Apple Attacks the ‘Lifeblood’ of the United States Economy

Saving the Pear from Apple: Where we’re at and why we care

Provo, UT—In the United States, it costs tens of thousands of dollars to defend a trademark opposition. For a company like Apple, with tens of billions of dollars in resources, attacking the trademarks of small businesses is no problem. Sadly, most small businesses can’t afford to defend themselves against this type of litigation, and, as a result, must change their logo and branding or close their doors. Either way, the bully wins. 

Does  the international software giant really spend time and resources hunting down and filing notices of opposition against small businesses? Unfortunately for the young, Utah-local cooking app, Prepear, the answer is yes. “It’s unfortunate that a world renown brand, such as Apple, would directly attack a young, female owned startup such as Prepear, just because they can,” says A.J. Rounds, CMO of RevRoad—a partner with Prepear, “In this difficult time, regarding the pandemic, the world is rooting extra hard for small business, while Apple seems anxious to squash them.

Prepear is a cooking app that helps users combine every part of their cooking life in one concise place. Prepear users can discover, organize, shop, and cook all within Prepear’s uniquely built features. Pretty straight forward right? Just a small business simplifying the lives of America’s home cooks. Yet, here comes Apple (yes, 2 trillion dollar Apple) claiming Prepear’s obviously pear shaped logo is too close to Apple’s trademark logo. 

But does Apple really think Prepear’s logo could create confusion with their own? Here’s exactly what the megacorporation has to say:

In most cases, these company logos do not resemble Apple’s at all, nor are they in the same line of business. Yet, Apple has been going after dozens of small businesses, forcing them to pay for a very expensive legal defense, or abandon their trademarks (which also comes at substantial cost).

A 2019 release from the US Small Business Administration stated, “Small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy: they create two-thirds of net new jobs and drive U.S. innovation and competitiveness. A new report shows that they account for 44 percent of U.S. economic activity.” This information highlights the importance of small businesses for the U.S. economy. 

Prepear has already spent thousands of dollars and been forced to lay off a team member due to this expensive battle with Apple. So why fight it?

“I feel a moral obligation to take a stand against Apple’s aggressive legal action against small businesses and fight for the right to keep our logo. We are defending ourselves against Apple not only to keep our logo, but to send a message to big tech companies that bullying small businesses has consequences.”

Natalie Monson, CEO at Prepear

Prepear has since generated over 260,000 signatures on their petition to Save the Pear from Apple. 

Join their fight for small businesses by signing the petition and sharing their story. 

###For media inquiries, interviews or additional information, please contact Communications Specialist  Bri Ray at bri.ray@revroad.com or by calling  888-920-7623

Savology Expands Offering to Provide Financial Planning Benefits Through Employers

OREM, Utah, Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Savology, a Utah-based fintech startup providing accessible financial planning for American households, announces the launch of its new financial wellness program for employers to provide access to holistic financial planning for their employees.

Savology for Employers helps employers to empower their employees by providing access to personal financial planning.
Savology for Employers helps employers to empower their employees by providing access to personal financial planning.

Employers everywhere are increasingly recognizing the impact and relationship between personal finances, work performance, and overall employee satisfaction both at work and at home.  While other financial wellness programs exist, most do not adequately address the financial challenges that employees face or make a meaningful long-term difference in their behavior and financial outcomes. Savology aims to remedy this by improving financial wellness through personalized financial planning combined with financial tools and financial education.

“Now more than ever employees want, need, and deserve support with their personal finances,” says Jordan Pinedo, Savology’s Head of Partnerships. “Offering Savology for Employers is part of our commitment to households across the country to gain access to financial planning and improve their financial well-being.”

Employees will have access to a holistic financial plan and report card, personalized recommendations, live financial professionals, custom activities, financial comparisons and benchmarks, literacy resources and tools, and more.
Employees will have access to a holistic financial plan and report card, personalized recommendations, live financial professionals, custom activities, financial comparisons and benchmarks, literacy resources and tools, and more.

After several months of development and working closely with a select group of Utah-based employers through an early beta access program, the company is now expanding the employer benefit offering to companies across the United States.

“Savology is able to provide our employees with the tools and resources they need to make significant [financial] improvements.” says Alex Bean, co-founder and CBO of Divvy. “We strongly feel that our company values and missions align. Here at Divvy, we have simplified the frustrating process for a business to manage expenses and stay within budget. Savology is essentially doing that with personal finances.”

By joining Savology’s benefit program, employers are able to provide their employees access to:

  • Precise retirement calculations, including projections and suggestions
  • Status and analysis of key financial performance indicators
  • Actionable and prescribed next steps to make holistic improvements
  • Suggestions for and discounts to many of the most reputable service providers
  • Personalized financial literacy resources and tools
  • Custom employer activities that integrate other benefits into the planning process
  • Live financial planning professionals by chat and phone

By equipping employers with an actionable, personalized, and technology-based planning approach, Savology is able to help employers make a significant impact on the financial wellness of thousands of employees.

For more information about Savology for Employers visit savology.com/employers.

For media inquiries, please contact Bri Ray, Communications Specialist, at 801-472-2124 or bri.ray@revroad.com.  

About Savology:

Savology is a venture-backed startup that is on a mission to improve the financial well-being of millions of American households by making financial planning more accessible, actionable, and effective than ever before. In addition to their free consumer-facing financial planning platform, Savology enables employers to affordably provide employees with effective financial planning. Savology, based in the Silicon Slopes of Utah, was founded by serial entrepreneur Spencer Barclay in early 2019.

SOURCE: Savology

Related Links

Fast and Free Financial Planning Platform