Billion Dollar Unicorns: Online Lender SoFi Puts Off IPO Plans

According to Inside Mortgage Finance, non-banks were responsible for 37.5% of US home loans in 2014, up from 26.7% in 2013. PwC expects non-banks to grow at a 33% annual rate to $150 billion by 2025. Social Finance Inc. is one such online lender that has seen its valuation triple in six months after it joined

Read Full Article »

Billion Dollar Unicorns: Beibei the Baby of the Club

According to a Euromonitor report, the baby and child-specific products market has seen double digit growth in China due to the comparatively big number of newborns and rising disposable incomes. Over the period 2009 through 2014, China’s annual childbirths have reached an average of 15-17 million. The recent relaxation of the country’s One-Child Policy is

Read Full Article »

Challenges and Opportunities for Split HP

Early this month, Hewlett Packard split into two companies — HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (NYSE: HPE). HP Inc. will be dealing with the computers and printers business while HP Enterprise will include the software, storage, services, cloud, and financial segments. This post will look at the challenges as well as the

Read Full Article »

Billion Dollar Unicorns: Alteryx is a Prospect

According to a Research and Markets report, the global Business Intelligence and Analytics Software Market is expected to grow from $17.90 billion in 2014 to $26.78 billion by 2019, at a CAGR of 8.4%. Gartner adds that with the proliferation of data sources and applications, analytics is shifting from being a singular tool to become

Read Full Article »

Facebook Keen on SMBs But Not on Monetizing WhatsApp

According to BIA/KELSEY, spending on local media by small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) will reach $50.4 billion in 2015, representing 35.8% of total local media spending in the US. Out of this, SMBs are expected to spend $12.4 billion on digital media. Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) is looking to tap this market with its focus on SMBs.

ERII Finally Gets Its Due

Growing populations, increased demand for water, and diminishing freshwater sources due to environmental degradation and drought have created water shortages across the world. According to a report from BCC Research, the global market for seawater and brackish water desalination is expected to reach $7.2 billion in 2018 at a CAGR of 11.9%. Water desalination expert Energy

Read Full Article »

Should Apple Acquire Pandora?

According to a study by Edison Research and Triton Digital, Pandora is still the leading Internet-only audio service with 54% share followed by iHeartRadio (11%), Spotify (10%), and iTunes Radio (8%). However, what is killing Pandora is its rising content acquisition costs and an unsustainable business model coupled with increasing competition. Its value has dropped considerably,

Read Full Article »

Overseas, Mobile, and Content Key Focus for LinkedIn

According to a Cowen and Company survey of time spent on social networks, LinkedIn figured at the bottom of the list with just 9.8 minutes. User engagement is a key focus for LinkedIn right now and it is looking at mobile apps and relevant content to rev it up. The Lynda.com acquisition and its subscription fee

Read Full Article »