Tipbit Raises $4M from Ignition for Personal Search in E-mail

Tipbit is going after a wicked problem that seems to get worse as each new cloud service spreads our digital work farther afield, making key information at once more accessible and harder to find.

The Bellevue, WA-based startup's solution is in the form of an e-mail application for iPhones, but "the heart of what we do is personal search," says founder and CEO Gord Mangione. Tipbit is designed to present smartphone users with relevant information that's hidden away in their e-mail accounts, social networking feeds, or business applications without them having to jump back and forth between different apps.

The company said Wednesday it has raised $4 million in a Series A round led by Ignition Partners to hire staff and build versions of its app for other mobile operating systems.

Mangione previously worked on the hypervisor server virtualization technology at XenSource and Citrix that is a key part of today's cloud computing infrastructure. Before that, he spent 14 years at Microsoft, working on products including SQL Server and Exchange, which, beginning in the late 1990s, helped put "e-mail on every business desktop," he says.

"In many ways, I started Tipbit to help tame the monster that I helped create in the '90s," says Mangione, who began the company in 2011, financing it with a combination of personal investment and venture capital, including a $1.95 million seed round last year from Ignition and Andreessen Horowitz.

We do more and more of our e-mail on mobile devices, but Mangione argues that we're actually putting off the real, important work that happens over e-mail until we get back to our desks. Things like making an introduction, researching a new business prospect, and scheduling a meeting are harder to do on smartphones, with their smaller screens, inability to display multiple windows simultaneously, cumbersome copy-and-paste procedures, and limited input capabilities.

"The key is we're going to have to be able to do things on our phone in ways that are different than what we do on a more full-fledged form factor," Mangione says.

Tipbit is a mobile e-mail client that indexes information within multiple e-mail accounts-including Gmail, Yahoo, and Exchange (which Magione describes as the "oxygen companies run their business on")-contacts lists, calendars, cloud-storage services and apps, and social media such as Twitter and LinkedIn. It then presents pieces of information relevant to the task at hand: If you're reading an e-mail from a key partner, it might present things like your last meeting with that person, passages from documents in your dropbox help that mention her name or organization, and her latest Tweets.

The result, Mangione says, resembles the background reports Microsoft field personnel would prepare for him when he was a corporate vice president calling on large customers.

"In some ways, we're trying to build that corporate backgrounder for you five minutes before you go into the meeting, on the device you have in your hand," he says.

Tipbit has plenty of potential competitors. Refresh, for example, draws on a user's LinkedIn connections and other cloud data to help prepare for meetings. Several new mobile apps try to integrate e-mail, social networking, and Web browsing, such as CloudMagic, iQtell, and even Mailbox, the slick iOS app that appeared in early 2013 and was quickly acquired by Dropbox.

Mangione says Tipbit separates itself by offering "a complete solution," with support for a wide range of e-mail accounts, including Microsoft Exchange. "There are over 360 million paying Exchange mailbox customers which are being underserved by the market," he says in an e-mail, adding that Tipbit understands this better than others thanks to his past experience with Exchange.

Mangione says Tipbit's credo is "no creepiness," meaning no ads, no selling personal information, no spamming your friends. The business model will look a lot like Evernote's, with a free basic product (everything Tipbit offers presently will remain free) and a set of premium add-ons that users will, in theory, be willing to pay for. He thinks businesses will be the bigger source of revenue, paying for services like integration with line-of-business software tools and features allowing companies to set policies, perform audits, and grant and revoke access to corporate data sources.

"To win in this space you need to be able to deliver great user experiences for consumers but also build solutions for enterprises to manage and protect their confidential information," he says.

The company just released a new version of its iPhone app, including integration with services such as Dropbox, Evernote, and Salesforce. Mangione declines to disclose how many times it has been downloaded. Plans include a dedicated iPad version and an Android app.

Mangione says the company has six full-time employees working remotely in West Seattle, Silicon Valley and San Francisco, Boston, and elsewhere. He hopes to have about 20 people on board by the end of the year.

Not surprisingly given his background, he relies on Amazon Web Services and other cloud services, as well as open-source software for just about everything the startup needs. "I don't want to buy a single server until I order in a quantity of 10,000," he says.

Benjamin Romano is editor of Xconomy Seattle. Email him at bromano [at] xconomy.com. Follow @bromano

It's not always what you think

Editor's note: The following guest column originally appeared on stancrader.com. Stan Crader is the son of the late Don Crader, who died Feb. 23.

By Stan Crader

A couple of weeks ago I bought a black suit -- it was the first suit I'd purchased in maybe two decades. I also bought a new white shirt, tie and dress socks but stopped short of new shoes. I'm funny about shoes, one of those rare people that still get them resoled. The new suit, shirt, tie and socks were for a special event to which Debbie and I had been invited -- or so I thought.

We'd been invited to attend the New York Stock Exchange Congressional Medal of Honor Gala. It would be our first trip to New York. We weren't particularly looking forward to New York City but felt honored to have been invited to a most prestigious event.

Since we were sure this would be our first and last trip to NYC, we arrived a day early and planned to make a weekend of it, taking in all of the famous sites. We awoke our first day to the winter storm that paralyzed the eastern half of the country Valentine's Day week. Having watched the weather forecast days before, we'd taken the right clothes. There's no such thing as bad weather, I always say, just bad gear.

Debbie and I braced ourselves and stepped out of the warm hotel lobby into a cold wintry NYC. "Need a cab?" The bellman asked. "Nope, we're walking." He gave us one of those looks. As it turned out the cabs were of little use -- the snow was already several inches deep. We made our way to the subway and miraculously got on the right train that took us to Grand Central Terminal. I need to mention we asked directions several times during the day and found everyone to be most gracious. In four days, we never encountered a rude person. It wasn't what we expected.

After gawking around Grand Central Terminal we asked, twice, how to get out. We finally found the clearly marked exit and headed toward Times Square. On our way to Times Square we stopped at what looked to be an Irish Pub and in fact it was. Everyone spoke with an accent difficult to decipher. We both had a Rueben.

By the time we finished our sandwiches and listened multiple times to directions from a guy who could have been in the Irish Spring commercial, we got on our way. The idyllic snow had become a wind-driven, skin-piercing sleet. The snow-covered streets had become rivers of slush. We splashed our way to Times Square, did a Chevy Chase 360 and asked directions to 34th Street and macy's shoes, our primary destination, made famous by "Miracle on 34th Street," and "A Christmas Story." The Christmas display was long gone. We rode the rickety wooden escalators all of the way to the top floor -- Macy's is a huge store, even bigger than a Wal-Mart.

From Macy's we jumped a subway train for Central park but ended up in Harlem. Again, the people were friendly and helped us find our way back to Central Park, which due to the weather, we had to ourselves. Central Park is more than 500 acres of serenity in a sea of chaos. We raced around the park for over an hour and then after asking directions, jumped a subway train that took us within two blocks of our hotel.

New York boasts the biggest sub system in the world. And it brags about being the greenest city in the world. I'm not sure of the metric used, but more than 5 million people ride the sub system on an average day, so there's some sort of efficiency thing going on. And since the subways are electric, the smoke-belching power producing plant is miles away, out of sight, and NYC is green, so to speak. Sorry about that, New Jersey.

With only minutes to spare, Debbie and I got ready for the gala. I got my tie tied on the first try -- a harbinger of good things to come. Once through security, we were ushered to the New York Stock Exchange floor where, along with several others, were greeted by 34 Congressional Medal of Honor recipients -- one World War II, three Korea, 25 Vietnam and five Iraq/Afghanistan. This was not what we expected.

The Medal of Honor Society is relatively new. There's not much information available on omniscient Google. So, Debbie and I weren't sure what to expect. We were sure one or two Medal of Honor recipients would be present, but not a room full of heroes in tuxes, adorned with their gallantry and humbly receiving us onto the floor as if we were long-lost friends and deserving of the honor. It was a spine-tingling, surreal evening. Because of our support of veterans through book sales proceeds, Robert Simanek, a Korean War veteran, presented me with his challenge coin. It was a chin-quivering moment.

During the banquet each table was honored with a hero. Don Ballard, a Vietnam-era recipient and a user of Stihl products, was seated at ours. Don shared with us the events that resulted in him being awarded the Medal of Honor. During dinner, I asked the others seated whether they had ever been in a room with a more distinguished group of people. None could say they had. I was sure I hadn't and furthermore would never again be in the presence of such a moving group of people. I would be proven wrong again, and too soon.

One week after Debbie and I returned to Missouri, my father passed away unexpectedly. On the day of his Victory, he and Saundra, his wife of 17 years, had attended church, where he played the piano to everyone's worshipful delight. After worship service they'd gone to lunch at Jer's, famous for fried chicken, with friends. That afternoon, he worked in his yard, sat down on a bench that sits between two towering trees, and fell asleep for the last time. He passed peacefully from this world into that of our Heavenly Father. Jesus promised he was going to prepare a place for us. And now Dad is there. But I'm stuck here with the rest of my family. Ever wish you were in two places at the same time?

An endless stream of well-wishers and mourners waited hours in line to share their personal Don Crader story at his visitation and funeral. My knees never hurt so good while I stood with my family for more than six hours shaking more hands than a politician on Election Day. Against my will, I spoke a few words at the funeral. While standing at the podium and looking out at a sea of friends and family, I realized two things. The reason I'd purchased a new black suit wasn't for the previous week's gala event; it had been for Dad's funeral, but God hadn't taken him yet. And the most important group of people I'd ever have the privilege to be in the presence of weren't those assembled at the Medal of Honor banquet -- they were in that sanctuary.

It's not always what you think.

Stan Crader is a Jackson resident, lecturer and author of "The Bridge" (2007), "Paperboy" (2010) and "The Longest Year" (2012).

Sunday Insert Round Up

There are also coupons and offers available from these retailers:

* Extra 15% off clothing and accessories or an extra 10% off lingerie, mattresses, recliners, Shaw Rug Gallery, and upholstered furniture

* Extra 15% off apparel, shoes, accessories, fine jewelry and home, or an extra 10% off watches, furniture, mattresses, and custom blinds/shades

* 40% off any regular priced item

* 40% off entire regular priced purchase of artist acrylics, watercolors, oil paints, brushes, pencils, pastels and markers

* 50% off entire regular priced purchase of Martha Stewart Crafts paper crafting

* 20% off total regular and sale priced purchase

* 60% off + 10% off custom framing

* 40% off any regular priced item

Rack Room Shoes

* $10 off a purchase of $60 or more

CVS is having a beauty sale this week and many brands are buy one, get one half off, including Revlon, Covergirl, Neutrogena and Aveeno.

Easter candy is on sale once again this week, and there are candy coupons in the kiosk as well.

You can earn $10 in ExtraBucks this week with a purchase of $30 or more of select baby products, like Huggies, Avent accessories, Enfamil and more.

Walgreens has a new coupon offering 5,000 Balance Rewards Points (a $5 reward) with the purchase of $25 or more.

Like CVS, Walgreens also has candy deals. There are in-store coupons and Balance Rewards Points up for grab on Easter deals. Almay, Neutrogena and L'Oreal products are also buy one, get one half off.

Kohl's is offering shoppers Kohl's Cash once again this week with every $50 purchase. Kohl's Charge holders can also save an extra 15%, 20% or 30% off purchases. Stop in today for doorbuster deals, or Friday through Tuesday for bonus buys.

Target has a new coupon offering $15 off up & up purchase of $40 or more.

And there's a second coupon offering a free $10 Target gift card with a home decor purchase of $50 or more.

Loads of freebies with purchase up for grabs, like a 12-pack of Diet Coke when you buy any three Coke 12-packs, free Tresemme hairspray with the purchase of any two Tresemme haircare products, free Pop Secret popcorn with the purchase of "Catching Fire," and more.

Remember, all of these ads may not appear in your paper. However, many retailers post their ads and coupons online, so always check there if you're interested in finding out more details. You can also get Super Sale at these websites: SmartSource , , Coupon Network , and Coupons.com.

Coupons.com (COUP) IPO Surges Higher

The IPO for Coupons.com (NYSE: COUP) is open for trading. Shares opened at $27.15 after pricing 10,500,000 shares of common stock at $16 per share, above the expected $12-$14 range. Coupons.com has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 1,575,000 shares.

Goldman, Sachs & Co., Allen & Company LLC, BofA Merrill Lynch, and RBC Capital Markets, LLC are acting as bookrunners.

Coupons.com Incorporated operates a leading digital promotion platform that connects great brands and retailers with consumers, offering digital Review, digital paperless coupons, coupon codes and other promotions. Founded in 1998, the company is based in Mountain View, CA.

In 2012, Coupons.com generated revenues of $112.1 million, representing 23% growth over 2011, a net loss of $59.2 million, representing an increase of 158% over 2011, and an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $47.3 million, representing an increase of 233% over 2011. During 2013, Coupons.com generated revenues of $167.9 million, representing 50% growth over 2012, a net loss of $11.2 million, representing a decrease of 81% over 2012, and Adjusted EBITDA of $1.7 million, as compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $47.3 million in 2012.

The Emerging Radioshack/Netflix Debacle

On Sunday, February 23rd, Radioshack began a promotion to make it possible for anyone who bought a laptop, tablet, or cellphone to receive a code good for 6 months of Netflix online streaming service. The deal can be found on their website. However, not all is well in promotion land. Since the promotion period began there have been cancelled orders, widespread theft, and generally more questions than answers. To fully explain, it will help to start at the beginning.

Radioshack announced this deal last week, and it was to begin Sunday that any online or in store purchase of a laptop, tablet, or phone would result in a code being emailed or printed on receipt. That code would be entered at another redemption site, which would then generate a code that could be redeemed on Netflix for 6 months of services (around a $48 value). The issues all began with the first redemption process.

Initially the redemption site, The On Sales Card, had to send out notices that Netflix codes would be sent out within two days. This would be fine except that some savvy (or scummy, depending on your interpretation) internet users found a way to manipulate the redemption process.

Users on slickdeals, a deal finding and sometimes deal exploiting website, found that the URL of the redemption website could be changed upon trying to enter a code, resulting in a valid Netflix subscription code being generated. Within hours, many of Netflix codes that were allocated to this promotion were stolen and some were redeemed or put up for sale on Ebay.

This means that those with legally obtained codes could either be receiving an already redeemed code, or they might not receive a code at all. To make matters worse, Radioshack has declined to respond as of Tuesday afternoon. The only change has been an update to the terms of service, requiring a higher purchase amount, for receiving a Netflix code that has likely already been used.

Who is to blame for this issue? Radioshack certainly could have benefited from employing a more sound delivery system for the promotional codes. Utilizing a shell of a website that initially cracked under traffic, then was so easily manipulated, while making the goods so easy to steal, certainly doesn't bode well for their online marketing decision making.

Plenty of blame can also fall on the redemption website designers. Getting the trust of a large company such as Radioshack usually means that the job will be taken seriously, rather than having a major promotion be handle by as they put it "a website design in process".

Some blame can be put on the Slickdeals users who decided to exploit the website error. By trying to exploit the deal, exploiting it, and then sharing the exploit with others in the name of building their online reputation, they likely ruined a good promotion that others could have benefited from. I am a fan of deal websites, but when scoring a good deal becomes an exercise in manipulation and theft, it is no longer what I would consider a slick deal.

Radioshack has not addressed these issues yet. A press release to give some indication if the thousands of customers who tried to correctly participate in this promotion will be receiving what they were promised will hopefully be coming soon. Until then, I am back to paying 8 bucks a month for my online streaming needs.

Report: Texas to begin beer sales at athletics events

The decision would launch a trial period for football season.

Tuesday evening will mark the start of beer sales at Texas Longhorns sporting events, according to a report from Orangebloods.

The women's basketball basketball game against the TCU Horned Frogs at the Erwin Center will be the first chance for Texas fans to buy beer at a game and will then expand to men's basketball, baseball, and softball, said a source close to the situation.

If it does happen, Wednesday will present the first opportunity for the purchase of beer at a men's basketball game when the Longhorns take Amazon Deal the Baylor Bears, with sales expanding to football games in the fall if the trial period this spring produces the desired results without any dire consequences.

The first hint that such a decision could eventually happen at Texas came last spring, when former athletic director DeLoss Dodds told the Daily Texan that it was something discussed often in the administration:

We talk about it constantly. If we ever did it, we'd probably start with baseball. There's something about it that doesn't quite feel right, but there's people telling me that it might be safer to serve it than not serve it. It's an issue. I guarantee you we talk about it at almost every other staff meeting.

But since there were many more significant changes that needed to be made around Bellmont that never happened, it was hardly any surprise that Dodds ended his tenure at Texas without ever implementing beer sales at Texas athletics events.

Two schools in the Big 12 already allow alcohol sales at athletics events -- West Virginia and Iowa State. Perhaps because of the connections between athletic director Oliver Luck and Texas, the Mountaineers have always received more publicity surrounding alcohol sales.

In 2012, West Virginia made $520,000 from alcohol sales at their events, a number that could perhaps double for the Longhorns since there would be other sports involved and the fact that Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium has a significantly larger capacity.

The bigger concerns surround post-game drunk driving and the possibility for high levels of intoxication, especially at football games, where some sections of the stadium are known for having a consistently high level of intoxicated fans who are disruptive and have to leave the game, some times because they need medical attention.

And researchers at Virginia Tech found that during pre-game tailgating festivities before football games, one-third of those who intended to drive after the game were already legally intoxicated.

A poll last spring when Dodds' comments came out revealed that 63% of BON readers supported the sale of alcohol at games and doing so at football games could get fans into their seats earlier because they wouldn't have to drink that last beer out at tailgates and get them back in their seats more quickly following halftime because there wouldn't be a need to hit up the University of Texas Club in the stadium.

When Dodds brought up the subject last spring, he said it was a "do-the-right-thing" issue and not about money. But if it's not about money and there are dangers associated with the practice, then what's the reasoning?

Ad of the Day: Old Navy Just Made Its Best TV Commercial in a Long Time

old navy had a long and largely fruitful relationship with Crispin Porter + Bogusky. But the retailer seems reinvigorated creatively since splitting from CP+B last summer.

Part of the problem was that the CP+B work was so fully realized-and in such a particular style-that it became limiting. The ads, from the SuperModelquins to the Funnovations, were always recognizable and well crafted, but they became a bit suffocating.

Lately, though, freed from those constraints, Old Navy has done some irresistible commercials. First, Melissa McCarthy hilariously hammed her way through a game-show parody for Black Friday-in an ad by Chandelier in New York and director Roman Coppola.

Now, the same agency and director have teamed up for a spring 2014 spot starring another comic, Debra Wilson, who plays a TSA agent bowled over by a passenger's $19 Old Navy jeans.

Wilson, an original MADtv cast member, is hilarious in the role. And Coppola again displays a deft touch for comedy-and for madcap scenes of pandemonium. As the passengers absurdly flee for the exits in this ad, falling over each other in the process, it recalls one of Coppola's other recent outings-the Windows Phone ad with the melee between Apple and Samsung users at a wedding.

It's helpful for any clothing retailer to have a range of styles, in its clothes and its advertising. And Chandelier is certainly giving Old Navy new looks.

The spot will also run as a :30. A Spanish-language version will star actress Dascha Polanco, aka Daya from Orange Is the New Black.

CREDITS
Client: Old Navy

Agency: Chandelier Creative
Creative Director: Richard Christiansen
Associate Creative Director: Lena Kuffner
Managing Director: Sara Fisher
Art Director: Michael Scanlon
Producer: Jill Andresevic

Production Company: The Director's Bureau
Director: Roman Coppola
Executive Producers: Lisa Margulis, Elizabeth Minzes
Line Producer: Eric Sedorovitz
DP: Matthew Libatique

Editorial: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Carlos Arias
Assistant Editor: Lauren Dellara
Executive Producer: Eve Kornblum & Carol Lynn Weaver
Head of Production: Justin Kumpata & Angela Dorian
Post Producer: Lisa Barnable & Shada Shariatzadeh

Telecine: Company 3 LA
Colorist: Sean Coleman

Music Supervisor: John Bissell, Mothlight Music
Mixer: Rohan Young at Lime Studios
Assistant Mixer: Jeff Malen

Post Production
Design Studio: Elastic
Art Director: Lisha Tan
Designer(s): Lyn Cho
Producer: Michelle Machado
Executive Producer: Jennifer Sofio Hall

VFX Studio: A52
2D VFX Artist(s): Dan Ellis, Matt Sousa, Gabe Sanchez
Producer: Michelle Machado
Executive Producer: Megan Meloth