Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 8, 2014

'Happy official New Year’s, all. It’s that time of year where we think about new beginnings. And there’s none that makes me happier than to announce that Jordan Hudson has been promoted to a Principal at Upfront Ventures. Please help me congratulate him by Re/Tweeting this post (and following him if you don’t already). What is a principal at a VC firm and how does it work at Upfront Ventures?

Help 365

Help Invest Venture Capital Technical Review 365

socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2014

'The online coupon search industry is very crowded, with dozens of sites, players large and small, and is a very confusing landscape for consumers. Is there an opportunity to rise above the crowd, and become a leading player in the industry for a startup? One local startup, Chippmunk (www.chippmunk.com), hopes so, and believes that focusing on user interface design will help it win over its competitors.

Internet Brands 257

Internet Brands Content Sites Startup 257

Eric Greenspan

JANUARY 7, 2014

'Every day my website gets hit by someone looking for Chef Eric Greenspan of the Foundry on Melrose and of Food Network fame. Sometimes I get hits from someone looking for Eric Greenspan the LA attorney who has represented Christina Aguilera and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And every once in a while, someone is looking for me, Eric Greenspan, the serial entrepreneur, dad and closet chef, chief consultant at Greenspan Consulting and Chief Storyteller at schoolofbookkeeping.com.

Beverly Hills 238

Beverly Hills Networking Entrepreneur Google 238

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 6, 2014

'A version of this article previously appeared in The Wall Street Journal. The money you pay your intellectual property (IP) lawyer should be judiciously spent. However, the potential costs associated with an IP mishap can be catastrophic. An invalidated patent or one deemed to infringe the rights of another party can devastate a startup. As such, save money buying used office furniture, not by selecting an inexpensive IP lawyer who lacks the appropriate level of experience in your technical do

IP 210

IP Patents Journal Equity 210

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

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 4, 2014

'Yesterday I wrote a post about “ the politics of startups ” in which I asserted that all companies have politics, which in its purest sense is just about understanding human psychology. I think as a tech industry we have bred a culture that places more emphasis on product excellence than managing human behavior. Of course it makes no sense to have great people management and a crappy product.

Startup 340

Startup Technical Review Course Press 340

socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2014

'Los Angeles-based ranking and polling website Ranker , the startup led by Clark Benson and backed by Draper Associates, Rincon Venture Partners, Siemer Ventures, Lowercase Capital, BullPen Capital, Data Collective, TenOneTen Ventures, Tech Coast Angels, and Pasadena Angels, said today that it hit 11.5 million unique visitors in December. According to Ranker, it generated over 150 million pageviews on the site, which lets users create and browse rankings of all kinds of things, vote on polls, an

Tech Coast Angels 242

Tech Coast Angels Draper Pasadena Angels Pasadena 242

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2014

'You have to be extra tough mentally to be an entrepreneur. While thinking about it, I realized that it’s really not that different from the toughness required and trained into America’s elite military force of Navy SEALs, who are known to be cool under fire, able to sense danger before it’s too late, and never give up on achieving their objective. I just finished a new book “ The Way of the SEAL ,” co-authored by Mark Divine, who spent many years with the SEALs, and has since started and built

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Startup Mentor Training 107

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

'I’ve written a few posts about boards recently as part of a series on the subject. I should note that my friend Brad Feld has written a new book on the subject that I would recommend if you want the bible on the topic. I admit that I haven’t yet read it but I’ve had numerous discussions with Brad over the years about board structure & conduct and consider him a mentor on the topic.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2014

'Glendale-based online legal documents provider LegalZoom has sold $200M in equity to private equity firm Permira Funds, in a secondary stock purchase deal, the companies said this morning. According to LegalZoom, the new funding will go towards its launch of new products and services. As part of the deal, LegalZoom said that Permira will be the largest shareholder in the company, and will have the right to appoint a majority of the company''s board.

Legalzoom 231

Legalzoom Glendale Equity Acquisition 231

Eric Greenspan

JANUARY 5, 2014

'I grew up with a stepfather. He taught me manners and taught me to cook. At 13 I moved to Ohio to meet and live with my dad and my new stepmom. Then I came to Santa Barbara after high school and got married, three times. I had a son with my 2nd and another with my 3rd. Today, I’m with a new woman that I’ve fallen in love with. We each have two kids.

Santa Barbara 127

Santa Barbara Entrepreneur Customer Custom 127

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2014

'I’ve been advising and mentoring startups and growth companies for years, and find myself always pushing them to try something new, for the sake of growth and survival. When you try new things, you make mistakes, and I’ve seen many. Smart companies learn from their own mistakes, but some don’t pay enough attention to other people’s mistakes. In the spirit of saving you a few lifetimes of pain, here are some common mistakes or shortcuts that seem to happen routinely: Wait until your company is u

Startup 106

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Help 106

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 8, 2014

'From Ready SIM’s PR desk: “ Ready SIM is the James Bond of SIM cards. If you need to keep calls, texts and emails confidential, than this is the product for you. No personal information is needed to activate, therefore, calls cannot be traced to a specific name or organization in any way. After use, you can dispose of the SIM card and the information it contains.” It’s a compelling thought – especially when you consider the alternative: 2 year contracts, overage ch

Mobile 86

Mobile Startup Customer Outsource Development 86

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2014

'Holiday spending via desktop e-commerce hit yet another record this holiday season, reaching $46.5 billion, according to the latest numbers released Tuesday by comScore. According to comScore, U.S. retail e-commerce spending hit $46.5 billion, up ten percent versus a year ago, a record for online holiday spending. comScore did not release how those numbers relate to mobile or tablet order activity this year.

Commerce 189

Commerce Activity Mobile Sales 189

Eric Greenspan

JANUARY 10, 2014

'It was 2008. My home had peaked at value and my business was slowing. My mortgage payment was $14,400/month. I of course paid only the negative amortization amount of $8,000 per month tacking the difference back on to the principal each month. When I bought house, this was a non-issue as the value had increased a tremendous percentage from when I bought back it in 2005.

Westlake Village 100

Westlake Village Report Course Product 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2014

'What sparks paradigm-shifting innovation in any business? It’s a special mix of entrepreneur and company, regular in every respect except for having the courage and foresight to make an idea happen that was supposed to be impossible. As an entrepreneur in a startup, how do you know if you have this potential, and what are the steps to get from an innovation to a revolution?

Startup 103

Startup Ideas Examples Entrepreneur 103

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 4, 2014

'It’s the New Year, and there’s no better time to get educated on all the blogging, podcasting and Web video tools to help you become an active content creator. Likewise, if you’re looking to learn how to market through online channels for your business, this is also for you. New Media Expo is the industry’s most comprehensive new media trade show, drawing content creators from over 50 countries for three days of educational sessions.

Media 82

Media Social Media Education Blogging 82

socalTECH

JANUARY 8, 2014

'Glendale-based LegalZoom has officially dropped its IPO bid, saying in a regulatory filing that it has withdrawn its S-1 filing for an IPO, which had originally been filed in May of 2012. LegalZoom said the move came because it does not intend to pursue the contemplated public offering at this time. The filing was expected, after the announcement this week that it had sold $200M in equity to private equity firm Permira.

Legalzoom 183

Legalzoom Glendale Equity Acquisition 183

Eric Greenspan

JANUARY 10, 2014

'It was 2008. My home had peaked at value and my business was slowing. My mortgage payment was $14,400/month. I of course paid only the negative amortization amount of $8,000 per month tacking the difference back on to the principal each month. When I bought house, this was a non-issue as the value had increased a tremendous percentage from when I bought back it in 2005.

Westlake Village 100

Westlake Village Report Course Product 100

SoCal Delicious

JANUARY 9, 2014

'Medium site navigation Cancel Home Search Collections Sign in with Twitter 10 min read Photo from the Happy Startup Summercamp Next in trending 10 ways you’ll probably f**k up your startup Here I highlight some common early-stage mistakes I come across working closely with startup teams (and how you can avoid them) Laurence McCahill in Spook Studio 10 min read 10 ways you’ll probably f**k up your startup Here I highlight some common early-stage mistakes I come across working closely with startu

Startup 78

Startup Design Custom Customer 78

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 7, 2014

'Tune in NOW at www.techzulu.com to catch LIVE coverage of the International Academy of Web Television Awards (IAWTV), from the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The IAWTV Awards honor the content creators driving today’s rapidly evolving web television industry. Tonight’s show features 34 categories celebrating the best of original online programming for digital platforms.

Web 74

Web Entertainment Conference Content 74

socalTECH

JANUARY 10, 2014

'A new, Santa Barbara-based startup, Schoolofbookkeeping.com , launched this week, offering up online courses for bookkeepers, accountants, business owners, and accounting students. The startup''s founders include Eric David Greenspan, a serial entrepreneur who previously founded such companies as MakeItWork. The online site offers up a catalog of online, video courses, around such topics as using QuickBooks and basics of bookkeeping, with an initial course focused on the bookkeeping fundamental

Education 182

Education Santa Barbara Course Sites 182

Eric Greenspan

JANUARY 7, 2014

'Every day my website gets hit by someone looking for Chef Eric Greenspan winner of the LA Grilled Cheese Invitational, owner of the Roof on Wilshire and of Food Network fame. Sometimes I get hits from someone looking for Eric Greenspan the LA attorney who has represented Christina Aguilera and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And every once in a while, someone is looking for me, Eric Greenspan, the serial entrepreneur, dad and closet chef, chief consultant at Greenspan Consulting and Chief Storytelle

Beverly Hills 100

Beverly Hills Santa Barbara Email Networking 100

Berkonomics

JANUARY 9, 2014

'By Richard Sudek. Dave’s note: Our guest insight this week is by Richard Sudek, an associate professor of entrepreneurism at Chapman University Graduate School of Business. He is Director of the Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurism and Business Ethics, and Chairman Emeritus of the Tech Coast Angels, the largest angel group in the United States.

Technical Review 286

Technical Review Tech Coast Angels Coach Entrepreneur 286

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 9, 2014

'Last Monday, Jan 6th, marked the culmination of AT&T’s Developer Summit at CES 2014 along with the release of open APIs for its U-Verse platform on Android. The company launched the original program back in 2011. Now developers can build Android apps with AT&T Labs and AT&T Foundry to let customers better interact with their televisions from a smartphone, tablet or other such mobile devices.

Develop 72

Develop Development Mobile Entertainment 72

socalTECH

JANUARY 10, 2014

'San Diego-based startup Dealstruck , the startup developing an online marketplace to help small businesses find loan funding, has rolled out a new product, saying today that it has launched a new, asset-based line of credit product. The crowdfunding site said the new product lets businesses drawn down funding like a credit card, paying interest only on the amount outstanding, with the ability to pay down their credit loans at any time.

Product 178

Product Equity San Diego Sites 178

Eric Greenspan

JANUARY 7, 2014

'Every day my website gets hit by someone looking for Chef Eric Greenspan winner of the LA Grilled Cheese Invitational, owner of the Roof on Wilshire and of Food Network fame. Sometimes I get hits from someone looking for Eric Greenspan the LA attorney who has represented Christina Aguilera and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And every once in a while, someone is looking for me, Eric Greenspan, the serial entrepreneur, dad and closet chef, chief consultant at Greenspan Consulting and Chief Storytelle

Beverly Hills 100

Beverly Hills Santa Barbara Email Networking 100

socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2014

'Irvine-based private cloud storage provider Zadara Storage said this morning that it is expanding its international presence, and will begin offering up its services in Singapore. According to Zadara, the expansion comes via a relationship with VIVAVO, an Infrastrucutre-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider which serves the country. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Services 171

Services Custom Customer Company 171

socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2014

'Los Angeles-based mobile food ordering startup ChowNow has raised $708,414 as part of a new funding round, according to regulatory filing by the firm this week. Details on the funding have not yet been announced by the company. ChowNow has previously raised funding from Daher Capital, Double M Partners, GRP Partners, Karlin Ventures and Velos Partners, and was part of LaunchpadLA.

GRP Partners 170

GRP Partners Venture Capital Mobile Los Angeles 170

socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2014

'San Diego-based Lytx , the provider of driver safety and fleet management products which until recently was known as DriveCam, reported today that it had more than $100M in orders for its second consecutive year, adding more than 140 new clients. The company says it now has more than 950 clients using its products and services. Lytx builds video-based driver monitoring systems, and now also offers up fleet compliance services and other related services and products to truck carriers, utilities,

San Diego 168

San Diego Report Services Product 168

socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2014

'Venice-based instant photo messaging service Snapchat has released an update to the company''s software for both Android and iOS, in response to the major security breach over the holidays resulting from the abuse of its "Find Friends" feature. According to Snapchat, the update improves the "Find Friends" functionality--including allowing its users to opt-out of linking a phone number to their account--and also requires phone number verification before using the service.

Snapchat 157

Snapchat Social Network Venice Networking 157

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2014

'San Diego-based biopharmaceuticals firm Halozyme Therapeutics announced Monday that it has received $20M in a term loan, from Oxford Finance and Silicon Valley Bank. Terms of the new loan were not announced. According to Halozyme, the proceeds of that loan will be used for working capital and other near-term growth initiatives. The company said the new loan brings its total term loan balance to $50M, including earlier term loans to the company.

San Diego 157

San Diego Capital Technology Develop 157

socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2014

'San Diego-based life sciences equipment maker Illumina said today that it has licensed its next generation sequencing technology to Quest Diagnostics , a provider of diagnostic information services. Financial impact of the deal was not announced by the companies. The two said that Quest will gain "broad rights" to Illumina''s sequencing and genotyping technology for use in developing, validating, and offering up molecular laboratory-developed tests for diseases.

Technology 153

Technology San Diego Services Develop 153

socalTECH

JANUARY 8, 2014

'San Diego-based renewable energy developer EDF Renewable Energy said Tuesday that it has linked up with Japanese company Marubeni Corporation , on its Shiloh IV Wind Project in Texas. According to the two, Marubeni will acquire a 90 percent interest in the 102.5 MW wind project, which will help EDF free up funds for future projects. EDF said it will continue to provide operations and maintenance services for the project, and will retain a 10 percent stake in the project.

San Diego 153

San Diego Acquisition Invest Funding 153

socalTECH

JANUARY 8, 2014

'San Diego-based stock tip messaging service Stocktwits said last week that it has raised a new round of funding, and named a new CEO. The company said the new funding brings its total raised to $10M. As part of the funding, founder and CEO Howard Lindzon said that he has named a replacement, John Melloy, and will become Chairman of the company. Melloy was previously at Bloomberg, and was the Executive Producer of CNBC''s Fast Money.

Funding 153

Funding Tips San Diego Venture Capital 153

socalTECH

JANUARY 8, 2014

'La Jolla-based Auspex Pharmaceuticals , a biopharmaceuticals firm aiming at treating hyperkinetic movement disorders, announced this morning that it has raised $35M in two separate financings. According to the company, it raised $20M in a Series E equity financing, and also raised $15M in a four year, venture loan. The equity funding was led by Deerfield Management Company, along with its existing investors, which include Thomas, McNerney and Partners, CMEA Capital, Panorama Capital, BioMed Ven

Equity 153

Equity Venture Capital Capital Invest 153

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2014

'Costa Mesa-based data storage networking equipment developer Emulex has appointed a new CFO this morning, saying that it has named Kyle B. Wescoat as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Wescoat was most recently the CFO of Skullcandy, and also has served at such firms as VIZIO and VANS. Emulex said the appointment is part of a "corporate transformation" of the company.

Networking 153

Networking Develop Development Company 153