Increased demand for just about all other goods and services -- autos, houses, food, software, etc.
But start hiring a few people and move up the software food chain and you suddenly start seeing the need for IT support.
Even if a company made the best-tasting food or created the most elegant software package, there just might not be enough consumers to buy what that company was offering and its profits would plummet, as would its stock price.
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Like the computer software and hardware industries, food and agriculture are highly proprietary industries.
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Weak PC demand is the biggest issue, pulling down the performance of the whole food chain, chips, drives, software, everything.
So what can three coastal software entrepreneurs learn from the pet food king?
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Consider this scenario, for example, that is more likely to happen because of the growing capacity of social technologies: What if a hospital chain, a food service company, and an analytics and social software firm joined forces to co-create a system that enabled hospital patients to chose meals and delivery times from customized menu offerings, based on their medical condition?
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Both have developed sophisticated software for tracing the origin and freshness of food.
Transparency of company strategy is a key, in very simple terms for all staff members, even for foreign food sales at a Shenzhen Wal-Mart or PC software in the Akihabara electronics bazaar in Tokyo.
The founder of the company, Mounir Shita, envisions a network of connected devices that use so-called smart software agents to track your friends, suggest food at a restaurant and even find someone to paint your house.
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Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless.
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Many budgeting software programs will break this category down into Restaurants, Fast Food, Groceries, Coffee Houses, etc.
The software will present you these data over time, with the option of manually inputting further details such as food amount, a diary with photos and -- for those with stronger constitutions -- stool condition.
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Other Windy City players that have made headlines in recent months include (though not in as infamous a fashion as Groupon) mobile marketing firm Vibe Media, food delivery and restaurant finder company GrubHub, online trading platform optionMONSTER (home of tradeMONSTER) and personnel management software company SilkRoad.
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