MARKETING AND NETWORKING
MyTradeZone | January 10, 2024
Innovative platform bridges current gaps, combining robust business tools for enhanced B2B engagement and collaboration
Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 10, 2024– Shattering barriers in B2B communication, MyTradeZone.com recently revealed its unique social networking platform dedicated solely for businesses. MyTradeZone serves as a central hub for businesses to find, connect with, and engage potential clients, partners, and vendors worldwide – allowing companies to post products and services, request quotes, create and join networking groups, and much more.
MyTradeZone was founded by CEO, Bachir Kassir, a serial entrepreneur with over 20 years’ experience in the software and B2B industry who has recently successfully sold his B2B Ecommerce platform venture, WebJaguar, to QAD – a Thoma Bravo portfolio company.
“MyTradeZone offers a specialized platform designed to innovate B2B interactions,” said Kassir. “We know that 40% of B2B marketing budgets are spent on trade shows and that over 95% of marketers use social media content in their campaigns. So why is there no social network specifically dedicated to B2B trade? Well, now there is one.”
MyTradeZone: Platform Highlights
On MyTradeZone, each business can both market its products/services and source what it needs, all within the same platform. MyTradeZone facilitates the entire process, presenting a thriving ecosystem for businesses, professionals, organizations, groups, and creators who can now spend time networking, while also fostering the connections that increase their reach, influence, and overall profits.
MyTradeZone is a perfect lead generation and highly targeted advertising venue since advertisers can pinpoint exact audiences, making highly specific advertisements that are cost efficient. Major platform features include:
Tailored B2B Search Capabilities: Facilitates a seamless discovery of businesses, products, RFQs, groups, and more.
Advanced Networking Tools: From permanent company profiles to real-time video chat, the platform caters to a variety of business needs.
Peer-to-Peer Payment Options: Ensuring smooth transactions with payments powered by Stripe.
Innovative Ad Space: Sponsored and displayed ads provide businesses with a medium to amplify their brand presence.
Tradeshow and Networking Events: Organizers can amplify the benefits for attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors – providing a secure networking group to connect beyond the actual event.
Expanding Horizons: MyTradeZone Powers Community and Monetization
Beyond businesses, MyTradeZone extends its utility to trade associations, networking groups, and event organizers by allowing them to build, manage, and monetize their online communities. Professionals and creators can actively grow their networks and monetize their skills through peer-to-peer payments.
“Our platform is more than just a supplementary tool. It revolutionizes the traditional event experience by enhancing networking, engagement, and business growth opportunities in both a broad and narrow sense. Instead of merely relying on physical connections, MyTradeZone transforms singular events into sustained, ever-evolving networking connections.”
To celebrate the official launch, MyTradeZone seeks to partner with trade shows, event and networking groups organizers, and trade associations – offering their members exclusive offers to premium membership via the platform. MyTradeZone’s basic edition is always free and signing up is quick, taking only few minutes to join.
Inquire further at: contact@mytradezone.com And for news on future platform updates and promotions, follow MyTradeZone on LinkedIn or on the B2B social network: https://mytradezone.com/profile/mytradezone
About MyTradeZone.com
MyTradeZone is led by a highly skilled and talented team of employees and advisors who are working on the next thing to disrupt business networking. MyTradeZone is a forward-thinking B2B technology company reshaping how businesses connect and engage online through its advanced social networking platform in an industry-specific ecosystem for business collaboration, knowledge sharing, and growth. Learn more at: www.MyTradeZone.com.
Media Contact:
Bachir Kassir, Founder
1-949-813-7791
contact@mytradezone.com
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TECHNOLOGY
PR Newswire | January 12, 2024
Rokt, the leading ecommerce technology company using machine learning and AI to make transactions more relevant to each shopper, today announced it has agreed to acquire AfterSell, a Shopify and Shopify Plus partner that helps ecommerce merchants upsell and cross-sell. Through the acquisition, Rokt will strengthen its SMB offering and expand its client portfolio to more than 20,000 SMB merchants, while giving them access to the same network and powerful AI technology built for large enterprises. The transaction is expected to close by February 1, 2024. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition will build on Rokt's own Shopify app, Rokt Ecommerce, which leading merchants such as BlendJet and True Classic use to unlock additional revenue and provide a more relevant shopping experience to their customers. Rokt Ecommerce optimizes the checkout process, from the cart to confirmation page, and deepens brands' customer relationships by presenting highly relevant offers to each shopper during the transaction moment.
AfterSell enables Shopify merchants to increase sales with personalized cart, checkout and post-purchase upsells. Brands including Good American, KitchenAid, HexClad, Miami Heat and Bloom Nutrition use AfterSell to increase AOV and customer retention. The AfterSell product offering also includes UpCart, a fully featured cart drawer specifically designed to increase AOV and reduce cart abandonment. Rokt will further invest in its SMB Shopify offering by combining the complete capabilities of AfterSell and UpCart with the existing Rokt Shopify app to build a more robust product for merchants. AfterSell was co-founded by Armon Shokravi, Dhruv Patel, Landon Fuhr and Varun Kundra in 2019.
"AfterSell has built a brilliant roster of SMB clients on Shopify and has garnered hundreds of five-star reviews from merchants, which is a testament to how well it delivers," said Bruce Buchanan, CEO of Rokt. "This acquisition strengthens our competitive advantage by enabling us to better serve SMB customers and provide access to advertisers that aren't typically available to them. We're also thrilled to bring the AfterSell team's knowledge and expertise into our organization."
This acquisition provides more tools to Rokt Shopify app users to enhance their customers' shopping experiences while boosting revenue. Additionally, Rokt Shopify users can now look forward to enhanced assistance from AfterSell's Canada-based team, which Rokt plans to grow significantly in 2024 and beyond.
Rokt's exclusive, closed marketplace leverages intelligence powered by more than 5 billion transactions across hundreds of leading ecommerce businesses, allowing merchants to create a seamless customer experience while also controlling the types of offers eligible to be displayed to their customers.
The acquisition news follows a year of significant growth and new initiatives for Rokt, including a partnership with Formula 1's 2023 championship team, Oracle Red Bull Racing, as well as several key appointments to its executive leadership team, including Chief Product Officer Srishti Gupta and Chief Marketing Officer Doug Rozen.
About Rokt
Rokt is the global leader in ecommerce technology, enabling companies to drive incremental value from every transaction by unlocking relevant messages at the moment customers are most likely to convert. Rokt's machine learning platform, built over the last 10 years, and scaled network powers billions of global transactions annually for the world's leading companies, including Live Nation, AMC Theatres, PayPal, Uber, Hulu, Staples, GoPuff, Lands' End, and HelloFresh. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates in 15 countries across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region and has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the US by Inc. for the last three years in a row.
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FINANCE
PR Newswire | January 10, 2024
DreamSpring, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Small Business Administration (SBA) lender, and Woodforest National Bank® (Woodforest), a national bank with over 760 branches across 17 states, are working together to provide access to $1.5 million in debt capital to low- and moderate-income (LMI) small business entrepreneurs. The influx of lending capital from Woodforest to DreamSpring is a milestone in their shared commitment to spur community development and job creation through expanding peer networks and increasing access to capital.
"Our collaboration with Woodforest widens the path for entrepreneurs to access much-needed capital and business resources," said Anne Haines, President and CEO of DreamSpring. "With Woodforest at our side, DreamSpring continues to expand our capacity to help small business owners realize their dreams and build stronger, more resilient communities through entrepreneurship."
Daniel Galindo, Senior Vice President & Director of the CRA Program & Strategic Initiatives at Woodforest National Bank added, "Working with a strong CDFI like DreamSpring combines both organizations' financial strengths to provide access to LMI small business owners who struggle to get the funds they need to run and grow their business which is a key focus for our team."
Both financial institutions share a commitment to empowering communities through entrepreneurship. The term loan agreement will allow DreamSpring to provide microloans to small business owners and LMI entrepreneurs as they start or grow their businesses across 10 shared states in DreamSpring and Woodforest's national footprints: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina, and Texas.
The agreement between DreamSpring and Woodforest also strengthens the teams' vision to expand peer networks across their shared footprint to provide more resources for small business owners.
For instance, in South Dallas, both organizations have embraced the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) acclaimed Dallas REACh initiative, aimed at increasing LMI access to capital. Woodforest facilitated DreamSpring's connection to the monthly Dallas REACh roundtable, bringing together banks, CDFIs, and community stakeholders and leaders. This collaboration has resulted in a greater network of support in South Dallas, enriching the local small business ecosystem.
One South Dallas-based small business owner who has felt the life-changing impact of capital is Taylor Symoné. Her small day spa business offers beauty and hair treatments, therapeutic post-operative care, massages, and facials. When she was first getting started, Taylor remembers calling about 15 financial institutions and feeling frustrated every time by the paperwork needed for a small loan, as well as rigid requirements for only helping businesses with at least two years of operational history. DreamSpring was different. Taylor has since repaid three DreamSpring loans to fuel her business growth and create even more opportunities for her family.
"I'm really big on generational wealth," says Taylor. "I like to teach my kids about being their own boss, being the star of their own show, and learning and understanding that you can create your own passageway — you just have to want to."
For 30 years, DreamSpring has developed small business training and a range of loan products to meet the needs of entrepreneurs like Taylor. Today, DreamSpring offers credit-building small business loans, lines of credit, SBA 7(a) loans, and commercial real estate loans in 27 states to level the playing field by bridging credit and knowledge gaps that hinder economic mobility.
About DreamSpring
DreamSpring is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) lender dedicated to accelerating the economic inclusion and strength of underserved communities. Founded in 1994, the organization provides rapid access to capital and customized wrap-around support to the most vulnerable small business owners in 27 states, focusing on communities including people of color, women, low- to moderate-income earners, people with disabilities, and start-ups. To date, DreamSpring has issued more than 48,796 loans totaling over $538 million to small businesses that support an estimated 65,138 jobs.
About Woodforest National Bank
Celebrating over 40 years of community banking service, Woodforest National Bank has successfully stood among the strongest community banks in the nation, proudly offering outstanding customer service since 1980. Woodforest currently operates over 760 branches in 17 states across the United States and is an Outstanding CRA rated institution.
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