Giving Entrepreneurial Youth a Fighting Chance with RAK SME

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Nov 28, 2017 @ 01:13 PM

RAK SME was established in 2007 by Amiri Decree in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates to support young entrepreneurs with start-up projects. They provide small and medium enterprises with everything from quick and easy steps to simplify their procedures, to market entry resources. Their efforts have enabled the youth in their communities to establish and develop projects to enhance sustainable development in the Emirates. This work led them to win the Bronze Stevie Award for Company of the Year in the Small, Nonprofit or Government Organizations category of The 2017 International Business Awards.

Achieving Sustainable Development

Rak SMK.jpgIn order to provide an attractive environment for Emirati youth entrepreneurs, RAK SME supports a mission to strengthen the national economy through the Saud Bin Saqr Foundation for the Development of Youth Projects. RAK SME is also an initiative of Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce and Industry by incorporating a wide range of services to the members of their corporation. Rashed Sawaqed is the Business Development Consultant for RAK SME, specifically focusing on Feasibility Studies and Business Development Consultancy which aims to support and develop SME's in Ras Al Khaimah.

“From facilities and exemptions to commercial license fees, industrial and sustainable development, RAK SME makes annual goals for clear and distinctive imprints during the process of promoting and supporting youth enterprises. In addition to encouraging nationals to lead businesses, diversify the economy, and achieve sustainable development.”

RAK SME services provided for its’ members include exemptions from the payment of commercial license fees, economic and legal consultancy, business incubators and business admin services, training and development programs, workshops, discounts on various services (including participation in local and external exhibitions) and free industrial and commercial plots for development.

Playing a Major Role

Saud Bin Saqr Foundation for the Development of Youth Projects is one of the initiatives of the Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Foundation aims at developing the business sector and contributing to the government's policy in the development of youth projects in the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, where small and medium enterprises play a major role in the development of the national economy. Sawaqed comments on how winning a Stevie® has made a positive impact on achieving their goals.

“Winning the Stevie Award was an enormous achievement for our organization and continues to prove beneficial to our operations. The awards raised our customers’ confidence in our business and our capabilities.”

RAK SME is now organizing a practical training course entitled "Making Financial Decisions for Your Business Project" for entrepreneurs. Those interested in the business community within the framework of the plan can develop and qualify small and medium enterprises under the umbrella of the Foundation.

Topics: International business awards, company awards, management awards, company of the year, entrepreneur awards

Stevie Awards for Women in Business Winners Announced in 14th Annual Competition

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Mon, Nov 20, 2017 @ 09:33 AM

Shining a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs and organizations run by women, winners in the 2017 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business  were announced on Friday, November 17.

See the full list of winners here.

The Stevie Awards for Women in Business is an international competition produced by the creators of the prestigious International Business Awards and American Business Awards. The Stevie is widely considered to be the world’s premier business award.

Stevie Awards for Women in Business ceremony 2017.jpgWith more than 500 businesswomen and their guests in attendance, the awards were announced at a gala dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Nations represented at the event include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Germany, Iceland, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, U.S.A., and the United Kingdom.

The presentations were broadcast live worldwide.

More than 1,500 nominations from organizations and individuals in 25 nations were submitted to the awards this year for consideration in categories including Entrepreneur of the Year, Executive of the Year, Most Innovative Company of the Year, and Startup of the Year, among others. More than 170 professionals around the world participated in the judging process to determine the Finalists and then the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements.

Grand Stevie Award trophies were presented to the five organizations that submitted the best body of entries to the competition, in their own names or in the names of one or more clients. Winners were determined by the number of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Awards won in the competition. The Grand Stevie Award winners are:

  •         FIS, Jacksonville, FL USA (#1)
  •         Pink Elephant, Burlington, ON Canada (#2)
  •         Jeunesse Global, Lake Mary, FL USA (#3)
  •         Clariti Group, Brisbane, QLD Australia (#4 tie)
  •         Accenture, Chicago, IL and New York, NY USA (#4 tie)

Notable Gold Stevie Award winners from this year’s competition include:

  • Therese Tucker, Founder & CEO of BlackLine, Woodland Hills, CA USA - Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Services
  • Martha Herrera, Corporate Director of Social Responsibility of CEMEX, Mexico City, Mexico - Most Innovative Woman of the Year – Industry
  • Chargeback Gurus, McKinney, TX USA - Company of the Year – Business Products – More Than 10 Employees
  • Good Food Enterprise Co., Ltd, Taipei, Taiwan - Startup of the Year - Consumer Services Industries 
  • Huda Ali Al-Husaini, Head of Training and Studies for Jordan Engineers Association, Amman, Jordan - Employee of the Year - Government or Non-Profit
  • Little Medical School, St. Louis, MO, USA – Best New Product or Service of the Year - Consumer Services
  • Nissan North America, Franklin, TN USA - Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Marketing - Consumer Products
  • Inga Hlín Pálsdóttir, Director of Creative Industries for Promote Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland - Female Innovator of the Year – Government or Non-Profit –11 to 2,500 Employees
  • Allison Grafton, President and Partner of Rockwood Custom Homes, Calgary, AB Canada - Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Canada
  • Sarah Lance, Founder of Sari Bari Private Limited, Kolkata, India - Female Entrepreneur of the Year in Asia, Australia or New Zealand
  • Katlin Smith, CEO of Simple Mills, Chicago, IL USA - Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Consumer Products –11 to 2,500 Employees
  • Michelle Visco Bauyon, CEO of The Alpha Enterprise, Cabuyao, Laguna, Philippines - Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Products –10 or Less Employees
  • Jess Tomlin, President and CEO of The MATCH International Women's Fund, Ottawa, ON Canada - Most Innovative Woman of the Year - Government or Non-Profit

The 2017 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners reflect a diverse group of large and small organizations from around the globe. Organizations that won more than one Gold Stevie Award include Accenture, BioSafe Technologies, Inc., Clariti Group, Envolve, Inc., FIS, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, GingerMay PR, Jeunesse Global, Pink Elephant, Sari Bari Private Limited, Science Exchange, and The Author Incubator.

For a complete list of Stevie Award winners and more information, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/Women.

Entries for the 2018 edition of the awards will open in May.

Topics: stevie awards for women in business, women awards, women in business awards, executive of the year, Woman of the Year, employee of the year

Gamers Rejoyce! AI Tool Matches Players with Mobile Games

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Thu, Nov 16, 2017 @ 02:35 PM

With more than 1.2 million titles available on Apple and Android devices, the problem video gamers face today isn’t the lack of choice ‒ it’s having more than they can handle.

Enter ANDi. The one-and-a-half-year-old UK firm that recently launched a “personal mobile gaming assistant” Gameway that helps users find new games based on their preferences and provides a single, convenient platform from which to launch them.

The London-based company says it takes the typical player anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to find a new game. And after all that effort, 72% of the games get deleted after two uses. 

gameway.jpegBy leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning, ANDi is hoping that its Gameway app will lead to better matches, in a fraction of the time it usually takes to find a game.

“Data is collected from the games our users swipe, install and play,” says Benjamin Woolf, ANDi’s co-founder and CEO. “Machine learning algorithms process the data and display the right games to the right people at the appropriate times.” The company calls the feature “Tinder-For-Games,” a nod to the popular dating app.

Woolf, a graduate of Leeds Business University, says the the software can recommend games in under a minute, and with greater success. When using ANDi, people keep games for 25% longer, on average, than competitors.

An untapped market

The direction the company took was, its founders admit, somewhat accidental.

When Woolf and friend Sam Koch, who has a computer science background, volunteered together at a 2015 TechCrunch convention, they talked about the idea of creating a new mobile game together.

But when they visited the Google Play store to see what was already on the market, they found themselves swimming in a sea of choices. With that amount of selection, zeroing in on a particular type of game was virtually impossible. What people needed, they believed, was a more efficient way to find what they were looking for.

In a matter of just a few months, the pair was able to cultivate a team and put out the first prototype. Woolf says the community user base has grown by more than 15% month-over-month since being released.

Fostering collaboration 

The company’s speed-to-market is the result of a “work hard, play hard” approach. Product development centers on intense two-week “sprints,” in which the team discusses a new feature, designs it and then carries out a test so it can analyze results afterward.

The founders also carve out time for team-building. Employees regularly get together for team lunches where they can air out their concerns. Once a month, staff members will huddle around a video game console and hold friendly competitions.

“All this builds collaboration and fearless positivity, which allows all members individually to want to give their all,” suggests Woolf.

Already, ANDi’s gaming assistant is shaking up the industry, he says. “The larger game studios, publishers and other media sites are concerned how this could equalize the market for the small niche game developers and medium-sized companies who are not able to gain the same face-time due to financial restrictions,” he explains.

Thanks to its innovative solution, the company has recently earned multiple high-level honors. Among them: “Most Innovative Mobile Gaming Application 2017” by Softech and “Best Free Gaming App” at the TMT Global Excellence Awards 2017.

ANDi adds to its trophy case with the Bronze Stevie® Award received for “Startup of the Year - Consumer Products Industries” at this year’s International Business Awards.

“Winning an award as prestigious as the Stevies was a huge inspiration to our team,” says Woolf. “To be recognized by others in the global business community for our hard work is something we very much appreciate.”

Topics: International business awards, company awards, tech awards, startup awards

Who's Coming to the Stevie Awards for Women in Business This Friday?

Posted by Michael Gallagher on Tue, Nov 14, 2017 @ 09:56 AM

2016 SAWIB.jpg

The 2017 (14th annual) Stevie® Awards for Women in Business - the world's top honors for female entrepreneurs, executives, employees and the organizations they run - will be presented this Friday, November 17 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.  More than 525 nominees and their guests from more than 20 nations will attend for the announcement of the Grand, Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners.

The presentations will be broadcast live, beginning at 7:30 pm ET.

Here are the organizations that as of this writing will be represented at the event on Friday.

ActionCOACH Turkey
air events global
Albert
Allegis Global Solutions
ALOM
Amanda Hamilton Interior Design
AMN Healthcare Services Inc.
Amobee
Anchor Water Damage & Restoration
ARIIX
AT&T
Athene Solutions LLC
Bank Leumi USA
BBC Systems Inc. dba JVZoo
Bendalls Group
Beverly's Birthdays
BioSafe Technologies Inc.
Bishops Services Inc.
Business Tech Ninjas
CableLabs
Cake & Arrow
Care.com HomePay
CEMEX
Central Exchange
Chacka Marketing
Chargeback Gurus
Clariti Group
Coast Professional Inc.
Completely Yours Events
corecubed
Cosmique Global Inc
Cyber Human Capital
Delta Dental
Dignity Health
Dinner A'Fare
District of Columbia / Office of the Chief Technology Officer
Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr. Susan Harrison
DT Callis Seafood LLC
Durée & Company Inc.
Dynamic Dialog, Inc.
EHR Concepts
Emprint
engage2learn
Estee Lauder Inc.
Extreme Reach
EY
Fabric Innovations
FedEx Corporation
Fighting Golf
FIS
Flourish Nutritional Medicine
Forcepoint
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
Full Sun International Co. LTD.
Galileo Research and Strategy Consultancy
GCG
GingerMay PR
Global Listings Limited
Global Upside Inc.
Glotel
Good Food Enterprise Co. Ltd
Goodwin Group PR
HCL
Heal
HealthEquity
Hemsworth Communications
HGS
HM Health Solutions
HR Authority Ministry of Interior Manama Kingdom of Bahrain
iCIMS
ICON plc
IEEE
Impact PR & Communications Ltd.
Improving
InAuth
Inspired Results Inc.
Institute of Women
JBJ Soul Kitchen
JDA Software
Jetlore
Jeunesse Global
JND Legal Administration
Jones Publishing (Citywealth)
Julie Cortes
Kaizen Technology Partners
Kenandy
Kindred BioScience
Kit Out Your Crib
KSJ & Associates
Learning Links Foundation
Lighthouse Worldwide Solutions
Little Medical School
Live Infinitely
Live Marketing
LoveBug Probiotics
Luckie & Company
Madwire®
MapR Technologies
Margaritaville Holdings
Maria Shireen
MarkLogic
Merck & Co. Inc.
NBCUniversal Inc.
New Directions for Women
Northrop Grumman
NRPR Group
Nu Skin Enterprises Inc.
Oncor Electric Delivery
One Purse One Planet
Other World Computing
Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc.
Panasonic
Paradigm Design Group
Pencil9
PeopleScout
Pink Elephant
Plan International Canada
PlanGrid
Pop2Life
Proforma 4D Marketing
Promote Iceland
Publicity Genie
Rahab's Daughters
Randa Habelrih
Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems
REACH, LLC
RealtyMogul
Recipe4Change P/L
Red Hat
ReSound
Romanoff Consultants
RV Rental Connection Inc.
SABIC
SAP
SAP SE
Sari Bari Private Limited
School District of Palm Beach County
Selling Energy
Sharon Merrill Associates
She Prosperity
Shire Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Simpson Healthcare Executives LLC
Socialfly
Songpa-gu
Space Kidz
Spotted Inc.
Staples Inc.
STARLINKS PR and Events
Stewart A Xerox Company
Strategati LLC
Susan Davis International
Swiss Post Solutions
Tavuu Welfare Association
TeamPeople
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited
The Alpha Enterprise
The Freelance Exchange
The Giggling Pig
The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR)
The Juniper Center
The Mane Choice
TIAA
Transitions in Progress LLC
Travelzoo
Triple A Financial Services Pty Ltd
True Value Company
Turner
Turner/CNN Digital
Ultimate Business Propellor
UnitedHealthcare
University of Wisconsin Health
ValueSelling Associates
Verizon
Vistra Energy
WDS Marketing & PR
Widows of Opportunity
Williams Law Group LLC
Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.
Woodcliff Realty Advisors LLC
YouEarnedIt
Ziegler
ZingBox

The 2018 edition of the Stevie Awards for Women in Business will open for entries in May.  Join the mailing list and the 2018 entry kit will be emailed to you as soon as it is available.

Request the Entry Kit

Topics: stevie awards for women in business, women awards, women in business awards, stevie awards. women awards

Elevating the Industry Standard with BTS

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Mon, Nov 13, 2017 @ 12:28 PM

Helping leading global companies turn strategy into results takes careful consideration and extensive experience. However, making that process fun, powerful, and lasting, to make an impact on the people and their careers can be one of the most challenging hurdles to overcome. BTS is a global professional services firm headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden with 500 professionals in 33 offices on six continents, inspiring new ways of thinking, building critical capabilities, and unleashing business success. Jessica Parisi, President & CEO of BTS USA, has been named the winner of a Bronze Stevie Award The 2017 International Business Awards for the Woman of the Year category.

The Industry Gold Standard

BTS global.jpgAs a management consulting company, BTS always strives to focus on working with leaders at all levels to help them make better decisions, convert those decisions to actions, and deliver results. Hannah Reeve, the Associate Marketing Manager at BTS, comments on the recent attention BTS has received due to their history of success.

“BTS has had a record year, with tremendous growth and significant improvements to the bottom-line, and continues to set the industry gold standard in terms of innovative, scalable, impactful client work. This expertise and impact is widely recognized, with BTS USA being named both a 2017 Top 20 Leadership Training Company and a 2017 Top 20 Sales Training Company for the first time ever, and our Changr and Pulse digital tools winning Gold and Silver Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, respectively.”

Some of the services BTS offers include:

  • Assessment centers for talent selection and development
  • Strategy alignment and execution
  • Business acumen, leadership and sales training programs
  • On-the-job business simulations and application tools.

They partner with nearly 450 organizations, including over 30 of the world’s 100 largest global corporations. Some of their major clients include: Microsoft, SAP, Chevron, Coca-Cola, Volvo Group, Citigroup, Salesforce, Tencent and Novartis.

The Best Work of Their Lives

BTS winning a Stevie Award has been a symbol of international recognition of Jessica Parisi's powerful influence and positive impact on BTS and their client organizations globally. Hannah Reeve believes it is, “an honor that does nothing but bolster the reputation of both BTS and Jessica in the public eye, and has been incredibly beneficial in getting increased attention to Jessica's achievements as a leader and insightful point of view.”

Jessica Parisi has since been interviewed by magazines such as Entrepreneur..

As a woman CEO in a male-dominated industry, Jessica Parisi has demonstrated remarkable growth, achievement, and passion for her work. Throughout her 18-year career at BTS, Parisi has pioneered turning strategy into action through the use of customized business simulations and other experiential learning techniques for leading Fortune 500 clients.

Jessica also evolved BTS USA from a female to male consultant ratio of 18% to 82% and 44% to 56%. Engaging with every individual throughout the organization on a personal level, Jessica embodies the “Multiplier” leader and sets the direction for the organization as she strives to provide all employees the opportunity to “do the best work of their lives and have fun while doing it.”

No Fear Needed to Disrupt an Industry

The learning and development space is changing tremendously, with increased emphasis on virtual learning formats, digital technology, and equipping people with the skills and mindset needed to lead through transformation.

“Clients across industries are all combating enormous change and shifts in their spaces” says Reeves, “More and more are turning to programs that will help their people learn the leadership skills, innovation capabilities, and strategic agility required to be successful moving forward.”

At their core, BTS believes people learn best by doing. For 30 years, they’ve inspired new ways of thinking, building critical capabilities and unleashing business success.

Jessica Parisi wants people to know that, "it's not scary to do something different and new – it's exciting. BTS has a history of being disruptive, and I want us to continue that. It’s so much more fun when we are the disruptor.”

Topics: International business awards, women awards, Woman of the Year, consulting awards

You Don’t Need a Big Budget to Make a Big Splash

Posted by Maggie Gallagher on Tue, Nov 07, 2017 @ 03:48 PM

It is two minutes and fifty-three seconds of simple, but remarkably effective storytelling.

A silver-haired man, dressed in a dark sport coat, walks through the streets of Norman, an unpretentious American town in the heart of Oklahoma. As he slowly meanders down the city streets, he recites a poem in his measured, slightly raspy voice.

The first verse describes a frazzled gentleman who, upon visiting a friend, begins to open up about his latest difficulties. If not for its business slant, like worries over “negative cash flow,” it would be easy to confuse the nuanced lines for those of Robert Frost.

McMahon.jpgEventually, the friend he’s come to see changes his fortunes. Now, he has systems “designed with vision and purpose” that provide better insight into his operations. He and his wife start doing more travelling, thanks to generous dividend checks.

Watch McMahon's video here.

So it is that McMahon Marketing helped its client, a local business coach, address one of its biggest challenges: a lot of prospects simply don’t know what these coaches do, or why they need one.

“Small business owners feel isolated and stressed and believe others are thriving while they’re failing,” says CEO Korey McMahon, whose U.S.-based agency produced the video ad. 

McMahon says the spot’s success shows that there’s a viable way to address those challenges. “The message is: Others have done it. You can too, and here’s how.”

The resulting work, entitled “The Owner & The Coach,” earned McMahon’s agency a Gold Stevie Award for best Service Sales Video in The 2017 American Business Awards.

A compelling message

A big part of the ad’s appeal is its stripped-down, authentic vibe. It stars the client himself, Martin Holland, who intones a poem he originally wrote while taking his dog for a walk.

In it, Holland, who works for Las Vegas, America-based ActionCOACH, finds a way to demystify his industry, turning the business owner-coach relationship into a uniquely personal interaction.

“The thing about coaching is people don’t know what it is,” Holland told his hometown newspaper, The Norman Transcript. “Or if they do, they have misbegotten ideas about what it is. We were trying to show before and after of the stresses small business owners go through and how their lives change.” 

McMahon saw Holland’s rhyming verse as the perfect way to get his client’s message across. With a budget of just $1,000, he enlisted a local film director, Cooper Williams, to turn it into an ad.

“We created something that we felt like was top quality, that we were really proud of,” McMahon told the newspaper. “We took a shot, not really expecting to win anything because of the nature of the competition and the quality in the Stevie awards. It was very exciting for our team and all of the hard work that they do.”

Making an impact

Already, the video has been having a big effect. Holland says he recently spoke with two business owners in northeast Oklahoma who are perfect examples. The husband saw the need for a coach to help revitalize the company, but his wife was hesitant.

Upon seeing the video, that immediately changed. “She said, ‘I get it now. I’m all in.’”

The spot is also a huge shot in the arm for McMahon Marketing, a five-year-old inbound marketing agency with a staff of just seven full-time employees. Despite their lean budget, they were proud to win the Gold with several multinational firms with billions of dollars in revenue as their competition.

“It’s so important for not only our credibility, but also the talent we recruit,” says McMahon. “I feel we have the most talented team around, and this is just validation that we are creating nationally recognized videos and marketing services,” he said.

Topics: video awards, marketing awards, PR awards, American business awards