Ventureweek

WeGrow is a hydroponic superstore – the first of its kind to franchise in the U.S. Their focus is on hydroponic plant growing – mostly of the medical marijuana variety. This is the first time that we’ve heard of a medical Marijuana hydroponic store franchising their concept.

While the store does not sell marijuana directly, it does provide everything a consumer may need for growing it on their own. They provide live-grow demonstrations, educational programs, expert technicians to teach safe and responsible growing tactics as well as an on-site doctor for evaluations and a laboratory to test home-grown cannabis before consumption.  The company plans to continue opening stores in all states where medical marijuana has been made legal . The potential for growth within this market is massive.

The hottest financial planning site aimed at women LearnVest,  is launching a number of  new free and premium features that will allow the company to continue to grow it’s brand and revenue streams. LearnVest is also launching new premium memberships as 1-day ($4.99), 3-month ($39.99), and 1-year ($129.99) offerings. The plans will give members of the site access to LearnVest’s Advice Center, as well as unlimited access to the company’s team of financial planners. Members can ask specific questions to the planners through the “Ask an Expert” feature. 

They have also expanded their free offerings as well.  Free access to the LearnVest My Money Center, which lets you link all of your financial accounts and track your spending with an email-like folder system, as well as the Take Control Bootcamp, a 10-day action-oriented email program designed to help you get a handle on your finances. The company has raised over $20 Million and has helped over 1 million women since it launched in December 2009.

Just as election talk is beginning to gear up in Ontario for the fall, Tim Hudak has just released a Small Business Bill of Rights. The goal of this document is to showcase how business friendly the PC party is as opposed to the governing Liberals. Take a look and tell us what you think.

• A commitment to red tape reduction. He is committed to reducing the regulatory burden by a minimum of 30%, and the entire Cabinet will have its pay docked if it misses important regulatory goals.
• Choice over mandatory smart meter energy pricing. Businesses must serve their customers and do not have the option of shifting business to off peak hours. A Tim Hudak PC government will let small business owners decide whether the time-of-use pricing system works for them.

• Fast, efficient, customer-friendly service standards for small businesses in their dealings with government. The PC government will streamline the complex process that exists today and give small businesses more ways to get routine government transactions done by extending office hours and providing more services online. Government ministries and agencies will be required to provide written responses on the clarification of regulations that will be honoured.
• Greater ability to bid on government contracts. Today it is virtually impossible for small businesses to compete with larger businesses and corporations for government contracts. A Tim Hudak government will change the current system to allow small businesses to compete on an equal footing

The AdWords Business credit card offers a credit line and no annual fee. The annual percentage rate on the MasterCard product is 8.99% and it’s issued through the World Financial Capital Bank.

But this isn’t your typical piece of plastic—it’s only to be used to purchase search advertising on Google.  The company is targeting small and medium sized businesses.

From Fastcasual.com

More than half of U.S. adults use their mobile phones to find information on local restaurants, according to Pew Research.

“Mobile is a highly personal channel offering direct, real-time, location-targeted promotional abilities, so that restaurants can drive new customers, foot traffic and revenues when needed,” said Sarah Hodkinson of Where.com, a company that specializes in location-based media.

While many restaurant operators have successfully leveraged mobile-marketing platforms, those who aren’t are missing out on a lot of potential revenue.

“If you don’t do it at all, you are leaving money on the table and inviting your competitors to begin building a stronger, two-way relationship with your most loyal customers,” said Lori Walderich, chief creative officer of IdeaStudio.

For those considering the mobile-marketing investment, questions such as ‘How do we start?’ and ‘How do we help customers find us?’ should be top of mind.  

Walderich and Hodkinson agree that mobile marketing continues to emerge as a restaurant-industry technology trend. Here, they offer eight insights into getting the most out of a mobile-marketing platform.

1. Create a mobile-optimized website. As opposed to simply shrinking a business’ website to fit a phone screen, a mobile-optimized site is a condensed, highly-functional website built especially for the phone. It doesn’t replace a restaurant’s main website, but it is an easy way for users and new customers to quickly find and connect with a local eatery. Additionally, companies such as Where.com can help operators create a free mobile page for their brand.

2. Be easy to find and locate. Add a click-to-call phone number and map to your mobile page, so potential customers can easily contact and find you.

3. Be social. Include links to your Facebook and Twitter pages to expand your social following through mobile. About 134.6 million people used social networks across any technology platform each month, and in 2011, that number will rise by a little more than 3 percent, acccording to eMarketer.

Brands need to take this shift into account as consumers get into the habit of checking Facebook on the run and they tend to ignore brands that don’t respect direct interaction, said Carla Paschke, director of Mobile Innovation at Engauge.

“Facebook is a tool for conversations. Ad campaigns are conversations, too,” she said. “This is a nice coincidence and a useful one to any brand that knows how to effectively integrate the sometimes chaotic feedback that comes streaming in from this new class of smartphone-liberated consumers, jabbing at their phones in stores, schools, trains and homes.” 

4. Get them to opt in. In order for mobile marketing to work, a restaurant concept must actively encourage customers to opt-in, Walderich said.

“No matter how aggressive the mobile marketing strategy is, it won’t be worth anything if there isn’t a big database of recipients,” she said. “Restaurants should always reward customers for opting in.” 

5. Give incentives. Mobile offers and coupons are redeemed about 25 percent more than Internet coupons and up to 10 times more than printed coupons, Walderich said.

“Free food offers always work,” she said. 

6. Add pictures to your mobile site. Let potential customers checkout your store or most popular dishes, Hodkinson said. Customers tend to eat with their eyes, so images of your menu items could further entice their patronage. 

7. Target the right consumers at the right time. “Good mobile marketing should be tailored to the medium, targeted to the audience you’d like to reach and should yield a return on investment,” Hodkinson said.

Walderich further advises taking advantage of how mobile marketing allows operators to control when promotions are distributed and to whom. 

8. Provide instant gratification. Walderich encourages her clients to offer deals that lead to immediate responses. “Unlike other mediums, a restaurant can react to unusual slow times by pushing out a free offer quickly,” Walderich said. For example:

- Daily lunch specials pushed out during late morning.
- And last-minute offers targeted at a specific slow time of the day.

A  major Latino social network called Quepasa announced Wednesday the acquisition of a website called MyYearbook for $100 million.

Brother and sister Catherine and David Cook are just 21 and 22-years-old respectively. They were teenagers back in 2005 when they were flipping through a high school yearbook and came up with the idea to make a digital version, according to Business Insider.

Over the ensuing six years, the siblings raised $17 million in financing, growing the site to 70 million users.

The deal is for $82 million in Quepasa stock and $18 million in cash — plenty of cash for the pair of youngsters.

Ford Octane Academy

Ford has launched Octane Academy, a consumer-focused program aimed at a younger, the brand says “more diverse generation of action sports and race enthusiasts.” The Octane Academy will connect fans with their favorite Ford action sports driver from
Ken Block to Brian Deegan to Tanner Foust to Vaughn Gittin Jr. for the opportunity to get behind the wheel and race a car.

The contest gives fans a chance at an extreme sports experience with its sports heroes. Through video submissions, fans explain why they have what it takes to survive a weekend of on- and-off road challenges, running with Octane Academy’s founding members – Block, Deegan, Foust and Gittin Jr.

Ford is utilizing a smart promotinal strategy to target this specific demographic.

Popular Israeli fashion brand Kisim invited visitors to its Facebook page to help design and then preview name a brand-new leather bag. This innovative marketing strategy involves their  customers in the creative process.

The brand used its Facebook platform to reach out to customers and fans and walk them through each step of the design process, brainstorming everything from the basic shape of the bag to its color, handles, closure and compartment options and then voting on the final sketches. The final result — a large brown leather over-the-shoulder bag with a divider, two internal pockets and a special pocket for a mobile phone — was named by Kisim’s Facebook fans as well.

Kisim used to this strategy successfully to engage and grow their audience.

Today the Federal government announced an investment of $500,000 towards the Mobile Business Incubator (MBI) , an initiative that will create economic opportunities for rural entrepreneurs by connecting them to a wide range of business resources and services. In addition to federal funding, the Province of Alberta is investing $500,000 towards the project, while industry participants, ConocoPhillips Canada and Statoil, are contributing a total of $500,000.

Federal funding, provided through Western Economic Diversification Canada, will enable The Business Link to convert three mobile trailers into a portable business support centre. The business incubator will provide services such as business development, training and consulting expertise, as well as high speed Internet access, office space rental, web-conferencing services, meeting rooms, and referrals to service professionals.

According to the Wall Street Journal, negotiations are underway with creditors on Quiznos’ $850 million-plus debt, and the company is considering asking a big chunk of shareholders to forgive their collective $225 million in exchange for ownership stakes.

Quiznos, owned by CCMP Capital Advisors LLC, has told lenders to anticipate a default because of struggling financial performances. Sales were down about 13 percent in May.