When Shan Sundaram tried to purchase a boutique consulting shop, he was frustrated by how inefficient and outdated the process was.

Likewise when Aravind Namasivayam was trying to buy a restaurant. He found that existing online platforms weren’t up to the job; sending buyers and sellers to Craigslist wasn’t built for this sort of transaction. The process was slow and lacked transparency.

In Aimee Zhang‘s role helping found and launch a snack company, she met numerous business owners with thriving companies and product lines who didn’t know how to sell their enterprises or take them to the next level.

This year the trio came together to launch BizPappa, a Bellevue, Wash.-based startup trying to help people buy and sell their small businesses.

In addition to these experiences, Sundaram and Namasivayam have both worked at Microsoft as program managers; Namasivayam is currently a senior program manager at the company. Zhang works as a real estate broker, with experience in commercial real estate.

“All three founders come from different backgrounds,” said Sundaram, who is BizPappa’s CEO. “That makes us very unique to execute our vision.”

An initial version of the platform launched in July, but the team has big ideas for how to improve and expand it. That includes using machine learning to create more targeted listings and provide information specific to a user’s needs.

“We don’t want to just be a platform for a broker to just upload a listing,” Sundaram said.

Ultimately, the site could provide additional information and services to meet a suite of needs experienced by new small business owners. That concierge-type service could differentiate BizPappa from existing platforms including Craigslist, BizBuySell and Tresle.

The startup generates revenue by charging sellers 7-to-8 percent per transaction, with the goal of reducing that to around 5 percent as the company grows. Sundaram would also like to offer some sort of rebates for buyers to encourage them to use the platform.

The company’s biggest challenge, Sundaram said, is the lengthy amount of time that it takes to complete a sale. Often the mom-and-pop shops have less than perfect bookkeeping and it takes time to share information on the business.

“We see a potential opportunity there,” he said. “We’re trying to help the sellers put all of the information together.”

We caught up with Sundaram for this Startup Spotlight, a regular GeekWire feature. Continue reading for his answers to our questionnaire.

What does your company do? We’re building a marketplace to help people buy and sell small local businesses such as restaurants and salons, and we plan to eventually provide concierge services such as food safety licenses, business licenses, insurance, finding a CPA and other areas. We want to be the small local business market’s Redfin plus Zenefits (a company providing support in HR and other business operational needs for startups).

Inspiration hit us when: We realized that buying and selling small businesses followed an antiquated model that hasn’t changed with the times. Given the availability of new technology and a fast-moving market, this process needs a new platform that is entrepreneur friendly. There are plenty of improvements in residential real estate, but there isn’t the same sort of resources for small business owners pursuing their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. We can launch more entrepreneurs by using the latest tools and technology because our platform was created with problem solving in mind for small businesses.

VC, Angel or Bootstrap: Bootstrap. We are self-funded and focusing on getting traction before we raise any seed funding.

Our ‘secret sauce’ is: We’re the first in the market for building a platform that uses artificial intelligence to help people buy and sell small businesses. This helps target the business listing category, location and price that buyers and sellers receive, and eliminates needless communication between buyers and sellers. We also have dedicated in-house brokers to assist buyers and sellers throughout the transaction and make it transparent and professional.

Our founders come from the technology sector, commercial real estate, restaurants and the food and beverage industry. It’s the perfect combo to solve this problem.

The smartest move we’ve made so far: The first thing we did was break the problem into single blocks and tackle our challenges according to a philosophy of solving them one by one. As part of this exercise, we decided to focus solely on the fast moving, restaurant buy-and-sell category. We have partnered with the CBA (Commercial Business Association) and integrated their listings to discover local businesses available for sale.

Given that last year Forbes ranked Seattle as the No.1 place in the U.S. to run a business, we’re launching with restaurants in Seattle and the greater Puget Sound area to prove our business model before expanding to other markets and categories.

The biggest mistake we’ve made so far: We’ve waited to launch the MVP to kick start our content strategy, which includes informational posts about how to start a business, the pros and cons of buying a business versus starting from scratch, etc. We quickly realized that we could have started producing the content while simultaneously talking to customers and building the platform.

Which leading entrepreneur or executive would you most want working in your corner? Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Amazon started as an e-commerce company, but has diversified into areas such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Echo personal assistants, etc. The company fails fast and moves quickly into new areas to become first in a field. We’re following the same concept to move fast and test the market quickly — while still using strong data points — along with talking to customers.

Our favorite team-building activity is: Frequent coffee meetups

The biggest thing we look for when hiring is: Passion, integrity, being a go-to person, and looking for opportunities with every problem, rather than whining about challenges.

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to other entrepreneurs just starting out: Don’t rush to build the technology. Do thorough customer research, talking to potential customers to understand the landscape before building the product.

via GeekWire
BizPappa helps spur entrepreneurship with a platform for buying and selling small businesses

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isAuth package checks if you are logged in and provides login modal before post requests if you session is dead.

The FBI recently released its annual report Crime in the United States. For the second consecutive year, the estimated number of violent crimes in the country decreased. In 2018, violent crime fell 3.3 percent, while property crime dropped 6.3 percent. This marks the 16 consecutive year those estimates declined.

RELATED STORY

Personal Defense World Brings Facts: More Guns, Less Crime

FBI Crime Report on Guns

The violent crime rate fell 3.9 percent when compared with the rate in 2017. Meanwhile, property crime declined 6.9 percent in the same comparison.

While crimes fell in most areas and categories, non-negligent manslaughter offenses fell 6.2 percent. Meanwhile, the estimated volume of aggravated assault offenses decreased by 0.4 percent.

But interestingly, for gun owners, how guns came to be used by murderers proves even more interesting. In 2018, 14,123 murders occurred, 10,265 which used a firearm. Of those 10,265 murders, 6,603 reportedly took place with a handgun. Meanwhile, only 297 murders utilized a rifle. A shotgun was used 235 times to commit a murder.

In the national discourse on firearms currently taking place, the semi-auto “assault rifle” gets portrayed as the scourge of American society. But the FBI data simply doesn’t support that claim. While even one murder is too many, the data shows that gun control advocates aren’t proposing to save lives. It’s something else entirely. Otherwise, enemy number one would be the handgun. That’s what the data says.

Or possibly they should turn their attention to knives. Criminals used knives to murder 1,515 victims in 2018. Meanwhile, blunt objects, listed as “clubs, hammers, etc.” took 443 lives. Stunningly, personal weapons, “hands, fists, feet, etc.” killed 672 lives in 2018.

We live in a data-driven, analytical age. From stocks to sports, to the news you read, analytics drives the decision making. Except when it comes to gun control. Because even though handguns, knives, clubs, hammers and even feet take more lives than rifles, it’s the “assault rifle” that must be banned.

It’s not about saving lives for gun control advocates. And it never has been.

The post FBI Report: Crime in the US Shows Rifles Rarely Used to Murder appeared first on Personal Defense World.

via Personal Defense World
FBI Report: Crime in the US Shows Rifles Rarely Used to Murder

USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Primary Arms has some great buys on useful gun parts for rifle builders with AR rifles parts starting at just $3.99 while inventory lasts. Check out the highlights below and jump on multiples of ones you use over and over while prices are inexpensive.  Primary is buying these in bulk from Radical Firearms and passing along the savings, many of these are exclusive deals only found at Primary Arms. Below is our top eight picks. If you don’t like our selection you can check out the rest at the buy now button.

• Radical Firearms A2 Flash Hider – 1/2×28 $3.99
• Precision Defense 5.56 Complete M16 Bolt Carrier Group – Nitride $59.99
• Radical Firearms Standard AR-15 Charging Handle – $9.99
• Radical Firearms AR-15 Stripped Upper Receiver – Forged – $34.99
• Radical Firearms Low Profile Gas Block – .750″ – Set Screw Style – $9.99
• Radical Firearms AR-15 M4 Mil-Spec Stock – $9.99
• Radical Firearms Gen 3 M-LOK Handguard Primary Arms Exclusive – 10″ – $49.99
• Radical Firearms AR-15 Pistol Buffer Tube Kit – $19.99

Daily Gun Deals: Primary Arms’ Bargain Bin Highlights, AR Gun Parts Starting at $3.99

Radical Firearms backstory videos:

Daily Gun Deals are short-term bargains that will often expire or sell out fast! The AmmoLand News Team publishes these deals that are available from our trusted partners and well-known industry retailers. AmmoLand does not stock inventory or have a shopping cart, we simply bring you up-to-date information on deals as a way to help you the reader get the most bang for your buck. As always we try and bring you the best information possible but these are fast-moving deals and details change quickly so be sure and check prices and product information for yourself by following the above links.

If you want us to email you each daily gun deal, subscribe to our daily emails list.

Ammoland Editors are scouring the web to find you the deal that will save you money. So good are these deals that they do not last long so pay attention to the publish date and do not delay, take advantage of this deal as soon as we publish it for our readers.

Consider checking our Gun Deals Coupon page and our past featured Daily Gun Deals page for additional savings from your favorite industry partners. Thank you very much for your support and I hope we save you some money by highlighting these sweet daily deals. Enjoy!

The post Daily Gun Deals: Primary Arms’ Bargain Bin Highlights, AR Gun Parts Starting at $3.99 appeared first on AmmoLand.com.

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Daily Gun Deals: Primary Arms’ Bargain Bin Highlights, AR Gun Parts Starting at $3.99

Any business worth their salt needs to have a reliable email marketing strategy. Digital marketing may be evolving but email is still one of today’s most viable marketing channels. Still, it can be difficult to build a robust email strategy given the high prices of many platforms and the technical expertise needed to code your own emails. That’s where Sender.net comes in.

This automated email marketing software comes with an enormous gallery of pre-built templates and tools to help you create professional-looking emails without writing any HTML or navigating confusing settings. The intuitive, drag-and-drop email builder allows you to customize emails to fit your brand or messaging and automate when they’ll be sent to save you tons of time. With built-in email analytics, you’ll be able to quickly determine what is and what isn’t working so you can adjust your strategy on the fly to optimize results. Their streamlined deliverability and dedicated IPs avoid spam folders so you can rest assured your emails are always getting through to your list.

Other platforms may cost you hundreds. Sender.net is currently offering 50k email credits for 57% off the normal $114 price. That’s just $49.

Read the full article: This Intuitive Platform Makes Email Marketing Easy

via MakeUseOf.com
This Intuitive Platform Makes Email Marketing Easy

Link

Scott’s Marble Runs knows a thing or two about making really long tracks for his marbles to zoom down. This time, he created an epic, multi-story run that has dozens upon dozens of loops, and relies heavily on gravity to make it work. Nice catch there at the end too, Scott.

via The Awesomer
100-Loop Marble Run

Link

If you’ve ever played with one of those drinking bird toys, you know it can be quite fascinating to watch as it dunks its beak in and out of a glass of water. Engineerguy Bill Hammack pops off the bird’s festive blue hat to explain the thermodynamics which make the nearly endless fun happen.

via The Awesomer
How a Drinking Bird Works

SQL CONCAT_WS Function Example | CONCAT_WS Method In SQL is today’s topic. The SQL CONCAT_WS function is used to join two or more expressions separated by a separator. It takes up to 255 input strings which are further joined by a function. If we want to perform the join operation, CONCAT requires at least 2 strings. If it is provided with only 1 string, it will raise the error.

SQL CONCAT_WS Function

If any non-character string values are passed into the function, it will be implicitly converted to the strings before concatenating.

If NULL is added to the function, it converts it into the empty string with VARCHAR (1).

See the following syntax.

SELECT CONCAT_WS (separator, expression1, expression2, expression3…)

Parameters

Separator

This is the separator that is added between more than one expression. If the separator is NULL, then the function will return NULL.

expression1, expression2, expression3…:

These are the expressions that will be concatenated.

See the following example. We are using SQL SELECT Statement.

SELECT CONCAT_WS ('.', 'AppDividend', 'com');

Output

AppDividend.com

Explanation

Here “.” acts as a separator and is added between AppDividend and com.

See the following code.

SELECT CONCAT_WS (',', 1, 2, NULL, NULL, 3);

Output

1, 2, 3

Explanation

The above example demonstrated how concat_ws() function deals with NULL values. Here, the NULL values were ignored, and no separator was added between them.

Above were all the common examples to make clear how the Concat function works.

Let’s see the example with proper tables.

Consider table Employee.

Emp_id	First_name	Last_name	City	State	Salary
101	Rohit	Raj	Patna	Bihar	30000
201	Shivam	Rana	Jalandhar	Punjab	20000
301	Karan	Kumar	Allahabad	Uttar Pradesh	40000
401	Suraj	Bhakat	Kolkata	West Bengal	60000
501	Akash	Cherukuri	Vizag	Andhra Pradesh	70000

 

Now, suppose we want the full name of an employee from this table. Then, the following query has to be executed.

Query

Select First_name, Last_name, concat_ws(‘ ’, First_name, Last_Name) 
AS Full_name from Employee;

Output

First_name	Last_name	Full_name
Rohit	Raj	Rohit Raj
Shivam	Rana	Shivam Rana
Karan	Kumar	Karan Kumar
Suraj	Bhakat	Suraj Bhakat
Akash	Cherukuri	Akash Cherukuri

 

Here you can see that the full name of the employee is displayed separated by a separator which was space.

The CONCAT_WS() function joins the input strings into the single string.

It separates those concatenated strings with a separator particular in the first argument.

One thing to note that the CONCAT_WS() requires at least two input strings.

It means that if we pass zero or one input string argument, the function will raise the error.

The CONCAT_WS() function treats NULL as the empty string of type VARCHAR().

It also does not add a separator between NULLs.

Therefore, a CONCAT_WS() function can cleanly join the strings that may have blank values.

Use CONCAT_WS() function with table columns

The following statement uses the CONCAT_WS() function to join the values in the last_name and first_name columns of the sales.customer table.

It separates the last name and first name by the comma (,) and space.

SELECT 
    first_name, 
    last_name, 
    CONCAT_WS(', ', last_name, first_name) full_name
FROM 
    sales.customers
ORDER BY 
    first_name, 
    last_name;

Use CONCAT_WS() Function with NULL

The following statement indicates how the CONCAT_WS() function handles input strings that have NULL values.

SELECT 
    CONCAT_WS(',', 1, 2, NULL, NULL, 3);

The output is as follows:

result
----------------------------------------
1,2,3
 
(1 row affected)

As you can see from the above output, the CONCAT_WS() function ignores NULL and don’t add the separator between the NULL values.

The following example concatenates the customer data to format customer’s addresses. If the customer does not have a phone number, that function ignores it.

SELECT 
    CONCAT_WS
    (
        CHAR(13), 
        CONCAT(first_name, ' ', last_name), 
        phone, 
        CONCAT(city, ' ', state), 
        zip_code,
        '---'
    ) customer_address
FROM 
    sales.customers
ORDER BY 
    first_name, 
    last_name;

Using CONCAT_WS() to generate CSV file

This statement uses the comma (,) as a separator and concatenates values in the first_name, last_name, and email column to generate the CSV file.

See the following query.

SELECT 
    CONCAT_WS(',', first_name, last_name, email)
FROM 
    sales.customers
ORDER BY 
    first_name, 
    last_name;

So, In this tutorial, you have learned how to use the SQL CONCAT_WS() function to concatenate strings with a separator.

Finally, SQL CONCAT_WS Function Example is over.

Recommended Posts

SQL DIFFERENCE Function Example

SQL LIKE Operator Tutorial With Example

Understand SQL Constraints

SQL Operators Tutorial With Example

SQL Except Clause Example

The post SQL CONCAT_WS Function Example | CONCAT_WS Method In SQL appeared first on AppDividend.

via Planet MySQL
SQL CONCAT_WS Function Example | CONCAT_WS Method In SQL

Dear MySQL users,

The MySQL developer tools team announces 8.0.18 as our General Availability

(GA) for MySQL Workbench 8.0.

For the full list of changes in this revision, visit

http://dev.mysql.com/doc/relnotes/workbench/en/changes-8-0.html

For discussion, join the MySQL Workbench Forums:

http://forums.mysql.com/index.php?152

The release is now available in source and binary form for a number of

platforms from our download pages at:

http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/tools/workbench/

Enjoy!

via Planet MySQL
MySQL Workbench 8.0.18 has been released

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Comic for October 12, 2019