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A Box for Every Lifestyle: Tips on How to Be Prepared on the Go

YourUpdateTV

What if you could discover new products that cater to your interests, but also support small businesses? Bespoke Post partners with under-the-radar brands so you can discover the coolest selection of goods and gear while supporting emerging brands and small manufacturers. Recently, the Host of Dailyburn 365 and BYUTV’s Battle of the Ages, JD Roberto, teamed with Bespoke Post and YourUpdateTV on a satellite media tour to talk about the Bespoke Post concept and tips on how to be prepared on the go. A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/oG2BDWlDE2g Bespoke Post was founded with a mission to work with small brands and help them establish themselves in the industry, and approximately 90% of the products they sell come from small businesses. By being a member, you can discover the coolest selection of goods and gear while supporting emerging brands and small manufacturers. And Bespoke Post negotiates on behalf of their community to deliver quality goods at an affordable price—each box is priced at $45 but filled with usually $70+ in value. From outdoor gear, apparel, or to trying new food and drink recipes, there is a box that caters to all these categories and more. Some of their most popular boxes include: Weekender, Flip, Aged and Over Easy. The concept of Bespoke Post is to create subscription boxes around a central theme that will introduce people to something new. All they need to do is take a quick preference quiz and they’ll be assigned a ‘Box of Awesome’ each month with curated products that fit their lifestyle. Members also have the option to skip or swap their shipment anytime, at no cost. Bespoke Post subscription boxes and e-commerce services are available at bespokepost.com. About JD Roberto: JD Roberto is a two-time Emmy nominated TV personality, writer, director, and producer. JD is currently the host of BATTLE OF THE AGES, a new family-oriented game show on BYUtv. He is also Executive Producer and Host of the ground breaking DAILY BURN 365 (Emmy® nomination) – where he's helping lead a revolution in fitness and digital streaming. Music lovers can catch JD hosting SONG POP LIVE a daily, app-based music game show based on the wildly popular music trivia app. You can also find him streaming the latest in tech, outdoor, and kitchen gear on AMAZON LIVE. About YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

July 30, 2021 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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CIPIO Appoints AI and Big Data Pioneer Dr. Jin Yu as CTO and Launch 2.0 of Next-Gen Subscriber Experience Platform

CIPIO.ai

CIPIO, an AI company that is Humanizing Subscriptions TM, today announced the appointment of Dr. Jin Yu as its CTO as it gets ready for its next phase of growth with Next-Gen Subscriber Experience Platform TM 2.0. With 25 years of experience in big data, AI, and distributed computing, Dr. Yu is a seasoned technologist and a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded multiple startups including Kyndoo, an influencer marketing software platform with 2,000+ influencers and 90 million social user profiles, eBrain, an AI platform, and Portaura, a social data platform with 100 million location-based social user profiles. He started his career with HP (DEC) Systems Research Center, where he worked with several Turing Award recipients on distributed file systems and other cutting-edge technologies. Dr. Yu, who holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Masters from Stanford University, and a BS in Computer Sciences and a BA in Mathematics from the University of Texas, Austin, has authored several papers in AI, Big Data and Cloud Computing domain. Dr. Yu is also a serial entrepreneur, co-founded two startups, Portaura in social mobile big data and Martsoft in e-commerce search engine. Early in his career, he spent a number of years in HP(DEC) Systems Research Center, one of the top research labs in the world, where he worked closely with numerous Turing Award recipients in browser technology, search engine, multimedia, and distributed file systems. “We are currently living in a subscription economy, with little insight into the relationship between subscribers and their subscriptions,” said Dr. Yu. “That’s why I’m beyond thrilled to be joining a pathbreaker like CIPIO that obsesses over the subscriber journey. Our next-gen Subscriber Experience Platform TM helps digital subscription businesses and organizations create lifelong customers by strengthening and deepening the connection between a subscriber and their subscriptions. The platform incorporates patent-pending AI technology to supercharge any organization with the equivalent power of hundreds of data scientists.” As digital businesses look beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, they can no longer afford to leave acquisition, retention, and growth to chance. Digital businesses are faced with increasing competitive pressures as consumers have a plethora of choices and switching costs are nominal. CIPIO’s Subscriber Experience Platform TM enables these organizations to shift from a reactive approach to these challenges to a proactive one, allowing them to manage dynamic market pressures as well as aggressive competition. “CIPIO is proud to welcome onboard someone as highly decorated and revered as Jin; it’s an immense honor to have someone of his caliber join us as we reframe the digital subscription economy. Given our mission for Humanizing Subscriptions TM, we couldn’t have asked for anyone better to lead our product and technology roadmap and execute on our vision,” said Sundeep Sanghavi, CEO, CIPIO. “In the new norm, Hyper-Personalization is a must for every digital subscription organization and Jin’s deep knowledge, AI skills, and experience in processing social media data of structure, unstructured and deep learning is the key for our customers to augment their subscriber data and leapfrog in an ever-changing digital world.” On the heels of its explosive growth following its inception, CIPIO is now rapidly gaining momentum and leveling the playing field in media and entertainment, digital fitness, eLearning, eSports, and financial services by providing enhanced AI capabilities to players of all sizes. About CIPIO CIPIO Inc. provides the leading patent-pending AI platform that Humanizes Subscriptions TM for digital organizations. By bringing together human, machine, and domain data, CIPIO arms organizations to sense, learn, predict behaviors and patterns of their individual subscribers leading to a dramatic increase in engagement, retention, and new acquisitions by strengthening the subscriber and subscription relationship. CIPIO impacts both the top and bottom-line financials for some of the world’s leading brands such as happiTV, Zype, InteliVideo, and Jonas Fitness. Learn more about CIPIO here. Contact Details CIPIO Inc. Media Relations +1 315-398-9541 pr@cipio.ai Company Website https://cipio.ai/

July 29, 2021 09:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time

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Genpact and Not Impossible Join Forces, Leveraging Technology to Fight Food Insecurity at Scale

YourUpdateTV

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/0ZgGIMRoOnk No family should have to choose between feeding their children and paying their rent, but that’s the exact choice millions of families are forced to make each day. Efforts to address this problem are time-consuming and difficult, and often come at the expense of personal dignity – from long lines at food pantries, to food stamps at grocery stores. The Not Impossible Foundation has joined forces with digital transformation firm Genpact (NYSE: G) to grow and improve its ability to confront food insecurity using “Technology for the Sake of Humanity.” The program will leverage the best of technology to create real-time transparency and increased connectedness so donors can see the direct impact of their compassionate giving. It’s an approach that could help non-profit and mutual aid efforts in your community understand their human impact and meet their goals. One key technology leveraged by the Not Impossible Foundation to combat hunger is Bento, a community-engagement platform that uses SMS text messaging to connect at-risk populations with convenient, nutritious, pre-paid meals from local restaurants. The process is stigma free for participants because meals are provided through existing online ordering systems. It also supports restaurants, many of which struggled during the pandemic. “We are a country with tremendous resources, yet food insecurity – the constant struggle to find enough to eat – is still a major social problem,” said Mick Ebeling, founder and chief executive officer of Bento and Not Impossible Labs. “The problem isn’t about the lack of food. It’s the lack of connectivity. Technology can connect people who can help to those who need help. Genpact will be instrumental in helping us do that at scale. Their innovative digital transformation has the potential to revolutionize charitable giving, while retaining the human element of social impact.” This first of its kind platform will create insights and transparency into donations that will enable individuals to see where funds go, be alerted in real time of the impact of their generosity on individuals, and create a richer end-to-end experience that fuels philanthropic engagement, retention, and commitment. To do this, Genpact will leverage its deep process and technology expertise, including user experience, machine learning, analytics, and automation. “No family should have to choose between feeding their children and paying their rent, but that’s the exact choice millions of families are forced to make each day,” said Stacy Simpson, chief marketing officer, global leader of corporate responsibility and diversity, equity, and inclusion, Genpact. “Contributing the best of our technology, humanity, and innovation to help eradicate hunger in America speaks directly to Genpact’s purpose: the relentless pursuit of a world that works better for people.” To bring additional awareness to this critical issue, Genpact leveraged its partnership with Envision Virgin Racing to add the Not Impossible Bento logo (NI Labs Bento) to its all-electric race cars during Formula E’s 2021 ABB New York City E-Prix. “Solving some of the world’s seemingly unsolvable problems requires all of us to step up and do something,” added Simpson. “Formula E fans are among the most engaged, passionate, and socially motivated audiences. Securing logo space on Envision Virgin Racing’s car for Not Impossible is about deliberately giving critical exposure to ending hunger, which is both a humanitarian and environmental issue.” For more information on this partnership or to donate, visit www.Genpact.com/NotImpossible. About Genpact: Genpact (NYSE: G) is a global professional services firm that makes business transformation real. Led by our purpose -- the relentless pursuit of a world that works better for people -- we drive digital-led innovation and digitally enabled intelligent operations for our clients. Guided by our experience reinventing and running thousands of processes for hundreds of clients, many of them Global Fortune 500 companies, we drive real-world transformation at scale. We think with design, dream in digital, and solve problems with data and analytics. Combining our expertise in end-to-end operations and our AI-based platform, Genpact Cora, we focus on the details – all 90,000+ of us. From New York to New Delhi, and more than 30 countries in between, we connect every dot, reimagine every process, and reinvent the ways companies work. We know that reimagining each step from start to finish creates better business outcomes. Whatever it is, we’ll be there with you – accelerating digital transformation to create bold, lasting results - because transformation happens here. Get to know us at Genpact.com and on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. About Not Impossible Foundation: Not Impossible Foundation DEFIES the IMPOSSIBLE by creating access to POSSIBILITIES for those in need through technology-based solutions. The Not Impossible Foundation was born from the Not Impossible Lab’s belief in tackling the absurd through technology solutions for the sake of humanity. Harnessing the power of open-source thinking to unite great ideas with the people that need them, The Not Impossible Foundation is dedicated to scaling technology-based solutions and helping people in need. The Foundation strives to help the “many” from Not Impossible Labs motto of “help one, help many.” Through corporate support and personal donations, the Foundation is passionate about scaling solutions and expanding possibilities. For more information, please visit https://www.notimpossible.com/foundation MEDIA CONTACTS: Genpact Michael Schneider +1 (217) 260-5041 michael.schneider@genpact.com Not Impossible/Bento Susan Williams +1 (646) 753-0336 susan@gobento.com About YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

July 28, 2021 10:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Ereka Vetrini’s Guide to Summertime Fun

YourUpdateTV

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/4K2p1T5ok44 This is the second summer in a row that Americans must be thoughtful when planning family getaways. Whether hitting the road or planning a staycation, most head of households still have safety top of mind. However, being careful doesn’t mean family and friends cannot enjoy some fun in the sun together. As a TV host, Lifestyle Expert, and Working Mom, Ereka Vetrini has figured out a way to balance her career and family time. She has come up with four easy ways to get the party poppin’ and keep it cool as the temperatures heat up over the summer months. STICK WITH THE TRADITIONAL: According to a recent summertime survey, most parents plan on spending more time outside with their families. That’s why Ereka suggests sticking to the tried and true, like beach days, barbeques, and hanging out by the pool. That way families get to spend time together outdoors while being safe and socially distanced from strangers. Before heading out-and-about, Ereka recommends packing up a tote with a new book, games for the kids, and treats the whole family will love. There’s a tasty candy brand crafted in Italy that recently launched in the United States. Fruit-tella Soft Gummies are made with fruit puree as the first ingredient. They come in two flavors, Strawberry & Raspberry and Peach & Mango. These candies are quite flavorful and each one has a fun and playful fruit character shape that makes for the perfect summertime treat. Fruit-tella can be found at CVS stores nationwide. www.us.fruittella.com Instagram: @fruittellaus Twitter: @fruittellaus https://www.facebook.com/Fruittellaus/ GET THE PARTY POPPIN’: Americas’ streaming addiction has only increased during the pandemic and parents are looking for new ways to watch TV programs and movies with their families. Ereka suggests outdoor movie nights. She says setting up a big screen in a backyard can easily do the trick, especially if you add America’s favorite snack. The most popular moviegoers treat, popcorn, just received a major upgrade with the newest innovation in microwave popcorn from Opopop. The secret to this brand’s taste is that each kernel is individually wrapped in exceptional flavors and a perfect mix of ingredients, prior to popping. Opopop comes in six fun flavors, including reimagined classics like Fancy Butter, and uniquely created experiences with Maui Heat, Vanilla Cake Pop, Salted Umami, Cinnalicious, and Chedapeno. Opopop can be purchased at Opopop.com. www.opopop.com Instagram: @opopopco https://www.facebook.com/Opopopco/ CHILL OUT: July is National Ice Cream Month and the perfect time to cool off as we head into those long hot dog days of summer. Ereka says nothing screams summer more than ice cream cake! She suggests keeping it easy with a few pre-made ice cream cakes like the Carvel ® Confetti Cake and the new Carvel Cookie Dough Cake from I Love Ice Cream Cakes. Ereka recommends keeping one in the freezer for family barbecues, get-togethers, pool parties, and to make everyday moments a touch sweeter. These cakes and others are available online and at grocery stores in the bakery or freezer section. ILoveIceCreamCakes.com has a helpful product locator. www.Iloveicecreamcakes.com Instagram: @LoveIceCreamCakes www.facebook.com/ILoveIceCreamCakes/ GRAB GEAR & GO: Many families are road-tripping throughout the summer months and that means children can catch up on reading, summer schooling, or gaming while heading to a destination. As a conscious consumer and parent, Ereka is often concerned about protecting her family’s tech gadgets from cracked screens and other mishaps that happen on-the-go. OtterBox for Kids combines trusted protection from OtterBox with products designed with kids in mind. These easy-to-use cases come in three different colors and offer an EasyGrab case stand to help little hands carry their tablet or easily hang a tablet between head rests. Other gadgets like the OtterBox Kids EasyGrab Mobile Charging & Audio Cable Bundle are available to keep the fun going while vacationing. OtterBox products are available at Verizon and Verizon.com. www.Verizon.com Instagram: @otterbox Twitter: @otterbox https://www.facebook.com/otterbox/ Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

July 27, 2021 12:15 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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Gumlet builds a new-age media delivery infrastructure for the internet

Gumlet

Gumlet, a SaaS startup providing a new-age media delivery infrastructure to automate the media publishing pipeline, today announced US$1.6 million in funding by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge. While media files such as images, GIFs, videos and animations are integral to all digital interactions and everyday experience, the current solutions for managing and publishing such content remain limited. This is largely due to their reliance on APIs that require deep integration, domain knowledge and constant maintenance. Gumlet helps developers across the globe automatically resize and optimise their images and videos as per the end user's device or browser, delivering high quality media at the lowest possible bandwidth. Founded in 2019, Gumlet saw an opportunity to create an easily-integrated tool to handle media processing for a plethora of formats, device sizes and platforms. Once integrated, all previous, new and upcoming images are automatically optimized for any user. Gumlet takes over resizing, compression, format conversion, transcoding, streaming, delivery and analytics for all media files. By providing low- or no-code integration plug-ins that automate the entire media publishing pipeline, Gumlet helps developers experience 30-50% better optimization without affecting quality. Gumlet currently serves more than 6,000 customers including online stores, news sites, blogs, EdTech startups, travel sites and crowdfunding portals. Customers include The Body Shop, Vera Moda, Gas Jeans, Hamleys, Colearn, Bloomberg Quint and Bestseller Group among others. Over four billion media files are delivered every week via Gumlet, resulting in 25% month-on month growth since the start of 2020. “Gumlet is all about offering a plug-and-play solution for media management and publishing. This in turn helps online businesses provide better UX, load pages faster, save cloud costs and improve SEO - resulting in tangible business impact. More than just delivering a SaaS tool for online publishers and businesses, our mission is to build a media delivery infrastructure for the internet,” said Aditya Patadia, Founder of Gumlet. According to Data Bridge Market Research, the media processing solutions market will reach an estimated value of USD 36.63 billion and grow at a CAGR of 13.85% in the forecast period of 2021 to 2028. Rise in the advancements in technology and significant growth of streaming services and platforms is an essential factor driving the media processing solutions market. “As the internet becomes increasingly global and data-hungry, serving images and video in a high-performance, low-latency environment is fundamental for all websites to earn customer trust. With Gumlet, developers never have to worry about managing different versions and sizes of media files again,” said Divyesh Patel, Co-Founder and CMO of Gumlet. Gumlet was founded by Aditya Patadia and Divyesh Patel, who previously built, scaled and successfully exited from Turing Analytics, a pioneering AI startup in the image recognition and visual search space. Aditya is also the creator of a popular open-source image resize library in the PHP language, which he launched in 2012. Angel investors Aakrit Vaish, Miten Sampat, Swapan Rajdev and Yash Kothari also participated in this round. Gumlet is part of Surge’s fifth cohort of 23 companies that have developed new digital solutions to help companies and individuals live, work and learn better in a rapidly evolving Southeast Asian landscape. About Gumlet Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Singapore, Gumlet helps developers across the globe automatically resize and optimise their images and videos as per the end user's device or browser, delivering high quality media at the lowest possible bandwidth. Gumlet currently serves more than 6,000 customers including online stores, news sites, blogs, EdTech startups, travel sites and crowdfunding portals.For further information visit: www.gumlet.com or follow on LinkedIn or Twitter. About Surge Surge is Sequoia Capital India’s rapid scale-up program for startups in India and Southeast Asia. Surge combines $1 million to $2 million of seed capital with company-building workshops, a global curriculum and support from a community of exceptional mentors and founders. The program’s goal is to supercharge early-stage startups and give founders an unfair advantage, right out of the gate. For more information on Surge, visit www.surgeahead.com. Contact Details Gumlet Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.gumlet.com

July 27, 2021 08:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Summertime Fun Guide with Ereka Vetrini

YourUpdateTV

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K2p1T5ok44&t=1s This is the second summer in a row that Americans must be thoughtful when planning family getaways. Whether hitting the road or planning a staycation, most head of households still have safety top of mind. However, being careful doesn’t mean family and friends cannot enjoy some fun in the sun together. As a TV host, Lifestyle Expert, and Working Mom, Ereka Vetrini has figured out a way to balance her career and family time. She has come up with four easy ways to get the party poppin’ and keep it cool as the temperatures heat up over the summer months. STICK WITH THE TRADITIONAL: According to a recent summertime survey, most parents plan on spending more time outside with their families. Ereka suggests sticking to the tried and true, like beach days, barbeques, and hanging out by the pool. That way families get to spend time together outdoors while being safe and socially distanced from strangers. Before heading out-and-about, She recommends packing up a tote with a new book, games for the kids, and treats the whole family will love. There’s a tasty candy brand crafted in Italy that recently launched in the United States. Fruit-tella Soft Gummies are made with fruit puree as the first ingredient. They come in two flavors, Strawberry & Raspberry and Peach & Mango. These candies are quite flavorful and each one has a fun and playful fruit character shape that makes for the perfect summertime treat. Fruit-tella can be found at CVS stores nationwide. www.us.fruittella.com Instagram: @fruittellaus Twitter: @fruittellaus https://www.facebook.com/Fruittellaus/ GET THE PARTY POPPIN’: Americas’ streaming addiction has only increased during the pandemic and parents are looking for new ways to watch TV programs and movies with their families. Ereka suggests outdoor movie nights. She says setting up a big screen in a backyard can easily do the trick, especially if you add America’s favorite snack. The most popular moviegoers treat, popcorn, just received a major upgrade with the newest innovation in microwave popcorn from Opopop. The secret to this brand’s taste is that each kernel is individually wrapped in exceptional flavors and a perfect mix of ingredients, prior to popping. Opopop comes in six fun flavors, including reimagined classics like Fancy Butter, and uniquely created experiences with Maui Heat, Vanilla Cake Pop, Salted Umami, Cinnalicious, and Chedapeno. Opopop can be purchased at Opopop.com. www.opopop.com Instagram: @opopopco https://www.facebook.com/Opopopco/ CHILL OUT: July is National Ice Cream Month and the perfect time to cool off as we head into those long hot dog days of summer. Ereka says nothing screams summer more than ice cream cake! She suggests keeping it easy with a few pre-made ice cream cakes like the Carvel Confetti Cake and the new Cookie Dough Cake from I Love Ice Cream Cakes. Ereka recommends storing one in the freezer for family barbecues, get-togethers, and pool parties. The Carvel Confetti Cake and new Cookie Dough Cake are available online at ILoveIceCreamCakes.com along with a helpful product locator or at your local grocer and bakery’s freezer section. www.Iloveicecreamcakes.com Instagram: @ILoveIceCreamCakes https://www.facebook.com/ILoveIceCreamCakes/ GRAB GEAR & GO: Many families are road-tripping throughout the summer months and that means children can catch up on reading, summer schooling, or gaming while heading to a destination. As a conscious consumer and parent, Ereka is often concerned about protecting her family’s tech gadgets from cracked screens and other mishaps that happen on-the-go. OtterBox for Kids combines trusted protection from OtterBox with products designed with kids in mind. These easy-to-use cases come in three different colors and offer an EasyGrab case stand to help little hands carry their tablet or easily hang a tablet between head rests. Other gadgets like the OtterBox Kids EasyGrab Mobile Charging & Audio Cable Bundle are available to keep the fun going while vacationing. OtterBox products are available at Verizon and Verizon.com. www.Verizon.com Instagram: @otterbox Twitter: @otterbox https://www.facebook.com/otterbox/ About YourUpdateTV: YourUpdateTV is a social media video portal for organizations to share their content. It includes separate channels for Health and Wellness, Lifestyle, Media and Entertainment, Money and Finance, Social Responsibility, Sports and Technology. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

July 26, 2021 10:50 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Rebecca and Kirk Treece Open Minuteman Press Franchise in Missoula, Montana

Minuteman Press International Inc

Rebecca and Kirk Treece are the new owners of Minuteman Press in Missoula located at 2100 South Avenue West. They bought the long-running independent printing business Advertiser Montana Printing, which has a 40-year history in Missoula, and are now operating as a Minuteman Press franchise. Rebecca says, “It is a real honor to become part of Missoula’s thriving business community. The Palmers (former owners) had a 40-year long relationship with this community and their loyal customers have welcomed us and trusted us with their service, which has given us a great start here in Missoula.” She continues, “We are enjoying the opportunity to help others promote and grow their business. Getting the word out to the community that we are so much more than just a copy center has been key! We have been out meeting new people, marketing, and making connections through the Missoula Chamber of Commerce and BNI groups. Over the course of these six months, people have been welcoming and genuinely happy for us when we tell them about our new venture. Many have stopped by for a tour and have been responsive to learning more about the services we provide.” One of the ways Rebecca is looking to stand out as a new business owner is by expanding on the products and services offered by Minuteman Press and educating clients on what is in high demand right now. She explains, “Our high-demand products are business cards, menus, point of sale products like invoices and forms, and medical facility materials. As businesses open up, the demand for envelopes, letterhead, and other consumables has grown. Being part of Minuteman Press family has given us a huge opportunity to share with customers our expanded line of products like mailing, signage, apparel, and promotional items. It has really given us the ability to help people promote their business.” “Missoula is a growing, vibrant, and diverse community that includes the University of Montana. We are sitting on the confluence of three beautiful rivers, between two amazing national parks. Owning a business for me is all about making connections. My goal is to help people market their business so they can use their unique skills to serve their clients. These growing businesses make our community stronger and I am proud to be part of that.” -Rebecca Treece, owner, Minuteman Press Missoula (formerly Advertiser Montana Printing) Career Transition Prior to Minuteman Press, Rebecca and Kirk had varying careers. Rebecca shares, “Before owning my own business, I was utilizing my teaching degree as a vision therapist at an optometry office in Missoula, working with children and adults to improve their visual skills. My husband Kirk was previously a financial and operational manager for a large company. He and I also own a franchise of Fish Window Cleaning and Sunbelt Business Brokerage. We are familiar with business and the franchise concept, but were really drawn to the Minuteman Press structure, training, support and record of success.” While Rebecca and Kirk have experience owning a business, they had never been involved in the printing industry before. Minuteman Press really helped them fill those knowledge gaps and was crucial in finding the right business for them to buy through their special conversion program that connects sellers of independent print shops with qualified buyers. Rebecca says, “Advertiser Montana Printing was an independent print shop that had been in business for 40 years and they had a very loyal base of long-standing customers. An established customer base was the opportunity we were looking for when buying a new business. Our goal is 100% retention and we have worked diligently to meet and develop relationships with each customer. We hit the ground running and it gave us an opportunity to get experience across the board. Our local Minuteman Press field representatives were able to train us on every aspect of the business, which gave us the confidence to meet the demands of our customers.” “The support from Minuteman Press has been exceptional. The training was very comprehensive, and we felt like we were well-prepared for starting up and getting straight to work. We also know exactly who to call when we have a question or issue to manage. The network of Minuteman Press is amazing in the way that everyone is there for you at any time and in any capacity that you need. The expertise of the training and the continual mentoring are the powerful tools we need to succeed.” Owning a Business vs. Having a Job Reflecting on her experiences as an employee and as a business owner, Rebecca shares her insights on the key differences between the two. “As an employee, you work hard and serve the customer. However, you have very little control over the direction of the business. As business owners, we have the power to create the type of business we want and control its presence in the community.” As for Minuteman Press in Missoula, Rebecca and Kirk know exactly where they want to go. She says, “Our goal is to become the premier printing and advertising design company in Missoula and the Greater Northwestern Montana area. We want to develop the reputation for supplying the highest quality products and having superior customer service. We strive to make Minuteman Press in Missoula the place to go for all advice and services. The main lesson Minuteman Press impressed upon me is that if you do not like the current state of your business, change it! Get up, get out there, market, make connections, and grow your business. We have been given the tools and the support to create something great and that is extremely exciting for us.” When asked about the rewards of owning her own business, Rebecca answers, “We are truly fortunate to have a highly skilled and dedicated staff and I love coming in every day to work side-by-side with these incredible people. It is personally rewarding to create a workplace that fosters teamwork and allows employees to create and take pride in their work. It is also very satisfying to develop quality relationships with customers and members of the community.” She continues, “Professionally, our goals are to grow this business significantly over the next year and become more involved members of the community. Business ownership has many challenges but the rewards are well worth it. Owning our own business allows us to balance our work and home lives and gives us the power to make the right decisions for our future.” Minuteman Press in Missoula is located at 2100 South Avenue West, Missoula, MT 59801. For more information, call (406) 728-5200 or visit their website: https://missoula-mt.minutemanpress.com. Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com. Independent printers looking to sell their printing business can learn more about Minuteman Press International's conversion program at http://bit.ly/minutemanpressconversions. Contact Details Minuteman Press International Chris Biscuiti +1 631-249-1370 cbiscuiti@mpihq.com Company Website https://minutemanpressfranchise.com

July 26, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Agora Data Announces Antonio Rajan as Chief Revenue Officer

Agora

In its continuing mission to provide Buy Here Pay Here (BHPH) dealers and small to mid-sized finance companies access to abundant and affordable capital, Agora Data is pleased to announce the appointment of Antonio Rajan as Chief Revenue Officer. Antonio has served the BHPH community in various roles for more than 12 years. In addition to his loyalty to the industry, expertise in overall sales strategy and energy in helping dealers grow to the next level, his values are closely aligned with Agora Data’s purpose. Antonio’s broad expertise in the industry includes Dealer Management Software, CRM, Underwriting, GPS, and Finance Solutions. Prior to joining the industry, he served as Vice President of Sales at LexisNexis. He is a thought leader with an entrepreneurial vision and an exceptional record of positively transforming sales, marketing, operations, and go-to-market strategies. Throughout his career he has achieved remarkable revenue results, improved performance tracking, and implemented methods for leadership to gain important key business insights. Steve Burke, CEO of Agora Data, commented, “Antonio brings Agora Data a wealth of knowledge about BHPH dealer operations and a keen appreciation of the needs to help grow the dealers’ business while enabling them to have a level playing field with the large dealer groups. He’s a great asset to the strong leadership team already in place at Agora. We are very excited to have a person of his caliber as part of the Agora Family.” Antonio Rajan commented, “I would like to thank Steve and the Agora Leadership Team to entrust me with the mission of helping small to medium-sized finance companies and BHPH dealers with their capital needs. Agora Data is the first technology company that frees up dealers spending countless hours on collecting and instead spending more time on growing their operations, inventory, or business development centers. Having access to capital with no recourse will allow forward thinking dealer principles to grow rapidly. When Steve described the unique solutions Agora has and his vision for disrupting the industry with innovative products, I knew I wanted to be part of the team. I’m relishing this opportunity and invite anyone that thinks they’re the best of the best to come and join us in this incredible journey.” About Agora Data, Inc: Founded in 2017, Agora Data’s mission is to provide access to capital for Buy Here Pay Here dealers and small to mid-sized finance companies. Pioneered by Agora Data, AgoraCapital, AgoraCredit and AgoraPoint all provide critical funding so small- to mid-sized originators can obtain all the cash they need to fuel growth. Agora’s proprietary, radical, AI-infused technology connects dealers and finance companies with the capital markets. Agora Data made history by closing the first-ever Crowdsourced Subprime Auto Securitization in 2020 and followed that up with its second transaction in early 2021. For more information, visit agoradata.com or contact us at 877-592-4672. Contact Details Shelly Vandeven +1 682-282-4130 media@agoradata.com Company Website https://agoradata.com/

July 23, 2021 09:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

7 in 10 Parents Say Children’s Post-Pandemic Social Skills Are at Risk, Per Osmo Study

Osmo

According to a new study of 2,000 U.S. parents of school aged-children (5-14 years), parents have tried a myriad ways to keep their kids active and social during the pandemic, however, 7 in 10 perceive their child’s post-pandemic social skills to be at risk, even as things return to normal. The majority of parents (71%) are also worried about potential learning loss that may have resulted by not being in school, and are pursuing a variety of means to keep up their child’s studies at home this summer. The study was commissioned by STEAM brand Osmo and conducted by OnePoll. Osmo’s study reveals that 77% of parents encouraged their child to be social and active from afar, while at home. For example, they allowed their child to: play video games or online games with others (52%); call and text friends often (49%); make neighborhood friends (45%); engage in outdoor activities like walking and bike riding (46%); attend virtual get togethers (35%); and new friends online (23%). Despite trying their hardest, two in three parents are worried that their child has gotten more socially awkward around others, and 62% do not think their kid will be able to pick up where they left off upon returning to class this fall. Specifically, parents worry that their child will have trouble in these areas: making conversation with friends (41%); meeting new people (40%); sharing (35%); staying quiet for long periods (34%); waiting their turn (31%); or remembering to say “please” and “thank you” (37%). The survey also revealed that parents value socializing, with 85% believing it is a necessary skill to use in school. Forty-four percent of respondents place academic learning and socializing on the same level of importance, and four in five (81%) think schools should implement more activities that encourage and teach social skills. “We understand how difficult the pandemic was for both kids and their parents – many of us at Osmo experienced these challenges ourselves,” says Pramod Sharma, CEO of award-winning Osmo, known for its bestselling Coding Starter Kit, Creative Starter Kit, Genius Starter Kit, and Little Genius Starter Kit. “This past year has taught all of us that learning is about so much more than academics. As a brand, Osmo is committed to applying these insights toward multi-player experiences that promote the social-emotional learning parents look for and kids need.” The study also reveals four in five parents made sure their children succeeded academically even through tough times and emphasized that school was as important as ever before. Over half of parents (52%) stuck by their child’s side when they struggled with an assignment, 47% encouraged their child to study more, 43% tried to make learning fun through games or educational activities, while 42% percent took the time to create extra homework to ensure their child understood the material they were learning during homeschooling. However, three in four parents believe their child lost a year of proper education due to COVID, and the majority (71%) are concerned that it will be difficult for their kids to catch up on learning they may have missed. With this in mind, four in five (81%) believe that certain technology or entertainment tools may be the solution to improving both their child’s social and educational skills. When asked what subject they think their kids are most likely to struggle with, parents said math (41%) followed by science (37%) and language arts (34%). Additional parental concerns about children’s re-entry to class include: not remembering their school supplies and books (42%); focusing in class (41%); or using a full keyboard not attached to a tablet (36%) again; opening their locker (32%); and doing their homework every day (32%). About Osmo Osmo is an award-winning STEAM brand with more than 2.5 million learners worldwide. It is building a universe of hands-on play experiences that nourish the minds of children by unleashing the power of imagination. The company brings physical tools into the digital world through augmented reality and its proprietary reflective artificial intelligence. Osmo is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Learn more at playosmo.com. Contact Details Carolyn Kamii PR Carolyn Kamii +1 310-251-0550 carolynkpr@gmail.com Osmo Karen O'Dell karen@playosmo.com Company Website http://www.playosmo.com

July 20, 2021 03:30 AM Pacific Daylight Time

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