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Open Enrollment: A Money Saving Approach to Insurance from Sidecar Health

YourUpdateTV

Even before the pandemic hit, millions of Americans lacked critically needed health insurance. Now, with businesses struggling to stay afloat, millions more are at risk of losing employer-sponsored insurance, leaving them to navigate the marketplace on their own. A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/SniHnV2TpPo However, there is a simple, affordable, and personalized alternative that turns patients into purchasers, giving them the ability to shop around for care as they would with any other commercial product. Enter Sidecar Health. Sidecar Health, which operates on the principle of cash payments, is turning the industry on its head. While traditional insurance acts as a middleman between patients and doctors, leading to increased costs and surprise bills, Sidecar Health members get substantial discounts (and no surprise bills) from providers by paying cash directly at the point of service. They also enjoy the freedom to see any medical service provider they need, without network restraints, and the ability to personalize a plan to fit their individual healthcare needs. Patrick Quigley, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Sidecar Health, conducted a nationwide media tour to discuss new money-saving healthcare options such as Sidecar Health that disrupt the flawed industry. Topics that Quigley discussed included: How the cash-price model differs from existing insurance options How “cash-price” insurance saves money by getting rid of the inflated commercial prices negotiated by traditional insurance How COVID-19 has impacted health insurance and healthcare in the U.S. How those who have lost employer-sponsored coverage can access high-quality coverage on their own terms How an unexpected medical procedure led Patrick to his a-ha! moment and the creation of Sidecar Health For more information visit: sidecarhealth.com About Patrick Quigley, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Sidecar Health: Patrick Quigley founded Sidecar Health in 2018 as a new approach to insurance. The company now operates in 14 states using a disruptive cash-price model to save members 40% or more on health care costs. With a storied career spanning 15 years in health insurance, Patrick has led companies dedicated to various aspects of the industry. He spearheaded the growth of Healthplans.com, a leading website that connected 35 million people with carriers and brokers to find plans for their families. Patrick also served as CEO of Katch, which helped carriers enroll new members in individual health plans producing over $3B in annual premiums. 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

December 09, 2020 10:20 AM Eastern Standard Time

Video

CMMC Center of Excellence Announces Engagement Agreement with 6clicks

Interoperability Clearinghouse

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Center of Excellence (CMMC-COE), hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public-private partnership serving the public and private sectors for more than 15-years is proud to announce a partnership with global software provider 6clicks and the establishment of CMMC-COE APAC lead by 6clicks founder, Andrew Robinson. This unique partnership will extend efforts to advance the goals and objectives for improving the cyber and supply chain security and resilience of the US Department of Defense (DoD) global Defense Industrial Base (DIB) network of contractors, suppliers, and vendors. 6clicks provides an innovative software-as-a-service platform used by consultants, governments, and businesses around the world designed to streamline risk assessment and compliance activities across multiple standards, including CMMC. 6clicks has offices in Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom, and in Melbourne, Australia. Andrew Robinson, Founder & Head of Cyber Security, 6clicks sums up the partnership with: "Supply chains are global and to secure them we must be willing to cooperate across national and regional boundaries to synthesize and build upon existing cybersecurity standards. The CMMC-COE and CMMC-COE APAC are a key part of this important mission." “This is a momentous occasion for us”, said Mr. John Weiler, Chairman of the Board at CMMC Center of Excellence, “Our Asia Pacific center will further help advance the goals and objectives for improving the supply chain security and resilience of the US Department of Defense (DoD) beyond North America”. This collaborative partnership between 6clicks and CMMC-COE helps further their respective and complementary missions and objectives regarding the adoption, use, and expansion of cybersecurity best practices. The adoption of next-generation software like 6clicks to assess and accelerate cybersecurity maturity will better drive efficiency and improve the decision-making capabilities beyond outdated legacy systems. The objectives and mission of 6clicks and CMMC-COE are in direct alignment with the US Department of Defense Office of Inspector General on cybersecurity best practices, risk management, and compliance. The objective to secure and scale the DIB contractor community, the information and communications technology community. This partnership establishes a broader CMMC ecosystem to improve security and resilience. Some specific actions will include: The co-development of CMMC advisory services, cyber training, and education programs to accelerate CMMC certification, increase cyber adoption, and improve cyber protection and resilience. Co-sponsor symposiums, training programs and podcasts leveraging their combined cyber and IT expertise. Host regular working groups, with other partners, to enable collaboration and communications. Source qualified cyber professionals to serve as cyber and CMMC advocates. Establish an independent Industry Cyber Security Advisory Council with peer organizations to advise and educate leaders across government and industry on the continued evolution and effectiveness of CMMC. Engage with the Defense Industrial Base contractor community across the Asia-Pacific region to enhance education, training, preparation, and compliance with provisions of the CMMC requirements. The CMMC-COE ( http://cmmc-coe.org ) and the CMMC-COE APAC ( https://cmmc-apac.com/ ) will focus on bringing together the many disparate cyber and national security communities of interest to reduce complexity, improve awareness, and accelerate industry effort to become more cyber resilient against the growing threats from nation states and criminal enterprises. The CMMC-COE partner network, including 6clicks and the CMMC-COE APAC will be sharing a wide range of capabilities such as cyber standards frameworks, education, solution architectures, cyber mentoring, workforce, and other elements needed to scale to the demands of the entire DIB marketplace in the U.S. and abroad (400,000 contractors worldwide). The CMMC-COE establishes both a Market Place and Knowledge Clearinghouse that will include resources that support the overall effort, including white papers, tutorials, recorded webcasts, presentations, and more that will help reduce the cost and burden on small and medium size contractors already struggling from the impact of COVID and the complexity of small and large federal contracts. With this, we are excited to have 6clicks and the CMMC-COE APAC included in our trusted portfolio. For more information on the CMMC-COE, please visit http://cmmc-coe.org email: info@cmmc-coe.org For more information on 6clicks, please visit https://6clicks.io/ For more information on the CMMC-COE APAC, please visit https://cmmc-apac.com/ email: contact@cmmc-apac.com About Us ---------- CMMC-COE.ORG is a unique non-profit public-private partnership, with a vision to accelerate Cybersecurity Maturity Model (CMM) adoption, and reduce time & cost for security compliance for our partners by leveraging commercial best practices, CMMC standards, and innovative solutions for a measurable success. Our mission, focused on DOD mission objectives, cost containment and expeditious CMMC compliance, is to help the DIB improve cyber posture and resilience, and simplify its acquisition. The CMMC-COE is hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public/private partnership (P3) chartered in 2007 as an honest broker to reach outside the confines of the Federal IT advisories that lack dynamic reach into the Global IT Market, and dedicated to the adoption of commercial IT management standards of practice and innovations emanating from the Global IT market. Team IT-AAC has already demonstrated the value of its decade long investment, and provides a unique value to agencies seeking to achieve accelerate the transformation of legacy processes and systems. Our Just-in-Time SMEs apply an innovative suite of Technology Business Management and Agile Acquisition Processes needed to assure the business value of commercial IT. The Interoperability Clearinghouse (ICH), is the managing partner that make up the 24 NGO/SDO organizations that make up the IT-AAC. ICH provides the contract vehicles, clearances, and critical resources proven to guide sustainable, measurable and repeatable processes needed to drive better investment decisions as the speed of mission need, while aligning existing processes, methods and workforce with IT reform mandates contained in Clinger Cohen Act, FITARA, IT MGT Act, EO13838. Contact Details Bob Dix +1 703-975-6633 bob.dix@it-aac.org Company Website https://cmmc-coe.org

December 08, 2020 10:20 PM Eastern Standard Time

Redefining WFH: Achieving Work-Life Balance in the Remote Work Era

YourUpdateTV

With many companies currently operating virtually and business travel still largely on hold, many consumers feel like they’ve been living a real-life “Groundhog Day,” working and living in the same space at home day in and day out. Recently, Janis Cannon, Senior Vice President, Upscale Brands at Choice Hotels International, shared some better options for consumers yearning for more control of their time and space and looking for a change of pace and scenery. A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/YpxNXAp_9O0 Consumers have started to redefine the boundaries of work, life and leisure. For many, the acronym WFH or “work-from-home” has evolved into “work-from-hotel,” a trend that gives consumers that much-needed change of scenery and boost of productivity they crave for themselves and their families. Inspired by the traditional habit of extending a business trip to enjoy leisure time, consumers are flipping the script and working-from-hotel 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., then finding the change of pace they crave from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. To learn more about this “workcation” (work + vacation) trend, Cambria Hotels surveyed consumers who are currently working remotely and who typically travel for work at least 3-5 times per year. The brand discovered several interesting insights from the survey, including how consumers are navigating their work-life balance while working from home and how they are redefining the boundaries of work, leisure and more. Cambria Hotels’ poll research indicated consumers are struggling to find work-life balance. They are missing the natural separation between work and home and say that it feels like work is “always on,” and they find it hard to “turn it off” at the end of the day. Almost half (45.6%) of consumers feel that they are working more since they started to work from home. For many (62%), the constant access to technology makes them feel like they are “always on.” For others (46%) the constant distractions of working from home are an ongoing source of frustration. Well over half (62.6%) indicated they’re somewhat or very likely to consider a workcation. After the pandemic is over, even more consumers (77.5%) indicate they are somewhat or very likely to consider a workcation. For travelers, Cambria hotels offer ideal destinations to work-from-hotel for upcoming workcations. Each of the brand’s more than 50 hotels throughout the country features thoughtful and inspirational design in guest rooms and throughout the hotel, as well as locally inspired food and beverage options that reflect the surrounding community, including a curated selection of local craft beers. Cambria also provides amenities that today’s travelers are looking for, such as free and reliable Wi-Fi, as well as comfortable, flexible, and inspiring workspaces and break spaces in rooms and outdoor patios and rooftops. All Choice-brand hotels are participating in Commitment to Clean, an initiative that builds upon the strong foundation of each hotel’s long-standing dedication to cleanliness with enhanced training and best practices for deep cleaning, disinfecting and social distancing. Additionally, Cambria guests can limit their interactions with hotel staff by using the Cambria Contactless Concierge Service, a text messaging service for housekeeping requests, to-go food orders, meeting room requests and more. If you’re looking to plan a workcation, visit www.ChoiceHotels.com/CambriaWorkcation to learn more and take advantage of great deals, such as the Reunite for the Holidays and Save promotion running through the end of the year: stay 1 night, get 20% off; stay 2 nights, get 25% off; stay 3 nights, get 30% off. About Janis Cannon: Janis Cannon is Senior Vice President of Upscale Brands and a member of the senior executive team for Choice Hotels International, Inc. one of the world’s leading lodging franchisors. In this role, she is responsible for the overall performance and growth of the company’s upscale portfolio and leads the brand strategy and positioning of Cambria Hotels and the Ascend Hotel Collection. 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

December 08, 2020 12:12 PM Eastern Standard Time

Video

The bedrock of any Artificial Intelligence platform is Domain Knowledge: CIPIO builds a Platform Advisory Board with stellar subject matter experts

CIPIO.ai

McLean, VA November 24, 2020 – CIPIO, the industry's first domain infused customer intelligence platform, announced that it had launched a Product Advisory Board with veterans from the Fitness, Customer Experience, and AI domain. Brent Zempel has created software platforms and applications for the fitness industry over the last 30 years. Brent served as the Chief Information Officer at Life Time Fitness for nearly 20 years, where he developed the firm's extensive proprietary club management software platform. "The fitness industry is going through a massive forced digital transformation, and I see it firsthand that operators are going from late adopters of technology to first and fast," said Zempel. Zempel has a startup of his own that quickly connects and streamlines the membership subsidy process between health clubs and insurance providers. "CIPIO's customer intelligence platform's capability to innovate domain-specific products is truly unique. I am incredibly excited to help them stay on top of the industry domain". Saurin Shah has 20 years of enterprise SaaS experience building products that helped fuel topline revenue growth at companies like Medallia, Salesforce, and Experian. Shah has led product strategy and roadmap execution for numerous verticals solutions and domain-specific products in the customer relationship and experience management space. "What worked in the past will not work in today's increasingly digital business environment. CIPIO's unique approach to infuse Domain knowledge into AI allows it to build highly predictive models that provide progressively deeper behavior intelligence. I'm thrilled to help CIPIO leverage its technology to reshape how companies connect with their customers." said Shah. " CIPIO is also partnering with several software solutions to provide its Customer Intelligence Platform to fitness businesses supporting their in-club and virtual offerings, including on-demand and digital fitness provider Intelivideo. "I have now seen Arnold A.I. from CIPIO in action at several gyms, and I am blown away on how precise Arnold is on its recommendations and predictions," said Adam Zeitsiff, CEO of Intelivideo. "Arnold A.I. will be an extremely valuable tool for many of our customers, and I am super excited to be partnering with CIPIO's team to continue to enhance the first intelligent assistant engine for the Fitness Industry.". CIPIO was founded on the principle that applying Artificial Intelligence without domain knowledge doesn't produce accurate and impactful outcomes. Customers don't have the time to customize and adapt generic AI tools to their business requirements. Domain-centric AI models make AI seamless, explainable, and easy to plug into an existing business process and get significant uplift. "For example, Arnold A.I., our Fitness Intelligent Assistant makes a tailored recommendation to a fitness customer on how to retain a gym member versus Mary A.I., our intelligent assistant for Faith, would help determine if a donor at a church is going to leave even if it's the same individual," said Manoj Kumar Goyal, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer. Mr. Goyal is a veteran himself in the space of Hyper personalization, AI, Customer Data Platform and Martech, having processed petabytes of data from his experience at Oracle, Marketo, OpenX, and HP. "I have seen so many AI projects fail due to the lack of domain knowledge. I am super excited to work with such deep domain talent, and we will continue to add domain experts to our advisory board to stay true to our mission." About CIPIO: CIPIO is pioneering industry’s first domain infused Customer Intelligence Platform that democratizes hyper-personalized predictions and recommendations to create and capture new value, increase retention, and boost revenue for B2C subscribers and members. CIPIO's early adopters include Crunch Fitness, World’s Gym, Xponential Fitness, Pure Barre GO, Club Pilates GO, AKT GO, YogaSix GO, Cyclebar GO, RowHouse GO, Stretch Lab GO, and Stride GO, to name a few have seen a significant return on investment in a very short time. Contact Details Jennifer Isaac +1 315-398-9541 Jennifer@CIPIO.ai Company Website https://cipio.ai/

December 08, 2020 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Leading Food Anaphylaxis Physician and Scientist Inderpal Randhawa, M.D., Urges Parents to ‘Not Let Your Guard Down’ This Holiday Season

Southern California Food Allergy Institute

One of the nation’s leading medical researchers, scientists and physicians in the field of food allergies and anaphylaxis is warning parents to not let their guard down during this particularly stressful holiday season. “While family gatherings will likely not be as crowded as in past years due to COVID-19 restrictions, parents still need to be smart and aware of what they serve and what ingredients they use if they have a child who suffers from food anaphylaxis,” said Inderpal Randhawa, M.D., CEO and chief medical officer of the Southern California Food Allergy Institute. “For those who suffer from food anaphylaxis, the holidays can be a very trying time; but parents can make it less so by being proactive and planning ahead when it comes to holiday meals. It is very important that children do not feel punished, deprived or fearful because they have a food allergy.” According to Food Allergy Research and Education, about one out of every 13 children is allergic to at least one food; and about 40% of those children have experienced severe, life-threatening reactions. Approximately 90% of all food allergies are caused by one of eight foods—many of which are often included in preparing holiday meals: eggs, milk, peanuts, wheat, soy, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. It does not take much consumption of any of these foods to cause a severe reaction in highly allergic people. In many states, stay-at-home orders are in effect this holiday season, which should be adhered to, as emotionally difficult as it may be. For others, where limited venturing outside of their immediate family circle is permissible, Dr. Randhawa advises food allergy parents to speak in advance with the host. Explain the situation, and offer to help in any way they can, whether that means helping to prepare the food or bringing their own “safe” food. Parents should also remind their child that he/she can only eat approved foods, and parents should make sure that their child is always supervised. “If you are getting together with others—hopefully in very small groups this year—the best approach is to offer to be the host,” said Dr. Randhawa. “Parents already have the know-how to make delicious food that is allergy free. When guests offer to help or ask what they can bring, you can ask them to come early to help prepare or share recipe ideas. To prevent the transfer of food allergens, everyone should wash their hands before and after eating, counters and tables should be scrubbed down before and after meals, and separate utensils that have not come into contact with allergens should be used when eating or serving food.” The Southern California Food Allergy Institute, which Dr. Randhawa founded, is a one-of-a-kind treatment center that has treated more patients than any center in the world for food anaphylaxis. It is operated in conjunction with the Translational Pulmonary & Immunology Research Center, a nonprofit biotechnology and clinical research center founded by Dr. Randhawa in 2015 to focus on developing cutting-edge, individualized treatment protocols for rare and orphan diseases. At the institute, Dr. Randhawa and his team are leveraging trillions of diagnostic data points gathered from more than 10,000 food-allergic patients to understand how food allergies affect a child’s immune system. The goal in all of this is to “retrain” a child’s immune system to become less and less anaphylactic and more and more tolerant. “To date we have treated nearly 11,000 food anaphylactic children; and for those who have completed the program, there is a better than 99% success rate,” said Dr. Randhawa. “These children are now able to eat whatever food they want without concern of a reaction to the foods they once feared. It is what we call “food freedom” and is truly a life-altering achievement for the child and their parents.” Further information on the Translational Pulmonary & Immunology Research Center and the Southern California Food Allergy Institute may be obtained at tpirc.org and socalfoodallergy.org. # # # Contact Details Mark Kriegsman +1 562-269-5624 mkriegsman@tpirc.org Company Website http://socalfoodallergy.org/

December 07, 2020 11:15 AM Pacific Standard Time

Cloud Conventions Launches Community, a Platform to Strengthen Attendee/Exhibitor Engagement

Convey Services

Cloud Conventions, the industry leading virtual event technology solution today expanded its capabilities by launching Community ™, a new feature set designed to promote attendee/exhibitor engagement, networking and communication. Community provides a searchable attendee and exhibitor directory for connection, a message center for interactive communication or meeting requests and a one-on-one chat feature so attendees and exhibitors can open a discussion from within a booth. “Cloud Conventions continues to pioneer new capabilities in the virtual event space with features that accelerate direct connection between sponsors, exhibitors and attendees,” said Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Convey Services, parent company of Cloud Conventions. “Our new Community platform allows attendees and exhibitors to find each other, as well as start conversations that lead to building relationships during the live portion of a virtual event and beyond.” Community is an opt-in program accessed from attendee and exhibitor dashboards within the Cloud Conventions platform. Event managers customize searchable directories by allowing specific data to appear in contact cards and enabling messaging for two-way communication. Directory access is controlled by the event host allowing exhibitors to be added to the directory based on sponsorship levels. The new Message Center within Community organizes attendee and exhibitor outreach, as well as booth chat sessions, and manages requests for meetings using Cloud Conventions’ matchmaking service. US-based attendees can choose to opt-out of directory listings and messaging. To support strict GDPR compliance, international attendees must choose to opt-in to be contacted or viewed in the directory. Opt-in attendees become visible to exhibitors when they enter their booth. Exhibitors can select an attendee and open a chat dialog with them, or the attendee can open a dialog with the booth. Cloud Conventions maintains privacy controls to comply with both CCPA and GDPR. It supports ADA requirements to accommodate people with disabilities to avoid the risk of legal repercussions based on failure to provide attendees with easy access to content and programming within a virtual event. “ Community is only one of the platform features that promote attendee engagement within Cloud Conventions,” added Bradfield. “Discussion forums, social networking, roundtables and a host of options improve engagement between attendees, exhibitors and sponsors. We continue to focus on adding tools and creating opportunities to enhance attendee engagement and build value into the experience. When attendees are engaged, they stay in the event longer, are more motivated to interact with exhibitors and generate valuable sales leads.” Attendees receive message outreaches within their Community dashboard, get notified when new messages are waiting, and can access active message threads on any page inside the portal. Daily indexed emails collect and organize messages to provide a summary of each outreach and a link to go back to the Cloud Conventions-hosted event to read and respond. Show organizers and event managers can learn more about Community by visiting https://cloudconventions.com and explore all of the Cloud Conventions solutions and attendee engagement strategies in the resource center. About Cloud Conventions Cloud Conventions is a Virtual Trade Show and Conference Platform from Convey Services that brings new capabilities to a marketplace looking for solutions to replace the thousands of live trade shows, annual conferences and association meetings cancelled in the wake of COVID-19. Originally launched as ConveyLive, Cloud Conventions automates exhibitors and virtual booths, attendee registration, speaker sessions and reminders, invitations and email communication, while at the same time producing detailed analytics on attendee, session and exhibitor activity. Trade Associations and event managers can explore all of the Cloud Conventions solutions by visiting https://cloudconventions.com or contacting info@cloudconventions.com or call 888-975-1382. Cloud Conventions™, Community™, Cloud Kickoffs™, Conduct™, One-Touch Email Share™, Hub & Spoke™, 360° Virtual Exhibit Hall & Lobby Experience™ and ListLock™ are trademarks of Convey Services LLC Contact Details Bruce Ahern +1 770-580-0810 bahern@conveyservices.com Company Website https://cloudconventions.com

December 02, 2020 03:30 PM Eastern Standard Time

LambdaTest raises US$6m, targeting a million users in 2021

Stockwood Strategy

Cloud-based browser testing platform LambdaTest today announced it has secured US$6 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, a rapid scale-up program for startups in Southeast Asia and India. Blume Ventures, Entrée Capital and Leo Capital also participated in the round, along with Gokul Rajaram and Ramakant Sharma. With the platform, companies can test their website’s look, feel and performance on different browsers, operating systems and device combinations. Equally, in today’s development cycles where automation is crucial, it allows businesses to scale as their testing requirements grow. The fundraise will fast track LambdaTest’s mission of scaling its ecosystem and building the next-generation cloud infrastructure for the developer and tester community. The proliferation of devices and browsers has made it increasingly complex and fragmented for developers to test their websites and apps. Test automation is critical with today's agile development cycles, but building an in-house device lab can be prohibitively expensive for businesses. LambdaTest bridges this gap by allowing users to run both manual and automated tests on their websites and webapps across 2000+ different browsers and operating system environments. Since its launch, LambdaTest has been used to perform more than 12 million tests by its 350,000 users including individuals, SMEs and Fortune 500 companies such as Xerox, Cisco, Deloitte, Media.net, Coca Cola, Trepp, SurveyMonkey, Capgemini, HBR, Dashlane and Zoho. Founded in 2017 by Asad Khan and Jay Singh, LambdaTest is a testing infrastructure company that allows developers to seamlessly test their websites and apps on any browser or operating system environment. “Our ultimate goal is to bring the whole testing ecosystem to the cloud platform, where all testing processes are done in a seamlessly integrated infrastructure that is easy to scale up and helps for easy application, debugging, and ultimately helping to bring out the best quality products in the shortest amount of time,” said Asad Khan, co-founder & CEO, LambdaTest. The funding caps off a busy year for LambdaTest, which saw a huge increase in demand following the pandemic and the rapid migration to digital technologies - a trend that is here to stay. The company has seen 8-10% month-on-month growth in terms of sign-ups, customers, website visits, and revenue, and has more than 350,000 users from 132 countries using the platform. “This round of funding validates our efforts and strengthens our commitment to building a next-generation cloud infrastructure for the developer and tester community,” Khan added. Ends About LambdaTest LambdaTest is a testing infrastructure company that allows users to run both manual and automated tests on their websites and webapps across 2000+ different browsers, browser versions and operating system environments. The platform has been used to perform over 12 million tests in just three years, and is now being used by over 350,000 users across 132 different countries. 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 Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.lambdatest.com/

December 02, 2020 07:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Optimism Abounds as Nonprofit Organizations Navigate Economic Pressures

Donors Trust

As the holiday season continues and the recognition of “Giving Tuesday” is underway, many philanthropists and charities are apprehensive about the reality of making positive differences in the lives of others before year-end. The holidays are traditionally a time where nonprofit organizations raise significant funds for operations and programming while experiencing increased requests for help. The unpredictable economy and cancellation of many fundraising events or in-person meetings will certainly affect how these nonprofits end the year. However, what is clear is that donor-advised funds (DAFs) are filling the potential void. “DAFs are positioned right now to serve the public good, especially in these uncertain times,” explains Lawson Bader of DonorsTrust. “Charitable contributions from DAFs are already easing significant economic pains for a multitude of charities as 2020 concludes.” Giving Tuesday, the first Tuesday following Thanksgiving, along with Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a global celebration of generosity. All are encouraged to help others and consider giving of their time and resources. Giving is essential this year as the economic downturn and increased unemployment cause many organizations to scale back services or use “rainy day” reserve funds just to maintain operations. “Giving from DAFs is increasing as philanthropists look to give more, and more strategically – on Giving Tuesday and beyond - making up for the unanticipated needs and demands many nonprofits are currently experiencing,” Bader continued. “DAFs are like a charitable saving account providing donors with more time to think about which charities to contribute to over time, all while their money is growing in the fund, increasing the impact of giving from both a timing perspective and amount too.” In 2020 DAFs are proving to a key source of income for charities experiencing fundraising difficulties. The charitable vehicle is growing in popularity, with nearly one million Americans utilizing DAFs to centralize and simplify giving. Low new account minimums make them the great democratizers of philanthropy – available to all, not just the privileged few. To learn more about how DAFs and DonorsTrust are making a difference, please visit http://www.donorstrust.org Established in 1999 as a 501(c)(3) public charity, DonorsTrust is a community of donors devoted to creating a better future. Our donors support charities they believe protect our Nation’s constitutional liberties and strengthen civil society through private institutions rather than with government programs. Our boutique size lets us offer our donors personal attention and advice that helps them achieve their philanthropic goals. We ensure that our donors’ intentions are protected and offer them a simple, effective and tax-advantaged way to give. Since inception, DonorsTrust has granted out over $1.3 billion to over 4,000 charities that protect our constitutional liberties and strengthen civil society without government funding. Contact Details Dan Rene +1 202-329-8357 daniel.rene@kglobal.com Company Website https://www.donorstrust.org/

December 01, 2020 01:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Let’s Dive lands US$1.7m to make remote working more human, tackling concerns of worker isolation

Stockwood Strategy

Let’s Dive a platform for remote employee engagement and building team culture has today announced it has raised US$1.7 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge. The funding round also saw participation from Village Global and several angel investors*. Let’s Dive will use the funding to further build experiences on the platform to help remote teams tackle isolation, distribute the product to thousands of companies around the world and build a cross-border product team. The on-going global pandemic has upended traditional ways of working, forcing businesses all around the world to set themselves up remotely. Let’s Dive’s founders, who have been building solutions for remote teams for over five years, know from experience that isolation and the lack of team bonding are the biggest obstacles to successfully sustaining a remote work culture. Let’s Dive is a platform that eliminates isolation by bringing teams together and recreating a social space where participants can connect through a range of exciting activities. This creates deeper bonds amongst remote teams who lack the advantage of personal connections. Teams can play games like poker, pictionary, icebreakers, trivias, chess, card games and organise YouTube watch parties. Let’s Dive has already attracted over 100 teams from 28 countries to its platform. Businesses currently using the platform include teams from Silicon Valley giants like Facebook, Airtable, and in India, some of the biggest tech companies like Swiggy and Hike. Currently, Let’s Dive is an invite-only experience. Companies can apply for access on www.letsdive.io. “Having founded and run one of the first 100% remote working businesses, I have personally seen the importance of togetherness and team camaraderie as core pillars of company culture. Remote working poses a significant challenge for businesses trying to maintain this. With Let’s Dive, we set out to solve this problem and drive real engagement and interaction amongst colleagues online,” said Nitesh Agrawal, Co-Founder, Let’s Dive. “Let’s Dive has already gained strong traction and attracted hundreds of teams to our platform - without any marketing. The product’s experience is so unique that teams feel connected within a few hours of usage. With the funding and partnership from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, as well as investors such as Village Global, we look forward to rolling out Let’s Dive to businesses globally to help them create the best possible remote team culture.” added Nitesh. The company was founded in July 2020 by Nitesh Agrawal and Om Prakash. Both have had previous experience with building and scaling startups and have worked with startups like Housing.com, Ola, Mykarma, Fitzoo. Before Let’s Dive, Nitesh led Indiez as founder and CEO, where he built a community of 10,000+ engineers from 50+ countries and was one of the first 100% remote organisations. Ends *Along with the marquee investors, top tier angels such as Utsav Somani from iSeed, Akhil Paul, Anand Chandrasekharan (Former Snapdeal CPO and Facebook Director of Messenger), Zvi Band (Founder, Contactually), Job Van (Founder, Remote.com), Ravish Naresh (Founder, Khatabook), Sai (Founder, Mobile Premier League), Cecilia Stallsmith, Sunita Mohanty (Facebook), OnDeck community and Kamir Kothari (SVB) also participated in the round. About Let’s Dive Let’s Dive is on a mission to build togetherness for businesses with remote working teams. The SaaS platform provides a social space for remote teams, and aims to help companies build their culture through fostering better human connections. Let’s Dive users can hang out, play games, or watch videos, all while sharing their audio and video with their colleagues. For more information, visit: https://www.letsdive.io/ 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 Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://www.letsdive.io/

December 01, 2020 07:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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