Lars Schmidt, Managing Director, Consumer Goods, Southeast Asia and India, Swarovski, started his career in the automotive industry with BMW.

He was more interested in retail sales than auto sales, and hence decided to do an MBA in Retail Management from University of Düsseldorf.

In 2012, Lars moved to Singapore and joined Porsche’s offshoot - Porsche Design, and handled their sales from Asia-Pacific region.

Lars Schmidt, Managing Director, Swarovski, Consumer Goods Business, Southeast Asia and IndiaYS: What is your role at Swarovski?

What we do realise from our online sales is that a lot of our sales is going to remote and smaller areas where we don’t have any offline presence, especially in Tier II and Tier III cities. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581037206.2873163/A-lot-of-our-online-sales-is-going-to-Tier-II-and-Tier-III-cities,-says-Swarovski's-Lars-Schmidt?ref=audio_experience

The app, Resso, is still in beta mode, and was made available to select users in December 2019.

It blends music streaming, social networking, and user-generated content on a single platform.

Resso is a music streaming app that lets you express yourself and connect with others through tracks you love and the ones you'll soon discover.”Let’s find out if Resso delivers on its promise.

Resso also displays real-time lyrics of the songs that are playing, something no other music streaming app provides.

Why Resso stands outResso marries the two very familiar ecosystems of music streaming and social networking, and still manages to offer something entirely fresh and engaging. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581035406.8571649/Why-TikTok-maker-ByteDance’s-music-streaming-app-stands-out-in-a-competitive-market?ref=audio_experience

Bitso—a Mexican cryptocurrency exchange platform—is going to the Southern Cone and setting up shop (metaphorically and literally) in Argentina.

The peculiar mix of bad economic news and stable financial institutions has created a perfect storm for crypto in Argentina, and Bitso is keen to jump on the bandwagon.

Secondly, we are looking to help the local industry’s process towards maturity.”Argentina stands for free-flowing currencyIndeed, Argentina is a funny place regarding crypto.

The Bitso press release indeed pointed this out as a difference in Argentinian crypto behavior versus other Latin American markets:“What makes Argentineans stand out is their particular use of digital currency.

Also, the Bitso team is truly betting hard on Argentina. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581033608.3751287/Mexico’s-Bitso-cryptocurrency-exchange-crosses-into-Argentina?ref=audio_experience

Tweet LOS ANGELES, CA, SureSale, the first and only certification-as-a-service platform to create a consistent, high-quality standard for used vehicles, today closed $7 million in Series A funding.

As new car costs skyrocket, consumers have shifted their attention to quality used vehicles.

The SureSale platform provides vehicle history data, mobile vehicle inspections, and VIN specific data, including recalls, as well as current warranty coverages, available coverages and detailed purchase protection.

Each vehicle that uses the SureSale platform also benefits from VIN level digital marketing and point of sale merchandising support.

SureSale's iconic spokesperson, 'Shirley,' gives used vehicle buyers peace of mind when buying a SureSale Certified vehicle. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581031807.4518623/SureSale-Raises-$7M-Series-A?ref=audio_experience

A top executive at Lenovo said people laughed when it bought IBM's PC business.

15 years later, it's paved the way for the Chinese tech giant's next big thing. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581030007.1739593/LA-startup-FloQast-raised-$40-million-with-this-pitch-deck-that-shows-how-even-accounting-software-can-inspire-passion?ref=audio_experience

Billionaire Citadel founder Ken Griffin says the US has a 'false sense of security' about being the world's tech powerhouse and that the ban on China's Huawei will be a 'real setback' | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581028208.203871/A-cause-of-death-has-been-identified-in-the-case-of-the-33-year-old-tech-founder-who-went-to-Silicon-Valley-on-business-and-was-found-dead-in-her-car-a-week-later?ref=audio_experience

As its first “Smart Locker,” or self-service locker for picking up packages, has already been installed in Brazil.

Related article: The thriving Brazilian e-commerce marketLogistics and smart lockersIlan Shatz, Francisco Terrientes, and Jorge Segares launched Boxit in 2015 as a solution for e-commerce businesses.

Unlike other logitechs that use partnering couriers to complete the delivery, this startup sets up “Smart Lockers.”Here’s how they work.

To receive their goods, rather than waiting for a messenger to deliver it, on the platform they request it be delivered and stored in one of Boxit’s Smart Lockers.

Or, if they can pay in cash where the startup’s lockers can be found. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581026407.1817544/Logistics-startup,-Boxit,-raises-undisclosed-investment,-expands-to-Brazil?ref=audio_experience

As D2C mattress company Casper makes its public markets debut, we analyze the company's top stakeholders and how much their shares are worth.

Start your free trial today EmailDirect-to-consumer mattress unicorn Casper is going public.

The company was last valued at $1.1B, when it reached unicorn status following a $100M Series D in March 2019.

At a $12 share price, Casper would have a market value of less than half that.

Norwest Venture Partners has participated most frequently of the top investors, backing all 5 of Casper’s equity funding events. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581024606.9233708/As-Mattress-Unicorn-Casper-Goes-Public,-Here-Are-The-Stakeholders-That-Stand-To-Gain-—-Or-Lose-—-The-Most?ref=audio_experience

Tweet SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Home valuation fintech pioneer HouseCanary today announced it has closed a $65 million growth funding round.

To export HouseCanary funding data to PDF and Excel, clickClick here for more funding data on HouseCanaryTo export HouseCanary funding data to PDF and Excel, click here The round was led by Morpheus Ventures, Alpha Edison, and PSP Growth.

By working directly with institutional investors, HouseCanary already powers more than $200 million in real estate transactions each month.

"Through their proven software and data driven technology HouseCanary is streamlining real estate transactions and changing the future of the industry."

About HouseCanary:Founded in 2013, valuation-focused real estate brokerage HouseCanary provides software and services to reshape the real estate marketplace. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581022808.424366/HouseCanary-Grabs-$65M-Growth-Round?ref=audio_experience

Landing, a San Francisco, CA-based company offering a flexible leasing membership for long-term living, secured $30M in new funding.

This included a $20M Series A led by Greycroft with participation by Maveron and Abstract Ventures, alongside a $10M debt facility.

The company, which has raised $45M in total funding, intends to use the funds to continue its expansion to additional U.S. markets and beyond this year.

Founded in 2019 by Bill Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Landing operates a network of finished urban apartments to offer members an all-inclusive, flexible living experience.

Members have access to Landing’s studios, one, and two-bedroom apartments with an on-call concierge service and a host of additional amenities from bespoke furniture to kitchens stocked with essentials and an on-call concierge service. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1581021007.62026/Landing-Raises-$30M-in-Funding?ref=audio_experience