Both Sides of the Table
JULY 4, 2011
July 4th. The funniest experience I ever had on July 4th (US Independence Day) was in 1999. That was the year I spent July 4th in Tokyo, where I was living for 6 months. I had been living in Europe since the start of 1995, most recently in London. I have always had a strong affinity for Japanese culture, perhaps because I grew up in Northern California.
socalTECH
JULY 5, 2011
For today's interview, we spoke with Los Angeles-based Swagbucks (www.swagbucks.com), an online site which allows users to earn virtual currency in exchange for searching the Internet, as well as other activities. Swagbucks in on its way to hitting $20M in annual revenues, and has bootstrapped since its founding. We spoke with founder Scott Dudelson to hear more about the company.
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InfoChachkie
JULY 7, 2011
"By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day." Robert Frost, American Poet. My entrepreneurial students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, often ask my advice regarding their career choices. However, rather than discussing specific opportunities, I find that I often spend most of my time sharing general tips related to their professional success, irrespective of their particular career paths.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JULY 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 -- PMI-OC July 2011 Dinner Meeting. Paula Campbell, director of Southern California Edisons SmartConnect advanced metering initiative, will share how project management practices contributed to the programs success at the July meeting of the Project Management Institute Orange County Chapter (PMI-OC). By the end of 2012, Edison will install 5 million smart meters that will provide customers with information to manage their electricity usage and save energy and mo
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.
Both Sides of the Table
JULY 5, 2011
I’m excited to announce that we silently launched our new website last week. Like a startup we took a very “version 0.9” approach. What I would love to do with this post is tell you our goals and solicit reactions for what you like and what you don’t like. What you’d like to see added, removed or changed. What text resonates? What do you think of the design elements?
socalTECH
JULY 7, 2011
With the proliferation of social networks, communications clients and VoIP phone services, users often find they need to use multiple ways--Twitter, Facebook, phone, FAX, and more--to communicate with their contacts. In a bid to simplify that world, and going beyond the current idea of unified communications, VoxOx (www.voxox.com) is looking to create a "universal communicator" which supports the full range of those services through a single interface.
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JULY 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 -- ACG Summer Social. This will be a social and networking event, with no formal program -- a great opportunity to make new friends and to reconnect with old friends.
Startup Professionals Musings
JULY 2, 2011
By Bob La Loggia, CEO StormSource Software Are startup founders who play poker statistically more likely to succeed in business? Beats me. But I do know that there are many lessons that founders can learn from poker players. As we all know, poker used to be relegated to smoky casinos and the back rooms of seedy lounges. But, in recent years, poker has become a game for the masses.
socalTECH
JULY 6, 2011
Los Angeles-based CapLinked , the online platform for managing fundraising and investor updates started by Eric M. Jackson and Christopher Grey, reports today that it has seen major growth this year. The firm said it has grown the platform's users by over 2,000 percent, year-to-date, taking user accounts from only 2,000 at the beginning of the year, to over 55,000 accounts today.
Tech Zulu Event
JULY 8, 2011
Its Time! Its Time! The Spotlight is shining down these amazing LA companies! For those who still might be wondering what Spotlight: LA Tech is all about, It’s a screening room for new technology homegrown in our region. It’s a gallery of great entrepreneurship. It’s a toast to those who build and innovate. It’s a gathering of friends and tech enthusiasts of all stripes.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JULY 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 -- CleanTechnologyCOUNCIL.org invites you to our monthly BUSINESS MIXER. Our speaker is Howard Park, Board Member of Simudyne and former Managing Director of Model Answers - [link]. Howard will discuss how a Clean Technology Ecosystem can develop and sustain itself. He will borrow some of the tools from competitive strategy and see how it might help the ecosystem think through the stakeholders, interactions, industry dynamics and behaviors over time.
Startup Professionals Musings
JULY 6, 2011
“Scope creep” (or feature creep) is an insidious disease that kills more good startups than any other, especially high-tech ones, and yet most founders (who may be the cause) never even see it happening. This term refers to the penchant to add just one more feature to the product or service before first delivery, just because you can. The instigators are all well-intentioned – executives talk to potential customers who “must have” a few more things; or the technical team edicts some “technically
socalTECH
JULY 7, 2011
Santa Monica-based Broke Girl's Guide , a startup focusing in on daily deals and information for women, has scored a small debt funding round, according to a regulatory filing by the firm this week. The firm--started by Erin Bunch, Michelle Vick, and Rita Ravindra--notably lists former MySpace SVP International Marketing and MySpace Music SVP Jamie Kantrowitz as an advisor.
Tech Zulu Event
JULY 6, 2011
Yesterday was a great day for the Namesake community, their iPhone app dropped in the App Store. For those of you not familiar with the Namesake community it is a “community for real conversation. It’s easy to find the people and topics that make life interesting — discover new people, build trust and improve your life.”. Namesake was founded by Brian Norgard and Danny Gould who have a string of successful startups under their belts.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JULY 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 -- International Markets. LAVA. Every company can benefit by expanding their product or service into international markets. Entering foreign markets can be a harrowing experience, though, if you don't do your homework first. Which markets should I enter? In which order? Which channels should I use? How do I find the best local partner in each market?
Startup Professionals Musings
JULY 4, 2011
For all entrepreneurs, starting a business is the route to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” no matter how risky. It’s the American dream that has been the goal of people in this country for over 230 years. If you are here in the U.S., I hope you are all able to take some time off this holiday weekend, to contemplate what you do, and why you do it.
socalTECH
JULY 5, 2011
Aliso Viejo-based Buy.com is reporting today that it has "significantly expanded" its selection of home improvement products. The online retailer said it has linked with CPO Outlets, adding thousands of home and outdoor products to the store. Buy.com said the products include lawn care products, tools, compressors, pressure washers, generators, and more.
socalTECH
JULY 8, 2011
Beverly Hills-based Adly , the online Twitter advertising site headed by Arnie Gullov-Singh, said Friday that it has rolled out a new, analytics offering for celebrities and brands. The firm said its new Adly Analytics product provides celebrities with audience demographics, such as top fans and influencers, understanding of what other celebrities and brands fans are following, growth or decrease in followers, as well as geographic breakdown of fans.
socalTECH
JULY 7, 2011
Irvine-based YouMail , the provider of third party voicemail and other cloud-based communications services run by Alex Quilici , disclosed this morning that it has upped its total funding to $12.5M. The funding came from VantagePoint Capital Partners, Siemer Ventures, and the Tech Coast Angels. YouMail said it will use the new funding to roll out more mobile applications and services, expand its platform, and accelerate growth of its services.
socalTECH
JULY 8, 2011
Los Angeles- and London-based King.com , the mobile and social games developer, said this week that it has launched a new Android game called Miner Speed. The game is already available on Facebook, King's own game portal, and Apple iOS. The firm also said it has launched a new Facebook game called Mohjong Saga on Facebook this week, and already has more than 100,000 daily active users on the game.
socalTECH
JULY 5, 2011
Los Angeles-based Namesake , the real time conversation and discussion site headed by Brian Norgard and Dan Gould, said Tuesday afternoon that it has released its iPhone application. The app-- available for free in the Apple App store--allows users to participate in real-time conversations on the iPhone, iPod touc, and iPad. Namesake's web site allows users to discuss topics of interest, follow other users, interact, and more.
socalTECH
JULY 6, 2011
In a sign that demand for employees from Southern California technology firms is on the rise, two, separate announcements Wednesday from local companies indicates that hiring demand at local companies is up, and companies are again scrambling to fill positions. In an announcement Wednesday, Westlake Village-based online advertising firm ValueClick said that it is planning to hire over 100 new employees, as it plans to increase its workforce by over 10 percent.
socalTECH
JULY 7, 2011
Daily deals giant Groupon said Thursday that it has expanded its real-time, deal venture, Groupon Now, into Orange County. Groupon Now is Groupon's effort to allow real-time deals via a mobile app, on things like restaurants and retail stores. Unlike the firm's well known daily deals, the Groupon Now offers tied to last for a limited number of hours, and are being used by restaurants to drum up additional business during the day.
socalTECH
JULY 5, 2011
Los Angeles-based Hulu said this morning that it has started rolling out its Hulu Plus subscription service on LG LCD TVs. Hulu said the support is for selected LG LCD TVs, with additional LG devices available in coming weeks. Hulu provides online video streaming services of popular television and cable shows, as well as movies and other content. READ MORE>>.
socalTECH
JULY 5, 2011
Santa Monica-based Docstoc , the online document sharing site headed by Jason Nazar, said Tuesday that it is rebranding the service to focus on small business owners and operators. The firm--which started as a place to share professional documents--said it is looking to become the "premier" online resource for small business owners. Nazar said that the firm is now profitable, and has been doubling its revenue, year-over-year, for the past three years.
socalTECH
JULY 5, 2011
San Diego-based StockTwits , the stock-oriented, social messaging site run by Howard Lindzon, said this morning that it has launched a new, social news ranking feature on the service. The firm said it now allows users to see finance news headlines, ranked by social popularity, based on the number of views of those posts, as well as comments, shares, retweets, and likes.
socalTECH
JULY 8, 2011
Pasadena-based OpenX , which develops Internet advertising server software and related services, said this morning that it has made a major, European expansion. According to the firm, it has appointed Vincent Pelillo as Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Pelillo was previously at Orange-France Telecom Group, heading up that firm's ad exchange efforts.
socalTECH
JULY 7, 2011
Los Angeles-based private equity investor US Renewables Group is the lead investor in a biofuels and renewable chemicals firm. According to Colorado-based OPX Biotechnologies , US Renewables led a $36.5M, Series C first close in the company, which also included DBL Investors, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures , Altira Group and X/SEED Capital.
socalTECH
JULY 7, 2011
A new, Android app version of GoToMeeting , the online meeting service developed by Citrix Systems ' Santa Barbara-based online service division, will be preloaded on Motorola DROID 3 phones, Citrix announced Thursday. The deal is the first availability of GoToMeeting as an Android app. According to Citrix, both Citrix GoToMeeting and Citrix Receiver will be pre-loaded on the Android-based, DROID 3 from Motorola, which is available through Verizon Wireless.
socalTECH
JULY 6, 2011
Los Angeles-based Hulu , the online video streaming site headed by Jason Kilar, released some detailed subscriber numbers Wednesday, as the firm continued to be. According to the firm, it is approaching 1 million paying subscribers to its Hulu Plus service, expecting that it will cross the 1M number before the end of the summer. The firm reported 875,000 paid Hulu Plus subscribers as of June 2011, up from less than 250,000 six months ago, in December of 2010.
socalTECH
JULY 6, 2011
Irvine-based Microsemi , the provider of analog and RF semiconductors, said Wednesday that it has acquired ASIC Advantage , a fabless semiconductor firm developing radiation hardened and high-voltage integrated circuits for the aerospace, automotive, communications, industrial and medical markets. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
socalTECH
JULY 8, 2011
The Los Angeles technology industry appears to have landed as the first stop of Prince William and new bride Catherine in Los Angeles today, as the two are scheduled to present at the Variety Venture Capital and New Media Summit in Beverly Hills. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge apparently are serving on a panel at the conference, at their very first stop in the Los Angeles area.
socalTECH
JULY 7, 2011
San Diego- and Campbell-based ParAccel , the developer of data warehouse and big data analytics software, reported this morning that it has scored a new round of funding, which includes Amazon.com as the lead investor. Financial terms of the new funding was not disclosed. ParAccel said the round also included prior investors Menlo Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Bay Partners, Walden International, Tao Venture Capital Partners and Silicon Valley Bank.
socalTECH
JULY 6, 2011
Thousand oaks-based biotech giant Amgen said Tuesday that the firm is taking part in a preclinical test on the final, NASA Space Shuttle mission scheduled to launch Friday. According to Amgen, it is in a collaboration with UCB and NASA Ames Research Center, to conduct a test of a sclerostin antibody, aimed at assessing its effect on the loss of bone associated with space flight.
socalTECH
JULY 6, 2011
Fountain Valley-based Kingston Digital , the developer of flash memory, is courting game designers today, with a contest which promises to award $1,500 for a game incorporating its portable storage products for the Apple iPhone. Kingston said it is holding a contest which asks game designers to include its Wi-Drive portable, Wi-Fi storage device for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, in their games.
socalTECH
JULY 7, 2011
Los Angeles-based HitFix , an online entertainment news site, announced today that it has closed on a $2M investment round. The new round was led by Golden Seeds, and also included prior investors the Tech Coast Angels. The company said it will use the round to accelerate growth in its service. HitFix is headed by Jennifer Sargent. The Tech Coast Angels' lead investor in HitFix is Yuri Pickover, who has previously been involved in such firms as Access360 and Xylan.
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