TechEmpower

MAY 28, 2015

By Jeffrey Papen, CEO and Founder, Peak Hosting. At Peak Hosting , we're big fans of TechEmpower's Framework Benchmarks, an open source project the company has been coordinating since early 2013. Covering a wide variety of web application frameworks, this project gives developers useful data that can help them find the framework that will provide the performance and features they need for their application.

Framework 218

Framework TechEmpower Blogging News 218

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 30, 2015

I’m so tired of seeing young entrepreneurs get screwed by their angel investors on convertible notes and I know I can’t convince you not to do it so I’d like to offer one simple bit of advice to help you avoid getting screwed (at least on one part of your note). When you do a convertible note with a cap that converts into the next round of funding one of the unintended consequences is that if you’re successful and raise at a larger price than your cap the early angels oft

Entrepreneur 304

Entrepreneur Pricing Venture Capital Angel 304

Berkonomics

MAY 21, 2015

Venture capitalists sometimes make an error in directing their portfolio company CEOs to push resources to the limit and scale the business to immense size quickly, all to seize market share. The logic in this is simple: once a company has market share, other issues can be sorted out to monetize the market, make the company profitable, scoop up wavering competitors, or even sell the company to a larger firm looking for a large customer base.

Venture Capital 207

Venture Capital Social Media Invest Marketing 207

socalTECH

MAY 29, 2015

Venice-based Snapchat has raised $537.6M more--part of an ongoing $650M funding round--as the instant messaging app developer continues to break Southern California records in both total funding and valuation. According to a regulatory filing, the latest funding round had its first funds committed in February, and so far has 35 investors. The new investors reportedly include Alibaba, Fidelity, York Capital, and Glade Brook Capital, and the funding has widely been reported at valuing the company

Snapchat 135

Snapchat Southern California Funding Venice 135

Advertiser: Aggregage

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.

Company

InfoChachkie

MAY 26, 2015

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. Self-aware startups often learn more from their failures than from their success. Timehop , the photo album for the digital age, is no exception. Created by Jonathan Wegener and his Co-Founder Benny Wong, the company has over 16M+ users. To put this in proper perspective, more than twice as many people access Timehop each day than read the New York Times.

Tool 162

Tool Product Venice Design 162

Eric Greenspan

MAY 23, 2015

In my Chapter 8.1 post I shared with you a story of my electric car (Chevy Volt, not the Tesla!) purchase. I was a week past my chapter 7 bankruptcy and my goal was to get back on the horse and start building credit immediately. Additionally, the car I traded was financed by my ex and it was in her name. I needed that to change, so did she. I knew big interest rates and a lot of work were in store for me, but I went for it.

Startup 151

Startup News Course Funding 151

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 20, 2015

Anybody who reads the blog regularly will know that I’m long video. I’ve made 5 investments in the sector and I hope to make 5 more. Between the US & Europe alone the video sector is worth around $500 billion. And TV / Film / Video Games / Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality and frankly the Internet will all merge. Western countries watch > 5 hours of TV per day.

Startup 276

Startup Summary Blogging Product 276

Berkonomics

MAY 14, 2015

It is all about execution. Waiting over a year to see results is too long, since your chance of mid-course correction is greatly reduced. To make the point, Harvard’s Robert Kaplan believes that less than 10% of corporate strategies are effectively executed. Ouch! If that is true, we are tolerant bunch. We carefully plan in long, dedicated sessions each year or so, then draw up a series of goals, strategies, tactics, objectives, targets, or whatever we want to name them.

Resource 166

Resource Guide Course Email 166

socalTECH

MAY 29, 2015

Los Angeles-based programmatic advertising marketplace and technology developer OpenX has signed on local news site Patch as a customer, saying it has been named the exclusive provider of ad serving and monetization for Patch. OpenX said that Patch will use its programmatic technology platform across its properties, which reach over 17.4 million unique visitors.

OpenX 131

OpenX News Advertising Los Angeles 131

InfoChachkie

MAY 18, 2015

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. When joining a startup, there are seven important questions you should ask in order to answer the question: “What the heck are my stock options worth?”. You just received a job offer from a startup which includes 50,000 stock options. That is wonderful…or is it? I reviewed and approved hundreds of employment offer letters at my various startups, all of which included stock option grants.

Startup 216

Startup Software Review Pricing Capital 216

Eric Greenspan

MAY 19, 2015

Years ago I began doing a presentation called Think Big for area high schools and colleges which included The Ten Commandments for Entrepreneurs. It became quite popular and I was asked to keynote my Think Big presentation for Women’s Economic Ventures. I was honored and knew my material mattered when I got hugs from several of the women after my talk.

Entrepreneur 128

Entrepreneur USC UCLA Startup 128

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 25, 2015

Every entrepreneur I know is dismayed by the number of friends who approach them with a line such as “I have an even better idea that will change the world, and one of these days I’m going to get around to starting my own business.” I always wonder what is more important to them on an ongoing basis than changing the world, since their startups usually never materialize.

Startup 114

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Knowledge Base 114

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 14, 2015

*. Unicorns. The most overused word in the technology industry today. And they aren’t even f **g real. That is how absurd thing have gotten. No, I take that back. THIS is how absurd things have gotten: “I have to raise at a billion-dollar valuation” “Why? You don’t have the revenue or profit to support that valuation.” “But if I don’t I won’t be able to recruit the best people in the market.

Startup 290

Startup Venture Capital Course Marketing 290

Berkonomics

MAY 7, 2015

This is like a Hans Christian Anderson parable, but aimed at you and your business… There are big fish and small fish, potential customers, all swimming in the sea that is your potential marketplace. You, the lonely fisherman, have to weave a net to catch your fish. Should your net be large and bulky, requiring more effort and expense to weave? Or should it be small and delicate, to catch those fish that would otherwise fall through the net?

.Net 196

.Net Research Marketing Entrepreneur 196

socalTECH

MAY 29, 2015

Santa Monica-based secure messaging app developer TigerText , which provides secured text messaging for the enterprise and healthcare markets, has signed up a customer in Chicago. TigerText said that Chicago Cardiology Institute (CCI), which treats cardiovascular disease in Illinois, has deployed the company's secure messaging products as part of a HIPAA compliance effort.

Custom 178

Custom Customer Santa Monica Capital 178

InfoChachkie

MAY 11, 2015

A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. The US Postal Service pulled off another debacle with the Maya Angelou stamp. Their task was simple. Combine a photo of Ms. Angelou with one of her more memorable verses. Instead, the coupled her image with text written by Joan Walsh Anglund. <break here> Twice Isn’t Charming. Hey, everyone makes a mistake.

Startup 162

Startup Sales Competition Customer 162

Tech.Co

MAY 19, 2015

Make some noise Los Angeles because it’s time to compete in Tech.Co’s Startup of the Year Competition! Tech.Co has been traveling the globe, both virtually and physically, searching for the world’s best startup, and the Tech.Co’s Startup of the Year Competition & Tour’s next stop is in Los Angeles! Winners will get the chance to compete in Tech.Co’s Startup of the Year Competition at Celebrate 2015.

Los Angeles 70

Los Angeles Competition Angel Startup 70

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2015

The pervasive ability and need to communicate constantly and globally through the Internet and smartphones is incenting everyone to get more out of their own assets and time, and capitalize on the idle resources of others. This new sharing economy is rapidly becoming the new business of sharing, with major winners already including Airbnb (rooms), Uber (rides), and Chegg (books).

Entrepreneur 111

Entrepreneur Commerce Social Media Platform 111

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2015

As an active investor in the Los Angeles technology market we’re always seeking to better understand the data and trends of why our market has grown so rapidly since 2009. We look for pockets of excellence where we may have skills that aren’t native in other markets or where our home town may have some unique skills or talents. Everybody now knows that LA produced SnapChat, Tinder and Maker Studios.

Marketing 254

Marketing Newsletter Venture Capital Blogging 254

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 27, 2015

Wearing a specially designed Oculus VR helmet, driver Matt Powers races a real car in a menacing virtual world, while all the time driving blind to the real world. Castrol EDGE is stepping up their VR game by enlisting the creative technologist team of Glenn Synder and Adam Amaral who was brought in to develop the 360 experience. The post Driving Blind In The Real World With Oculus Rift appeared first on TechZulu.

Design 72

Design Develop Development 72

socalTECH

MAY 29, 2015

San Diego-based Qualcomm has announced the ten companies that are part of its first Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator , which is being held in San Diego and just started this week. Qualcomm said it selected Carbon Robotics , Cleverpet , Ctrl Works , Inova Drone , Reach Robotics , Skyfront , Sky Robotics , Skysense , Solenica , and Rational Robotics for the program.

San Diego 131

San Diego Startup Invest Funding 131

InfoChachkie

MAY 4, 2015

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. Young Al Kooper did not miss his Bob Dylan moment. When Al was invited by Producer Tom Wilson to sit in on Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited, Mr. Wilson made it clear to Al that he was a backup guitarist. He told him to sit quietly in the control booth and be ready to play if Dylan wanted to explore an arrangement that required two guitars.

Entrepreneur 186

Entrepreneur Organization Mentor Training 186

Steve Reich

MAY 29, 2015

Here’s how the Malauzai team lauched a watch app in 40 days!

Mobile 43

Mobile Entrepreneur 43

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 16, 2015

Even in this age of globalization and virtualization, the geographic area where you choose to live and work can still make or break your startup business. I still have to tell some entrepreneurs that even with the best idea, they have to move to Silicon Valley to find the investors they need, or they need to move to the U.S. get the attention of the market they choose.

Startup 109

Startup Technical Review Oracle Software Review 109

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 2, 2015

What I love about my job is getting to see teams of super-early-stage companies develop ideas that while raw have potential to make an impact on the market. I love the enthusiasm, the boundless energy and the sense of possibility that comes from having an idea that hasn’t yet been beat up in the marketplace of competing ideas, customer contracts, VC skepticism, jaded journalists or fickle consumers who are on the The New, New Thing.

Outsource Development 275

Outsource Development Metrics Startup Sales 275

Tech Zulu Event

MAY 22, 2015

Do you remember movies about the future where everything is controlled by machines? Look back at the Skynet computer from The Terminator, V.I.K.I from I, Robot or Alice from Resident Evil. Seems terrifying, right? In each movie, the computer evolves and takes control of everything. But don’t you find this story rather similar to what we are witnessing now?

Google 86

Google Artificial Inteligence Research Marketing 86

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2015

Santa Monica-based GumGum , the online image-based advertising startup led by Ophir Tanz, has raised a big, $26.0M round this morning, from Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, along with NEA, Upfrot Ventures, First Round Capital, and the company's other exiting ivnestors. According to the firm, the funding will go towards expansion into international markets, to strengthen its R&D, and continue development of its products.

Funding 125

Funding Santa Monica Advertising Platform 125

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2015

E-commerce giant Amazon.com is expanding free, same day delivery in Los Angeles, to members of its Prime service, as part of a broader expansion if its same day delivery services. According to Amazon, it is now offering up free, same day delivery to customers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and other cities, removing what had previously been an added fee service.

Los Angeles 159

Los Angeles Angel San Diego Commerce 159

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2015

Irvine-based semiconductor maker Broadcom and Singapore-based Avago Technologies said this morning that Broadcom has agreed to be acquired by Avago in a deal worth $37 billion. Avago will pay both cash and stock for Broadcom. The two companies said the acquisition will create a company worth $77 billion in enterprise value and with $15 billion in combined annual revenues.

Acquisition 130

Acquisition Technology Company Companies 130

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2015

Irvine-based semiconductor developer Broadcom said this morning that it has scored a design win in South Korea. According to Broadcom, KT Skylife, which is a satellite broadcast provider in South Korea, is deploying an Ultra HD set-top box build on one of its chips. Broadcom said the set-top-box offers up 4K/Ultra HD satellite video, and is based on its BCM7376 chip.

Design 135

Design Develop Development 135

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2015

Irvine-based Kareo said Wednesday that it has hired on Pam Perry as the company's new Chief People Offier. Perry was most recently Vice President of Human Resources at Appriss, and also has served at Internet Technology Corp, CB Richard Ellis, Inc., Caremark LTD, and Pharmacia, Inc. Kareo is a developer of cloud-based, medical office management software, and is led by Dan Rodrigues.

Resource 135

Resource Software Invest Technology 135

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2015

Carlsbad-based Source Intelligence > , a developer of platform for supply chain compliance efforts, has received a credit facility from Silicon Valley Bank, the company said this morning. Size and terms of the facility were not announced. Source Intelligence said the new funds will go towards accelerating growth of its supply chain compliance products and cloud platform.

Platform 125

Platform Funding Help Product 125

socalTECH

MAY 28, 2015

Almost everyone of a technical bent in the technology industry is familiar with that old routine: your parents, your friends, and your neighbors inevitably calls you for free technical support. However, almost no one really wants to be that technical support person. Los Angeles-based HelloTech (www.hellotech.com) wants to be the service that you refer all of your friends and family to, instead--by offering up low cost, on-demand, in-home technical support.

Demand 153

Demand Technical Support Startup Seed Funding 153

socalTECH

MAY 27, 2015

Los Angeles-based MyLife has recast itself as a provider of personal privacy services, launching a new home page and service Wednesday focused on offering up information on everyone and anyone. MyLife said it has created a new home page, and ability for anyone to run a search on anyone's reputation and reviews, letting anyone provide ratings and reviews of anyone else--either in their real name, or anonymously.

MyLife 125

MyLife Services Education Los Angeles 125

socalTECH

MAY 27, 2015

Venice-based Snapchat , the high flying, high profile startup led by Evan Spiegel, is planning an IPO, according to Spiegel, who talked about the company's IPO plans at a conference on Tuesday. Spiegel said that an "IPO is really important" to the company. Spiegel did not give a timeframe for any IPO effort. The plans for an IPO are not a surprise, given the ultra high valuation that Snapchat has been getting in its latest private funding rounds.

Snapchat 132

Snapchat Venice Conference Funding 132

socalTECH

MAY 27, 2015

La Jollla-based MANTA Instruments , a developer of technology for characterizing nanoparticles, has raised a round of seed funding, from Triton Technology Fund. Size of the funding was not announced. Triton announced the funding this morning, and said MANTA will use the funding to accelerate commercialization of its scientific instruments. The company is part of the EvoNexus startup incubator, and is led by Rick Cooper.

Funding 125

Funding Seed Funding San Diego Incubator 125