Canidium places in the Houston Fast Tech 50 for second ...

Canidium, a leading technology implementation and sales coaching consultant, was recently ranked No. 37 on Houston Business Journal's annual movers and shakers list, the Houston Fast Tech 50.

The index recognizes some of the local leaders and innovators in the Houston tech industry. Businesses from all tech-related fields, regardless of their size or value, can win the award. Canidium placed 37th in the list, marking the second consecutive top 50 finish in the past two years. The awards are presented to the 50 local high-tech businesses that experienced the greatest percentage of growth over the few past year. Winners were announced in the Fast Tech 50 focus section of the Houston Business Journal earlier this month.

The recognition is particularly noteworthy due to the competition in the Houston area. The region is quickly becoming known as a major hub for burgeoning tech companies that represent a variety of industries and sectors.

"You look at the Googles, the Amazons, the really cool technologies ? they are either in Silicon Valley or those types of locations,? Chuck Orrico, CEO of fellow Fast.Tech 50 company Dyonyx, told the Houston Business Journal. "I think one of the reasons Houston is outpacing the rest of the country in terms of business growth is that technology in Houston is based on very sound business models that know how to make money. They are not just developing technology for technology's sake."

Driving Canidium's strong growth is our expertise in the field of sales technology implementation and coaching. Every day, sales teams face a number of challenges that prevent them from effectively managing their operations. Tools such as sales performance management (SPM) and incentive compensation management (ICM) can help business leaders identify areas they could improve through crucial analytics and collected data.

However, there are a number of vendors that offer these tools, so it can be quite confusing for companies to know which software solutions are best fits for them. Canidium offers the independent expertise sales teams need to choose the perfect solution for their needs. We've worked with both the software vendors themselves and dozens of sales teams over the years, which means we have extensive knowledge about the various options a company has when it comes to SPC and ICM integration.

Source: http://www.canidium.com/canidium-places-in-the-houston-fast-tech-50-for-second-consecutive-year/

chuck colson ufc 145 results orrin hatch marlon byrd charles colson humber raffi torres

That venture capital shakeout is still taking way too long | PandoDaily

Lately, I?ve heard a lot of VCs bringing up how much of their industry is going out of business. As both a member of the press and an entrepreneur, it?s hard for me to feel much pity or see it as some great sign of Darwinian health. Mostly, because I?ve now been writing about a venture capital shakeout since the year after I arrived in Silicon Valley.

This might be the slowest industry reckoning the capitalist world has ever seen. Seriously, Godot got here quicker.

It occurs to me that if I?m going to complain about the pivots and acqui-hires and the overall decrease of actual failure in Silicon Valley, I should start with the part of the Valley that funds it all.

By my count we are more than a decade now into a ?shake-out? in venture capital dating back to the excesses of the dot com crash. Yes, it is more real than theoretical after the last few years. Firms have started to go out of business and the concentration of limited partner money is going to a smaller and smaller set of firms. There was one particular quarter last year when just seven funds raised 80 percent of the venture capital.

But that quarter was mostly an anomaly and considering 95 percent of the returns still come from 5 percent of the deals, it seems the VCs are still getting a better deal than their investors.

As I?ve written before, there are precious few firms who can raise as much money as they want. Everyone else is scrapping. But the shocker to me has been how many firms people keep whispering are DOA that somehow find an LP somewhere in the world willing to give them another shot.

There are two reasons why. The first is that there is just a ton of institutional wealth that has been created in the world. First, in the US towards the end of the 20th century, and increasingly, in emerging markets. When nearly every institutional fund wants to put a tiny percentage of its wealth in the basket of ?alternative assets? like venture capital, that just adds up to more money than the industry can really put to work in good ways ? even at current levels.

The second reason is this chart:

Cambridge Associates, which tracks venture capital liquidity, released its most recent numbers last week and showed that, yep, results are down of late. But their investors measure them in ten-year increments, because the companies they fund take a while to mature and exit. And it turns out that math is almost always forgiving.

For a long time the ten-year index still included the heady times of 1999 and early 2000, so they were artificially bolstered up. Those have only recently fallen out ? about the time the bulk of this actual shakeout really started.

But now, Cambridge proclaims that the anemic post-bubble years of 2001 and 2002 are falling off the index as well. That?s causing the aggregate long term numbers to rise again. Are they the best venture capital has ever seen? Not at all. But they?re better than the market average.

And that?s the thing. We can all talk about ?venture style returns,? and most people mean making 10 times your cash. But as long as that?s the dreamy upside, and the downside is beating the market, investors still keep putting cash in.?Even if ? in practice ? most of those firms aren?t beating the market. Many aren?t returning capital at all. Everyone is just a hit away from dumb money looking brilliant.

In a perfect world, only the firms actually delivering would raise another round. But those good firms are all over-booked. So the rest of the industry?s cash goes to the rest or doesn?t invest.

VCs acutely feel like a shakeout is real and severe. But that?s largely because they?ve been in venture capital too long. It?s an insanely forgiving business, even if you?re on the losing end. Firms don?t just close down the way a company does. Each fund is a ten-year investment cycle that doesn?t end until the last deal has gone public, sold or gone under. They can limp along seemingly infinitely.

Several VCs I?ve talked to have pointed out that out of some 700 funds that are technically listed as doing business in the US, only 97 of them have invested at least $1 million for four straight quarters in the room. 700 down to 97 is certainly extreme.

But honestly, can you even name 97 venture firms? I write about this stuff for a living and I can maybe name 20 off the top of my head. Remember: This is a home run business and 95 percent of the returns are coming from 5 percent of the deals. Let?s be generous and say, at least fifty of those 97 can be putting up what LPs consider venture style numbers.

Clearly 600 firms would disagree with me that a venture shakeout hasn?t been severe enough. I don?t have a lot of pity for them. Anyone going under in this business has been given at least 10 years of second chances while their portfolio companies suffer far harsher economic realities.

[Illustration by Hallie Bateman]

Source: http://pandodaily.com/2012/11/09/that-venture-capital-shakeout-is-still-taking-way-too-long/

tj holmes waste management two fat ladies dennys glen davis a christmas story prime rib

Friday Night Acoustic: Gareth Pearson - "Run SB Run" (Little green footballs)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/261914971?client_source=feed&format=rss

ellen degeneres tomb of the unknown soldier tomb of the unknown soldier HMS Bounty Nexus 4 dominion power nbc news

Land Teaching Jobs - Supply Agencies Round Up 4 Great Tips

There are proposals to relieve older teachers of their teaching posts to help usher in a new era of a more time-relevant level of literacy. The problem with such proposals is that older teachers are described as licensed teachers above thirty! Seriously, when did thirty-one become so old? While magazines are describing forty as the new twenty, apparently some members of the education ministry believe that thirty is somewhat already over the hill. If you're in your thirties and looking for a teaching job, does this mean that you will instantly have that much harder time getting one solely because of your age? Well, this can very well be the case, but if you really want to land teaching jobs, teaching supply agencies have come up with 4 superb tips that will convince employers that you're the perfect choice for the job.

1. Be knowledgeable with the latest teaching methods and principles. Who says only fresh graduates know the latest developments reshaping the foundations of education? You can keep abreast of these new provisions just by reading or if you want something more thorough, attend education conferences or seminars, or join forums discussing the breakthroughs of the literacy world. The key is to prove that you're just as well-informed as the new breed of teachers who are being considered as the best people to carry out the thrust of boosting and upgrading literacy of today's students.

2. Hone multiple skills. If you speak other languages like Spanish, French, Italian, German, et cetera, you can well be trained to teach the introduction course for any of these languages aside from the subject of your specialty. Also, if you were a former athlete, you can take on a coaching job. A teacher who can teach several subjects or handle extracurricular activities are always sought after by schools - they're easier to compensate and can help schools keep overhead low.

3. Look good for your age. Nothing beats creating a good impression by looking youthful and full of vigour when you're trying to land a job and a teaching job is no different. Schools are always busy and you need to prove that you're physically fit to effectively take on the demands of being a teacher and authority figure.

4. Highlight your teaching experience. Sure, young people have higher levels of energy and are enthusiastic to prove themselves but nothing compares to the confidence formed and wisdom behind experience; teaching you the ropes will be so much easier because you've already been a part of the system and you know which teaching and disciplinary methods work because you had already carried them out before. There's no disputing this advantage so make sure you present your experience in the most impressive manner.

http://www.sanzateaching.com/ - site which offers teaching jobs for workers around the globe

Source: http://articles.submityourarticle.com/land-teaching-jobs-supply-agencies-round-up-4-great-tips-300807

George McGovern green bay packers meteor shower daylight savings time 2012 bruno mars braxton miller braxton miller

Fast-food chains struggle to reopen after Sandy

Ben Popken

A steady drip of customers made their pilgrimage to a Starbucks a in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn on Wednesday morning.

By Ben Popken, NBC News contributor

Sales at fast-food joints?such as Starbucks, McDonald's, and Dunkin' Donuts ? forced to close because of superstorm Sandy ? should rebound swiftly, if they can also open quickly. With bridges and tunnels closed, and many of the arterial supply pathways jammed up along the East Coast, that could be a big "if."

"This is pretty damaging for the chains that have been forced to close, depending on how long they stay closed. Not only is that lost sales ? Starbucks, for example, did $1.14 million per unit last year, so that's about $22,000 per week per unit ??but it also disrupts the supply chain," Same Oches, editor of QSR magazine, a quick serve industry trade publication, told NBC News.

On Wednesday morning, a steady drip of customers made their pilgrimage to a Starbucks at 42 Hillel Place in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn. Outside, a whir of distant chainsaws filled the air around Flatbush Avenue and Nostrand. Inside, patrons recharged themselves with coffee, powered up their cellphones with working outlets, and tried to make use of the free wi-fi.

The store's three employees served up medium roasts, but the bagel baskets were bare as the usual delivery truck didn't arrive that morning, barista Jo-Ann Gonzalez, 24, told NBCNEWS. The store started the morning by throwing away food spoiled when the store was closed on Monday and Tuesday. Gonzalez?shook her head at how shellshocked New Yorkers were after the storm.?"I'm from Florida. Hurricanes come, and then they go. People are freaking out," she said.

A FedEx driver from Canarsie, 3 miles away, nursed a tall blonde coffee at the counter.?The storm flooded his basement,?ruining a $2,500 boiler he had just installed, and his car was still underwater. He stayed at his brother's house around the corner to make use of the running hot water and electricity.?"I'm just catching a little time out, a breath from the stress," the man, who asked not to be named, told NBC News.

Other stores that aren't able to open as fast, that stay closed for a week, could have a real impact on?quarterly numbers, Ronald Ruggless, Southwest Bureau Chief for Nation's Restaurant News, told NBC News.

A Starbucks spokesperson would not comment on how Sandy is affecting their financials, as the chain is focused on dealing with store closures. "The safety of our partners, our employees, is our number one priority," ?a spokesperson told NBC News. On Monday, Starbucks closed 1,000 locations from Virginia to Maine. By noon Tuesday, 250 stores remained closed, primarily in areas without power or experiencing heavy traffic issues.

Dunkin' Brands, the franchisor of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins, said that a "significant" number of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins were still shuttered in the Mid-Atlantic regions. The closures are concentrated in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, mainly in areas with evacuations or power outages. A few suffered "serious" damage.?However, a spokesman told NBC News, "The majority of our restaurants are open, and the storm has not had a materially financial impact on the company.?

Without power, food in refrigerators can begin to spoil, and traffic snarls and supply chain hiccups could make it hard to restock. That shouldn't affect snack places and coffee sellers much, except in the case of perishables like milk. That puts a crimp in the morning coffee for latte lovers.?People will "just have to drink it black," Ruggles said.

Carlo Allegri / Reuters

Pedestrians walk past a closed Starbucks in lower Manhattan on Tuesday in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Fast service stores that can reopen quickly can actually experience a bump in sales as other options are closed and the storm-weary don't feel like making food or patronizing places that cost more in terms of time and money, said Ruggless. There's also little in the way of long-term sales damage by breaking customers out of their daily coffee, doughnut, or burger habit.

"These places are so much a part of people's routine that everything else in the world could be upset and they would pick it back up," he said.

Like a kickboard held underwater, however much sales get pushed down by Sandy, the resulting pent-up demand should make up for the losses, said Stephen Anderson, Senior Analyst at Miller Tabak + Co.

In a note to investors published Friday before the storm, Anderson said that Sandy would turn numbers for restaurants it covers, like Dunkin' Brands, Cheesecake Factory, Chipotle, Darden Restaurants and Panera Bread from "fractionally positive" to "fractionally negative." That then would push November to 1 percent positive, or better.

Reached after the storm passed, Anderson told NBC News: "With the storm arriving earlier and of much earlier duration, the negative effect on October comps will be that much more pronounced, but I think the jump in comps starting Oct. 31 could be more accentuated."

More business news:

Follow NBCNews.com business on Twitter and Facebook

Source: http://bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/31/14808049-fast-food-chains-struggle-to-reopen-after-superstorm?lite

waste management two fat ladies dennys glen davis a christmas story prime rib ny knicks