Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2013

The other day I was at a Mercedes dealership. Unfortunately my wife was hit head on in December by a woman who lost control of her car. It was time to get a new car and my wife’s requirements were: The safest thing on the road. As many air bags as possible. I researched the pricing of the car at TrueCar – not because we’re an investor – but because it gives you complete price transparency over what other people in your area paid for a car.

Conference 398

Conference Technical Review Truecar Software Review 398

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Because of the rapid pace with which Venture Capitalists review investment opportunities, they must employ pattern matching techniques which include identifying common fundraising deal breakers. Fortunately, most deal breakers can be avoided, with a bit of pro-active thought and deft execution.

Technical Review 264

Technical Review Entrepreneur IP RSS 264

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

We build web and mobile applications, and we've been doing so for a little over fifteen years. To our delight, technology has evolved and improved in many ways over that time. Technology evolution can be cyclical, with some branches looping back to the past with surprising vigor and without much self-awareness. Platforms eschew threading and then re-invent threading anew.

Web 200

Web Platform Technology JavaScript 200

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

A new study, issued today by the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future , says that the majority of Americans still don't think pulling a cell phone out at a meal is appropriate. The study found that 62 percent of Americans feel that it's not at all appopriate to have a cellphone on the table during dinner, with 76 percent saying that texting is not all all appropriate, 80 percent panning browsing on the web, and 84 percent saying you shouldn't talk on the phone at a meal.

Study 242

Study USC Web Mobile 242

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

Technology Council

FEBRUARY 14, 2013

By MBAOnline.com Women In Tech by MBAOnline.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License Filed under: Technology Tagged: technology, women.

Technology 127

Technology 127

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 9, 2013

We’re excited to announce TechZulu is coming back to Austin, Texas for South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive 2013! We had so much fun last year speaking with entrepreneurs, startups , panel speakers and making new friends , we decided we just had to do it again this year. So we’re gathering some friends an opening the TechZulu Trend Lounge ( #TZTL ).

Advertising 109

Advertising Entrepreneur Custom Customer 109

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

What's the best way to find local tourist locations? How about a mobile app which taps the power of its users to find cool and unique spots in their city? Newly funded and launched startup Crash --backed by Idealab--said today that it has launched its iOS-based attraction discovery app and website. The startup, led by Erick Laubach, said that the application lets anyone be their own tour guide, and explore attractions which "make a city unique.

Idealab 228

Idealab San Diego Incubator Guide 228

Technology Council

FEBRUARY 14, 2013

By MBAOnline.com Women In Tech by MBAOnline.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported LicenseFiled under: Technology Tagged: technology, women.

Technology 100

Technology 100

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

This is an interview with Lars Perkins, as he talks about his new app and the new features in the works! Relive is a smart photo-sharing app that allows users to easily share photos privately, amongst close friends and family. Founded by Larks Perkins, a serial entrepreneur, filmmaker, inventor and avid photographer, Relive hopes to solve the problem of privacy in the social photo sharing space.

Startup 102

Startup Google Conference Platform 102

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Entrepreneurs are a notoriously stubborn (some say confident) group of people, so I see many of them making the same mistakes that predecessors have made. Thus I’m convinced that it’s useful for all of you to step back from time to time, and listen to some sage advice from people who have been there and enjoyed success. Recently, as I was perusing a book by Robert Jordan, titled “ How They Did It: Billion Dollar Insights ” I saw some wisdom and inspiration that made sense.

Entrepreneur 101

Entrepreneur Zag Startup Sample 101

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

NASA said late Thursday that it has set a new date for the next SpaceX resupply mission, and is targeting Friday, March 1st for the resupply flight to the International Space Station. Space Exploration Technologies, the commercial rocket and spaceflight firm based in Hawthorne, and headed by technology mogul Elon Musk, has seen huge success in its goal of developing its rocket and spacecraft technology to deliver supplies--and eventually, people--to space.

SpaceX 224

SpaceX Social Media Sample Hawthorne 224

SoCal CTO

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

I did a presentation this week at Coloft that looked at how Non-Technical Founders can go about getting their MVP built. It had a passionate group of 50 people attending. I promised to do this post as a follow-up to the session to provide additional links and information. It should also give a sense of what I covered to people who were not there. Here is the outline of the talk and some links from prior posts that talk to the issues that I discussed in the talk.

Technical Review 338

Technical Review CTO Hire CTO Coach Software Review 338

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

The biggest culprit to a startup failure is a dysfunctional founding team. Intimidation alone of finding the right team kills many new ventures before they had a chance. The D.C.-based startup CoFoundersLab has addressed this issue by taking the guesswork out of matchmaking by introducing scientific methods, deep research and algorithms that have proven to lead to successful matches.

Entrepreneur 87

Entrepreneur Startup Santa Monica CTO Hire 87

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

One of the keys to maximizing the productivity of your team, as well as yourself, is motivation. It has been estimated that the average team member at any given time works at less than 50% of his capacity. Thus mastering the art of employee motivation could double your chances of success over the average competitor. While there are many books written on this subject, most entrepreneurs I know simply assume that their own vision, motivation, and drive will be adopted and maintained by partners an

Entrepreneur 99

Entrepreneur Startup Resource Layoffs 99

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Science Inc. , the technology startup incubator and studio headed by former MySpace CEO Michael Jones, has raised around $30M in funding from Hearst Ventures , the venture capital arm of Hearst Corporation, Hearst said this morning. Science Inc. and Hearst did not disclose terms of the deal, but AllthingsD said the investment was worth $30M and gave Hearst a twenty percent stake in Science.

Rustic Canyon 223

Rustic Canyon Incubator Venture Capital Entertainment 223

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

In the 1980s, high-tech companies stored information about their customers on their sophisticated and high-cost computer equipment. Back then such practices were exceptional except at relatively large companies. Thirty years later, it's so commonplace that there are numerous services to store customer data for you "in the cloud.". A layperson would be excused to think that in 2012, questions about how to store data on computers have been worked out.

Platform 227

Platform Startup High Tech Develop 227

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Surely you’ve been exposed to articles, courses and lectures about various styles of management, and how each is appropriate for some companies and for some levels of organization and at some times. For example, a consensus-building leader works well in that style until someone yells “fire!,” and the emergency requires a dictatorial style of management to act quickly, protecting lives.

Organization 166

Organization Report Education Course 166

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 10, 2013

Almost every startup is a virtual team these days, since most don’t start out with dedicated office space, and some or all members of the team work part-time or out of their own home. It’s a small world, so these team members may not even be in the same town, or the same country. Outsourcing is just another extension of the virtual team concept to people you don’t even know.

Startup 98

Startup Outsource Development Outsource Satisfaction 98

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

It looks like there's a new startup accelerator in town today: MediaCamp , an entertainment-focused startup acceleration program backed by Turner Broadcasting, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment. According to Warner Bros., its Media Camp accelerator program wil lbe launching in Los Angeles, to help early stage companies create "disruptive innovations" in entertainment.

Los Angeles 217

Los Angeles Angel Startup Southern California 217

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2013

The Kive Company , the Los Angeles startup which runs ArtKive , a service which helps parents take the artwork and schoolwork of their kids into the digital age, has scored the People's Choice Award at this week's Vator Splash SF. ArtKive was among a number of companies competing in Vator's pitch competition in San Francisco. At least one other local startup was recognized in the awards, Younity , the unified file storage service which was part of MuckerLab, was a finalist in the competition.

Competition 217

Competition Los Angeles Services Startup 217

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Telesign , the provider of Internet security and authentication services and tools, said today that it has acquired global SMS provider Routo Telecommunications. Financial terms of the move were not disclosed. Los Angeles-based Telesign, which is headed by serial entrepreneur Steve Jillings, said that the acquisition will help it improve its fraud prevention services.

Commerce 213

Commerce Acquisition Mobile Los Angeles 213

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Santa Monica has just gotten yet another boost in its bid to become the capital of Silicon Beach, as Microsoft said this week that it is opening up a new, 125-person strong entertainment studio in the city as part of an effort to create interactive content for the Xbox. The announcement, which was made Monday at the AllThingsD conference, will create original interactive content, live events and streaming, and more for Xbox.

Los Angeles 213

Los Angeles Angel Santa Monica Content 213

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Looking to find some romance this valentine's day? Everyone knows that Southern California is already home to quite a few online dating sites, like eHarmony , but how about startups? Just ahead of Valentine's Day, here are four local, Southern California startups who are focused on matching you up with your potential romantic partner. 1. Let's Date.

Help 198

Help eHarmony Southern California Startup 198

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

How do you get technology developed by researchers deep within a university, and make that visible to to the public? GLIMPSE, a digital technology showcase featuring cutting-edge research from across the university, was held at The University of Southern California (USC) in January, to do exactly that--help bring the research conducted at the school to light.

USC 197

USC Research Training Southern California 197

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

There's a big shift happening in online dating, away from websites and profiles, and towards mobile applications. In fact, according to Sean Suhl , the founder of Let's Date (www.letsdateapp.com), it's completely opened up a brand new market for how people are finding romance, as singles move away from legacy dating sites and towards new, mobile dating services like his own.

Mobile 189

Mobile eHarmony Artificial Inteligence Sites 189

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Santa Barbara-based RightScale , the developer of cloud computing management software headed by Michael Crandell, has raised $15.6M in a new round of funding, according to a regulatory filing by the company. Details on the funding have not yet been announced by the company. RightScale's software is used by companies to monitor, deploy, and manage their cloud applications, including both public and private clouds.

Cloud Computing 187

Cloud Computing Santa Barbara Software Capital 187

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Ranker , which is backed by Draper Associates, Rincon Venture Partners, Siemer Ventures, Data Collective, Gil Elbaz, Tech Coast Angels, and the Pasadena Angels, has hit 1 million votes on its site in January, the company said last week. Ranker's website lets users create "top 10 lists" and lets other users vote those lists up and down. The startup, headed by Clark Benson, said that both user interaction via voting as well as traffic has been growing for the company; the company said voting activ

Tech Coast Angels 187

Tech Coast Angels Draper Pasadena Angels Pasadena 187

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Can you pour me another one? You'll soon be asking a machine that question--if Newport Beach-based iPourIt gets its way, thanks to technology which the firm has developed to let people get their own refills on beer. The local company announced this week that it has raised $800,000 in funding in a Series A round of funding. The funding came from METRIX Capital Group, along with Joe Ueberroth and Jon Spotts. iPourIt is developing self-service, beer serving technology for bars, restaurants, stadium

Funding 185

Funding Sales Capital Product 185

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Are you an entrepreneur looking for a sympathetic ear from a local venture capitalist on your idea? Karlin Ventures , one of the newest venture capital funds to emerge in the Los Angeles area, said today that it has launched a new "community hour" with Santa Monica's ROC, where the venture capital investment will help provide feedback on startup ideas and chat with companies.

Orange County 180

Orange County Tech Coast Angels Santa Monica Southern California 180

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand has joined the club of local high tech companies to cross the $100M in annual revenues mark, after reporting Tuesday that it had full year revenues of $117.9M, up 56 percent year to year. The publicly traded company, which provides talent and learning management software to corporations, disclosed the numbers as part of its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2012 results.

Cornerstone OnDemand 176

Cornerstone OnDemand Santa Monica High Tech Software 176

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Cylance , a new security startup based in Irvine, said this morning that it has raised $15M in a funding round. The round came from Khosla Ventures and Fairhaven Capital. Cylance is headed by Stuart McClure, a former McAfee executive, and boasts a board that includes Patrick Heim (Chief Trust Officer at Salesforce.com), Admiral William J. Fallon, U.S.

Orange County 171

Orange County Software Capital Startup 171

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand , the developer of software-as-a-service for talent and human resources management, said today that it has launched a new product which connects directly into Salesforce.com. Cornerstone OnDemand said its new Cornerstone for Salesforce directly embeds learning management into Salesforce.com, giving sales and service firms direct access to training from within that tool.

Cornerstone OnDemand 171

Cornerstone OnDemand Santa Monica Training Resource 171

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad have completely revolutionized how consumers interact with the online world in the past few years. However, mobile devices have not only revolutionized the world of the consumer--they've also made inroads into the corporate market, changing how companies provide access to important information and data to their partners and employees.

Mobile 170

Mobile Oracle Startup Content 170

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2013

YouMail , the enhanced voicemail service which pioneered the idea of presenting customized greetings depending on who is calling you--for example, having a "Hi Mom" greeting if you Mom calls your voicemail, or "Hi Dad" if it's your Dad--has just one-upped the service, in an attempt to add features for businesses. Now, the firm said its "Smart Greetings" feature for businesses lets you use a caller's first and last name in a greeting.

Examples 168

Examples Ideas Services Custom 168

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Los Angeles-based 3D movie projection technology developer RealD said this morning that it has named Minard Hamilton--the former CEO of Six Degree Games--as Executive Vice President, Mobile and Consumer. RealD said that Hamilton will be responsible for commercialization of RealD's technologies for consumer electronics applications. Hamilton was most recently CEO of Six Degree Games, and also had served at JAMDAT Mobile and ESPN.

Mobile 159

Mobile Los Angeles Technology Angel 159

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Location-based analytics company MomentFeed , which is in Los Angeles, has confirmed the details of its funding round, saying that the $1.8M raised by the firm earlier this month came from existing investors Gold Hill Capital, DFJ Frontier, DFJ-JAIC Venture Partners, Double M Capital, Daher Capital, Gil Elbaz, Clark Landry, and Walter Kortschak. MomentFeed's software is being used by retailers to better analyze, understand, and manage the social media activity around a retailer's physical locati

Funding 159

Funding Social Media Activity Los Angeles 159