Breadcrumb Joins Groupon, Offers Payment App for Hospitality Businesses

Breadcrumb Joins Groupon, Offers Payment App for Hospitality Businesses
Not Just Tango in Argentina, Business
Franchising And Politics
Are You Giving Your Clients The Right Kind of Unforgettable Experience?
MasterCard Sells Customer Data for the Holidays

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Groupon is partnering with Breadcrumb to bring businesses an iPad-based mobile payment service. The point-of-sale system is aimed at local restaurants, bars, and similar small businesses, and can be used in place of a traditional cash register system.

Businesses can use the service to not only collect payments, but also to manage customers, take orders, and even analyze sales data. The app also includes support for traditional cash drawers, cash transactions, and receipt printers, so that businesses can remain flexible with what types of payments they can accept while still keeping all payment information in one place.

Groupon is going after some of the business Square and similar mobile payment providers have worked to cultivate through mobile apps, although the Breadcrumb system does provide some extra tools and features that can help businesses track their earnings and sales and learn more about their customers so they can make adjustments or improve practices in the future.

Though Breadcrumb has been an available option for businesses for nearly two years, this acquisition shows that more and more big names are taking an interest in mobile payment systems. And since Breadcrumb is geared specifically toward one industry, it's possible that we'll start seeing more apps with in-depth features that cater to businesses in different industries.

Breadcrumb was founded in by Seth Harris in 2010 in order to help hospitality businesses cut costs and better manage sales and other data. The service will continue to serve its new and existing business customers without interruption after joining Groupon. As for any changes in the system, Groupon stated in a blog post that Groupon merchant partners using Breadcrumb's point of sale system will have an easy process for redeeming Groupons.

Groupon first tested the Breadcrumb system with select businesses in New York City. It is now offered to businesses nationwide for $99 per month. There are also larger plans available for businesses that need to use more than one iPad. The service includes tech support and no contract, as well as an on-site demo and training for businesses in New York City and San Francisco.

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Not Just Tango in Argentina, Business

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT

Argentina has been an economic mess lately. However, if you look closely, some silver linings are intertwined in the dark tango salons of Buenos Aires.

Many entrepreneurs from Argentina have pitched at our 1M/1M roundtables. I have covered a few on my blog too. Success stories of these entrepreneurs inspire others who are about to start their own entrepreneurial journey. At the same time, it shows how startups are contributing to the country's economy, despite the troubles. Here are some of the impactful startups from Argentina who have been doing extremely well.

MercadoLibre

Marcos Galperin and Hernan Kazah founded MercadoLibre when they were students at Stanford business school. Marcos raised funding even before starting the business in the late nineties, when such things were possible.

From the beginning Marcos wanted to build the eBay of Latin America. Through Stanford, they contacted eBay to learn about their plans to expand in Latin America. Internet penetration was low in the early 2000′s, and very few people were buying things online when they started. Moreover, there were almost forty companies doing the same thing. Almost all of them raised funding. However, unlike others, Marcos focused on building the product rather than spending money on PR and marketing.

Business started picking up in the 2002-2003 time frame, and both Internet penetration and e-commerce adoption accelerated in Latin America.

They company had $4 million in revenue in 2003, and it went up to $52 million in 2006. And MercadoLibre's (MELI – Nasdaq-GS) stock closed at $86.28 on October 10, 2012; it touched a 52-week high of $104.50 in February 2012. The website has 73.2 million registered users.

MercadoLibre, of course, is Latin America's jewel. But there are others doing well, too.

Globant

Martín Migoya, Martín Umaran, Guibert Englebienne, and Néstor Nocetti, founded Globant in 2003, just two years after the dot com crash. All the four founders left their jobs at multinational companies to start their own outsourcing company. Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Globant is an outsourced software development company that caters primarily to US clients in gaming, e-commerce, social networks, and more. Globant has offices in the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and the United Kingdom.

Globant founders realized that Latin America was the perfect match for the United States in terms of outsourcing. Cultural similarity, wide talent pool, and aligned time zones makes it an attractive option for US companies looking for near-shoring partners.

The founders invested $5,000 to start Globant. Within two years, they closed a first financing round of $2 million with FS Partners. In 2007, they received $8 million from Riverwood Capital. In December 2008 they received an additional $13 million from Riverwood Capital and FTV Capital. Globant has been profitable since its inception, and generated $50 million revenue in 2009. In an interview in 2011, founder and CEO Martin Migoya said that revenues were likely to be close to $90 million in 2011.

Sonico

Rodrigo Teijeiro is the founder and CEO of Sonico, a social network for Latin America. He began his entrepreneurial journey when he was just in school, earning money by buying and selling stuff there. He then used the funds to open his first E-Trade account in 1997. From there, he started day trading, and in one year and a half, his valuation went from $5,000 to $100,000. That was Rodrigo's first venture, with others to come.

At the age of 20 he raised $300,000 from three investors by presenting financial and science oriented websites he had been tinkering with. He then founded several other Websites, one after another, including MP3.com, an online calling card sales website, an e-cards website, and finally, Sonico, now the premier social networking site in Latin America, in 2007. In six months, Sonico had 10 million registrations.

Rodrigo tried to raise funds from investors, but due to the country’s unstable economy, most VCs refused to fund him. In January 2010 Rodrigo was losing $270,000 a month, however he turned the situation around and made a profit of $600,000 in the last quarter of 2010 by introducing two portals for online mobile recharge and group buying. Both sites were supported by data from Sonico.

In an interview last year, Rodrigo said to me that Sonico's revenue was going to be close to $20 million in 2011.

NetMen

Ignacio Galarraga, with his graphic design company, The NetMen Corp, is earning $1 million in annual revenue by procuring and delivering projects from Elance, a services exchange. Ignacio started the company in 2001 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. NetMen is a 100% Elance company; they have done more than 15,000 projects, and have earned more than $3 million in total. For the first two months after starting the business, Ignacio worked alone; now they are a team of 55 members.

According to Ignacio, it's the commitment toward customers that has helped them to achieve this success. NetMen is handling almost 500 projects every month now. But the commitment is the same as it was when they used to handle just one project at a time. Now they have an excellent track record on Elance, and although they are one of the most expensive providers, they still receive invitations to bid.

And judging by their revenue levels, obviously, they often win these bids.

I am sure there are other such entrepreneurs in Argentina. The entrepreneurial spirit is growing throughout the region, and this decade should see many more success stories emerge from Latin America onto the international stage.

Sramana Mitra is the founder of the One Million by One Million (1M/1M) initiative, a global virtual incubator that aims to help one million entrepreneurs globally to reach $1 million in revenue and beyond. She is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and strategist who writes the blog Sramana Mitra On Strategy.

Tango Photo via Shutterstock

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Franchising And Politics

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 08:00 AM PDT

Never in its history, has the franchise industry been more engaged and more vocal about the issues facing our nation. It's a trend that I've been watching closely—and it's also one that I've frequently been able to participate in myself, especially as the Presidential election gets closer.

There are two reasons why I've been able to easily monitor this trend:

1. Cable News

It's Ted Turner's fault. He launched CNN, the world's first 24 hour television news network, in 1980. This game-changing move enabled people from all over the world, (with cable access) to learn about important events in real-time, day and night. A new generation of well-informed people was born, including yours truly.

Decades later, CNN isn’t the only game in town. If you don't like their approach to news and politics, just use the up and down arrows on your TV's remote. You'll be lead to other networks like MSNBC and Fox News; they will gladly supply you with their news and views… 24 hours a day.

My daily routine starts with MSNBC's Morning Joe . This show provides me with the latest news, plus lots of expert political discussion delivered in a pretty balanced way.

2. The Internet And Social Media

Everybody's talking. Anyone with Internet access can sign-up for a free account on Twitter or Facebook, and start spewing out their thoughts and opinions on any topic imaginable. People are even reporting the news, themselves. They're called citizen journalists, and they have an audience.

Fact: 1/3 of all adults now get their news via the social networks. (I wonder if Mr. Turner saw that one coming.)

The social networks are also a place—the place it seems, to follow politics during an election season. They're also a great place to learn about the companies and individuals you do business with—or want to. And, it's where I learned about the following items…

Franchise Associations And Politics

According to their mission statement, The International Franchise Association (IFA) "protects, enhances, and promotes franchising."

This Washington, DC based trade group and non-profit association represents more than 1,300 franchise systems, thousands of franchisees, and 500+ franchise business suppliers. They're also deeply involved in politics, hence their Washington DC address.

I guess that I was a bit naive when I first became involved with the consulting part of the industry. I didn't know that the IFA was so involved in lobbying. But, thanks to the openness of the Internet, I do now.

FranPac is the Political Action Committee of the IFA, and they just hit a milestone; $1 million in receipts for the 2012 election year. (Receipts are contributions from IFA members.)

If you'd like to see how this money was divided up by political party, go to opensecrets.org

Franchisors And Politics

Several franchisors have jumped into the fray, including these;

Chick fil A—Dan Kathy, the President of this fast-food franchise, recently made his feelings known concerning gay marriage—a hot political potato. His stance on this issue…which seemed to be his company's too, made headlines all over America.

Flip Flop Shops—As you know, political candidates have been known to flip flop on occasion, so this retailer has decided to produce and sell pairs of "Limited Edition Obama/Romney Flip Flops" until Election Day. The flip flops feature a picture of each candidate, and sell for $25 a pair.

Papa John's Pizza—CEO John Schattner estimates that Obamacare, set to go into effect in 2014, will cost his company about 11 to 14 cents per pizza or 15 to 20 cents per order. He vowed to add the higher costs onto his customers. Schattner has never been shy about his support for one of the candidates.

7-Eleven—The convenience store chain, allows customers to indicate their presidential preference when they buy a cup of coffee. They can choose a blue cup imprinted with a donkey for President Barack Obama, or a red cup imprinted with an elephant on it for Mitt Romney. If you'd like to see what color coffee cups are popular in your state, check out the 7-Eleven website.

It's crucial for the franchise industry to have its voice heard at election time. The candidates need to know which issues are important to the franchise community. That's because franchising continues to be a driving force in our economy. Franchise businesses account for approximately 3 percent of GDP in nominal dollars, and employ millions of workers.

And, let's not forget the thousands of courageous people…the franchisees, who have invested their own money to pursue, "The American Dream." They're located in your own neighborhood. These small business owners are an anxious bunch, these days. They're uncertain about things like health care, the economy, and the availability of capital. They want to know…they need to know the direction things are headed.

This Presidential Election is an important one for the entire small business community.

Do you feel that your voice being heard?

What needs to happen on November 5th that will benefit franchising and small business?

Right or Left Photo via Shutterstock

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Are You Giving Your Clients The Right Kind of Unforgettable Experience?

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 05:00 AM PDT

It's funny how the memory works. In Some Interesting Facts About Memory at Dumex.com, Dr.Yip Swe Chooi says,

"We remember things by association. Each piece of information is linked to other information in some way or another. The more you know about a particular topic the easier it is to remember or to learn new things about that topic because you have more “hooks” for the new information to hook on."

In fact, the doctor says that the more vivid the associations, the more we remember. Which leads me a series of small business questions.

What kind of experience are you giving your current and potential clients?

When they think of you, what do they see, feel or remember? How do they associate your business in their mind?

Is it clean and sleek, but cold? It is down-home but a little dirty and kind of sloppy?

Or do they see you as a problem solver? Is it easy to get in, get what they want or need and get out?

We're creating experiences everyday with our clients.

And these experiences become the "hooks" that they associate with us and our brand. And here's the kicker: Every mental association with your business isn't controlled by you. It's shaped by

how your team behaves,
how your product functions,
how your website looks,
how easy it is to shop with you or voice a complaint and get a serious and effective response.

And that's a lot of "stuff" to pay attention to, but that's business.

It's easier to get it right the first time, but you can rewrite the hook—so to speak.

Instead of being known for poor service or products, you can upgrade what you offer, like Domino's Pizza is doing right now. And then update the marketing to share the improvement process.

But you have to keep your word and you have to keep improving. And if you're consistent, to a new generation you'll have a fresh reputation. To the original group you can become known as the come-back kid.

If you are giving your current or potential clients the wrong kind of unforgettable experience, what are you going to do about it?

Bad Customer Service Photo via Shutterstock

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MasterCard Sells Customer Data for the Holidays

Posted: 18 Oct 2012 02:30 AM PDT

Social networks like Facebook and search engines like Google are already exploiting data collected from users to target advertising, and now it looks like credit card companies have begun getting into the act. Whatever privacy advocates may say about data collection and use, it is vital for most businesses to gather information in one form or another. How your business collects and manages data determines, to a great extent, your success in the marketplace; so here are some ideas to consider.

Plastic Possibilities

Let’s ask the audience. MasterCard recently confirmed a program called MasterCard Audiences, attempting to segment customers based on their transactions, and sell that information to advertisers for the Holiday season. The company didn’t specify how offline purchases could be helpful in targeting online ads toward certain consumers, saying the process is proprietary. The company says only transactional data will be used, without revealing personal information. Wired

Give me some credit. Small businesses can use credit cards, too, if not for data collection along the lines of what big ad networks and data exchanges are attempting with MasterCard’s program, then for make various payment options available to customers. In this guest post, Ben Dwyer, founder and CEO of CardFellow.com, a company offering small businesses the ability to compare credit card processing rates, gives some advice on keeping rates low. Small Biz Diamonds

Information Please

Market maneuvering. Customer data isn’t the only information entrepreneurs are searching for online these days. Information on effective marketing abounds on the Internet, but collecting the most relevant and organizing it for your company’s use can be overwhelming, says marketing blogger Dave Hubbard. Instead, focus on collecting a set of best practices that will guide your business and help you change direction when necessary to avoid mistakes. Marketing Outfield

On the right track. When using online advertising, you must collect another kind of data to be sure you don’t pour too much money into campaigns that simply aren’t delivering results. The key to success, explains blogger Sherryl Perry, is to carefully track conversions for your online advertising campaigns. Google AdWords, for example, provides tools that allow you to see which advertising campaigns are worth the expense. Keep Up with the Web

Head in the Clouds

Data, data everywhere. With huge quantities of data collected by even smaller businesses these days, there’s a growing need to manage this valuable resource. Fortunately, Web hosts and cloud solutions allow even startup entrepreneurs and relatively small companies to retain and leverage huge reservoirs of data, just like the big guys. Be aware of the tools available to your organization. Cloud Business Review

Losing it all. Unfortunately, cloud computing, while allowing companies of all sizes to store massive amounts of data on multiple servers, does not guarantee that data is absolutely secure. Mark Pillans points out some of the dangers all businesses, large and small, face when storing data in the cloud. Luckily, he also has some common sense solutions that will help you use this resource with greater safety. Mimir Communications

The big guns. If you’re wondering how all this data can be used, well, just as in the case of MasterCard, marketing is one of the biggest ways. No, big data is not just for big business anymore, Sherry Lamoreaux explains. In fact, even small businesses today can use big data to their advantage when marketing to customers and building their revenues. Marketing Action Blog

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