Berlin-based challenger investing and fundraising platform, Neufund, has successfully closed the offering of e-mobility leader, Greyp.

With a minimum investment of just €100, this was the first ever fully-compliant, blockchain-based Initial Public Offering (IPO) accessible to retail investors.

In 2018, they ran an Equity Token Offering campaign, and in March 2019 were included in our list of 10 of Europe’s most promising early-stage blockchain startups.

We have proven that private companies can effectively use blockchain IPOs, whilst lowering the barrier to entry for retail investors.

Neufund is the future of stock exchanges, with a global investor base of 11k from 111 countries and counting,” says Neufund CEO and co-founder, Zoe Adamovicz. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575558006.1932654/Neufund-closes-the-world's-first-blockchain-IPO?ref=audio_experience

Workona, a San Mateo, CA-based provider of a cloud work management platform, raised $6m in seed funding.

Launched in 2017 by Quinn Morgan, Workona provides a cloud based work management platform that allows users to access and manage resources across more than 75 cloud apps from a single unified system.

The platform – initially focused on tab management and workspaces, helping users organize projects, meetings, and workflows in the browser – has already created over a half-million workspaces.

The Find and Create bar enables users to locate or create cloud resources—documents, video calls, calendar events, CRM records, and more.

The platform also includes a tab management feature that lets workers immerse themselves in a single project, or switch easily between projects without fear of losing their place. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575556312.7928376/Workona-Raises-$6M-in-Seed-Funding?ref=audio_experience

What determines a company’s valuation?

The thing is that company valuation is more of an art than a science due to the mix of qualitative and quantitative factors that go into it.

What are some methods that investors use to value companies?

Is it mandatory to calculate a company’s value to fundraise?

Also, if a company raises at higher valuations, the company’s investors will expect a bigger exit and will block a sell if they are not happy with a selling price. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575554407.5097392/What-every-early-stage-founder-needs-to-know-about-valuations?ref=audio_experience

This friction is precisely what Android’s Focus mode aims to solve.

However, it is easy to deactivate Focus mode permanently by hitting Turn Off Now, or momentarily by selecting Take a Break — the latter option allows you to turn off Focus mode for 5, 15, or 30 minutes.

Another new feature that has been introduced for the full launch of Focus mode is scheduling, which allows users to automatically activate or deactivate Focus mode for set times and days.

Of course, you can manually turn Focus mode off if you remember to do so.

Features such as Focus mode could help address the underlying issue without requiring a major commitment. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575552605.9760556/Android’s-Focus-mode-could-be-a-game-changer-for-anyone-struggling-with-constant-distractions?ref=audio_experience

The Reserve Bank of India has increased the lending cap for each individual lender from INR 10 Lakh to INR 50 LakhThe Reserve Bank of India has increased the lending cap for each individual lender from the INR 10 Lakh to INR 50 Lakh.

The announcement, industry experts say, will attract more funding for P2P platforms.

We had been asking the RBI to reconsider the limit on P2P lending since a long time.

New investment limit will attract HNIs to explore P2P lending as a new investment option.

Thanks to RBI, P2P lending sector will celebrate Christmas early this year,” Rajat Gandhi, founder and CEO, Faircent, said in a statement. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575550806.3696818/Lending-Startups-Welcome-RBI-Decision-To-Increase-P2P-Lending-Cap?ref=audio_experience

London-based Ogury, the creator of the first digital marketing engine driven by user choice, announces today raising €45 million, enabling the company to accelerate its product innovation and customer growth across the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Ogury is a mobile marketing technology company founded in 2014, in Islington, North London.

So, how do they plan to make digital marketing trusted again?

Ogury’s marketing engine helps organizations engage their users with ‘tailored brand experiences’, while allowing those same users to make transparent, informed, and fair choices around how, when, and why their data is collected.

The new investment will accelerate Ogury’s growth in the US, a key market for the company since 2016, and support Ogury’s expansion in new international markets. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575549006.6463773/Ogury,-the-first-‘user-driven’-marketing-engine,-raises-over-€45-million-to-accelerate-expansion-in-EU,-US-and-APAC?ref=audio_experience

Andy Jassy, the CEO of AWS, has helped his company scale new heights.

On the sidelines of AWS re:Invent 2019, the massive annual Amazon Web Services cloud computing conference held in Las Vegas, Andy Jassy met select media and spoke about what was on his mind: AWS, its work with Goldman Sachs and Cerner Corporation, Trump’s anti-Amazon stance, and the future of 5G.

Edited excerpts of the interview:YourStory: The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud computing contract went to Microsoft.

Quantum computing is the future and we have services for that.

The AWS Center for Quantum Computing, a research centre adjacent to the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), will bring together the world’s leading quantum computing researchers and engineers to accelerate the development of quantum computing hardware and software. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575547205.864412/AWS-CEO-Andy-Jassy-gives-his-take-on-Trump's-disdain-for-Amazon-and-why-cloud-is-the-future?ref=audio_experience

But there’s a good chance nobody will know about it … unless you spend time, money, and effort marketing your product.

How to Improve Your Marketing Communications StrategyTo help you out, I’ve compiled four ways you can sell your product in 2020 by improving your marketing communications strategy through targeted messaging, PR, mediums, and channels.

Brisson compiled some of the best sample text messages templates their customers send to their customers on his blog recently.

And email marketing still works!

According to DMA, for every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $32. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575545411.780085/4-Ways-to-Improve-Your-Marketing-Communications-Strategy-in-2020?ref=audio_experience

NEW DELHI: There is some great news for the around 100,000 web professionals in India.

According to a report the digital presence opportunity for them is $650-750 million.

The report estimates that the opportunity for web professionals in mobile and web applications is the most significant.

The report is titled “The Web Pro Ecosystem: The Catalysts to Unlocking India’s Digital Dividend”.The report provides an overview of the current digital transformation underway amongst small & micro businesses and the opportunities it opens up for web professionals, said a release.

Web professionals collectively include web designers, developers, digital agencies, IT service providers and any business that helps other businesses get an online presence. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575543621.2269666/$650-750-million-digital-presence-opportunity-for-India’s-web-pros?ref=audio_experience

The Healthtech Times is a weekly newsletter covering healthtech news from Canada and around the globe.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY:Mavencare, a technology company aiming to connect seniors to home healthcare services, has launched a digital portal to provide access to patient data.

Healthtech startup OrbCare has officially filed for bankruptcy after the startup failed to find a buyer during an auction process that took place in September.

Post this round, the total funding raised by Zumutor Biologics stands at around $20 million.

Medical technology startup NERv Technology has taken the top prize in an international entrepreneurial competition. | To read full story, visit https://startuparound.com/read/1575541805.0371847/T:-The-Healthtech-Times---A-portal-to-patient-data?ref=audio_experience