This fall, there is going to be worldwide attention focused on Crypto Valley.
The Blockchain Competition, initiated by two of the Crypto Valley Association’s founding members – Lakeside Partners and inacta – has collected over 90 entries from teams and startups spread across more than 25 countries worldwide. The Competition is a first-of-its-kind startup contest for blockchain teams working on insurance applications and offers a cash prize of $100 000 (no strings attached).
From Russia to Uruguay, from Singapore to Spain, the list of contestants vying to claim the top prize and come to Zug knows no borders. The Top 3 teams – including the winner of the cash prize – will be announced in a special Award Show on 22 Nov in Zug’s Theatre Casino.
The applications which have been received so far, include both established startups and teams formed specifically for the purpose of applying to the Competition. The majority of entries have come from European countries and North America. Submissions from Africa (2) as well as India (3), not to mention the UAE and Uruguay, can attest to the potential that blockchain holds for developing countries.
With this many applications having come in from around the world, there will be even more attention focused on the growing blockchain ecosystem in Switzerland.
Mathias Ruch, Managing Partner of Lakeside Partners sees both positives and negatives in the wide range of international applicants – “It’s awesome to see ideas popping up from all over the world. We already knew that Switzerland and Crypto Valley are the top spots for blockchain startups and this confirms it. But now our Jury will have a difficult task narrowing things down. It’s too bad we can’t take them all and give them a home here!”
That task will likely get even more difficult. The Blockchain Competition will continue to accept late applications until 22 September, increasing the pool of potential winners.
For those interested in getting a sneak peak at some of the Competition’s applications, there is the “Building Blocks” Interview Series with the first edition featuring ZirconTech from Uruguay.
Tickets for the Blockchain Competition Award Show are available here.
Financial information is king and Thomson Reuters Corporation holds the crown. The company is the market leader in financial data (ahead of rival information provider Bloomberg). Thomson Reuters provides electronic information and services to businesses and professionals worldwide, serving the financial services, media, legal, tax and accounting, and science markets. Data is primarily offered online, and to a lesser extent via CD-ROM and print formats; nearly all revenues come from subscription sales to its plethora of offerings. Thomson Reuters was created in 2008 as the result of the $16 billion cash and stock purchase of news service Reuters by information provider The Thomson Corporation.
Operations
The company is organized into four business units. Its Financial & Risk segment accounted for more than 50% of total net sales in fiscal 2014. The segment provides news, information, and analytics to financial institutions.
The company's Legal segment provides online and print information, decision tools, software, and services that support legal, investigation, business, and government professionals. The Legal unit accounted for more than 25% of total net sales in fiscal 2014.
Thomson Reuters' Tax & Accounting segment offers integrated tax compliance and accounting information, software, and services to accounting firms, corporations, law firms, and governments. The unit accounted for 11% of total net sales in fiscal 2014.
The company's Intellectual Property & Science segment provides comprehensive intellectual property and scientific information, decision support tools, and services to governments, academia, publishers, corporations, and law firms. The Intellectual Property & Science unit accounted for 8% of total net sales in fiscal 2014.
Geographic Reach
Thomson Reuters has a truly global scale indeed. The company operates in more than 100 countries, and more than 40% of revenues come from outside the Americas. The business has US offices in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, and Texas, and international offices in London and Bangalore, India.
Sales and Marketing
Thomson Reuters sells its products and services directly to its customers. In addition, it has been successful in selling some of its products and services online directly to customers. Focusing some of the marketing and sales efforts online has allowed it to broaden the range of customers and reduce sales and marketing costs.
Financial Performance
In fiscal 2014 Thomson Reuters' revenue was $12.6 billion. That was a decrease of $95 million compared to fiscal 2013. The primary reason for the drop was decreased sales from the company's Financial & Risk unit partially offset by increased sales from the Tax & Accounting segment.
The company's net income was $1.9 billion in fiscal 2014. That was a dramatic increase compared to the previous fiscal period. The primary reason was due to decreased operating expenses.
Thomson Reuters ended fiscal 2014 with $2.3 billion in cash on hand from operations. That was an increase of $263 million compared to the prior fiscal year.
Strategy
The company's growth strategy mainly involves developing new products, services, applications, and functionalities to better meet its customers' needs.
