Archive for the 'deals' Category

The last time I posted about Last.fm and Pandora, they were worried about being run out of business by a rising RIAA fee structure. Last.fm and Pandora are certainly still vulnerable to such rate hikes, but it doesn’t seem to be a big worry to CBS, who reportedly is purchasing Last.fm for $280m. [...]

Today’s Wallstrip interview is with Feedburner CEO Dick Costolo. I recently posted about the Feedburner/Google acquisition rumors and how it would be a big event for Chicago if it were to go through. In his interview, Dick said he is long on Chicago but thinks “it needs to do something about its [...]

TechCrunch is confirming a $100M term sheet between Google and Chicago based Feedburner, backed by Chicago based DFJ Portage. If this deal goes through, it will make Feedburner the biggest Chicago tech success in recent years…possibly the biggest since Orbitz? Also, assuming Feedburner stays where they are, it will make Chicago a significant [...]

Interesting post on Sam Zell’s legal background and the recent Tribune deal announcement on the WSJ law blog. They quote some other WSJ article on Zell’s background that struck several chords with me personally and professionally:
When he was a student at the University of Michigan School of Law, Mr. Zell spent part of his [...]

Comscore IPO

Web traffic aggregator Comscore has filed to go public. They had revenues of $66.3 million in 2006, and about $5.6 million in operating income. It will be interesting to see how they are received. ComScore is a neat company that provides a phenomenal product - definitely the most accurate and well respected [...]




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    • General Expert: Motorcycle Dealerships
      We have consultations available for people intimately familiar with motorcycle dealerships. We would like to discuss customer buying habits and trends that have emerged over the last several months, as well as what you think is coming in the market. Ideal candidates will own motorcycle dealerships.
    • Resellers/Users/Customers: Corporate Video Conferencing Products
      We have consultations available for individuals that can provide updates on the sales trends and evaluations for the video conferencing market. Companies of interest include: Tandberg, Polycom, Cisco and Hewlett Packard. Ideal candidates will be a customer, user or reseller of video conferencing products.
    • General Expert: Automotive Fasteners (OEM)
      We are interested in speaking to anyone who is familiar with the competitive landscape of OEM fasteners business in the U.S., as related to manufacturers like Cummins, Boeing, and Harley Davidson and in the UK with Ford's Premier Automotive Group (Jaguar/Land Rover/Aston Martin) and others. Ideal candidates will have deep industry experience and knowledge of the competitive landscape and trends within the industry.
    • General Expert/Instructor: Deception & Social Engineering Detection
      We would like to speak with people who have experience training employees of financial institutions in the art of detecting deception/social engineering. Ideal candidates will have a deep background in instruction/teaching these types of techniques and strong empirical data that supports efficacy of their methods.
    • Purchaser/General Expert: Human Resource Information Systems
      We are looking for people who evaluate performance management, talent management, and human resources information systems. Ideal candidates should be familiar with the popular vendors out there such as Success Factors, Taleo and other and be able to discuss advantages and disadvantages of the software and services.
    • General Expert: IT Procurement
      We are interested in speaking with IT procurement professionals about trends they have seen in budgets and spending over the last several months. Ideal candidates will manage IT procurement budgets and make purchasing decisions for their organization.
    • Retail Buyer: Shoes and Footware
      We would like to speak with retail buyers who deal with shoe purchasing. Ideal candidates will be department store shoe buyers or shoe buyers in other retail sectors. We would like to discuss trends in shoe retail and what you think will happen in the industry over the next 6 - 12 months.
    • General Expert: Gaming (Activision)
      We are looking for people who can comment on Activision's outlook over the next 6-12 months. How will games lke Guitar Hero, World of Warcraft, Bond, Starcraft, Diablo and Call of Duty do? What would be expected in terms of subscriber growth? What challenges lie ahead? We'd be interested in talking to someone at a specialty PC maker like Alienware or a video game analyst with experience talking to investment fund managers.
    • Dentists & End Users of Dental Laboratories
      We are conducting a research project on the use of dental laboratories for various products, including crowns and bridges, and removable devices (dentures, cast partials, etc.). In addition to understanding general product usage and procedure trends, we are interested in the impact of new technologies, such as the CEREC system, and of foreign import products on the use of dental labs in the U.S.
    • General Expert: Lawn/Garden Retail (Fertilizer)
      I am interested in learning about recent trends in the fertilizer industry regarding brands, recent consumer demand, and the extent to which consumers are "trading down" from recognized brand name products. Ideal candidate would be a Regional Manager of the Lawn & Garden department of a prominent retail store.