Summersalt, a St. Louis based direct-to-consumer travelwear brand, raised $17.3M in Series B funding.

The company intends to use the funds to expand into additional apparel categories following its entry in the swimwear category and recent travelwear launch.

Launched in May 2017 and led by Lori Coulter, CEO and President, Reshma Chattaram Chamberlin, Chief Brand and Digital Officer, Summersalt is a direct-to-consumer brand providing swimwear, travelwear, sleepwear and activewear.

The company started launching swimsuits and then expanded to other categories with current products including travel essentials such as suitcases, cashmere sets, packable jackets and wrinkle-free pants.

Summersalt will also focus on building out their travel content platform, The Forecast, which aims to build and inspire female travelers. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1576938627.6506898/Summersalt-Secures-$17.3M-in-Series-B-Funding?ref=audio_experience

SMB LENDING REPORT: How alt lenders are providing SMBs with new funding options, and the ways incumbents can respond to stay ahead | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1576936840.9441206/2019-was-the-year-of-normal-businesses-masquerading-as-tech-companies.-Here's-how-one-VC-thinks-2020-will-be-different.?ref=audio_experience

When you’re in the room with an investor, you only have one chance to pitch your business and pique their interest.

Investors consider the long term growth of your business and, therefore, will look at the bigger picture of your brand — which is comprised of various elements.

The reality is that your slide deck is the backbone of your pitch.

Set your business apart from the rest by presenting your pitch with personality — be personable and let your quirks show.

This way, investors can put faces to the work done and can better understand the community your business is building both internally and externally. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1576935016.3849258/What-Investors-Look-For-In-A-Pitch-Deck?ref=audio_experience

As a small business owner, you can take some early steps to ensure that your business survives its first year and reaches its potential by growing into a thriving enterprise.

These tips can help your small business stay cash flow positive:1.

Control Your ExpendituresAs a small business owner, it’s important to keep your expenditures in control, especially when your margins are razor-thin.

While it’s exciting to start a small business, it’s also easy to run into financial hurdles.

By following these four tips, your business can improve its cash flow and increase its chances of becoming a successful enterprise. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1576933225.4647949/4-Tips-That-Can-Help-Your-Small-Business-Stay-Cash-Flow-Positive?ref=audio_experience

iOS devices may not have been subjected to the breachMicroblogging website Twitter, on December 21, admitted that a malicious code was inserted into its mobile-app that may have compromised some user’s information.

Twitter has also dropped in an email to the users urging them to update the android application.

The company noted that the potentially malicious code does not affect Apple’s operating system, iOS.

The email read “ We recently fixed an issue that could have compromised your [users] account.

Although we [Twitter] don’t have evidence that this was exploited, we can’t confirm so we are letting you know.”In the blog post, Twitter specified that the malicious code allowed hackers to access non-public information — direct messages and locations — and control users’ accounts. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1576931406.1055813/Your-Personal-Messages-May-Have-Been-Read:-Twitter-Tells-Users?ref=audio_experience

Sunil was in the US for about 13 years and moved to Mumbai to join Network18.

The CleverTap team enables brands to convert, engage, retain, and grow their mobile user base.

The idea for customer lifecycle management platform CleverTap developed over time, but the real reason for the three to join hands and start up was because the “work was too slow” and they “stopped having fun’ at their corporate jobs.

The customer lifecycle and user retention platform at CleverTap leverages machine learning (ML) to offer a robust engagement suite that enables brands to convert, engage, retain, and grow their mobile user base.

Sunil said, “The biggest light bulb moment was that no one, no company was taking a holistic view of solving the user retention problem. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1576930350.9262714/[The-Turning-Point]-Bored-with-the-corporate-life,-these-3-techies-started-CleverTap-to-solve-the-user-retenti?ref=audio_experience

This is why building a robust and scalable tech product is challenging for them, points out Ritesh Modi, Startup Mentor and Regional Director and Regional Lead, Microsoft Certified Trainers.

He says, “The two other big challenges that tech startups face is marketing their products and ensuring that their scale is global.

Because, it’s mostly an afterthought.”What startups require is a technology partner who can bring scalability to the application, as well as the business.

Explaining this further, he says, “Startups need a technology partner who can guide them with the right architecture, design and implementation, and help build a robust product.

Ritesh says, “Microsoft provides the technology support they need to deploy their application. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1576927807.243922/Hear-from-Ritesh-Modi,-Startup-Mentor,-on-how-startups-can-get-started-on-their-tech-journey-with-Microsoft?ref=audio_experience

In India alone, the used phones market is worth $10 billion, with device upgrade cycles becoming shorter by the day.

There are, of course, large used goods marketplaces like OLX, Quikr, and even Flipkart-owned 2GUD that allow consumers to take part in second-hand buying and selling.

But, Cashmen is an app that allows you to sell used mobile phones and tablets in exchange for instant cash from your doorstep.

In 2019 alone, 34 of LetsVenture's startups raised follow-on rounds, including Sugar Cosmetics, FleetX, Yulu, Khatabook, Medtrail, Sattviko, Trell, Original4Sure, MCaffeine, ClassPlus, myHQ, Meddo, Henry & Smith, Niki, Little Black Book, and Purple Style Labs.

He will be responsible for leading OYO LIFE, OYO Townhouse, Collection O, SilverKey, and OYO Home in the country. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1576926741.0964851/Sell-your-used-phones-from-your-doorstep-(and-other-top-stories-of-the-day)?ref=audio_experience

Indian multinational corporation Wipro, in collaboration with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), will be setting up a platform to train students in emerging technologies — artificial intelligence (AI), data science, internet of things (IoT) and cyber securities.

The platform, set up by Wipro and Nasscom, will be looking to train 10K students from over 20 engineering colleges in India.

With this platform, the duo wants to build a talent pool of students certified by Wipro and Nasscom and provide them with greater job opportunities.

Just three months ago in September, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur tied up with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to build an AI-related resource platform — National Artificial Intelligence Resource Portal (NAIRP).

The government wants to ensure that it has a record of skill development in Indian across the sectors, gender, social, and geographic landscape. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1576924209.0707932/Wipro,-Nasscom-Collaborate-To-Skill-Indian-Students-In-AI,-IoT?ref=audio_experience

According to a report in The Print, the HRD Ministry has asked the educational institutions to monitor the Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp profiles of students and teachers to keep the government updated about the activities happening on the campuses.

The report also stated that the government has sent the order to registrars and vice-chancellors of central universities and technical institutions — Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institutes of Management and the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), among others.

The government has also reportedly informed the administration of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Jamia Milia Islamia, Banaras Hindu University (BHU), and Delhi University, where the students are holding several protests against the CAA.

Similarly, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) have been asked not to take part in the protests as it is a government-funded institute.

The protests against the Citizen Amendment Act is not just limited to educational institutions but has spread all across the country. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1576922407.8533247/Govt-Asks-Universities-To-Track-Students’-Social-Media-Amid-CAA-Protests?ref=audio_experience