FINANCE,BUSINESS STRATEGY
M&T Bank | July 01, 2022
M&T today announced plans to open its Multicultural Small Business Innovation Lab in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This seven-week program is intended to assist local multicultural business owners in flourishing, growing, and pursuing new ideas by providing guidance and skills to expand and operate their businesses. Up to 50 entrepreneurs will be accepted into the program.
M&T will collaborate with the Innovation Center at the University of Bridgeport. Classes will be held at the John J. Cox Student Center at the University. The Innovation Lab will cover topics such as creating a business plan, credit fundamentals, marketing, legal entity formation, and pitch tips, among others. The program will conclude with a pitch competition, with M&T funding grants of up to $6,000.
Entrepreneurs who wish to participate in the program must submit an online application by August 5th, 2022, and must meet the following eligibility requirements:
Black/African American, Hispanic/Latinx, or Asian American;
No more than three years in business; and
Annual business revenue of $150,000 or less.
The M&T Bridgeport Multicultural Small Business Innovation Lab will begin on September 21, 2022 and conclude on November 2, 2022 with a pitch competition.
"This program will have a positive impact not only on local businesses, but on the entire community, benefitting the area's multitude of talented and diverse entrepreneurs, Through our conversations with state and local officials, community leaders, academic institutions and many local business owners, we have worked together to deliver a proven approach that can help these businesses thrive and grow."
-Frank Micalizzi, M&T Regional President and Head of Commercial Banking for Bridgeport, CT
The Connecticut Multicultural Small Business Innovation Lab is part of M&T's bank-wide mission to create a culturally fluent bank that understands and addresses the needs of the communities it serves. M&T established the Multicultural Banking & Diverse Market Strategy segment in 2020 to specifically address the needs of multicultural communities, businesses, and individuals.
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TECHNOLOGY
Norma | June 24, 2022
Norma, an all-in-one banking, accounting, and business services platform, has seen interest from members early on with more than 2000 small business pre-registrations for its services. Norma moved from its closed beta to public launch in Turkey and is quickly onboarding small businesses on its list while also acquiring new members. Norma wants to onboard thousands of small businesses in the country before the year end and collect feedback from them to release new features to enhance and automate their financial experience.
Norma completed two successful fundraising rounds within the span of one year; a $350k pre-seed round from various angel investors in Turkey and a seed round of $1,8m led by Global Founders Capital, and joined by MSA Novo, Finberg, D4 Ventures.
The founder Hakan Gonca, a seasoned executive in the Fintech space, is excited about the product release and explains why Turkey is the right place to launch, emphasizing on the crucial role Norma will play in the lives of SMBs and freelancers. Norma wants to build an internationally impactful company, while partnering with globally recognized brands and bringing customer-oriented solutions for small businesses to increase their visibility in the banking system, and to support their financial efficiency.
“All around the world, banking is focused on individual users and the needs of large companies, while ignoring small businesses that need these products the most. Moreover, the products offered to these businesses come with no advantages in terms of segmentation or pricing. Norma offers a next-generation experience by focusing on the needs of these businesses while creating a community where members can learn from each other as well. Norma distinguishes itself from the traditional banking approach by combining all company finance and accounting information on a single platform, while expanding the scope of banking services offered to these businesses. The interest international investors has given us even further assurance that we will make a great deal of difference in banking for small businesses with our customer-oriented vision. Norma is keen to become a multi-regional player and grow both in Turkey and new markets.”
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MARKETING AND NETWORKING,TECHNOLOGY
Helpmonks | June 27, 2022
Helpmonks wants to simplify and streamline email marketing for small business owners and solopreneurs. The email team collaboration provider launched a new service that prevents small business owners from getting bogged down in the complexities of a larger, more collaborative email outreach platform.
Helpmonks, an email management platform, offers a variety of features, including a shared inbox, advanced contact and company management, reporting, live chat, knowledge-base, and email marketing.
To make marketing more affordable, Helpmonks created Sendmonks, a standalone email marketing and automation platform based on the parent service's years of experience with marketing clients.
The new Sendmonks service features:
Unique flat-fee pricing with a $99 monthly cost offers unlimited email newsletters, email automation, and sending.
Tools for creating targeted email campaigns, sequences, drip emails, and newsletters, among other templates.
Unlimited landing pages, dynamic forms, unlimited contacts, and unlimited users.
Reports based on advanced analytics that let users fine-tune campaigns.
The free plan includes landing pages, forms, email automation, and email sending.
"With our shared inbox, we always made it easy to use our platform for sales and marketing. We decided to make our email marketing platform available as a standalone product for those who want to use a straightforward email marketing tool without paying the big bucks."
-Nitai Aventaggiato, the CEO,
Online marketers, e-commerce owners, newsletter creators, and online business creators from nearly any niche can choose Helpmonks' broader online marketing, email creation, and collaborative team platform for complex campaigns. This more comprehensive service is ideal for teams working together through a shared inbox.
However, for small business owners who want a more uncomplicated, more manageable service that they can operate single-handedly, the new Sendmonks platform is an ideal solution. Sendmonks, as the first flat-fee service, keeps things as straightforward as possible while delivering a complete set of advanced email marketing tools.
These include numerous professional templates for newsletters and drip campaigns that easily can be created within the platform. Sendmonks also offers activity-logging for tracking multiple email campaigns as efficiently as possible without a collaborative team.
Not everyone wants or needs a shared inbox. However, everyone should use email marketing," says Nitai Aventaggiato. Sendmonks is our standalone Email Marketing & Email Automation Platform based on years of experience."
According to Helpmonks, email marketing shouldn't be complicated to work powerfully. Campaign management tools that provide crucial delivery and campaign formation tools can create exponential results while being tailored for individual business owners.
That's why the Sendmonks service offers a robust package of tools and combines it with unlimited sending for one single price. Online sellers interested in making their email marketing perform more effectively and profitably can now create their free marketing account.
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