May, 2016

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How I Invest

Both Sides of the Table

I was speaking recently to the team at NuOrder , an LA-based company we’re an investor in about “realism in startups” — an impromptu talk I have given to any of our portfolio companies who ask. During the Q&A I was asked about how I make investment decisions in early-stage businesses. I was asked again in an LP meeting later in the week and then again at a founder breakfast gathering we hosted yesterday.

Invest 254
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Tipalti Takes On Accounts Payable

socalTECH

Tipalti , a startup with offices in Agoura Hills, said it has launched a new platform which automates the entire, accounts payable workflow for businesses. The company said its cloud-based product helps companies handle invoice collection and approval, plus also managed supplier payment operations, tax compliance, global payment remittance, and payment reconciliation with ERP systems.

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Should Millennial Entrepreneurs Skip College?

InfoChachkie

A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Should millennial entrepreneurs go to college? Given the stellar startup careers of non-college graduates like Zuckerberg, Ellison, Disney, Gates, Jobs, Branson and Dell, the answer to this question might surprise you. In sports, outliers generate headlines. Basketball stars LeBrone James and Kobe Bryant achieved immediate success in the NBA as 18-yr old high school graduates.

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Blankspaces Targets New Location In Hollywood

SoCal Tech Calendar

Coworking space operator Blankspaces says it is planning a big expansion in mid-June, and plans to open up a new location in Hollywood. According to the company, the new space will have 14,500 feet, and will be its biggest location so far. Blankspaces currently has two other locations, one in the Mid-Wilshire district, and the other in downtown LA. The new location is located at 6600 Sunset Boulevard, and is aiming at everyone from solo entrepreneurs to small teams, with per-hour rates on workst

Hollywood 150
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Can You Ask for Office Rent Relief? How to Manage Your Lease During COVID-19

Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.

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Micro–train; macro–manage

Berkonomics

Dave’s note: The week, we again welcome Kim Shepherd as our guest author, with her blunt, on-the-target style. As always, you should enjoy her insights for management… By Kim Shepherd. You have enough on your plate without having to hold your employees’ hands or peer over their shoulders. In fact, the ideal scenario is to follow Lee Iacocca’s strategy: “I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way.” Of course, in practice it’s not tha

Training 136
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Universal Music Acquires Digital Marketer Fame House

L.A. Business Journal

In a push to further diversify its business, Universal Music Group has acquired Fame House, a digital-marketing agency with musician clients such as Eminem and Pearl Jam. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Marketing 140

More Trending

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Startup Accelerator, Backed by LA Investors, Targets VR, AR

socalTECH

The Green Screen Institute , a startup accelerator which is looking to create innovation in the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) areas, says that it is getting close to closing applications for its first, startup accelerator program. The accelerator--backed by a long list of Los Angeles investors and startup veterans, including Scott Lenet of Touchdown VC, Adam Rockmore (VP Marketing, Fandango), David Fields (Tornante Company), Robyn Ward (Head of New Media Ventures at United Tale

Fandango 174
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Make It Work, Now Belongs To Geek Squad

Eric Greenspan

In 1995, I sat on my couch with an IBM Thinkpad 720C, Coreldraw, Microsoft Word and created Make It Work. I wrote a one page business plan and create this logo: My business idea was simple, I wanted to help people “make it work” in their business using technology and building operational software solutions. I built CRMs out of Microsoft Access and installed networks.

IBM 136
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SpaceX Successfully Launches Thaicom 8 Into Space

SoCal Tech Calendar

Hawthorne-based SpaceX has successfully launched another spacecraft into space, with a mission to launch a satellite payload for Thaicom into orbit on Friday. The company's Falcon 9 launched at 5:39pm ET from Cape Canaveral. SpaceX was expecting to attempt another landing of Falcon 9's first stage on its landing barge. The satellite being launched by SpaceX was built to Orbital ATK as an addition to Thaicom's existing satellite constellation, and will be launching into geostationary transfer orb

SpaceX 140
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Work–life balance is now a cliché

Berkonomics

Dave’s Note: Our special guest author this week is Kelly Graham from Decision Toolbox, Inc. You’ll enjoy her take on one of the basic issues of our business-personal lives… By Kelly Graham. Finding work–life balance is one of the most abused clichés in business today. Why? Because there is no such thing as work–life balance in corporate America today.

Startup 190
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Collectors Now Look to Hang With Artists Online

L.A. Business Journal

Websites such as Saatchi Art offer artists a new way for their works to click with collectors.

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A Letter to My Son on Becoming Independent

Both Sides of the Table

L’dor Vador Jacob. May 21st 2016. It is the day that you mark an important occasion, your Bar Mitzvah. And I want to stop on that thought — “mark an occasion.” My first-cousin Sam, who came from Dallas said it best. “I made sure to be here even though it’s easier to just skip travel because there are so few occasions in life where the whole family gets together and I wanted to be a part of that.

Course 231
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March Capital Partners Launches $240M Venture Fund

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based March Capital Partners , the venture capital investment firm founded by venture investment veterans Jim Armstrong, Sumant Mandal, Gregory Milken and Jamie Montgomery, said this morning that it has had a final close on its first fund, at $240M. Armstrong and Mandal previously led Clearstone Venture Partners and idealab Capital Partners, Montgomery was the founder and CEO of Montgomery & Co., as well as the Montgomery Summit, and Milken was the founder and COO of AltEgo and

Capital 172
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Never Stop Learning

Eric Greenspan

I’ve been a student most of my life. Lately, I’ve spent a lot of time in “unfamily” court. While I really don’t want to be there, I kinda love it. I watch case after case and hope I’m not called next, so I can watch more. The judge is smart and fair and I like her. The process fascinates me. It’s very clickish in that you are a bit of an outcast if you don’t understand the complicated procedures.

Education 100
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Western Digital Bumps Guidance

SoCal Tech Calendar

Irvine-based Western Digital has bumped its guidance for its fourth, fiscal quarter, saying it now expects fourth quarter revenues of between $3.35 billion to $3.45 billion, up from an earlier forecast of $2.6 billion to $2.7 billion. The upped guidance comes due to the company's acquisition of San Disk. Western Digital closed its $19 billion acquisition of SanDisk earlier this month.

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Work on your three levels of leadership

Berkonomics

Another leadership development bit? Yup. But if you have no time or are impatient, here are the three levels: visionary, strategic and tactical. Skip or stay, but think about your balance in leadership either way. As a leader, you have to worry over issues from mundane to strategic, constantly reordering your priorities to accommodate competing needs.

Metrics 131
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Hyperloop Technologies becomes Hyperloop One, pulls in $80 million and announces global partners

TechCrunch LA

The news comes just days after rival hyperloop builder Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) announced a licensing deal to power its own prototype with magnetic levitation technology. Both Hyperloop One (formerly Hyperloop Technologies) and HTT are based in L.A. and both are working on models of Elon Musk’s Hyperloop – a vacuum tube-based transportation technology promising… Read More.

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Why Solving Big Food & Healthcare Problems Will Yield Spectacular Companies

Both Sides of the Table

I’ve spoken before about our desire at Upfront Ventures to fund really big ideas that solve hard problems, are science led and if successful will both have a positive effect on people’s lives as well as make great financial returns. We’re not Pollyannaish about this. We believe that it is incrementally harder to differentiate on simple Internet products or mobile apps and while great companies are built doing this, our goal as a fund is to try and fund things that can be 100x returns if they wor

Company 207
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Amazon Opening Another New Warehouse In Inland Empire

socalTECH

Amazon.com said today that it is expanding its operations in California, with two new "fulfillment centers", including one in the Inland Empire. Amazon.com said it is opening up a fulfillment center in Eastvale--which is just west of Riverside along with another center in Northern California, in Tracy. The company said the two centers will create more than 1,500 new full time jobs.

Riverside 150
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Entrepreneur Hack: This Remote Team Of 12 Generated $100M

InfoChachkie

A version of this article previously appeared Forbes. When I published This Remote Working Experiment Failed And Succeeded on the Wall Street Journal last year, I had no idea it would generate so much social media attention. Given TimeHop’s failed experiment, I was especially intrigued when I learned that a team of a dozen remote entrepreneurs hack the typical corporate structure and creates a company that generated nearly $100 million in revenue.

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Ixia Adds QualiTest

SoCal Tech Calendar

Calabasas-based networking testing products developer Ixia said earlier this week that it has added software testing and quality assurance company QualiTest as part of its partnership program. Ixia said QualiTest is now part of its Global Solution Provider Program, which helps deliver its network test products to enterprises and service providers around the world.

Calabasas 124
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Meal-Kit Startup Chef’d Raises $12.3 Million

L.A. Business Journal

Online meal-kit seller Chef’d raised $12.3 million in Series A round financing.

Startup 150
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Turn Yourself Into a Hologram with HOLLAGRAM

Tech.Co

About a year ago we introduced you to VNTANA , an Los Angeles, CA-based startup that wanted to leverage hologram technology to help celebrities and brands use holograms to entertain and engage their followers and fans. They have introduced their technology to venues all over the world and have helped performers add that element of surprise to their shows.

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Introducing Snapstorms.com. Why, oh, why Snapchat?

Both Sides of the Table

For the past few months I’ve been doing nearly daily “Snapstorms” or short videos with startup advice released on Snapchat. Today I’ve made all of them available on Snapstorms.com. Among the most comical things to me in the past few years is just how much it annoys some people that I use Snapchat. Not since the initial popularity of Twitter in 2007 has a product so befuddled people.

Snapchat 200
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TigerText's New Bot Helps Schedule Appointments, More

socalTECH

Is a messaging "bot" the answer to helping to improve the quality of health care? Santa Monica-based secure messaging app developer TigerText is looking to see if it is, with a new "bot" it has created for its secure messaging applications. According to TigerText, it has launched HealthBot , a new messagin application which can help healthcare organizations, insurance providers, and large pharmacy chains automated scheduling, provide information about drug interactions and side effects, provide

Help 150
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Two Years After Paying $680M, BioMarin Shelves Duchenne Drug

Xconomy

BioMarin Pharmaceutical took a $680 million gamble when it bought Prosensa in 2014 for its experimental Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment. Drisapersen (Kydrisa) had already failed a Phase 3 trial, but BioMarin bet it could dig through the data and win FDA approval. It lost that bet, and now BioMarin (NASDAQ: BMRN ) is pulling the plug on the drug.

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Linksys Ships Speedy MU-MIMO Wireless Networking Products

SoCal Tech Calendar

Playa Vista-based networking equipment maker Linksys has shipped a trio of devices that implement the new MU-MIMO standard, including a router, range extender, and USB adapter. According to the company, its MU-MIMO AC5400 Tri-Band Wireless Router, AC1900 Range Extender and USB Adapter support Wi-Fi 802.11ac Wave 2 technology, with the router supporting 8 antennas and a combined speed of up to 5.3Gbps.

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Silicon Beach Launch List: May 27

L.A. Business Journal

A weekly roundup of L.A. tech company and product launches.

Product 150
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360fly Raises $40M, Launches 360 Live Stream 4K Camera

Tech.Co

This year is a big one for virtual reality and those who are creating content for it. This month, 360fly announced two major milestones for the hardware vendor: the successful close of a $40 million Series C round and the launch of their newest 4K live streaming 360 camera. WIth so much focus on nextgen headsets like Oculus and Vive, the lack of content is one of the largest pain points for the industry.

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What is it Like to Wake Up and Have the Press Ready to Torpedo Your Business?

Both Sides of the Table

In case you missed it, the press yesterday ran several stories questioning the viability of a wireless charging company I invested in… Continue reading on Both Sides of the Table »

Press 241
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RealtyMogul Hits $200M In Projects

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based online real estate marketplace RealtyMogul.com said this morning that it has just hit $200M in total funding for projects on the site, and returned $40M to its investors. The crowdfunding site--which is led by Jilliene Helman--said it now has over 80,000 members across all 50 states, who have invested in more than 350 properties through its marketplace.

Sites 145
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Cameron Kashani Launches COACCEL, The Human Accelerator

LATechDigest

CAMERON KASHANI is the Godmother of Silicon Beach, having cofounded LA’s first coworking space, Coloft, in 2010. Coloft has been home to over 1400 alumni, including Uber LA, Instacart, and Fullscreen. After a prolonged divorce from her husband and business partner, Kashani has since gone on to work with 4000+ Entrepreneurs and 650+ startups, and is an advisor to Bixel Exchange, as well as an International Speaker with US State Department.

Coach 76
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Uniregistry Rolls Out.game Domain

SoCal Tech Calendar

Newport Beach-based domain name registration service Uniregistry said this morning that it has launched a new, global top level domain,game. The company said that it already has pre-registered a large number of.game domains from major brands, including.game domains for all of Blizzard Entertainment's games (Warcraft, Starcraft, Hearthstone, Diablo, etc)., Activision (Call of Duty), Take-Two Interactive (Grand Theft Auto), and many others.

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Silicon Beach Deal Flow: May 27

L.A. Business Journal

A weekly roundup of must-read L.A. tech investments and acquisitions.

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TECHSPO LA 2016 Technology Expo [ SANTA MONICA ]

Tech.Co

WHERE BUSINESS, TECH AND INNOVATION COLLIDE IN LA. Are you an early adopter of tech products? Looking for a job at a startup? Covering the Los Angeles tech scene for a publication? Looking to invest in the next Facebook? Or just a plain old tech enthusiast? Then YOU and thousands like you attend TECHSPO LA! The Best Part? It’s FREE! TECHSPO LA is a four day technology expo taking place June 13 – 16, 2016 at the luxurious Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Santa Monica, California in the heart

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How Would You Build a Movie Studio if You Started Today?

Both Sides of the Table

I met Andrew Stalbow and Petri Järvilehto from Seriously several years ago after they had just left Angry Birds where they were responsible for international business development / licensing and the game studio, respectively. They had a new company in mind and they posed a question to me “If Walt Disney were to try and build a movie studio from scratch today — how would he do it?

Startup 180