Charles Laughlin, Author at Localogy https://www.localogy.com/author/charleslaughlin-2/ www.localogy.com Thu, 16 Nov 2023 19:57:28 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.4 https://www.localogy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/cropped-Favicon-32x32.png Charles Laughlin, Author at Localogy https://www.localogy.com/author/charleslaughlin-2/ 32 32 Will AI Render Venture Capital Obsolete? https://www.localogy.com/2023/11/will-ai-render-venture-capital-obsolete/ Thu, 16 Nov 2023 19:52:38 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41677 Chamath Palihapitiya, The venture capitalist (Social Capital), former AOL and Facebook exec, and All–In podcast co-host, said something interesting recently.  One of the conversations around AI that we have not obsessed over as much as others is the whole notion of which industries will be disrupted or even gutted by AI. Will it be paralegals, […]

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]]> SMB-SaaS Player vcita Offers Product-Dev Path for Partners https://www.localogy.com/2023/11/smb-saas-player-vcita-offers-product-dev-path-for-partners/ Tue, 14 Nov 2023 23:07:15 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41673 SMB-SaaS player vcita has released a new suite of services called inTandem Complete on its recently launched inTandem partner-facing platform. Complete allows parties to take their own SaaS solutions to market by building them using vcita’s technology. So how does this work?  What this appears to be is a platform that a bank, telco, MSP, […]

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]]> E46: Analysts Offer Highlights of Place 2023 https://www.localogy.com/2023/11/e46-analysts-offer-highlights-of-place-2023/ Mon, 13 Nov 2023 18:36:59 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41669 Subscribe to This Week in Local on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. In Episode 46 of Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast, senior analyst Mike Boland is joined by guest co-host Dan Hight to share their key takeaways from Localogy’s  Place 2023 conference in New York on November 7th, which the two hosts co-moderated. The event covered […]

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]]> E45: This Week’s Pod Delves into Amazon SMB Ads and AI Meeting Bots https://www.localogy.com/2023/11/e45-this-weeks-podcast-delves-into-amazon-smb-ads-and-ai-meeting-bots/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 05:39:39 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41660 “This starts to….provoke various thoughts on Amazon as an SMB channel.” Subscribe to This Week in Local on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. In Episode 45 of Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast, senior analysts Charles Laughlin and Mike Boland sound off on Amazon SMB ads and AI-enhanced online meetings.  First Mike talks about a new option […]

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]]> Future of Work Startup Waitroom is Now Rumi.AI https://www.localogy.com/2023/11/future-of-work-startup-waitroom-is-now-rumi-ai/ Wed, 01 Nov 2023 21:01:37 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41625 One of the trends in tech I have enjoyed following is something we have dubbed “remote tech”. I must credit my fellow analyst Mike Boland for the neologism. It captures the software stack supporting the future of work. Much of it involves making video meetings better.  This still very small ecosystem includes Howard Lerman‘s Roam […]

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]]> E44: Talking Dollars, Not Data with Torstar Corp. CRO Brandon Grosvenor https://www.localogy.com/2023/10/e44-talking-dollars-not-data-with-torstar-corp-cro-brandon-grosvenor/ Tue, 31 Oct 2023 19:58:57 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41618 “If you’re under 30 years old, you’ve probably…never paid for a subscription to a news-based product.” Subscribe to This Week in Local on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. In E44 of Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast, Localogy senior analyst Mike Boland talks about the evolution of a major newspaper company in the digital media age with […]

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]]> New vcita Study: No Shows Cost SMBs $27B in 1H 2023 https://www.localogy.com/2023/10/new-vcita-study-no-shows-cost-smbs-27b-in-1h-2023/ Thu, 26 Oct 2023 22:08:51 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41608 Most of us who work with small businesses or have closely followed data about SMBs over the years understand what the biggest self-reported negative SMB business drivers are.  Late payments have always been a big one. Difficulty finding and retaining skilled labor is another perennial SMB gripe.  And of course, no-shows are right up there […]

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]]> E43: Hummingbirds’ Steele Puts Influencers to Work in Local https://www.localogy.com/2023/10/ep-43-explores-people-powered-marketing-with-hummingbirds-ceo-emily-steele/ Mon, 23 Oct 2023 10:30:20 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41581 “I had a hunch this would be something big and meaningful for brands.” Subscribe to This Week in Local on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Episode 43 of Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast features a conversation on the power of local influencer marketing with Hummingbirds Co-founder & CEO Emily Steele. […]

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]]> Ep. 42 Explores SMB Verification and Crowdfunding for Startups https://www.localogy.com/2023/10/ep-42-examines-smb-verification-and-crowdfunding-for-startups/ Tue, 17 Oct 2023 16:54:29 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41580 “Crowdfunding is really more of a…’I’ve got a great cookie for dogs’ kind of thing.” Please subscribe to This Week in Local on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you podcast. In Episode 42 of Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast, senior analysts Charles Laughlin and Mike Boland sound off on two topics (verification and crowdfunding) […]

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]]> Vendasta Raises C$20M to Fuel Acquisition https://www.localogy.com/2023/10/vendasta-raises-c20m-to-fuel-acquisition/ Thu, 12 Oct 2023 21:37:47 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41565 Digital marketing platform Vendasta has raised C$20 million (roughly US$15 million) in new financing led by Colorado-based VC firm Foundry. Vendasta says a key purpose for the new financing is to fuel new acquisitions.   Vendasta has a robust recent history of making acquisitions. In just the past two years alone, the company has acquired the adtech […]

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]]> Ep. 41 Examines the AI Arms Race and Dumb Diversification https://www.localogy.com/2023/10/ep-41-examines-the-ai-arms-race-and-dumb-diversification/ Mon, 09 Oct 2023 13:24:19 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41542 “If you squinted your eyes you would think this was an AI event and not a Pixel 8 event.” Subscribe to This Week in Local on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. On Episode 41 of Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast, hosts Charles Laughlin and Mike Boland explore two top-of-mind topics. […]

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]]> Foursquare Brings in New Executive to Lead People and Culture Efforts https://www.localogy.com/2023/10/foursquare-brings-in-new-executive-to-lead-people-and-culture-efforts/ Thu, 05 Oct 2023 23:16:16 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41539 This week, Foursquare announced that Kit Krugman joined its executive team as the new Senior Vice President, People and Culture.   Once best known for inventing the social “check-in”, Foursquare now empowers brands to make data-driven decisions, in particular around location. Lately, the company has been trying to make its geospatial data more accessible and more […]

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]]> Wix and Mailchimp form Multi-Year Partnership https://www.localogy.com/2023/10/wix-and-mailchimp-form-multi-year-partnership/ Tue, 03 Oct 2023 22:28:00 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41530 The website builder platform Wix likes to land big deals. And this week they landed an appropriately big one. The company announced a “strategic multi-year partnership” with the email and digital marketing platform Intuit Mailchimp. Intuit (of QuickBooks and TurboTax fame) acquired Mailchimp back in 2021.  Both platforms are popular with very small businesses and […]

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]]> Ep. 40 Looks at Retail Walkouts + Making HVAC Great Again https://www.localogy.com/2023/10/ep-40-looks-at-retail-walkouts-making-hvac-great-again/ Mon, 02 Oct 2023 12:40:00 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41522 “What Amazon really wants to do here…is what we are calling retail as a service.” On Episode 40 of Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast, senior analysts Charles Laughlin and Mike Boland explore two rather divergent topics, retail tech and local home services. Mike starts the show off with an update on a topic he […]

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]]> Is Private Equity Rolling Up to a Neighborhood Near You? https://www.localogy.com/2023/09/is-private-equity-rolling-up-to-a-neighborhood-near-you/ Fri, 29 Sep 2023 00:24:27 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41512 It was during the peak of the Covid pandemic. That was when we all went on long walks. What else was there to do? It was on one such walk that a lightbulb went off over Bruce Howard’s head. And it was all about home services. Howard is best known as an independent Yellow Pages […]

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]]> Ep. 39 Dives into SMB SaaS with vcita CEO Itzik Levy https://www.localogy.com/2023/09/ep-39-dives-into-smb-saas-with-vcita-ceo-itzik-levy/ Sun, 24 Sep 2023 17:58:31 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41500 “I am very bullish on all-in-one…people want to use different solution for different needs. They need integration and they are unable to do it by themselves.“ In Episode 39 of Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast. Co-host Charles Laughlin interviews SMB SaaS founder Itzik Levy about what it takes to create SaaS tools for SMBs […]

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]]> Are Subscriptions the Answer to BNPL Revenue Diversification? https://www.localogy.com/2023/09/are-subscriptions-the-answer-to-bnpl-revenue-diversification/ Fri, 22 Sep 2023 21:00:43 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41499 Affirm BNPLThe buy now pay later platform Affirm is looking for revenue diversification. And it is looking for this via a subscription model, which appears to be a new twist for fintech companies like Affirm.  Revenue diversification is something we often talk about, especially with tech companies that reach a certain amount of scale and have […]

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]]> The Revenge of the Key Cards https://www.localogy.com/2023/09/the-revenge-of-the-key-cards/ Mon, 18 Sep 2023 18:25:51 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41479 An interesting villain is emerging in the RTO (return to office) wars that are raging across corporate America (and the world). At least to the degree that the term “rage” really applies here. The war we describe is between the corporate CEOs who want their staff back in the office (for three days a week […]

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]]> Ep. 38 Ponders AI’s Al Dente Test and Tech’s Regulatory ‘Welcome’ https://www.localogy.com/2023/09/ep-38-ponders-ais-al-dente-test-and-techs-regulatory-welcome/ Sun, 17 Sep 2023 16:24:52 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41475 “In its early stages, it’s just being thrown against several walls to see if it sticks.“ Episode 38 of Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast examines two top-of-mind topics with senior analysts Mike Boland and Charles Laughlin. Of course, one topic addresses AI. And the other involves regulation. Mike begins with a new twist on […]

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]]> Benioff’s Berliner Moment https://www.localogy.com/2023/09/benioffs-berliner-moment/ Fri, 15 Sep 2023 19:38:39 +0000 https://www.localogy.com/?p=41472 In June 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy made his famous “Ich Bin Ein Berliner ” speech in, you guessed it, Berlin. The context was to show American support for beleaguered West Berlin, which was then surrounded by the Eastern Bloc and in need of America’s support. That was back in the Berlin Wall days […]

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