$4 million funding for WinePod - Raise A Toast for 'em!

Didn't I mention in my last post that the zing in the information flow has never looked so terrific in the past.. New gadgets and startups get rolled out almost every other day, each trying to create a market of their own. Rolling out a startup is commendable but not as difficult as to keep it going. The survivors of the Great Dot-Com burst would pay testimony to that.
VCs today go for a thorough review before deciding to invest in any firm. They need the profits, but just that they are more careful now. Niche companies have maintained their edge, and draw more interest towards them. ProVina is one such firm, which has managed to raise $4 million for their award winning product WinePod. Though this might not sound really big but it gave me an oppurtunity to have a look at what WinePod does. Did I say they are niche sector folks? Check out for yourselves..
Winepod created the initial buzz more than a year back with San Francisco Chronicle saying this -

Styled to look like a sleek, stainless steel egg, the WinePod is a high-tech home winemaking machine that promises to turn enophiles into instant winemakers -- just add grapes.

Aha! It did sound interesting. From the initial $1,999 model to the current 2007 roll out which costs $3,499 - the concept remains the same. Provide the inputs to the WinePod through the software interface + the grapes (obviously) and you do get a wine which is very much your own product!
This egg shaped instrument does the job for you, which includes the fermentation process and maintains appropriate ageing temperature using electronically controlled thermoelectric heating and cooling. Further, the entire WinePod management is provided by the WinePod Software, which acts as your consultant towards creating supreme quality wine. Have a look at their demo dashboard here..
But where do the grapes come from? Well, the WinePod folks are your vineyard managers and they work towards providing the highest quality premium grapes from proven vineyards in world-renowned growing regions at all price-points.

Introduced in 2006 and with patents pending, the WinePod has been recognized with numerous innovation awards. Most recently it was named one of the "Next Big Things" in February 2007 by USA Weekend. In April 2007, the WinePod won Business 2.0 and Frog Designs 2007 "Bottom Line Design Award" for design innovation and strong financial prospects.

According to PR NewsWire, ProVina will use the funds from this round to ramp production to meet the significant demand and launch the product globally.

The Idea..

There has always been so much happening around, be it in any domain. Technology, economics, sports, et al. Perhaps it has always been the case, but the way in which the information flow has expanded has been terrific which makes the entire scene all the more dynamic - which is why the reason to start up with writing a blog. A late idea for sure, but then atleast I did wake up! But why the heck am I writing all this? Well, some of the stuff here might not be the latest, and you might have already read about it elsewhere. After all, I'm not there to put the big guys out of business, isn't it? ;)

Domination or Annihilation?

Dublin (Ireland), Apr 20, 2031: The customary rites are over and the Aussies have streamrolled their opposition once again, this being their 9th World Cup in a row and extending their unbeaten winning streak in the competition to 120 matches!
Aah.. that seems to be picture-perfect..
Alright, as for now the above scenario seems to be a not-so-surprising future for the indomitable Aussies. Yeah, Dublin might seem to be a bit of an exaggeration to few, but with the ICC's so-called Global-Spread-of-the-Game Policy, who knows!
Anyways, enough can be written 'bout the morons later. For now, hail the Champions for they showed us once again the way this game should be and needs to be played. For those who crave for soccer, et al on the premise that they beat other sports on the excitement factor - watch the Aussies. They are splendid to say the least. To me, when they march on the cricket field, they give an illusion of an 11 men army who'd give almost anything for the glory of a win! I'm not saying that others don't play to win, but the intensity thats on display when these folks play is intimidating - to say the least..

In my countdown-to-the-cup review, I had given a 9.5 on 10 to them, just because a 10 on 10 would have been unethical. Well, I think a 9.5 would probably be an injustice to them - they definitely deserve a 10 pointer.

"I've been joking around the rooms saying that I'm thinking about coming out of retirement."

-Glenn McGrath

Few players have ended their international campaign on such a brilliant note, the last one probably being the legendary Imran Khan with the shining World Cup crytal in his hands. Glenn McGrath probably just managed to take it a step further. To say that he has been very accurate in his bowling would be inappropriate, I'd rather say that few can make robots matching it! From the 1996 edition to the 2007 one, not much has changed. In fact, it would make for an interesting pitch map analysis indicating the percentage of McGrath deliveries landing on the perfect length spot.. The Athertons, Tendulkars, Laras, Kirstens - all would have created a lot more records for sure had this genius not been around. Too bad, his final adieu has come a trifle too late for them to celebrate. A master craftsman, an asset, a trier - one can keep gesticulating along with the adjectives - to sum it all, its just brilliance personfied!
Well, he also won me a few goodies - one of my friends had a bet with me that the master bowler is gonna go for more than 5 an over in 5 matches in this edition. Needless to say, I did win it. Thanks Glenn.. :)
With Mcgrath retiring, and probably a few others as well from the Aussie team in the coming months, their lineup for the future edition in 2011 would be a matter of deep interest, but rest assured they'd be as confident as we are of their chances of winning the premier compeition for the 4th consecutive time.

Off for the rest of the week..

Another small vacation.. another wedding to attend.. but I'd be back next week!

Google asserts itself as the Top Brand..

Its official now. Google's hit the last nail in the coffin by coming out as the Top Brand in the Millward Brown - Top 100 most Powerful Brands survey for 2007. Google's brand value has shot up by 77% to land itself in the top spot. Last year's supremos Microsoft have slid to the 3rd spot after GE (General Electric). Read the full coverage here..

Well, I just had a glance through the rest of the list and was able to spot atleast 3 Chinese firms making into the top 100 namely China Mobile(5), Bank of China(38) and China Construction Bank(61).