Robert Craven (born 7 March 1959) is an English author of business books and a popular keynote speaker. His area of focus is entrepreneurship and business growth.
Career
Craven graduated from the University of Bath in 1981 with a degree in Economics and Politics and promptly set up a cafe, then a restaurant then an outside catering business. He also set up a sound recording studio followed by a training company and then became involved in management consulting.
Craven earned his MBA from Warwick Business School in 1991 where he went on to become Associate Fellow and Director of Consulting and Training at the Centre for Small and Medium-sized Businesses. He was Programme Director for the Business Growth and Management Development Programmes. He subsequently wrote and delivered Warwick’s Personal Business Adviser Training for the government’s newly formed Business Link. Finally he wrote and delivered the Understanding Small Business Programme for Barclays Bank’s business managers. He went on to work on etc's Accelerated Growth Programme.
After leaving Warwick, Craven spent a brief time at University of Bath before becoming Managing Director of The Directors’ Centre, a consultancy for growing businesses. Craven has been a contributor for Financial Times, Director, Telegraph, Independent on Sunday, Fresh Business Thinking, BusinessZone, B2BusinessHub, Marketing Donut, SiteRoom, and Start Your Business magazines. He wrote the most popular article of 2011 for BusinessZone.
He was Series Editor for the Virgin Business Guides. He speaks for Vistage and The London Speaker Bureau The Barclays roadshow visits 80 venues and 6,500 delegates each year. He is a judge in the 2011 UK Startup Awards (with Lara Morgan).
Craven lives in Bath in Somerset.
Bibliography
*Kick-Start Your Business - 100 days to a leaner, fitter organisation (2001) Virgin Books.
*Customer Is King - how to exceed their exceed their expectations (2002) Virgin Books.
*Bright Marketing - why should people bother to buy from you? (2007) Crimson Publishing.
*The Start-Up Essays (2009) The Directors’ Centre.
*Beating The Credit Crunch (2009) The Directors’ Centre.
*Bright Marketing For Small Business - make your business stand out from the crowd (2011) Crimson Publishing.
*Grow Your Service Firm (Nov 2011) Crimson Publishing.
Career
Craven graduated from the University of Bath in 1981 with a degree in Economics and Politics and promptly set up a cafe, then a restaurant then an outside catering business. He also set up a sound recording studio followed by a training company and then became involved in management consulting.
Craven earned his MBA from Warwick Business School in 1991 where he went on to become Associate Fellow and Director of Consulting and Training at the Centre for Small and Medium-sized Businesses. He was Programme Director for the Business Growth and Management Development Programmes. He subsequently wrote and delivered Warwick’s Personal Business Adviser Training for the government’s newly formed Business Link. Finally he wrote and delivered the Understanding Small Business Programme for Barclays Bank’s business managers. He went on to work on etc's Accelerated Growth Programme.
After leaving Warwick, Craven spent a brief time at University of Bath before becoming Managing Director of The Directors’ Centre, a consultancy for growing businesses. Craven has been a contributor for Financial Times, Director, Telegraph, Independent on Sunday, Fresh Business Thinking, BusinessZone, B2BusinessHub, Marketing Donut, SiteRoom, and Start Your Business magazines. He wrote the most popular article of 2011 for BusinessZone.
He was Series Editor for the Virgin Business Guides. He speaks for Vistage and The London Speaker Bureau The Barclays roadshow visits 80 venues and 6,500 delegates each year. He is a judge in the 2011 UK Startup Awards (with Lara Morgan).
Craven lives in Bath in Somerset.
Bibliography
*Kick-Start Your Business - 100 days to a leaner, fitter organisation (2001) Virgin Books.
*Customer Is King - how to exceed their exceed their expectations (2002) Virgin Books.
*Bright Marketing - why should people bother to buy from you? (2007) Crimson Publishing.
*The Start-Up Essays (2009) The Directors’ Centre.
*Beating The Credit Crunch (2009) The Directors’ Centre.
*Bright Marketing For Small Business - make your business stand out from the crowd (2011) Crimson Publishing.
*Grow Your Service Firm (Nov 2011) Crimson Publishing.
Victor van Amerongen is Chairman and Creative Director of Space City, the UK's largest producer of TV commercials.
Early Life
Victor Ian van Amerongen was born on 12th March 1955, the only child of Carel van Amerongen and Alida van Amerongen (nee Knuyt), who had emigrated to the UK from Holland in 1948. His father worked as a technical translator, writing and adapting several best-selling books, including
The Way Things Work (Simon & Schuster, 1967).
He read theoretical physics at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was President of the Oxford Union in Trinity term 1975.
Radio & TV Career
He joined the BBC World Service as a Studio Manager in 1975. After a brief period as a studio director in BBC Television News, he became a producer for BBC Current Affairs, then based in Lime Grove Studios, working on The Money Programme and Newsnight, among other programmes.
While working there he developed a sideline as a composer, writing the signature tunes for Watchdog and Nationwide among others.
In 1986 he joined Independent Television News as a journalist on ITN World News, the UK's first satellite news service.
Space City
He founded Space City Productions in January 1992 with the aim of making low-budget TV commercials. The company soon became a specialist in direct-response advertising (DRTV).
Since 2000 Space City has consistently topped the Televisual magazine poll for making more TV commercials than any other UK company.
Space City made the first-ever TV commercial for a price comparison website, Confused.com in 2002. It also created the musical jingle and several different TV commercials for Moonpig.com, the greetings cards company which attributed much of its success to its TV advertising, and which was sold in 2011 for £120m.
Personal Life
Victor van Amerongen married the composer Amanda Alexander in 1979. Their only son, Alexander, died in 1993 from acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 7. They have three daughters, Amii (who has appeared on Channel 4's Come Dine With Me, Lucy (who wrote a best-selling book, "The A-Z of Teen Talk". and Rosie. They live in London and Gloucestershire.
TV and Radio Appearances
He has frequently been interviewed on news programmes about matters relating to TV advertising. In 2004 he appeared in the Sky 1 series The 1970s Office. In 2012 he was a member of team on The Mad Bad Ad Show.
Early Life
Victor Ian van Amerongen was born on 12th March 1955, the only child of Carel van Amerongen and Alida van Amerongen (nee Knuyt), who had emigrated to the UK from Holland in 1948. His father worked as a technical translator, writing and adapting several best-selling books, including
The Way Things Work (Simon & Schuster, 1967).
He read theoretical physics at Magdalen College, Oxford. He was President of the Oxford Union in Trinity term 1975.
Radio & TV Career
He joined the BBC World Service as a Studio Manager in 1975. After a brief period as a studio director in BBC Television News, he became a producer for BBC Current Affairs, then based in Lime Grove Studios, working on The Money Programme and Newsnight, among other programmes.
While working there he developed a sideline as a composer, writing the signature tunes for Watchdog and Nationwide among others.
In 1986 he joined Independent Television News as a journalist on ITN World News, the UK's first satellite news service.
Space City
He founded Space City Productions in January 1992 with the aim of making low-budget TV commercials. The company soon became a specialist in direct-response advertising (DRTV).
Since 2000 Space City has consistently topped the Televisual magazine poll for making more TV commercials than any other UK company.
Space City made the first-ever TV commercial for a price comparison website, Confused.com in 2002. It also created the musical jingle and several different TV commercials for Moonpig.com, the greetings cards company which attributed much of its success to its TV advertising, and which was sold in 2011 for £120m.
Personal Life
Victor van Amerongen married the composer Amanda Alexander in 1979. Their only son, Alexander, died in 1993 from acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 7. They have three daughters, Amii (who has appeared on Channel 4's Come Dine With Me, Lucy (who wrote a best-selling book, "The A-Z of Teen Talk". and Rosie. They live in London and Gloucestershire.
TV and Radio Appearances
He has frequently been interviewed on news programmes about matters relating to TV advertising. In 2004 he appeared in the Sky 1 series The 1970s Office. In 2012 he was a member of team on The Mad Bad Ad Show.
Darrell Edward Lunsford, Sr. (October 20, 1943 - January 23, 1991) was a police constable with the Nacogdoches County Sheriff's Office in Texas. On January 23, 1991, Lunsford pulled over a vehicle with three men inside. The three men were illegally transporting the drug marijuana. Lunsford grew suspicious of the suspects and requested to see what was inside the trunk of the vehicle. When Lunsford saw the marijuana, the suspects attacked Lunsford, then shot and killed him with his own service weapon. They then drove off, leaving Lunsford and his patrol car behind. The entire incident was videotaped on a dashboard camera in Constable Lunford's cruiser. The three suspects were found at a later date and were then arrested. It was because of the video camera in the cruiser that the police were able to arrest the three killers, who were later imprisoned.
Murder
On Wednesday, January 23, 1991 at approximately 01:20 a.m., Lunsford pulled over a suspicious vehicle, a white 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass with Maine license plates. He pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and questioned the driver. He asked the driver whether he had any ID on him, to which the driver replied no. The driver claimed that he had a driving license but did not have it on him. He also said that he was helping his brother drive the car (one of two passenger's in the vehicle). At 01:27 a.m., Lunsford asked to look in the trunk of the vehicle and the three suspects reluctantly agreed. When they opened the trunk, Lunsford could smell the marijuana. At 01:28 a.m., two of the three suspects were out of the vehicle speaking with Lunsford. Suddenly, one suspect grabbed Lunsford by his legs while the other grabbed him from behind. They forced him down onto the ground by the side of the car and the third suspect got out to assist his two partners in crime. They then carried out a 'prison takedown' on Lunsford and continued to beat and attack him with their bare hands and feet while Lunsford was pinned down on the ground. They rolled him over onto his stomach, kicked him in the hip three times and then fired a single shot into his stomach killing him. The gun that the suspects used for the murder was Lunsford's own service weapon. The three suspects then made a quick getaway in their vehicle, leaving behind the dead body of Lunsford and his police cruiser.
Aftermath
The three suspects abandoned their vehicle less than a mile from the town of Garrison. Their vehicle was found later in the day. Lunsford was found by his colleague, Chief Deputy Stanaland, at around 02:00 a.m.. The Chief immediately rewound the video in Lunsford's cruiser and made a copy of it. Throughout the morning, the police analysed this videotape and were able to identify the three killers. One of the three suspects was found later in the day when a highway patrolman spotted him walking near the edge of a wooded area. He was arrested and charged with murder. Another suspect in the shooting was captured and arrested two days later, the third suspect was captured the day after. All three suspects were then tried and convicted with Constable Lunsford's murder. The actual shooter who had fired the gun and murdered Lunsford was identified as, Baldemar Sambrano Villarreal. He was spared the death penalty but was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His younger half brother, Reynaldo Sambrano Villarreal, was sentenced to forty years in prison for his role in the murder. The third suspect, Jesus Zambrano, pleaded guilty to his role in the murder and received a thirty year prison sentence.
The entire incident was captured by the dashboard camera in Lunsford's cruiser. This videotape enabled the police to arrest the three killers. The video is now used for the training of new officers. The videotape teaches them what to do if they ever get into a difficult situation like this. Constable Lunsford is survived by his wife and two children.
Effects of the video
Trooper Andy Lopez Jr. was a police officer from Refugio, Texas. He watched the video of Lunsford's murder and analysed every detail of it. Just 8 months after Lunsford's murder, on September 21, 1991, a Saturday night, Lopez pulled over a suspicious vehicle along U.S Highway 77 in Refugio, Texas. Similarly to Lunsford's killers, there were three male suspects and they were also transporting the illegal drug, marijuana. First of all Lopez asked to look in the trunk of the vehicle. The three suspects agreed and then got out of the vehicle and opened the trunk. As soon as they opened the trunk Lopez could immediately smell the scent of marijuana. Suddenly one of the suspects drew a gun and attempted to kill Lopez. Lopez however saw this move and quickly pushed the suspect away as he drew his own weapon from its holster. Lopez then ran away from the three suspects and took aim with his own gun. He fired several shots at the armed suspect while running away. The armed suspect was immediately hit and he fell to the floor straight away, while the other two suspects ran off and escaped into the night. The armed suspect however was merely wounded, and began returning fire at Lopez. Lopez returned to the suspects vehicle and used it for cover as the shootout continued between him and the gunman. He then took cover in the darkness before returning back to his own cruiser. Another trooper then responded to his call for backup, who was just south of Lopez's current position. While this was happening, Lopez continued to shoot it out with the armed suspect, who had now taken cover behind Lopez's police cruiser. The shootout eventually ended after Lopez hit the suspect multiple times. After the shootout ended, Lopez was not severely injured and had received only one graze from a bullet. The armed suspect wasn't as lucky, and died from his gunshot wounds before help arrived. Later, a manhunt ensued for the other two suspects. It lasted all through the night and into the next day, but eventually police found the two remaining suspects hiding in the woods and arrested them both without incident. After the incident, Lopez told authorities that he believed the video of Lunsford's murder is what had saved his life that night. The video had helped him deal with the three suspects and he had learnt not to make the same mistakes that Lunsford had made eight months earlier.
Murder
On Wednesday, January 23, 1991 at approximately 01:20 a.m., Lunsford pulled over a suspicious vehicle, a white 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass with Maine license plates. He pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road and questioned the driver. He asked the driver whether he had any ID on him, to which the driver replied no. The driver claimed that he had a driving license but did not have it on him. He also said that he was helping his brother drive the car (one of two passenger's in the vehicle). At 01:27 a.m., Lunsford asked to look in the trunk of the vehicle and the three suspects reluctantly agreed. When they opened the trunk, Lunsford could smell the marijuana. At 01:28 a.m., two of the three suspects were out of the vehicle speaking with Lunsford. Suddenly, one suspect grabbed Lunsford by his legs while the other grabbed him from behind. They forced him down onto the ground by the side of the car and the third suspect got out to assist his two partners in crime. They then carried out a 'prison takedown' on Lunsford and continued to beat and attack him with their bare hands and feet while Lunsford was pinned down on the ground. They rolled him over onto his stomach, kicked him in the hip three times and then fired a single shot into his stomach killing him. The gun that the suspects used for the murder was Lunsford's own service weapon. The three suspects then made a quick getaway in their vehicle, leaving behind the dead body of Lunsford and his police cruiser.
Aftermath
The three suspects abandoned their vehicle less than a mile from the town of Garrison. Their vehicle was found later in the day. Lunsford was found by his colleague, Chief Deputy Stanaland, at around 02:00 a.m.. The Chief immediately rewound the video in Lunsford's cruiser and made a copy of it. Throughout the morning, the police analysed this videotape and were able to identify the three killers. One of the three suspects was found later in the day when a highway patrolman spotted him walking near the edge of a wooded area. He was arrested and charged with murder. Another suspect in the shooting was captured and arrested two days later, the third suspect was captured the day after. All three suspects were then tried and convicted with Constable Lunsford's murder. The actual shooter who had fired the gun and murdered Lunsford was identified as, Baldemar Sambrano Villarreal. He was spared the death penalty but was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His younger half brother, Reynaldo Sambrano Villarreal, was sentenced to forty years in prison for his role in the murder. The third suspect, Jesus Zambrano, pleaded guilty to his role in the murder and received a thirty year prison sentence.
The entire incident was captured by the dashboard camera in Lunsford's cruiser. This videotape enabled the police to arrest the three killers. The video is now used for the training of new officers. The videotape teaches them what to do if they ever get into a difficult situation like this. Constable Lunsford is survived by his wife and two children.
Effects of the video
Trooper Andy Lopez Jr. was a police officer from Refugio, Texas. He watched the video of Lunsford's murder and analysed every detail of it. Just 8 months after Lunsford's murder, on September 21, 1991, a Saturday night, Lopez pulled over a suspicious vehicle along U.S Highway 77 in Refugio, Texas. Similarly to Lunsford's killers, there were three male suspects and they were also transporting the illegal drug, marijuana. First of all Lopez asked to look in the trunk of the vehicle. The three suspects agreed and then got out of the vehicle and opened the trunk. As soon as they opened the trunk Lopez could immediately smell the scent of marijuana. Suddenly one of the suspects drew a gun and attempted to kill Lopez. Lopez however saw this move and quickly pushed the suspect away as he drew his own weapon from its holster. Lopez then ran away from the three suspects and took aim with his own gun. He fired several shots at the armed suspect while running away. The armed suspect was immediately hit and he fell to the floor straight away, while the other two suspects ran off and escaped into the night. The armed suspect however was merely wounded, and began returning fire at Lopez. Lopez returned to the suspects vehicle and used it for cover as the shootout continued between him and the gunman. He then took cover in the darkness before returning back to his own cruiser. Another trooper then responded to his call for backup, who was just south of Lopez's current position. While this was happening, Lopez continued to shoot it out with the armed suspect, who had now taken cover behind Lopez's police cruiser. The shootout eventually ended after Lopez hit the suspect multiple times. After the shootout ended, Lopez was not severely injured and had received only one graze from a bullet. The armed suspect wasn't as lucky, and died from his gunshot wounds before help arrived. Later, a manhunt ensued for the other two suspects. It lasted all through the night and into the next day, but eventually police found the two remaining suspects hiding in the woods and arrested them both without incident. After the incident, Lopez told authorities that he believed the video of Lunsford's murder is what had saved his life that night. The video had helped him deal with the three suspects and he had learnt not to make the same mistakes that Lunsford had made eight months earlier.
Crashlytics is a venture-funded startup building crash reporting for mobile platforms, including iOS and Android.
History
As reported by Xconomy and BostInnovation, Wayne Chang and Jeff Seibert met In February 2011 in popular tech gathering spot Voltage Cafe in Kendall Square. Seibert had told Chang about a crash reporting problem. Chang was hooked. The two then began working together on creating a solution that would work for all mobile developers.
Chang was also the creator of popular P2P file sharing company i2hub, a competitor to Mark Zuckerberg's Wirehog service. Seibert previously founded Increo, which was acquired by Box.net in 2009 for an undisclosed sum.
Initial investors
TechCrunch and MassHighTech reported that Crashlytics raised a $1million seed round. The round was led by Flybridge Capital Partners and Baseline Ventures. Angels investors in the round include David Chang (COO at Where, a PayPal company), Lars Albright (cofounder of Quattro, now Apple iAds), Chris Sheehan (Managing Partner at CommonAngels), Ty Danco (Founder, eSecLending and FX Aligned), Jennifer Lum (former VP at Quattro, now Apple iAds), Roy Rodenstein (founder of Going.com and a former Director of Business Planning at AOL), Joe Caruso (Managing Partner at Bantam Group), and others.
Technology
One of the key features of Crashlytics is their ability to give iOS and Android developers insights into their apps, such as the exact line of code that caused the crash.
History
As reported by Xconomy and BostInnovation, Wayne Chang and Jeff Seibert met In February 2011 in popular tech gathering spot Voltage Cafe in Kendall Square. Seibert had told Chang about a crash reporting problem. Chang was hooked. The two then began working together on creating a solution that would work for all mobile developers.
Chang was also the creator of popular P2P file sharing company i2hub, a competitor to Mark Zuckerberg's Wirehog service. Seibert previously founded Increo, which was acquired by Box.net in 2009 for an undisclosed sum.
Initial investors
TechCrunch and MassHighTech reported that Crashlytics raised a $1million seed round. The round was led by Flybridge Capital Partners and Baseline Ventures. Angels investors in the round include David Chang (COO at Where, a PayPal company), Lars Albright (cofounder of Quattro, now Apple iAds), Chris Sheehan (Managing Partner at CommonAngels), Ty Danco (Founder, eSecLending and FX Aligned), Jennifer Lum (former VP at Quattro, now Apple iAds), Roy Rodenstein (founder of Going.com and a former Director of Business Planning at AOL), Joe Caruso (Managing Partner at Bantam Group), and others.
Technology
One of the key features of Crashlytics is their ability to give iOS and Android developers insights into their apps, such as the exact line of code that caused the crash.