Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 15, 2012

My Blackberry died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know. It seems so long ago that we had to start hiding our Blackberry’s in our pockets to avoid always being chastised. If you were caught sending out an email on your Blackberry you had to quickly whip out your iPhone to show that – wait! – I have one of these, too. It is stunning to think about the blind spots that market leaders can develop.

Email 386

Email Startup Marketing Competition 386

SoCal CTO

DECEMBER 19, 2012

I was talking with an early-stage founder who has a product vision and wants to get it built. He is not a technical person, but is somewhat web savvy. He wanted to get input from me on what he's doing, and he wants to begin to ask developers what it would take to build his product. I asked some of the same questions I ask in my Free Startup CTO Consulting Sessions and then I get to a very common conversation: Me : Do you have specs?

Develop 354

Develop Development Technical Review CTO Coach 354

socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2012

What's the best way to show off what Silicon Beach has to offer? A new startup Silicon Beach LA , focused on creating a community portal for the Los Angeles and Silicon Beach community, launched Thursday, saying that it has launched a Kickstarter campaign to create a Silicon Beach themed-bus (nicknamed "Monica"), which will help promote the region at events.

SoCalTech 264

SoCalTech Social Media News Sites 264

InfoChachkie

DECEMBER 17, 2012

This article previously appeared in Forbes. It is that time of year again - annual planning season. Dynamic, growing startups consistently identify more ideas and opportunities than they have the time or resources to pursue, including: entering into potential partnerships, developing new products and accessing emerging markets. During my many years as an entrepreneur, I developed the Impact Matrix to help me prioritize such significant, long-term initiatives.

Tool 255

Tool Startup Ideas Resource 255

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

DECEMBER 17, 2012

I got a call Sunday from a business colleague while I was sitting in the lounge at LAX waiting for yet another delayed flight. This colleague is a lawyer with whom I work on a deal and have done so for a couple of years. By all accounts I now consider him a friend. He caught me while I was sipping a Bloody Mary and thinking a bit a business situation that bummed me out.

Startup 363

Startup Venture Capital Coach Press 363

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 21, 2012

OK. So I occasionally read suspense novels to break up the relative monotony of constant business books. A sentence in the one I am currently reading caught my eye. “There are three types of advice,” the wise White House Senior Counsel to the President told the young White House attorney. He referred to the three as legal advice, moral advice and political advice.

Template 176

Template Startup 176

SoCal Tech Calendar

DECEMBER 15, 2012

Friday, December 21, 2012 -- AngelLaunch Holiday Party. Angel Launch produces events connecting entrepeneurs and investors in Los Angeles and San Francisco area. WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Investors, startups, Internet and web enable ventures, games, web services, mobile, apps, Internet enabled services, platforms, consumer electronics, software, hardware, entertainment and media, digital media, broadband and web services, entertainment,, finance, life science, enterprise, clean tech.

Entertainment 113

Entertainment Web Los Angeles Media 113

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2012

I see more and more entrepreneurs who seem to have everything going for them – vision, motivation, passion, even a good business plan, product, and money, and yet they can’t close customers. Maybe it’s time to look harder at the mantra of a new breed of gurus and successful entrepreneurs, including Steve Blank and Eric Ries , called “nail it then scale it” (NISI).

Startup 118

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Custom 118

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 21, 2012

TechZulu is teaming up with Los Angeles based companies Earbit s and Grubwithus , to bring you a one-of-a-kind hackathon event. Instead of the traditional hackathon, let’s roll back the clock to childhood. Remember how great it was to wake up Saturday and watch the week’s best cartoons? Now hold that memory and think about your passion for coding.

Startup 111

Startup Web Mentor Los Angeles 111

socalTECH

DECEMBER 19, 2012

As an online shopper, do you wish you could instantly and automatically find and use all of those coupon codes floating out there--without having to search for and test them all out every time you're at an e-commerce site? That's exactly what the software from Honey (www.joinhoney.com) does, by automatically helping users of Google's Chrome Browser to find and try out e-commerce coupon codes.

Google 233

Google Pasadena Commerce Southern California 233

SoCal Tech Calendar

DECEMBER 19, 2012

Wednesday, December 19, 2012 -- OWASP LA Holiday Networking Event. Network with your OWASP peers as we celebrate the last days on earth, according to the Mayan calendar. Or, if you are a non-believer, share good stories and research with the most enlightened group of web security folks west of the Mississippi.

Networking 100

Networking Research Web 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2012

It would be no fun if starting a business was simply plotting a straight line between your idea and success, with no challenges along the way. Zigging and zagging amongst the obstacles is the fun part of being an entrepreneur, and it’s what sets you apart from the average worker who knows exactly what he or she has to do every day to get paid. Relish it, or if it scares you, don’t try it.

Course 99

Course Startup Zag Resource 99

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 17, 2012

TechZulu is excited to invite you to the 2013 Startup and Entrepreneurial Forecast taking place on Thursday Jan. 24 7pm at The ROC in Santa Monica. We have a line up of amazing speakers who will share their insights and forecast for startup trends in 2013. Topics of discussion will be Saas, Cloud, Mobile, Gaming, Social Markets, what surprises are coming for 2013, creating value with your company, hiring problem solvers, and building sensible businesses.

Startup 110

Startup Activision Santa Monica SaaS 110

socalTECH

DECEMBER 17, 2012

If you're like the typical device user today, you've got a smartphone, laptop, desktop, not to mention a dozen cloud accounts where you're storing your documents, music, video, and other files. How do you track where those files are? And how do you make sure you can access those files from anywhere? How about if it didn't matter where you stored those files, and they were available from anywhere?

Screening 230

Screening Resource Services Mobile 230

SoCal Tech Calendar

DECEMBER 19, 2012

Wednesday, December 19, 2012 -- ISSA LA Holiday Networking Event. Come and network with fellow Information Security leaders in Southern California as we enjoy a great French meal in the final monthly meeting of the year.

Networking 100

Networking Southern California 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 21, 2012

Have you noticed that more companies beg you to participate in their business today? It started with an email survey on your last stay at their hotel, but now includes requests for online product reviews, to social media input on the design of future products. They do it because engaged customers become loyal advocates and buyers. Welcome to the “Participation Age” of marketing.

Customer 95

Customer Custom Marketing Technical Review 95

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 18, 2012

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for businesses. Why? Because you get to work on your 2013 annual budget. What – that doesn’t put you in a holiday mood?! Okay, maybe financial planning isn’t as much fun as drinking egg nog, but, for entrepreneurs, it’s an essential practice that will yield far greater rewards. Do You Really Need a Financial Plan for the New Year?

Startup 82

Startup Report Resource Capital 82

socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Club Caveman , the mobile application being developed by a team of Silicon Beach veterans, has just been released on Apple's iTunes store, six months after the group started a funding effort on Kickstarter for the mobile, interactive caveman app. The app--which currently sells for $0.99 on the iTunes store--lets users interact with a cute, humorous caveman who responds to both touch and voice commands from users.

Mobile 229

Mobile Funding Develop Development 229

socalTECH

DECEMBER 21, 2012

Santa Monica-based Playsino , the developer of social casino games, said Friday that it has released the first two games under its Publishing Network effort. The new games are Five-O Poker, developed by Israel-based Chiki Gaming, and Yalla Tarneed, a Middle Eastern card game developed by Yallah Games. Playsino recently announced an effort to bring third party, social casino games into its ecosystem, where it wlil help market and support games not designed by the company.

Networking 226

Networking Clearstone Santa Monica Venture Capital 226

socalTECH

DECEMBER 19, 2012

MarkedUp , the latest startup out of Santa Monica-based MuckerLab , said this morning that it has begun offering up analytics for developers of both desktop and mobile applications for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. The startup--led by former Microsoft Developer Evangelist Aaron Stannard--said this morning that it is looking to provide app developers with actionable user insights and behavioral data, which can help them improve their user experience and maximize conversions of users from free to

Tool 221

Tool Santa Monica Mobile Platform 221

socalTECH

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Glendale-based ClimateMinder , one of the companies out of the VoiVoda Ventures incubator in Glendale, has been acquired by Rainbird Corp. , according to VoiVoda. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. ClimateMinder developed wireless irrigation monitoring and control products, which were being applied to the agriculture industry. The company's clients had included Monsanto, Driscoll, and Bolthouse farms.

Glendale 211

Glendale Incubator Acquisition Product 211

socalTECH

DECEMBER 19, 2012

Do you have a hard time concentrating and keeping on task, particularly for concentration intensive tasks like writing, coding, and reading? A new Los Angeles Startup, focus@will , said this morning that it has launched a private beta of a service to do just that, by using music. The company--led by Will Henshall--said it is using productivity research to deliver music to help users focus on tasks, based on musical key, arrangements, intensity, and other factors.

Help 203

Help Writing Research Web 203

socalTECH

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Hulu , the online video streaming site headed by Jason Kilar, detailed its 2012 numbers today, saying that it will close the year with approximately $695M in revenues, a growth of over 65% since 2011. The firm--which has been amazingly open about its finances, despite being a private company also said it now has over 3 million paying, Hulu plus subscribers.

Hulu 193

Hulu Blogging Advertising Sites 193

socalTECH

DECEMBER 21, 2012

Pasadena-based Honey , the developer of the Google Chrome plugin to automatically save users with coupon codes, said that it has now earned $7.2M in sales for its retail partners, and reached over 100,000 installs. Honey said Friday that consumers using its software have now save over $90,000, all since its launch shortly before Thanksgiving. Honey is headed by Ryan Hudson.

Pasadena 190

Pasadena Google Sales Software 190

socalTECH

DECEMBER 19, 2012

Agoura Hills-based vidoegame maker THQ has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and is now seeking a buyer, according to the company Wednesday. THQ said that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with affiliate of Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. to acquire "substantially all" of its operating business, including all four of its studios and games in development.

THQ 183

THQ Agoura Hills Agoura News 183

socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Los Angeles-based crowdfunding software firm Invested.in is powering a new campaign for Black Isle Studios , a subsidiary of Interplay, which is looking to revive a game called Project V13. The game studio developed Baldur's Gate and Fallout 2. Financial impact of the deal was not disclosed. Invested.in is the crowdfunding software firm which is part of the Amplify LA accelerator.

Los Angeles 180

Los Angeles Software Angel Develop 180

socalTECH

DECEMBER 19, 2012

Givit , the developer of mobile apps which let users create and share videos on their iPhone, has bolstered Twitter integration and importing tools for the software. The San Diego firm said that the new integration now allows users to share videos via Twitter and display video directly inside their tweets; added new importing tools which make it easy for users to migrate full video libraries from SkyDrive and Dropbox; and also improve video clipping and other features of the software.

Tool 178

Tool San Diego Mobile Software 178

socalTECH

DECEMBER 18, 2012

It looks like all of the flap over Instagram 's change in its terms of service--which some had interpreted as giving Instagram the right to sell users' photos--has missed impacting a number of Southern California's startups. Instagram clarified its position on ownership of photos Tuesday, saying its intent was not to sell user photos, or use them in advertising.

Southern California 174

Southern California SoCal Startup Advertising 174

socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2012

Santa Barbara-based Sonos , the developer of the popular, whole home audio systems, got a big endorsement this week, when its SONOS PLAY:3 was featured on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. SONOS was featured on the annual gift-highlighting on the late night show. Sonos did not say how it was selected for the show. READ MORE>>.

Santa Barbara 173

Santa Barbara Develop Development Content 173

socalTECH

DECEMBER 18, 2012

What's the best way to help mobile developers encourage engagement on their applications? The former team behind TweetPhoto --who sold their firm to Lockerz 18 months ago--is looking to solve that problem, through a new startup called APPMOB. The San Diego company just launched beta invitations for the company, which its co-founders billed the "pickaxes, shovels, and sluice boxes" for mobile developers.

Mobile 168

Mobile San Diego Tool Develop 168

socalTECH

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Los Angeles-based Fandango said Monday that it has named a new Vice President of Marketing. Fandango said Adam Rockmore, who was most recently SVP of Marketing for ABC Daytime and SOAPnet, has been appointed to the position, and will lead the company's marketing group. Rockmore also has served at ABC News, the Food Network, and also served a number of other Scripps Networks' properties.

Fandango 168

Fandango Marketing News Los Angeles 168

socalTECH

DECEMBER 21, 2012

Irvine-based PathCentral , the provider of tools and technology to the pathology community, said today that it sold its diagnostic laboratory business to Ascend Clinical , a provider of end-stage renal disease laboratory testing. Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed. As part of the sale, the firm said its CEO, Matt Watson, will move to Ascend, and that it will appoint Jaye Connolly as its new CEO.

Sales 166

Sales Tool Technology Acquisition 166

socalTECH

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Carlsbad-based Verdezyne , the developer of industrial biotechnology and renewable chemicals, said today that it has sold its proprietary xylose isomerase technology to DuPont Industrial Biosciences. Verdezyne did not disclose financial details of the technology sale. Verdezyne said DuPont has purchased rights to its patented xylose isomerase technology, for us in the biofuels and biochemical fields.

Technology 164

Technology Patents Sales Develop 164

socalTECH

DECEMBER 17, 2012

The moment you set foot into CrossCampus , you're greeted by a large reception desk that appears to be built of out legos. Like everything in the 11,000 square foot space in the heart of Santa Monica, this wasn't done on a whim. Every detail from the design of the work tables to the sheet rock they installed in the Founder Room was built with complete intention.

Santa Monica 164

Santa Monica Startup Design Technology 164

socalTECH

DECEMBER 18, 2012

A company whose primary business is implementing ServiceNow for clients, Fruition Partners , said it has raised $12.0M in funding, in an interesting indication of the growing ecosystem around San Diego-based ServiceNow. Fruition--based in Chicago--said the Series A funding for the firm was led by Trident Capital, and specifically comes due to "rapid expansion and market demand" for ServiceNow's product.

Trident Capital 164

Trident Capital Services San Diego Software Review 164

socalTECH

DECEMBER 19, 2012

San Luis Obispo-based Shopatron said today that it has linked with e-commerce firm Intershop as a partner. The two did not announce details of the partnership, but said the link would give Intershop clients with access to Shopatron's advanced distributed order management capabilities. Shopatron's e-commerce technology allows brands and manufacturers to take orders online, with fulfillment through their normal channel and local retailers.

Commerce 159

Commerce Technology Sales Software 159