Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

'I was reading Danielle Morrill’s blog post today on whether one’s “ Startup Burn Rate is Normal. ” I highly recommend reading it. I love how transparently Danielle lives her startup (& encourages other to join in) because it provides much needed transparency to other startups. Danielle goes through some commentary from Bill Gurley, Fred Wilson and Marc Andreessen about burn rate and then goes on to discuss her own burn rate and others publicly weigh in.

Startup 383

Startup Company Companies .Net 383

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

'Los Angeles-based Dollar Shave Club , the subscription e-commerce startup led by Michael Dubin, has raised $50M in a Series C funding round, the company disclosed this morning. The funding came from Technology Crossover Ventures. The company''s prior backers include Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, New World Ventures, Science Inc., Shasta Ventures, and Venrock Associates.

Dollar Shave Club 236

Dollar Shave Club Commerce Los Angeles Funding 236

InfoChachkie

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

'A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. My article 5 Time-Tested Success Tips From Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos was so well received, I am sharing five more pearls of wisdom from Mr. Bezos. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles! 6. Let Your Competitors Chase The Quick Buck.

Tips 223

Tips Framework Metrics Cloud Computing 223

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 2, 2014

'A CEO friend of mine who manages her one hundred person remote workforce as a virtual company told me her story of how she welcomes new employees as she grows her firm. Strike that. She over-welcomes her new employees. Days before the official start date, she makes sure that the new employee’s business cards arrive in the mail, that the employee’s phone and Internet services are up and running, and that an email account is already established.

Startup 207

Startup Email Class Examples 207

Advertiser: Aggregage

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Company

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 28, 2014

'By all measures the past year has been successful. Teams that I’ve backed have sold their companies to Disney, Apple and AOL for substantive amounts of money. Founders have done very well, our fund has done well. Exhibit: Champagne and celebrations. But the truth is that selling a company doesn’t always feel like a celebration as a VC. Not being a baby about it – my job is to return money to LPs.

Company 306

Company Companies Venture Capital Funding 306

socalTECH

OCTOBER 3, 2014

'In Los Angeles, it seems like everyone has either a script or a startup idea in their back pocket. However, until recently, the two rarely intersected. In an interesting demonstration of how the worlds of both media and startups are colliding, a new Los Angele startup is trying to combine both, by offering up a website and television show, DreamJobbing (www.dreamjobbing.com) centered on offering users the opportunity to compete for "dream jobs"--and eventually turning those experiences into a T

Platform 233

Platform Media Startup Social Media 233

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 1, 2014

'Since the day I got the Samsung Gear Live, I was in love with the thing. Like anything for the first generation or two of a Google product, you are basically paying them to be a beta tester. And I am totally fine with this. The Pros. I love having my phone notifications go to my wrist and with a quick glance I can decide if I want to dismiss, pull my phone out of my pocket, or quickly reply to the notification from the watch.

Google 87

Google Screening Slides Netflix 87

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

'Los Angeles-based streaming television site Hulu has inked a deal to stream every episode of South Park , the site said over the weekend, According to Hulu, all seventeen seasons of South Park--over 200 episodes--are now available on Hulu. The site also said that new episodes from the current season, season 18, will be available the day after they air.

Hulu 196

Hulu Hollywood Sites Content 196

socalTECH

OCTOBER 3, 2014

'Camarillo-based Cool Planet Energy Systems , which develops technology to capture CO2 and turn it into a soil amendment, said late Thursday that it has begun commercial production of its product, CoolTerra. The startup--which is backed by BP, Google Ventures, GE, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy, and North Bridge Venture Partners--said its new manufacturing facility is in Camarillo.

Product 178

Product Google Startup Technology 178

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2014

'In what looks to be the largest funding round for Southern California in a very long while, Los Angeles-based NantHealth , the life sciences and technology firm started by billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, said Wednesday that it has raised a total of $320M in it Series B funding. The company said the round closed with a $250M investment from the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA).

Funding 170

Funding Southern California Invest Los Angeles 170

socalTECH

OCTOBER 1, 2014

'Los Angeles-based humorous, electronic greeting card provider JibJab is looking to gain a footprint in the instant messaging and texting market, with a new product it is calling JibJab Messages. The new product allows iOS users to send custom, JibJab style dancing and singing characters--personalized with your own head--to friends. The free app lets users take a selfie of themself, trim out their face, and insert that into any one of a large library of animated GIFs, and send those via text, Fa

Los Angeles 164

Los Angeles Custom Customer Product 164

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

'Move, Inc. , the operator of the Realtor.com, Move.com, and other related real estate businesses, is being acquired by News Corp. , in a deal worth approximately $950M, the two companies said this morning. Move has operations in the Thousand Oaks, California area, although it is now based in San Jose. According to the two, News Corp. will pay $21.00 per share for Move Inc.

News 164

News Thousand Oaks Acquisition Company 164

socalTECH

OCTOBER 3, 2014

'Several Southern California technology companies including San Luis Obispo-based Mindbody , Los Angeles-based Cornerstone OnDemand , Santa Barbara-based Ontraport , and Ventura''s The Trade Desk --have made a list of the top places to work, according to Outside Magazine. The magazine--focused on outdoor adventure, fitness, travel, and other similar topics--listed the two in its annual list of top places to work yesterday.

Cornerstone OnDemand 159

Cornerstone OnDemand Ventura Santa Barbara Southern California 159

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

'The University of California, San Diego is planning to install a big, battery-based energy storage system on campus, to capture wind and solar power to use on the campus, the school said this morning. According to UCSD, it will install a 2.5 megawatt, 5 megawatt/hour system as part of its own microgrid, tapping rechargeable batteries from BYD. The schol said the new battery can store enough power to power 2,500 homes.

UCSD 159

UCSD San Diego Demand 159

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2014

'Wish you could be a VH1 reporter, television producer, or other dream jobs? Los Angeles-based DreamJobbing said this week that it has launched a new online site--and associated, television effort--which will give anyone a chance at a "dream job" by harnessing their social media and on-camera skills. The website--started by entertainment and digital industry vets Lisa Hennessy, Burton Roberts and Alex Boylan--said that users of the site compete by submitting a video application, which is voted o

Social Media 153

Social Media Hollywood Competition Entertainment 153

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2014

'Los Angeles-based venture capital investor Upfront Ventures is the lead investor in a developer of a heads up display for any car, which the company likens to a "Google Glass for your Car". Navdy --which is based in San Francisco--said it raised $6.5M in a seed round, which was led by Upfront Ventures, and also included Ludlow Ventures, Lightbank, Promus Ventures, MESA+ I, Eniac Ventures, Wareness.io, along with angels Shervin Pishevar, Brad Feld, Eric Ries, Naval Ravikant, Semil Shah, Don Norm

Google 153

Google Venture Capital Invest Los Angeles 153

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2014

'For today''s Insights and Opinions section, we''ve got a look at the current world of Bitcoin, from (now) Bitcoin expert Michael Terpin , who talks about his journey from his first introduction to Bitcoin to today--and what it offers up for LA startups. It''s been a little over 16 months since I first set foot in my first bitcoin convention in late May 2013.

SoCalTech 153

SoCalTech Pricing Startup 153

socalTECH

OCTOBER 1, 2014

'Santa Monica-based Rowl , which develops apps to help users figure out what is going on around them, said Wednesday that it has raised $4M in a funding round. The company said the investors included former Logitech CEO Jerry Quindlen and current Ingram Industries chairwoman Martha Rivers Ingram. The company said the funding will go to enhance its app.

Santa Monica 153

Santa Monica Venture Capital Capital Funding 153

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

'Los Angeles-based online advertising technology developer Rubicon Project and global marketing agency DigitasLBi said Monday that DigitasLBi is tapping Rubicon''s technology for a premium programmatic buying effort. Financial impact of the win was not disclosed. DigitasLBi will use Rubicon Project''s Agency Marketplace solution, to help its clients with programmatic buying of premium inventory.

Marketing 153

Marketing Advertising Los Angeles Technology 153

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014

'Pasadena-based Squawkin , a developer of mobile apps which let users communicate using voice, photos, and text, said Monday that it has raised $2.5M in a funding round, and also has launched its apps. The startup said its new app, which runs on iOS and Android, lets users combine live voice streaming, photos, text plus location. The startup is led by Dean Glasse.

Pasadena 153

Pasadena Equity Mobile Startup 153

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2014

'Burbank-based Internships.com , which is a division of CareerArc Group LLC, has been acquired by Chegg in a $11M deal. According to Chegg, it will pay $10M in cash and $1M in shares of Chegg common stock for the student-focused, internships marketplace. Chegg said that Internships.com had around 2 million registered students using its service. Interships.com was headed by serial entrepeneur Robin D.

Burbank 150

Burbank Acquisition Services 150

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

'Costa Mesa-based storage networking technology developer Emulex said yeserday that it has named Ali Hedayati as its new Senior Vice President and General Manager of Network Visibility Products (NVP). Hedayati has served at BMC, Coradiant, and Intel. He was most recently a VP and GM at BMC, running that firm''s application management business unit. READ MORE>>.

Networking 149

Networking Technology Product Develop 149

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2014

'Silicon Valley technology hiring site Hired said this morning that it is rolling out its services in Los Angeles, looking to capitalize on the area''s growing startup community. The company--which focuses on startup recruiting--offers up a site where technology companies compete to hire engineers, product managers, UX/UI designers, and data scientists.

Sites 147

Sites Los Angeles Design Technology 147

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2014

'Santa Monica-based Nimble , the developer of contact management and social selling tools aimed at the business professional market, said today that it has launched a new app that works with Google''s Chrome browser. Nimble said the new Smart Contacts Chrome App helps gather up contact details, email, social conversations, and more for users, pulling data from Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, AngelList, Instagram, Foursquare and more, helping business professionals to prepare for sales call

Santa Monica 147

Santa Monica Google Email Tool 147

socalTECH

OCTOBER 1, 2014

'Los Angeles-based Component Search International , a new startup focused on the design engineering market, said today that it has launched its services, billing itself a "Google for Components". The company, headed by Joe Bilotta, said the new site has over 800 suppliers, 15 million unique parts, and 350 million data sheets, and is hoping to solve the current issue of re-marked and counterfeit parts.

Google 147

Google Los Angeles Design Sites 147

socalTECH

OCTOBER 1, 2014

'Newport Beach-based pharmaceuticals developer Aerie Pharmaceuticals said late Tuesday that it has completed its $125M, convertible note financing from Deerfield Management Company. The financing deal had been announced earlier in the month. Aerie Pharmaceuticals is focused on the development and commercialization of treatments for glaucoma. The company said the new funds are expected to fund its known clinical requirements for its lead compounds, and will also go towards general corporate purpo

Venture Capital 147

Venture Capital Invest Capital Funding 147

socalTECH

OCTOBER 1, 2014

'Santa Monica-based Advanstar Communications , a trade show and conference operator serving the fashion, licensing, life sciences, and power sports industries, has been acquired by UBM plc , in a deal worth $972M. According to Advanstar Communicaitons, the deal was funded by an investor group that includes Anchorage Capital Group LLC, Veronis Suhler Stevenson, as well as funds managed by the Tradable Credit Group at Ares Management L.P.

Conference 147

Conference Santa Monica Acquisition Funding 147

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

'Pasadena-based Metacloud is now officially part of Cisco , the companies said Monday, with Metacloud joining Cisco''s Cloud Infrastructure and Managed Services organization. MetaCloud provides implementation and management of OpenStack-based clouds for enterprise customers. Financial terms of the acquisition--which was announced earlier this month--have not been announced.

Pasadena 147

Pasadena Acquisition Organization Software 147

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

'Monrovia, California-based unmanned aerial vehicle maker AeroVironment reported Tuesday that it has scored a $27.2M contract award from the U.S. Army, for spare parts for its RQ-11B Raven and RQ-20A Puma AE unmanned aircraft systems. The company said it expects to deliver those parts to the U.S. Army within the next 12 months. The company said the new order brings its total spare parts and upgrades to $77.6.

Monrovia 147

Monrovia Report Company Companies 147

socalTECH

OCTOBER 3, 2014

'Los Angeles-based online electronics and technology retailer NewEgg said Friday that it has opened up a new warehouse and shipping facility in Indianapolis, as part of an effort to better serve the Midwestern U.S. NewEgg said the new warehouse is nearly a half million square feet, and will initially handle more than 5,000 products and 3,000 orders per day.

NewEgg 138

NewEgg Los Angeles Custom Customer 138

socalTECH

OCTOBER 3, 2014

'Thousand Oaks-based Teledyne Technologies said this week that it has scored a big contract, from its Teledyne Oil & Gas Group. Size of the contract was not announced, however, the company said the record contract comes from Aker Solutions, for materials and engineering support covering subsea electrical and optical wet-mate interconnects. The contract award is associated with a subsea production system off the coast of Angola.

Thousand Oaks 138

Thousand Oaks Product Technology Company 138

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2014

'San Diego-based Ignyta , a developer of precision medicine technology for the cancer market, said Wednesday afternoon that it has reiceved $31M in a term loan funding. The funding came from Silicon Valley Bank. The company said that $11M of the loan was used to replay and existing loan with SVB. The company said it will use the loan facility for its clinical development efforts.

San Diego 138

San Diego Funding Marketing Technology 138

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2014

'Los Angeles-based j2 Global , the diversified Internet and online services firm led by Hemi Zucker, has gobbled up yet another Internet services company, saying it has acquired cloud email security and archiving provider Excel Micro. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Excel Micro was based in Philadelphia. j2 Global said the acquisition will help expand its U.S. and Canadian email security customer base. j2 Global has quietly been gobbling up dozens and dozens of companies across su

Email 138

Email Acquisition Los Angeles Services 138

socalTECH

OCTOBER 2, 2014

'Los Angeles-based 3D theater technology provider RealD has received an offer from one of its shareholders, activist investor Starboard Value LP , to take the company private for $12.00 per share. The offer is roughly 29 percent more than RealD''s trading price as of Wednesday. In a statement released to the press, REalD said it will "carefully review and consider" the unsolicited bid from Starboard.

Technical Review 138

Technical Review Yahoo Hollywood Press 138

socalTECH

OCTOBER 1, 2014

'Los Angeles-based free mobile broadband and Internet phone service FreedomPop said Wednesday that it has launched its own line of branded products, including an Android "phablet" and an Android phone. The company--which offers up free, albeit bandwidth limited mobile data service and phone in a number of markets--said the new devices include a 7-inch, 4GB Android "phablet" called the FreedomPop Liberty, and a 7-inch, 4GB LTE plus wi-fi Android phablet called the FredomPop Frenzy.

Mobile 138

Mobile Los Angeles Services Marketing 138

socalTECH

OCTOBER 1, 2014

'One of Southern California''s most active angel investors, Howard Lindzon , said Wednesday that he is backing Estate Assist , which offers up an online storage service for important documents like wills, life insurance, and bank account information--in case you get hit by a bus tomorrow. Size of Lindzon''s stake in the company was not announced. Estate Assist is led by Woody Levin, and is based in San Francisco.

Southern California 138

Southern California Venture Capital Activity Invest 138