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Garmin acquires ActiveCaptain
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BrentB



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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 1:58 pm    Post subject: Garmin acquires ActiveCaptain Reply with quote

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170511005897/en/Garmin%C2%AE-acquires-Active-Corporation-Developer-leading-electronic
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Aurelia



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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 3:01 pm    Post subject: aurelia Reply with quote

Sounds good to me! With the founders becoming Garmin employees, there should some continuity to the transition. I look forward to syncing AC data to my chartplotter so I dont have to suffer the AC app anymore. Consolidation is good, to a degree.

Greg

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thataway



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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not surprising, since Jeff and Karen have worked very closely with Garmin from the get go. Anything from here on is speculation: This may mean that other applications which now support Active Captain, may no longer. I wonder what will happen with the many volunteers who put in many hours vetting the various changes and posts? Will they be compensated, or will they wither away when others are making money off the deal. Jeff and Karen have given a lot to the program, and its development for a long time, without active compensation--and we all knew there was a business model there somewhere. But it has been the long hours and dedication of those two, along with the volunteers which kept this as a premier application.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out. A lot of the crowd sourcing came because there as no profit to anyone initially. Now that there appears to be, it may change those dynamics.

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ssobol



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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 9:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ca-ching!

Hopefully this will not limit Active Captain to just Garmin products. It would be a shame if it did.
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little wing



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PostPosted: Thu May 11, 2017 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

thataway wrote:
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. A lot of the crowd sourcing came because there as no profit to anyone initially. Now that there appears to be, it may change those dynamics.

Yes Bob, it will be interesting. I suspect it may curb my input. Oh well.
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ken35216



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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 11:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

little wing wrote:
thataway wrote:
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. A lot of the crowd sourcing came because there as no profit to anyone initially. Now that there appears to be, it may change those dynamics.

Yes Bob, it will be interesting. I suspect it may curb my input. Oh well.


Why? It's always been a great idea and it may get better now that Garmin owns it.

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little wing



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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 11:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes it might, but it depends on what Garmin does with it.
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thataway



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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 11:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ken35216 wrote:

Why? It's always been a great idea and it may get better now that Garmin owns it.


I believe that one of the goals was to expand this to the entire world. So far its been a bit slow in other areas than the USA (although was picking up). One factor which give it greater appeal was that it was across many platforms. Also with just Jeff and Karen being the principles, the data and information was closely protected. As corporate decisions over-ride developer decisions, there are going to be changes. I have seen it in many small companies which sold to a larger. If Jeff and Karen can maintain control of the direction and philosophy it will bode better than if corporate controls.

We don't know, and I will continue to use it and contribute as I have done in the past. There will be more advertising internationally.

Garmin recently bought DeLorme (InReach satellite system) so their money is going into acquisitions.
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BrentB



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PostPosted: Fri May 12, 2017 11:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A million thanks to Jeff and Karen!
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thataway



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PostPosted: Sun May 14, 2017 3:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I missed this analysis and posts earlier in the week from Panbo:

http://www.panbo.com/archives/2017/05/garmin_acquires_activecaptain_now_what.html

It does include the only post I have seen so far from Jeff Seigel.
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BrentB



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PostPosted: Sun May 14, 2017 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From AC FB page on May 12

Thank you for the intense discussion, congratulations, and speculation throughout the boating community about Garmin's acquisition of ActiveCaptain. Please understand that this is a busy time and we can't respond to every question through social media. What I can say is that nothing will change for the foreseeable future except that we are now part of the Garmin team. That means you can expect the same incredible services from ActiveCaptain as you've received in the past, but now with the support of one of the world’s leading marine electronics providers.

In addition, there will be no fees for ActiveCaptain. We will continue to communicate with you through various channels. And yes, there will still be hats awarded for your contributions to the community.

Give this a chance to unfold. We'll discuss more in the next couple of newsletters. Remember that no one has more passion for this product and community than us. This isn't an end. It's an incredible beginning of many more capabilities.
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little wing



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PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2017 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes it might, but it depends on what Garmin does with it.
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BrentB



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PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2017 9:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A new post yesterday on AC's FB page
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thataway



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PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2017 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was not able to find a post from Jeff after May 12 on the Facebook page--but probably my lack of expertise.

Here is the most recent Active Captain News Letter from Yesterday, for those who do not subscribe:
Quote:
Starting a business is like raising a child. In the beginning, you do
everything you can to give the best beginnings possible. You sacrifice
your own life to put in more time and shape the results to the best of
your abilities. But eventually, that child, and that business, are going
to have to leave. For in leaving, they become what they were meant to
be.

That is the story of ActiveCaptain. We built her to the best of our
abilities. We instilled integrity and honesty in every part of her. And
we set her on the right track. Over the last few years, there are so
many possibilities and capabilities that needed to be added. But Karen
and I were the ones holding her back - we were too busy and too swamped
with the current level of activity. ActiveCaptain would not become what
it was meant to be without making a major change.

Two changes were possible. We could stop cruising, lease office space,
build a team of 10-20+ people, and continue building the product. The
alternative was to transition the product to a company capable of
professionally managing and growing it.

We're entrepreneurs. We're terrible at managing an office of people. And
truth be told, we wanted to continue the cruising lifestyle. To us, it
was obvious that we needed a major partner. Someone capable of worldwide
reach, exceptional products, and the goal to excel.

Over the last four years, we'd been approached by many companies and
individuals interested in investing in ActiveCaptain or buying it
outright. But the timing wasn't right and in many cases, the partnership
wasn't right so we never engaged in any of those discussions.

Garmin is different.

We've had a close working relationship with Garmin since 2011. They've
been a wonderful partner. They've listened to what the community wanted
and worked with us to create an exceptional product. The results speak
for themselves. BlueChart Mobile is a big success and it is widely used
by the community. It is the only product that allows markers to be
edited, added, and deleted. Today, more people use Garmin's app than use
our own website. The heavens showed us the direction we needed to go.

Garmin has the vision of a hungry competitor. They hit everything we
believe is necessary for marine electronics - best in class technology
with the easiest-to-use products. And after seeing a glimpse of how we
fit into their plans, it made it obvious to us that ActiveCaptain would
have a bright and ongoing future with Garmin.

So right now, Garmin owns ActiveCaptain. The transaction is complete and
the plans are in place. The data is still licensed to other developers
and you'll see little change. Karen and I will build some teams of
people to take over and enhance the capabilities. Together we'll expand
social navigation into fishing and other boating activities. We'll have
an immediate worldwide presence that we previously could only dream
about.

We'll still be cruising. You'll see us at docks and anchorages. Red Head
will pop up on AIS and we'll continue to offer our insights in person
and online.

This has been an incredible ride for us. We've loved getting to know
this community of boaters and businesses. We've spent our lives building
companies and products but nothing will ever compare to the joy this
project, this child, has brought to us. Together we made something
wonderful that changed the way cruising happens.

But seriously, we're at the beginning. Wait until you see what we have
coming...
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Pat Anderson



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PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2017 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I will continue to post my reviews of anchorages and marinas on Active Captain (through Garmin Blue Chart Mobile) because other people's reviews have been so useful to us, and to the extent I can update or correct other reviews, from a shallow draft and pet friendly perspective, I hope it will be useful to those who follow us!
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