Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

MakeSpace , the leading provider of next-generation storage for consumers, today announced an additional $17.5 million in funding on TechCrunch led by Harmony Partners and Upfront Ventures to double its footprint of 3 cities (New York, Chicago & Washington DC) to 6 in 2016. We raised this capital in what has increasingly become a difficult market for fund raising so I’d like to share with you some details on how we get it done.

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Startup Pricing Marketing Product 238

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

We love this! If you've not been watching the ASP.NET team's community standups , you have missed some surprisingly transparent, interesting, and oftentimes funny updates from a major web application framework development team. Every time I watch one I marvel, this is Microsoft? Clearly we're seeing a new Microsoft. If you're not watching, you would have also missed how much emphasis the ASP.NET team is putting on performance.

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socalTECH

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Venice-based Snapchat might be the darling of the technology startup scene, but there are at least three, privately held startups--and maybe, more--in Southern California who recently passed $100M in revenues, according to a look through recent announcements. Snapchat had reportedly been on track to hit a $100M run rate--a longtime milestone--in 2015, however, has not announced yet if it hit that goal.

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Snapchat Southern California OpenX SoCal 160

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Looking for an entrance into a VC, an angel group, a bank, a CxO for a sales opportunity, or any other entity? There are always gate keepers whose job it is to filter out the inconsequential or inappropriate, and allow through those with most promise. That said, gate keepers can and do block some great opportunities before the decision maker even has a chance to use his or her expertise to evaluate.

Ideas 156

Ideas Sales Competition Venture Capital 156

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

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

I recently sat down with Troy Carter to talk about what he does and why he believes it is applicable to venture capital. The “what” is well known in LA circles – Troy discovered a little known young singer named Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta aka Lady Gaga and helped her launch her career. The “what” Troy Carter does also led him to be an early investor in Uber, Lyft, Dropbox, Warby Parker and several other great startups of the last era.

Mentor 202

Mentor Venture Capital Marketing Product 202

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 22, 2016

TechCrunch sat down with Mark Suster, managing partner at Upfront Ventures. One of the most active investors in Los Angeles, Suster spoke of how local startups are able to draw upon the city’s creative talent to bring content, commerce and communication platforms to the next level. He also commented on falling tech valuations. “By any definition we’ve been in a funding… Read More.

Commerce 100

Commerce Los Angeles Activity Content 100

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 20, 2016

As an advisor to many startups, I often see business principles espoused that may make sense for a large and established business trying to foster innovation but won’t work for a new startup. I’m a strong proponent of new entrepreneurs starting with a big vision, and believing anything is possible -- but I’m also a pragmatist who believes in factoring some realism into any plan.

Startup 58

Startup Resource Entrepreneur Ideas 58

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Community. My biggest take away from Startup Grind Conference 2016 is how genuinely the organization is committed to uniting and helping startups accelerate together on a global level. Being that I devote my life connecting quality people in the LA tech ecosystem with WeAreLATech , I know how rare it is to find people like Derek Andersen. Derek Andersen founded Startup Grind, he moderated many of the fireside chats at Startup Grind Conference 2016 on the main stage and gave opening and closing

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Startup Conference Design Google 46

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2016

I’ve written about Attention Deficit Disorder a couple of times. How to Know Whether You Have ADD & What to do About It. Why ADD Might Actually Benefit Startup Entrepreneurs. In the articles I made it clear that I’m not a doctor and if you have severe ADD you should consult a professional. But I talked about my personal experiences of finding out I had ADD when I was 39 years old and how this discovery led to a freedom mentally and emotionally because it explained some of my self

Tips 203

Tips Startup Help Mobile 203

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Los Angeles-based Overnight , a brand new travel booking app startup which aims to connect last minute travelers with local hosts, has raised $2.5M in a seed funding, the company is announcing this morning. The funding was led by Accomplice and CrossCut Ventures, and also included Paul Bricault (Greycroft/Amplify) and Elliott Bisnow (Summit Action Fund).

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Seed Funding Los Angeles Funding Startup 159

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 22, 2016

To be an entrepreneur, you have to have a thick skin and not be defensive to customer feedback and constructive criticism. On the other hand, no entrepreneur should tolerate negative vibes and complainers on their own team. The challenge is to understand the difference between these two situations -- and to respond effectively to both. You can’t reinforce negative thinking and stay positive.

Customer 57

Customer Custom Entrepreneur Activity 57

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 22, 2016

Are you looking for a top-notch computer model to use throughout your business venture? Of course it’s important to equip your partners and employees with the best technology to do their jobs, but it’s also important to find computers that are easily portable and affordable for your current budget. With all those demands, it’s no surprise that many ventures (and a whole lot of schools) are turning to Chromebooks to get the job done.

Startup 43

Startup Doc Cloud Computing Design 43

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Round 12 of the ongoing Web Framework Benchmarks project is now available! A race against the clock. Recently, we were notified that the physical hardware environment we have used for Rounds 9 through 12 will be decommissioned imminently. This news made Round 12 unusual: rather than wait until we can equip and configure a new environment, we decided to conclude Round 12 while the current environment remained available.

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Framework PHP EC2 TechEmpower 267

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

San Diego-based SOCi , a developer of social media management and marketing software, has raised $2.25M in funding, the company said Wednesday. The funding came from angels Taner Halicioglu (Facebook), Doug Hecht (Digitaria), and venture company GrowthX, along with Trevor and David Klein (AutoAnything) and Asaf Benhaim (iMatrix). SOCi is taking aim at competitors such as Hootsuite, with what it says is a "next-generation" social media content discovery and marketing product.

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Social Media Tool Media Marketing 133

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Most entrepreneurs are so overwhelmed by the day-to-day challenges of their business that they rarely take the time to work on longer-term strategy (they work in the business versus on the business). As a result, strategy decisions are made in the same ad-hoc crises style as operational decisions, and the business suffers. Gut reactions are rarely the optimal solution to any problem.

Framework 53

Framework Entrepreneur Startup Examples 53

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Computer aided driver monitoring technology or Telematics is radically changing the future and outlook of the automobile industry. Telematics based insurance is also known in the industry as black box technology based on the way it works. In this new technology, a small black device gets attached to your vehicle for purposes of recording the speed, distance for purposes of tracking the vehicle in the event of an accident or theft.

Technology 40

Technology Examples Press Course 40

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

San Diego-based medical device provider ResMed has acquired healthcare software developer Brightree , in a deal worth $800M, according to the companies. ResMed said it will pay $800M in cash for ResMed, which had net sales of approximately $113M in 2015. Brightree develops business management and clinicla software for the post-acute care industry, for managing home and durable medical equipment, home health, and hospice, and was based in Atlanta.

San Diego 126

San Diego .Net Software Development Software 126

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

Los Angeles-based HomeMe , a new startup founded by Mark Douglas, the CEO and founder of Steelhouse, said today that it has launched into the App Store, and hopes to make it easier for renters to find apartments. The new mobile app lets users enter their financial information--their annual income, credit, background and rental history--and pre-approves those users for apartments they are pre-qualified to rent.

Advertising 122

Advertising Mobile Los Angeles Marketing 122

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

Irvine-based cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike has rolled out new features for its cloud-based endpoint protection product, Crowdstrike Falcon, saying it has added new enhancements to protect against ransomware, stop breaches faster, and remediate attacks using network containment. The company said it has added new machine learning capabilities to block malware and adware, among many other enhancements.

Artificial Inteligence 122

Artificial Inteligence Networking Product Company 122

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

Irvine-based NWP Services Corporation , which develops cloud-based billing, electronic payment, energy management, and back office accounting and IT infrastructure for the rental housing industry, has been acquired by fellow software provider RealPage. RealPage said it would pay $68M in cash for NWP. RealPage said NWP Services had approximately $58M in revenues in 2015.

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Services Capital Software Funding 122

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Alfred E. Mann , the medical devices pioneer, investor, and philantropist, has passed away at the age of 90. Mann was Mann behind such companies as Mannkind, MiniMed, Second Sight Medical, Bioness, IncuMed, PerQFlo, RoundTrip, Advanced Bionics, Pacesetter Systems, and many other medical devices companies in Los Angeles, and was by far the region's most prolific creators of medical device startups.

Los Angeles 116

Los Angeles Startup Angel Company 116

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Hollywood visual and special effects company Legend 3D is jumping feet first into the world of virtual reality, saying on Thursday that it is expanding its efforts in the area with a dedicated virtual reality divivision, Legend VR. Legend 3D said the new division will build tools to help studios, documentary filmmakers, retailers, and brands create high-performance interactive VR content.

Hollywood 116

Hollywood Content Tool Help 116

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

West Hills-based Peloton Document Solutions , a company developing software which helps investment bankers, private equity investors, and companies to communicate financial information via interactive documents, has scored a strategic investment from R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed. According to R.R.

Invest 116

Invest Software Review Equity Sales 116

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2016

Santa Monica-based utility-scale solar power company Solar Reserve says its molten-salt based, utility-solar plants have a big advantage over battery-based energy storage, which it says "isn't exactly clean or practical". The power plant developer--whose Crescent Dunes plant started delivering energy to the grid in late 2015--says that its technology offers a "real way" to sore energy for use after dark, and overcomes the intermittency problems that face use of renewables.

Santa Monica 116

Santa Monica .Net Technology Develop 116

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2016

Calabasas-based Ixia is aiming at the network security market with its latest product, the company said today. Ixia said its Vision ONE device collects, processes, and filters data and application flow, specifically for security and network protection. The new devie taps into corporate networks, using deep packet inspection to watch the flow of traffic across a network.

Networking 116

Networking Calabasas Marketing Product 116

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

San Diego-based healthcare software developer PatientSafe Solutions said Thursday that it has named company co-founder Si Luo as its new CEO, in addition to his existing position as President. Reason for the shift was not given by the company. Luo replaces Joseph Conduroso, who left PatientSafe Solutions in November of last year. Conduroso had been at PatientSafe since 2011.

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San Diego Software Development Software Develop 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Santa Barbara-based venture investor Rincon Venture Partners is one of the investors in San Francisco-based Rainforest QA , which recently announced a $12M, Series A funding. Rainforest QA develops tools to help automate software quality assurance (SQA) tasks. Rincon Venture Partners was joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, which led the round, plus Industry Ventures, and Marc Benioff of Salesforce.com.

Software 109

Software Develop Development Santa Barbara 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Pasadena-based 55Haitao.com , a Chinese shopping site which acts as a forum and shopping guide for Chinese consumers, has raised $15M in a Series A financing, the company said today. The funding was led by JJ Capital, a Chinese venture capital firm. The startup--which is based in Pasadena, but has 90 percent of its customers from China--said the funding will help to fund its editorial content intiiatives and expand operations.

Pasadena 109

Pasadena Guide Venture Capital Commerce 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Are you one of those last minute travelers, who doesn't make any plans until the last minute for your trips--or with you didn't have to? If so, Los Angeles-based Overnight (www.joinovernight.com) is for you. The startup, which launched this week, is hoping to find both travelers and hosts who don't want to deal with long term plans, and who can respond immediately to finding and offering up a place to stay for the night.

Startup 109

Startup Los Angeles Mobile Pricing 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Santa Monica-based secure messaging app developer TigerText has rolled out new speech recognition capabilities to its healthcare communications platform, TigerConnect, the company said on Wednesday. According to TigerText, developers can now build apps using speech recognition via its platform, thanks to a tie into the Nuance Dragon Medical One platform.

Tool 109

Tool Santa Monica Platform Develop 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Venice, California-based Signal Sciences , a developer of security tools aimed at the DevOps market, said this morning that it has raised $9.7M in a Series A round, and launched its products. The company said its Series A was raised in 2015, and came from Index Ventures. Signal Sciences says it has developed a web application firewall (WAF), specifically designed for agile development and DevOps teams.

Tool 109

Tool Venice Web Design 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2016

Amazon.com has paid $15M for the untitled film from Woody Allen , according to the Hollywood Reporter, which said that the amount is more than three times what Woody Allen got for his last film. Amazon announced the deal to acquire Allen's film last week, but did not disclose the finances behind the deal, which the Hollywood Reporter called "staggering".

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Report Hollywood Content Los Angeles 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

Deliv , the same day delivery provider which crowdsources couriers for delivering products for such companies as TheBouqs, has raised $28M in a Series B funding. Deliv, said the funding came from the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, along with Upfront Ventures, RPM Ventures, PivotNorth Capital, General Growth Properties, The Macerich Company, Simon Venture Group, Taubman Centers, Inc. and Westfield Corp.

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Funding Invest Capital Startup 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 24, 2016

Redlands-based mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software provider Esri and 3D mapping provider Vricon said late Tuesday that the two have linked up through Esri's partnership rpogram. The two said the move will provide 3D geodata to Esri's customers. Vricom provides photo-realistic, 3D mapping products and digital elevation models, which it offers to the defense and security industry.

Software 109

Software Custom Customer Product 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Burbank-based Warner Bros. said Tuesday afternoon that it has acquired DramaFever , an online, video-on-demand company focused on Korean dramas, Kpop, and other related content. Financial details of the deal were not announced. Time Warner said it will continue to run DramaFever under its own brand, with operations based in New York. DramaFever offers up subscription access to Korean television and film dramas, to both U.S. and other audiences.

Burbank 109

Burbank Demand Content Company 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 23, 2016

Los Angeles-based health food and products retailer Thrive Market has just hit a $100M run rate, and now has 180,000 paid members, according to co-founder and co-CEO Nick Green. Green, speaking at the Recurring Revenue Conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, said that the company is growing rapidly, adding 30,000 paid members a month. Thrive Market is backed by Greycroft Partners, Scripps Network, Powerplant Ventures, as well as over 200 angel investors.

Marketing 109

Marketing Commerce Los Angeles Conference 109