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Blockchain is certainly one of the most hyped words of the last couple of years. Everybody is talking about blockchain - often confusing it with the Bitcoin - and how this technology may change our world, and the way we do business, in the next future.

Decentralization, transparency and ledger immutability are among the promises this disruptive technology intends to fulfill. At the same time blockchain technology is still in its early stages of development. This is the first in a series of articles dedicated to this fascinating - but in some respects still very obscure - topic.

Among many blockchain networks already live, Ethereum is surely one of the most interesting and promising. From a technological standpoint Ethereum has been praised also by the Chinese Government in a recent assessment of blockchain networks.

Ethereum is a decentralised virtual machine empowered with blockchain technology on which developers and companies will deploy smart contracts and has the potential to become one of the cornerstones of 2.0 web architecture.

One of the major obstacles faced when analysing blockchain networks is that in most cases there aren’t comprehensive reports that take into account all the primary/material aspects required to assess multidisciplinary architectures such as Ethereum (IT, financial and legal analysis among others).

Many different elements shall be taken into account (such as the ecosystem the relevant blockchain network intend to deploy, the composition of the development team and the use of the funds raised in the context of the ICO) in order to have a comprehensive and useful framework to understand such projects.

Furthermore, following the issue of the white paper, many projects rely on blog posts, webinars and interviews to inform their communities about the progress in the roadmap; gathering and reshaping the information in an easy-to-read document is certainly not an easy-to-do task.

If on the one side one of the most common buzzwords among the blockchain / cryptocurrency community is “DYOR” (do your own research) on the other side most of the potentially interested people and companies do not have the time, knowledge and/or resources to do their research on a myriad of projects. In fact, DYOR means to carry out your own due diligence for each project, and if due diligence is not your core business it is likely that this will take a lot of time and effort.

Black Swan DAR is issuing a series of professional reports on blockchain networks that focus on smart contract deployment (such as Ethereum). Due diligence is an investigation and analysis activity carried out by third party independent professionals to evaluate risks and opportunities underlying a transaction.

All the reports are drafted under the same framework, in order to make comparative analysis easier and intuitive. The Ethereum report is divided in 10 different sections related to, inter alia, the ecosystem, the token and its function within the blockchain network, the team, the use of proceeds from the ICO, strategic partners, etc..

The first section of the report is an executive summary, in which the most significant issues and red flags arose out of the due diligence process are gathered. For example, with respect to Ethereum, Black Swan DAR notes that:

(i) Ethereum is an open source multi-layered project which purpose is to create a flexible and distributed platform for decentralized applications (so-called dApps) and smart contracts; the project is open source and is community-driven, with the Ethereum Foundation acting as the leader.

Ethereum combines a generalized peer-to-peer networking platform with a blockchain architecture to deliver a decentralized consensus-based, full-stack platform for developing, offering and using smart contracts and dApps. In order to achieve the flexibility required to deploy smart contracts of any kind Ethereum has a built-in fully fledged quasi-Turing-complete programming language;

(ii) the Ethereum framework includes several different components that, together, are the foundational layer for smart contracts deployment. Among the core components of the framework it is opportune to name, among others, the cryptographic tokens, the address system, the network of validators (miners), the consensus algorithm, the blockchain ledger and the Ethereum virtual machine;

(iii) as Ethereum is a general purpose, programmable, blockchain network, its reference market is the aggregate market for all blockchain applications, including dApps and smart contracts that may be developed over time;

(iv) scalability is perhaps the main issue related to blockchain projects, including Ethereum. The scalability issue was envisaged to be solved in 2017 with the implementation of the PoS (proof of stake) consensus algorithm. Unfortunately, the debate about whether to proceed with PoS and how to build the consensus algorithm is still open, and there is no clear solution planned for the road ahead.

Other sections of interest are surely the section related to the Ethereum ecosystem, in the context of which a thorough analysis of the project is carried out, the section related to the token, in which the function and value of ETH are explained, and the section related to the strategic partners of the projects, useful to understand which players are entering the playing field to support Ethereum.

It might be a breakthrough technology but it is safe to say that, today, the blockchain looks like teenage sex: everyone talks about it, nobody knows how to do it, everyone thinks everyone else is doing it and so claims to do it. These free reports can help you understand what the fuss is all about, and how you can do it safely and productively.

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Neosurance, the startup founded by Neosperience and Digital Tech, continues its journey of revolution in the InsurTech world, bringing home two prestigious awards that confirm it as one of the most appreciated players, not only in Italy, thanks to the recent opening of the American headquarters in Sunnyvale .

The 2018, in fact, opens under the banner of the first prize in the "Intelligent Automation" category, won during the MF Insurance & Previdenza Awards 2018, organized by Milano Finanza and Accenture.
Neosurance has been rewarded thanks to the product "Al Volo", a micro insurance solution developed by Axa Italy and based on the Neosurance platform, in which is accumulated the technological experience of the DCX consolidated in a decade by Neosperience.

"Al Volo" comes as a further step in a collaboration born in 2017, when Axa Italy and Neosurance laid the foundations for an ad hoc product for Tiassisto24 - an app that offers car concierge services - offering travel insurance that covers medical expenses for the 25 thousand users of the community.

After being included in the Insurance Factory 2018 Trend Report, on the April 13th came a further recognition of absolute value, with the inclusion in the list, drawn up by StartupItalia! and The European House - Ambrosetti, of the best 10 + 1 startups that have the potential to innovate the FinTech world ecosystem from Italy.

Neosurance, born from an idea by Dario Melpignano - CEO and co-founder of Neosperience, the first Digital Customer Experience Cloud - and Andrea Silvello - CEO and co-founder of Digital Tech - attracted the attention of the most important FinTech players, always looking for innovative solutions.

The technology of Neosurance, in continuous development, is based on artificial intelligence and dedicated to communities and insurance companies, allowing the sale of micro policies in "push" mode. The fulcrum of the value proposition for customers lies in the ability to build a digital customer experience based on contextual, behavioral and emotional information, used in a "learn by doing" approach.

In 2017, Neosurance was selected by Plug & Play to participate in the "InsurTech" acceleration program, and was invited to the important event of the Expo Demo Day in Silicon Valley. The presence on the news continued thanks to the Insurance Nexus IoT Europe Award and the MEDICI Top 21 - InsurTech Award.

Neosurance's path only confirms what has been certified by the Wall Street Journal, which has defined InsurTech as one of the sectors of greatest interest for venture capitalists who want to invest in innovative startups. Even in Italy, where the industry is still young, the recognition of the value of this startup shows - if still needed - the importance of the digital transformation that is revolutionizing the insurance market.

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This One Key Habit Will Make You Attract Immense Success In 2018

The new year has started. Time of resolutions. And thinking about my professional purpose, which is to empower people's lives with technology, I have come to reflect on how I can be useful to you, to help you deliver a higher value and impact.

We interact with one another in an increasingly digitized world. Constant interruptions, leaving messages unanswered, and lack of interest have all become the norm in our society, overflooded with mobile devices and screens. But is this what you want? And if not, what can you do in 2018 about it?

Digital incumbents' engineers and designers have worked hard in these years to make email, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other tools addictive. They reward you through the neurochemicals you experience when you use them. They give you the illusion of accomplishment and productivity and supposed social connection.

Out for dinner? Instead of talking about the food, you post a picture of it online. Missing family? Instead of calling your dad, you send a message to update him on your life. At a party, you are busy sharing the experience with your friends online instead of talking to other people there.

At home and at work, even as you sleep, your devices – the smartphone or tablet – attach to you and surround you. Your apps buzz, beep and ring at you, and even when they don’t, you can’t resist their allure and reach your smartphone for your dose of dopamine, as you do with a delicious croissant.

Your costs, though not evident, include a lost ability to converse or relate in person and a loss of empathy quotient (EQ). In your organi
zation, such behavior leads to declining morale, less creativity, little collaboration and lower productivity. Your friendships fade as once-deep conversations grow shallow and disjointed. Once you lose the ability to relate effectively in person, you hide behind your devices all the more.

Research shows that once you are interrupted, it takes 23 minutes to get back to the performance level you had beforehand. Learning to unitask is difficult, especially if you are younger than 40 and raised on the multitasking myth, but you can “rewire” your brain with practice.

Your work in 2018 requires from you more focus, time and reflection. As Cal Newport explains in his book, Deep Work:

The ability to perform deep work is becoming increasingly rare at the same time it is becoming increasingly valuable in our economy. As a consequence, the few who cultivate this skill, and then make it the core of their working life, will thrive.

If you can set strict mental boundaries and commit to intensely focused work times, I promise you will shine in 2018.

Now that year's end is passed and as you have to regain optimal weight :) more critical: you have to cultivate your brain's shape.

Yes, you are vulnerable to the emotional gratifications that your phone offers – as you are neurochemically rewarded when you attend to its constant stimulation.

Technology promises to supplement your life, but often it ends up changing or controlling it. Texting disrupts conversations; emerging AI supplants human caregivers. Algorithms collect and analyze everything you do online and predict what you want.

Not all this is bad, but now is the time to think deliberately about your behavior. Put your phone out of sight and talk to your kids, partner, and co-workers. Spend more time alone, either thinking or daydreaming. Talk to people who don’t share your views. Demand more transparency from the Big Four (Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple). And most important, set aside time for real, eye-to-eye, conversation with human beings. Those empathic, mind-enriching conversation that you cannot have with Siri, Cortana or Google Now.

My good news to you is that you don’t have to give up your smartphone. If you understand its profound effects on you, you can approach it with greater intention and choose to live differently with it. I hope this can be - together with me - one of your resolutions to gain success in 2018.

Download The 7 Pillars Of The New Customer Loyalty to define the foundations on which to build your engagement and loyalty strategy, create innovative experiences and establish a lasting and valuable relationship with your customers.

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It has been a memorable year for Neosurance. The innovative insurtech start-up, founded by Neosperience and DigitalTech, has been recently awarded with the Munich Re Digital Partners Award as the ‘Best Insurance Game-changer'.

The recognition comes in the wake of the selection by Plug&Play for their intensive acceleration program, and the partnership with AXA Italy to launch the first push "instant insurance".

The award was received at an event in London which gathered one hundred and fifty participants from the VC and business angels communities as well as numerous players from the insurtech ecosystem.

Mark Dennis, COO of Digital Partners - a global business unit of Munich Re designed to partner with disruptors who are changing the way insurance is experienced by customers - commented:

Digital disruption is changing the insurance industry. We established Digital Partners as an enabler to work with insurtech start-ups and digital verticals who are aiming to change the insurance world, developing better products and providing better customer experiences. The Best Insurance Game-changer award aims to recognise those making a difference in our industry.

Neosurance won the vote by the event participants for its disruptive distribution model based on the principles that “insurance is not bought by but sold to the customer, through the creation of smart emotional engagements at the point of need, directly on their smartphones”.

Neosurance offers AI and machine learning solutions for insurance companies to enable the sale of micro policies ‘on the spot’. Advanced technology in a unique combination with behavioural sciences merge together to create a distinctive customer journey in which insurance becomes instant, contextual and convenient. A big step ahead to bring protection closer to people when and where it matters most.

The core value proposition for clients is building a digital customer experience journey on the basis of contextual, behavioural and emotional data through a “learning by doing” approach, with numerous use cases spanning from travel, sports and mobility to the shared economy, closing the protection gap while making insurance and assistance relevant, easy and convenient.

In the first half of the year Neosurance was selected by Plug&Play Tech Center to take part in their insurtech accelerator in Silicon Valley where it had the chance to expand its network of partners on American soil. Following this inspiring experience, the company announced a brand new partnership with AXA Italy, starting with the launch in the Italian market by the end of June of a travel insurance coverage that can be purchased in 10 seconds.

In July 2017 the startup, led by its CEO Pietro Menghi, a veteran of the insurance and reinsurance industry, has launched its first product to offer instant travel protection, having just finalized a seed round of 700,000 Euro, which brings the total equity raised close to one million.

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After being selected by Plug&Play in March to take part in the four month intensive acceleration program designed for insurtech startups, the time has come for another crucial moment for Neosurance, at the final Expo Demo Day in Silicon Valley.

Neosurance CEO Pietro Menghi pitched to an audience of over 500 participants from the corporate partners and the venture capital communities and announced the new partnership with AXA Italy to launch by the end of June the first push "instant insurance" product in the world.

In the last months the startup went through a step by step process that helped define their business model and market strategy making them ready to take off on the international market.

Official corporate partners of the Plug & Play accelerator have reached now the number of 48, including Aviva, Allianz, Markel, Farmers Insurance, Munich Re, Swiss Re, Nationwide, The Hartford, Talanx, Travelers, Zurich, HDI, USAA, AON and many others.

Neosurance, founded by Neosperience and DigitalTech, has gained much momentum in the last months, receiving prestigious recognitions, such as The Insurance Nexus IoT Europe Award 2016, and the MEDICI Top 21 – InsurTech Award.

Neosurance offers AI and machine learning solutions for insurance companies to enable the sale of micro policies “on the spot”. The core of its value proposition for clients is building a digital customer experience on the basis of contextual, behavioral and emotional data through a “learn by doing” approach.

During the Expo Demo Day, Pietro Menghi, CEO and investor in the young start-up stated: “We had some great and productive months here at Plug & Play Tech Center meeting with VC’s, communities and other interesting start-ups across insurtech and other verticals, and we are now able to go out there and showcase our AI-based solution that is able to offer micro policies via push notifications in a smart and customized way to the users of a community.

Neosurance can boast a brand new partnership with AXA Italy, starting with the launch in the Italian market by the end of June of a travel insurance coverage that can be purchased in 10 seconds. Together they have created a product for Tiassisto24 – an auto concierge community app – offering a travel insurance that covers medical expenses for the 25K users of the community.

The policy will be soon available through the TiAssisto24 mobile App and will sell customized travel insurance based on the country where the client is travelling to. In a partnership that is the first of this kind in the world, Neosurance provides the technological platform (SaaS) and artificial intelligence system, while AXA Italy provides the insurance policies that are specifically designed for this use case.

After the launch of this first product, Neosurance will be revealing more details about discussions with AXA Italy in order to extend the offering to other communities both in Italy and abroad.

Thanks to the Plug & Play acceleration batch, Neosurance has also closed an insurance commercial agreement with BeeBell, a US community active in the area of events, with more than 800K members.

From the very fruitful meetings organized within the program, we were able to identify suitable partners with whom we are now closing agreements. The American market is very important for insurtech, so I can anticipate that we decided to incorporate Neosurance in the US and to open an office here to capitalize on all the exciting activities we started in these months in the Valley and to scale our business model up”, said Menghi.

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Neosurance is off to a great start this new year, winning a spot in the InsurTech Acceleration Program by Plug and Play, the most prominent startup accelerator worldwide.

The InsurTech revolution arrives at the Silicon Valley Tech Center, where Neosurance will be taking part in a three-month intensive acceleration program, meant to boost the business through the constant interaction with corporate partners and VC’s.

Plug and Play has recognized the disruptive idea behind Neosurance, the customer-centric mobile insurance platform that delivers the right insurance at the right moment to the right customer. The first built-in AI agent to fill the insurance protection gap.

Neosurance, founded by Neosperience and DigitalTech, has gained much momentum in the last months, receiving prestigious recognitions, such as The Insurance Nexus IoT Europe Award 2016, and the MEDICI Top 21 – InsurTech Award.

Recently, the startup has gained a pre-seed investment from Pietro Menghi (the new CEO of the company) and Matteo Carbone, (Founder and Director of the Connected Insurance Observatory), who also took up the role of Senior Advisor.

In a world where the attention span and rational purchasing steadily decrease, and where traditional agents miss the most critical touch points in their customer’s journey, Neosurance is considered the innovative solution that masters technology to shape the future of insurances by connecting people and things.

The solution proposed by the company poses a win-win situation for the customer and the insurer:

  • The customer will get the protection needed, personalized, relevant, and effective, directly on the smartphone.
  • The insurer will unlock untapped business opportunities, closing the protection gap and getting closer to customers.

Together with the other 25 selected startups, Neosurance will live the most awaited moment at the Expo Demo Day at the beginning of June, when it will pitch in front of the corporate partners and the venture capital community. Official corporate partners include Aviva, Allianz, Markel, Farmers Insurance, Munich Re, Swiss Re, Nationwide, The Hartford, Talanx, Travelers, Zurich, HDI, USAA, AON and many others.

It is exhilarating to have been chosen out of 1000 initial applicants from all over the world. This is a great success for Neosurance as Plug and Play Tech Center is a gateway to the Valley and to the worldwide InsurTech ecosystem” says Pietro Menghi.

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Neosurance Among The Top 7 InsurTech Startups in EMEA

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The InsurTech is a relatively young industry but it is already proving to be one of the most vibrant, in terms of innovation and investments. Neosurance has already established itself as a major player, and now has been selected among the Top 7 InsurTech startups in EMEA.

The recognition comes as part of the MEDICI Top 21 – InsurTech Awards, organized to identify and showcase the most innovative startups that are changing the insurance business.

The award was launched at the end of July by LTP, after three years of dedicated research in the insurance and technology space. The aim was to recognize the best InsurTech startups in the world, selected from thousands of applications and almost five hundreds identified players.

After a rigorous screening and evaluation, Neosurance, the scalable and secure Digital Snack Insurance Platform founded by Neosperience and DigitalTech, has been chosen among the best 21 in the world (EMEA, APAC and Americas) and the best 7 in the EMEA.

The award comes in the wave of The Insurance Nexus IoT Europe Award 2016, held in London last June, where Neosurance was recognized as the most innovative company that masters technology to shape the future of insurances by connecting people and things.

The MEDICI Top 21– InsurTech Awards is a further demonstration of the importance of the digital transformation that is disrupting the insurance industry: the Wall Street Journal has called it a phenomenon of huge interest for venture capitalists that continue to invest in innovative startups.

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Neosurance provides the next generation virtual insurance agent for insurance disruptors and reinsurers that want to sell contextual insurances in the age of the customer.

In a world where people live in symbiosis with their mobile devices, companies can gather all sorts of data that tell everything about health. These data can be used to predict the quality of our lifestyle, and personalize the products to offer exactly what the customer wants.

The core of the Neosurance project is the A.I. machine learning system that is able to work with IoT data and to learn on the go. This technology enables insurers to come up with the right insurance proposition precisely when the client needs it, without even having to ask for it.

If insurance firms want to overcome the challenges of the digital transformation, they have to embrace this evolution, and deliver the best insurance experience at every touch point of the customer journey.

This award joins the list of recognitions gathered by Neosperience over the last few years, including 2015 Italian and Alpine Corporate Venture Forum Award. Health Insurance Aviva Award. Top Innovation Award Italy- appointed by the President of the Italian Republic to the best tech company. Mobile Marketing GrandPrix. Gartner Cool Vendor. Red Herring Top 100 Global. The most prestigious global awards in the technology world.

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Neosurance Wins The Insurance IoT Europe Award 2016 In London

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While we prepare to salute the arrival of summer, we can add a new prize to Neosperience and Digital Tech boards: Neosurance, the scalable and secure Digital Snack Insurance Platform, has won The Insurance Nexus IoT Europe Award 2016.

The award, hosted as a part of the Insurance IoT Europe Summit in London, has brought together the leading companies at the forefront of the connected insurance industry to celebrate innovation and exemplary performance.

The aim of the Summit was to connect the leading insurers with the innovative companies that master technology to shape the future of insurances by connecting people and things.

Submerged in a world gone mobile, we live in symbiosis with devices that gather and analyze information about our habits and behaviors. Our smartphone, smartwatch, activity tracker, the Internet of Things, different sources of data that tell everything you need to know about health.

In a business perspective, these data can be used to predict the quality of our lifestyle, and tailor-cut the products to fit the needs of customers better. Insurance firms must welcome and embrace this evolution, to overcome the challenges of their digital transformation.

The Insurance Nexus IoT Europe Award 2016 attracted over 150 nominations, divided into five categories designed to put a spotlight on the achievements of companies that are “pushing the envelope in digital innovation, customer engagement, and service differentiation.”

Neosperience and Digital Tech, with their Neosurance participated company and product portfolio, have been selected as the leading Insurance IoT Newcomer, whose idea lays a solid foundation for future growth in InsurTech and Insurance IoT.

This award joins the list of recognitions gathered by Neosperience over the last few years, including 2015 Italian and Alpine Corporate Venture Forum Award. Health Insurance Aviva Award. Top Innovation Award Italy - appointed by the President of the Italian Republic to the best tech company. Mobile Marketing GrandPrix. Gartner Cool Vendor. Red Herring Top 100 Global. The most prestigious global awards in the technology world.

Download The Mobile Engagement Playbook, a collection of relevant insights that'll help you to overcome the challenges of the digital transformation and grow your business exponentially.

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Neosperience Wins The 2015 Italian Corporate Venture Forum Award

Neosperience is off to a great final rush in this successful year, bringing home the 2015 edition of the Italian Corporate Venture Forum Award.

Neosperience has been chosen among 37 innovative companies, awarded as the first Digital Customer Experience Cloud, a leading-edge business technology that empowers organizations to engage and understand their digital customers.

The Italian Corporate Venture Forum Award, organized by Europe Unlimited in cooperation with Intesa San Paolo and Torino Chamber of Commerce, aims at promoting cutting-edge companies across the technology spectrum of Digital, Healthcare, Smart systems, Life Sciences, Clean Technology and Information Technology.

This important recognition comes in the wake of the 2015 Alpine High-tech Venture Forum Award and the 2015 Aviva Digital On, reward of Neosperience’s leading-edge business technology and the ability to combine mobile, social, information and cloud to deliver the ideal digital customer experience across all touch points and devices.

In a world shaped by disruptive technologies, where the smartphone becomes the first screen and the primary reference in the customer journey of empowered customers, the Italian Corporate Venture Forum Award strengthen the relevance of technology developed to encourage and ease digital transformation.

The award joins the list of recognitions gathered by Neosperience over the last few years: the Top Innovation Award Italy 2014 - appointed by the President of the Italian Republic to the best tech company of the year; the International Events & Relational Strategies GrandPrix 2014; Gartner Cool Vendor and Red Herring Top 100 Europe and Global, the most important global awards in the technology world.

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Neosperience Wins the Alpine High-tech Venture Forum Award

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The year goes on great for Neosperience, winner of the 2015 Alpine High-tech Venture Forum Award. Neosperience has been chosen based on its products/technology performance and its ability to combine the best techniques of mobile, social, information and cloud to deliver the ideal experience to every customer, on every screen.

Dario Melpignano, CEO of Neosperience, has received the award during the ceremony that took place in June 25, 2015 in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the end of the Forum, co-hosted by the Swiss Chairmanship.

The Alpine High-tech Venture Forum is organized to promote innovative companies across the technology spectrum of Life Sciences, Clean Technology and Information Technology.

After the 2015 Aviva Digital On prize, another award comes as recognition of Neosperience’s leading-edge business technology in the digital customer experience market domain.

The Alpine High-tech Venture Forum Award joins the list of awards received in the last few years by Neosperience, highlighting the relevance of the technology developed to help companies implement their digital transformation.

It comes in the wake of important recognitions: the Top Innovation Award Italy 2014 - appointed by the President of the Italian Republic to the best tech company of the year; the International Events & Relational Strategies GrandPrix 2014; Gartner Cool Vendor and Red Herring Top 100 Europe and Global, the most important global awards in the technology world.

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