Sat.Oct 17, 2009 - Fri.Oct 23, 2009

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Retro: My Favorite Blog Post on Raising VC

Both Sides of the Table

On December 2nd, 2006 I wrote the blog post published later in this post when I was CEO of startup Koral about my experiences in pitching VCs. After my company was acquired by Salesforce.com I was asked to stop blogging and they took over my blog as an asset in the sale of the company. My blog was wiped out. I am very grateful to my friend Zoli Erdos for finding this retro posting for me at web.archive.org.

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Buy.com Goes International

socalTECH

Aliso Viejo-based online retailer Buy.com has made a major move into the international market today, and has opened up stores in Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The e-commerce retailer said that the firm will also sell its items through eBay in those four countries, and has plans to open up sites in Italy and Spain--and eventually, worldwide.

Commerce 187
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Online Business Networking Los Angeles

SoCal CTO

Great by Cliff Allen Business Networking Online who I had blogged about previously in Marketing, Startups and Networking in Los Angeles. In this post, Cliff provides some feedback on what works when you move towards doing business networking online. I'm trying to get the concept of visible networking going, so his feedback is really valuable. Cliff's feedback: Your idea of "Visible Networking" can help people take the "glad to meet you" networking to the next level -- "g

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Pour And Stir I – In Pursuit Of The Ideal Business Model

InfoChachkie

Note: This is Part I in a three-part series on The Perfect Business Model. Click here for Part II , and Part III. Authentic, hand-crafted Persian rugs always include intentional imperfections. They are said to be, “Perfectly Imperfect, and Precisely Imprecise.” The same is true with many crafts and architecture created in Muslim cultures. I am not a Muslim scholar, but a layman’s interpretation of this tradition of intentional errors is that it arises from the belief that attempting to emulate G

Customer 153
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Can You Ask for Office Rent Relief? How to Manage Your Lease During COVID-19

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.

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Good Times Ahead for VC-backed Tech Companies?

Both Sides of the Table

Montgomery & Co Projects Deal Volume to Grow by 167% in Just 2 Years with No End to Growth in Sight. On the third Wednesday of every month I co-chair a meeting called the SoCal VCA (venture capital alliance), which represents participants from all of the top venture capital firms in Southern California as well as prominent members of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA).

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Metagenics Nabs $28.1M

socalTECH

San Clemente-based Metagenics , a developer of nutraceuticals, has raised $28.1M in a funding, according to numbers in the Q3 PricewaterhouseCoopers/NVCA MoneyTree report. Source of the funding was not revealed, however, Amway announced in August that it would take a majority stake in Metagenics, via its Alticor Corporate Enterprises arm. Metagenics told Michigan's Grand Rapid Press at the time of the investment by Alticor that it had more than $200M in sales in 2008.

Press 166

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Media Mixer LA

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 -- Media Mixer LA. Mashable and Demand Media are joining forces to host Media Mixer LA, the official after party of the 140Conf LA. See [link] (more).

Media 100
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M&A Outlook for Tech Companies

Both Sides of the Table

text. te. M&A Outlook for 2010 / 2011 – text. Tags: Start-up Advice.

Company 150
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Demand Media Offering Health Care Benefits To Freelancers

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based Demand Media , the new media venture of former MySpace chairman Richard Rosenblatt, said today that it has just published its one millionth piece of original content, and is launching an effort to extend health care benefits to freelancers creating that content for the firm. The firm claims that it is now one of the largest producers of content on the Web, distributing that to an audience of more than 80 million people.

Demand 157
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LearnTrends Speakers and Topics Accounced

SoCal CTO

Sorry - I posted this on the wrong blog.

Blogging 150
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The New Media Vault: October

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, October 29, 2009 -- The New Media Vault: October. Hosted by Tubefilter, Stella Media, and LA Mixers, sponsored by MarxandTrotsky and supporting the Open Entertainment Alliance. See [link] (more).

Media 100
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Who Should you Hire at a Startup?

Both Sides of the Table

Only Hire A+ People Who Punch Above Their Weight Class. This is part of my ongoing posts on Startup Advice. There are people who tell startups that they should hire the most senior people that they can find. I’m not one of those. I believe that you should always hire people are are looking to “punch above their weight class,&# which means to hire people who want to be one league above where they are today.

Startup 327
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Geni Hit By Downtime

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Geni , the online family tree and genealogy web site started by David Sacks, was hit by unexpected downtime Tuesday and today, the firm told its users Wednesday afternoon. According to Geni, it had "network difficulties" starting the morning of Tuesday, October 20th, with the firm taking the site down at 3:45PM to investigate. The company said it managed to get the service back online at 4:30am Wednesday.

Geni 157
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Social Media for Service Professionals

SoCal CTO

I did a presentation about the use of Social Media to a great group of people who mostly are different kinds of service professionals (attorneys, accountants, consultants, etc.). I promised that I would do a follow-up post with some thoughts out of the presentation and providing links. This is that post. Value of Blogging I started the presentation talking about the value of blogging.

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Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, October 29, 2009 -- Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs. Startups Uncensored. This month's Startups Uncensored will be on the "Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs". It will be an open and frank town-hall conversation talking about what it takes to build a successful business and how to distinguish yourself as an entrepreneur.

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VC Seed Funding is Dead, Long Live VC Seed Funding!

Both Sides of the Table

This is part of my ongoing series about Raising Venture Capital. This posting was inspired by an email from Rajat Suri who wrote me an email in response to Chris Dixon’s blog post (link below) from August, which recently re-ran on Business Insider and has generated much Twitter chatter. A few years ago it became fashionable for large VC’s to do seed funding.

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Mattel Launches Online Shopping Site

socalTECH

El Segundo-based toy maker Mattel has jumped into the online shopping market, saying today that the firm has launched MattelShop.com , an online site offering the firm's products. According to Mattel, the new ecommerce site includes a complete catalog of its brands, which include Barbie and Hot Wheels, along with social shopping tools, links to Facebook, videos of products, and more.

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U.S. Dermatology Gets Investment

socalTECH

Irvine-based U.S. Dermatology Medical Management , a provider of healthcare services for skin cancer treatment and other dermatological conditions, has scored an investment from Los Angeles-based Vicente Capital Partners , Vicente said today. Amount of the investment was not disclosed. According to Vicente Capital Partners, the investment is the third out of the firm's current, $165M fund.

Invest 154
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CFX Battery Raises $15M More

socalTECH

Azusa-based CFX Battery , a developer of advanced battery technology, said today at Los Angeles Technology Week that the firm has just closed a $15M, Series B funding round. CFX, a spinout of Caltech, is developing both primary and secondary batteries. Joseph Fisher, the firm's CEO, said on a panel that the investment was led by an unnamed strategic investor.

Azusa 153
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Be Jane Sold

socalTECH

Burbank-based Be Jane , the angel funded, online home improvement site focused on women, told its users that it has sold the web site to an undisclosed buyer, according to reports. The firm said in a newsletter to users that the buyer was a "perfectly suited partner" in the home industry. Be Jane said it would be announcing the buyer in the weeks ahead.

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Zumbox Hires Publishing Executive

socalTECH

Westlake Village-based Zumbox , which is developing a system to deliver postal mail electronically using street addresses, said today that it has hired Peter O. Price as head of its media division. Price has served at Time Inc., Publisher of the New York Post, and as President at Media Networks, Liberty Cable, National Sports Daily, and Television USA.

Zumbox 147
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Power-One Names New Board Member

socalTECH

Camarillo-based Power-One , a manufacturer of power supplies and related products, said Friday afternoon that it has appointed Kambiz Hooshmand to its board of directors. Hooshmand was most recently President and CEO of AppliedMicro. He has also served at Cisco Systems and StrataCom. Power-One said that Hooshmand replaces Jon E.M. Jacoby, who has resigned.

Equity 140
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Skinit Names CFO

socalTECH

San Diego-based Skinit , a provider of electronics personalization technology, said today that it has named Greg Wimmer as its Chief Financial Officer. Wimmer has been acting CFO at the firm since October. According to Skinit, Wimmer was most recently VP Finance, Administration, and Business Operations at Photobucket.com, where he helped sell the company to Fox Interactive Media.

San Diego 140
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Solarmer Ups Solar Efficiency

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Solarmer Energy , a developer of plastic solar panels, said Thursday that it has upped its solar efficiency, to 7.6%. The firm said the efficiency breaks the world record for plastic solar cell efficiency. The firm had previously reported a 6.77 percent efficiency in its cells. Solarmer develops flexible, plastic-based solar cells, and is based on technology spun out of UCLA.

UCLA 140
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Slacker Brings Round To $12.1M

socalTECH

San Diego-based Internet radio firm Slacker has now raised its latest funding round to $12.1M, and appears to have expanded the target size of the round to $14.2M. The details came according to a regulatory filing from the firm Monday. The funding is part of a round kicked off in May by the company, which is venture backed by Austin Ventures, Centennial Ventures, Mission Ventures, Rho Ventures, and Sevin Rosen Funds.

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Stamps.com: PC Postage Up, PhotoStamps Down

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Stamps.com , a provider of online postage, reported its quarterly results Thursday, saying that PhotoStamps revenue was down 6% versus the same period last year, but PC Postage revenue was up 5%. The firm said it earned $1.7M on revenues of $20.2M. The firm attributed the drop in PhotoStamps revenue to a 46% cut in its overall level of sales and marketing costs versus Q3 of 2008.

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MySpace Rolls Out Music Videos, Artist Tools

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based MySpace said Wednesday evening that it has rolled out a new phase of the firm's music site, adding new music videos to the site, as well as tools targeted at artists. According to MySpace, its MySpace Music Videos feature provides an online collection of music videos, recommendation, and sharing tools for music fans. Additionally, the site said that it has created a MySpace Artist Dashboard, a tool which provides additional information and analytics about music content on the s

Tool 133
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Orqis Medical Assets Go On The Block

socalTECH

The physical assets of Lake Forest-based Orqis Medical , a venture backed firm which was developing treatments for congestive heart failure, are slated to go up for auction next week, according to auctioneer CowanAlexander. According to CowanAlexander, it is putting up the firm's lab equipment, lab furniture, machine shop, tools, servers, PCs, and other assets up for sale on October 27th.

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SpaceX Test Fires Falcon 9 Rocket

socalTECH

Hawthorne-based SpaceX , the space rocket startup headed by former PayPal founder Elon Musk, and backed by Founders Fund and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, disclosed Wednesday that it has completed two successful test firings of its Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The firm said the testing was conducted twice this month, and are the first part of acceptance testing before launch in Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX 133
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Ixia Buys Agilent Product Line For $44M

socalTECH

Calabasas-based Ixia said Wednesday that it has signed a definitive agreement to buy a product line from Agilent Technologies, in a deal worth $44M in cash. According to Ixia, it will acquire Agilent's N2X Data Networks Product Line, as part of a move to accelerate the firm's growth. The firm said it was advised by Moelis & Company and Bryan Cave LLP in the deal.

Product 133
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SEMICOA Names Quality VP

socalTECH

Costa Mesa-based SEMICOA , a developer of high reliability semiconductors, reported Thursday that it has hired Harry James as its Vice President of Total Quality. James has previously served at Texas Instruments, Fairchild, Hewlett-Packard, Signetics, and Apple Computer. SEMICOA is backed by private equity firm Vance Street Capital. The firm said it has hired over 40 former and new employees since August, when it was spun back out of Microsemi after a settlement with the U.S.

Equity 124
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Mindspeed Wins Ooma

socalTECH

Newport Beach-based Mindspeed reported this week that it has scored a win with Ooma, a provider of Voice-over-IP hardware and services. Mindspeed said its Comcerto 100 customer premise equipment processor is the core enabling technology behind the Ooma Telo. Financial impact of the win, and shipment volumes, was not disclosed by Mindspeed. Ooma's telo provides free local and long distance calls over the Internet, using Voice-over-IP technology.

IP 124
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Kythera Gets $10M More

socalTECH

Calabasas-based Kythera Biopharmaceuticals , a developer of aesthetic medicine products, has added $10M more in new funding. The new funding came to light in this week's PricewaterhouseCoopers/NVCA MoneyTree report. No details on the funding have been announced by the company. Kythera is backed by ARCH Venture Partners, Prospect Venture Partners, Versant Ventures, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Altitude Life Science Ventures, JAFCO, BBT/Apothecary Capital, and UCLA Venture Capital Fund.

Calabasas 124
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LiveOffice Adds Encryption

socalTECH

Torrance-based LiveOffice , a provider of email archiving and hosting services, said this week that the firm has added new, encryption support for the firm's software-as-a-service. According to LiveOffice, it will provide policy-based encyprtion to organizations, offering end-to-end protection for messages and attachments sent by its customers. The firm said the new support will use corporate policy to determine which email to encrypt prior to transmission, and encode those in 256-bit, AES withi

Torrance 124
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Pathology Inc. Gets Debt Funding

socalTECH

Torrance-based Pathology Inc. , a provider of pathology and molecular diagnostics services, has scored both a term loan and revolving line of credit from ORIX Venture Finance, ORIX said Wednesday. Terms and amount of the funding were not disclosed. According to ORIX, the financing was used as a part of the recapitalization of the company by ABS Capital.

Torrance 124
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RightSignature Launches Redesigned Site

socalTECH

Santa Barbara-based RightSignature , a startup providing an online, software-as-a-service offering for tracking signatures on documents, is launching a complete redesign of the firm's site today. According to RightSignature, the firm has created a new user interface, including the ability to fill out a form and capture handwritten signatures within a document online.

Sites 124