Headset specialist Turtle Beach became the UK’s top-selling peripherals firm of 2011 in terms of value.

It was beaten only by format holders Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, making it the leading third-party.

Turtle Beach, which manufactures popular headsets under the same name, was also ranked No.1 for headset sales in terms of both units and value, according to GfK Chart-Track data. It saw sales rise 35 per cent year-on-year.

“It is testimony to a lot of hard work and the fact our headsets are connecting with the UK consumer,” Turtle Beach’s European general manager Scott Dodkins told MCV. “We’re working hard to remain the headset of choice.”

NPD figures show the firm was No.1 in the US last year for third-party accessories based on dollar volume. Turtle Beach products are distributed in the UK by Lygo International.

Hiring on Elance Set to Surpass $500 Million

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - January 24, 2012- Elance, the Internet platform used by businesses to gain instant access to 1 million independent workers online, today announced that it has secured $16 Million in expansion capital led by the Stripes Group with existing investors, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, participating. The investment will fund Elance’s growth as more businesses build contingent workforces in the cloud.

“It is clear that a structural change in traditional employment is underway,” said Fabio Rosati, CEO of Elance. “Work is no longer confined to the 9-5 and the office: people are working online with multiple clients as a career choice and companies are hiring online teams as a core business strategy. This investment will help Elance keep up with demand and continue to innovate work.”

Additionally, Dan Marriott, managing partner at Stripes Group, and Paul Hsiao, partner at NEA, were appointed to Elance’s Board of Directors. Marriott, whose firm led the investment, brings extensive experience building market-leading Internet businesses such as Ticketmaster, Citysearch and Match.com.

“Elance has an impressive track record of innovation and growth. The company is leading the category of online work which is fast becoming a global market opportunity,” said Ray Lane, managing partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. “We are excited to work with the Elance team to further develop and execute the company’s strategy.”

In 2011, Elance experienced tremendous growth: the number of businesses hiring and the number of online professionals working on Elance grew more than 120 percent since 2010.  Businesses posted more than 650,000 new jobs on Elance in 2011 and contractors have earned nearly $500 Million to date on the platform. Elance is a true global marketplace with more than 160 countries represented which actively use its online work platform.

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About Elance

Elance, the world’s leading platform for online employment, helps businesses hire and manage in the cloud.

For businesses looking to staff-up a team on an hourly or project basis, Elance offers instant access to talent and the ability to build and manage entire teams online. For independent professionals who want to work online, Elance offers access to qualified clients, a virtual workplace and guaranteed pay for great work.

The company is privately held and headquartered in Mountain View, California and Oslo, Norway. For more information, visit Elance at www.elance.com.

About Stripes Group

Stripes Group, founded in 2003 and based in New York, is a private investment firm focused on growth-stage minority and majority investments in rapidly growing and profitable internet, software-as-a-service, technology-enabled services and branded consumer products companies. For more information, visit Stripes Group at www.stripesgroup.com.

About New Enterprise Associates

New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a leading venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With approximately $11 billion in committed capital, NEA invests in information technology, healthcare and energy technology companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm’s long track record of successful investing includes more than 170 portfolio company IPOs and more than 280 acquisitions, including investments in technology leaders like Data Domain, CareerBuilder, Diapers.com, Fusion-io, Groupon, Juniper, Macromedia, Salesforce.com, and TiVo. In the U.S., NEA has offices Washington, D.C. and Menlo Park, California. In addition, New Enterprise Associates (India) Pvt. Ltd. has offices in Bangalore and Mumbai, India and New Enterprise Associates (Beijing), Ltd. has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, China. For more information, visit NEA at www.nea.com.

About Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Since its founding in 1972, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers has backed entrepreneurs in over 500 companies in the energy, digital and life sciences industries.  Today, KPCB portfolio companies employ more than 250,000 people.  More than 180 of the firm’s portfolio companies have gone public; many others have achieved success through mergers and acquisitions. For more information visit KPCB at www.kpcb.com.

Media Contact:

Emily Borders

Borders+Gratehouse

Phone: (415) 963-4174 ext. 1

Email: emily(at)bordersgratehouse.com

MyWebGrocer, the leading provider of digital grocery solutions, announced the launch of Plan2Gro 5X platform.  This new platform reinforces MyWebGrocer’s position as the leader in digital grocery planning, now with 30% share of the market. By linking together everything from interactive store locators and digital circulars, to online recipes, coupons and shopping lists, Plan2Gro 5X makes it easier for time starved shoppers to buy and save on everyday grocery purchases.

Brookshire’s, a large Texas-based regional grocery chain, has implemented the Plan2Gro 5X platform.  Brookshire’s customers can now plan their grocery shopping:  online at brookshires.com, on a mobile phone via iPhone and Android apps, and for traditional shoppers, a digital version of the printed circulars are posted each week on the Brookshire’s Web site. Consumers are increasingly seeking solutions that can save both time and money, and Plan2Gro 5X does just that for grocery planning and preparation.

Additionally, Plan2Gro 5X provides an integrated loyalty program and ubiquitous access for Brookshire’s shoppers. New features include:

* Digital coupon-to-card: Customers can load coupons automatically to their Brookshire’s Thank You card from brookshires.com or a mobile device, taking printed coupons out of the equation.
* Points balances: All loyalty points are now synchronized in real-time, across all devices and platforms.
* EMail rewards: Exclusive Rewards, eDeals and Top Shopper Benefits are available on “My Shopping List” via mobile devices and online.
* New apps: iPhone and Android apps now have improved shopping list capabilities linked to the rewards program and constantly updated coupons, recipes and weekly specials.

“At MyWebGrocer, we consider digital shopping tools a critical element in the path to purchase. Our goal is to make this pervasive in people’s everyday lives. We want customers to be able to shop, plan and save money wherever they are, whenever they want,” said Sophie Huang, Vice President of R&D for Retail Solutions, MyWebGrocer.

“Brookshire’s was involved in the development process of Plan2Gro 5X and worked closely with MyWebGrocer every step of the way.  We have always placed a great emphasis on outstanding customer service, and this new digital platform further supports our commitment to providing convenience and exceptional shopping experiences for our customers,” said Rick Ellis, Vice President of Marketing, Brookshire’s.

About MyWebGrocer:

MyWebGrocer drives digital connections between consumers, grocery retailers, and Consumer Packaged Goods brands. MWG manages digital solutions for more than 114 retailers nationally, representing more than 10,000 stores, and 90+ major Consumer Packaged Goods brands.

This article can be found on the external website “NBC New York.”

Popular Takeout-Ordering Site to Open NYC Headquarters

Seamless announced the opening of its Sixth Avenue office Tuesday with Mayor Bloomberg on hand

Seamless, the popular online takeout-ordering service, announced it was opening a new 28,000-square foot office at 1065 Sixth Ave. Tuesday amid celebration of what Mayor Bloomberg called a thriving digital start-up scene.

“If you love food, there’s nowhere better than New York City,” said Bloomberg. “And if you want to start a technology business, it’s the place to be. So it’s no surprise that Seamless is one of our city’s most successful start-ups.”

Founded in New York City in 1999 as a website for corporate food-ordering, Seamless has turned into a national service for individuals to order food online and through smartphone apps.

Last year, more than $400 million in food orders were placed with over 8,000 restaurant partners through Seamless, the company said.

The new office overlooking Bryant Park will house 140 of the company’s 240 total employees, including the executive team, engineers, the marketing team, customer support and sales.

“We’ve created an open concept office where collaboration with team members and unfettered creativity is encouraged with all of the advanced capabilities that a leading technology company could ask for,” said Seamless CEO Jonathan Zabusky. “We expect that this new space will be home for a long time.”

“The innovation on display at Seamless is an important part of Mayor Bloomberg’s digital road map, and it’s no surprise that a company like Seamless was born here in New York,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth Pinsky.

The digital road map was unveiled last May, a strategy outlining groundwork for tech companies to come to New York City.

Mayor Bloomberg today joined Seamless, the nation’s leading digital service for ordering delivery and takeout food from thousands of top restaurants, to announce the opening of its New York City headquarters. The 28,000-square-foot office, located at 1065 Avenue of the Americas at 40th Street overlooking Bryant Park, is home to more than 140 of the company’s 240 total employees including the executive team, engineers, the marketing team, customer support and sales. Seamless is a comprehensive source for local restaurant information and ordering. In 2011, the company facilitated more than $400 million in food orders from its more than 8,000 restaurant partners. Mayor Bloomberg was joined by Seamless CEO Jonathan Zabusky and New York City Chief Digital Officer Rachel Sterne.

“If you love food, there’s nowhere better than New York City,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “And if you want to start a technology business, it’s the place to be. So it’s no surprise that Seamless is one of our city’s most successful digital startups. They are another great success story from our thriving startup scene, which is creating jobs and expanding the city’s economy.”

“New York is our home and continues to be a flagship city for Seamless. Moving into our new, fully integrated headquarters enables us to further our leadership position, attract and retain the best talent, drive innovation and change from a product and servicing perspective while allowing us to welcome the MenuPages team into our fold,” said Seamless CEO Jonathan Zabusky. “Similar to what the Mayor pioneered when starting his own technology company, we’ve created an open concept office where collaboration with team members and unfettered creativity is encouraged with all of the advanced capabilities that a leading technology company could ask for. We expect that this new space will be home for a long time and will allow us to continue to make over one million hungry people happy while simultaneously benefiting our thousands of restaurant partners.”

Seamless was founded in New York City in 1999. Since then, it has expanded from a website for corporate food ordering in NYC to a national service that facilitates ordering and restaurant decisioning via web and mobile applications for the iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry. Seamless offers full menus, ratings, reviews, and exclusive discounts from an extensive network of restaurants in New York, Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, London, and other US cities. For more information, visit www.seamless.com.

“New York City is home to a robust start-up culture where entrepreneurs are applying new technology to existing business models,” Deputy Mayor Robert K. Steel said. “Businesses like Seamless and other home-grown success stories are helping to diversify New York’s economy and make us a magnet for talent.”

“This announcement is further evidence that innovative technology companies such as Seamless are looking to call New York City home,” said New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth W. Pinsky. “Since 2005, the City has seen significant employment growth within the technology sector. With its comprehensive suite of initiatives designed to capitalize and expand on this steady growth, the Bloomberg Administration remains committed to helping companies such as Seamless to achieve their long-term business objectives, right here in the five boroughs.”

“It is a pleasure to congratulate Seamless on their new office space and exciting company growth. Not only are they making life more convenient – and delicious – for New Yorkers, but Seamless has over 200 employees and enables thousands of restaurants to serve customers online. As an innovative startup contributing to our City’s digital future, Seamless provides a key service as it helps businesses in New York’s world-class restaurant industry grow. The innovation on display at Seamless is an important part of Mayor Bloomberg’s digital roadmap, and it’s no surprise that a company like Seamless was born here in New York.”

This past May, Mayor Bloomberg and Chief Digital Officer Sterne unveiled the City’s digital roadmap, a compressive strategy that laid the groundwork for tech companies to come to the City, hire New Yorkers and thrive. The report, created in collaboration with numerous City agencies, stakeholders in both the public and private sector and citizens from all five boroughs, unveiled partnerships with a range of social media companies including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Tumblr that would allow the City to engage with residents in a more efficient and unified manner and provide New Yorkers the opportunity to connect with their government using the latest advances in digital communication.

Stripes’ equity stake was acquired by purchasing a portion of the equity held by early eMarketer investors, including the company’s major shareholder, Beehive Ventures, LLC, and the company’s founders.  This recapitalization is designed to provide liquidity for long-time shareholders and support the rapid growth of eMarketer.

Ken Fox, Founder and Managing Partner at Stripes Group, said, “We have been following eMarketer for several years and have watched as management built the business into the leader in providing information and data on digital marketing and e-commerce.

“We got to know the eMarketer team after engaging with them through our thematic investment sourcing effort focused on research and data businesses,” Fox added.  ”We enthusiastically pursued this partnership, and we are looking forward to a long, profitable relationship with eMarketer.”

Geoff Ramsey, eMarketer Co-Founder and CEO, said, “We decided that this was the right time to bring in a partner to support our rapid growth and to distribute some of the value we’ve generated building the business.

“This recapitalization ideally positions us to execute our strategy over the coming years,” Ramsey added. “During this process, we’ve gotten to know Ken and Stripes Group well and are confident that their thinking is in sync with ours.  We are excited to have Stripes be part of the eMarketer team and believe they will help us meet our goals and strengthen our market leading position. ”

About Stripes Group

Stripes Group, founded in 2003 and based in New York, is a private investment firm focused on growth stage minority and majority investments in rapidly growing and profitable Internet, software‐as‐a‐service, technology‐enabled services and consumer products companies.  Stripes Group typically partners with founder‐owned and -operated companies that have had no prior institutional investors.

http://www.stripesgroup.com/

About eMarketer
eMarketer publishes data, analysis and insights on digital marketing, media and commerce by gathering information from many sources, filtering it and putting it into perspective.  For more than a decade, leading companies have trusted this approach and have relied on eMarketer to help them make better business decisions.

http://www.emarketer.com

Media Contact
Clark Fredricksen
Marketing Communications Director, eMarketer
Tel. 212-763-6056
Twitte

Leading online employment platform supports entrepreneurs across the county

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — January 9, 2012 — Elance, the leading platform for online work, today announced a $1M commitment to the Startup America Partnership in order to help young companies grow and create jobs throughout the country.

“Growing young companies are the job creators in our country and in order for them to scale, they need a host of vital resources,” said Scott Case, CEO of the Startup America Partnership. “We’re excited to partner with Elance and look forward to the benefits they’ll provide Startup America Firms that are in need of virtual workers to advance their growth.”

As part of the sponsorship, Elance is pledging service credits on its platform to all verified Startup America Firms, with a total commitment of $1M to help revitalize the growth of new businesses and jobs across the country. This credit will help companies grow their businesses with a virtual team of workers that can help execute their vision. Whether businesses require IT, marketing, administrative or creative services, Elance ensures that entrepreneurs have instant access to a contingent, global and online workforce.

“We’re very excited to join Startup America in their efforts to help create jobs by supporting entrepreneurs and young companies,” said Fabio Rosati, CEO of Elance. “Entrepreneurship is a key driver of any economy’s health, and we’re committed to support economic growth by offering businesses instant access to great talent.”

Entrepreneurs are no longer limited by geography, expensive software or overhead to get a prototype or service out to market. Elance helps equip startup companies with access to resources and skilled talent to help them take their ideas to market more quickly and at a lower cost than ever before.

About Elance
Elance, the world’s leading platform for online employment, helps businesses hire and manage in the cloud.

For businesses looking to staff-up a team on an hourly or project basis, Elance offers instant access to qualified professionals who work online. Elance provides the tools to hire, view work as it progresses and pay for results. Elance is faster and more cost-effective than job boards, staffing firms and traditional outsourcing.

For skilled professionals who want to work online, Elance offers access to qualified clients, a virtual workplace and guaranteed pay for great work. Contractors have already earned nearly $500 million on the Elance platform.

The company is privately held and headquartered in Mountain View, California. To take advantage of the massive growth in demand for its services across the world, Elance opened European headquarters in Oslo. For more information, visit www.elance.com.

About the Startup America Partnership
The Startup America Partnership was launched at the White House in response to President Obama’s call to celebrate, inspire and accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship throughout the nation. The Partnership is bringing together an alliance of major corporations, funders, service providers, mentors and advisors working to dramatically increase the prevalence and success of high-growth enterprises in the U.S. AOL co-founder Steve Case chairs the Partnership and the Kauffman and Case Foundations are founding partners. American Express OPEN, Dell Inc., Intuit Inc., and Microsoft are sponsors. The Partnership will identify measure and report on the effectiveness of cross-sector collaboration in support of entrepreneurial ventures and its effect on job creation and growth. For more information on the Partnership, visit www.startupamericapartnership.org.

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Media Contact:
Emily Borders
Borders+Gratehouse
Phone: (415) 963-4174 ext. 1
Email: emily@bordersgratehouse.com

Tom brings over 22 years of healthcare software executive experience to Sandata. Tom’s track record of success building healthcare technology businesses ranges from growing start-ups to leading large public companies. Previously, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Alere Health, LLC, a $500 million subsidiary of Alere Inc., which provides Care Management solutions to large employers and health plans. Prior to becoming CEO, he held the roles of President of the Technology Solutions Division and Chief Information Officer. Tom arrived at Alere through its merger with Matria Healthcare where he was President and Chief Operating Officer. Tom spent the earlier part of his career in various executive roles including as President of Global Shared Services for First Consulting Group and as Chief Executive Officer and President of Paragon Solutions.

“I am looking forward to this exciting opportunity and couldn’t be happier to join the outstanding team of people at Sandata,” said Tom Underwood.  ”As the clear market leader in Home Healthcare with a compelling value proposition for Home Health Providers, State Governments and Managed Care Payors, Sandata is in the early stages of capturing an enormous market opportunity. My focus will be to continue to enhance our strategy of focusing on decreasing fraud, abuse and waste for State Government and Medicaid Managed Care organizations and providing state of the art technology solutions for home care providers. I am excited to build on Sandata’s reputation of providing quality solutions and excellent service to all our customers.”

“We are excited to have Tom join Sandata as CEO to further build on our leadership position providing technology solutions to the home healthcare industry. Tom’s industry and senior leadership success will be a tremendous asset to our customers and our organization,” said Bert E. Brodsky, Founder and Chairman of Sandata.

“Tom is replacing our existing CEO, Harold Blue. We are grateful for Harold’s strong leadership as CEO of Sandata and I am pleased that Harold is remaining with Sandata as Vice Chairman of the Company’s Board.”

“Tom’s proven leadership skills, domain expertise and track record of building innovative, rapidly growing healthcare and technology companies coupled with Sandata’s dominant leadership position and strong management team provide a solid foundation to accelerate the Company’s momentum,” said Ken Fox, Managing Partner of Stripes Group.  “We are excited to have Tom join as CEO to capitalize on the growing market opportunity and lead the Company’s next phase of growth.”

About Sandata Technologies, LLC

Sandata provides a complete package of information technology solutions, which includes scheduling, time and attendance, billing, payroll, compliance and clinical applications for the home healthcare industry. Sandata’s suite of products includes Santrax® Telephony, the market leading time and attendance product, Santrax® Agency Management and Santrax® Payor Management, web-based software solutions with features including voice biometrics to perform speaker verification, and a jurisdictional view dashboard solution for states and other payors, municipalities and the home care agency market.

Sandata’s solutions enable home healthcare agencies, whether Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial or Private Duty, government or managed care payors as well as any organization with a remote workforce to realize administrative cost savings, streamlined operational procedures, and significantly reduced paperwork burdens.  Sandata has over 2,000 customers in all 50 states using its products in more than 500,000 homes and processes over 100 million telephone calls annually.  Four data centers are strategically located across the country with state of the art redundancy and disaster recovery capabilities.

About Stripes Group

Stripes Group, founded in 2003 and based in New York, is a private investment firm focused on growth-stage minority and majority investments in rapidly growing and profitable internet, software-as-a-service, technology-enabled services and branded consumer products companies.  Stripes Group typically partners with founder-owned and operated companies that have had no prior institutional investors.

For additional information about Sandata, please visit: www.sandata.com.

SOURCE Sandata Technologies, LLC

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