A number of leading economic indicators are pointing to rough times ahead, but the good news is that there is still time to prepare. Dr. Sabrin thinks that the next economic downturn could arrive in late 2023, and that the US Central Bank (FED) may not be able to intervene in markets to the degree it was able to in previous recessions.

Sabrin was the New Jersey Libertarian Party nominee for governor in 1997 and twice sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. His newly released book is Navigating the Boom/Bust Cycle: An Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide. Grit Daily asked Sabrin about the potential for a recession, and what it might mean for regular people, and the wider economy.

GD: The FED was able to create a massive rise in many assets in the Post-COVID era, why would it be unable to support the economy this time?

Murray Sabrin: At this time with price inflation at a 40 year high, the Fed will be tightening money and credit conditions to prevent price hikes from accelerating. When price inflation subsides, the Fed will then turn on the monetary spigot to juice the economy and the financial markets. In other words, the Fed’s easy money policies are always followed by its tight money policies, giving us the boom/bust cycle. Take away the Fed’s ability to manipulate interest rates and create money out of thin air, the economy would grow fairly steadily as savings/investments and consumption would not be subject to wild swings during the Fed-created business cycle.   

GD: The jobs numbers (BLS) that are used by the government and mainstream press clearly don’t represent reality. The masses of homeless on US streets are evidence of this. What would a modern recession look like? 

Murray Sabrin: When the recession unfolds, the sectors that “boomed” during the easy money phase — commodities, intermediate products such as machinery, housing, auto sales — would correct, that is, the cheap credit would dampen the demand for these products. As workers are laid off in these sectors, the retail sector would also feel the effects of tight money. However, the good news is the economy has been undergoing a technological revolution, so to speak, with e-commerce, artificial intelligence and other innovative breakthroughs that could last for decades, thus dampening the ill effects of the next downturn. In other words, there are always  secular trends in the economy that are relatively insulated from tight money policies. Nevertheless, for most companies, being prepared for a recession is typically not on their radar screen, but it should be.  

GD: From the standpoint of a US business, what would the effects of a recession be? What could be done to prepare? 

Murray Sabrin: Businesses that are in economically sensitive sectors have to monitor their sales and expenses closely to determine if their company’s future may have hit the proverbial bump in the road. Entrepreneurs should have contingencies in place if it appears the economy is rolling over and there may be disruptions in their supply chains. One of the best leading indicators of an upcoming recession is when short term rates rise above long-term rates, which is an inverted yield curve. The lead time for a recession when the yield curve inverts is usually about 12 months.

The financial press reports on the yield curve constantly, and it can be monitored here, and here.

The former chart is the one that is usually reported in the financial media. The latter one reflects the Federal Reserve’s ongoing tightening of credit conditions.

Companies should consider setting aside cash from their operations as the year unfolds, which would provide them with the ability to pick up assets on the cheap when producer prices and other prices fall during a recession. Famed investor Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has squirreled away, so to speak, more than $140 billion in cash on the company’s balance sheet, a huge amount of liquidity. Is he waiting for the next stock market decline to pick up quality stocks at bargain basement levels? Time will tell.

GD: Policymakers at the federal level in the USA no longer work for main street or the shrinking middle class. It’s clear that the top 1% of the economic ladder has an outsized influence in policy decisions. How does this impact government policy in a recessionary environment? 

Murray Sabrin: Wall Street is the biggest cheerleader for easy money because it causes asset prices to increase substantially during the boom. When the recession unfolds and the stock market tanks, the 1 percenters know the Fed will “have their back” and inflate to raise asset prices. We’ve seen this play out over and over again since the Fed was created in 1913. Recently, the Fed inflated the supply of money credit after the dotcom bubble burst in the early 2000s and then in the depths of the housing bubble in 2008-’09. And in 2020, the Fed went wild to deal with the government lockdowns and added more than $4 trillion to its balance sheet while the M2 money supply increased 25 percent. The new money has been spreading through the economy causing prices to rise — the law of supply and demand is working as usual — for the past year, and prices will probably accelerate in 2022 unless there’s a huge burst of production that will “soak up” the excess liquidity that’s been injected into the economy.

GD: Let’s talk about the “bust.” Can you lay out a few things that are likely to happen in the next recession?

Murray Sabrin: The next recession should occur in 2023 and no later than 2024 as the Fed begins to tighten money and credit to dampen price inflation. There may be a period known as “stagflation,” where the economy contracts but price inflation is still high. The lead time from tight money conditions to a recession is variable, but should be obvious when the unemployment rate begins to increase.

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Unlike traditional marketing, cognitive branding seeks to help brands become a habit for consumers. When a person is in the habit of doing something, they are likely to do it regularly – whether or not it is logical. From the perspective of a brand, becoming a habit will help boost sales. It can also help a brand to cement itself as a long-term part of a consumer’s life.

Grit Daily asked Sandeep Dayal to explain the finer points of cognitive branding, and why he thinks it is a driving force in marketing.

GD: Can you tell us more about how cognitive branding is used today in the market?

Sandeep Dayal: Look, marketing is all about getting customers to prefer and buy your brand. The idea behind cognitive branding is simple. Why not align the brand messaging to work with the way that our brains do. After all, all decisions are being made, guess where? Right between your ears – in your brain!

That is why, firstly, what your brand says must make sense to the consumer’s brain. I call that Brand Sense. And secondly, it must make them feel like it will help them achieve their goals and make them happier. I call that Brand Resolve. That’s when they buy.

By the way, this whole thing around “making sense” and “making you happy” can be conscious or subconscious.

GD: How can accessing the subconscious mind help marketers be more effective?

Sandeep Dayal: Here’s the real crazy thing. Cognitive science researchers have found that 95% of all choices we make are done subconsciously. It means we do things instinctively. without thinking much about it at all. We drive cars, play tennis, and yes, even buy toilet paper without thinking intricately about every step in the process.

How does this happen? Here’s how.

Over our lives, as we go through various experiences, and make rules (lots of them) around what works for us and doesn’t. When we must make similar decisions in the future, we use these same rules over again – 95% of the time.

Say you find that generally when you buy cheap stuff, you end paying more in the long run. That becomes a rule (cognitive wisdom) in your mind and you will use it across a lot of product categories. Yes, even toilet paper – where there may not be a “long run.” But it’s your rule and you use it.

If I am brand, I have to roll (pun) with your rules, not mine. The art of marketing therefore becomes discovering those rules that consumers have and working with them. By the way, it is not just rules that are in your head, but also beliefs, values, angst, purpose, fantasies and goals.

Accordingly, you can do brands with beliefs, brands with values, brands with empathy, brands with purpose and brands with resolve. Each of those is different animal, and I cover them in depth in my book.

GD: Can you contrast the differences between traditional branding and cognitive branding?

Sandeep Dayal: Traditional branding is basically “product differentiation.” You figure out how your product is different from everybody else’s and make your brand message about the top 2-3 differences. Add a layer of emotions on it and that is it.

The problem is our brain doesn’t do well with lists. No, it actually hates them. If I give you a list of 3 things to get me from the grocery store, you’re going to forget a couple by the time you get there and come back with some vegetable that I didn’t ask for. If I give you a list of brand benefits, you are not going to remember everything either. And that is not helpful.

In cognitive branding, I wrap my message around your wisdom and values. For example, when ACT II packages its microwavable kernels as “Movie Theater Butter Popcorn” and puts design cues reminiscent of Hollywood incandescent bulb signs and the letters on a roll of film, what are they doing?

Well, they are making the experience of eating their popcorn align with that same amazing experience you have already had many times over at movie theaters. Subconsciously, you reach for that pack versus anything else.

GD: Can you give us an example of other cognitive brands, and why they are successful?

Sandeep Dayal: Yes, I can. Here’s a doozy. People easily pay $50-100,000 for a Patek Philippe watch! What’s that all about? They can read the time on their iPhones, can’t they?

But here’s what Patek Philippe says in the tagline about their watch, that the arguably superior timekeeper, iPhone, can’t: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.”

The slogan makes your brain think of the watch as an investment that will be cherished by your future generations and be a legacy they can remember you by. That little seed of a thought has kept the company flourishing for over 75 years, even when they sell something that has not a reason to exist anymore.

In my book, I probably have 20-30 examples of cognitive for those that want practical knowledge that they can use in their business and brands.

GD: Can you give us a few examples of how you use cognitive branding in your day-to-day life?

Sandeep Dayal: The science behind all of this is rooted in the latest findings in behavioral economics, social anthropology, and cognitive psychology. This knowledge is remarkably versatile in its application. By understanding how your brain works, you can understand people and your relationship with them better.

Brands are the soul of a product. They are an invisible wrapper that makes the combination of the two, irresistible sometimes. We have relationships with our brands just like we have relationships with people. When you understand what is going on right between your ears, you will also understand better your own relationships with them and be a better consumer.

For marketers like me, brand knowledge is applied in everything we do. Next time, you’re in a Starbucks, you can be sure that there was someone making sure that the air had the aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans, that someone had written your name on the coffee cup to make it yours, that the bit of stale coffee in the pot had been tossed out and refreshed in no more than 30 minutes, that the temperature of the cup in your hand was just the right 170-180^oF between your hands, … that you were happy and on top of the world!

There is no doubt that Sandeep Dayal has been a visionary in the marketing space, and his ideas have impacted how marketing happens today. In addition to being the managing director at Cerenti, he is also an accomplished author. His latest book is Branding Between the Ears: Using Cognitive Science to Build Lasting Customer Connections, which was published in late 2021.

The post Sandeep Dayal of Cerenti Marketing Discusses Cognitive Branding and Next Generation Marketing appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Bob Schlegel and Myrna Schlegel are natives of a small farming community in Ontario, Canada. They launched their first family business, PeopleCare Heritage Centers, and grew it to 15 facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Later, Schlegel and a partner launched Pavestone Company, which became a leading supplier of concrete landscaping products. The Schlegels sold both businesses but are still involved in various enterprises and philanthropic endeavors.

Bob Schlegel has written a new book, Angels and Entrepreneurs: A Lifestyle Formula for Starting Your Own Business and Riding the Rollercoaster of Entrepreneurship to share what he has learned about what is really required to succeed as an entrepreneur and why good business sense is just one ingredient. We asked him to elaborate in this interview.

GD: You say there are five foundational pillars necessary to succeed as an entrepreneur. What are they?

Bob Schlegel: I like to refer to the required Energy and Enthusiasm attributes of most entrepreneurs as my PEP acronym:

Persistence – This is key for every entrepreneur. You’re going to get knocked down a lot and you have to keep getting up, make adjustments and try again and again!

Education – The more education the better — both from formal training and experiential work in your trade or profession.

Entrepreneurial Drive – You must have drive to provide products or service, call your own shots building an enterprise and create a foundation for your family and community.

Passion – When you love what you’re doing, you’ll enjoy it so much that you’ll never “work” another day in your life.

Partnerships with a Purpose – You’ll need to build strong and mutually rewarding relationships with all your stakeholders, family, suppliers and customers. It’s not a job, it’s your life.

These five pillars add up to an exciting purpose and give you the PEP to jump out of bed every morning.

GD: How important is it for business leaders to define their values and principles? Isn’t it just enough to know how to turn a profit?

Bob Schlegel: I think it’s very important to establish your company’s vision and mission in a written statement with your team. It sets the tone and spirit of your service to customers and way of working with each other. It’s also leads to more successful results.  

GD: We generally think of entrepreneurs as people who start with an idea and build a business. Are you still an entrepreneur if you buy a business instead of starting from scratch?

Bob Schlegel: Absolutely. The only difference is timing — the business stage you’re starting from. It’s obviously easier but usually more costly to buy than to embark on a startup. When you buy you’ll usually need to make a big upfront payment, but you can hit the ground running with customers, suppliers and operating systems that you can gradually improve on. Many startups are built on a shoestring budget and can take years to build. One of my startups took 14 years to get nicely profitable, but shortly after was doubling every 2 or 3 years.

GD: Is it smarter to ignore your competition (within reason) to focus on your own business? How familiar should a business owner be with their competitors?

Bob Schlegel: Yes, of course you’ll need to focus on your own business first, but you’ll need to know what the competition is doing so you can provide something better (quality, service or price) to attract your own customers. Your business marketing team will need to be very aware of how your products or service compare to what’s available in the marketplace. You’re going to want know everything you can about your competition. The internet has made that so much easier than in the old days.

Also, just because you’re in competition doesn’t mean you have to be enemies. It may seem like a strange concept, but your competition is a type of partner in the sense that they drive you to work harder, think smarter and stay on top of market shifts. I try to take my major competitor to lunch once a year. We face a lot of common issues and discussing them can benefit both our companies. And, you never know if your competitor might be the one who ends up buying your business when you’re ready to retire.

GD:The pandemic might be the ultimate example of what you can’t plan for but can’t avoid dealing with. What is your advice for weathering the inevitable ups and downs of starting and running a business? 

Bob Schlegel: Yes, that was a brutal shock and was hard to survive when a whole global economy ground to a halt. On top of the human health scare, it affected the most important thing in every business — cash flow — which killed a lot businesses, from big ones like Hertz to small family restaurants.

The only thing you can do is be honest with your stakeholders, banks, suppliers, etc. The government’s PPP was a lifeline for many business, but also reminded us all about the risks of too much leverage or bank debt.

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Tire Agent is a leading online retailer of tires. It offers consumers great buying options for new tires in an online platform. Kugel understands how important tires are for safe driving, and how to make it convenient and affordable to buy new tires when it’s time. Tire Agent is an authorized retailer for the majority of top-tier brands, which it offers for sale with flexible payment plans with a proprietary product called PayPair.

Grit Daily was able to talk to Jared Kugel, and learn more about what has made Tire Agent so successful in a market that is extremely competitive.

GD: Besides funding a new venture, what was the most challenging thing about taking Tire Agent into the marketplace?

Jared Kugel: Trying to change consumer behavior is always difficult. In our case, it’s educating consumers that buying tires online with Tire Agent.com in many cases can be a better experience than what they are used to or what they imagine. Much like how many consumers have migrated to purchasing mattresses online, which traditionally have been in-store; tires are gradually going in that direction as well. When it comes to buying tires online consumers can make a more educational and unrushed decision, choose from a larger selection, and utilize a variety of flexible payment options. Customers love the Tire Agent experience. We get a lot of customers recommending us to their friends/family so thankfully it hasn’t been as challenging for us as it may be for others. Like any business, you have to listen to your audience and constantly evolve; that’s the key to growing.

GD: There are already a number of national tire retail chains. Do you view this as a hindrance to your business, or was it good that there was such a large existing market for tires.

Jared Kugel: I see this as a good thing. The replacement tire market is massive and proven to be able to sustain a large number of competitors. We welcome the competition because it motivates us to innovate and to never be complacent. Our goal when entering the tire & wheel space was to differentiate ourselves from legacy retailers. Consumers didn’t need just another retailer of tires & wheels, we’re building lifelong relationships by providing a unique set of services not found anywhere else.

GD: There are persistent reports of a looming rubber shortage. As an industry insider, what is your view of the situation?

Jared Kugel: A lot of these issues are resulting from supply chain challenges; including container shortages, and bottlenecks at ports across the US. The result of this has been unfortunate price increases across the supply chain which ultimately is being passed down to the consumer. Tire manufacturers are doing their best to manage any additional price increases.

GD: The vast majority of car owners are impacted on inflation. Given the probability of price hikes going forward, do you think it is a good idea to buy tires now?

Jared Kugel: Given the amount of price increases by tire manufacturers due to supply chain challenges in 2021, the longer consumers wait to purchase new tires the more expensive the product becomes. There are many indicators signaling further price increases in 2022 so people may want to consider getting tires now. For people who need tires but have struggled to afford them, our alternative payment product, PayPair, is a great solution.

GD: Please tell us more about PayPair. How large a part of the business is it?

Jared Kugel: PayPair helps reduce the stress of paying for new tires and wheels upfront by connecting consumers with alternative payment options. After answering a few short questions during checkout our customers can compare multiple offers that break payments down into weeks, months or years. PayPair is a very strategic aspect of our business. As consumer adoption of pay over time and alternative payments methods within e-commerce grows, Tire Agent has been at the forefront, providing our customers with a multitude of options for all credit types.

Tires aren’t the kind of thing that most people think about everyday – but they are one of the most important things in the life of any driver. Jared Kugel created a new way to access tires for both consumers and businesses. With great brands, new ways to pay, and a convenient platform, Tire Agent.com is ready for more success in the coming years.

The post Jared Kugel, Founder/CEO of Tire Agent, Tells How He Makes the Best Tires Affordable appeared first on Grit Daily News.

Unlike many entrants to the smart products space, Berdugo saw the potential for the sector as early as 2013, when Wellbots was founded. Smart products are entering more areas of daily life, not only in personal life, but also in the professional world. As a leading retailer of numerous smart products, Wellbots has to stay on top of market trends. Wellbots offers large discounts to schools, universities, hospitals and other corporate clients.

Grit Daily had the opportunity to ask Berdugo about the success of Wellbots, as well as where he sees the space going in the future.

GD: You were an early mover in the smart products space. Why did you see potential in smart products so early?

Philippe: Growing up, I always had an interest in technology and the most innovative products on the market. It was hard to ignore how popular new forms of technology were at the beginning of the last decade. Smartphones were just starting to become a common consumer item, and I saw that the same kind of smart technology could be applied to numerous other everyday items. The founding of Wellbots made sense to me, as I thought there would be a huge opportunity for any company that could make connections in the smart products sector, and offer competitive prices on great new products. As I grew Wellbots, I realized the company was ideally positioned to issue a ranking of the best 25 smart products on the market. It has since become the Annual Wellbots Ranking and includes the best robot vacuums, electric scooters, smartwatches, drones, air purifiers and more.

GD: How do you see the role of data in the smart economy?

Philippe: Data is at the center of the modern economy. It is a highly-coveted skill and asset to be able to leverage data to make business decisions. Companies large and small are fighting to get more data on their (potential) customers’ behaviors and interests. It allows companies to be much smarter at marketing their products, reaching out to the right people to grow their business. At the same time, data collection has become a growing concern for many because of its impact on privacy.

In addition, smart products are now able to connect and communicate with other products to make our lives easier. That is what has been coined the Internet-of-Things, which heavily relies on data and is expected to be one of the fastest-growing industries in the coming decade.

GD: Can you tell us more about how Wellbots has been such a success in a competitive marketplace?

Philippe: At Wellbots, we curate the best products in each category of smart products. We pride ourselves on only selling the best. We are not generalists, we are experts in the space. The Wellbots Brand Partnership team carefully vets the best products such as drones, robotic pool cleaners, connected toys, portable power stations, electric bikes and more. There is a thorough selection process for a brand to make it to Wellbots.

Our team knows all the products we sell: customers call us and live chat with us every day. We are known for our white-glove customer service and offering innovative & pioneering features such as:

Pay with crypto

The Wellbots VIP Program

Free Shipping on Everything

2% Cashback Loyalty Program

Extended 2 or 3-year warranties

The Special Wellbots Bundles

GD: Can you tell us a little more about the bulk buying program that Wellbots offers?

Philippe: The bulk buying program at Wellbots offers discounted quotes to business customers placing large orders. The B2B team members are always available to answer any questions business customers may have: our team has been carefully trained and educated on the technicalities and functionalities of all the products we sell. Our goal is to make the process as seamless, enjoyable and efficient as possible.

Some of our business customers include local police departments, fire stations, coast line guards and government agencies, private/corporate campuses and buildings, hotels, amusement parks, hospitals, universities among others.

Philippe Berdugo graduated from ESSEC Business School in France and also the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Wellbots offers its products in both the USA and France, and was featured by the Financial Times of London in 2021 on its list of the 500 Fastest-Growing Companies in the Americas. It ranked #7 in the ecommerce section of the 500 companies, as at #122 across the entire group. Berdugo is also a co-founder of Berd Industries, an investment firm that focuses on real estate and a director at TP NYC, which is a real estate investment firm.

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The round, which was led by Versant Ventures and OrbiMed Advisors, will allow the startup to continue developing its mutation-agnostic in vivo gene editing solutions. Tom Woiwode, Ph.D., managing director at Versant Ventures, referred to the firm’s investment by stating:

“Versant has made several important investments in the gene-editing space, including founding Crispr Therapeutics and Graphite Therapeutics, and we believe that iECURE represents the next wave of innovation in this space. We’re thrilled to be working with Jim and his team, as well as with our colleagues at OrbiMed and the founding team at iECURE, to push forward these breakthrough therapeutic approaches for patients suffering from liver disorders.”

iECURE is planning on accelerating its growth by focusing on its pipeline of 13 products and establishing partnerships with research institutions like the Gene Therapy Program of the University of Pennsylvania. Joseph Truitt, chief executive officer of iECURE, referred to this partnership by saying:

“Through our foundational collaboration with Penn, we are gaining access to a comprehensive, liver-focused, in vivo gene editing program that Dr. Wilson and his team have been developing in his labs for several years,” said Joseph Truitt, chief executive officer of iECURE. “We are excited to partner with Penn to develop potentially groundbreaking treatments for patients suffering from debilitating disorders of the liver.”

With the field of genetic therapy continuing to grow each year, in vivo solutions have become a major focus of research in the HealthTech industry. iECURE believes that its groundbreaking strategy of inserting healthy copies of disease-causing genes has the potential to provide revolutionary benefits for the treatment of multiple diseases.

Liver diseases account for more than 2 million deaths per year on a global scale, which is why the genetics startup has decided to focus on dividing the liver tissue of young children. As the entirety of the gene is inserted into the patient’s chromosomes, this technology can provide therapeutic benefits without being limited by the specific disease behind the liver damage.

The post Genetics Startup iECURE Closes $50 mln Series A Funding Round appeared first on Grit Daily News.

The platform was envisioned by Lyman Starmer and Kaden Powell, two students at Jacksonville’s Samuel W. Wolfson High School, to change how individuals with different political views engage in online conversations. Perspective has already assembled a team of experienced software developers, mentors, and a board of directors.

Perspective aims to revolutionize the social media industry by providing a place for politically minded individuals to discuss ideas, no matter their professional background. To achieve a civilized debate, anti-echo chamber algorithms will be used to increase social and political bi-partisanship.

The platform founders believe that by providing users with a means not only to have their voices heard but also to engage in debate, Perspective could help fight the political polarization that has characterized the United States and other countries in recent times.

While the beta version is only available to an exclusive group of testers at this time, the team is expecting to open it for public testing within the next month. In a similar manner, the team will be expanding as the startup aims to raise additional funding via a seed round.

So far, Perspective Inc. has raised $120k in funding from friends and family to make the platform a reality. The team is already looking forward to establishing partners with influential organizations that could help boost adoption once the stable version launches, as well as facilitate development efforts.

With mainstream social media networks like Facebook and Twitter finding it harder to handle the moderation of political debate and misinformation, the need for a platform specifically designed for the politically inclined has been especially evident. This polarization hasn’t only made it harder for these companies to operate under increased pressure but also to reach consensus when it comes to efforts related to vaccination, immigration, abortion, and more.

While alternative platforms like Parlor have aimed to serve as bastions of free speech and political discussion, they have failed to promote bipartisan collaboration by only attracting members of one political spectrum, increasing the potential adoption of the bipartisan social media platform created by the young entrepreneurs.

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Led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, the round also saw participation from firms like Chimera Investments of Royal Abu Dhabi Group, GL Ventures, Sequoia China, Linear Capital, and other strategic investors. The funding will allow Agile Robots to continue to develop and manufacture its products while expanding the scale of the company’s operations. Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers Dr. Eric Chen commented on the firm’s participation:

“As part of our ongoing commitment to China’s dynamic market and to help entrepreneurs drive a wave of innovation, we are delighted to partner with Dr. Zhaopeng Chen, Peter Meusel, and the Agile Robots team. Agile Robots connects artificial intelligence with advanced robotics technology to solve some of the most challenging industry problems and is the latest example of our continued support of China’s growing technology sector.”

Founded in 2018, Agile Robots has become a leading robotics startup, as well as the only unicorn in the field of intelligent robotics in the world. With the aim of promoting the combination and innovation of robotics, the startup has expanded the application of robotics to more fields by supporting the medical, manufacturing, agriculture, and education industries. Agile Robots founder Dr. Zhaopeng Chen referred to this mission by stating::

“With the unique technology by combining robotic OS and the world’s leading sensitive robots, Agile Robots is seeking for fundamental breakthrough in robotic area and realistically applying the next generation of robots into intelligent precision assembly area and medical treatment, which can only be accomplished by human beings right now. With the support from our reputable investors and customers, we are confident to push robotics into a new era with all our partners.”

At present, Agile Robots is trying to expand to markets around the world, especially in China. To achieve this purpose, the robotics startup has cooperated with many partners in China including orthopedic surgery robots and neurosurgery robot companies, general hospitals, and other enterprises around the world.

The post Robotics Startup Agile Robots Secures $220 mln in Funding appeared first on Grit Daily News.

The round was co-led by GIC and Baillie Gifford, counting with the participation of other investors like Carbon Direct Capital Management, Refactor Capital, Temasek Holdings, funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, and Fifty Years. BofA Securities, Inc. played as sole placement agent on the transaction.

Founded in 2016 by Gaurab Chakrabarti, M.D., Ph.D., and Sean Hunt, Ph.D., the startup’s mission is to solve one of the biggest climate problems on the planet: emissions from chemical production. According to IEA, the chemical industry accounted for 880 million tonnes of CO2 in 2018, the third-largest source of global CO2 emissions.

The company plans to decarbonize the chemicals industry through its patented Bioforge processes, which get bio-based feedstocks to produce chemicals. Not only are the solutions cost-competitive but they also are environmentally-friendly products that can drastically reduce or eliminate emissions. Dr. Gaurab Chakrabarti, CEO, and co-founder at Solugen said in this regard:

“Our breakthroughs in enzyme and metal catalyst engineering allow us to produce chemicals in a more sustainable and profitable way. We can now deliver for our customers’ performance benefits, cost savings, and most importantly, lower carbon footprints.”

The new funds will be used to boost the development of its Bioforge technology platform, which is used to offer the company’s customers products with lower-carbon and carbon-negative chemicals materials, as well as while expanding the reach of Solugen’s product portfolio.

With its Bioforge platform, the company is currently able to address a significant portion of the chemical products on the market as well as launch new bio-advantaged products. As a result, the solution developed by the GreenTech startup can decarbonize some of the largest carbon-emitting segments of the modern economy, helping companies to be responsible stewards of the environment and their local communities.

The post GreenTech Startup Solugen Closes $350 mln Series C Financing Round appeared first on Grit Daily News.

The startup was founded by serial entrepreneur Hiroshi Takatoh to provide diabetic customers with sugar-blocking teas. The new funds will help the startup boost its production and marketing efforts, allowing it to reach more than 122 million diabetics and pre-diabetics patients in the United States. Hiroshi Takatoh, founder and CEO of Teatis, referred to this mission by stating:

“With millions of diabetics living in the United States, there is significant demand for diabetic-friendly foods that are nutritious, convenient, and functional. Our team of doctors has worked for years to perfect our product line, and this is just the beginning. We plan on building out a comprehensive one-stop shop for Diabetic health.”

As a powdered superfood, the tea developed by Teatis contains no chemicals or sweeteners but is entirely plant-based, offering an alternative to consumers who don’t have the time to cook but need to consume nutritious ingredients that help with carbohydrate digestion and the release of glucose.

The product was developed by a team of doctors and nutrition specialists, as well as having extensively tested and approved for several diabetic-friendly diets. The startup was envisioned by Takatoh as a result of his late ex-wife’s battle with cancer, which showed him the need for convenient and nutritious food for the critically ill.

With the prevalence of diabetes increasing in the United States each year, the nutrition startup is aiming to become a major player in the industry while helping improve the quality of life of those suffering from the condition in an easy and convenient manner.

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