#‘70+ hours per week?’ (healthcare startup)

[scary-senpai]

:: laughs in Resident Assistant ::

[un-enfant-immature]

The Station: Bird and Lime layoffs, pivots in a COVID-19 era and a $2.2 trillion deal

Hello folks, welcome back (or hi for the first time) to The Station, a weekly newsletter dedicated to the all the ways people and packages move around this world. I’m your host, Kirsten Korosec, senior transportation reporter at TechCrunch.

I also have started to publish a shorter version of the newsletter on TechCrunch . That’s what you’re reading now. For the whole enchilada — which comes out every Saturday — you can subscribe to the newsletter by heading over here, and clicking “The Station.” It’s free!

Before I get into the thick of things, how is everyone doing? This isn’t a rhetorical question; I’m being earnest. I want to hear from you (note my email below). Maybe you’re a startup founder, a safety driver at an autonomous vehicle developer, a venture capitalist, engineer or gig economy worker. I’m interested in how you are doing, what you’re doing to cope and how you’re getting around in your respective cities.

Please reach out and email me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com to share thoughts, opinions or tips or send a direct message to @kirstenkorosec.

Micromobbin’

It was a rough week for micromobility amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Bird laid off about 30% of its employees due to the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus.

In a memo obtained by TechCrunch, Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden said:

The unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has forced our leadership team and the board of directors to make many extremely difficult and painful decisions relating to some of your teammates. As you know, we’ve had to pause many markets around the world and drastically cut spending. Due to the financial and operational impact of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we are saying goodbye to about 30% of our team.

The fallout from COVID-19 isn’t limited to Bird. Lime is also reportedly considering laying off up to 70 people in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Meanwhile, Wheels deployed e-bikes with self-cleaning handlebars and brake levers to help reduce the risk of spreading the virus. NanoSeptic’s technology, which is powered by light, uses mineral nano-crystals to create an oxidation reaction that is stronger than bleach, according to the company’s website. NanoSeptic then implements that technology into skins and mats to turn anything from a mousepad to door handles to handlebars into self-cleaning surfaces.

The upshot to all of this: COVID-19 is turning shared mobility on its head. That means lay offs will continue. It also means companies like Wheels will try to innovate or pivot in hopes of staying alive.

While some companies pulled scooters off city streets, others changed how they marketed services. Some turned efforts to gig economy workers delivering food. Others, like shared electric moped service Revel, are focusing on healthcare workers.

Revel is now letting healthcare workers in New York rent its mopeds for free. To qualify, they just need to upload their employee ID. For now, the free rides for healthcare workers is limited to Brooklyn, Queens and a new service area from upper Manhattan down to 65th street. Revel expanded the area to include hospitals in one of the epicenters of the disease.

Revel is still renting its mopeds to the rest of us out there, although they encourage people to only use them for essential trips. As you might guess, ridership is down significantly. The company says it has stepped up efforts of disinfecting and cleaning the mopeds and helmets. Revel also operates in Austin, New York City, Oakland, and Washington. It has suspended service in Miami per local regulations.

— Megan Rose Dickey (with a cameo from Kirsten Korosec)

Deal of the week

Typically, I would highlight a large funding round for a startup in the “deal of the week” section. This week, I have broadened my definition.

On Friday, the House of Representatives passed a historic stimulus package known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or “CARES” act. President Donald Trump signed it hours later. The CARES act contains an unprecedented $2.2 trillion in total financial relief for businesses, public institutions and individuals hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

TechCrunch has just started what will be a multi-day dive into the 880-page document. And in the coming weeks, I will highlight anything related or relevant to the transportation industry or startups here.

I’ll focus today on three items: airlines, public transit and small business loans.

U.S. airlines are receiving $58 billion. It breaks down to about $25 billion in loans for commercial carriers, $25 billion in payroll grants to cover the 750,000 employees who work in the industry.  Cargo carriers will receive $4 billion in loans and $4 billion in grants. These loans come with some strings attached. Airlines will have to agree not to lay off workers through the end of September. The package forbids stock buybacks and issuing dividends to shareholders for a year after paying off one of the loans.

Public transit has been allocated $24.9 billion. The CARES Act provides almost three times the FY 2020 appropriations for this category, according to the American Public Transportation Association. The funds are distributed through a formula that puts $13.79 billion to urban, $2 billion to rural, $7.51 billion towards state of good repair and $1.71 billion for high-density state transit. APTA notes that these funds are for operating expenses to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19 beginning on January 20, 2020.

Amtrak received an additional $1 billion in grants, that directs $492 million of those funds towards the northeast corridor. The remaining goes to the national network.

Small business loans are a critical piece of the bill, and an area where many startups may be focused. There is a lot to unpack here, but in basic terms the act provides $350 billion in loans that will be administered by the Small Business Administration to businesses with 500 or fewer employees. These loans are meant to cover an eligible borrower’s payroll, rent, utilities expenses and mortgage interest for up to eight weeks. If the borrower maintains its workforce, some of the loan may be forgiven.

Venture-backed startups seeking relief may run into problems qualifying. It all comes down to how employees are counted. Normally, SBA looks at a company’s affiliates to determine if they qualify. So, a startup owned by a private equity firm is considered affiliated with the other companies in that firm’s portfolio, which could push employment numbers far beyond 500. That rule also seems to apply to venture-backed startups, in which more than 50% of voting stock is held by the VC.

The guidance on this is still spotty. But Fenwick & West, a Silicon Valley law firm, said in recent explainer that the rule has the “potential to be problematic for startups because the SBA affiliation rules are highly complex and could cause lenders to group together several otherwise unaffiliated portfolio companies of a single venture capital firm in determining whether a borrower has no more than 500 employees.”

One final note: The SBA has waived these affiliation rules for borrowers in the food services and food supply chain industry. It’s unclear what that might mean for those food automation startups or companies building autonomous vehicles for food delivery.

More deal$

COVID-19 has taken over, but deals are still happening. Here’s a rundown of some of partnerships, acquisitions and fundraising round that got our attention.

Lilium, the Munich-based startup that is designing and building vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft and aspires to run in its own taxi fleet, has raised $240 million in a funding round led by Tencent. This is being couched as an inside round with only existing investors, a list that included participation from previous backers such as Atomico, Freigeist and LGT. The valuation is not being disclosed. But sources tell us that it’s between $750 million and $1 billion.

Wunder Mobility acquired Australia-based car rental technology provider KEAZ. (Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but as part of the deal KEAZ founder and CTO Tim Bos is joining Wunder Mobility) KEAZ developed a mobile app and back-end management tool that lets rental agencies, car dealerships, and corporations provide shared access to vehicles.

Cazoo, a startup that buys used cars and then sells them online and delivers to them your door, raised $116 million funding. The round was led by DMG Ventures with General Catalyst, CNP (Groupe Frère), Mubadala Capital, Octopus Ventures, Eight Roads Ventures and Stride.VC also participating.

Helm.ai came out of stealth with an announcement that it has raised $13 million in a seed round that includes investment from A.Capital Ventures, Amplo, Binnacle Partners, Sound Ventures, Fontinalis Partners and SV Angel. Helm.ai says it developed software for autonomous vehicles that can skip traditional steps of simulation, on-road testing and annotated data set — all tools that are used to train and improve the so-called “brain” of the self-driving vehicle.

RoadSync, a digital payment platform for the transportation industry, raised a $5.7 million in a Series A led by Base10 Partners with participation from repeat investor Hyde Park Venture Partners and Companyon Ventures. The company developed cloud-based software that lets businesses invoice and accept payments from truck drivers, carriers and brokers. Their platform is in use at over 400 locations nationwide with over 50,000 unique transactions monthly, according to RoadSync.

Self-driving truck startup TuSimple is partnering with automotive supplier ZF to develop and produce autonomous vehicle technology, such as sensors, on a commercial scale. The partnership, slated to begin in April, will cover China, Europe and North America.

A final word

Remember, the weekly newsletter features even more mobility news and insights. I’ll leave ya’ll with this one chart from Inrix. The company has launched a U.S. traffic synopsis that it plans to publish every Monday. The chart shows traffic from the week of March 14 to March 20. The upshot: COVID-19 reduced traffic by 30% nationwide.

[sarkarimirror]

Highlights Of Interim Budget 2019-20

Highlights Of Interim Budget 2019-20  The key highlights of the Interim Budget 2019-20 presented by the Union Minister for Finance, Corporate Affairs, Railways & Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal in Parliament today are as follows: New Announcements Farmers ·         12 crore small and marginal farmers to be provided with assured yearly income of Rs. 6000 per annum under PM-KISAN o   Outlay of Rs. 75,000 crore for FY 2019-20 with additional Rs. 20,000 crore in RE 2018-19 ·         Outlay for Rashtriya Gokul mission increased to Rs 750 crore ·         Rashtriya Kamdhenu Ayog  to be setup for sustainable genetic up-gradation of the Cow resources ·         New separate Department of Fisheries for welfare of 1.5 crore fishermen ·         2% interest subvention to Farmers for Animal husbandry and Fisheries activities; additional 3% in case of timely repayment. ·         Interest subvention of 2% during disaster will now be provided for the entire period of reschedulement of loan Labour ·         Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan scheme to ensure fixed monthly pension to 10 crore unorganized sector workers o   Rs 3000 per month after 60 years of age with an affordable contribution of only Rs 100/55 per month Health ·         22nd AIIMS to be setup in Haryana MGNREGA ·         Rs. 60, 000 crore allocation for MGNREGA in BE 2019-20 Direct Tax proposals ·         Income upto Rs. 5 lakh exempted from Income Tax ·         More than Rs. 23,000 crore tax relief to 3 crore middle class taxpayers ·         Standard Deduction to be raised to Rs. 50,000 from Rs. 40,000 ·         TDS threshold to be raised from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 40,000 on interest earned on bank/post office deposits ·         Existing rates of income tax to continue ·         Tax exempted on notional rent on a second self-occupied house ·         Housing and real estate sector to get boost- o   TDS threshold for deduction of tax on rent to be increased from Rs. 1,80,000 to Rs. 2,40,000 o   Benefit of rollover of capital gains increased from investment in one residential house to two residential houses for capital gains up to Rs. 2 crore. o   Tax benefits for affordable housing extended till 31st March, 2020 under Section 80-IBA of Income Tax Act o   Tax exemption period on notional rent, on unsold inventories, extended from one year to two years Fiscal Programme ·         Fiscal deficit pegged at 3.4% of GDP for 2019-20 ·         Target of 3% of fiscal deficit to be achieved by 2020-21. ·         Fiscal deficit brought down to 3.4% in 2018-19 RE from almost 6% seven years ago ·         Total expenditure increased by over 13% to Rs.27,84,200 crore in 2019-20 BE ·         Capital Expenditure for 2019-20 BE estimated at Rs. 3,36,292 crore ·         Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) allocation increased to Rs. 3,27,679 crore in BE 2019-20 ·         National Education Mission allocation increased by about 20% to Rs. 38,572 crore in BE 2019-20 ·         Allocation for Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) increased by over 18% to Rs. 27,584 crore in BE 2019-20 ·         Substantial increase in allocation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes - o   Allocation for SCs increased by 35.6% - from Rs. 56,619 crore in BE 2018-19 to Rs. 76,801 crore in BE for 2019-20 o   Allocation for the STs increased by 28% - from 39,135 crore in BE 2018-19 to Rs. 50,086 crore in 2019-20 BE ·         Government confident of achieving the disinvestment target of 80,000 crore ·         Focus now on debt consolidation along with fiscal deficit consolidation programme Poor and Backward Classes ·         “First right on the resources of country is that of the poor”: FM ·         25% additional seats in educational institutions to meet the 10% reservation for the poor ·         Targeted expenditure to bridge urban-rural divide & to improve quality of life in villages ·         All willing households to be provided electricity connections by March 2019 North East ·         Allocation to be increased by 21% to Rs. 58,166 crore in 2019-20 BE over 2018-19 BE ·         Arunachal Pradesh came on the air map recently ·         Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram came on India’s rail map for the first time ·         Container cargo movement through improved navigation capacity of the Brahmaputra Vulnerable sections ·         A new committee under NITI Ayog to identify all the remaining De-notified nomadic and semi-Nomadic tribes. ·         New Welfare development Board under Ministry of social justice and empowerment for development and welfare of De-notified nomadic and semi nomadic tribes Defence ·         Defence budget to cross Rs 3,00,000 crore for the first time ever Railways ·         Capital support of Rs.64,587 crore proposed in 2019-20 (BE) from the budget ·         Overall capital expenditure programme to be of Rs. 1,58,658 crore ·         Operating Ratio expected to improve from 98.4% in 2017-18                                                                              to 96.2% in 2018-19 (RE) and                                                                              to 95% in 2019- 20 (BE) Entertainment Industry ·         Indian filmmakers  to get access to Single window clearance as well for ease of shooting films ·         Regulatory provisions to rely more on self-declaration ·         To introduce anti-camcording provisions in the Cinematograph Act to control piracy MSME and Traders ·         2% interest subvention on an incremental loan of  Rs 1 crore for GST registered SMEs ·         Atleast 3% of the 25% sourcing for the Government undertakings will be from women owned SMEs ·         Renewed Focus on Internal trade ; DIPP renamed to Department for Promotion of Industries and Internal trade Digital Villages ·         The Government to make 1 lakh villages into Digital Villages over next five years Other Announcement(s) ·         New National Artificial Intelligence portal to support National Program on Artificial Intelligence Achievements during 2014-19 State of the Economy ·         India universally recognized as a bright spot of the global economy during last five years ·         “Country witnessed its best phase of macro-economic stability during 2014-19”, says FM ·         India is now the 6th largest economy in the world from being the 11thlargest in 2013-14 ·         Annual average GDP growth during 2014-19 higher than any government since 1991 ·         Government has broken inflation’s back from backbreaking inflation during 2009-14: FM ·         Average inflation down to 4.6%, lower than during any other Government ·         Inflation in December 2018 down to 2.19% only ·         Fiscal deficit down to 3.4% in 2018-19 RE from the high of almost 6% seven years ago ·         CAD likely to be only 2.5% of GDP this year against a high of 5.6% six years ago ·         India attracted massive amount of FDI, worth $239 billion, during the last 5 years ·          “India is solidly back on track and marching towards growth and prosperity”, says FM ·         India becomes the fastest growing major economy in the world ·         Double-digit inflation contained and fiscal balance restored ·         Liberalization of FDI policy, allowing most FDI to come through the automatic route Farmers ·         Assured MSP of minimum 50% to all 22 crops ·         Interest subvention doubled in last 5 years ·         Soil Health card, Neem coated Urea game changer in farm sector Labor ·         Employment opportunities expanded ; EPFO membership increased by 2 crore ·         Minimum income for every category of workers increased by 42% in last 5 years Poor and Backward Classes ·         10% reservation for the poor  in educational institutions and government jobs ·         Free electricity connection to every household under Saubhagya Yojana ·         World’s largest healthcare programme, Ayushman Bharat, for nearly 50 crore people ·         Aspirational Districts Programme for development in 115 most backward districts ·         Rs. 1,70,000 crore spent during 2018-19 for cheaper food grains to poor and middle class ·         143 crore LED bulbs provided in mission mode with the cooperation of private sector ·         Poor & middle class are saving Rs. 50, 000 crore p.a. in electricity bills due to LED bulbs ·         10 lakh patients benefited from free treatment under Ayushman Bharat ·         Jan Aushadhi Kendras providing medicines at affordable prices to poor and middle class ·         14 out of 21 AIIIMS operating presently have been announced since 2014 ·         Government tripled rural roads’ construction under the PMGSY ·         15.80 lakh habitations out of 17.84 lakh connected with pucca roads ·         Rs. 19,000 crore for PMGSY in BE 2019-20 against Rs. 15,500 crore in RE 2018-19 ·         1.53 crore houses built under PM Awas Yojana during the 2014-18 Women development to women led development ·         6 crore free LPG gas connections provided under Ujjwala Yojna ; All 8 crore by next year ·         70% of MUDRA Loan availed by Women ·         Maternity leave extended to 26 weeks ·         Financial support for pregnant women under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Youth ·         Over one crore youth trained under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojana ·         Self-employment boost through MUDRA, STAND-UP and START-UP India MSME and Traders ·         Up-to Rs 1 crore loans can be availed in less than an hour ·         25%-28% is the average savings due to GeM (Government e-Market place) Income Tax ·         Tax collections nearly doubled in five years- from Rs. 6.38 Lakh crore in 2013-14 to almost Rs. 12 lakh crore this year ·         80% growth in tax base- from 3.79 crore to 6.85 crore in five years ·         Tax administration streamlined- Last year, 99.54% of the income-tax returns accepted as were filed ·         Technology intensive project approved to improve assessee friendliness –In two years, returns to be processed in 24 hours and refunds issued simultaneously ·         Earlier benefits given to middle class- o   Basic exemption limit increased from Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh o   Tax rate reduced from 10% to 5% for the tax slab of Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh o   Standard deduction of Rs. 40,000 introduced for the salaried class o   Deduction of savings under section 80C increased from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 1.5 lakh o   Deduction of interest for self-occupied house property raised from Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh ·         Special benefits and incentives already given to small businesses and startups- o   Overall compliance processes simplified. o   Threshold for presumptive taxation of business raised from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 2 crore o   Benefit of presumptive taxation extended for the first time to small professionals fixing threshold limit at Rs. 50 lakh o   Presumptive profit rate reduced from 8% to 6% to promote a less cash economy o   Tax rate for about 99% companies reduced to 25% GST ·         GST made India a common market ·         GST led to increased tax base, higher collections and ease of trade ·         Inter-state movements now faster, more efficient, and hassle free ·         Responsive and sensitive reduction of tax rates - Most items of daily use now in the 0% or 5% tax slab ·         Relieving the businesses and service providers- o   Exemptions from GST for small businesses doubled from Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 40 lakh o   Small businesses having turnover up to Rs. 1.5 crore pay only 1% flat rate and file one annual return only o   Small service providers with turnover upto Rs.50 lakhs can opt for composition scheme and pay GST at 6% instead of 18% o   Soon, businesses comprising over 90% of GST payers to be allowed to file quarterly return ·         Encouraging GST revenue trends - The average monthly tax collection in the current year is Rs. 97,100 crore per month as compared to Rs. 89,700 crore per month in the first year Infrastructure ·         Civil Aviation – UDAN Scheme o   Number of Operational Airports crossed 100 o   Latest: Pakyong airport in Sikkim o   Domestic Passenger traffic doubled in last 5 years ·         Roads o   India is the fastest highway developer in the world o   27 kms of highways built each day o   Stuck projects completed - Eastern Peripheral Highway around Delhi                                                   - Bogibeel rail-cum-road bridge in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh ·         Waterways o   Flagship programme of Sagarmala along the coastal areas o   For first time, container freight movement started on Kolkata to Varanasi inland waterways ·         Railways o   ‘Safest year’ for railways in its history o   All Unmanned Level Crossings on broad gauge network eliminated. o   Semi high-speed "Vande Bharat Express" introduced - first indigenously developed and manufactured Climate Change ·         International Solar Alliance o   To promote renewable energy o   First treaty based international inter-governmental organisation headquartered in India o   Installed solar generation capacity grown over ten times in last five years o   Now creating lakhs of new age jobs Digital India Revolution ·         More than 3 lakh Common Service Centres (CSCs) exist to deliver services to the citizens ·         India now leading the world in the consumption of mobile data ·         Monthly consumption of mobile data increased by over 50 times in the last five years ·         Under Make in India, mobile and parts manufacturing companies increased from 2 to more than 268 providing huge job opportunities Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) and Direct Benefit Transfer ·         In the last five years, nearly 34 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts opened ·         Aadhaar now near universally implemented ·         Ensure the poor and middle class receive the benefits of Government schemes directly in their bank accounts by eliminating middlemen Customs and trading across borders ·         Customs duties on 36 capital goods abolished ·         Digitization of import and export transactions ·         RFID technology to improve logistics Steps against corruption ·         Government walked the talk on corruption and ushered in a new era of transparency: FM ·         RERA and Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act have brought transparency in real estate ·         The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 to help confiscate economic offenders ·         Government conducted transparent auction of natural resources such as coal & spectrum Drive against Black money ·         Undisclosed income of about Rs 1,30,000 crore brought under tax through initiatives like Black money Law,  Fugitive Criminal offenders Act, Demonetisation etc. ·         Benami assets worth Rs 6,900 crore have been attached ·         18% growth in Direct tax Banking Reforms and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) ·         The IBC has institutionalized a resolution-friendly mechanism ·         Government has stopped the culture of “phone banking”: FM ·         Government adopted 4Rs approach of recognition, resolution, re-capitalization & reforms ·         Government has implemented measures to ensure ‘Clean Banking’ ·         Government has already recovered Rs. 3 lakh crore in favor of banks and creditors ·         Government has invested Rs. 2.6 lakh crore for recapitalization of public sector banks Cleanliness ·         Government launched Swachh Bharat Mission as a tribute to 150 years of Gandhi Ji ·         FM thanks 130 crore Indians for translating Swachh Bharat into a national revolution ·         India has achieved 98% rural sanitation coverage  5.45 lakh villages have been declared "Open Defecation Free” Defence ·         OROP under implementation in full spirit with Rs 35,000 crore already disbursed ·         Military pay service hiked Other achievements ·         Government put a stop to questionable practices of hiding high NPAs ·         Swachh Bharat Mission as the world’s largest behavioral change movement Key message in the Interim Budget 2019-20 ·         Moving towards realizing a ‘New India’ by 2022 - o   Clean and healthy India with universal access to toilets, water and electricity to all o   An India where Farmers’ income would have doubled o   Ample opportunities to youth and women to fulfil their dreams o   An India free from terrorism, communalism, casteism, corruption and nepotism Vision for the next Decade ·         Foundation for India’s growth and development laid in the past 5 years ·         Poised to become a Five Trillion Dollar Economy in the next five years ·         Aspire to become a Ten Trillion Dollar Economy in the next 8 years thereafter Ten dimensions of Vision for India of 2030 India would be a modern, technology driven, high growth, equitable and transparent society 1.      To build physical as well as social infrastructure and to provide ease of living 2.      To create a Digital India, digitize government processes with leaders from youth 3.      Making India pollution free by leading transport revolution with Electric Vehicles and focus on Renewables 4.      Expanding rural industrialisation using modern digital technologies to generate massive employment 5.      Clean Rivers, safe drinking water to all Indians and efficient use of water through micro-irrigation 6.      Besides scaling up of Sagarmala, Coastline and Ocean waters powering India’s development and growth 7.      Aim at our space programme – Gaganyaan, India becoming the launch-pad of satellites for the World and placing an Indian astronaut into space by 2022 8.      Making India self-sufficient in food, exporting to the world to meet their food needs and producing food in the most organic way 9.      A healthy India via Ayushman Bharat with women having equal rights and concern for their safety and empowerment 10.  Transforming India into a Minimum Government Maximum Governance nation with pro-active and responsible bureaucracy ***** Read the full article

[toomanysinks]

Jio Health combines online and offline healthcare in Southeast Asia, starting in Vietnam

The internet is often lauded for the potential to increase the impact of a range of primary services in emerging markets, including education, commerce, banking and healthcare. While many of those platforms are now being built, a few are finding that a hybrid approach combining online and offline is advantageous.

That’s exactly what Jio Health, a ‘full stack’ (forgive the phrase) healthcare startup is bringing to consumers in Southeast Asia, starting in Vietnam.

The company started out as a U.S-based venture that worked with healthcare providers around the ‘Obamacare’ initiative, before sensing the opportunity overseas and relocating to Vietnam, the Southeast Asian market of 95 million people and a fast-growing young population.

Today, it operates an online healthcare app and a physical facility in Saigon, it also has licenses for prescriptions and over the counter drug sales. The serviced launched nearly a year ago, already the company has some 130 staff, including 70 caregivers — including doctors — and a tech team of 30.

The idea is to offer services digitally, but also provide a physical location for when it is needed. Therein, the company ensures that “every element of that journey” is controlled and of the required standard, that’s in contrast to services that partner with hospitals or other care centers.

The scope of Jio Health’s services range from pediatrics to primary care, chronic disease management and ancillary services, which will soon cover areas like eye care, dermatology and cancer.

“Our initial research [before moving] found that healthcare in Vietnam was unlike the U.S,” Raghu Rai, founder and CEO of Jio Health, told TechCrunch in an interview. “Spending is primarily driven by the consumer (out of pocket) and there’s no real digital infrastructure to speak of.”

Rai — a U.S. citizen — said doctors typically “have minutes per patient” and get through “hundreds” of consultations in every morning shift. That gave him an idea to make things more efficient.

“We can probably address north of 80 percent of consumers health needs,” he said of Jio Health,” but we also have referral partnerships with certain hospitals.”

Raghu Rai is CEO and founder of Jio Health

The process begins when a consumer downloads the Jio Health app and inputs primary information. A representative is then dispatched to visit the consumer in person, potentially within “hours” of the submission of information, according to Rai.

He believes that Jio Health can save its users money and time by using remote consultancy for many diagnoses. The company also works with health insurance companies, for areas like annual checkups, and Rai said that McDonald’s and 7-Eleven are among the corporations that offer Jio Health among the providers for their staff, they’re not exclusive.

This week, Jio Health announced that it has closed a $5 million Series A funding from Southeast Asia’s Monk’s Hill Ventures . Rai said the company plans to use the capital for expansion. In particular, he said, the company is adding new care categories this month — including eye care and dermatology — and it is working towards expanding its brand through marketing.

Further down the line, Rai said the company hopes to expand to Hanoi before the end of this year. While there is interest in moving into other markets within Southeast Asia, that isn’t about to happen soon.

“We have begun to investigate other markets but at this point feel the market in Vietnam is substantial in itself,” he told TechCrunch. “It’s very plausible that we’d be looking at international expansion plans in 2020… we’re going to be focused on Southeast Asia.”

source https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/01/jio-health-southeast-asia/

[cryptnus-blog]

China as a Prime Example of “Blockchain Before Bitcoin” Policy

New Post has been published on https://cryptnus.com/2018/06/china-as-a-prime-example-of-blockchain-before-bitcoin-policy/

China as a Prime Example of “Blockchain Before Bitcoin” Policy

Last week, China’s president Xi Jinping took Blockchain-oriented domestic politics to another level: the country’s leader mentioned blockchain as “a part of technological revolution”. The sentiment was then picked up by China’s largest TV broadcaster, as the viewers were told that “the value of blockchain is 10 times that of the internet”.

Besides the high praises coming from the top of the state, there’s action, too: in the past few days, Chinese central bank developed a system to issue blockchain-based checks instead of paper ones, while Alibaba-affiliated insurtech firm promoted blockchain use in healthcare industry. Here’s how China got there, and how state-supported blockchain adoption can coincide with severe cryptocurrency regulation.

Strong, but troubled market

China is a major player in the Bitcoin market, hosting a substantial share of Bitcoin miners (in 2017, it was estimated that 50 to 70 percent of Bitcoin mining took place in the country) and Bitcoin trading volume, although both factors used to be more impressive before a wave of regulatory suppression. At the moment, cryptocurrency trading is prohibited in the country: after the last fall’s crackdown on local exchanges and ICOs, people in China can hold cryptocurrencies, but cannot legally exchange them for fiat money.

Moreover, China’s notorious mining industry has been hit by regulatory bodies as well, pushing local miners to move shop. Due to the crackdowns, Chinese ASIC chip manufacturer Bitmain, the world’s most profitable mining company, decided to turn to artificial intelligence as an alternate revenue source. “As a China company, we have to be prepared”, explained Bitmain’s co-chief executive Jihan Wu.

Repressive tendencies of the state have been certainly noticed by the global market: for instance, in January, when China introduced yet another crackdown on cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) was quick to drop to its lowest level in more than a month, with Ethereum (ETH) declining 19% and Ripple (XRP) collapsing 29%.

Brief history of China’s relationship with cryptocurrencies and ICOs

China seems quite sceptical about cryptocurrencies per se. The start of its complex relationship with Bitcoin could be traced back to 2013, when the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) noticed that the coin was gaining popularity in the country. In December 2013, the watchdog, along with five other government bodies, issued an announcement dubbed “Notice on Preventing Financial Risk of Bitcoin”, pinpointing several factors in order to warn investors: namely low safety due to the lack of a centralized entity behind the currency.

Thus, all banks and financial organizations were prohibited to carry out any crypto-related operations, and all companies offering any services involving Bitcoin were obliged to register with the relevant authorities and to follow know-your-customer (KYC) procedures to prevent money laundering, tax evasion, etc. As a result of the notice, Bitcoin has become a virtual commodity in China, like in-game credits. Essentially, it can be traded in its original form, but cannot be exchanged for fiat currency, nor can it serve as a means of payment.

After a couple of years, the Chinese government came after cryptocurrencies even harder. In early September 2017, the state ceased all ICOs and ordered cryptocurrency exchanges to shut down, specifically those offering to trade cryptocurrencies for fiats. In response, over 15 players, including the three largest exchanges OkCoin, Huobi and BTCChina, have closed their local businesses, moving their offices abroad (for instance, largest players, Huobi and OKEX, relocated to neighbouring Hong Kong), ceased all operations, or became fiat-free, no longer accepting cash deposits, but providing crypto-to-crypto exchanges, along with some derivatives (i.e. futures).

However, China’s crypto market survived the first wave of straightforward regulation, as many traders moved to peer-to-peer and over-the-counter markets, or shifted to overseas exchanges. For instance, as Reuters reported, popular peer-to-peer trading platform Localbitcoins experienced the impact of the Chinese ban firsthand, as traders piled in, producing record volumes, which in September (the month the ban was introduced) hit as high as 115 mln yuan (approx. $17.8 mln) per week.

Nevertheless, in 2018, Beijing decided to consolidate its restrictive stance on crypto, first banning P2P and over-the-counter resources in January, and then adding offshore cryptocurrency exchanges and ICO websites to its Great Firewall in February. Finally, on March 6, the watchdogs reportedly blocked the channels of exchanges on China’s number one social messaging app, WeChat, further urging them to relocate their social media accounts to encrypted messengers like Telegram. At this point, all crypto-to-fiat trading in the country is under a full blanket embargo.

Nevertheless, the most recent actions the government took in relation to cryptocurrencies seemed educative rather than outright restrictive. On May 18, IFCERT, a national committee of internet financial security experts initiated by China’s Ministry of Industry and IT, published a study that allegedly detected 421 fake cryptocurrencies, and annotated the research with key features of bogus coins, essentially warning potential investors despite the existence of ICO ban in the country. The IFCERT’s features of a fraud cryptocurrency appeared to be noticeably similar to those detected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC), an agency that has been trying to protect US investors from bad actors without turning to harsh regulation methods so far. Similarly, one day prior to the IFCERT’s report, on May 17, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released its official cryptocurrency ratings.

Regardless of the aforementioned bans, currently, the top-20 cryptocurrencies in the global market in terms of valuation include three coins established and developed by teams located in China: Qtum, VeChain and NEO rank at the 19th, 16th and 11th positions respectively.

Blockchain over Bitcoin

Despite the strict regulation of cryptocurrencies, China has been significantly more bullish on Blockchain. Indeed, China is one of the first countries in the world to mention the technology in a state-level policy: in 2016, Blockchain was added into the 13th Five-Year Plan, a road map for national development from 2016 to 2020.

Recently, on May 28, the technology enjoyed even more endorsement from the top government, as President Xi Jinping stated:

“The new generation of information technology represented by artificial intelligence, quantum information, mobile communication, internet of things, and blockchain is accelerating breakthroughs in its range of applications.”

China continues to communicate its appreciation of Blockchain on a nationwide level: on June 4, China Central Television (CCTV), the country’s leading state-run broadcaster, issued an hour-long special about Blockchain featuring government officials as well as foreign crypto experts. During the show, it was said that Blockchain is “10 times more than that of the internet” in terms of economic value, while the technology was also dubbed as “the machine that generates trust”. The very same broadcaster, CCTV, would smear crypto projects during the clampdowns, as Quartz points out.  

The country’s relationship with Blockchain is tightly connected to Hangzhou, the e-commerce city of China where Alibaba was founded. In February, it became the first city in China to mention Blockchain in its government work report, stressing the importance of the technology for the city. Soon after that, in early April, The Blockchain Industrial Park was opened in Hangzhou. During the opening, a $1.6 bln blockchain innovation fund was announced, with 30 percent of the total funds notably coming from local government, as well as a research institute established to provide academic support for the development of blockchain tech in the city.

In May, The Blockchain Industrial Park announced a new policy, that includes subsidies for startups worth millions of dollars. Thus, the tech hub aims to attract blockchain space talent by offering individuals and startups generous incentives. Highly-qualified blockchain specialists, for example, are being offered resettlement allowances of up to $490,000 and MA and PhD maintenance grants.

Tech giants and government agents at play

A significant number of crucial players in Chinese market and government players have been experimenting with Blockchain. For instance, Alibaba holds most Blockchain patents globally, as the e-commerce titan has so far obtained around 49 licenses, which are, as Chinese outlet Xinhua Finance notices, mostly application-oriented and have been applied in areas of public welfare, healthcare, and supply chains.

However, such involvement with blockchain doesn’t stop Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma from calling Bitcoin “a bubble”, and that seems to echo the government’s duality towards Bitcoin and other coins as well: while China has banned ICOs and crypto trading in the country, it seems enthusiastic towards Blockchain.

Other important players in China include auto behemoth Wanxiang Holdings that co-founded Wanxiang Blockchain Labs with Vitalik Buterin, the aforementioned Blockchain projects such as VeChain and NEO, China’s largest online retailer JD.com, which has recently announced the first four startups for its Al Catapult Blockchain incubation program, and Baidu, ‘the Chinese Google’, which has recently announced its ‘super chain’ protocol.

Thus, in 2017, China filed the most Blockchain patents to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In fact, data showed that over half of the 406 patents that year came from China: the country filed 225 Blockchain patents, followed by the US (91), and Australia (13). While China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) analysis has concluded the average lifespan of a blockchain project to be just 1.22 years, they argued that local blockchain-startups are more durable:

“We have established verifiable blockchain programs in China, and nearly 200 private enterprises have expressed interests to join. (This) will help blockchain technology and industry to become more transparent and open.”

An extensive Blockchain Industry White Paper published by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on May 21 seems to confirm that the domestic blockchain industry saw “exponential” growth in 2017. The report showed that 178 new blockchain startups were launched in China that year, bringing the total number to 456, while in 2016 there were only 136 new startups.

Future prospects: nationwide blockchain standards

This year, Blockchain’s future in China seems even brighter: with the appointment of the new, pro-market head of PBoC, the country is likely to release more Blockchain-boosting legislations. Moreover, lately, the director of the Institute of Digital Currency at PBoC has been bullish on the technology as well.

Meanwhile, the government agents proceed to hop on the Blockchain bandwagon as well: in late May, the The Shenzhen Municipal Office teamed up with a blockchain-startup to fight tax fraud, while The National Audit Office of the People’s Republic of China is considering a Blockchain solution to tackle the “endless cycle of data storage and management”. Even the PBoC itself has been experimenting with Blockchain: back in 2016, the central bank announced its interest in a blockchain-based digital currency (not a decentralized one, however). PBoC has also just revealed a blockchain-powered system to digitize paper checks.

It seems that by the end of 2019, China will go as far as to release nationwide blockchain standards, so that the technology will indeed become essential part of the country’s technological advancement.

[djgblogger-blog]

Drones as first responders

http://bit.ly/2qEEzI9

In a basement of New York University in 2013, Dr. Sergei Lupashin wowed the room of one hundred leading technology enthusiasts with one of the first indoor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) demonstrations. During his presentation, Dr. Lupashin of ETH Zurich  attached a dog leash to an aerial drone while declaring to the audience, “there has to be another way” of flying robots safely around people. Lupashin’s creativity eventually led to the invention of Fotokite and one of the most successful Indiegogo campaigns.

Since Lupashin’s demo, there are now close to a hundred providers of drones on leashes from innovative startups to aftermarket solutions in order to restrain unmanned flying vehicles. Probably the best known enterprise solution is CyPhy Works which has raised more than $30 million. Last August, during President Trump’s visit to his Golf Course in New Jersey, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deployed CyPhy’s tethered drones to patrol the permitter. In a statement by DHS about their “spy in the sky program,” the agency explained: “The Proof of Concept will help determine the potential future use of tethered Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) in supporting the Agency’s protective mission. The tethered sUAS used in the Proof of Concept is operated using a microfilament tether that provides power to the aircraft and the secure video from the aircraft to the Operator Control Unit (OCU).” CyPhy’s systems are currently being utilized to provide a birdseye view to police departments and military units for a number of high profile missions, including the Boston Marathon.

Fotokite, CyPhy and others have proved that tethered machines offer huge advantages from traditional remote controlled or autonomous UAVs, by removing regulatory, battery and payload restrictions from lengthy missions. This past week Genius NY, the largest unmanned systems accelerator, awarded one million dollars to Fotokite for its latest enterprise line of leashed drones. The company clinched the competition after demonstrating how its drones can fly for up to twenty-four hours continuously providing real-time video feed autonomously and safely above large population centers. Fotokite’s Chief Executive, Chris McCall, announced that the funds will be utilized to fulfill a contract with one of the largest fire truck manufacturers in the United States. “We’re building an add-on to fire and rescue vehicles and public safety vehicles to be added on top of for instance a fire truck. And then a firefighter is able to pull up to an emergency scene, push a button and up on top of the fire truck this box opens up, a Fotokite flies up and starts live streaming thermal and normal video down to all the firefighters on the ground,” boasted McCall.

Fotokite is not the only kite drone company marketing to fire fighters, Latvian-born startup Aerones is attaching firehoses to its massive multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles. Aerones claims to have successfully built a rapid response UAV that can climb up to a thousand feet within six minutes to extinguish fires from the air. This enables first responders to have a reach of close to ten times more than traditional fire ladders. The Y Combinator startup offers municipalities two models: a twenty-eight propeller version that can carry up to 441 pounds to a height of 984 feet and a thirty-six propeller version that ferriess over 650 pounds of equipment to ascend over 1,600 feet. However, immediate interest for the Aerones solution is coming from industrial clients such as wind farms. “Over the last two months, we’ve been very actively talking to wind turbine owners,” says Janis Putrams, CEO of Aerones. “We have lots of interest and letters of intent in Texas, Spain, Turkey, South America for wind turbine cleaning. And in places like Canada, the Nordic and Europe for de-icing. If the weather is close to freezing, ice builds up, and they have to stop the turbine.” TechCrunch reported last March that the company moved its sales operations to Silicon Valley. 

The emergency response industry is also looking to other aerial solutions to tackle its most difficult challenges. For over a year, Zipline has been successfully delivering blood for critical transfusions to the most remote areas of Africa. The company announced earlier this month that it has filed with the FAA to begin testing later this year in America. This is welcome news for the USA’s rural health centers which are straddled with exploding costs, staff shortages and crippling infrastructure. In a Fast Company article about Zipline, the magazine reported that “Nearly half of rural providers already have a negative operating margin. As rural residents–who tend to be sicker than the rest of the country–have to rely on the smaller clinics that remain, drones could ensure that those clinics have access to necessary supplies. Blood products spoil quickly, and outside major hospitals, it’s common not to have the right blood on hand for a procedure. Using the drones would be faster, cheaper, and more reliable than delivering the supplies in a van or car.”

Keller Rinaudo, Zipline’s Chief Executive, describes, “There’s a lot that [the U.S.] can be doing better. And that’s what we think is ultimately the promise of future logistics and automated logistics. It’s not delivering tennis shoes or pizza to someone’s backyard. It’s providing universal access to healthcare when people need it the most.”

To date, Zipline has flown over 200,000 miles autonomously delivering 7,000 units of blood throughout Rwanda. To prepare for its US launch, the company re-engineered its entire platform to bolster its delivery capabilities. Rinaudo explains, “In larger countries, you’re going to need distribution centers and logistics systems that are capable of doing millions of deliveries a day rather than hundreds or thousands.” The new UAV is a small fixed-wing plane called the Zip that can soar close to 80 miles per hour enabling life-saving supplies such as blood, organ donations or vaccines to be delivered in a matter of minutes.

As I prepare to speak at Xponetial 2018 next month, I am inspired by these innovators who turn their mechanical inventions into life-saving solutions. Many would encourage Rinaudo and others to focus their energies on the seemingly more profitable  sectors such as e-commerce delivery and industrial inspections. However, Rinaudo retorts that “Healthcare logistics is a way bigger market and a way bigger problem than most people realize. Globally it’s a $70 billion industry. The reality is that there are billions of people who do not have reliable access to healthcare and a big part of that is logistics. As a result of that, 5.2 million kids die every year due to lack of access to basic medical products. So Zipline’s not in a rush to bite off a bigger problem than that.”

The topic of utilizing life-saving technology will be discussed at the next RobotLab event on “The Politics Of Automation,” with Democratic Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang and New York Assemblyman Clyde Vanel on June 13th @ 6pm in NYC – RSVP Today! 

[ronnykblair]

Corporate Finance vs. Corporate Development: How to Decide

What if you just can’t decide?

Many roles in finance are similar, and they often have similar-sounding names.

This problem comes up with corporate finance and corporate development roles.

Yes, both names contain “corporate,” but the jobs are very, very different.

To find out more about how they compare, I recently spoke with a reader who did a rotational program at a Fortune 500 company that offered both roles:

Background & Breaking In

Q: You know how this works. Your story?

A: Sure. I’m from the Midwest in the U.S. and attended a target university, but I earned “borderline” grades there (3.3 GPA) and didn’t have extracurricular activities beyond sports.

I wanted to do finance because many of my classmates and friends were entering the industry, but I didn’t see a path into investment banking.

So, I decided to apply to corporate finance roles at Fortune 500 companies, and I won an offer for a rotational program at a large healthcare company.

I spent a few years there, started out in corporate finance roles and then moved into corporate development over time.

Q: OK. Your program is a bit unusual since corporate finance rotations tend to be for other roles within corporate finance.

But let’s step back: What types of candidates are these groups seeking, and how do the requirements differ?

A: The corporate development team targets two main groups:

People with deal experience in investment banking or corporate development groups at other companies; and

High-potential finance managers from other business units at the company.

The finance managers come in to gain deal experience over 2-3 years, and they plan to return to their business units with the benefit of M&A exposure.

Some corporate development teams also recruit professionals in Big 4 advisory roles, but they rarely, if ever, target undergraduates or recent graduates.

By contrast, corporate finance teams recruit from a much broader pool of candidates.

They still have “target schools,” just as banks do, but the set is wider and includes many universities that are considered “semi-targets” or “non-targets” for IB roles.

You don’t need full-time work experience to win these roles.

Sometimes, too much experience hurts you since these groups may want undergrads or recent grads.

You do need knowledge of accounting and a demonstrated interest in finance, but you could get in even as an engineering or liberal arts major if you know your stuff.

Q: Great. And what about the recruiting process and interview questions?

A: Corporate finance tends to be more “on-cycle” since many teams recruit undergraduates.

You’ll go through a phone screen, in-person interviews, and assessment centers if you’re in Europe, and the company will stick to a predictable week-by-week schedule.

The questions focus heavily on “fit” and why you’re interested in the company and industry, but interviewers will also ask you about accounting and the financial statements.

Knowledge of topics like accounting journal entries is far more important than it is for IB roles.

While they go more in-depth into accounting, they will not ask you questions about valuation, M&A/LBO modeling, or other modeling-related topics.

You could get a case study or group exercise, but they are more likely in the EMEA region.

By contrast, the corporate development recruiting process moves more slowly and randomly.

They don’t necessarily “need” team members because there’s less monthly reporting and there are fewer day-to-day tasks.

Also, they tend to focus almost exclusively on your deal experience and your ideas for useful joint ventures (JVs), partnerships, and acquisitions.

You still need to know about accounting and the financial statements, but they’re less likely to ask about debits/credits and journal entries; IB-style technical questions about valuation and merger models are more common.

You’re very likely to get a case study or modeling test, which often takes the form of a 60-minute exercise where you have to read about a target company, build a simple model, and recommend for or against an acquisition.

Q: But what do you talk about if you’re moving in from corporate finance or another division, and you don’t have deal experience?

A: Get some!

Learn valuation and M&A modeling yourself, analyze recent deals, and research potential acquisition targets so you can present ideas to the team.

If you haven’t had direct deal experience, act as if you have worked on deals, and prepare to walk through several examples.

On the Job in Corporate… Something

Q: OK. Let’s switch gears and go into the job itself. How would you compare the two roles?

A: The main differences are:

There’s a predictable work cycle in corporate finance; and

In corporate finance, the work depends on your sub-group, but in corporate development, the work depends on your company.

In corporate finance, you spend 80% of your time on monthly reports and scorecards and another 20% on ad-hoc projects, and you work about 40-50 hours per week, on average.

The main divisions are Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Controllership, and Treasury.

In FP&A, you create P&L forecasts, analyze performance against forecasts, and explain what caused variance.

In Controllership, you work with auditors and check the company’s internal accounting and compliance, and in Treasury, you manage the company’s cash flow and cash balance.

There may be busy periods in those groups, especially when a big strategy plan is due in FP&A or when your company is in a cash crunch in Treasury.

In those periods, the hours could jump up to 60-70 per week or more.

But for the most part, you follow a fairly regular schedule where you create reports and complete set tasks each week.

In corporate development, things are less predictable since your work schedule depends on deal activity.

You might work only 50-60 hours per week if there are no live deals, but that could jump up to a much higher number when a deal heats up.

Also, your work depends on the industry you’re in and the maturity stage of your company.

For example, if you’re at a mature manufacturing conglomerate, you might spend time working on divestitures and spin-offs of divisions.

But if you’re at a high-growth technology company, you’ll spend more time on acquisitions of promising startups and joint venture deals.

Other aspects, such as sourcing, differ widely based on your company.

At a large, conservative financial institution, you might not be responsible for sourcing at all, and you’ll just review deals that bankers show you.

But at a smaller company, they might tell you, “Go find deals for us!”

Q: Thanks for that detailed comparison.

How might an average workday differ in both groups?

A: You’ve featured a few “Day in the Life” and “Week in the Life” accounts for corporate finance before, and I don’t have much to add to those.

Those stories focus on FP&A roles; for the others, you would spend less time explaining your projections and more time working with auditors (in Controllership) or with DCM bankers and lenders (in Treasury).

In our corporate development team, about 90-95% of our deals are traditional acquisitions, and I might work on ~3 deals at different stages most of the time.

A typical day with a lot of deal activity might look like this:

Early-Stage Deal – 3 Hours – I’ll review the teaser from a company we’re looking at, build a preliminary model, and send it to the relevant business unit to refine the assumptions.

Mid-Stage Deal – 3 Hours – I’ll refine a PowerPoint deck with the business strategy teams and schedule time with executives to review and approve the deal price and structure, such as the mix of cash and stock or the exchange ratio we’re offering.

Late-Stage Deal – 3 Hours – I’ll meet with various due diligence teams, such as those responsible for HR, IT, and Operations, to check their results, finalize inputs to the model, and tweak our valuation.

Other – 1 Hour – I might hold meetings for process improvements, meet with lawyers, or talk to managers at the company about the deals they want to see.

Q: What’s your impression of the bureaucracy and advancement opportunities?

A: You deal with a lot of bureaucracy and office politics in both roles because it’s the nature of big companies.

In corporate finance, the challenge is getting information from people; in corporate development, the challenge is winning approval for deals and making sure all departments are on board with transactions.

Advancement is time-consuming and difficult in both groups.

The main problem is that no one ever wants to leave – senior people have good hours, earn high salaries, and are quite comfortable in their roles.

The end goal in corporate finance is to become the CFO, which is possible but unlikely.

In corporate development, the top position is usually VP of Corporate Development.

It would be almost impossible to become a C-level executive coming from corporate development unless you move to another division first.

To become a CFO, knowledge of accounting, audit, and regulations is more important than deal analysis, so corporate finance candidates are favored.

Q: OK. And what if you decide to leave the industry altogether?

A: From corporate finance, you’re most likely to go to corporate finance at another company.

A few people move into investment banking or consulting, but it’s extremely difficult because the skill set is less relevant.

If you want to get into one of those, you might be better off going to business school and completing a pre-MBA internship.

In theory, you should be able to move from corporate development to investment banking or private equity because you work on M&A deals in all three industries.

But I’m not sure how often it happens; most people who leave end up joining other corporate development teams.

As you’ve pointed out before, it’s ridiculously hard to get into PE even if you have directly relevant experience.

Q: How does the compensation compare?

A: In corporate finance, you might start at around $70K USD as an entry-level Analyst.

Within five years on the job, you can earn above $100K, and you can reach the $200K level in ~10 years as you become more senior.

After that, advancement slows down significantly, and you have to wait for another promotion in 7+ years or jump to another company.

You could potentially earn up to the low-7-figure range if you make it to the executive level, but it will take a long time to get there.

You’ll earn more in corporate development, but it will still be a discount to IB/PE compensation.

If a mega-fund PE Associate in NY earns ~$300K per year, you might earn 50-60% of that as an Associate in corporate development.

Pay increases modestly as you move up, and it might top out at around $400K per year.

However, that figure varies a lot between different companies, and the ceiling may be higher in major financial centers and high-margin industries.

One big issue in both fields is that stock-based compensation enters the picture early on, especially if you’re in the technology industry.

It’s not much of a factor in private equity, and in banking, it doesn’t matter much until you’re at the VP level or beyond.

But even Associates in corporate finance and development roles can earn a fair amount via stock, options, and RSUs, so you need to understand the terms thoroughly.

(NOTE: All compensation figures above as of 2017.)

Long-Term Planning and Long-Term Fit

Q: Thanks for that summary.

So, bottom line: How can you decide whether corporate finance or corporate development is right for you?

A: That’s not the right question because most people cannot start out in corporate development.

Instead, think about where you’re at and where you want to end up.

If you don’t have the stats to get into investment banking out of university, going into corporate finance and then into corporate development is a nice “side door” into the industry.

You earn less, but you still work on deals and think like an investor.

If you can get into investment banking right out of undergrad, that’s probably a better move than corporate finance because it gives you more options and exit opportunities.

On the other hand, if you’re an accounting/finance person, you want good work/life balance, and you don’t care that much about exit opportunities, corporate finance might be a better fit for you.

Q: And what is your long-term plan?

A: My original plan was to advance to the Director level in corporate finance, move into a separate business division, and then move into a General Manager (GM) role since I like doing a bit of everything rather than specializing.

This path is a common one at my firm.

But after working in corporate development, I’ve become more interested in starting my own business or possibly doing an MBA.

Many corporate development professionals want to get into private equity, but I’m less interested: It’s nice to gain deal experience, but the learning curve flattens out after a few years.

And, as I said, I’m more interested in doing a bit of everything rather than focusing on one specific skill set.

Q: Great. Thanks for your time!

A: My pleasure.

The post Corporate Finance vs. Corporate Development: How to Decide appeared first on Mergers & Inquisitions.

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