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Last week, my furnace started to misbehave just as the Canadian winter arrived. With the temperature in the house tumbling to 12 degrees (Celsius), we went to bed fully clothed and covered by layers of blankets.

Fortunately, Rob the Furnace Guy installed a new furnace so it's all good. From a technology perspective, it's interesting to see how little furnaces have changed over the past 15 years. More importantly, I appreciated the value of having a warm place to live.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to work in an exciting and fast-growing techology industry. At a time when many other businesses are being disrupted, the world of technology is rumbling with innovation new ideas. Those of us involved in developing, working on and covering technology are extremely fortunate. We have a front row seats for a game that's moving at break-neck speed.

Here's an exciting 2018 and happy holidays! By the way, here's a list of the 100-top Christmas movies - difficult to believe Elf is 15th! 

Thanks for reading! If you like this newsletter, forward it to a friend or share it on the Twitter.

Running the Business

  • Hiten Shah says a key part of product development is looking beyond your existing customers for feedback and ideas.  [link]
  • The New Yorker looks at Estonia whose government is borderless, blockchain and secure. [link
  • Want to keep your startup employees? Provide them with great benefits. [sponsor]
  • OpenView's Ashley Minogue puts the spotlight on the biggest SaaS trends for 2018, led by the assertion that marketing will become more human.  [link]
  • CB Insights put the spotlight on 100 AI startups redefining industries. Surprise, surprise, some of them actually exist outside the U.S. [link]
  • 15 leading salespeople and entrepreneurs share their best sales advice and tips. [link]
  • Can you really do PR for free? Here are some ways to make it happen, many of them are low-brainers such as being a good source. [link]
  • As much as fast-growing companies need to leverage marketing, they should be leary of slick-talking marketers not focused on the fundamentals. [link]
  • Steve Blank puts the spotlight on the nine deadliest startup sins, including a belief they actually know what customers want. [link]
  • Marketing expert Al Ries, co-author of Positioning, talks to Wired about how to make your product stand out from the crowd. [link]
  • For people running e-commerce businesses, here's a list of 150 power words to drive sales [link]
  • Brands are pounding away at our inboxes. Brennan Dunn offers insight about a better email marketing framework. [link]

Oh Canada!

Vancouver's ACL. which makes governance software for fraud detection, anti-bribery and corruption, raised $50-million from a group led by Silicon Valley-based Norwest. [link
As retailers scramble to stay viable, Chris Carder and Greg Wong put the spotlight on six technologies driving seamless retail in 2018. Among them is the power of physical stores [link]
Whitney Rockley, co-founder and managing partner with McRock Capital, talks about how she became one of the few female leaders in the Canadian venture capital industry. [link]
The Canadian government is accepting applications for its $400-million Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, which will be managed by BDC. [link]

Brand Reboot

Does your marketing need a jump-start? The Brand Reboot course shows you how to do customer discovery, identify and showcase your key benefits and differences, and stand out from the competition. Get 14 videos and a learn-as-you-go workbook for $99.

Sponsors

Your startup employees should have benefits. IPFS helps you make that happen. [sponsor]
Want to reach entrepreneurs and investors? Send me an email to talk about advertising and sponsorship options.

Who writes this newsletter?

I make marketing work for fast-growing companies (and companies looking to grow faster) by delivering strategic guidance and tactical execution. My consulting and coaching and CMO-for-Hire services are underpinned by storytelling, frameworks and hands-on engagement.

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ME Consulting · 109 Melville Avenue · Toronto, On M6G 1Y3 · Canada