TRUEMAX was established in 2003 for purpose of manufacturing concrete & construction machineries in Hangzhou, China. Within several years of sustainable development, we became an integrated company with all significant divisions and strategic business units including research and development, production, operation and logistics as well as international business development. Furthermore, we have established several alliances with global famous general contractors in order to supply machineries for huge construction projects across the globe.
TRUEMAX has its own professional R&D team that cooperates with top ranking technology providers from Germany, Italy and other high-tech countries.
Since different markets need special adjustments and modification in products, it is our completive advantage to design and produce customized machineries according to the specified demands of our customers all around the world.
In order to provide better training and after sales services to our honorable customers, we have established more than 30 regional offices in China and other countries. TRUEMAX machinery and equipment are exported to more than 120 countries, with the reliable quality, competitive price, professional and fast services.
TRUEMAX has achieved several honors including, but not excluded to "Hangzhou Famous Export Brand", "Zhejiang Famous Export Brand", "Hangzhou High-tech Enterprise", etc.
In TRUEMAX, everyone is committed to this motto: “Quality Always Comes First!”.
With cordial faith on development of intellectual properties and human resources, we focus on continues learning and growth .TUREMAX is rapidly moving toward excellence and integrity management. We sincerely invite and welcome people from all around the world to invest and create more values together.


Returns of orders should be sent to the industrial address of CJMSport-Alpcross S.L.U., located in PI La Isla, Río Viejo, 81, 41703, Dos Hermanas, Seville, Spain. Alpcross Components’ return policy allows you to return products in case you are not satisfied with your purchase up to 14 days from the date of receipt of the product.
Products must be returned in the same condition in which you received them: unused, complete and in their original packaging.
You can request the exchange of the product for another or request a refund, in both cases The customer will be responsible for the costs of the return shipping.
To request the return of the product you must contact us through of orders @alpcrosscomponents and we will tell you how to proceed.
Alpcross Components undertakes to refund the full amount or exchange product, also in the following cases:
• Warranties: Alpcross Components products have a two-year warranty from the date of receipt. Once this time has elapsed, we won’t accept product returns. Alpcross Components is committed to refunding the cost of return shipping if the product is found to be defective and replace it with a new one.
• Product damaged during shipping: If you receive a product damaged during the shipment, you must inform us as soon as possible to manage the return of the product. Alpcross Components is committed to replacing and send the product without any cost.
• Wrong product: If you receive a product that is not the one you bought, from Alpcross Components we are committed to picking up the product wrong without any cost and to send you the correct product to the highest brevity. To report the error and request the collection and delivery of the product correct you have a period of 15 days.
The amounts paid for those products that are returned due to any tare or defect, when it really exists, will be fully reimbursed to the User. The refund will be made in the same means of payment that was used to pay the purchase. The rights recognized by current legislation remain safe.
Alpcross Components is obliged to deliver the products purchased by the User, at the buyer’s address indicated for this purpose in the order form. In any case, it will be understood that the consumer-user has known the right of withdrawal from the entry into the Portal, which requires the reading and acceptance of these General Conditions, and at any time from when the order is placed.
Alpcross Components is fitted with a unified delivery policy:


Radhey Impex Private Limited was incorporated on July 27, 2004 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The company was formed with the initial intention of being in the trade of import and export of merchant items. Along with trading in commodities, the company has been active in the Realty Industry in India since its inception in 2004. In pursuance with the company’s philosophy of growth, we are putting up a state-of-the-art, 7 MT per 8 hour shift Welding Electrode manufacturing facility. Commercial production commenced in October 2020.
Extending the human values of the promoters, the company would be the best in what it does without compromising any of the core values of ethics, honesty, integrity, quality and loyalty towards its customers, vendors, shareholders, employees and all the stakeholders involved with the company at any point of time.
To be amongst the top in the sphere of activity that the company is involved in by hiring the best of personnel, employing optimum resources and by being environmentally sensitive. Top-of-the-class customer service and utmost customer satisfaction would serve as the guiding lights of the company at all times.
The company owns 81,000 square feet Industrial land in Changodar - a prime Industrial area just 15 Km away from high street Ahmedabad. The welding electrode manufacturing facility (Stick electrode and TIG wire) is coming up on this land. Machines have been sourced from respective leaders – Wire Drawing machine from Assomac Machines Ltd., Ghaziabad and Electrode Plant from Omega Weldrod Systems, Coimbatore. Initially we plan on manufacturing MS, SS and CI electrodes along with TIG wire and subsequently add MIG wire in the second phase within a year.
We are an ISO 9001:2015 company and we eagerly intend to get approvals of our products from various departments like Bureau of Indian Standards, Bureau Veritas, IBR, Lloyds Register, RDSO (Research Design Standards Organization - Indian Railways), IRS, BHEL, NSCIL, PGCIL, etc.
B.A., LL. B. - Chairman
B.Tech. (Construction Technology and Management) M.S. (Industrial Engg.) – Managing Director
B.E. (Chemical) – C.E.O.


An annuity is a contract with a life insurance company. You deposit a lump sum of money, and they agree to pay you a guaranteed income for a set period of time — or for the rest of your life. Annuities are most commonly used to generate retirement income.
Your annuity income is calculated when you buy the annuity. It is affected by a number of factors — the most important are interest rates and how long you’re expected to live.
A term certain annuity gives you a guaranteed regular income for a set number of years (the term). Term-certain annuities bought with money from an RRSP or RRIF must extend to age 90. If you die before the end of the term, your payments will continue to go to your estate.
A life annuity gives you a guaranteed regular income for life. Payments usually stop when you die, and no money will go to your estate. You may choose to add an option that allows your spouse, beneficiary or estate to continue to receive your payments after your death.
Once you buy an annuity, your regular payments are locked in. You can’t change them for any reason. It’s worth shopping around to compare annuity rates.
Learn more about annuities at GetSmarterAboutMoney.ca


Not just because of the need we see, but because we believe what we have is from God and for His purposes. Your tithes & offerings are a strategic investment in true riches (Luke 16:9), what moth and rust can not destroy.
Current Silicon Valley is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) exempt organization and all gifts are tax deductible. We commit to our givers faithful stewardship, clear accounting, and both internal and external accountability structures.
You can set up a one-time or recurring online gift with ACH bank transfer, credit card, or debit card below. Credit and debit card transactions incur 2-3% transaction fees which can add up quickly for Current SV. Thus, ACH bank transfer is Current SV’s preferred method of online giving, as it allows more of your donation to be used for ministry.
Please make checks out to “Current SV”—you can bring them to our Sunday gatherings or send to:
Current SV, PO Box 70518
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
For instructions on giving by stock, please click HERE


Processing space for food entrepreneurs and so much more.
Food Works is a 28,000 sq. ft. space for food entrepreneurs, a new and important component of the Island’s food economy. Food Works is a 28,000 sq. ft. processing space for food entrepreneurs, making it one of the largest food scale-up facilities in the country. Food Works offers companies dedicated space to produce, store, and distribute their products to customers across the country and internationally.
Food Works has spaces ranging from 1,000 – 9,000 square feet. Each unit consists of dedicated food grade approved processing space with flexible utility hook-ups for equipment, storage, and loading docks. Additional features vary depending on the unit. You can also access common areas.
In addition to the production space, Food Works provides mentoring, advice, access to industry experts, and a community of like-minded food entrepreneurs—all of which will help you grow and thrive.


Congestion in Congress created by major legislative issues has President Donald Trump’s proposed $1 trillion infrastructure plan stuck in traffic. Much to the dismay of state and local officials, few details of the plan have been released, other than that the President has promised an infusion of $1 trillion in both public and private funds to help repair and replace aging infrastructure needs nationwide.
However, Trump this week held a private meeting with his infrastructure team, at which time he emphasized the importance of directing funding to states with “shovel-ready” jobs, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper quoted Trump as saying money would be allocated to states that “can prove that they can be ready, willing and able” to begin projects quickly, and suggested a startup time of 90 days from the time an allocation is approved.
The Journal, the only media outlet invited to the meeting, also reported that a White House aide said movement on the Trump infrastructure plan is not likely to occur until after Congress has completed its work on two other major issues – health care and reforming the federal tax code.
Trump’s infrastructure plan, according to the Journal, “would pressure states to streamline local permitting, favor renovation of existing roads and highways over new construction and prioritize projects that can quickly begin construction.”
While public-private partnerships have been on the table from the outset as a means of funding infrastructure projects through Trump’s plan, a Trump aide also confirmed to the Journal that $200 billion in expected repatriated cash is also a possible funding source. Trump initially announced that he would support tax credits to encourage private investment in projects. At the meeting this week, conversation also continued regarding improving and speeding the regulatory processes related to infrastructure development and redevelopment.
Among the attendees at the meeting with Trump were Vice President Mike Pence, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt. A number of private-sector executives representing the real estate, financial, energy and other industries also attended, including real estate mogul Steven Roth and Richard LeFrak, an expert in real estate, energy sector and other sectors of the economy. The two are heading up Trump’s initiative on infrastructure.
The state of the nation’s infrastructure continues to decline and the longer the wait to invest in improvements, the higher the price tag will be. This week’s infrastructure meeting is a good first step, but conversations need to be elevated to top priority status to put Americans to work on projects that will affect both state and local economies and allow the U.S. to remain globally competitive.


News & Events
MILWAUKEE, WI - Zurn Industries, LLC announces its acquisition of StainlessDrains.com. The acquired company is located in Greenville, TX and employs over 30 professionals.
Founded two decades ago, StainlessSteel.com manufactures highly specialized stainless steel drains for industries focused in food service, food and beverage production, retail, chemical, commercial, and amusement parks. With food and beverage being one of the primary markets, the 304 or 316 stainless steel drains meet U.S. FDA standards and are designed to protect against bacteria, contamination, and corrosion.
“We’re experts in drainage,” said Mike Hynes, Zurn Director of Product Management. “Our company supports product lines that complement what we offer and meet what our customers are asking for. StainlessDrains.com delivers the same expected benefits of ease of installation for the contractor and long-lasting performance for the building owner in dedicated markets. We look forward to adding to our team, our portfolio, and our innovation.”
Zurn is working on an integration plan and will begin rolling out the product line to customers this year. The domestic manufacturing location will shorten lead times for orders.


Nintendo is going to release Super Mario Run this Thursday, 22nd December 2016. Nintendo plans to release the game for iPhone users and make it available in up to 151 countries worldwide. The game will also be soon available for the android users at a later date. This is Nintendo’s most iconic plumber character’s debut into the world of mobile gaming. Nintendo plans to compete with the on-going craze of Pokemon go and grab the mobile gamers with Super Mario Run. The critics believe that a $10 price tag on the game to buy full version of the game might make some potential gamers to be scared away and the fact that android users will not be able to get the game until a later date might make it tough for the game to be strong competition for Pokemon Go which is available to all and free.


The wedding budget is often the most stressful part of wedding planning, but it doesn’t have to be. Don’t make the mistake of thinking some pre-wedding accounting isn’t for you. Whether you are on a tight budget or shooting for the stars, it’s smart to come up with a definitive financing plan. Host Jen from JL Original Designs and Cosmo from Cosmo Losco Films walk you through the important steps to building the perfect budget and how to stick to it so you don't go wedding poor when the big day is all said and done. Plus, when building a budget you always want to find ways to save money, so we've got the essential money saving tips so you can celebrate more and while keeping more cash in your pocket.


Jun 25, 2010
Firebird Resources Inc. Announces Execution of Option Agreement
VANCOUVER, British Columbia/June 25, 2010/ -- Firebird Resources Inc. ("Firebird" or the "Company") announced today that it has entered into an option agreement (the "Option Agreement") dated June 24, 2010 (the "Effective Date") with Pageland Minerals Ltd., a private Nevada corporation ("Pageland"), to acquire up to a 100% interest in certain mineral leases held by Pageland within the Counties of Lancaster and Chesterfield in the State of South Carolina (the "Mineral Leases"). The Mineral Leases consist of twenty separate mineral leases constituting a total area of approximately 2000 acres over three prospective gold properties, being the Buzzard, Jefferson and Belk properties.
Pursuant to the Option Agreement, the Company has the option to acquire up to a 70% interest in the Mineral Leases by issuing, on or before the first anniversary of the Effective Date, common shares of the Company with a market value of $4.8 million (subject to a maximum share issuance equal to fifty (50%) percent of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company), such market value to be calculated over the preceding five trading days, and by making a cash payment to Pageland in the amount of $1.5 million on or before fourteen months from the Effective Date. Additionally, the Company must incur $1 million of exploration and development expenditures on the properties (the "Properties") underlying the Mineral Leases before the first anniversary of the Effective Date, and incur a further $1 million of expenditures in respect of the Properties before the second anniversary of the Effective Date. The Option Agreement provides that Firebird may acquire the remaining 30% interest in the Mineral Leases by making an additional cash payment to Pageland of $1 million before the second anniversary of the Effective Date and incurring $2 million of additional expenditures in respect of the properties underlying the Mineral Leases before the third anniversary of the Effective Date.
The Option Agreement is subject to customary conditions. In accordance with the Option Agreement, the Company will progress into the due diligence phase of the Option Agreement, which is scheduled to be completed within 45 days. The Option Agreement also remains subject to receipt of approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.
The State of South Carolina has a long history of gold and mineral exploration since the 1800's and hosted several gold mines, including Brewer (in the County of Chesterfield), Haile (in the County of Lancaster), Ridgeway and Barite Hill along the area known as the Carolina Slate Belt.
The Buzzard and Jefferson gold projects were last explored in the mid 1990's with positive drill results, but no historic resource defined. These two projects are part of the Haile-Brewer structural trend of gold mineralization. The Haile mine, currently being drilled by Romarco Minerals Inc., lies approximately ten kilometers southwest of the Buzzard project. The Brewer gold mine is an historic gold mine that was put back into production in the 1980's and early 1990's. The mine produced an estimated 400,000 ounces of gold from oxide and sulfide ore.
The Belk trend is an east-west mineralized structural and alteration trend north of the Haile-Brewer trend. An historic resource was defined by the Brewer gold mine at Belk and a mining permit was received from the state of South Carolina to mine the Belk deposit for processing at the Brewer mine.
For further information, please contact:
Thomas R. Tough, P. Eng., President
Firebird is a mineral exploration company whose long term objective is to build a diversified company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties.
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of management with respect to performance, business and future events, including but not limited to express or implied statements and assumptions regarding the Company's intention to exercise the option referred to herein, the suitability of the properties for mineral exploration, the mineral content of the properties, the potential for recoverability of mineral from the properties on economically practical terms, the outcome of the Company's due diligence review and the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the industry and markets in which the Company operates. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, that the Company will choose not exercise the option and those risks relating to changes in the market, potential downturns in economic conditions, fluctuations in the price and supply of raw materials, equipment and skilled labour, fluctuations in the market price of minerals, foreign exchange fluctuations, regulatory requirements and changes thereto, competition, and other risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's public filings. These risks, as well as others, could cause actual results and events to vary significantly. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.


Are you tired of struggling to make ends meet every month? Do you dream of earning enough money to enjoy the life you want? Well, we’re here to help! We’ve compiled a list of practical tips and tricks that can help you earn a lot of money quickly and start living your dream life.
Be creative and unconventional
To make a lot of money quickly, the initial step is to think creatively and beyond the conventional. You must brainstorm unique ideas that help you differentiate yourself from others. It could involve establishing your own business, working as a freelancer, or identifying an untapped market niche.
Put Time, Effort, and Resources into Developing Yourself.
Making an investment in yourself can be a surefire way to earn a lot of money in a short amount of time. By expanding your skill set or pursuing a degree, you can open up new opportunities for higher-paying jobs. In addition, prioritizing your physical and mental well-being can help you excel in your current career or give you a boost when starting your own business.
Seek Out a Supporter
Connecting with a supporter is an excellent strategy to gain valuable insights from someone who has already accomplished what you aspire to achieve. Your supporter can provide you with guidance, and advice, and help you sidestep the common pitfalls that could impede your progress. When searching for a supporter, seek someone who has experience in your field of interest, and does not hesitate to request assistance.
Building a strong network is essential for fast and effective money-making. Connecting with people who can assist you in achieving your objectives, such as landing a job or launching a business, is vital. Attending networking events, participating in online groups, and communicating with industry professionals can all help you establish beneficial connections.
Be Willing to Take Risks
Making a lot of money quickly often involves taking risks. To achieve success, you must be willing to step outside of your comfort zone and try new things. This may involve starting your own business, investing in the stock market, or pursuing a higher-paying job opportunity. Remember, taking calculated risks can lead to significant rewards.
Consistency is crucial in achieving quick financial success. It’s important to stay persistent and not give up when faced with challenges. Set clear goals for yourself and work diligently towards achieving them on a daily basis.
Set Aside Money for Savings and Investments
If you want to increase your wealth in the long term, saving and investing are essential. Start by creating a budget and committing to it. Make it a priority to save and invest as much as you can. Over time, your wealth will grow and you’ll have a better financial future.
Look for Great Opportunities
There are ample opportunities available if you know how to find them. Be on the lookout for new possibilities, such as job openings, innovative business concepts, or investment prospects. If something feels right, don’t hesitate to take a risk.
In conclusion, there are numerous efficient and proven ways to earn money quickly. You can increase your income and achieve financial freedom by following the methods and strategies mentioned above, such as investing in yourself, networking, taking risks, being consistent, and saving and investing. However, it’s important to keep in mind that success doesn’t happen overnight and requires hard work, dedication, and persistence. With the right mindset and a willingness to put in the effort, you can achieve your financial goals and build a prosperous future.


Since our founding in 2012, For Richmond has made significant strides connecting Richmond residents to job, health, safety and educational opportunities.
However, there’s one area where we’ve made a particularly strong impact: jobs.
Over the last four years, For Richmond placed more than 1,500 Richmond residents into construction trade and non-construction trade careers.
How did we do it?
Our success serving Richmond residents in the jobs sector is attributable to a multipronged approach that encompasses program initiatives, advocacy and outreach.
A key part of our jobs-related work includes helping residents remove the barriers that stand in the way of them obtaining meaningful employment through our Job Barrier Removal Program.
Under the program’s umbrella, we host a free Pre-Apprentice Test Prep Class twice annually that helps Richmond residents brush up on their math skills and prepare to enter a local construction trade apprenticeship program. With some perseverance, the end result can be a promising, lifelong career as a plumber, welder, electrician and/or steamfitter.
Residents who have passed through our Job Barrier Removal Program have eventually been placed in roles in the construction trades at East Bay companies such as Overaa Construction, Kiewit, Performance Contracting Inc. (PCI) and nearby refineries such as Chevron Richmond, ConocoPhillips Company, Shell Oil, Tesoro Corp. and Valero Energy Corp.
Our placements include work on large-scale construction projects currently underway in our own backyard such as the Chevron Richmond Modernization Project—a venture which has prioritized hiring local talent.
“Chevron recognizes the importance of partnering with For Richmond and other organizations that are working to create opportunities for local residents to work at the Richmond refinery,” said Joe Lorenz, senior policy, government and public affairs representative at Chevron, who is also a For Richmond Steering Committee member.
“One of the keys to a thriving and robust local economy is having a well-trained, well-educated workforce,” Lorenz added. “As the City’s largest employer, we are proud to work with organizations like For Richmond that make a positive impact by helping build skills of residents and grow the pool of qualified local talent.”
Other facets of our jobs-related work includes promoting expanded support of other local vocational and trade training programs, advocating for local hire spurred by large-scale construction projects in Richmond and informing the community about ongoing current job openings via our weekly e-newsletter’s “Job Watch.”
A sampling of some of our past non-construction job placements of Richmond residents include roles at companies such as Blue Apron, Chimes Printing, raindesign, Pacific Gas & Electric, Xfinity, the City & County of San Francisco and numerous others.
“For Richmond welcomes any Richmond residents interested being connected to careers through our work to get in touch,” said For Richmond Executive Director Kyra Worthy. “If you’re ready to get to work, we’re here to help you overcome some of the obstacles that might be standing in your way.”
Contact For Richmond at email@example.com or 510-260-0290.


In college, I took a self-defense class, taught by Sensei Flagg. The next semester, I took a kickboxing class, taught by Sensei Flagg. The next and final semester, I took an Isshin-Ryū Karate class, taught by Sensei Flagg.
It was the exact same class each time. The administrators just couldn’t decide how to categorize it.
According to the school’s policy, retakes did not provide additional credits or grades. But when I noticed the administration’s constant category changes of the same karate class, I realized it would count for a new credit and grade each time. So I kept enrolling and boosted my grades and course-credit total.
This category shuffle had a minor effect on my overall grade (and belt ranking). In the business of software, however, companies live or die by the category they compete in. It affects the number of potential buyers, their budgets, their perceived value of the product, and the alternatives they compare against the product. It even affects how much interest the company can garner from investors and job candidates.
Some think product categories have a loophole similar to my college karate classes: Instead of slugging it out in an existing category, just create a new one! Instead of extra credits, the thinking goes, you become the default market leader and get millions in revenue from the many buyers who realize they can’t live without this kind of product.
On top of that, startup founders are told that legends such as Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and Marc Benioff succeeded because they created categories instead of disrupting old ones.
An exploitable loophole. Growth and revenue. The secret behind the success of legends. No wonder so many founders wonder whether they should create a new category.
From helping startups since 2013 and analyzing tech IPOs from the past two years, I’ve reached this surprising conclusion:
You don’t need a new category. In fact, the vast majority of startups succeed in an existing category. As did, it turns out, Steve Jobs, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and Marc Benioff.
The smartphone category existed over a decade before Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone. Although Salesforce was one of the first breakthrough Software-as-a-Service companies, its founder Marc Benioff neither coined nor used the term “SaaS,” which really emerged in a 2001 industry publication (more on that below). Larry Page and Sergey Brin created an innovative method of ranking web sites but always called Google a “search engine.”
And if you do try it, category creation is much harder and costlier than it seems.
This article summarizes my perspective on the matter, based on extensive research and actual go-to-market experiences — some of which are included here as anecdotal stories — and makes the case that startups are more likely to succeed by competing in an existing category than by trying to create a new one.
Categories Are Just Words
A category (“market category” or “product category”) is a group of products that solve a similar problem, in a similar way, to a similar audience. Examples in software include Application Performance Monitoring (APM), Marketing Platforms, and Platforms as a Service (PaaS).
But really, categories are just words.
There’s no single authority that decides what is or isn’t a word, or their meaning. A word is real if enough people use it and it means what most people think it means. Some words change meaning; some disappear; new ones emerge; everything is fluid. And so with categories.
Changes happen as a result of significant innovations, shifts in buyer perceptions or needs, economic environments, and many other factors. Whatever the cause, the change first spreads in the wild before being documented and standardized by some influential person or organization.
As one analyst from the research firm Gartner told me:
“When we either create or advance terms that we’re hearing, it’s always to provide clarity to the market.”
For example, in 2001, the Software & Information Industry Association introduced the world to SaaS: “Software as a Service (SaaS), commonly referred to as the Application Service Provider (ASP) model, is heralded by many as the new wave in application software distribution.” Salesforce, which launched two years prior and uniquely provided its software through the cloud, influenced this change, but it did not coin the term.
None of this diminishes the power of categories. In addition to meaning, they also carry associations, expectations, and perceptions. They can even evoke emotions.
Take NoSQL, for instance. If you’re familiar with databases, that label might stir expectations such as “open-source” and “distributed”; product associations such as DynamoDB, Cassandra, and MongoDB; and perceptions such as “risk of data loss,” “fad,” or “best choice for big data.” Depending on your experience with databases or the year in which you read this, you may involuntarily feel either glee or disgust.
Such reactions have tremendous implications for the company behind the product. The category with which buyers associate that product impacts their level of interest, what they compare it against, how much they expect and are willing to pay, what they expect the product to do, and so on. Companies can influence — but not control — the category they’re associated with through positioning.
Positioning is the deliberate effort to make a product or service be associated with a specific category for some advantage. Everything from the way the product is built to the way it’s packaged, priced, sold, and marketed can be a part of that effort.
For example, Redis makes a database that fits the NoSQL definition, but maybe they prefer not to be associated with “cheap” and “fad,” nor to compete with the many NoSQL solutions in the market. So they consistently label the product as an “in-memory database” and avoid mentionioning NoSQL throughout the corporate or open-source sites. (This is speculation for illustrative purposes.)
Although successful positioning could make a significant impact for a startup, it takes work to figure out how and where to position the product to maximize returns. What’s more, any category with a sizable market is sure to already include competition from market leaders or a swarm of other startups.
Which is why some startups attempt a shortcut with category creation.
Category creation is a marketing strategy in which a company designs a new product category — along with name, problems, solutions, and audience — and promotes that category alongside the product itself. The goal is to convince buyers they need a certain kind of product, then win that growing market by virtue of having the only (or leading) product in it.
The idea of hacking your way to market dominance and unicorn status is understandably alluring to startup founders. If you could mold the market in your favor and sidestep the incumbents and startup competition, why wouldn’t you?
Because, as it turns out, category creation is neither a shortcut nor a surefire way to succeed.
Category Creation Is Not a Shortcut
Category creation is much harder and costlier than it seems — in time, energy, resources, and opportunity cost.
The hard part isn’t coming up with the strategy. The hard part is moving the market — the buyers and their purchasing behavior — with you to the new category. Until then, you’re not a king; you’re just the mayor of a one-person town.
In other words, everyone can be “#1” in their own category, but that isn’t enough.
Message on the Drift homepage boasting about their position in their category.
Message on the Intercom homepage, boasting about their position in their category.
This requirement to move the market is badly and consistently underestimated by startups considering this strategy. It is underestimated in part because it is unacknowledged by proponents of category creation, who say much about “category kings” and market dominance but not enough about the time and cost it takes to get there, nor about the many companies that tried and failed to build a market around their new category.
What does it take to move the market? Marketing. So launching a product and category together just doubles the effort, resources, and time required for sales and marketing. Instead of helping explain the product, the new category just creates another thing that needs explaining.
The cost may be even worse than that, because new categories face more resistance from buyers than new products. As one research study explains:
“Owing to their vested interest in constructing and conveying the value of a new category in the market, producers’ discursive attempts at category-creation are liable to be discounted and viewed with suspicion by other constituents, especially consumers, in a market.” (Durand & Khaire, 2016)
In the worst case, it can be repulsive. Buyers might feel they’re being sold buzzwords and snake oil. This is a big risk for startups selling to technical audiences who are already sensitive to anything that smells like marketing.
By the way, I write an article like this every month or so, covering lessons learned from growing B2B software startups. Get an email update when the next one is published:
Launching a category at the same time as bringing a product to market is like trying to bring two products to market. Companies like Monday.com, HubSpot, and Fastly can afford to take shots at creating new categories — Work OS, Flywheel Model, and Edge Cloud Platform, respectively — because they have the resources and cash runway to see it through, just as they would with a new product or major release. Those who don’t have the resources to launch two products at the same time also don’t have the resources to successfully launch a product and a category at the same time.
As part of the go-to-market strategy for their live-chat product, Drift created the category of Conversational Marketing.
Everything was aligned in their favor, and they did it about as well as anyone could: David Cancel, the Founder and CEO, was the Chief Product Officer at HubSpot for three years; they raised $107M from legendary investors like Sequoia; they wrote a book on marketing; they started and grew a podcast show; they built a large team of talented marketers; they’ve been doing this consistently for years; and their buyers — marketers — are extremely amenable to marketing.
- They are still competing uphill against other live chat solutions.
- They are left out of the conversation when it comes to the broader Conversational Platform and Conversational AI categories.
- Unlike Inbound Marketing and Account Based Marketing (ABM), the category Conversational Marketing is still not in the daily vocabulary of marketers and executives.
- Their growth is owed largely to marketing and not product innovation, which means their position in the market is far from secured.
- They must still rely on conventional product labels (“live chat,” “video,” “email,” “automation”) and conventional value propositions (“build more pipeline, increase close rates, and retain customers”) to attract and convert buyers.
- Just days before publication of this article, Drift revealed they have given up on Conversational Marketing and launched a second attempt at category creation (“Revenue Acceleration Platform”).
Drift uses standard messaging and product names, different from their created category.
Netlify spent many years and resources promoting the Jamstack category of development tools. In some respects, it has been very successful: They’re unanimously credited with coining the term, they’re the company most associated with the label, there’s an entire ecosystem of Jamstack solutions, and they now have a million users. Despite all that, they still had challenges in attracting and converting large customers.
In 2018, Netlify asked me to figure out what would make large companies pay for their enterprise plans. I found five things, and being “the No. 1 Jamstack platform” was not one of them. What we found helped inform the messaging, positioning, packaging, and pricing overhaul that followed soon after, which you can now see throughout their site. Notice “Jamstack” isn’t mentioned until the very bottom of the homepage.
In the end, Netlify was able to successfully move up market and meet aggressive growth goals. What it took to get there, however, was the same messaging and positioning work that every startup needs. It’s not clear how much the multi-year category creation effort helped compared to just, say, competing as a Platform as a Service (PaaS) — still the category of choice on their LinkedIn profile.
The Netlify company page on LinkedIn describes it as both a Developer Platform and a Platform as a Service, and does not mention Jamstack.
D2iQ, formerly Mesosphere, put all their chips on creating the Day 2 Operations category, going so far as renaming the company — the D2 is for Day 2 — in August 2019. One year later, the company’s future looks gloomy, and the “day2ops” category label is hardly mentioned in the market.
A director of engineering at a public tech company, whom I interviewed as part of a customer research project, has never heard of the term. Another engineering leader scoffed when asked and dismissed it as a marketing buzzword. Although it’s an unfortunate outcome for D2iQ, for everyone else, it’s a lesson that “category creation” is not a miracle cure, and can fail even with enormous resources behind it.
(Note: Days before publication of this article, D2iQ started to back away from the Day 2 Operations category and toward something more conventional. Their headline was switched from “A Smarter Approach to Day 2 Operations” to “The Leading Independent Kubernetes Platform.” This makes it the second startup to give up on category creation before I could complete this article.)
The hard truth is that companies can pour every last dollar, drop of sweat, and moment of time into category creation and still fail to move the market.
The takeaway is not that Drift, Netlify, or D2iQ are doing anything wrong. It’s that the category creation strategy is much harder than it seems and comes at a large cost of time and resources to even attempt. That’s time and resources that could be spent on product innovation and winning over an existing market.
These examples raise the question: Did these companies even need to bother trying to create a category?
Most Successful Startups Did Not Create Categories
Two misconceptions may lead founders to believe that category creation is the best or only go-to-market strategy, even if it does come at a significant cost. The first is that category creation was the secret behind successful and legendary startups. The second is that there’s no way to succeed in an existing category that already has a market leader.
If both were true, we’d expect most successful startups to be positioning their products in unique and original categories. Do they?
New Categories Among Recent IPOs
The first misconception — that creating a category is often the key to success — exists because many articles about category creation use the term as a synonym for “innovation.” Here is a typical example from an article promoting category creation as a strategy:
“Jobs’ greatest genius was his ability to invent three new categories: the digital music player, the smartphone and the tablet.”
Steve Jobs did not create the smartphone, MP3 player, or tablet categories. All three existed before the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. What he did was launch innovative products into existing categories, which were incredibly successful and eventually changed the behavior of consumers and competitors. Those are perfect examples of organic category shifts.
Looking back at a few standout companies and attributing some key to their success does not reliably tell us what’s likely to work for others in the future. A recent, unfiltered sample set would provide a better indicator of what’s likely to work or not. Say, for example, a list of B2B software companies that went public in 2018 and 2019.
In 2019, there were 14 B2B software companies that went public. All but two of them marketed their products in existing categories, rather than something unique:
|Self-Assigned Label in April 2018
|Edge Cloud Platform
|Digital Operations Management
|Fixed Wireless Backhaul and Access Solutions
|Healthcare Technology & Business Solutions
|Web Performance & Security Company
|Cloud-Delivered Endpoint Protection
|Modern Monitoring & Analytics
|Digital Performance and application performance monitoring (APM)
|Healthcare Analytics and Data Warehousing
|Digital Health Management
|Enterprise Customer Experience Management Platform
|Customized Patient Intake Software
|Video Conferencing and Web Conferencing Service
B2B tech companies that went public in 2019, and the category promoted on their homepage the year before IPO.
For the two exceptions in the list, it’s difficult to know how much the unique categories helped them, and at what cost. Before PagerDuty launched the Digital Operations Management category in 2016, they tried “Incident Management Platform” in 2015, and “Operations Performance Management” before that. Fastly already raised a total of $179M and reached a $650M valuation before switching their marketed category from Content Delivery Network (CDN) to the unique Edge Cloud Platform in 2017.
Announcement from Fastly about their Edge Cloud Platform category.
The other 12 companies on the list opted to disrupt an established category (such as Zoom: Video Conferencing) or to lead an emerging category (such as Medallia: Customer Experience Management) instead of trying something new.
The proportion was similar in 2018, with 10 out of 11 companies competing in established, non-unique categories the year before going public:
|Self-Assigned Label in May 2017
|File Sharing and Storage
|Work Management and Automation
|Subscription Billing, Commerce & Finance Solutions
B2B tech companies that went public in 2018, and the category promoted on their homepage the year before IPO.
The takeaway from the past two years of IPOs: The majority (88%) of B2B startups reach the IPO milestone by marketing themselves within existing categories, not in categories they created. Although these companies will certainly contribute to the evolution of their respective categories, they’re not trying to carve out new categories of their own.
Multiple Winners Within Categories
In a 2014 article, Kevin Maney, co-author of a book promoting category creation, makes the kind of statement that leads to the misconception that there’s no way to succeed in an existing category that already has a market leader, implying startups may as well try to create a new category:
“Even worse news for the second-tier companies: The study found that a six-year-old startup that isn’t yet a Category King has almost zero chance of becoming one. Hundreds of companies are left to forever survive, like raccoons at a summer camp, on their category’s scraps. That explains why Uber was valued at $41 billion earlier this month, while at about the same time the No. 2 in that space, Lyft, was valued about 40 times lower, at $1.2 billion. The rest of that category is barely noticeable. Investors look at the future value of that category and see one company taking most of it.”
“The [study] puts some data behind the provocative advice investor Peter Thiel doles out in his book and lectures. Competition is for losers, he likes to say. The goal of any startup is to become a monopoly in its space. In the tech business, you’re either a 1 or a 0, and in a given market there’s only one 1. Everyone else winds up with a tax write-off and some coffee mugs with an extinct logo.”
While this is great pep talk for the boardroom of a moonshot startup, it has little other practical use.
Lyft, with a market cap of $8.8B at the time of writing, is not complaining despite being second in the market. Neither is Pepsi, which also sits at No. 2 and owns 25% of a multi-billion-dollar market. There are multiple marketing platforms that are successful by any measure, all happily competing in that category: Hubspot has a market cap of $7B, Marketo was acquired for $4.75B by Adobe, and Mailchimp was last valued at $4.2B.
As for the idea of an unmovable king, history is full of former category leaders who thought the same thing (Snap, Yahoo, IBM, Palm, Compaq, AltaVista, and MySpace, just to name a few). The shifting nature of markets and the accelerating pace of innovation means the top position is always up for grabs.
Now knowing that category creation is neither a shortcut nor a necessity to succeed, what can startups do instead?
Enter Established or Emerging Categories
Imagine how early explorers felt when they discovered trade winds. They were able to go faster and farther just by getting into the right “lane” and keeping the ship pointed in the right direction. This by no means guaranteed a safe voyage, but it helped.
Positioning products into an existing market is like finding a trade wind. It doesn’t guarantee success, but it helps startups:
- Focus their time, effort, and resources on marketing and selling the product itself rather than the category. Prospective buyers (and investors, and job candidates) familiar with the category will already have the necessary background context.
- Find prospective buyers who are already using, evaluating, or learning about solutions in the category (for example, by advertising for search terms related to the category or by reaching out to known users of competing products in the category).
- Better convey the product’s value, because there are other solutions in the category to compare against.
- Predict their sales and marketing performance, revenue, growth, and challenges by analyzing other companies in that category.
- Choose from a plethora of category labels instead of trying to come up with something clever and hoping it sticks.
Existing categories can be split into “established” and “emerging” to distinguish between those with high present potential from those with high future potential.
Disrupt an Established Category
Established categories are over five years old and have broad awareness in the market, with many large companies competing within them. Examples include Video Conferencing, DevOps, CRM, Project Management, and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM).
Entering an established market with an innovative product has high present potential because there is already a well-informed audience primed to pay for solutions. Buyers in established categories already:
- Understand their challenges and their magnitude. They don’t need convincing about having a painful problem.
- Use a product in this space and know its limitations and downsides all too well.
- Have budget allocation for a product or multiple products in this category.
- Know about alternative solutions and the benefits and limitations of each.
- Tried or considered building a solution in house and understand the maintenance burden that comes with that.
- Designed systems and workflows around this type of solution, making it a critical part of their organization.
- Have buy-in from their colleagues and other stakeholders to use this type of solution.
- Know where to look for reliable information about the category and its products.
All this makes it relatively easy for a startup with an innovative product to start attracting and converting enterprise buyers. Startups can study the existing market to identify where buyers get their information, what they search for, what pains they experience with current or available options, what other solutions cost, what marketing strategies and tactics are working for other companies, and so on, and set the go-to-market strategy accordingly.
Since the software industry changes rapidly, there’s a risk that the established category will shift dramatically or go away entirely, requiring the startup to overhaul their go-to-market strategy or, at the very least, update their messaging.
Join an Emerging Category
Emerging categories are less than five years old and have very limited but growing awareness among buyers, definitions and expectations that are still being formed, and mostly startups (along with the most agile of large companies) competing within them. Examples include Managed Kubernetes, Low-Code, No-Code, Observability, AIOps, Zero Trust, and ModelOps.
Joining an emerging category provides valuable opportunities to:
- Become the go-to, trusted, and popular source of information about the emerging topic, attracting buyers as they grow in numbers.
- Set or at least affect the associations, expectations, and buying criteria among buyers in the market in a way that maps well with the startup’s product but creates barriers to entry for competitors — such as pricing model and range, expected integrations, which features come standard and which are premium, ease of use, installation experience, and so on.
- Secure early partnerships with companies in adjacent categories and convert their customers.
- Grab significant portions of the market with relatively few resources, before large competitors swoop in with unlimited resources.
- Leverage the hype around the category to get recognition and mentions from press and analysts.
- Attract greater investor and job-candidate interest by virtue of working in a new and cutting-edge space.
All of this creates the potential for rapid and sustained growth as the market expands.
Unfortunately, there is also uncertainty about how big the market will actually get, along with the added challenge of educating potential buyers about a new class of solutions and their value. These challenges, however, are not nearly as difficult as those of attempting to unilaterally create a new category.
(Recall that new categories are typically coined by influential people or organizations who recognize shifts in the market and document it, and it happens to stick. Case in point: Both the Zero Trust and Low-Code emerging categories were coined by analysts at Forrester. ModelOps emerged around 2018 with no clear origin as far as I know — even if it was a software vendor that coined the term, they’re not reaping any competitive advantage for doing so.)
When the team behind Teleport brought me in to help figure out what messaging would attract and convert enterprise buyers to their innovative product, they hadn’t made any decisions about positioning. They just went with the first idea which was to label it as a “modern SSH.” (SSH is a common method of accessing remote servers, and “modern” is a bad word for describing software products.)
The problem was that enterprise buyers — such as VPs of Engineering and CTOs — weren’t looking for a “modern” way to do SSH. Even if they stumbled upon Teleport, seeing “SSH” made them think of OpenSSH, an open-source alternative. As a result, the team spent a large part of every sales demo explaining how Teleport and OpenSSH are different, and why one should pay for the former when the latter is free.
In figuring out how to describe the product in a compelling way, we first determined what would make enterprise buyers want to pay for the product — their desired outcomes. Once we had those, we discovered there’s already an established category of products that solves those same outcomes: Privileged Access Management (PAM).
This category had several large, legacy incumbents like Cyberark ($4.7B market cap) and Centrify ($115M revenue in 2019), which meant there were many educated buyers eager for an innovative alternative and primed to pay for enterprise-level plans.
We came up with messaging to describe Teleport in a way that positions it as a high-value, innovative alternative to those legacy PAM solutions. (Tagline: “Privileged Access Management that doesn’t get in the way.”) Within six months of launching the new messaging, revenue shot up by more than 600%, and sales velocity — the speed at which new deals are won — significantly increased, too.
The team learned a valuable lesson: It pays to position innovative products into established markets. They then applied that lesson to Teleport when Zero Trust became an emerging category (“Zero Trust security that doesn’t get in the way”), and again when COVID-19 made remote access a top priority for many enterprises (“Remote access that doesn’t get in the way”).
Story: Domino Data Lab
When Domino Data Lab went to market in 2014, they entered the emerging Data Science Platform category. Few understood what it meant. People were just learning what “data science” was, as a practice, and whether they should hire “data scientists.” Nonetheless, it was a real category that was talked about by analysts and startups.
Other startups such as Y-hat, Sense, and Datascience.com were popping up and helping to educate the market on this new thing called a “data science platform.” This allowed Domino to dedicate their resources and energy to customer acquisition and product development to meet demand exactly as the demand was growing.
When the Domino founders brought me in in 2015, we put our attention toward attracting and converting enterprise buyers already interested in data science tooling, rather than pushing the new category.
We figured out where awareness and demand for data science platforms were growing the fastest, and went there. For instance, one of Domino’s first enterprise clients, Allstate, provided a clue: the insurance industry. So we put Domino squarely in the field of vision of insurance companies. We produced an insurance-focused case study and promoted it on LinkedIn to anyone technical or analytical at an insurance company (there weren’t many people calling themselves data scientists at the time). This campaign became one of the top sources of inbound sales leads, and helped Domino take a large chunk of the insurance market. We then took this approach for the financial-services and life-sciences industries, which to this day make up a meaningful portion of revenue for Domino.
Thanks to their sustained focus on innovating within an emerging category, by the time I finished consulting Domino in 2020, their platform was being used in 20% of all Fortune 100 companies.
There is a lesson there, in both flexibility and hedging bets.
Test Categories Before Committing
Whether choosing to create a category or enter an existing one, consider testing it first by marketing one product (out of a product lineup) or by running a limited campaign to promote the product within that category. This allows for seeing and measuring how well (or not) the new positioning attracts and converts the target buyers with much less risk and up-front costs.
With the emergence of the ModelOps category, Domino is testing the waters by releasing a standalone product to compete in that category.
Centrify is wading into Zero Trust while keeping one foot in their older category, Privileged Access Management, in which they raised $94 million in funding and were acquired for an undisclosed amount.
Centrify put Zero Trust ahead of Privileged Access Management.
Netlify kept one foot in the established Static Site Hosting category for the entirety of their effort to grow the Jamstack category, thus keeping a steady flow of new users during that time.
Both Splunk and VMware Tanzu (formerly Pivotal) position individual products in different categories, including emerging ones such as Observability and AIOps, while still marketing in older categories such as SIEM, APM, and CI/CD. This lets them test different positioning and messaging before committing more resources to one or a few key categories.
VMware Tanzu positions individual products into emerging categories such as Observability and Service Mesh.
Splunk positions itself into multiple established and emerging categories at once.
New Relic similarly hedged their bets until they had enough confidence to go after a single emerging category: Observability. They even changed their product packaging, from 11 offerings to just three, all tied to observability. (Recall that effective positioning involves product decisions as well as marketing.)
New Relic consolidated all products under the Observability category.
Just be careful not to dilute your attention and resources too much when selling and marketing across several categories.
You don’t need to create a new product category to succeed.
Whether you want to reach a successful exit (acquisition or IPO) or just multiply your revenue, both my experience and my analysis of recent tech IPOs shows that the majority of successful companies achieve that without having to create a category.
For those that try, it takes them much more time and resources than anticipated and doesn’t appear to improve the odds of success any more than positioning into an existing or emerging category.
Instead, do what Steve Jobs, Marc Benioff, and 22 of the 25 most recent startups to go public have done: Focus on building something innovative and attracting buyers within an established or emerging category. Let your impact change the category, not your marketing strategy.
PS - Liked this article? I write one every month or so, covering lessons learned on B2B startup growth. Don't miss the next one:
If you need help with marketing and revenue growth, get in touch.


Plant Based World Expo 2019
Hear from CEO Daniel Karsevar and Founder & Chairman David Benzaquen on, “Insights from the Experts: Branding, Scaling, and Fundraising for a Successful Launch and Sustained Growth in the Marketplace.” PlantBased Solutions’ workshop will take place during the Plant Based World Conference and Expo on June 8, 2019 at the Javits Center.
Workshop attendees will learn key insights from industry veterans Daniel Karsevar and David Benzaquen (CEO of Ocean Hugger Foods) for successfully launching and scaling your plant-based food and beverage company.
The workshop will cover branding as it relates to your company both internally and in the external landscape. It will also cover growing & scaling your business with sharp financials and maximized efficiencies, and fundraising wisely from the right investors at the right time and in the right form. Workshop attendees will also be eligible for an exclusive offer related to PlantBased Solutions’ Master Class series.
The team is excited to join an array of other industry experts – and so many incredible plant-based food and beverage companies – for the first Plant Based World Conference and Expo ever. The Expo is set to be an impressive gathering of industry leaders, brands, investors, educators.
For more details and to sign up, visit our event page.


Past Seminars and Events 2017
This talk presents a novel way to disentangle inequality aversion over time from inequality aversion between regions in the computation of the Social Cost of Carbon. The approach nests a standard efficiency based Social Cost of Carbon estimate and an equity weighted Social Cost of Carbon estimate as special cases. It also presents a methodology to incorporate more fine grained regional resolutions of income and damage distributions than typically found in integrated assessment models. Finally, I will present quantitative estimates of the Social Cost of Carbon that use our disentangling of different types of inequality aversion. We use two integrated assessment models (FUND and RICE) for our numerical exercise to get more robust findings. Our results suggest that inequality considerations lead to a higher (lower) SCC values in high (low) income regions relative to an efficiency based approach, but that the effect is less strong than found in previous studies that use equity weighting. Our central estimate is that the Social Cost of Carbon increases roughly by a factor of 2.5 from a US perspective when our disentangled equity weighting approach is used.
Dr. David Anthoff is an environmental economist who studies climate change and environmental policy. He co-develops the integrated assessment model FUND that is used widely in academic research and in policy analysis. His research has appeared in Science, the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Environmental and Resource Economics, the Oxford Review of Economic Policy and other academic journals. He contributed a background research paper to the Stern Review and has advised numerous organizations (including US EPA and the Canadian National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy) on the economics of climate change.
He is an assistant professor in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley. Previously he was an assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan, a postdoc at the University of California, Berkeley and a postdoc at the Economic and Social Research Institute in Ireland. He also was a visiting research fellow at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford.


Picture this: you’re 17 and you’re filling out your UCAS application. You have flicked through every university prospectus you can find, attended some open days, and yet, you still have absolutely no clue what degree to choose. This is the rest of your life. At least, that’s what you think.
Many of us have been through this exact situation. And whilst some are destined to be doctors, teachers and dentists – others are fifty before they find their true ‘calling’. We know that social mobility, higher education and graduate employability are key concerns that continue to progress in all developed nations (Bathmaker et al, 2013). We see these key concerns circulating the media daily. An article on LinkedIn last week reported that business and administration is the most popular degree subject in the UK. Sourced from the Financial Times, it was claimed that those studying business are the most likely to get a job after university (aside from medical and dentistry graduates). It got me thinking, how important are degree subjects?
I’m not ashamed to say that throughout my life I have considered many careers. My earliest and first was a ‘pear/pay-er’. I didn’t know the title for a checkout assistant, so I spent most of my childhood with my parents thinking I wanted to belong in a fruit bowl. I loved playing on my toy cash register and setting up shop in the middle of my living room. My second ambition was to be a teacher. I used to print out registers filled with made-up names and buy an abundance of stickers to give to my imaginary pupils. The list goes on, but my longest career ambition was to become a midwife. I done my work experience in a midwifery unit at my local hospital, and I was sure that this was my ‘calling’. But maths and science weren’t my strongest subjects. I gave it my best shot, but realised that enjoyment was more important, and lay the dream of being a midwife to bed. So, I instead studied what I enjoyed, without thinking too much about the effects it would have on my future degree subject.
Education is significant for the distribution of life chances and crucial for later outcomes. In fact, The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reports that Education and Skills are ‘consistently at the top of the priorities list of the 190,000 businesses the CBI represent’ (CBI, 2018). Educational attainment and labour market outcomes are strongly related. Low educational attainment is more likely to lead to precarious employment outcomes, whilst high educational attainment is more likely to foster social mobility and increasing socio-economic opportunities.
With the abundance of choices, societal pressures and high expectations, you can imagine that when it came time to pick a degree (which at the time I thought would determine the rest of my life) I felt more than a little lost. It takes a simple Google to find out what the Internet deems as a ‘good’ degree, with articles left, right and centre about what degrees will earn you the most money. It’s fair to say that if I was mostly concerned about my wage packet I would probably not be in my final year of Social Policy and Sociology. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. It is no secret that many people do go on to university for the prospect of a better career.
The problem is, research is conflicting. If you Google advice on what to study at university, you will be faced with a BuzzFeed quiz or ‘do what you enjoy’. Helpful. Out of sheer curiosity, I done a BuzzFeed quiz and can reveal I should have studied Literature. Baring in mind the first question was ‘pick your favourite keyring’, I’m not convinced.
It would appear that quantitative subjects not only signal intelligence, but are also more likely to bag you a graduate job. From the age of 11, employers want to see schools improving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) skills – with 82% ranking this among the top three most important areas for actions (CBI/Pearson Education and Skills, 2018). Of course, some professions do require specific degree subjects. A humanities student couldn’t go into an engineering role. In 2012, the CBI report indicated that the subject chosen makes a difference to employers – with 72% saying that they looked out for graduates from certain subject areas (compared to only 46% claiming that degree classification was the most important element). 50% of these employers were looking for students with STEM degrees, in comparison with 2% looking for those with social science degrees. This year, UCAS reported that 40% of employers surveyed said that they preferred to recruit graduates with a STEM subject, and 19% of employers preferred a business-related subject.
There is a great deal of debate around what subjects are ‘harder’ or more ‘worthwhile’. When I was studying German, somebody in a STEM related degree actually said to me ‘but most businesses communicate in English – plus, there’s always Google translate’. Naïve, yes. But it is also naïve to think that these judgements around humanities degrees do not exist.
Interestingly, a poll created by the AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians, 2018) showed that companies are increasingly favouring applicants with relevant work experience, whether that be from an apprenticeship or an internship. A survey of 1,000 decision makers, found that 49% preferred to see relevant work experience on a CV, in comparison to 24% who said they would be more willing to take on somebody with a relevant degree qualification. Other qualities that companies looked for was the ability for a candidate to fit into the company culture, and their personality in general.
It’s fair to conclude that not all degrees are created equal. Whilst data shows that recruiters generally favour STEM degree subjects, this could be simply because of the dominance and importance of these career paths. But it is also important to note that intelligence biases do exist.
In saying this, with the developing workplace, apprenticeships are becoming increasingly favoured due to their hands-on approach to the workplace. Co-founded of Arch Apprentices, Ben Rowland, understands the importance of apprenticeships in modern societies.
“These routes offer a great way to gain the skills needed to excel at the job, which a traditional university degree simply doesn’t provide.”
The Office for National Statistics shows that in 2016, the employment rate of those with apprenticeships was 85.6%, compared with 87.8% with degrees. However, the ONS also reported that in 2015, 45.8% of recent graduates in the UK were in jobs that did not require a degree. Considering that many outside of Scotland pay for their university education – this statistic is rather alarming. The changing recruitment requirements may allow more room for not only the development, but the encouragement of apprenticeships. Degrees are often favoured in high schools for those with the grade requirements, but perhaps we should begin to shift our focus?
CBI (2018) The CBI/Pearson Education and Skills survey 2018: how employers view the education system. https://www.cbi.org.uk/media/1171/cbi-educating-for-the-modern-world.pdf
Bathmaker, Ann-Marie, Ingram, Nicola & Waller, Richard (2013). Higher Education, Social Class and the Mobilisation of Capitals: Recognising and Playing the Game. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 34(5-6), pp.723–6), p.723–743
Office for National Statistics (2016) Percentage of graduates working in non-graduate roles in London and the UK: 2011 to 2015 / A comparison of the earnings of graduates and apprentices in the UK, 2004 to 2016
Hallinan, M. and Williams, R. A. (1990) ‘Students’ characteristics and the peer-influence process’, Sociology of Education, 63:122-33.
West, A. & Nikolai, R. (2013) ‘Welfare Regimes and Education Regimes: Equality of Opportunity and Expenditure in the EU (and US)’, Journal of Social Policy, 42(03), 469–493.


If there’s one aspect of home ownership that’s universally despised it’s got to be paying the bills. Few home expenses are less glamorous or more tedious. Budgeting for heat, air conditioning, water, electric, and gas use is the biggest mindset shift that occurs after leaping from renting to home ownership. Gone are the blissful days of landlord covered utilities. In its place are a bevy of new concerns.
If living off the grid isn’t an option to escape your monthly bills – rest assured there’s another option! There are many simple changes you can make that will help increase your home’s efficiency and lower your recurring expenses. Don’t waste your hard-earned income on bloated bills a moment longer; give one of these efficiency-minded updates a try!
Update Lightbulbs. Replacing traditional incandescent bulbs with energy saving CFL or LED bulbs is a no brainer. Switching is easy as reaching for a different box the next time you’re at the store. Just remember, don’t spend a small fortune changing out every lamp in the house at once. Simply replace old bulbs as they burn out, you’ll get them all changed over time without wasting what you’ve already spent money on.
Buy New Windows. Old and inefficient windows are a huge hindrance to lowering your energy bills. Leaking heat or air conditioning is as bad as throwing away your money – you are literally paying for something that is being wasted! Newer windows are designed for greater cost savings, and are a lasting update that will add value to your home.
Energy Efficient Appliances. Another excellent area for improvement are your home’s appliances. Huge strides have been made in recent years to improve and incentivize replacing inefficient household appliances. A new fridge, washer, or AC unit my be pricey, but there are many tax credits available to offset the cost of updating. Check out the EPA’s Energy Star website to begin your appliance search!
Add Insulation. A staggering amount of homes are lacking sufficient insulation. Adding new or improved insulation to your home is big way to save money. Heat naturally flows to cooler areas, which means your home could be working against you throughout the seasons. You could be spending money trying to heat your living room, only to have it escape through your freezing uninsulated attic. Or spend all summer running the AC only to have the cool air seep outside.
Install a Programable Thermostat. New thermostat technology is a game-changer. A programable thermostat puts you in control of the exact temperature of your home during specific windows of time. The heat or air conditioning can then be adjusted to your family’s schedule, which means no more wasting precious resources heating or cooling an empty house!
Tasking yourself with improving your home’s efficiency can be a big project – we know! If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the details, requirements, or planning involved, give us a call. We’re happy to take the stress off of your shoulders and help get you on the path to energy efficient savings. Don’t waste any more of your income on inflated bills or misplaced resources. Make these simple switches and start saving that extra money for fun future home projects instead. (Incidentally, we can help you with those someday too!)


Lot of land for sale for industrial use with almost 11,000 m2 of plot area with the possibility of division into two or more plots. It is located in Sector I-1 of Torija located next to the A-2 motorway. Interesting for any type of industrial installation.
The urban characteristics of the plot are as follows:
- Maximum constructed area: 8.600 m2 (0.8m2/m2)
- Maximum building height: 18,00 m.
- Approximate dimensions plot: 130 x 85 m.


In today’s globalized world, healthcare practices are increasingly turning to offshore Virtual Medical Assistants (VMAs) to streamline operations, enhance patient care, and optimize their administrative functions. These VMAs, based in the Philippines, provide a flexible and cost-effective solution for medical practices looking to expand their capabilities without the overhead of additional on-site staff.
What Are Offshore Virtual Medical Assistants?
Offshore VMAs are skilled professionals located outside the country of the healthcare provider they serve. They perform a variety of tasks, from administrative duties like scheduling appointments and managing patient records to more specialized tasks such as handling private billing, insurance verification, and even providing basic patient support. By leveraging the power of the internet and modern communication tools, these assistants work seamlessly with on-site teams, despite the geographical distance.
The Game-Changing Benefits of Offshore VMAs
- Cost Efficiency: One of the most compelling advantages of offshore Virtual Medical Assistants is the significant cost savings they offer. Due to lower living costs in their home countries, offshore VMAs can provide their services at a fraction of the cost of hiring additional on-site staff, making it an attractive option for practices looking to minimize expenses.
- Round-the-Clock Availability: With VMAs located in different time zones, medical practices can offer extended support hours, ensuring that patient inquiries are addressed promptly, even outside of regular office hours. This 24/7 availability can significantly enhance patient satisfaction and engagement. You can choose whatever hours you require – 8 to 24 hours per day. Or you may require a VMA for less hours. We can help you decide what is best for you.
- Scalability: Offshore VMAs allow practices to scale their operations up or down with ease, providing flexibility to handle patient load fluctuations without the need for long-term commitments to additional in-house staff.
- Access to a Global Talent Pool: Hiring offshore VMAs opens up access to a vast pool of skilled professionals from around the world, enabling practices to find the perfect fit for their specific needs without geographical constraints.
- Focus on Core Healthcare Services: By outsourcing administrative and certain clinical support tasks to offshore VMAs, healthcare providers can focus more on patient care and other core medical services, thereby improving the quality of care and patient outcomes.
Implementing Offshore VMAs in Your Practice
To successfully integrate offshore VMAs into a medical practice, it’s crucial to establish clear communication channels, set well-defined roles and expectations, and ensure compliance with healthcare regulations, including patient privacy and data security standards. Choosing the right VMA provider, one that understands the unique needs of your practice and offers reliable, high-quality services, is also essential.
Embracing the Global Workforce
The integration of offshore Virtual Medical Assistants into medical practices represents a forward-thinking approach to healthcare management. By embracing the global workforce, practices can enjoy increased efficiency, cost savings, and improved patient services, all while navigating the challenges of a rapidly changing healthcare landscape. Offshore VMAs are not just a cost-saving measure; they’re a strategic asset that can help medical practices thrive in today’s competitive healthcare environment. As we look to the future, the role of offshore VMAs is set to become increasingly integral to the operational success of healthcare providers worldwide, marking a new era in the evolution of medical practice management.
By focusing on the unique advantages and considerations of integrating offshore Virtual Medical Assistants into medical practices, we can see how they offer a viable solution for enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and improving patient care. This approach not only addresses the immediate needs of healthcare providers but also paves the way for a more connected, efficient, and patient-centric medical practice.


July 12, 2010
Anaheim Public Utilities’ commitment to help customers install new solar electric residential systems has been brought forth via their “Solar Advantage” program. This program was initiated in 2008 and since is responsible for thousands of Anaheim residents going solar and saving thousands of dollars off the purchase price of their solar systems. The Anaheim Solar Advantage program has one of the largest cash rebates in California (currently $3.46/w AC CEC).
How does that translate into savings? For a typical 1600 sqft. home a 3.8 kW system would offset nearly 100% of the energy usage. The gross cost of this size system could cost anywhere from $21,000-$23,000. With the Anaheim Public Utilities Solar Advantage the homeowner would get a cash rebate of approximately $12,000. Over 50% of the retail gross system cost is subsidized by the Anaheim Solar Advantage program.
But wait, theres more… The homeowner is also eligible for the 30% Federal clean energy tax credit. If we take the original gross cost ($23,000) and subtract the Solar Advantage incentive ($12,000) it leaves us with a net solar system cost of $11,000 which we can apply the 30% Federal tax credit to. That is an additional $3,300 incentive that is realized in the form of a tax credit at year end. The two incentives combined lowers the gross cost of the $23,000, 3.8 kW solar system to $7,700 after tax season.
Let’s take this case study one step further… Based upon the California Energy Commission rating of the referenced 3.8 kW solar system it would be expected to generate 5,626 kWh of electricity per year. A typical Anaheim Public Utilities customer would be buying electricity for $0.14 per kWh. If we multiply 5,626 kWh of electricity by the current cost of of $0.14 per kWh we arrive at an annual energy savings of $787 per year. The solar system would pay for itself in less than 10 years while offering power output warranties that exceed 20 years.
As you can see Anaheim residents that purchase a solar system for their home and participate the Solar Advantage program are saving thousands of dollars in utility expenses over the life of their solar systems and helping the environment by powering their home with 100% clean and renewable solar energy. Good job Anaheim Public Utilities and participating residents!
For more information visit: http://www.solarsourcepower.com/anaheim.html
December 7, 2009
September 24, 2009
Local Company Provides Clean Energy System for newly built Long Beach Park
Long Beach, California, September 24, 2009 — A local company is helping to make history. Solar Source Inc. has designed and supplied the system for Long Beach’s first completely off-grid public park. The new K-9 Corner Dog Park, which opened on Sunday, September 27th, will draw its power directly from the sun.
Although the project design originally included a conventional lighting system, a plan for an off-grid solar system that would produce the same level of lighting was presented, and adopted, during construction. The system will generate and store enough electricity to power 24 high-efficiency LED park lights for 6 hours a day starting at dusk, 365 days a year. It will also calibrate itself to adjust the park lighting supply to accommodate the ever-changing time of sunset. The lighting system includes a pole-mounted solar array consisting of six photovoltaic solar panels, two sun calibrating charge controllers, and four 120 Ah batteries.
“This park is the first solar-powered park in Long Beach, but we expect that it won’t be the last,” said Jarrod Osborne, General Manager of Solar Source Inc. and project manager for the K-9 Corner Dog Park system. “We anticipate that the innovations here will inspire more and more use of pollution-free, renewable solar technology which is a cornerstone of the green revolution that is well under way and will continue over the decades to come.”
K-9 Corner Dog Park is located at Pacific Ave. and 9th Street in Downtown Long Beach. It is an off-leash facility with a dog run, artificial grass designed for easy removal of dog waste, drought-friendly landscaping, a large desk constructed from recycled wood, shaded benches made of recycled plastic, and a dog drinking fountain.
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ABOUT SOLAR SOURCE
Solar Source Inc. is a licensed solar energy contractor based in Long Beach, CA. They design, engineer, and install photovoltaic solar systems for residential and commercial electricity generation.
Visit us online: http://www.solarsourcepower.com
December 6, 2009
The sun is the source of all energy on our planet, and consequently also the cleanest and most renewable source of energy available to homeowners all around the world. Misconceptions about photovoltaic solar systems and our ability to harness the suns energy are the number one reasons homeowners overlook going solar. Let’s explore some of the most common myths related to solar power.
Myth: Solar power is too costly.
Fact: Most solar systems will pay for themselves in 5-9 years and depending on the system can increase the homes value by as much as 5%. Best of all Uncle Sam is now subsidizing up to 50% of the cost of a new solar systems so the return on investment has never been higher. It is not uncommon to see annual return on investments between 7%-18% over the life of the system.
Myth: My homeowners association will not allow me to install solar panels.
Fact: State law forbids anyone from preventing someone from installing solar electric systems based upon appearance.
Myth: You need the right kind of roof.
Fact: Solar systems can be designed for all roof types. As long as the roof has unobstructed access to the sun and is free from shade it would be a good location for a solar system.
Myth: My solar system will only work if the sky is clear of clouds.
Fact: Solar systems do st ill produce a current on cloudy days, however not as much energy will be produced as when the conditions are optimal (clear, sunny & cool). Solar systems are designed based upon the average annual sun hours of a given location and are designed to generate the necessary energy needs of the homeowner.
Myth: The utility company will pay me in cash for any additional energy I generate.
Fact: The utility company will not pay homeowners cash for the additional energy they generate. The utility company offers homeowners the option of “Net-Metering”. If you produce more energy than you consume during the day you will have a surplus of energy created that will be used to offset the energy you consume at night when your solar system is not feeding energy into the grid. You will have a rolling 12 month period to use any monthly energy surplus you may have. Your energy surplus can expire if not consumed over the 12 month period. It is the job of the solar system contractor to design a solar system that is appropriate for your energy needs and that will not exceed your annual usage.
Take a close look and you will see that solar power truly has a bright future. Unlike fossil fuels solar energy is completely clean and renewable. It contributes absolutely no pollution to the air or water. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, if renewable energy were used to power one million homes, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 4.3 million tons per year, the same effect on the environment as removing 850,000 cars from the road. So go solar and be a super hero for the environment.
SOLAR SOURCE INC. California
December 5, 2009
Every month we receive an energy bill in the mail with a dollar amount owed in bold letters and a return address envelope awaiting our check and stamp. Have you ever tried to figure out how they actually came up with that dollar amount?
The first thing to do is define the unit of measurement for determining how much energy is used. We pay for gas by the gallon, we buy fruit and vegetables by the pound and we buy cable TV by the channel. When it comes to electricity we pay by the kilowatt-hour (kWh). One kilowatt is 1000 watts and one kilowatt-hour (kWh) is equivalent to the amount of energy used by ten 100 watt light bulbs for one hour.
Now that we know how they are measuring our electricity usage lets look at how they equate it to dollars. A typical energy bill will have the total monthly kWh’s used and a price per kWh. This can range anywhere from $0.06 to $0.51 per kWh used. If your like me you pulled out your calculator to find out that there is a 750% difference between the two price points. Imagine going to the gas pump to find out that your price per gallon fluctuates between $3.00 and $22.50 based on how much gas you need.
It is typical for utility companies to determine the price per kWh charged based upon how much energy was used. Under this type of tiered pricing structure (used by SCE, PG&E, SDGE) everyone is allocated a baseline amount of electricity they can use per month at the lowest price per kWh ($0.10-$0.12 per kWh). If the customer exceeds their allocated kWh amount they are now bumped up into a higher pricing tier (often 10%-20% higher price per kWh) for the rest of the month. There can be up to 5 tiers of energy price increases based on your monthly use. The highest tier costing as much as $0.51 per kWh in some parts of California.
Why is all this so important?
The only way you can determine if using an alternative energy source such as solar, wind, geothermal, or gas is a more viable option is to know how much energy you are currently using and how much it is costing you.
How does solar energy compare?
Solar energy systems can generate energy at a levelized cost as low as $0.09 a kWh over the 25 year life of the system. The energy produced by a solar system is clean and 100% renewable and best of all is cheaper per kWh than the utility is selling it for.
Written by SOLAR SOURCE INC. California


Residential real estate projects management
Inspiro has been engaged in real estate development, management, and financing since 2010. Over the years, the company has successfully initiated and established countless projects throughout Israel. Each of these projects represents the fulfilment of the Inspiro vision to play a pivotal role in the advancement of the Israeli real estate market, from preliminary planning to successful handover of each apartment. Simply put, Inspiro is devoted to ensuring its clients’ complete satisfaction.
Alongside its real estate development interests, Inspiro is actively involved in the management of non-profits, purchasing groups, and financing various projects around Israel. Inspiro’s financial strength and renowned managerial capabilities have cemented its reputation as a unique, pioneering company that both anticipates and leads original, groundbreaking thought in every field.
Today, Inspiro initiates and manages many projects valued at hundreds of millions of shekels a year, while also presenting impressive multi-year growth data.