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Use the comments section on this page to post any buzz you have heard – might be a rumor, might be a gossip, might be just some juice! Is that hot startup on its way down? Or is it getting bought? Did they announce a deal that never existed? Share something here that news doesnt know! We will try and keep this as free as we can, except wont allow personally disparaging remarks.
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Bio-metric payment solution provider “PAYBYTOUCH†ends operations due to bankruptacy!
Biometrics company Pay By Touch regretfully announced that it would be shuttering its doors following nearly six years since its first biometric transaction in 2002.
Several factors were responsible for bringing the company to a halt. The first was a poor strategy for growth. Rather than focussing on organic growth, the emerging player grew by acquisition. It purchased other biometric start-ups like biopay(another biometric payment service), cardsystems.
Although the company never turned profit, it was a magnet for blue-chip investors. The company raised an astonishing $300 million in financing from sources ranging from hedge funds to high-net worth individuals. Investors ranged from recognizable management groups such as Plainfield Asset Management, Farallon Capital Management, Och-Ziff Capital Management, Mobius Venture Capital, Rembrandt Venture Partners to supermarket billionaire Ronald Burkle, co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team, Mario Lemieux, and the Getty family.
Again from a user point of view, the service was more complicated since it required them to remember 7 digit Pins and again another four digit PIN for transactions.
It’s also interesting to public bankruptcy document filed by Mr.john rogers the founder of PBT. As per the document he has $1,275.68 in a Schwab account, $93.23 in a UBS account, $4,335.21 at Wells Fargo Bank, an $8,000 security deposit with his landlord, $2,000 in household goods, and $2,500 worth of clothing to his name. Again he spends $1,000 on clothes each month . He owes American Express a grand total of $68,272.67..
Paybytouch is the second bio-metric payment solution provider shutting it’s operations, the first was innoventry which came out with an innovative bio-metric ATM solution that lets users withdraw cash through their terminals installed at retail outlets. The the service saw the user base grew by around 2 million in a years time, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2001 unable to raise further funds(it had raised close to $400m from a group of investors).
BD,
A buzz is a buzz is a buzz… Now you seem to worry too much. Get a life, pal…
Uh, okay! Since Alok started (or atleast posted the news about) this Section… the VC example is probably a lame example. But still…
But is this really a good idea ? Posting some “buzz” might even have legal implications. If this is a completely unmoderated thing, then consider the consequences of someone posting some “real buzz” which was meant to be really under wraps, and posting amounts to breach of privacy. Yeah okay, we don’t have those in India, but still, it may be ethically / morally in a gray-area.
Maybe a Dos’ and Don’ts is in order. What kind of buzz is *not* to be posted. E.g. overheard a VC talk to his colleague about a potential investment they are making. Bringing this buzz out here, may be a deal-breaker.
Linkedzone has laucnhed sms feature which will provide users with sms alerts whenever there is any update on their professional network.