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Richpanel raises funding to eliminate customer service tickets for ecommerce

Stockwood Strategy

Richpanel, a revolutionary customer service platform for the ecommerce industry, has raised an undisclosed investment as part of Sequoia Capital India’s Surge with the aim to eliminate customer service tickets with an “Amazon-like” customer account section. Founded in January 2019 and headquartered in both India and the US, Richpanel was created with the purpose of helping ecommerce companies scale business without hiring more agents. The platform allows merchants to design an account page on their online storefront where they can automate order tracking, exchanges, returns, cancellations, and any other scenario which would otherwise result in a support ticket. While tech giants like Amazon and Uber have made massive investments to automate their purchase & post purchase flows like “where is my order” and “change trip destination”, these kinds of queries result in support tickets for every other business. They rely on a team of agents and a ticketing system to handle them, creating costs and inefficiencies. Richpanel’s platform helps these businesses launch a self-service portal on their stores, allowing customers to perform actions without ever having to contact a support agent. This means businesses can scale their operations without constantly expanding their support team. “The first time I disputed a cancellation fee on a ride-sharing platform, I mentally prepared myself for a 15-minute-long chat with a support rep, but I was pleasantly surprised when the entire process took less than 60 seconds. This automated customer service support technology can save ecommerce businesses millions of dollars, and we felt there was a real need to productize this for everyone else,” said Amit RG, CEO at Richpanel “At Richpanel, our goal is to help clients eliminate unnecessary support tickets. Businesses have tried chatbots, FAQs and help center solutions, but what they need is a solution that does not ‘deflect’ customers but ‘resolves’ their issues. Currently, our platform is able to resolve 40-50% of incoming queries and we will take this up to 80% over the coming months,” Amit RG added. Richpanel is the next generation in customer service support and seeks to disrupt the help desk software market as well as customer care outsourcing services, where businesses are expected to spend $110b by 20241. The platform provides a seamless experience for both visiting customers and businesses to handle cases where customers need to speak with a human. The ‘agent inbox’ helps brands manage all their support channels - email, live chat, social media & phone - from one place. The integration with ecommerce platforms help agents see complete purchase history, take order actions and respond to customers from one screen. Clients such as US-based apparel company Pawz.com are seeing positive results with Richpanel. “As one of Richpanel’s early adopters, we have been extremely happy with the platform and the team’s ability to deliver well on projects. Currently, our self-service flows powered by Richpanel are able to close nearly 60% of all incoming queries or tickets, without the need to interact with an agent,” said Julian Quintães, CEO at Pawz.com. Ends Notes to the editor 1 Radian Insights, Outsourced customer care services market worth $84.7 billion by 2020 Richpanel is a customer service solutions platform, purpose-built for the ecommerce industry. Founded in January 2019 with headquarters in both India and the US, Richpanel’s self-service platform allows merchants to design an Amazon-style account page on their store, where they can automate order tracking, returns, exchanges, cancellations, order changes and more. The platform also has an agent help desk to help customer support agents manage incoming queries across various touch points such as email, live chat, social media and phone. Today, over 1,000 merchants all over the world use Richpanel every day to support their customers. Contact Details Bilal Mahmood +44 7714 007257 b.mahmood@stockwoodstrategy.com Company Website https://richpanel.com/

December 09, 2020 10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

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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

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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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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Cyvatar Adds Starter Subscription to CSaaS Offering

Cyvatar

Cyvatar today announced the availability of its starter subscription, a fast and cost-effective introduction to the company’s revolutionary all-in-one cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) offering. Cyvatar delivers outcomes-based solutions to organizations that cannot hire in-house security teams, do not have the runway to experiment with multiple security tools as they scale, or cannot compete against larger firms for the scarce number of skilled resources available. Its starter subscription offers businesses the quickest route to remediation--the process of identifying and closing gaps or vulnerabilities in a security environment--by bundling expert practitioners, proven technologies, and a strategic long-term roadmap into a fixed monthly price. The starter subscription also enables companies trying to maintain standards including SOC 2, CMMC, NIST, ISO, HIPAA, and PCI to achieve complete and continuous compliance even as regulations change. “Companies often don’t realize the hidden costs of maintaining compliance,” said Cyvatar Founder and Chief Experience Officer Corey White. “They think if they purchase a compliance tool or managed service, they’ll be covered--but that’s rarely the case. Too often, such solutions uncover more problems that require remediation without providing the capabilities to patch vulnerabilities and keep an organization’s data both safe and compliant. Our experts provide solutions across the entire security lifecycle as part of an inclusive all-in-one subscription model.” Cyvatar’s starter subscription covers incident response services, IT asset inventory, continuous vulnerability scanning security gap analysis, and a strategic roadmap to ensure that once an organization achieves remediation it preserves that solved state over time while maintaining all applicable compliance requirements. Rather than simply sending alerts, Cyvatar’s seasoned cyber veterans manage the entire security process, from assessment to continuous remediation and maintenance. “You can spend a small fortune investing in a series of pen tests, assessments, or other costly activities that don’t bring you any closer to remediation,” said Craig Goodwin, founder and chief product and strategy officer at Cyvatar. “Historically, companies had good security or full compliance, but not both. We’re revolutionizing the industry by ensuring both goals are met simultaneously so customers no longer have to sacrifice one to achieve the other.” The Cyvatar starter subscription delivers guaranteed cybersecurity and compliance outcomes at a fraction of the cost of legacy approaches: What security challenges are you trying to solve? What barriers do you face? Click HERE to get started with Cyvatar’s cybersecurity-as-a-service (CSaaS) subscription and register for the Subscription Launch Party on December 8th. About Cyvatar Cyvatar.ai is a transformative cybersecurity company that operates at the intersection of our customers and technology to define what a cybersecurity solution should be: guaranteed business outcomes that are measurable. We break down barriers to create positive experiences for passionate companies globally. Cyvatar is headquartered in Irvine, California. Learn more at https://cyvatar.ai/ and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Contact Details KC Higgins +1 303-434-8163 kc@cyvatar.ai Company Website https://cyvatar.ai/

November 19, 2020 08:22 AM Eastern Standard Time

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Convey Services Launches Cloud Exhibit

Convey Services

Convey Services, a SaaS technology company, today expanded its Cloud Conventions platform by launching Cloud Exhibit ™, a universal, portable, virtual exhibit environment that improves branding, and enhances attendee experience, when exhibiting or sponsoring any virtual event, regardless of the platform used by the tradeshow or conference. Cloud Exhibit is the digital version of a custom trade show booth that companies can use to showcase their products and services at dozens of different events and conferences, selectively displaying from a collection of formats and assets to match every audience. With Cloud Exhibit you can own a branded, content-rich exhibit environment connecting attendees to a custom experience. “Today, companies must adapt to virtual booth environments on event platforms that have the philosophy of one size fits all,” said Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Convey. “As the virtual event trend expands into 2021 and beyond, companies large and small will exhibit at an increasing number of virtual events delivered over a variety of technology platforms. Exhibitors don’t have a say in the platform a trade show chooses, but they can control everything an attendee sees and can engage with. Cloud Exhibit provides a customizable, flexible, virtual booth environment that comes online in days without the time, risk, or expense of development. It maintains a strong corporate identity, provides better control of branding, and has an expanded set of sales tools.” How Cloud Exhibit Works Cloud Exhibit is built on Cloud Conventions’ technology platform providing exhibitors with a framework to create a custom branded display that can be linked to any virtual tradeshow. Attendees logged into a virtual event are connected to the Cloud Exhibit platform through hyperlinks or by single sign-on technology transferring the attendee into the Cloud Exhibit platform, creating a data record at the same time. Cloud Exhibit has many of the capabilities of a Cloud Conventions event portal including customization of the home page with graphics and embedded videos or 3D virtual technology. The platform is segmented into catalogs to organize and visually display content, showcase products, or segment individual brands and hold live or on-demand sessions. Every Cloud Exhibit comes with an attendee CRM, built-in email marketing and analytical reports to track engagement. “Customized, connected, focused and branded, a Cloud Exhibit showcases you in the way you want it to be seen and tracks engagement,” added Bradfield. “We created Cloud Exhibit in response to demand from exhibitors participating in Cloud Conventions-hosted events who are exhibiting at other events in 2021 on platforms that are less robust. Most event platforms do not provide companies with enough messaging control, branding, and a flexible experience to encourage attendee interaction, so having a permanent online environment that is portable only makes sense.” Cloud Exhibit comes with the technology framework to customize the homepage, organize content, create attendee dashboards, manage data records and relationships in the CRM, deliver virtual sessions and track activity. Cloud Exhibit portals include online training and an administrator help database to answer frequently asked questions. For more information on Cloud Exhibit visit: cloudconventions.com. 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™, Cloud Exhibit™, 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

November 17, 2020 01:45 PM Eastern Standard Time

Discovering the Joys of Tulsa… Safely

D S Simon Media

A trip to Tulsa may be a little different than it was before, but the heart of the city, it’s people, and it’s attractions haven’t skipped a beat. Recently, Tony Moore, Executive Director of The Gathering Place and Mary Beth Babcock, owner of Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on Route 66, teamed with Visit Tulsa and YourUpdateTV on a satellite media tour to discuss the new Tulsa Safely initiative. A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/jeFYGC_BBt8 The Tulsa Safely initiative is uniting local partners and businesses who are adhering to all recommended CDC health regulations, like wearing masks. Places like Mother Road Market are doing outdoor patio dining and take-out only and ensuring that they are respecting social distancing guidelines. Route 66, with its quirky shops and stops, including Buck Atom’s, is a great family attraction that is also outside for easy social distancing. The route is iconic and has many exciting discoveries for a family to enjoy. The Route 66 Passport is an interactive way to enjoy the fabled roadway, allowing families to collect stamps from establishments along the route. The ever-inclusive and engaging Gathering Place, Tulsa’s 66-acre, $465 million public park that takes days to fully experience, is the top choice for family activities. The seasonal events are changing to address pandemic protocols and masks are required. The Tulsa Zoo, who just welcomed three new animals, also attracts families to explore the many enclosures that bring them face to face with all sorts of creatures. Masks are required and visitors must purchase tickets in advance to prevent crowding. The Oklahoma Aquarium boasts an impressive world-class collection of bull sharks and offers unique animal encounters for guests. The attraction requires masks, urges visitors to come outside of peak hours and mandates social distancing. Cultural institutions like Philbrook & Gilcrease Museums have outdoor events for families while The Botanic Garden and Tulsa’s River Trails & Parks offer family fun in any season. Tulsa is also known as a battleground for Civil Rights, and the Greenwood Cultural Center is a step towards exploring this history. Next year, Tulsa will be home to an even larger museum, Greenwood Rising, showcasing Black history in Tulsa. As a community, Tulsa is taking momentous steps toward healing.. Check out VisitTulsa.com for more information when you’re ready to travel again and come back early in 2021 for a full new website experience. About Tony Moore, Executive Director, Gathering Place As a hospitality park executive with more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Tony has served in a leadership capacity for some of the most respected entertainment brands including Universal Studios, SeaWorld Parks and Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. Tony owned and operated a hospitality consulting firm, Attractions Management Group Inc. and is now serving as the Executive Director for a one of a kind, world-class, urban park, Gathering Place. About Mary Beth Babcock, Owner of Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on Route 66: A native of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Mary Beth Babcock has become known as one of her state’s most talented and enthusiastic goodwill ambassadors. As the founder of such Tulsa mainstays as Dwelling Spaces and the famous Route 66 landmark Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on 66, Babcock’s boundless energy has helped put Tulsa on the map in all new ways. 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

November 17, 2020 08:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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FADA - Feeling Ditched, Indian Harley Davidson Dealers Question 'Brotherhood' and Explore Legal Action Against the American Bike Manufacturer

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Association

The following is a statement from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association: The recent announcement of the exit of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in India has left Indian Dealer community hugely bitter and angry. Saddled with big loans and an uncertain business environment glaring at their face, the dealers are crying hoax as they are being coerced with ‘take-it-or-else leave’ offer. The dealers are questioning the tall promises made by the brand and its core values of ‘brotherhood’. Demanding a fair deal, the dealers and chapters have intensified their pitch to jointly expose Harley-Davidson who continues to make coercive offers to vulnerable dealers. The 33 dealers and chapters are exploring legal action even as Harley-Davidson is seeking to develop, sell and service motorbikes under a deal with Hero MotoCorp Ltd in India over the next 3 years. AZB & Partners, a leading Indian law firm based in India, is currently reviewing the paperwork with Harley-Davidson dealers to suggest a legal plan of action. The Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) in India is backing the Harley-Davidson dealers in their demand for a fair settlement deal. The American motorcycle company is offering the dealers a mere US$20 per sq. ft. value depreciated at 10% per annum for the years in operation and a 6-month reimbursement of the sale margins. This deal is applicable only on condition of accepting the Hero-Harley dealership. The dealer brotherhood is crying foul by attempts of coercion and insensitive treatment by the company, terming it as the “worst deal ever” in the Indian market. The compensation offer is only close to 20% of the sum that General Motors had paid while shutting down its India operations in 2017. Said, Mr Vinkesh Gulati, President FADA, “Harley-Davidson is not living up to its claim of brotherhood as its cornerstone and is giving Indian dealers a raw deal. When General Motors, another American company wound up its India operations in 2017, the dealers were offered a substantially higher compensation and the settlement was far more reasonable.” The Harley Dealers Association in a statement on 23rd September when Harley-Davidson announced to wind up India operations, said, they were expecting the decision to be implemented in the true spirit of upholding the brand’s spirit of brotherhood and to respect the interest of its dealers. For the dealers of Harley Davidson, the cost of setting up a showroom has been much higher than that of any other auto brand. The reason is because of Harley-Davidson’s insistence for dealerships or chapters to reflect the scale of its brand in display, size, location and customer offering. Harley-Davidson dealerships are not 1,000 square feet of retail space to sell motorcycles, but spread across 9,000-odd square feet of area including a cafe, a workshop, garage, lockers and even a shower facility for riders to give them an experience unique to the Milwaukee-headquartered group. Gaurav Gulati, an avid Harley Davidson rider-turned dealer, turned a once-abandoned warehouse in Delhi into India’s best motorcycle dealership. The compensation means nothing in comparison to the US $1.2 million investment and factoring US $20,000 per month towards rent expenses. Gulati Said, “The compensation offered is so poor that it completely shatters the philosophy of ‘brotherhood’ that Harley created. Harley has failed us to compensate us for the deep losses we have incurred. After working so hard and passionately, we feel cheated by such tactics. After believing in Harley’s India dream and holding the flag high, we feel let down, despite having stood by the company all through.” Adarsh Tulshan, an avid Harley-Davidson rider-turned dealer says, “The compensation offered is almost negligible compared to my US $1.5 million investment and a $30,000 monthly rent and employee salaries. The compensation offer being made is a mere 10% of the investments I have made, leave aside the losses I will have to incur to make Harley the most selling premium motorcycle in India with more than 50% market share year on year”. South India based dealer, Ramu Yelamanchli, who had invested his huge amounts to set up a dealership for his son is a worried man. He said, “If Harley was unsure of the Indian market why did they entice us to keep investing our hard earned money? They capitalized on our emotional attachments for a 100 plus year brand. Now they are prying on the emotional situation of certain dealers and are forcing them to accept their shoddy terms of settlement. It is indeed very unfortunate.” Ramu lamented, “The whole brotherhood story of “riders first” has been left shattered in the manner in which Harley-Davidson has chosen to execute this settlement. Who will bear the loss of scaling down and why should I pay for it?” Manish Gupta, who owns the Harley-Davidson dealership in Central India said “We have been left with uncertainty about the fate of our investments and a gloomy business outlook. The brand made big promises such as a new smaller segment for bikes and several methods to improve sales. We expect Harley-Davidson to appropriately compensate us and honor the essence of brotherhood”. Added Gupta, “Collectively, nearly US $25 million has been invested in dealerships. Now these investment will become zero. We have to continue paying rent and salaries to our employees during the uncertain times. The compensation deal had only soured Harley-Davidson’s ill-planned India story during its exit than sweetening it.” About FADA India Founded in 1964, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), is the apex national body of Automobile Retail Industry in India engaged in the sale, service and spares of 2/3 Wheelers, Passenger Cars, UVs, Commercial Vehicles (including buses and trucks) and Tractors. FADA India represents over 15,000 automobile dealers having 26,500 dealerships including multiple Associations of Automobile Dealers at the Regional, State and City levels representing the entire Auto Retail Industry. Together we employ ~4 million people at dealerships and service centres. FADA India, at the same time also actively networks with the Industries and the authorities, both at the Central & State levels to provide its inputs and suggestions on the Auto Policy, Taxation, Vehicle Registration Procedure, Road Safety and Clean Environment, etc. to sustain the growth of the Automobile Retail Trade in India. Contact Details Saharsh Damani, CEO, FADA +91 99107 22552 saharsh@fada.in

November 16, 2020 11:47 AM Eastern Standard Time

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