Sat.Aug 20, 2011 - Fri.Aug 26, 2011

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Why Online / Offline Mobile Integration is Going to be a Huge Business

Both Sides of the Table

“People still want calls …&#. When I first got into VC I decided I better have some investment themes. My macro theme was “great entrepreneurs&# who mapped to my belief system about the kind of entrepreneurs I wanted to work with. My background was 8 years of telecoms & mobile and 8 years of cloud computing & SaaS – so these two themes were a given.

Mobile 329
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T-shirts And Tacos – A Winning Guerrilla Marketing Combination

InfoChachkie

TestFlight’s mission is to reduce app developers’ pain. The company effectively leveraged this credo at Apple’s 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). As Ben Satterfield, TestFlight’s CEO explains in the interview below, for the cost of some T-shirts and tacos, TestFlight was able to dominate the mindshare of many WWDC attendees. As Ben points out, successful guerrilla marketing is predicated on creativity and clever execution, not a huge budget.

Marketing 270
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LA Ranks As Top Tech Town, Says Scientific American

socalTECH

A new ranking of the top cities for technology ranks Los Angeles as number three, in a list of the top ten cities for technology access and "geek friendliness". In the ranking , Los Angeles was number three, behind Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area, but ahead of such cities as New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C. The list was compiled by Wired Magazine, and factored in the number of stores selling tech gadgets, free wireless Internet access, technology jobs, engineering schools--not to me

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Women in Green Forum

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 -- Women in Green Forum. The Women In Green Forum (WIGF) will bring together renowned female professionals from the sustainability field to highlight womens impact on the environmental arena, promote sustainable products and emerging green companies, and provide opportunities for women to learn about careers in sustainability.

Research 124
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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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Explaining FNAC: Feature, Not a Company

Both Sides of the Table

FNAC. I first heard the term from Chris Fralic at First Round Capital. Feature, not a company. It has always stood out in my mind. Whether something is a feature or a company is clearly subjective. And sometimes features (say, Twitter) turn into companies. For me it is a useful shorthand for a very clever set of product features that in my mind would be hard to remain a stand-alone business or themselves to generate enough revenue to justify the company’s existence.

Company 295
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The #1 Question to Ask Before Starting Any Case Study

InfoChachkie

A customer story can't just be interesting or results-oriented. It also needs to sell. Even more critically, it needs to influence the intended audience. Before beginning customer success stories or case studies with a new client, I ask a LOT of questions of my marketing contacts - well before ever talking to one of their happy customers. Going into projects, I want to understand. 1 - The client's business.

More Trending

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Intellectual Property Workshop Series

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 -- Copyright Law  For Technology Companies the Devil is in the Details. LABTC. Learn about copyright laws, and gain an understanding of what subject matter can and cannot protected. Learn how to avoid critical mistakes that can prevent you from having an enforceable copyright. If your copyright has been infringed, discover ways in which you may obtain the highest award of damages from an infringer.

Email 124
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Mea Culpa

Both Sides of the Table

On this blog I’m often trying to combine lessons for entrepreneurs and market commentary. Yesterday it was my turn for the lesson. In my zeal to prove a point I often take a strong stance on an issue. I then debate the topic in the comments section and hope that we all learn from the conversation. It’s my personality to do this. Yesterday I pushed this passion in the wrong direction.

Email 270
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Some Entrepreneurs are Too Busy to Get Results

Startup Professionals Musings

Too many entrepreneurs confuse motion with momentum and results. We all know someone who repeatedly tells us how “busy” they are, when it’s hard to see what they get done. Momentum is moving things forward (mass x velocity). Founders or employees in constant motion, but with no momentum, will kill any startup. It is true that motion in any direction is often better than no motion at all.

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Mobile Roadie Ties With Ustream

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Mobile Roadie , the mobile marketing app developer focused on brands, has tied with video broadcasting and streaming firm Ustream , the company announced Tuesday. Mobile Roadie said it will offer up its solutions to Ustream broadcasters looking to create their own mobile apps. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Mobile Roadie said its self-service app offering will allow Ustream broadcasters to feature their Ustream live channel to mobile users.

Mobile 200
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Digital Deals panel @ WGA West

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 -- Digital Deals panel @ WGA West. Digital LA. Join us for this writer-centric digital deals panel where content portals, writers and distributors will describe what sorts of scripted online content they are looking to acquire, develop and/or distribute. Panel: Tripp Reed, Alloy Digital Entertainment; Jenni Powell, Relativity Media @jennipowell; Steve Woolf, blip.tv, VP Content; Heath Corson, writer, AIM HIGH; Richie Keen, writer, AIM HIGH.

Content 124
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Dollar Shave Club | Razors Blades That Shave Time And Money

Tech Zulu Event

The Dollar Shave Club is a new start up that solves a simple but overlooked problem; disposable razor blades are overpriced. Michael Dubin decided to solve this problem. Dollar Shave Club is a online service that delivers high quality disposable razor blades for a low price. For as little as $1 a month, Dollar Shave Club will deliver a cassette of 5 Ninja Blades to your home.

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With Great Startups It’s All About The Execution

Startup Professionals Musings

A startup begins with a great idea, but all too often, that’s where it ends. Ideas have to be implemented well to get the desired results. Good implementation requires a plan, and a good plan and good operational decisions come from good people. That’s why investors invest in entrepreneurs, rather than ideas. People and operational excellence have to converge in every business, large or small.

Startup 100
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Los Angeles Stacks Up Inc. 500 Firms

socalTECH

The latest ranking the fastest growing companies in the nation by Inc. magazine, has 42 companies in the Los Angeles area on the list. The Los Angeles metropolitan area was ranked just behind Washington, D.C. (50 Inc. 500 companies) and New York City (42 companies) in the Inc. 500 listing, well above San Francisco (19 companies). The highest ranking firm on the list in the area was PaymentMax , an electronic payments processor in Thousand Oaks, with 10,058 percent growth over 3 years; among many

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Games Get Social and Digital Distribution

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, August 23, 2011 -- Games Get Social and Digital Distribution. Digital LA. Join us for our discussion on how social media and digital distribution is affecting the creation of video game content. We'll discuss how console games use social media and are starting to integrate social media (Facebook, Twitter awards-postings and playing-now, gamer tags) into game development.

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A Night Of #Hackfest With BetterWorks

Tech Zulu Event

Welcome to the accelerated version of Startup Weekend. I dropped in to check out the contest a few times during the competition and the environment was uplifting and exciting. Brought back fond memories of my weekend at Startup Weekend. walking around seeing coders buried deep into code, focused on completing their product before the clock expired. In case you were out of town for the weekend, BetterWorks and Coloft of Santa Monica put together an amazing and area stimulating HackFest ( #hackfes

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10 Ways Startups Build Highly Responsible Teams

Startup Professionals Musings

Getting things done effectively in a startup requires total individual and team accountability. You can’t afford excuses and multiple people doing the same job. In my view, “taking responsibility” is the core element behind accountability. Many people hear responsibility as an obligation, but I hear it as “the ability to respond.” Unfortunately many people don’t have the ability to respond, because they lack confidence in themselves, or simply don’t have the skills required.

Startup 100
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GoodThreads Combines T-Shirts, Causes

socalTECH

Looking to help nonprofits, Los Angeles-based GoodThreads said today that it has launched a new service which helps integrate the creation of customized T-shirts, hats, bags, and other merchandise into charity activities and events. The new service allows nonprofits to offer up personalized t-shirts and other products to supporters, as part of fundraising and other event registrations.

Startup 194
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Making Money Off Media

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 -- Making Money Off Media: The Future of Creativity in the Digital Age. Softec. See https://www.softec.org/groups/softec_board_of_directors/Events/Event/131.aspx.

Media 124
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Submissions Now Open For Spotlight: LA Tech Fall

Tech Zulu Event

TechZulu and The Entrepreneurship Association at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management are pleased to announce Spotlight: LA Tech Fall. Spotlight: LA Tech is part of a quarterly demo series that will highlight the finest technology entrepreneurship in Southern California. We’re looking for companies with new technology to demonstrate (or better yet, those with upcoming launches they wish to promote among savvy peers).

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5 Steps to Sell the Way Your Customers Want to Buy

Startup Professionals Musings

Entrepreneurs always work hard to create an innovative product or service, but often count on standard seller marketing for sales. But the reality is that sellers are no longer in charge of the customer buying process. Recent reports suggest that 90% of today’s shoppers skip marketing pitches, to research online before they buy, and over 50% check user reviews before making a decision.

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Machinima, Demand Media, Maker Studios Among Top YouTube Channels

socalTECH

A new analysis of the most popular, YouTube channels, shows that the Los Angeles area continues to lead the world in content production, even as the medium shifts to the web. According to a new report from comScore, measuring the popularity of YouTube Channels, Los Angeles-based Machinima saw around 16.9 million total unique viewers in July, with about 265.4 million videos viewed, at an average of 72.7 minutes per viewer; Santa Monica-based Demand Media had 15.2 million unique viewers, with 46.1

Demand 185
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Food Innovation Panel of Experts

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, August 25, 2011 -- Food Innovation Panel of Experts. PDMA LA. What your business can learn from the experts developing everyone's favorite product.

Product 124
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First Ever Biz2Beach Presented by CallFire Hits The Ground Running!

Tech Zulu Event

Video chat by Stickam.com Last Friday, about 80 business leaders assembled at the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, CA, for CallFire’s first ever “un-conference&# called Biz2Beach. The invitation-only attendees included founders, business development leaders, and marketing directors from companies big and small, including NBCUniversal, Mobclix, DDB Los Angeles, Airpush, adly, Mobile Roadie, Disney Animation Studios, BetterWorks, and more.

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Entrepreneurs Needed to Keep Web 3.0 From Fading

Startup Professionals Musings

For some reason, I haven’t heard much about the next generation of the Internet ( Web 3.0 ) lately, which probably means it isn’t happening as fast as everyone predicted. It’s already a couple of years behind schedule from my perspective. I suspect the real challenge is not the semantic web technology , but new attractive business models from smart entrepreneurs.

Web 95
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Google's $500M Pharmacy Forfeit Sheds Light On Issues At Demand Media's eNom

socalTECH

The forfeiture of $500M in revenues by Google to the the U.S. Department of Justice Wednesday, over the use of Google's AdWords to advertise Canadian pharmacies, has shed some light on the types of issues that were facing Santa Monica-based eNom , the domain name registration and wholesaler owned by Demand Media , last year. According to the U.S. DOJ, Google has forfeit $500M--the amount Google earned from advertisements, as well as the amount earned by illegal pharmacies from sales--over the im

Google 184
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LA CEOs

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, September 1, 2011 -- LA CEOs. LA CEOs, an education and support group for CEOs presents: How to work with Nerds - Building innovative products using technical resources you may not really understand. Our featured speaker John Shiple, will offer his proprietary secrets for building successful technology companies even if you are not a technically-oriented CEO.

Education 113
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Avoid Monoculture. Travel. Read Widely. Let Experience be Your Compass.

Both Sides of the Table

I sometimes feel that the Silicon Valley culture and we as technologists more broadly can breed monoculture in our approach to entrepreneurship, problem solving, market analysis and technology solutions. Experiences way beyond any hack-a-thon, startup blog or your current company engagement can enrich your thinking and challenge you to think more broadly about the solutions you offer in the market.

Class 334
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Investors Love Top Startup Incubator Graduates

Startup Professionals Musings

Business incubators for sharing services were all the rage back in the days of the dot-com bubble (700 for profit, many more non-profit). About that time the bubble burst, causing more than 80% of them to disappear. Now they are coming back, and the best even provide networking, technical leadership, and seed funding, as well as investors waving money at graduates.

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eHarmony Approaches Redemption Deadline, Says Report

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based matchmaking site eHarmony is approaching a redemption deadline from its last venture funding round, according to a report today from Reuters. According to the report , eHarmony has a November 5th deadline, after which its venture backers--including Technology Crossover Ventures and Sequoia Capital--will be able to exercise a clause which would force eHarmony to buy back their preferred shares, matching the original investment by those firms in the company or an agreed-upon pric

eHarmony 181
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How to Prepare for Seed Funding

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 -- How to Prepare for Seed Funding. CONNECT. In the current economic environment, founders and executives need to take steps to prepare their company for receiving outside investment long before approaching potential investors. In this workshop, Doug Giese, Vice President of Seed Track at Tech Coast Angels, will explain their Seed Track program.

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Evolver Acquired By Autodesk

socalTECH

Aliso Viejo-based Evolver , the online avatar creation service, has been acquired by Autodesk , the 3D CAD software development firm. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. According to Evolver, in a note to users of the service, its products Avatara, Evolver, and Evolver Pro have become part of Autodesk. Evolver said that Autodesk acquired its technology to complement the research Autodesk is doing into realistic, real-time human crowd simulation.

Research 178
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Active.com Launches iPhone App For Runners

socalTECH

San Diego-based Active.com , the online fitness site run by Active Network, announced this morning that it has launched a new, iPhone application. Active. com said its new Active.com Couch-to-5K Running Plan application, avaliable in the iPhone App store, costs $1.99 and helps get people "off the couch and onto the roads." The new app letes runners track their route and distance via GPS, among other features to motivate runners.

San Diego 178
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Qualcomm Backs Mobile EKG Firm

socalTECH

San Diego-based Qualcomm Ventures has backed the developer of a mobile electrocardiogram recorder, AliveCor , as part of that company's Series A round. AliveCor said today that it has raised $3M in a Series A for its products, which connect iPhones, iPads, and other smartphones and tablets to EKG data. The round was led by Burrill & Company, and also included Qualcomm and the Oklahoma Life Sciences Fund.

Mobile 178
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Specific Media Names New Marketing VP For MySpace

socalTECH

Irvine-based Specific Media is bolstering its marketing team for MySpace , the company announced today, and has appointed Al Dejewski as its new Senior Vice President of Global Marketing. Specific Media said Dejewski will head up marketing for MySpace, as well as the company's other consumer and business facing brands. Dejewski joins the company from Turner Entertainment Marketing, where he was overseeing strategic marketing for TBS, TNT, and truTV.

Media 171
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Funny or Die Partners With Klout

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Funny Or Die , the online comedy video site, and social media influence site Klout said Wednesday that they are in a strategic partnership. According to the two, Funny or Die has become the exclusive comedy publisher offering Klout Perks awards. Klout offers up special awards, access to events, special services, and more to people based on their "social media influence".