Business Leadership

2017 will continue to be an innovator’s market, and if you’re not evolving to meet the needs of your customers or following along with the current trends, then there is a good chance that you’ll be left behind. A prediction by Internet Retailer claims that online spending in the U.S. will generate $355 billion in 2016, a number that's expected to exceed $400 billion per year by 2018.

Amid the release of new data* on American small businesses revealing that that, in November 2015, the economic outlook among U.S. small business owners—down nearly 2 points year-over-year—has finally stabilized after a 6-month decline, there’s cause for entrepreneurs to be optimistic for the year ahead.

Whether or not that outlook begins to uptick not only depends upon how agile, adaptable, creative and resourceful entrepreneurs can be in planning for, or reacting to, market conditions, revenue and brand-building opportunities and other key concerns, but also how well they maintain a forward-thinking mindset.

Acquia has announced that they have closed a $55 million equity financing round through the help of Centerview Capital Technology. Centerview Capital specializes in partnering with the management teams of midsize companies they see as "high potential" for growth. Centerview Capital Technology led the financing round, with support from existing investors including New Enterprise Associates and Split Rock Partners. This funding will help Acquia scale its global operations, sales and marketing as well as the development of its solutions for building, delivering, and optimizing digital experiences.

Jahia Solutions Group, the vendor behind the leading open source "Digital Industrialization" platform, announced today that Kevin Cochrane has joined Jahia’s Board. Cochrane is a former marketing executive for both Adobe and OpenText. As a board member, Cochrane is expected to provide strategic support to the company he recognizes as a major disruptor in the market.

Acquia has announced the appointment of Christopher Stone as senior vice president of products and development. Stone has more than 30 years of experience in software development and pioneering open source solutions for the enterprise. Stone will be responsible for engineering, DevOps, and product management of the Acquia Platform, helping lead the expansion of the company’s suite of SaaS solutions for building and managing integrated digital experiences.

One of my favorite local companies, Blend Interactive, recently made some news this past week. Blend Interactive has named Karla Santi as their Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Santi has been a partner at Blend Interactive since the company formed in 2005, where, to the public, she served as Creative Director and, behind the scenes, handled a good chunk of operational oversight.

Blend Interactive is a web design, development, and strategy firm located in Sioux Falls, SD. Blend Interactive specializes in custom design, strategy and development for web and mobile, and is responsible for the annual Now What? Conference.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – June 3, 2014 – Acquia, the digital business company, today strengthens its offerings for big data marketing and commerce, signing a definitive agreement to acquire Toronto-based TruCentric and its SaaS solution for real-time customer profiling and user engagement. TruCentric uses situational and historical data to drive deeper understanding of site visitors and provides insight in a way that marketers can make use of it.