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©2018 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

The Final Mile Concept

The final mile concept -- the distance between a product or service’s final distribution outlet and its ultimate destination—is typically the most expensive and, in many cases, the most complex to solve.

And it isn’t limited to logistics, however. As Fast Company says:

Social platforms are also trying to figure out how to get their users to interact in person in order to strengthen bonds that were often initiated and developed digitally. And it isn’t only tech giants like Facebook and Pinterest that are interested in learning how to turn digital communities into analog ones. Companies including Lincoln are also looking at how technology can bring people together in the flesh. “Technology is a great connection enabler,” says Becca Anderson, client experience manager at Lincoln. “But I don’t think anything replaces the human, personal connection.

Read more about the final mile concept and the importance of bringing people together in flesh.

Large Gender Gap in Fundraising

Funding is what gives most startups the ability to compete with more established companies for talent.

When all of your competitors are raising money, the amount you raise matters.  And women still aren't getting enough of it.

So, if women founders are earning a higher return on investment than men [Quartz's analysis], why is there still such a large gender gap in fundraising?

Learn more about how female founders deserve to be funded, period.

Architectural Digest Features Shea Soucie of Soucie Horner

We love when our Chicago members are featured in the news!  And this article says it all about WPO Chicago member and designer Shea Soucie of Chicago-based Soucie Horner, Ltd.

"Shiir, for us, from a design standpoint, has been an exploration of material, technique, and texture," Soucie tells AD PRO. "As a designer, when we started on the line, I wanted to come up with something that was unique in the marketplace. To me, texture had to drive that conversation. Then we found different techniques and fibers to translate those textures and bring them to life. After four years of exploring woven fiber, leather was another material that we could take on."

Read the article, "Shiir Rugs's Newest Line Presents a Fresh Take on Leather," published in Architectural Digest.

Screenshot credit.