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International Association of Political Consultants Concludes Successful Conference

International Association of Political Consultants

The International Association of Political Consultants (IAPC) recently wrapped up its 54 th annual conference held virtually due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Attendees from across the world including Africa, Australia, Europe, North and South America discussed a wide variety of subjects focusing on elections and democracy. At the conclusion of the two-day conference, it presented the prestigious Democracy Award to imprisoned Russian democracy leader Alexei Navalny. “Despite it being a virtual conference, we were able to have informative and interesting presentations ranging from ‘Threats and Challenges to Democracy’ to ‘Campaigning in Africa’ to the ‘State of Political Polling’,” said Matt Klink, President-Elect of the IAPC. “The IAPC brings together leading political consultants to share thoughts, best practices and promote the democratic process.” Outgoing IAPC President Mauricio De Vengoechea added, “I want to thank Brent Buchanan and the conference organizers for putting on a splendid conference. I also want to thank our lead sponsor Banreservas and the many other firms that helped make this conference a success.” Among the keynote speakers were Guillermo Lasso, President of Ecuador, Raquel Pena, Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Jeff Roe, Virginia Governor Elect Glen Youngkin’s campaign consultant and Anita Dunn, Former Senior Advisor to US President Biden. Conference attendees also heard Celinda Lake, Dr. Reza Kazemi, Ekatrina Egorova, Nic Chessman and Dr. Tom Palmer. At the Conference’s conclusion, the membership elected a new Board of Directors and passed a series of resolutions. The next IAPC conference is set for London, England from November 13 to 16, 2022. Details will be forthcoming on the IAPC website. Founded in 1968, the IAPC brings together members at its annual meeting to exchange views and information about political developments and campaign techniques. Contact Details President - Elect IAPC Matt Klink +1 310-283-6267 matt@klinkcampaigns.com Communications VP - Elect IAPC Marcel Wieder +1 416-907-2126 marcel@aurorastrategy.com Company Website https://www.iapc.org

November 17, 2021 07:10 PM Eastern Standard Time

First Ever Sizing Study Reveals 11.5 Million Americans Participate in the Creator Economy, Earning Money from Platforms Like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram

MBO Partners

A new study from MBO Partners® shows that 2021 is the year of the creator. In the first-ever study of this segment, MBO Partners reveals that there are 11.5 million Americans in the creator economy and that 61%, or 7.1 million people, earned money the last year by doing so. This sector is poised for explosive growth, with another 3.2 million planning to become content creators over the next two years. This new Research Brief is being released in advance of MBO Partners’ 11 th annual State of Independence in America report, the country’s longest-running end-to-end study of the American independent workforce. As retailers harnessed technology to go direct-to-consumer (DTC), U.S. workers enacted their own version by selling their creative skills and talents directly to consumers and companies. The broader independent workforce grew to over 51 million in 2021, an unprecedented 34% growth in a single year. The growth of the creator economy subset mirrors this trend. The shift out of traditional occupations and into the creator economy has people like Wade Forbes pivoting their career paths. Forbes, an artist, and illustrator, spent 16 years working in cyber security and consulting with the DoD before jumping into the creator economy to pursue his lifelong passion of bringing concepts to life through his artwork. “I loved drawing as a kid but did not believe I could make a living as an artist,” Forbes said. “It is a dream to now be able to fulfill my passion while using the skills and expertise from across my entire career.” Technology news site The Information estimates that venture capital firms invested $2 billion in creator economy startups in the first half of 2021, and the venture capital firm Antler reports there are over 220 firms that cater to creators. This rapidly growing ecosystem of creator economy products and support services makes it easier, cheaper, less risky, and more attractive to become a successful content creator. “The Creator Economy validates the trend that more and more workers are realizing the freedom and wellbeing that comes from taking career control into their own hands,” said Miles Everson, CEO, MBO Partners. “Savvy organizations and politicians must realize the workforce of the future will be fueled by independent professional solo-entrepreneurs, choosing to design careers on their own terms. Creators are just one example of how the American workforce is changing at a rapid pace.” The report revealed several key insights about this fast-growing segment of the American workforce, including: Cash on the horizon. While 7.1 million are earning income in the creator economy, another 4.4 million are part of the segment but have not yet earned income. Diversity of talent. The creator economy skews young, with 75% of creators identifying as Gen Z or Millennial. The creators themselves are slightly more diverse than the American population at large, with 19% identifying as Black, compared to just 12% of the overall American population. Let’s collab. Creators are all about the collab with over half (55%) reporting that they are teaming up with other content creators on projects compared to only 21% of independent workers who aren’t content creators. Further, 36% of content creators have hired freelance contractors to help with their business, while only 14% of independent workers overall have done so. The struggle is real. The pressure to engage and reinvent are constant struggles for content creators, along with setting work/life boundaries. A third of all content creators (34%) report struggling with boundaries and burnout versus only 21% of independent workers. From punch the clock to TikTok. Almost six out of ten (59%) independent content creators are punching a clock at a traditional job. In fact, 46% have full-time jobs and 13% have a part-time job. The majority (63%) report working part-time as content creators, while 37% of income-earning digital content creators are doing it full-time. MBO Partners will release the full 2021 State of Independence study in December. To obtain a copy of the brief, please visit https://www.mbopartners.com/state-of-independence/. About MBO Partners® MBO Partners is a deep job platform that connects and enables independent professionals and microbusiness owners to do business safely and effectively with enterprise organizations. Its unmatched experience and industry leadership enable it to operate on the forefront of the independent economy and consistently advance the next way of working. For more information, visit mbopartners.com Contact Details Words For Hire Karen Swim +1 586-461-2103 pr@mbopartners.com Company Website https://mbopartners.com

November 16, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Customer Experience and Customer Engagement Market to Surpass $100 Billion in Annual Worldwide Revenue by 2026, According to Dash Research

Dash Network

Customer experience (CX) and customer engagement (CE) initiatives continue to be a major priority for organizations around the world, especially in light of the significant changes and disruptions to customer relationships that emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a new report from Dash Research, this level of focus is leading to brisk growth in the market for CX/CE technology platforms. “While CX improvements are largely driven by organizational change management, software is increasingly being used to support these initiatives by managing and making available the plethora of customer data that is captured and aggregated from a variety of sources,” says principal analyst Keith Kirkpatrick. He adds that some of the key drivers of market growth include pandemic-related shutdowns and reopening, increased focus on omnichannel customer interaction capabilities, the rise of customer centricity, and the elimination of functional silos within organizations. Dash Research forecasts that global CX/CE revenue will increase from $63.6 billion in 2021 to $100.3 billion by 2026. The market size experienced a 13.5% decline between 2019 and 2020 due to economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but spending has recovered in 2021 and is projected to reach 2019 levels again by the end of 2022. The market intelligence firm forecasts that the top 5 industries in terms of CX/CE spending between 2021 and 2026 will be as follows: Telecommunications Healthcare Financial Services & Insurance Retail Government/Public Sector Dash Research’s report, “CX Market Forecasts”, includes a detailed market sizing and forecast model that focuses on the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) software and services opportunity related to CX and CE. The forecast is split into a variety of segments, based on the world region in which the solution is used, the offering itself, functional area, and industry. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the market drivers and barriers, and insights into four industries that are driving the market spending are discussed in the report, along with recommendations for both end users and vendors. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm’s website. Dash Research, the market intelligence arm of Dash Network, provides in-depth research and insights on the worldwide CX market including a comprehensive assessment of technology solutions, business issues, market drivers, and end-user dynamics across industry sectors. Dash Research’s global market coverage combines qualitative and quantitative research methodologies to provide a complete view of emerging business opportunities surrounding contact center technologies, customer data & analytics, customer data platforms, customer insights & feedback, customer relationship management, personalization & optimization, and employee experience. For more information, visit www.dashresearch.com or call +1.720.603.1700. Contact Details Clint Wheelock +1 720-603-1700 press@dashnetwork.com Company Website http://www.dashnetwork.com

November 15, 2021 05:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

Announcing the Launch of Salesforce’s Accessibility Site

InclusionHub

Salesforce, the global leader in CRM (NYSE: CRM) and InclusionHub Founding Partner, announced the launch of its public-facing accessibility website, which details Salesforce’s work internally and with the broader community to achieve full equality for people with disabilities. "We’ve been developing this site for the better part of a year,” said Thomas Frantz, senior manager of Accessibility Partnerships and Public Relations at Salesforce. “As a person with a disability myself, I’m thrilled to be able to share with the public more information about our accessibility efforts at Salesforce and within the global community.” A core theme throughout the accessibility site is the concept of “a11y” (pronounced “A-eleven-Y”). This is a globally recognized abbreviation for "accessibility," originally shortened for social media character limits. In recent years, a11y has gained momentum outside of the technical realm to represent the broader accessibility and diversity inclusion movement. In addition to highlighting Salesforce’s ongoing work to provide equal opportunities to employees with disabilities, the accessibility site provides educational content on the importance of accessibility, relevant resources, and highlights programs available to the public, as well as a feedback form. Another exciting feature is its representation of the disability community through Salesforce’s signature characters. The accessibility team worked closely with Salesforce’s brand team and members of the disability community to create illustrations that visually conveyed the messaging of the site itself. “The journey to equality, inclusion, and true belonging for people with disabilities is a long road, and we openly recognize there is much more work to be done,” Frantz said. “But we hope this new site represents an important move forward in providing people with disabilities access to the same opportunities and experiences. The more we can create a truly inclusive culture, the stronger we become as a company and community.” Check out the accessibility site for yourself at salesforce.com/company/accessibility, and please be sure to leave any recommendations or feedback by selecting “View the Form” on the “ Feedback and Resources ” page! Contact Details Salesforce Thomas Frantz tfrantz@salesforce.com Company Website https://www.salesforce.com/company/accessibility

November 09, 2021 10:00 AM Pacific Standard Time

BEASY Partners with Toldright to Provide Digital Asset Creation Services to Athletes, Musicians and Creators of all Types

Beasy, LLC

Blockchain Made Easy (dba BEASY) announced today it has agreed to a multi-year partnership with toldright, a first-of-its-kind production resource company dedicated to enhancing the video content of their clients through storytelling. Toldright will provide value added services to BEASY enabled communities. Toldright is a disruptive, new on-demand model for video production that matches clients with experienced creative professionals to elevate the look and feel of their video content. Founded by world-class industry leaders, toldright’s exclusive ‘Neighborhood’ includes more than 1,800 fully-vetted Emmy Award-winning artists around the country, featuring top-tier producers, editors, on-air talent, technical specialists, and more. Demand for video content has exploded in recent years, and professional athletes and brands continue to use video to tell their stories. “Offering BEASY creators access to toldright’s top-notch network of video talent and storytellers will help them produce innovative and engaging digital content in support of their own brands,” says Bob Kramich, Founder and CEO of BEASY. “Video and storytelling are key factors to successful sales and marketing, especially for athletes in this name, image and likeness (NIL) era. We are thrilled to be working with such an incredible player in the market,” he adds. The partnership between BEASY and toldright now offers smaller companies, organizations and individuals access to what has traditionally only been available to large corporations. “We are excited to work with BEASY to exclusively link its rapidly-growing community to our extensive ‘Neighborhood’ of global top-tier talent typically reserved for major networks,” says Max Heineman, CEO and Co-Founder of toldright. “BEASY participants now have access to the highest-quality people and production tools for telling and authenticating their digital legacies using blockchain technology.” This is the third press-release in recent weeks from BEASY. On October 21st and November 1st, BEASY announced multi-year agreements with Tykes, Inc., and the Recording Artists Guild (RAG), respectively. # # # About BEASY Blockchain Made Easy ™️, LLC is a Massachusetts-based technology and professional services company empowering retail and business customers with the ability to deploy customized blockchain-based strategies through easy-to-use blockchain software products. The company’s core product, BEASY Authentication ™️, is a multi-blockchain platform and associated wallet solution allowing users to seamlessly create, sell, and track digital goods in addition to a broad range of other applications such as digital identity management, fractional and whole digital asset ownership, royalties management, contract-to-smart contract management and more. BEASY does this without requiring owning or managing any cryptocurrency on major compatible blockchain networks such as Ethereum, Matic and more. BEASY is committed to making blockchain adoption easy. For more information, go to www.BEASY1.com About toldright Toldright is the first-of-its-kind on-demand production resource, transforming the video industry and empowering companies of all sizes the opportunity to tell great stories with an end-to-end solution that delivers accessibility, efficiency, unprecedented value, and amazing content. Through our exclusive “neighborhood” of 1,800 fully vetted production and content creators around the nation, that includes Emmy and Oscar Award winners, toldright has the flexibility to provide 5-star experts to meet the demands of any project. Founded by world-class industry leaders, toldright has already been trusted by iconic brands including ESPN, Tiger Woods Foundation, NFLPA, LPGA, Twitter, Showtime, Adobe, Citi, Xerox, and Dell. For more information on toldright, please visit www.toldright.com. # # # Media Relations Contacts: BEASY, LLC. Contact: David Kaupp info@beasy1.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeasyInc LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beasy-blockchain-made-easy-llc/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beasy1859/ Toldright Matt Saler, Vice President M: +1 215 432 3149 301 E 57th Street New York, NY 10022 www.finnpartners.com Blockchain Made Easy, LLC is a Massachusetts-based technology and professional services company empowering retail and business customers with the ability to deploy customized blockchain-based strategies through easy-to-use blockchain software products. The company's core product, BEASY Authentication, is a multi-blockchain platform and associated wallet solution allowing users to seamlessly create, sell, and track digital goods in addition to a broad range of other applications such as digital identity management, fractional and whole digital asset ownership, royalties management, contract-to-smart contract management and more. BEASY does this without requiring owning or managing any cryptocurrency on major compatible blockchain networks such as Ethereum, Matic and more. BEASY is committed to making blockchain adoption easy. For more information, go to www.BEASY1.com Contact Details Beasy, LLC David Kaupp +1 978-360-6698 info@beasy1.com toldright Matt Saler, Vice President +1 215-432-3149 Company Website https://www.beasy1.com

November 09, 2021 11:06 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Xyte Hardware-as-a-Service Platform Brings Cloud Services Breakthrough to Hardware Manufacturing Businesses

Xyte

Xyte secures a $6.4M funding round led by SCapital to launch the first Hardware-as-a-Service cloud platform, and moves hardware industries beyond traditional models to new profitable, subscription-based sales Business partners Omer Brookstein and Boris Dinkevich came from two very separate industries on the way to founding Xyte, the innovative company behind the first Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS) cloud platform. Brookstein, an Audio-Video industry veteran, spent nearly 15 years working in different roles at Crestron Electronics. Dinkevich worked in a much different software development world, where he built advanced cloud applications for large high-tech firms. Their common interest in the cloud as a transformational business driver brought them together to establish Xyte (formerly known as SyncPro) in early 2020. Xyte offers hardware manufacturers an end-to-end cloud-based platform to run their entire HaaS businesses, better support their channels and customers, and develop new recurring revenue streams. This includes support for what Xyte calls “Digital Products,” an innovative new approach that allows manufacturers to remotely enable device features through subscriptions. Xyte’s innovation allows customers to elastically scale their products on one hand, while helping manufacturers simplify their inventory management and capture new upsell opportunities. “Cloud technologies have disrupted nearly every industry,” said Brookstein, CEO of Xyte. “Different industries are renowned for hardware innovation, but there is an enormous gap between hardware suppliers and modern cloud applications and services. Xyte paves the way for hardware suppliers of any industry to modernize their offerings, and provide their integration partners and end customers with technology platforms that will enable new services at an unparalleled time and cost-to-market.” Brookstein adds that while there are many opportunities that hardware manufacturers could pursue for growth, none offer more potential than HaaS. However, many of them struggle to capture this opportunity due to the enormous resources needed to develop such a solution. “People often think of HaaS as a subscription-based or financial model. However, successfully operating an HaaS business requires much more. It’s a paradigm change from customer acquisition to customer retention, and Xyte offers the complete toolset required to do so, from remotely supporting customers and resolving issues more efficiently through offering managed services, analyzing device usage and more – all in one unified platform.” To support and accelerate the development of the platform, Xyte partnered with SCapital, managed by former Sequoia and Intel Capital partners (Haim Sadger and Aya Peterburg), who led a $6.4M financial round. Workplace by Xyte Xyte offers a complete platform that truly bridges hardware to the cloud, and invites innovation and business development for all users. That includes offering a new agnostic platform specifically for the professional Audio-Video (AV)industry called Workplace by Xyte. Systems integrators and other service providers, which have free access to the platform, can now offer managed services for their customers, remotely managing and monitoring devices from a growing number of brands. Brookstein points to a new business model that AV test company MSolutions is developing based on Xyte’s platform as an excellent example of its revenue-generating value. The company starts by allowing its customers to subscribe to specific test applications, such as a log analyzer for an HDBaseT installation or IP testing for AV-over-IP applications directly from Xyte’s cloud. MSolutions will soon offer a full HaaS model, giving customers access to their award-winning device for a monthly fee, and benefit from full technical support through its dedicated Xyte portal. “Instead of buying a hardware test device, customers will soon be able to buy test services,” said Brookstein. “The customer still has the physical test device through the subscription period, but pays for usage of the applications enabled through Xyte. There is a hardware refresh after a pre-determined period if the subscription remains active; if the device fails, a replacement is shipped. And that customer can activate new test services on the Xyte portal at any time.” “Our open API ensures that anyone can connect to Xyte,” said Dinkevich, Xyte’s CTO. “Customers today in all industries demand open systems that don’t chain the user to proprietary products. Our platform is a wide-open universe that allows everyone to connect, everyone to configure their devices, and everyone to freely develop. There are no limits.” For more information on Xyte’s cloud platform and its Workplace by Xyte, and to schedule a demo, please contact Xyte’s sales team at https://xyte.io/. About Xyte Xyte is a revolutionary solution for hardware manufacturers, with a first-of-its-kind cloud platform that bridges the gap between hardware devices and modern cloud applications. Xyte’s award-winning offering provides device manufacturers with a comprehensive, white-labeled solution for managing their customers, resellers, and devices, enabling them to propose new subscription-based business models and realize the full potential of their connected products. The innovative yet easy-to-manage Xyte platform offers an extensive range of cloud-based services. Intuitive and forward-thinking, it’s a technology and business analytics solution specifically designed to give users a unique advantage in a competitive field, with access to real-time performance data and a powerful suite of business tools. Workplace by Xyte is a dedicated implementation of the esteemed Xyte platform, built specifically for audio/video and modern workplace professionals. It offers an integrated, all-in-one solution for AV service providers, enabling them to deploy, configure, and monitor devices from a wide variety of vendors. MSPs can provide managed services for their customers’ collaboration spaces and easily stay on top of changing configurations and needs, with a wide array of third-party integrations simplifying ticketing, incident response, and more. Contact Details Dimension PR Brian Galante +1 207-494-8428 brian@dimensionpronline.com

November 09, 2021 10:47 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Global Employee Engagement Study Finds Only Half of Employees Happy at Work

Great Place to Work®

Great Place to Work®, the global authority on workplace culture and leader in certifying great employee experiences around the world, today announced the results of its 2021 Global Employee Engagement Benchmark study, a data-led analysis of employee satisfaction around the globe. The study surveyed over 14,000 workers across 37 countries to determine the average employee experience. The study found that only about half of employees worldwide are experiencing a great workplace, with little variation across regions. In the U.S. and Canada, just 53% of employees are reporting a positive experience at work. In Latin America, the highest-scoring region, 60% of employees report a positive employee experience. By comparison, Europe, the lowest-scoring region, saw 52% of employees reporting a positive experience. Source: Great Place to Work® Global Employee Engagement Benchmark study There were also few differences across industries. Hospitality saw the lowest score, with only 49% of employees reporting a positive experience, while all other industries in the study averaged between 54% and 60%. Employees rated their workplaces against 17 statements in Great Place to Work’s confidential Trust Index™ survey. The statements measure factors that contribute to a positive employee experience such as a sense of purpose, innovation opportunities, psychological safety, leadership and fairness. Within these findings, four challenges stood out as most common to workplaces today, with employees citing inequity, lack of meaningful connection, lack of purpose and poor leadership. “These experiences are sadly familiar to many employees,” says Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. “Moreover, they’re hurting companies’ agility, innovation and performance.” The study shows that more than half of workers feel pay and promotions are handled unfairly. As well, 43% said they believe their coworkers don’t care for each other, 35% said they feel they can’t be themselves at work and 45% say their workplaces are not psychologically and emotionally healthy. Roughly half of all employees reported their leaders do not genuinely care for them as people, don’t involve them in decisions and fail to match their actions to their words. And nearly half of all employees said they do not intend to stay with their current workplace, nor are they willing to recommend their employer. By contrast, employee feedback data from companies that are Certified™ by Great Place to Work shows that when workplaces provide positive leadership, a sense of purpose and opportunity for meaningful connections with colleagues, employees’ intent to stay improves by 52%, while their willingness to recommend their employer to others increases by 65%. About Great Place to Work Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees around the world and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Great Place to Work helps organizations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees. Their unparalleled benchmark data is used to recognize Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies and the Best Workplaces in the U.S. and more than 60 countries, including the 100 Best Companies to Work For® and World’s Best list published annually in Fortune. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All™. To learn more, visit greatplacetowork.com, visit Great Place to Work’s company culture blog and read “ A Great Place to Work For All. ” Join the community on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Contact Details Kim Peters +1 415-844-2574 kpeters@greatplacetowork.com

November 09, 2021 07:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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NMTC Coalition Urges White House and Congressional Leadership to Make the NMTC Permanent within the Final Federal Appropriations Package, As Passed by the House Budget Committee

New Markets Tax Credit Coalition

Today, the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Coalition, a national membership organization of Community Development Entities (CDEs) and investors organized to advocate on behalf of the NMTC, released a letter signed by 400 community development stakeholders to President Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, urging Democratic leadership to include provisions to make the New Markets Tax Credit Program permanent. The Coalition also supports additional NMTC enhancements approved by the House Ways and Means Committee in the budget reconciliation legislation. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the ten-year cost of the Ways and Means NMTC provisions at only $2.6 billion over ten years, while those funds will leverage an estimated $85 billion investment in economically distressed rural, urban, and tribal communities. These communities will benefit from improved services, increased private sector investment, and 700,000 new jobs at a federal cost of under $4,000 per job. “We strongly support making the NMTC permanent,” said Yvette Ittu, President of the NMTC Coalition and President of Cleveland Development Advisors. In February, Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AL), Tom Reed (R-NY), Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Extension Act of 2021. The legislation permanently extends NMTC at $5 billion in annual credit authority, adjusts that amount for inflation in future years and provides an exception from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for New Markets investments. In December 2020, Congress extended the NMTC for five years, which was the largest extension in the history of the Credit. Throughout its 20-year history, the NMTC has delivered more than $110 billion to rural and urban communities outside the economic mainstream, which has led to financing to more than 6,000 business and projects and over one million jobs. Establishing the NMTC as a permanent part of the tax code will provide certainty and further promote the in getting patient, flexible capital to low-income and marginalized communities, creating jobs, increasing economic opportunity, and improving lives at a time when the economic frailty of our underserved communities has never been more apparent. Established in 2000 in the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act (P.L.106-554), the New Markets Tax Credit is a bipartisan effort to stimulate investment and economic growth in low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities. Since then, the New Markets Tax Credit has financed more than 6,500 projects and created over one million jobs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. “Following devastating impacts from COVID-19, the New Markets Tax Credit is absolutely vital for many of America’s urban neighborhoods and rural communities and will provide billions of dollars for high-impact, community revitalization projects,” said Bob Rapoza, spokesperson for the NMTC Coalition. “Over the years, the credit has been instrumental in financing plant and equipment for small manufacturing businesses and patient flexible capital to other small businesses, hospitals, healthcare centers, homeless shelters and other transformative projects that improve communities, create jobs and economic opportunity. A permanent extension of NMTC will provide more certainty to private sector investors, which will result in better pricing and more subsidy to hard-to-finance, essential projects.” For examples of how the NMTC is making an impact in each state, see the NMTC Coalition’s newly released report, NMTC at Work in Communities Across America, featuring updated state statistics sheets on NMTC efficacy and more than 80 Tax Credit success stories. About New Markets Tax Credit Program The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) was enacted in 2000 in an effort to stimulate private investment and economic growth in low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities that lack access to the patient capital needed to support and grow businesses, create jobs, and sustain healthy local economies. Since its inception, the NMTC has generated more than one million jobs. Today, due to the NMTC, nearly $110 billion is hard at work in underserved communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit www.NMTCCoalition.org Contact Details Bob Rapoza +1 202-498-9921 bob@rapoza.org Company Website https://nmtccoalition.org/

November 08, 2021 02:50 PM Eastern Standard Time

Elevate Brands Raises $55 Million in Equity Funding From Leading Institutional Investors to Fuel Global Acquisition of Amazon Marketplace Sellers

Elevate Brands

Elevate Brands, a leader in acquiring and operating Amazon third party businesses, announced today that it has secured an additional $55M in equity funding led by Soroban Capital, with support from Upper90 and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (“Oaktree”). This comes on the heels of their recent Series B $250 million debt and equity round in July 2021 led by Upper90. Elevate plans to use this latest funding to accelerate its M&A strategy, expand its sales channels globally, and invest in its technology platform. The company currently boasts a robust portfolio of 30 Amazon Marketplace brands with a revenue run rate greater than $100M. Recent acquisitions include Will’s Wine, Essential Values and Active Chews, which are leaders in the Home & Kitchen or Pet Supply categories. “We are operators first and foremost and will continue to build our global team of world class brand builders,” said Ryan Gnesin, CEO of Elevate Brands. “This latest round of funding confirms our investors' confidence in our operating team, quality of existing brand portfolio, and deep pipeline of M&A targets.” Elevate recently opened its second headquarters in Austin and has grown its global team of marketers and operators more than 600% since January 2021 and continues to expand. About Elevate Brands: Founded in 2016, Elevate Brands specializes in acquiring, launching and operating leading consumer brands in Amazon’s Third Party Seller Marketplace, a $300 billion platform that is expected to double over the next five years. A broad network of resources paired with a global team of industry leaders headquartered in NYC and Austin provides Elevate with the unique ability to scale brands quickly. The company structures its underwriting process to prioritize a seller’s needs and execute a trustworthy exit within 30 days. About Soroban Capital: Founded in 2010, Soroban Capital is a $10 billion investment firm led by Eric Mandelblatt which is focused on public and private companies in the Technology, “Old Economy”, Consumer, and Payments & Information Services industries. About Upper90: Founded in 2018, Upper90 is a hybrid investment firm that provides founder-friendly credit and equity to top disruptors in e-commerce and fintech. The firm is backed by 300 leading entrepreneurs and has originated over $1.5Bn of growth capital to market-leading businesses that secured their initial credit facilities and equity investments from Upper90, including Thrasio, ClearCo, Crusoe Energy, Clutch, and Octane Lending. About Oaktree: Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $158 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2021. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities. The firm has over 1,000 employees and offices in 19 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree’s website at http://www.oaktreecapital.com/. Contact Details Elevate Brands Rachel Hartz +1 708-825-6677 rachel@elevatebrands.com Company Website https://www.elevatebrands.com/

November 08, 2021 02:02 PM Eastern Standard Time

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