BAIAblog

An Interview with Massimo Arrigoni, Co-Founder and CEO of Early Impact

Massimo Arrigoni is the co-founder and CEO of Early Impact, the company making ProductCart, a popular shopping cart program for e-commerce. Massimo is a friend of BAIA and I invited him to participate in the following interview:

How did you ended up in California founding an e-commerce company?
I fell in love. Not with e-commerce, but with a gorgeous California girl. We have been married for almost 10 years and have 3 kids. When we met I was at UCLA doing research on e-commerce. Early Impact came later, but electronic commerce is something that I’ve been involved with for over a decade.

Which aspect of a shopping cart is more important: the interaction with the end-user or the services for the merchant?
What we sell is a feature set: businesses buy ProductCart because it has this or that feature that is particularly important to them. But what makes ProductCart a successful shopping cart system is ultimately the fact that online shoppers like stores that are powered by our software. So I guess the answer is: they’re both extremely important.

Can you tell us why a company should invest resources selecting a shopping-cart? Aren't all similar?
It’s the foundation of your e-commerce business. It’s crucial to spend time understanding what best fits your needs, even if it takes a lot of time. And you’re absolutely right. There is an overload of shopping carts today. That’s simply because putting together a cheap, basic shopping cart is not hard. But once you dig a little deeper, the differences are huge. Do most shopping carts allow you to get a report of customers that have not yet purchased product XYZ and email them an electronic coupon for free UPS Ground shipping if they buy it within 2 weeks? No way. Only a handful are at that level.

Is Google checkout affecting more your business or your customers?
Google Checkout actually generates business for us. ProductCart is integrated with it, so now merchants buy our software for that reason. Google aggressively went after companies like Early Impact to quickly make Google Checkout available on as many stores as possible. By the way, I just posted something on my blog a few days ago exactly on this topic. It might be worth a look.

What is your connection with BAIA? Do you think that Early Impact could benefit from that connection?
I’ve been to many BAIA meetings and recently became a member. I’ve met a lot of interesting, talented people. Early Impact has already benefited from some of the connections. We found a new master reseller for Italy, for example. The company is called NWEB, and I met one of the owners, Nazzareno Gorni, at a BAIA event last summer. Nazzareno and his team are going to help us aggressively sell our e-commerce software in Italy, which could be a big growth market for us in the future.

I would like to thank Massimo Arrigoni for taking the time to speak with me today. If anybody has a question for Massimo or for BAIA, just leave a comment below, and we will be glad to answer.

Franco Folini

Italy, According to The Economist

A few weeks ago I received a little book with my subscription renewal for The Economist magazine. This Pocket World in Figures -2007 Edition is a collection of numbers and indexes measuring the major economic and social indicators for 182 countries in the world. It contains rankings on more than 200 topics in subject areas as wide-ranging as geography, population, business, the economy, trade, transportation, finance, industry, demographics, the environment, society, culture, and crime.
I spent some time checking the Italy ranking for all of the indexes. Here is my personal, non-exhaustive selection of rankings sorted from the highest to the lowest.

Index	Rank	Value	Notes
Highest Population over 60	2nd	25.6%	Japan is #1
Wine Drinkers	3rd	29.1	Litres per head
Mobile Phone Subscribers	4th	108.2	Subscriptions per 100 people
Highest Car Ownership	5th	547	Cars per 1K people
Most Tourist Arrival, '000	5th	37,071	Spain is #2 with 53,000
Largest Deficit, $m	6th	-15.56	-
Largest Industrial Output, $bn	6th	417	-
Biggest Exporters	8th	3.85%	% of world exports
Largest Donors, $m	9th	2,464	US is #1 with 19,705 $m
Highest Life Expectancy	10th	80.6	US is #40
Biggest Economies (GDP, $bn)	10th	1,677	-
Most Crowded Roads	14th	73.3	US is #33
Human Development Index	18th	93.4	A Quality of Life Index
Highest Environmental Performance	21st	79.8	US is #28
Highest Population, millions	22th	57.3	Was 10th in 1950
Highest GDP per Head	24th	$29,280	US is #9
E-readiness	25th	7.14	Internet economy readiness
Computers per 100 people	31st	31.3	Computers

Personally I feel proud about some of these numbers and ashamed about others. I would like to know your honest opinion. Please feel free to share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment.

Franco Folini

Blogs Versus Wikis: a Matter of Balance (Part III)

At BAIA’s event on Blogs & Marketing Six Apart presented the case study of another fascinating application of blogs: one from Boeing’s Flight Test Journal. What an enticing, far-reaching perspective! A gift to many who may never be able to afford such a journey and a generous way of sharing observations and data.

So, if blogs can also make up a common knowledge base, how do they differ from Wikis, object of BAIA’s previous event? Peter Thoeny’s input, corroborated by the other presenters on “Blogs & Marketing”, was once again sharply insightful: Wikis are editable, constantly changing (“morphing”), dynamic through time, often summarize a compendium of entries from multiple contributors and follow an encyclopedia-style format, much like the popular Wikipedia. Whereas blogs bear a set time stamp, (so do Wikis, but behind the scenes), are static, individually-generated, sequential, written as diary notes.

The distinction between blogs and Wikis is important but it carries no bias for either tool, as each is suited to perform best in the proper setting.

This session on Blogs & Marketing was extremely rich in content, powered by speakers who are both experts in, and passionate about, their field and fueled by the participation of attendees eager to learn more about how to implement, improve and advance the use of blogs for their organizations. All for a topic which is not short of coverage, considering there were concomitant events on the same subject, on that very evening.

Need a proof of my words? See the flattering endorsement from Novell’s Bruce Lowry in his Novell’s PR blog.

At the end of the Q&A when attendees were prompted for “one last question” hands across the room shot to the ceiling, clearly betraying an overflow of thoughts and opportunity for further discussion. The swift upper-body movements were followed by an accomplice chorus of laughs and the obvious understanding that the story will continue. “Alla prossima puntata” as we say in Italian, or “’til the next episode”.

Don’t miss next BAIA event, it promises to be simply… electrifying!

Lucia Panini

The Case for Business Blogs: Beyond the Buzz and in the Beef (Part II)

The convincing arguments brought forward by the panelists at BAIA’s event on Blogs & Marketing, proved the case for the use of blogs in business because blogs – if properly groomed – impact directly the bottom line, by increasing revenues and lowering costs. How? By intelligently piecing together the tesserae of the marketing mosaic.

Blogs affect sales directly: they can produce revenue via ads, they help drive higher traffic to a web site, (translating into stronger eCommerce sales, heightened interest for products and services, more click troughs to distributors’ sites, cross selling and upselling opportunities); they enhance dramatically the positioning with a search engine, adding momentum to a well-conceived SEO strategy.

Indirectly, blogs help better understand the customer base; by “listening” to blogs, a company can quickly find out what users like or dislike, even how they “call” a product. Mauro Lupi of Ad Maiora hinted to this point, mentioning the lingo used by cell phone users to refer to their devices in Italy, varies (cellulare, telefonino, etc).

To match the nomenclature used in marketing literature with the terms which resonate with the target user base, yields an immediate competitive advantage. To speak the same language of existing and prospective customers allows crafting an advertising message which will instantly establish a direct association with a product or service.

Revenues of course also originate from the roll out of new products and blogs are a clever method of discovering what costumers may be seeking but is not yet available, or not with the desired package, flavor, or features. Mauro Lupi offered the case study of Mulino Bianco, (Barilla brand), whose team created a new product based on the input collected from its blog.

On the other side of the profit equation, blogs represent an immense source of market research data at a fraction of the cost of traditional market research instruments (such as focus groups and custom surveys).

Blogs can also prevent significant dilution of resources. Business misshapes happen to the best companies, and can be dangerously costly if not corrected proactively. It may take infinite efforts and time to dissolve the damaging effects of a harmful PR spill. Rather than learning from distant sources that customers are unhappy with a product, it is far more helpful to know from a business’ own blog, and within a limited time lapse, what caused a problem, so that immediate measures can be enacted to bring it under control.

Blogs however imply that time be devoted to them and that businesses care about what is posted, not to mention devising action plans in accordance with the feedback received (hence the need for grooming).

So the question arises: “How can a business with limited resources capitalize on the wealth of information that pours in from a blog and put it to use before it becomes obsolete? Is it possible to mine/text-mine the entirety of entries for a given time period, to capture the most salient keywords and messages?”

Lucia Panini

Blogs Beyond Business: Life-critical Applications (Part I)

BAIA is continuing to deliver a vibrant series of business events, where eloquent speakers and stimulating attendees gather enthusiastically, providing a fertile ground for ongoing discussions, partnerships and in-depth development of the featured topics.

The panel, at “Blogs & Marketing” was composed of four experts: Mauro Lupi, of Ad Maiora, Marissa Levinson of Six Apart (also sponsor), Mary Trigiani of Spada, Inc, and Peter Thoeny, of StructuredWikis. Each of them engaged the audience from different angles, offering a synergic, harmonious all-around presentation.

In a nutshell, blogs (Web logs), are on-line journals. They can be used whenever individuals wish to contribute their thoughts to a forum about a matter relevant to their community.
I see blogs as a natural evolution of Internet communication, and an even deeper “democratization” of the Internet, already a platform which – despite the yet unfilled gaps of the digital divide and occasional political censorships – has opened the reign of knowledge and access to information to masses of people around the planet.

In the business world, blogs demystify the top-down, formal approach from corporate to consumer; as Mary Trigiani of Spada emphasized, the target is perceived no longer as a passive “audience” but rather as active “stakeholders”.

As Six Apart pointed out, blogs also ensure inclusiveness, overcoming glitches such as accidentally dropping an e-mail address from a large distribution list.
Blogs leverage on current technology, (visit Six Apart website for a comprehensive suite of tools), to satisfy the ancestral human need to voice one’s opinions, bringing along the corollary right to freedom of expression. We once drew signs on the walls of a cave, now we post via a mouse click; the urge to communicate hasn’t changed. Blogs enable members of a society to discuss, interactively, topics of interest, whether from a personal or business standpoint.

But beyond the confines of a balance sheet, there are compelling reasons to embrace blogs and to understand their scope. Often in Silicon Valley we have a thirst for innovation which resembles pure play! However, many innovations are born of, or will serve, the broader, higher, longer-range goal of improving human life and of providing solutions to impending needs.

This was the poignant case in the immediate aftermath of hurricane Katrina, when – as Six Apart highlighted – blogging was often the only way for reporters to post information on the status of areas hit by the catastrophe, and to relay vital updates to dispersed families, friends and rescuers.
A critical need for first responders after major disasters strike is to maintain real-time communication across rescue teams and with the “outside” world, so that relief efforts can be optimized to save as many lives as possible.

So blogs can play a vital role, just like wireless mesh networks and other tools that prevent or mitigate isolation of the afflicted population. There exist not-just-mundane reasons to welcome the explosive growth of blogs (doubling each month every six months as quoted by Mauro Lupi), also because of how they can serve our communities.

Lucia Panini

Blogs, Marketing, and Risotto

Thursday was the big day. After a long preparation everything was ready for the new BAIA event: Blogs and Marketing. I was a bit worried that something could go wrong at the last minute, despite all our efforts.
Organizing an event it's like making a risotto: first, you need the best ingredients. For risotto the list is well known: Italian Arborio (pronounced ar-boh-ree-oh) rice, chicken stock, onions, Parmesan cheese, butter and obviously zafferano (saffron). As in every recipe, using best ingredients do not guarantee a good result. You need also time, skill, and passion, and mostly important, some magic.
We planned last Thursday event to be as good as an authentic risotto alla milanese. We had the privilege of having the best ingredients: four great panelists (each one with thier unique flavor), a cool topic and a perfect venue. Everybody involved invested their time, their skills, and joined in with sincere passion.
Thursday night, we witnessed something similar to what transforms good ingredients into a delicious, creamy, and tasty risotto. Our 4 great panelists, who barely knew each other before, were sitting in front of 30 people, talking about blogs and marketing when, like in a pot of risotto, the magic happened: almost everybody in the audience got involved in a dialog with the panel.
It really was a great, informative, and inspiring event. Indeed, as for risotto, the result was richer and tastier than the single ingredients.
If you are familiar with Italian culture you know that for an Italian comparing something or somebody to a risotto is the highest form of appreciation.

The focus of the event was on corporate blogs or, as Mauro Lupi suggested, business blogs. For a successful business blog, the panel recommends:

1. Blogging with passion for the subject
2. Talking to people, not to consumers
3. Being credible
4. Writing often
5. Linking, linking, linking

Please take a look at the pictures on BAIA pages on Flickr, and check out the brief report by Bruce Lowry on Novell Open PR blog. My personal, and BAIA team gratitude goes to our four panelists: Mauro Lupi (Ad Maiora), Mrissa Levinson (Six Apart), Mary Trigiani (Spada, Inc.), and Peter Thoeny (StructuredWikis, LLC).

Franco Folini

BAIA and BEST: Both Working in the Same Direction to Foster Entrepreneurship

In January I had the pleasure to meet with a visiting delegation from the U.S. Embassy in Rome in connection with the BEST Program. The BEST Program is a very interesting initiative launched by the Hon. Ronald Spogli, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, to promote the exchange of entrepreneurial experience between Italy and the U.S. The BEST delegation has just arrived in the Bay Area and its members will be interning at local companies for a few months (see their blog). It is very reassuring and positive to see that this initiative was launched so quickly and so well. BAIA is trying to follow a similar track with its internship program. Young talented Italians need international exposure to grasp strength and weaknesses of the systems and bring back to Italy the strengths of American entrepreneurship. Unlike the “school trip” mentality of many traditional delegations from Italy, BEST seems to be a novel, practical approach to this issue. Let’s give our BAIA compliments and “best wishes” to BEST!

Matteo Daste

Reminder: Blogs and Marketing Event

I would like to remind everybody of the next interesting BAIA event: Blogs and Marketing. The event will take place here in San Francisco Thursday February 8, 6:00 pm, at Cooley Godward Kronish LLP on 101 California Street, 5th Floor.

The event sponsors are Cooley Godward Kronish, and Six Apart, the most popular blog platform. As described in a previous post on this blog and on a more recent post on Novedge blog, the event panel will feature four very interesting experts (alphabetical order):

Marissa Levinson, Six Apart (blog)

Marissa is the Director of Business Development & Sales at Six Apart. She works with Six Apart’s enterprise and business clients, coordinating partnership agreements and sales strategy. Prior to Six Apart, she worked for Bloomberg, L.P.

Mauro Lupi, Ad Maiora (blog)

One of the most influential Italian bloggers, Internet marketing and SEO expert. Mauro is the president of Ad Maiora, an international company.

Peter Thoeny, StructuredWikis, LLC (blog)

Wiki guru, and blogger. Peter is the founder and major author of tWiki, a open-source wiki for the corporate world. He is also one of the founder of StructuredWikis, LLC. Peter is now working on a new book, "Wiki for Dummies".

Mary Trigiani, Spada Inc. (blog)

Mary is a marketing expert, a writer, and a blogger. She works with senior executives to articulate their business strategies and speak and write about them in their own voices.

Program
The event will start at 6:00 pm. We will have about 30 minutes for registration, then Mauro Lupi will open the discussion with a 15 minutes presentation. Following Mauro presentation the panelist and all people attending the event will be involved in a discussion and exchange of experiences about blogs and marketing. At 7:30 pm we will close the discussion to leave some space for networking and to give everybody an opportunity to speak directly with our panelists and guests.

If you are in San Francisco or in the Bay Area, please join us! For registration please visit the BAIA registration page: the registration is $20 for guests and only $5 for BAIA members, just one more good reason to consider to become a BAIA member.

Franco Folini

Key Factors for Launching or Transferring to the International Arena

The AIA, American Institute of Architects, is a professional organization that has pledged to "promote the scientific and practical perfection of its members" and "elevate the standing of the profession" already 150 years ago.

Because they “realize that the practice of architecture is a global industry”, and that their members seek information that is more vital and changing than ever before about foreign markets, trade, procurement and practice issues, as well as the cross-cultural aspects of working abroad” they have set up an International website to feature this information.

I’ve recently come across an article featured there (The Export of Professional Design Services by Foreign Architecture Firms - A View of Initiatives Overseas by Thomas Vonier, FAIA) that impressed me because of the translatability of the key factors mentioned as the ones entrepreneurs and investors tend to evaluate for launching new foreign businesses. Not surprisingly it was the result of a study undertaken by the U.S. Department of Commerce, probably in collaboration with the International Trade Administration.

I thought to summarize them here below, sending readers to the complete article for a more specific reading. Key factors entrepreneurs and investors tend to evaluate for launching new foreign business activities:

• Availability of talented people
• Favorable business climate
• Stable infrastructure
• Proximity to natural markets
• Protection of intellectual property
• Good government
• Valuation of good design and high quality
• Quality of life

Among the factors that appear to be behind the move of business activities out of the United States are:

• Lower cost alternatives
• Foreign talent and drive
• Better markets and better access
• Expanding, modernized infrastructure
• Favorable business conditions
• Proximity to productive capacity

A good question is: how many of these factors are fulfilled by Italy and the Italian market?
For the architectural field some answers could be found at the upcoming Build Expo, the new exhibition dedicated to the world of Architecture and Building running in Milan, February 6^th-10^th.

Giorgio Ghersi