LoyalBlocks Lands $9 Million Led By General Catalyst To Scale Out Its Mobile-Based Loyalty Program
LoyalBlocks, a startup that makes a mobile-focused technology platform for brick-and-mortar businesses looking to encourage customer loyalty, has raised $9 million in new funding. The round, which serves as LoyalBlocks' Series A, was led by General Catalyst Partners with participation from Founder Collective and existing investor Gemini Israel Ventures. This brings the total investment into LoyalBlocks to $12.2 million. As part of the funding, General Catalyst's Adam Valkin, who joined General Catalyst from Accel Ventures late last year, will join LoyalBlocks' board. LoyalBlocks, which is headquartered in New York City and has its engineering operations in Israel, says it will use the new funds to further scale out its operations throughout the United States -- at the moment, it's got a solid foothold with over 1500 locations using the platform, CEO Ido Gayer tells me. The company has a full-time staff of 18 that could also grow with the new funds.
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AWS Launches Certification Program, Shows How Much It Wants Enterprise Customers
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched a certification program to designate people who have the technical skills for building secure and reliable apps using AWS technology. The new Amazon Web Services Global Certification Program is built around the three primary roles for engineering teams delivering cloud-based solutions: Solutions Architect, SysOps Administrator and Developer. Before getting certified, people must pass an exam, which is administered through Kryterion testing centers in more than 100 countries and 750 testing locations. The first certification to be offered is the “AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate Level.” The certificate is designed for solutions architects involved in the design and development of applications on AWS. Later this year AWS will offer certifications for Systems Operations (SysOps) administrators and developers. AWS is slowly and consistently taking steps to build more enterprise business. The certification program exemplifies the need ...
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Location Discovery App Spindle’s New Alerts Anticipates Questions Before They’re Asked
iOS app Spindle just launched Spindle Alerts, which provides customized and timely alerts about events and special deals at each user's favorite places. Co-founder Pat Kinsel told me Spindle Alerts sets itself apart from services like Foursquare Radar by not only recommending nearby places and events to users, but also using the company's search technology to decide how interesting and useful an update will be to them. Spindle constantly monitors social networking updates from businesses and organizations in Boston, San Francisco and New York City, the three cities currently covered by the app.
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