The majority of B2B firms pursuing some kind of digital transformation projects are trying to improve customer experiences — particularly the ability for buyers to make purchases, according to research from configure-price-quote (CPQ) software maker FPX. Based on a survey of approximately 230 B2B firms with a strong focus on the manufacturing sector, the study […]
The competitive advantage offered by early enterprise XR use cases may make it difficult for other B2B professionals to learn how they can apply things like VR and AR in their own firms, a panel of experts told this week’s CES 2019 conference. Speaking from the week-long gadget showcase in Las Vegas via Livestream, several […]
A pair of former management consultants have created a company and service, NewtonX, that aims to address a problem they experienced first-hand: finding qualified B2B influencers to participate in market research projects. Based in New York, NewtonX was launched quietly in 2016 but is beginning to market itself more aggressively following a $3 million round […]
PathFactory’s CEO is betting the future of growth in B2B will come from adding more value through post-sale data and taking a more granular approach to customer advocacy programs. The Toronto-based company, which rebranded from its original LookBookHQ moniker earlier this year, recently landed on the Deloitte Canada Fast 50, a list of companies the […]
The digitization of purchase processes in the enterprise are creating a greater need for supplier management applications that work better together than allow chief procurement officers to get a “seat at the table” among senior decision-makers, according to a gathering of CPOs in Toronto on Thursday. Former procurement leaders from Google, GE and other large […]
Rangle has begun a rebrand that aims to show how an organization that began as a technical consultancy has the creative and strategic capabilities to help enterprises achieve digital transformation faster and more successfully. Based in Toronto, Rangle launched several years ago specializing in helping businesses create mobile-first web sites and other digital challenges, with […]
WeWork has already disrupted the traditional approach to setting up office as a startup or small company by offering a series of spaces where people can get things done together. Now Julie Rice wants them to become spaces where they buy from each other, too. The pioneering coworking provider has recently launched WeMRKT, a series […]
The Royal Bank of Canada will be starting with a focus on B2B startups with an accelerator program called RBC Reach that will offer $100,000 in funding to entrepreneurs from around the world. RBC Reach, which is accepting applications until the end of the month, is being launched in partnership with Highline BETA, a company […]
Watching two heavyweights in the Canadian startup sector wage war in the media should not go unnoticed, as there are major implications for the sector in general, especially in a newly uncertain and volatile provincial political environment. On one side is a MaRS-led contingent that is startup-focused, largely apolitical, (despite promoting a we’re- not-Trump-based new […]
As a means to foster innovation by giving developers and other smart people a creative challenge, there has arguably been nothing as popular as a hackathon — in fact, research suggests they may almost have become too popular. In its most recent Developer Marketing survey report, Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Evans Data showed a 13 per […]
It’s already one of most talked-about startups innovating in workplace productivity and collaboration, but Slack’s Michael Lopp is working hard to respond to enterprise decision-makers who say they just can’t let go of traditional e-mail. Though it is based in San Francisco, the firm’s vice-president of engineering has been making a series of in-person appearances […]
Marketing and sales teams might cringe at the thought of asking their IT department to help them with a blockchain project today, but a startup called Crowd Machine is promising an easy way to create decentralized applications without any technical skills. Based in San Jose, Calif., Crowd Machine has set up a system whereby everyday […]
We tend to think of social media services as public forums where everything we say or do is visible, but the CEO of Conversocial predicts a rise in the use of private messaging functions will soon change the way businesses solve some of the most sensitive customer service challenges they face today. Conversocial, which has […]
The increased willingness of fintech startups to work with banks and other traditional financial services firms may be hampered by attitudes about their agility and ability to execute on innovative ideas, according to a global survey from CapGemini and LinkedIn released Wednesday. World Fintech Report 2018 was originally released late last month, but executives from […]
The rapid maturation of the marketing performance management space has led Bizible and Allocadia to create a joint go-to-market strategy that helps each other’s customers use their respective technologies in a more holistic way. Seattle, Wash.-based Bizible offers applications to automate the planning and attribution of marketing activities in B2B companies. Allocadia, based in Vancouver, […]
It should have been a celebratory time for Evan Schneyer. His travel-oriented startup, Wanderfly, was being sold to Tripadvisor after about five weeks’ worth of discussion. Then, when it came time to sign on the dotted line, the contract challenges emerged that gave birth to his new venture, Outlaw. “It was like a glorified job […]
Consultants and contractors have been part of large organizations for years, but these will soon be joined by the “human cloud” of contingent workers sourced through a variety of online channels and marketplaces, according to Staffing Industry Analysts. Speaking at the HR Professional Industry Association (HRPA) conference in Toronto last week, Staffing Industry Analysts senior […]
One of the biggest challenges for today’s seller is helping their buyer understand their product or service’s differentiator — in other words, what makes it better than others that walk, talk, look and act like it. None of us wishes for our solutions to be thought of as an imitator or second-best. We want our business […]
There are plenty of people betting big on how technologies like artificial intelligence will change consumers’ lives, but Ash Fontana is strictly putting his money on line-of-business applications. Fontana, managing director at Silicon Valley VC firm Zetta Venture Partners, was in Toronto last week as part of the CDO Summit. The former head of fundraising projects at […]
Long before he started to explore the future of connected, electric and autonomous vehicles, Ted Graham was picking up drunks in his family’s minivan, trying to find ways to help accountants. The head of open innovation at General Motors recounted his last role, as an innovation leader at accounting firm PwC, in his closing keynote […]
