking to raise a next round of equity funding of $4 million, which the company is looking to close by March, and which Simpa hopes will get them to the break-even point of selling 5,000 solar systems a year. Simpa also needs to borrow money to pay for the solar systems.
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The author is Sandeep Raut Check it out: http://simplified-analytics.blogspot.com/
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
"X Factor" brings wins for "shocked" Amaro, and Fox - Yahoo! News http://ping.fm/YYfpg via @YahooNews
Exclusive: Amazon weighed buying RIM but interest cooled
By Nadia Damouni
NEW YORK | Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:43pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd has turned down takeover overtures from Amazon.com Inc and other potential buyers because the BlackBerry maker prefers to fix its problems on its own, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Amazon hired an investment bank this summer to review a potential merger with RIM, but it did not make a formal offer, said one of the sources. It is not clear whether informal discussions between Amazon and RIM ever led to specific price talk, or who else had approached RIM about a takeover.
RIM's board wants co-chief executives Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie to focus on trying to turn around the business through the launch of new phones, better use of assets such as BlackBerry Messaging and restructuring, two sources said. They did not want to be identified as the discussions are private. RIM and Amazon declined to comment.
While RIM could strike technology licensing deals and other kinds of commercial partnerships to boost revenue, an outright sale or joint venture is not on the cards for now, they said.
"They have had approaches from folks who have wanted to have discussions," said one head of technology investment banking at a Wall Street bank. "The issue is it is hard to find a value that makes sense with a falling knife."
RIM's market value has plunged 77 percent in the last 12 months to about $6.8 billion following a series of disappointing quarterly reports, delayed phone launches, weak sales of the PlayBook tablet and other missteps. The shares tumbled last week on weaker-than-expected quarterly results and the announcement of a delay in the launch of the new BlackBerry 10 phones.
Activist shareholder Jaguar Financial Corp has called for a sale of RIM - as a whole or in separate parts, such as the handset business or the patent portfolio.
But RIM's management has told interested parties they do not want to sell or break up the company at this juncture, the sources told Reuters. After last week's news, the board instructed the co-CEOs to set aside any options for a sale, one person briefed on the situation said.
"Selling the company or an economic joint venture is probably not in the cards right now," said the source. "Until you stabilize the platform, people are going to be very nervous about spending $10 billion or more."
Some potential corporate and private equity suitors are holding out for RIM's valuation to fall further, people familiar with the matter said.
AMAZON, RIM STILL IN DISCUSSIONS
Amazon and RIM are still discussing ways to expand their commercial ties, which currently include a service launched last year to make Amazon's music catalog available to some BlackBerry users, according to the sources.
Amazon launched the Kindle Fire tablet in November, which, along with the content the company can package with it, is seen as a potentially formidable contender to Apple Inc's iPad and iTunes store. Amazon does not make smartphones.
As for RIM, it feels it could better "leverage" its assets, such as the BBM instant messaging and the network operation centers that allow for messages to be processed, the sources said.
RIM could also look at licensing out its QNX operating system after the late 2012 launch of BlackBerry 10, which will be the first smartphones using that software, to give handset makers an alternative to Google's Android operating system.
DISTRACTION
RIM's co-CEOs have spent months listening to ideas from a investment bankers, strategic parties and private equity firms. These discussions are now viewed as distracting for management, sources briefed on the situation said.
One of them said the board has backed both Lazaridis and Balsillie, but is of the view RIM needs to develop a "deeper bench" of executives.
Spurred by RIM's share drop and Google Inc's $12.5 billion bid for Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc in August, Wall Street bankers have tried to pitch RIM to other mobile phone makers, including Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and HTC Corp, in recent months.
But HTC and Samsung already have licensing agreements with Google's Android and did not see the value in tying up with BlackBerry, people familiar with the companies said. Samsung and HTC declined to comment.
NEW YORK | Tue Dec 20, 2011 5:43pm EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd has turned down takeover overtures from Amazon.com Inc and other potential buyers because the BlackBerry maker prefers to fix its problems on its own, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Amazon hired an investment bank this summer to review a potential merger with RIM, but it did not make a formal offer, said one of the sources. It is not clear whether informal discussions between Amazon and RIM ever led to specific price talk, or who else had approached RIM about a takeover.
RIM's board wants co-chief executives Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie to focus on trying to turn around the business through the launch of new phones, better use of assets such as BlackBerry Messaging and restructuring, two sources said. They did not want to be identified as the discussions are private. RIM and Amazon declined to comment.
While RIM could strike technology licensing deals and other kinds of commercial partnerships to boost revenue, an outright sale or joint venture is not on the cards for now, they said.
"They have had approaches from folks who have wanted to have discussions," said one head of technology investment banking at a Wall Street bank. "The issue is it is hard to find a value that makes sense with a falling knife."
RIM's market value has plunged 77 percent in the last 12 months to about $6.8 billion following a series of disappointing quarterly reports, delayed phone launches, weak sales of the PlayBook tablet and other missteps. The shares tumbled last week on weaker-than-expected quarterly results and the announcement of a delay in the launch of the new BlackBerry 10 phones.
Activist shareholder Jaguar Financial Corp has called for a sale of RIM - as a whole or in separate parts, such as the handset business or the patent portfolio.
But RIM's management has told interested parties they do not want to sell or break up the company at this juncture, the sources told Reuters. After last week's news, the board instructed the co-CEOs to set aside any options for a sale, one person briefed on the situation said.
"Selling the company or an economic joint venture is probably not in the cards right now," said the source. "Until you stabilize the platform, people are going to be very nervous about spending $10 billion or more."
Some potential corporate and private equity suitors are holding out for RIM's valuation to fall further, people familiar with the matter said.
AMAZON, RIM STILL IN DISCUSSIONS
Amazon and RIM are still discussing ways to expand their commercial ties, which currently include a service launched last year to make Amazon's music catalog available to some BlackBerry users, according to the sources.
Amazon launched the Kindle Fire tablet in November, which, along with the content the company can package with it, is seen as a potentially formidable contender to Apple Inc's iPad and iTunes store. Amazon does not make smartphones.
As for RIM, it feels it could better "leverage" its assets, such as the BBM instant messaging and the network operation centers that allow for messages to be processed, the sources said.
RIM could also look at licensing out its QNX operating system after the late 2012 launch of BlackBerry 10, which will be the first smartphones using that software, to give handset makers an alternative to Google's Android operating system.
DISTRACTION
RIM's co-CEOs have spent months listening to ideas from a investment bankers, strategic parties and private equity firms. These discussions are now viewed as distracting for management, sources briefed on the situation said.
One of them said the board has backed both Lazaridis and Balsillie, but is of the view RIM needs to develop a "deeper bench" of executives.
Spurred by RIM's share drop and Google Inc's $12.5 billion bid for Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc in August, Wall Street bankers have tried to pitch RIM to other mobile phone makers, including Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and HTC Corp, in recent months.
But HTC and Samsung already have licensing agreements with Google's Android and did not see the value in tying up with BlackBerry, people familiar with the companies said. Samsung and HTC declined to comment.
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
Social Media Analytics: Effective Tools for Building, Interpreting, and Using Metrics http://ping.fm/Go30k
Must read Book recommendation: Social Media Analytics: Effective Tools for Building, Interpreting, and Using Metrics http://ping.fm/poHKg
Must read Book recommendation: Social Media Analytics: Effective Tools for Building, Interpreting, and Using Metrics
Publication Date: July 19, 2011
Align Strategy With Metrics Using Social Monitoring Best Practices
“Two or three years from now, every public relations firm that wants to be taken seriously in the C-suite and/or a lead marketing role will have someone like Marshall in its senior leadership ranks, a chief analytics officer responsible for ensuring that account leaders think more deeply about analytics and that thfirm works with the best available outside suppliers to integrate analytics appropriately.”
—Paul Holmes, The Holmes Report
“Marshall has provided much-needed discipline to our newest marketing frontier—a territory full of outlaws, medicine men, dot com tumbleweeds, and snake oil.”
—Ryan Rasmussen, VP Research, Zócalo Group
“Marshall Sponder stands apart from the crowd with this work. His case study approach, borne of real-world experience, provides the expert and the amateur alike with bibliography, tools, links, and examples to shortcut the path to bedrock successes. This is a reference work for anyone who wants to explore the potential of social networks.”
—W. Reid Cornwell, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, The Center for Internet Research
“Marshall is a solutions design genius of unparalleled knowledge and acumen, and when he applies himself to the business of social media, the result is a timely and important commentary on the state of research capabilities for social media.”
—Barry Fleming, Director, Analytics & Insights, WCG, and Principal, DharmaBuilt.com
About the Book
Practically overnight, social media has become a critical tool for every marketing objective—from outreach and customer relations to branding and crisis management. For the most part, however, the data collected through social media is just that: data. It usually seems to hold little or no meaning on which to base business decisions. But the meaning is there . . . if you’re applying the right systems and know how to use them.
With Social Media Analytics, you’ll learn how to get supremely valuable information from this revolutionary new marketing tool. One of the most respected leaders in his field and a pioneer in Web analytics, Marshall Sponder shows how to:
Choose the best social media platforms for your needs
Set up the right processes to achieve your goals
Extract the hidden meaning from all the data you collect
Quantify your results and determine ROI
Filled with in-depth case studies from a range of industries, along with detailed reviews of several social-monitoring platforms, Social Media Analytics takes you beyond “up-to-date” and leads you well into the future—and far ahead of your competition. You will learn how to use the most sophisticated methods yet known to find customers, create relevant content (and track it), mash up data from disparate sources, and much more. Sponder concludes with an insightful look at where the field will likely be going during the next few years.
Whether your social media marketing efforts are directed at B2B, B2C, C2C, nonprofit, corporate, or public sector aims, take them to the next step with the techniques, strategies, and methods in Social Media Analytics—the most in-depth, forward-looking book on the subject.
Product Details
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (July 19, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0071768297
ISBN-13: 978-0071768290
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
Must Read!1 Highly Recommended.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Congress Calls for Defense Department Plan for Cloud Computing - Businessweek http://buswk.co/uJJuUd via @BW
Monday, December 19, 2011
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