SAP.iO startups were featured at the sustainable startup hour during the GreenTech Festival 2022. Lior Weizman, Director SAP.iO Rising Stars, moderated a panel that featured LiveEO, Footprint Technologies, and Pexapark AG. During this session we learn about how each startup is supporting a sustainable future, and hear about some of the latest things happening right now as SAP.iO.
“How to succeed in the ‘New Era of Data Privacy’?” — it’s a pressing concern for brand leaders around the world. In many ways, third-party cookies were the foundation of the web as we know it today. But that bedrock is giving way, thanks to rising global concern and scrutiny over data protection, stricter governance (GDPR, CCPA, PIPL, LGPD), and the ensuing policy reforms (kicked off by internet giants Apple and Google, who are phasing out cookies). Simultaneously, as noted by Forbes, we’re facing new frontiers with the vast amounts of consumer data generated and the technologies to leverage it. So with the entire industry on shaky ground, what should marketers be doing now?
This exact topic was the focus of a panel I moderated last month, at the Viva Technology conference in Paris. For the session, I was joined by experts Taylor Donnell (Vice President of Content & Partner Marketing at Jebbit) and Kris Dimitroff (Global Head of Technology Partnerships at Emarsys, an SAP company). Following are selected questions and answers from that panel discussion.
[A short background before starting: Jebbit is an SAP partner and SAP.iO Foundry graduate. Jebbit’s solution empowers businesses to securely and transparently collect first- and zero-party data from their customers via interactive quizzes, and it’s integrated with SAP Emarsys and SAP Customer Data Cloud. Emarsys is an industry-leading customer engagement platform trusted by innovative brands across the globe and was acquired by SAP in 2020.]
Taylor, before we jump into challenges, can you please explain what is “Zero-party data”?
Taylor Donnell: We often associate first-party data with consumer’s behavioral and transactional data. What they clicked or swiped-up on, opened, viewed, and purchased. First-party data is incredibly valuable for brands but with it, comes inferences and assumptions. It’s hard to know for sure if a consumer was shopping for themselves. Was that golf club they just bought for themselves or for their dad as a Father’s Day gift? Zero-party data differs from first-party data because it’s explicit. It’s data that’s coming directly from the consumer as they raise their hand and self-declare that these are my interests and preferences.
Zero-party data is important because it gives the user control over the data they share, or don’t share with a business about their preferences, needs, motivations, intentions, and more. They opt-in to engage and share more information about themselves versus all of these things running in the background that are tracking them.
Often, businesses try to collect consumer preference data using traditional survey tools which aren’t all that engaging for consumers, often include too many questions, and are one-way, meaning the brand wants to take inventory of how consumers feel about their brand. This results in low engagement and even lower completion rates.
Taylor, how can Jebbit help brands to “win in the era of consumer-first privacy regulations and changes”?
Taylor Donnell: GDPR and CCPA were the first big changes — requiring businesses to be crystal clear about the data they were collecting and how it was being used, and even giving users the ability to enact their right to be forgotten so that the business didn’t share or sell their data.
And more recently, Apple and Google have made significant changes to protect consumer’s privacy but [at the same time] are impacting bottom-line revenue and market share for businesses and brands.
By using Jebbit, our clients can create beautiful, interactive quizzes and experiences that capture zero-party data at scale and that look/feel like the brand running the experience (without touching a line of code). For example, a retail or beauty brand might create a “Find the right product for you” quiz and embed it right on their homepage. Consumers answer 5-7 questions and get matched to only the most relevant products, based on what they told the brand as they engaged.
We’re experts––with the expertise built into the software––at capturing and sustaining user attention. The proof here being [that] our average experience completion rate is 85% or more. So we have businesses capturing hundreds of millions of these attributes, and some far less but focusing only on the attributes that matter most to power more relevant interactions with their consumers.
This round began in late 2021, and brings Pexapark’s total Series B funding to €14 million, and its total equity investment to €19 million, accelerating its growth in the global renewable energy market. The funding round, formally announced this month, has seen S&P Global Commodity Insights, which includes S&P’s Platts price benchmarks, and Fluence, an energy storage and digital applications leader, join existing Series A and B investors Encavis, RP Global and BayWa re Energy Ventures in backing the fast-growing business.
The Innovation Path at Cloud Wars Expo featured cloud-native startups; judges selected a short-list of five top competitors, and a Cloud Wars Startup of the Year. The overall winner was Wisy.
Wisy is featured on Episode 22 of the Cloud Wars Horizon Minute — a video which features news and commentary hosted by Acceleration Economy analyst Tom Smith. Each episode provides insights into one or more Innovation Accelerators on the Cloud Wars Horizon. This is a special episode focused on the Innovation Path at Cloud Wars Expo and the winner, Wisy, which was profiled previously along with the other participants in the event.
Watch Episode Here…
Crosschq, pioneers of the Talent Intelligence Cloud™ that is powering a revolution in data-driven hiring and people analytics, won a spot on the Cloud Wars Shortlist with unique cloud-based business solutions. Held June 28-30, 2022, in San Francisco during the Cloud Wars Expo, Crosschq was vying for recognition of its ability to solve today’s most pressing universal business challenges.
Through its unique Quality of Hire platform, Crosschq supports the talent acquisition requirements of more than 450 customers, including Snowflake, Box, HubSpot, Palo Alto Networks, GoPuff, Glassdoor, Upwork, DISH, Roblox, Flexport, Cloudflare, Reddit and more.
During the competition, Crosschq’s VP of Customer Success, Kelsey Peterson, delivered a three-minute pitch of its solutions, which was judged by real-world CXO analysts. Participating companies were evaluated on if they optimized the digital future, reimagined business models and their ability to dazzle customers.
Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO of Crosschq, said, “We’re honored to receive this acknowledgment from the Cloud Wars, especially given the impressive roster of competitors. At Crosschq, we’re committed to ensuring our customers can significantly improve their hiring workflows and results through our cloud-based, data-driven solutions. Having our team’s innovation recognized among the best in the industry is really gratifying.”
Digital Nation Australia spoke to Frances Atkins, director and co-founder of givvable about how SAP’s accelerator helped the business to accelerate growth across new markets.
Supplier sustainability data platform givvable has integrated into SAP’s Data Warehouse Cloud Marketplace after completing the corporate’s accelerator program, SAP.iO Foundry.
Digital Nation Australia spoke to Frances Atkins, director and co-founder of givvable about how SAP’s accelerator helped the business to accelerate growth across new markets.
According to Atkins, givvable’s mission to help businesses translate their sustainability targets for procurement and sourcing was aligned to SAP’s recognition of the role of data in the shift to sustainable business.
“If a business has set a science based target, we help them to identify the suppliers in their supply chain who have also set science based targets or have credentials around climate action. For example, they may be climate neutral, certified, or climate positive. Or they’re taking actions to reduce their emissions year on year,” said Atkins.
“When you’re talking about thousands of suppliers and you’re talking about the breadth of sustainability targets, we knew that data was going to inform all of this.”
At SAP.iO, we work with innovative people and new technologies that positively impact our world every day, and we think it’s time to share their stories with you! In our series, “Inspiring Innovators,” we get to hear how founders, CEOs, and presidents of cutting-edge startup technologies overcame, thrived, and pursued their goals. SAP.iO’s Alexa Gorman sat down to discuss the road to success and lessons learned with some of our most inspiring startup founders.
Meet ChrisChris Motley grew up on the South Side of Chicago and was fortunate to be a part of organizations that helped put him on a path to access educational opportunities. That access led to graduation from Columbia University with a B.A. in History, and the Kellogg School of Management, with an MBA in Entrepreneurship. Chris founded a global textile manufacturing business where he spent six years leading its expansion into Ghana, Africa, and building its apparel division.
When we asked Chris about what he wanted to be when he grew up, he smiled and listed all the things he thought he might be, ranging from a basketball player to a judge. The takeaway was that Chris wanted to be the things he was exposed to as a child. What he saw, the people he met, and his connections contributed to his journey and gave him a unique way of looking at the world. He would come to learn how important all this was, and it would guide his future focus and desire to give back.
Previously, Chris spent four years at Goldman Sachs as a Commodities and Interest Rate product trader. Upon reflection on his journey, he thought about what people do when they are not exposed or have access to the same opportunities he was afforded. How do you reach your potential if you are not exposed to opportunities? How does one find support, mentors, and resources to learn about what could be?
When Chris asked these questions, he realized there was a need to provide these resources on a much larger scale. After learning a lot on Wall Street and building a company in Ghana, now was the time to launch Mentor Spaces to address the need in the marketplace for mentorship of underrepresented populations. Mentor Spaces is a venture-backed, community-driven mentorship platform designed to help companies scale DEI efforts while advancing the careers of underrepresented talent. The platform facilitates career conversations between employees and prospective candidates to streamline diverse talent acquisition and retention. This technology allows you to have conversations with people who can help you get where you want to go.
“What I found as we did a tremendous amount of research, in addition to my personal story, was that part of the issue is a lack of confidence among underrepresented populations, and part of that lack of confidence is driven by simply not knowing people and vetted resources that would help. We concluded that mentorship is a good way to build confidence and expand one’s network, and what’s unique about our approach is that we look at mentorship as a strategy that helps our customers accomplish their goals. Most companies have shifted to focus on a strategy around talent attraction, advancement, and retention.”
July 5, 2022 — SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) announced the launch of a new virtual startup program focused on the future of shopping at SAP.iO Foundry Bangalore. Fourteen startups have been selected by a panel of SAP experts, partners, and customers in India to join the cohort. The SAP.iO program is designed to accelerate early-stage B2B startups that can extend SAP’s portfolio and deliver additional innovation to customers.
“With the rising need to build loyalty, large consumer brands are trying to get closer to customers for a personalized shopping experience.” said Ritu Ranade, Vice President for Consumer Products & Life Sciences Industry at SAP Indian Subcontinent. “Within the next 13 weeks, the SAP.iO program offers these select startups the opportunity to start integrating their solutions with relevant SAP products. The goal is to make these solutions available on SAP Store and address our customer’s innovation needs.”
“The need of customers to embark on bold digital transformation initiatives has increased rapidly during the pandemic”, said Alexa Gorman, SVP, SAP.iO. “On this journey, many are turning to SAP.iO to engage with innovative startups that can help make their digital supply chains more resilient or better manage their customer relationships.”
SAP.iO’s growing network of top-tier startup programs enables entrepreneurs to extend SAP’s portfolio with innovative software solutions for SAP customers. Throughout the 13-week program, the startups gain mentorship from SAP executives and leading industry experts, as well as access to SAP® technology, application programming interfaces (APIs), and opportunities to collaborate with SAP customers.
The SAP.iO Foundry Bangalore cohort includes the following startups:
About SAP.iO
SAP.iO delivers new partnerships and products for SAP by accelerating and scaling startup innovation as well as incubating employee ventures. SAP.iO brings together innovators from every region, industry, and line of business to transform how businesses run. Since 2017, SAP.iO has helped 400+ external startups and internal ventures accelerate their growth while enabling thousands of SAP customers to access innovation. For more information, visit http://sap.io/.
April – June 2022 | Achievements & News from SAP.iO Venture Studio
SAP.iO Venture Studio drives a new era of organic growth at SAP. It empowers entrepreneurial teams inside SAP to turn innovative ideas into profitable businesses and invests in these new employee-led ventures who are focused on solving some of the biggest problems in enterprise business processes. SAP.iO Venture Studio helps start and scale new ventures by providing design, development and sales support. Find out more on sap.io/studio.
Brilliant Hire by SAP intelligently matches candidates with a personalized shortlist of jobs on your careers page based on what really matters to them, using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Discover more on this venture on https://www.brillianthire.io/
As a secondary marketplace, the Encore by SAP solution is enabling regenerative business processes and empowering the network members to close the loops and make circular economy a reality. The demand-driven enterprise trading platform provides a simplified way to offer and discover secondary materials and components with integration into back-end procurement or asset management solutions. The platform enables trading of aftermarket components, such as alternators or batteries, and is looking to expand into further areas, such as secondary materials — from aluminum to polyurethane — or production waste and scrap.
Website soon to go live.
Feather by SAP is an end-to-end recommerce solution that support brands and retailers that want to accelerate the shift from linear to circular business by taking ownership over their recommerce activities. Facilitate the in-house business processes, capture data, engage with the shopper, and own the end-to-end product life cycle.
Discover more on this venture on https://www.featherbysap.io/
GreenToken by SAP is a supply chain solution that offers companies new levels of transparency through reliable, blockchain-based information. Gain visibility into where raw materials came from and produce products with knowledge about where and how the materials were produced, even in complex, non-batch supply chains.
Discover more on this venture on https://www.green-token.io/
Paid Promptly by SAP drives cash into your business faster by automating receivable processes. Deliver a seamless, personalized, customer experience through Paid Promptly’s automated communication solution, beginning when an invoice is first released until payment is received.
Discover more on this venture on https://www.paidpromptly.io/
Great sourcing shouldn’t be a secret. Source Agent by SAP gives you the insights and strategies to address spend intelligently and wow your stakeholders. Identify sourcing opportunities by aligning your spend to current market intelligence. Receive a targeted sourcing strategy and supplier recommendations based on your data and requirements for each spend category. Quickly convert strategies and plans into eSourcing event prep and execution.
Discover more on this venture on https://www.sourceagent.io/
Cloud Wars Expo Day Three concluded with a flurry of quick-hit presentations from industry startups on the expo floor’s aptly-named Innovation Stage. An array of services, apps, and tools were presented to a panel of four Acceleration Economy experts, including Cloud Wars Founder Bob Evans. From on-demand spare parts to products designed to streamline and diversify hiring processes, the focus of each presentation aimed to solve one of today’s universal business challenges.
Each presenter was held under a hard cap of just three minutes to present their unique business solutions, with five — Cloudthread, Crosschq, Insite, Najaxa, and Specright — earning their way onto the judges’ designated “short list” and qualifying for $20,000 of additional marketing aid each from the Acceleration Economy platform.
Landit is part of a profile series featuring startups participating in the Innovation Path at Cloud Wars Expo, that took place June 28-30 in San Francisco. several companies on the Cloud Wars Expo Innovation Path have developed software to automate and improve employee recruitment and retention. Landit has a system that’s unique for the level of focus it has taken: It’s designed to increase engagement, retention, and mobility for women and diverse talent populations.
According to Lisa Skeete Tatum, the company’s founder and CEO, these groups are underrepresented when it comes to career growth opportunities — specifically, access to those opportunities and the people who can make them available.
“So many organizations are focused on intake but equally, if not more, important is what happens once people get in the door,” Skeete Tatum says. “Do they stay? Thrive? Progress?”
Landit’s objective is to “democratize and drive performance and career success so that work is working for everyone,” she adds.
The company develops SaaS software and offers personalized career coaching services. It offers both to corporate customers and individuals.
Landit is part of the sap.io startup accelerator program. It has $19 million in venture capital funding and was launched in 2015. Landit is headquartered in New York; the company does not disclose its number of employees.
Ivaldi is part of a profile series featuring startups participating in the Innovation Path at Cloud Wars Expo, that took place June 28-30 in San Francisco. Ivaldi is a software supplier that aims to streamline the spare parts market for heavy industry by sending digital files, not parts, from place to place in response to customer requirements, so they can be produced on demand.
The company says its value proposition in migrating heavy industry to digital is threefold:
“Doing on-demand production of spare parts can reduce the carbon footprint of some parts by 90% compared to ordering from a centralized warehouse across the world.”
Alaina Piland, CFO of Ivaldi
The company concludes the third phase of expansion of SAP Labs in São Leopoldo, Brazil, and announces SAP.iO Foundry, the first initiative in the region to strengthen support for start-ups.
Miami, USA. June 20, 2022 – To celebrate its 50 years of global innovation and 28 years of commitment to the development of Latin American companies, SAP announced two relevant investments to promote innovation further in the region.
The first initiative has to do with the third expansion of SAP Labs Latin America, its innovation, research and development center that has been in operation for 16 years and is located in São Leopoldo, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil. With an investment of 35 million euros, the new unit built in this center will add about 850 people to its campus, reaching a total of 2,000 employees with 20 different nationalities. The expansion will also create 200 indirect jobs.
The São Leopoldo site is the first and only SAP Labs center in Latin America, and one of the company’s 14 in the world, designed to support the growing demand of companies for innovative cloud solutions.
The purpose of SAP Labs is to develop solutions with the highest standards to help organizations address major business challenges, including sustainability programs that enable them to measure the impact of their initiatives, management and control of energy consumption, waste management, producer responsibility policies, and high-capacity cloud management technologies.
“In addition to helping companies in the region on their digital transformation journey, another great contribution of SAP Labs is that it supports them in the design of their sustainability strategies, working with experts from around the world to create agile and powerful technologies that have sustainable drivers at the center of everything,” said Dennison John, president of SAP Labs Latin America.
Furthermore, the company announces the launch of the first SAP.iO Foundry in the region to accelerate start-ups across all lines of business and industries. The accelerator will also be based in São Leopoldo, with a virtual presence throughout the region.
SAP.iO Foundries is the company’s global network of external start-up accelerators with no capital demand. It provides technical and marketing support to help new companies become part of a curated ecosystem: its offerings become easily accessible to SAP customers.
“This launch is a turning point in our commitment to innovation in Latin America,” said Cristina Palmaka, president of SAP Latin America and the Caribbean. “All over the world, SAP.iO Foundries enhance the innovative impact of start-ups, offering expertise and insights, multiplying their chances of success. In a region like ours, with so many entrepreneurs, this new support will make a huge difference.”
The first call to take part in the SAP.iO Foundry will be launched in September 2022 and will focus on one of the most thriving industries in the region: sustainability in agriculture. Start-ups that wish to apply for SAP.iO Foundry can do so here until July 22.
Since its launch in 2017, SAP.iO Foundries have contributed to the acceleration of more than 400 startups around the world through its 10 funds in strategic cities such as San Francisco, New York, Berlin, Munich, Paris, Tel Aviv, Singapore, Tokyo, Bangalore, Shanghai, and now São Leopoldo.
About SAP
SAP’s strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent, sustainable enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people’s lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com, our press room, http://news.sap.com/latinamerica, or follow us on Twitter @SAPNoticiasLAC.
Most product specifications — for the products themselves, their packaging, and other details — are managed in spreadsheets or legacy systems.
This results in data consistency and integrity challenges, access issues, and major efficiency problems. Without easy access to product and packaging data, employees aren’t able to make the quick, accurate decisions that are needed to remain competitive in the Acceleration Economy.
Those are the big issues that Specright took on with the launch of its company in 2015. “From automotive, to aerospace and food packaging, I saw that industries were struggling with inefficiencies that stemmed from a lack of packaging and product data,” says Specright CEO Matthew Wright. “I also realized any data that did exist was typically worthless because it lacked a common nomenclature. Not only was it frustrating, it was bad for business.”
The SpecRight platform is designed to digitize and manage all specification data, from raw materials to ingredients and formulas to packaging and finished goods. By digitizing and linking specifications together, companies create visibility and traceability across their supply chains. Today, more than one million products are in the Specright system, according to the company.
“From automotive, to aerospace and food packaging, I saw that industries were struggling with inefficiencies that stemmed from a lack of packaging and product data. I also realized any data that did exist was typically worthless because it lacked a common nomenclature.”
Matthew Wright, Founder and CEO of Specright
Atlanta food rescue startup Goodr Inc. has raised $8 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, likely the single largest investment round for the 5-year-old company.
As part of the raise, the company also received debt financing from Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc., a community development entity created by economic development agency Invest Atlanta, for $300,000.
