Why Storytelling and Advertising Go Hand in Hand

Why Storytelling and Advertising Go Hand in Hand

There are many reasons that storytelling and advertising go hand in hand. Shalom Lamm understands that marketing is storytelling in one form or another. First, storyboarding provides an opportunity for marketers to inform their customers about their brand’s history, develop new products, and increase brand awareness.

Second, storyboarding provides an opportunity for companies to inform consumers about the benefits of their products and services. Third, storyboarding is an essential strategic tool for selling products. It allows a storyteller to sell their product using personal stories that a storyteller has previously created. Lastly, storyboarding helps a storyteller organize the creative process. This enables a storyteller to organize their creative ideas into a short story that a storyteller can use as an advertising campaign.

When creating a storyboard, a storyteller is planning the structure of their story from the very beginning. In order to tell a remarkable story, a storyteller needs to tell it through the eyes of a character that is completely real to their audience. A storyboard allows a storyteller to create characters and reactions and allows a storyteller to place the camera right in 

Storyboarding allows a storyteller to construct a scene that engages their audience. It helps a storyteller to pull the audience into the story. It enables their audience to feel like they are part of the action, rather than just watching something on the screen. When a storyteller builds the story out of a sequence of still pictures or video clips, their audience will be more engaged and watch the presentation time after time to appreciate their vision thoroughly.

Storyboarding allows a storyteller to develop an advertising campaign by building out their storyboard and incorporating their chosen images and music. Why not draw up a rough draft of what a storyteller wants to show on the screen before the finished film is created? Then, their storyboard can be used to plan out the full effect of their advertising, rather than just the initial campaign. A storyboard will also help a storyteller create the mood and tone for their commercial.

If a storyteller is trying to create a visual effect that is engaging, memorable, and visually appealing to their audience, a storyboard may be what a storyteller needs. When planning the effects of their campaign, a storyteller will better understand how to present them to the audience. As a storyteller draws each frame of their storyboard, a storyteller will see precisely how a storyteller will place their images and music to make sure that a storyteller reaches the desired effect. A storyteller will also see the layouts a storyteller has planned to know precisely how to place everything and make sure that it all works together.

The process of storyboarding can be an excellent tool for getting their message across to their audience. In addition to using a storyboard to design the entire advertisement, a storyteller will also be able to use it to guide filming their video to include the best images and scenes in their movie. A storyboard will allow a storyteller to tell their story visually rather than just verbally. By telling their story visually through a storyboard, a storyteller allows their audience to fill in the blanks. This makes their message more effective and helps to ensure that their message is delivered effectively.

It has been proven that storyboarding can help to make their advertising more effective. Using storyboarding techniques, a storyteller will tell an engaging story that their audience will take with them and become a part of. In addition, when a storyteller has a storyboard to work from, a storyteller will find visual aids to make their message more noticeable to their target audience. Shalom Lamm has used storytelling many times in his career.

How to Beat Procrastination

How to Beat Procrastination

There are times of the day where people get tired. They can be tired or they may not feel like doing anything. Procrastination happens. A person will put off a task then rush to get it done. Alexander Djerassi knows all about procrastination and what a problem it can be. Djerassi has some tips on how a person can beat procrastination and get things done. These are some ways that a person can beat procrastination.

Make a List

A person should create a list of things that they need to do. This will help with organization and will help a person keep track of all of their tasks. Once they have completed the task they can cross it off the list. This will allow a person to feel some accomplishment and they can try to get everything on the list completed.

Set Deadlines

If a person can arrange tasks in the order they need to be completed they will need to get them done. If there is a due date it is important to complete them by the date and reduce the time for procrastination.

Break up Tasks

If a person has a big task to complete they should break it up into smaller parts. This way it does not seem as big of a task and it will look like a person can accomplish it without a problem. The smaller pieces of this task can have deadlines to make sure they are completed. This will allow a person to complete everything without feeling overwhelmed.

Get it Done

A person should tell themselves to get it done. When they begin to think that they can put something off until later they need to suck it up and push through it. This will help them get the feeling that they have gotten something done and they can get it off their mind. They will not have to worry about it later.

Rewards

If a person needs to learn how to get things done they can add rewards after some tasks. They can schedule a specific task that they need to complete and then they can get a reward. A person can tell themselves what they need to get done at a specific time. After they have completed the task they can get the reward. For example, a person can clean their home during the day and get to watch TV in the evening. This will help get the task done and the person will not worry.

Plan Ahead

A person should work early because things can go wrong. If they wait until the last minute to do something and things get messed up they may be facing some trouble. This is why a person should get to work right away so they will always have time to fix mistakes. These are some things Alexander Djerassi thinks that a person can do so they can stop procrastinating. This will allow a person to get things done and stop putting them off at a later time.

3 ways to pick the best franchise for your area

3 ways to pick the best franchise for your area

Franchising is the best option if you want to start a business. With a franchise, you take advantage of services or products flourishing in the industry. You need to understand that there are numerous franchise options for you to choose from. However, because this is a long-term investment, it is significant that you analyze your skills and strengths to settle for the best. The following are aspects that will guide you into choosing a franchise that suits you.

1.    Analyze Your Goals and Skills

When starting a business, the main goal is to be successful in your area of specialization. Therefore, you need to determine what are your reasons for starting the franchise. As stated above, there are many franchising opportunities you have to choose from in the industry. You need to analyze them and pick that which is in line with your expertise and passion. When you select a franchise option that you like, you will be determined to do better.

By choosing a franchise, you should know that you need not be an expert in all areas. You can identify an area that you are best in based on your skills and outsource your employees. It allows you to succeed in all aspects of your franchise. For this business, you have an option of actively participating in the daily operations or delegate all the duties to your staff. Ensure to select an alternative that you are comfortable with.

2.    Your Budget

Notably, the prices of investing in a franchise vary depending on the industry you want to select. Therefore, you need to check on the options available to determine which will suit your budget best. You should understand that it might take time for your franchise to be profitable, therefore, have an amount that will help you sustain the business until then. Also, ensure to analyze the cost of daily operations of the franchise you choose. If you are not financially fit for a franchise, you can consider getting a loan. What is significant is that you look for lenders who focus on helping franchisees.

3.    Check on Your Competition

Before you establish a business in your area, it is relevant that you check on your competitors. If you notice that more business owners are selling a service or product you want to focus on, you should pick another option. By choosing a unique service or product in your area, you have a high probability of success.

Another wise move is for you to interview several franchise owners in the industry you are passionate about. Among the things you should find out about is the advantages and challenges they have had in owning the business. You will then have to weigh the merits and demerits of the franchise option and decide whether it is worth investing in. You also have to find out about what they have to say about their franchisor. Their opinions will help you know whether you can work under the conditions set and whether they work to satisfy your goals.

To ensure that your franchise business becomes successful in the industry, you need to find a well-known company for satisfactory services and products. It is crucial, hence, to research and analyze the data of several franchisors. It helps you understand the demand for their products or service in the market and pick an ideal business.

How wearing a face mask can boost your business

How wearing a face mask can boost your business

As a business owner, you might have been required to have a mask mandate in your business. Some business owners might just feel like this requirement is a nuisance.

However, mask requirements can actually help businesses boost sales. Check out these reasons why consumers would likely go to a store more if they have a mask requirement.

Safety

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, millions of people have been staying at home to help protect themselves from getting the virus. However, many of these people can’t fully rely on online delivery, making them have to go to physical stores.

Having a mask mandate in your store will ensure that people who want to be safe are more likely to visit. Just make sure you enforce the mandate for everyone who comes in as you might find that customers will leave otherwise.

Sick Employees

COVID-19 is a very contagious disease, even more so than the average flu strain. If you don’t have a mask mandate in your business, you might find that your employees will all get sick from COVID-19.

If your employees are sick from COVID-19, you might be forced to shut down your business for a while, as your employees need to be all feeling well for your business to be open. Make sure you have a mask mandate if you don’t want sick employees around.

Mask Sales

Depending on what kind of business you run, you might have been selling face masks in the last year. You can even work with a company that can create face masks that directly advertise your business.

By forcing a mask mandate in your business, you might have customers coming in to purchase your masks so that they can wear them next time they come into your store. Think about enacting a mask mandate if you sell masks at your business.

Law

In some states, businesses have found that they have been forced to be shut down for a while. This is due to these businesses not enforcing the mask mandate their state gave them.

By enforcing the mask mandate of your area, you can make sure that your business isn’t going to be shut down because of any legal issues. You can also grow your business from consumers that can’t shop at a business currently shut down from not enforcing the mandate. Look more into how legal mask issues could actually help you grow your business.

Conclusion

If you’re running a business, you’re likely always going to be thinking about how you can maximize your products. That’s a totally ok mindset to have if you own a business, as you want to always make sure that you have enough profit to make up for bad sales as a business leader.

All of this advice should help you decide to enforce masks in your business. However, you should start thinking with the mindset that you want to do things that positively help your local community. By wearing face masks in your business, you can help stop COVID-19.

3 Ways Teachers Can Help High School Students Prepare for College

3 Ways Teachers Can Help High School Students Prepare for College

During high school, students must prepare ahead for what will await them in college. However, this can be difficult for students to do on their own.

In this case, teachers should step in to help students. Check out these ways teachers can help students prepare for college.

Scholarships

Many students struggle with picking out what college they want to attend due to the price of tuition. This leads some to either choose a college that isn’t right for them or just dropping out of college altogether. That’s why teachers should be helping out with scholarships.

While teachers often don’t have the money to give out scholarships on their own, teachers can help make a list of scholarships certain students should apply for. This helps out students from having to search around for scholarships that they aren’t eligible for. If you’re a teacher, make sure you give out a list of scholarships to your students.

Job Placement

Some students might feel like they are going to be able to get college down without any issues. However, getting college done is just one piece of the puzzle. After students graduate from college, they often have issues getting a job in their field of study.

To help fix this, teachers should present students to nonprofit organizations that place them in open roles. Teachers should also think about starting a job fair, allowing students to know what roles will be open for them once they graduate. Ensure you think about the struggle your students might have with job placement in the future.

Grades

Lastly, you should be thinking about how your students are going to get into college, to begin with. These metrics can depend on how good to bad someone’s grade is. That’s why you should be putting a strong emphasis on having good grades way before your students graduate.

For example, you might find out that you’re teaching a student that always gets lower grades in their class. You should sit down with that student to talk about what struggles they are having in the classroom. After that, think about working more with your students after class or offering ways that they can make up their grades with extra work. Either way, make sure you focus on the grades of your students if you want them to succeed in college.

Conclusion

As more students compete to get into top colleges, it’s not going to be easier for students to get into the college of their dreams. Students will need to do a lot of work on their own, potentially getting help from their parents as well. However, teachers do place a huge role in this.

By being a good teacher, you can create habits that stick with students for the rest of their life. Younger students also have the benefit of being able to learn a lot quicker than someone going to college later in life. If you’re a teacher, ensure that you’re preparing your students for the future.

How To Budget for Opening a Franchise Location

How To Budget for Opening a Franchise Location

Opening a franchise location is an exciting opportunity, but it can also be overwhelming. Many people don’t know what to expect on opening day and end up spending more than they planned.

As we get closer to the first few weeks of your new location being open, you need to start thinking about budgeting for everything that will happen – including all expenses!

Things To Budget For When Opening A Franchise Location

Location: It’s important to know the cost of your location. If you’re planning on purchasing a property, this will be an upfront expense that needs to be budgeted for over time.

Signage and Decorations: You’ll want to have signage up so customers can find their way into your store! Plus, having welcoming decor inside is also important to create a positive atmosphere right when they walk in.

Inventory: When it comes down to opening day, you need enough inventory at hand so that people walking through the door are greeted with something great as soon as they walk through the doors! This includes everything from branded clothing items down to food items for purchase.

Budgeting for Your Franchise Location

We know that it can be a lot to take in, but having the right budgeting plan for your franchise location is an important part of owning one. The first item to set a budget for should be your startup costs for the location. If you’re looking for a general rule, this can be anywhere from $25-30k. This also includes the cost of your franchise agreement and equipment to outfit the store with!

Startup Costs for Your Franchise

To open up a location, you must have some startup costs, such as an initial investment into the property itself. You’ll need things like new furniture, signage, a point-of-sale system, etc., depending on what type of restaurant or retail business you are opening.

The good news is that there are ways to offset these costs by saving money elsewhere (like taking care of marketing yourself!). When it comes down to starting out, we recommend having at least 25K available just in case.

Signage and Decor for Your Franchise

Ultimately, the success of your restaurant or retail business comes down to its appearance. That’s why it’s so important that you invest in a good sign and quality decor for inside – these are one-time costs that will make all the difference when it comes time to opening up for business!

Franchise Inventory

It’s always wise to have a little bit of money set aside for inventory, even if you’re not opening up until the new year. You never want to find yourself scrambling and low on supplies when it comes time for your first batch of customers or clients.

Regardless of whether or not you own other locations in your franchise chain, there are just some items that need to be stocked no matter what – like food!

If you’re on a tight budget, that’s okay! There are ways to get creative and save money.

Here are some tips for entrepreneurs who don’t have much capital:

Utilize the power of social media by getting the word out about your business through Facebook ads or Instagram marketing (these can be relatively cheap!)

Stay within your means when it comes to spending; don’t invest in anything more than what is necessary at this point if you do not have enough cash available.

Look into hiring people locally to help with maintenance tasks before they become too expensive later down the line. You could also offer discounts depending on how often someone visits just as an incentive for them to come back!

Should the U.S. Adopt the Four Day Work Week?

Should the U.S. Adopt the Four Day Work Week?

Diego Ruiz Duran, the Mexican criminal lawyer, and constitution lawyer is often called upon for his opinions about various business and social subjects. And one of the most common questions Duran is asked about is his opinion of a 4-day workweek.

Duran, who was extensively educated in the United States, at Harvard, and who obtained a law degree in Cambridge England, is very familiar with the debates, both pro and con about a 4-day workweek in the advanced Western countries.

The 4-day workweek has been experimented with in many countries and according to GQ Magazine, the vast majority of companies that have adopted some form of a 4-day workweek, have seen a 20 to 40 percent improvement in overall efficiency. And over 82 percent of workers want to see a shorter workweek. Meanwhile, a popular HR newsletter reports two big reasons not to adopt a 4-day workweek.

One is that many CEOs and senior execs believe that companies that adopt a 4-day workweek benefits those who do not bow to its whims as they are far more competitive in the market.

The other major argument is that 4-day workweeks are industry-specific, made all the more so by the COVID-19 pandemic where restaurants, hotels, and the like are having to boost wages as it is due to a shortage of workers.

How did we even get to a 40-hour workweek? In 1938, Congress passed the Fair Labor Standards Act which required employers to pay overtime after 44 hours of work. Two years later, the act was amended to require overtime pay after 40 hours.

So the 40-hour, 5-day workweek was rooted in the factories of the past. However, the vast majority of salaried workers are not included, and one average, for upwards to 47 hours per week.

There is plenty of evidence that working over 40 hours a week does tend to make employees less efficient and also less healthy and alert. But does working less provide positive benefits?

To answer the question, many experts point to happiness surveys of which countries experience the overall highest level of personal happiness.

For the 4th year in a row, Finland came in at the top spot, followed by Denmark at number 2, Iceland at number 4, Norway at number 6 and Sweden at Number 7. The United States barely cracked the top 20 at number 19.

Experts say time and time again, the primary reason the Nordic companies are so happy is that they have very flexible work schedules. Instead of needing to lie to the boss and say they have a dental appointment on Friday they simply tell the boss that me and my kids are going to take up a fishing trip on Friday. No need to lie, because managers have learned that happy employees are productive employees.

In actuality, just like pro athletes, employees involved in office work probably only work efficiently around 5 hours a day. The rest of the time is mostly wasted. But it may take another 50 years for there to be a 25 hour workweek. But Diego Ruiz Duran believes that the time is surely coming when the 40 hour workweek is extinct.

Copyright Laws

Copyright Laws

Copyright is a legal concept that acknowledges and safeguards the ownership of work. Such work includes music, picture, film and books. Generally, the producer of the work will possess the copyright to that particular work. However, copyright can be given up and sold, and workers will always find their employers own the copyright to whatever position they create during their service. It, in the long run, depends on the term of their contract.

Copyright laws differ all over the world, similar to their condition and application. The copyright law lasts for a particular amount of time before the expiry time, after which the safeguarded work becomes public domain.

If one produces or prints any content without individual authority, definitely the person is violating their copyright. The copyright protected by the copyright includes a clip from the movie, a snippet from a pop song and an image from a website.

Once infringement occurs it is termed civil wrong and the copyright owner may claim or bring the person who has an exclusive license to the work via the civil courts. In some cases, copyright infringement may get termed as a criminal offence.

Infringing on the copyright may find themselves prosecuted by authority and sued by copyright owners .one can face a fine or pay damages in court and serve imprisonment from a criminal court. The custodial verdict is common for those individuals that repeatedly and willingly violate copyright.

The Internet has been a troubling issue and affects business. On the Internet, people share others’ content whenever they wish without putting copyright in mind. The Internet is a Wild West, and it is deplored and celebrated for its universality and laxity of expertise. Nevertheless, it has troubled the government and relative authority to police the website by applying traditional regulation.

Alexander Djerassi thinks it is good to avoid using someone’s work without appropriate authority. Alternatively, one can use work that is free to use for commercial purposes or in the public domain. One should put purchasing royalty-free media from the site I into consideration. Such free media include video blocks, freepik Bensound as well as Shutterstock.

He also thinks it is advisable to inform all relevant staff about copyright. It is good to educate all those who access individual websites and social media and produce physical content like catalogues, brochures, and leaflets.

Alexander Djerassi also emphasizes giving credit where it is due. Some of the websites on the Internet permit the use of their media. It is, therefore, necessary to provide full credit to the source or the producer of the content. However, if one has to use someone else’s work without their authority, one should link it to the source. That does not mean one is correct, but some individuals will feel fun when they move the content to their website. In this case, people should learn to respect others’ content.

Of more importance, the business owner should know about libel, slander and defamation. The content owner should consider all media law aspects to publish their content on the website and social media. These also include the possible consequences of infringement.

The Reasons Why Pinterest Ads Attract Much Attention

The Reasons Why Pinterest Ads Attract Much Attention

Today’s business environment is hyper-competitive and this has left many businesses struggling, especially those that are medium-sized and smaller enterprises, in their ability to match the companies that are larger than them, when they have to place traditional advertisements on television, print media, or even for a pay-per-click on Google. Even so, by using social media, it gives them a set of platforms that allow them to butt heads with the marketing budgets of larger companies. If your buying demographic is older, traditionally you turn to Facebook, while for the younger, you will go to Twitter. 

Explosive Growth of Pinterest

Pinterest is a platform that is attracting more and more interest. Companies that want a platform that bridges the gap between the young and old are turning to Pinterest for ads. In Q2, 2020, users of Pinterest under 25 years of age grew twice as fast, while the usage of this platform includes 80% of America’s Moms. Pinterest has a graphic nature and after over 11 years in the business has had 240 billion pins that were saved by its users. This has led to a great number of products and gives E-commerce companies the opportunity to sell their services and facilitate lead generation.  

Exceptional ROI of Pinterest Ads

On an average, every year, on the internet in the US, Pinterest users spend twice as much as users on other platforms do, and this has led, in recent years, to this platform gaining a lot of traction as a channel for advertising. Pinterest ads have proven that they are more cost-effective than ads on any other social media platform, and this reduction in cost results in enormous payoffs. Research into buying habits on the internet have revealed that Pinterest ads have a 70% greater chance of being converted into sales when compared to that on other social media platforms.  

In the latest statistics regarding users and sales, there is comfort for those who have advertised on Pinterest. To start with, while most other social websites have reached a point of maturity in their growth, Pinterest continues to show exceptional growth in the number of users. It is still a young social media site that started in 2020 with 320 million active users a month. This number now stands at 459 million, which is much more than the combined user statistics of Snapchat and Twitter.  

Pinterest is the right advertising medium for companies that export their products. This is because, as per the latest statistics, 50% of the users of Pinterest live outside the United States. 

Pinterest Challenge

Pinterest advertising, however, poses a challenge that is different  from advertising on other social media platforms. This arises from the fact that it has conversion cycles that are longer than those, when use is made of other social media. It has also a challenge of attributing the origin of the sales. This required that advertising campaigns on Pinterest required careful planning, thought, refinement, and measurement, all of which can be quite challenging.

Help From the Pros

There are a number of tools available on Pinterest that are aimed at making advertising simpler for users, but it is a fact that the best way of leveraging the power of advertisements on this platform, is for you to take the help of experts. These new tools and capabilities for measurement have led to rapid evolution of the advertising platform of Pinterest. While, traditionally it was seen as an avenue that facilitated brand building, it has now become a very viable option for businesses that want it to feed the sales funnel, directly.  

This  rapid evolution has led to first-time users being confused with the available new tools, which is why it becomes necessary to use the leverage that you can get from outside help. There are experts, like Lindsay Shearer and companies like pins4profit.com that offer advisory services. This advice from them can give companies that advertise on Pinterest a peace of mind and the feeling that their valuable marketing budget is being spent in the right way. They will also see how the spending on Pinterest ads is impacting their bottom line. 

As per Shearer, the Pinterest algorithm is still maturing and this requires pinpoint planning to get the most out of the advertisements. He further points out that one of the challenges facing Pinterest ads is that they have longer lead times for paying off. Examples cited are the buying of beachwear during summer. Traditionally, these companies target their buying demographic when they are near the summer season, while typical Pinterest buyers will  evaluate their purchases much before that. A delayed attribution makes tracking quite challenging. 

Pinterest Difference

It is a fact that when you use Pinterest, your ‘Cost  Per Million’ can be far lower than what others pay for Google’s cost per click, or trying to attract consumers on other social media. Companies that advertise on Pinterest must take into consideration that, on an average, their per conversion rate will be 2.3 times cheaper than on ads on other social media like Facebook.    

It is a fact that 98% of users of Pinterest will explore products or services that they see on Pinterest, and their interests, whether they are in DIY, artisanal creations, or cooking continue to be inspired by Pinterest. It is also a fact that 66% of Pinterest users search for products and services. A  fact that can help small businesses is that 97% of Pinterest searches are not related to brands, and that users are not looking at big-name brands, and this gives the small business scope to increase their potential for market penetration. 

All the same, if you want to leverage the potential of your Pinterest advertisements that seem to have an ever increasing reach, so that your sales  are supercharged at costs lower than what you get from other avenues of advertising, it is still important that you make full use of the leveraging power of companies like pins4profit.com or/and experts like Lindsay Shearer. If you fail to do so, you risk not being able to get the advantage that can come from the potential of the rapidly growing base of Pinterest users, who turn to this platform for inspiration or for increasing engagement in their decisions on buying products and services.

Payam Banazadeh and Capella Space Open Commercial Operations

Payam Banazadeh and Capella Space Open Commercial Operations

Those who have been following the commercial use of space already know that we’re in an incredibly exciting time in the field’s growth. More than ever before, companies across the globe are providing us with new and innovative ways to utilize space in order to serve a variety of needs here on Earth. Now, Payam Banazadeh, CEO and founder of Capella Space, has announced that his company has reached a historic milestone. It has now opened its commercial operations, meaning that its satellite imagery will be available to customers around the world. Read on to understand what that means and the impact it is poised to have.

Company background

To understand the significance of this new announcement from Payam Banazadeh and his team, it’s first important to understand what the company’s work is all about. To do so, we’ll need to take a look at the world of satellite imaging and the evolution it’s currently undergoing.

Traditionally, satellite imaging was conducted through the use of optical imaging satellites. These satellites function in a similar way to a photographic camera — relying on the collection of external light sources, namely the Sun, for their operation. While these satellites have been integrated into a variety of applications, such as mapping software, they also have some serious limitations that interfere with their ability to provide continuous and reliable imaging data. Primarily, the usefulness of these satellites can break down when an image of the dark side of the Earth is required, or when tasked with imaging a portion of the planet’s surface that’s obscured by cloud cover. In both of these cases, a traditional optical satellite is practically useless.

That’s one of the underlying reasons behind the creation of Capella Space. To address the shortcomings of optical imaging tech, the company has turned to another technology known as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). SAR satellites emit their own energy that is then reflected off the Earth’s surface and collected by a receiver. The energy can penetrate cloud cover and functions the same regardless of time of day. That means that these satellites can be much better suited for applications that require imaging on a continuous basis or under conditions in which an optical imaging satellite would be of little use.

Lead up to announcement

One of the major goals of the CEO’s company has been to democratize the use of satellite data. It has championed a vision of the world where conservationists, economists, government officials, and many more would all have access to important information about changing surface conditions on our planet. The recent announcement about the launch of commercial operations is helping to transform that idea into a reality but before we analyze just what that means, we should first look to the process that has led up to this moment.

The company was founded in 2016 and was partially inspired by the founder’s conviction that the tragedy of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 should not be repeated. After search and rescue teams were unable to locate the missing flight, the entrepreneur felt there was a need for a continuous and accurate planetary monitoring system. In the years since, he has worked to create his company, build out its capacity, garner interest from investors, and partner with early adopters in order to bring that idea to life.

A major milestone was reached in August when the company launched its satellite, Capella-2, making it the first American SAR operator. Since that time, the company has been calibrating its capabilities, testing features, and rolling out its collaboration with global sales partners. After testing with thousands of images and countless adjustments and improvements, the technology is finally ready for its public launch.

Beginning commercial operations

The launch of the company’s commercial operations means that customers around the world will now be able to request satellite imagery through both direct sales and the company’s reseller partner network. The reseller partner network encompasses more than 40 organizations around the world to which customers can go to make imaging requests. The network opens the company’s operations to an international market and allows a broader customer base to access the new and exciting technology.

Customers can also place on-demand tasking orders in the company’s self-service web application. The application represents a first in the SAR industry, allowing customers to quickly and easily navigate an automated system for placing orders. The nature of the system allows for customer request fulfillment in a matter of hours, rather than the days it takes most other satellite companies to fill requests. It also allows for a marked security improvement over other satellite request systems. This is because customers can submit their requests without concern about a human agent reading the request prior to fulfillment. Instead, tasking requests can be relayed to the company’s anonymous and secure rapid tasking system.

Expansion in use

The company has already shown plenty of potential for its technology in the months leading up to the above announcement. Test images have showcased the satellite’s ability to image with incredibly precise resolution — as high as 50cm x 50cm — and continuously monitor surface-level events as they’ve unfolded, day or night. This work has already provided benefits to government defense and intelligence agencies, who have worked with the company as early adopters.

Now, as the company opens its doors to the general public, it anticipates a significant expansion in use. Potential use cases have been cited as being of benefit to the field of transportation logistics and environmental conservation efforts — two areas where timely data about ground conditions can be vital to create informed action. Though these are likely to be a focus of general public usage moving forward, this is also a time for the company to let the public voice its opinion through actual use cases, marking an interesting new era in its development.

While the commercial space field has been unfolding for some time now, the recent announcement by Payam Banazadeh and Capella Space serves to showcase the rapid increase in our current technological capabilities. By opening the door to its groundbreaking SAR satellite technology, the company is helping to usher in an unprecedented democratization of imaging data. Keep an eye on the company’s efforts moving forward to see how this new phase in its institutional history will play out and influence other exciting developments in the near future.