Daily Business Report-Feb. 10, 2021
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Visual Capitalist
Since March of this year, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of people to physically distance themselves from others, yet many feel closer to their loved ones than ever before.
When it comes to brands, consumers have forged relationships that could be just as meaningful. In fact, consumers demonstrated a 23 percent increase in the number of brands they have an emotional connection with—so what does this mean for brands?
The graphic above highlights data from MBLM’s Brand Intimacy COVID Study which measures how emotionally connected consumers in the U.S. are to the brands they use, and how brands can benefit.
The Power of Love
While attracting eyeballs or increasing foot traffic may carry a lot of weight when it comes to determining the success of certain brands, the real metric that should be paid attention to is love.
Brands that nurture emotional bonds with their customers tend to outperform top companies listed on the S&P 500 and Fortune 500 in both revenue and profit. Not only that, they can also build higher levels of trust, which in turn breeds a more loyal consumer base over time.
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The Pandemic Blenny, a new fish
discovered by Scripps scientist
When Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s campus closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Scripps scientist and Marine Vertebrate Collection curator Phil Hastings grabbed specimens of fishes from the Scripps collection, as well as others he had on loan from the Smithsonian Institution, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, and the University of Costa Rica. Now that he would be working from home, backburner research on a possible new fish species could resume.
The outcome was indeed documentation of a new species, dubbed the Pandemic Blenny or Coralliozetus clausus, a small, reef-dwelling tube blenny found only around Costa Rica’s Cocos Island. Hastings’ findings were published Feb. 5 in the scientific journal Zootaxa.
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DARPA taps General Atomics, Lockheed,
Northrop to design multiple-weapon UAVs
GovCon Wire
General Atomics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have received separate contracts from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to design air-launched unmanned aerial vehicles that can deploy multiple weapons.
All three companies will conduct preliminary design efforts under the first phase of DARPA’s LongShot program to potentially demonstrate a novel system capable of supporting aerial threat engagement missions, the agency said.
DARPA said the project’s goal is to reduce survivability risks for manned fighter aircraft and plans to host a demonstration of a full-scale controlled flight system if the project moves into the later phases.
Lt. Col. Paul Calhoun, a DARPA program manager, said the agency intends for LongShot to serve as an alternative capability for air combat missions.
USD School of Business ranks first in
California by Poets&Quants for undergrads
The University of San Diego School of Business now ranks #1 best business school in California for undergraduates, and in the top 50 in the nation for the fourth straight year, according to the latest ranking from Poets & Quants for Undergrads, a leading news site for business education
Since 2018, the school has remained in the nations’ top 50 business schools, ranking #43 this year, and the only one from San Diego out of 93 schools reviewed. Only two other universities in California made the list this year.
“The continued top ranking of our undergraduate programs is a testament to the high quality academic programs, delivered by our faculty who are thought leaders and practitioners in their respective fields,” said USD School of Business Dean Timothy Keane.
The ranking is based equally on admission standards, academic experience from alumni surveys and career/employment outcomes. Out of 93 schools, the school ranked 49th in admission standards, 48th in the academic experience category, and 40th in employment outcomes.
Cal State San Marcos chosen for
prestigious science research program
Cal State San Marcos has been selected as one of only 12 colleges and universities nationwide to receive an award from a Southern California foundation whose mission is supporting basic research in the chemistry and life sciences.
CSUSM received an award of $104,000 over three years as part of the 2021 class of the Beckman Scholars Program, a 15-month mentored research experience for exceptional undergraduate students in chemistry, biological sciences and interdisciplinary combinations thereof. The program is supported by the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, located in Irvine.
CSUSM was selected after a rigorous application process that included a two-part review led by a panel of scientific experts. Only two other institutions in California were chosen in 2021: Chapman University and the University of Southern California.
Tracey K. Brown, a professor of biological sciences at CSUSM, led the team of professors who applied for the award.
Maggie Schroedter elected president
of Lawyers Club of San Diego
Maggie Schroedter, partner with the Higgs Fletcher & Mack law firm, has been elected to serve as the 2021-2022 president of Lawyers Club of San Diego and will begin her term on July 1, 2021.
In her law practice, Schroedter specializes in commercial litigation and bankruptcy, with an emphasis on bankruptcy appeals. Her appellate practice includes substantive motion work at both the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Ninth Circuit’s Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.
She also represents individual business owners, their companies, investors, and creditors in complex business disputes involving breach of contract, fraud, intentional business torts, real estate, and preference and fraudulent transfer matters.
Schroedter, who has served on the organization’s board of directors since 2018, will be Lawyers Club’s 50th president. She has previously served in leadership roles within the organization including as chair of the Equality and Action Committee, co-chair of the Leadership Development and Student Committees, and co-Editor of the Lawyers Club News, the organization’s monthly publication.
Schroedter volunteers for the Women’s Resource Fair, and the Credit Abuse Resistance Education Program for the Bankruptcy Court to educate students about fiscal responsibility.
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Shellye Archambeau: Unapologetically Ambitious:
Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create
Success on Your Own Terms
One of Silicon Valley’s first female African-American CEOs, Shellye Archambeau will share how she overcame the challenges she faced as a young black woman, wife, and mother, managing her personal and professional responsibilities while climbing the ranks at IBM and subsequently in her roles as CEO.
Through the busts and booms of Silicon Valley in the early 2000s, this bold and inspiring talk will share the risks she took and the strategies she engaged to steer her family, her career, and her company MetricStream toward success.
Through her journey, Shellye discovered that ambition alone is not enough to achieve success. Archambeau is one of the featured speakers at the 2021 San Diego Women’s WeekMarch 15-19 sponsored by the North San Diego Business Chamber.
Northrop Grumman collaborates with Ultra
to demonstrate unmanned anti-sub warfare capability
Northrop Grumman Corporation and UK-based Ultra equipped a modified, manned Bell 407 (acting as an MQ-8C Fire Scout surrogate) platform with Ultra sonobuoys, receiver and processor to complete an unmanned aircraft systems anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability demonstration.
This successful demonstration of the UAS ASW mission on Oct. 29 was the first time a vertical takeoff surrogate unmanned aerial system had been used to conduct a large area multistatic acoustic search. The mission payload and effects were controlled from the ground with the resultant ASW picture disseminated to locations across the globe.
Nucleus Biologics launches world’s
first AI Research platform
Nucleus Biologics announced the availability of NB-AIR, the world’s first Artificial Intelligence Research platform for optimizing cell culture formulations for cell and gene therapies. Leveraging cutting-edge AI algorithms, the system empowers scientists to create optimized formulas based on meta-analysis of peer-reviewed articles.
AI guided formulations will allow scientists to improve the performance of their cell therapy and shorten the time to get these lifesaving therapies into patients faster.
Cell and gene therapy in 2019 was a $1 billion market and is estimated to be growing at 36 percent compound annual growth rate. Most cell therapy companies struggle to achieve reproducible potency in their cell therapies.
San Diego to host Small Business Expo Sept. 2
The Small Business Expo, America’s biggest business networking and educational event for business owners, start-ups, and entrepreneurs, has released its 2021 schedule of both virtual and live shows with major sponsors including AT&T Business and CNBC. A total of 45 shows will take place this year throughout the United States.
San Diego will be the site of a live show on Sept. 2.
Participation is free of charge to business owners. To register for a virtual or live event, visit The SmallBusinessExpo.com.
City of San Diego offers low-interest rate
loans to help businesses adapt during pandemic
In order to help businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of San Diego is providing access to financial assistance to cover expenses such as furniture, safety equipment, website development and digital marketing. The financial assistance, in the form of low-interest rate loans, is aimed at helping businesses adapt by moving their operations outdoors or expanding services online.
The city’s Economic Development Department (EDD) will be issuing business loans ranging from $25,000 to $95,000 to qualified businesses as part of the CARES Act Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration.
The non-forgivable, term loans are intended to help entrepreneurs adapt their business models to operating under pandemic restrictions while retaining or creating jobs. The City may only make RLF loans that are reasonably expected to be repaid in full.
“We hope many of the business that qualify will take advantage of this unique opportunity,” said Christina Bibler, director of the Economic Development Department. “We recognize many businesses are struggling with payrolls, overhead and other expenses as they try to adapt to changes in this new environment. As a City we want to stand by them to help them modify their businesses as they weather this economic storm in the hopes that brighter days are ahead.”
The RLF loans come with a 3 percent fixed annual interest rate and a general term of 54 to 78 months, depending on the size and use of the loan. No payments or interest are accrued for the first six months and the range of loans available is between $25,000 to $95,000.
