Sat.Sep 24, 2011 - Fri.Sep 30, 2011

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Equity for Early Employees in Early Stage Startups

SoCal CTO

I was asked by a reader how much equity he should give out to early employees and to service providers in a very early stage startup. I'll get to service providers in a later post. Founders vs. Early Employees To help with this discussion, let me start with a definition of "early employee." Steve Blank divides the individuals associated with startups as: Founders Early Employees (Employees # 1-25) Later Employees (Employees # 26-125) The reality is that the definition of founder and em

Equity 391
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Why Email May Be Draining Your Company’s Productivity

Both Sides of the Table

Email. Ah, email. That great productivity drain that we somehow all buy into. I’ve taken to saying, “Email is our personal to-do list that anybody adds to – whether they know us or not.” I was lamenting it tonight when I saw the most brilliant response Tweet by Andrew Hyde . “inbox = tetris getting zero lines doesn’t win it just makes the next move easy.” Brilliant!

Email 314
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Interview with Bong Koh, LifeCrowd

socalTECH

Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based LifeCrowd (www.lifecrowd.com) unveiled its service to help connect people with real life activities. The firm is initially focusing on the Los Angeles market, and connecting people with fun, interesting classes, activities, and more in the local area. The company was founded by Bong Koh, a former EIR at Prism VentureWorks and venture capitalist at Advanced Technology Ventures; he also co-founded ibeatyou.

Startup 271
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An Enchanting Conversation With Guy Kawasaki

InfoChachkie

Guy’s latest book, Enchantment , was released in March of 2011, to overwhelmingly upbeat reviews. Of the 225 customer reviews currently posted on Amazon, over 90% are highly positive. I enjoyed the book as well, as evidenced by the review I wrote at the time of its release, which you can read HERE. I even plan to use it in my upcoming UC Santa Barbara Entrepreneurial Selling class.

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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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Time does fly when you’re having fun. Lighten up for maximum lift.

Berkonomics

Have you ever noticed how slow time passes when you are in a troubled environment? Conversely, sometimes you look up at the end of a great day and wonder where the time went. Over the years, I have discovered that the difference is not just applicable to the good times, but to the environment, created by the senior executives, that filters throughout the organization.

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Why Super Pro-rata Rights are Not a Good Deal for Entrepreneurs

Both Sides of the Table

Yesterday I saw a Tweet from Chris Sacca fly by that prompted me to want to write a blog post helping entrepreneurs understand why they should push back against VCs asking for “super pro-rata” rights. I’ll explain what they are and why you should avoid them if you can. A primer on “pro-rata” rights. Institutional investors will always insist on pro-rata rights.

More Trending

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Make Yourself Irresistible To A Startup

InfoChachkie

Note: This is Part II in the Startup Team Building series. Read Part I HERE. Bilbo’s offer letter from Thorin in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit exemplifies the proper attitude that you must have when joining a startup adVenture. “For your hospitality our sincerest thanks, and for your offer of professional assistance our grateful acceptance. Terms: cash on delivery, up to and not exceeding one fourteenth of total profits (if any); all traveling expenses guaranteed in any event; funeral expenses to

Startup 205
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New Startup Boot Camp in SoCal

SoCal Tech Calendar

Monday, October 3, 2011 -- The Official Unveiling of the New Startup Boot Camp in SoCal! Tech Coast Angels. oin Barbara and Angel Investors Amir Banifatemi and David Cheng as we break the news about the New 3 Month Startup Boot Camp in Southern California. And how they fill the void left by angel and VC investors. If you are technology oriented companies, especially web-based or other software startups, this a segment you'll not want to miss!

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Tips to Help you Think About Sales at Your Startup

Both Sides of the Table

Sales. It’s the lifeblood of any organization and yet most startups don’t have any sales DNA on their teams. It’s important enough that I dedicate a tab on my blog to startup sales & marketing. This week I had the chance to have an hour-long discussion with Vince Thompson (ran West Coast sales for AOL for 7 years – back in the day when AOL was what Facebook is today) and Mo Ali , who has the awesome Twitter handle @BornToCall – runs sales at This Week In.

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Parking In Motion Ties With Parking Association

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based Parking In Motion , the newly funded and launched startup developing mobile applications to help drivers find parking spots, said Friday that it has linked with an industry group called the National Parking Association. According to the two, the deal will allow members of the NPA enter their parking information into Parking In Motion's database.

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10 Ways to Size Your Company’s Value for Funding

Startup Professionals Musings

Once you have a potential investor excited about your team, your product, and your company, the investor will inevitably ask “What is your company’s valuation?” Many entrepreneurs stumble at this point, losing the deal or most of their ownership, by having no answer, saying “make me an offer,” or quoting an exorbitant number. I’ve written about this before, but it’s a mysterious subject, and I’m always learning more.

Funding 98
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San Diego TCA Quick Pitch

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, October 6, 2011 -- San Diego TCA Quick Pitch. Meet, greet, and learn the art of the Quick Pitch. from the Tech Coast Angels, the nation's largest and most active network of angel investors. Company finalists will compete at the 4th Annual Quick Pitch Competition, where entrepreneurs present two minute pitches to a blue ribbon panel of judges (who assess substance and presentation quality), and an audience of over 400 leaders within the entrepreneurial community.

San Diego 113
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Spotlight: LA Tech Fall Judges Include Mike Jones, CallFire, Idealab, Tech Coast Angels, Coloft

Tech Zulu Event

The Spotlight: LA Tech Fall is garnering some excellent companies being submitted and most of which I wish could all be part of this amazing night. To help curate and show off the best that LA has to offer we called in a few friends. So with out further ado I present the Spotlight: LA Tech Fall 2011 Judges! Mike Jones , Investor and Advisor Located In Los Angeles.

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Soon-Shiong Endows Chair At USC Viterbi

socalTECH

Patrick Soon-Shiong , the billionaire founder of Abraxis Bioscience, has made a "multi-million" dollar donation to the University of Southern California , to endow a new chair at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. According to USC, the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation, funded by Soon-Shiong and his wife, Michele B. Chan, will fund a professor at the intersection of engineering and medicine, specifically focused on computer science, mobile vision, or robotics.

USC 178
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1001 Serial Articles for Entrepreneurs & Startups

Startup Professionals Musings

As of today, I will have published an article here for entrepreneurs and startups every day for the last 1001 days, since I started Startup Professionals Musings near the close of 2008. It’s been a great ride, but it’s now time to dial it back a bit, and focus on some other priorities. I still plan to publish on this blog occasionally, as well as more frequently on my blogs at Forbes , Huffington Post , and others.

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Firsty

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, October 6, 2011 -- Firsty. Join the OCTANe community at JT Schmids for Firsty in October! We will be collaborating with Pepperdine's Graziadio Alumni Network Leadership Council of Orange County.

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Startup Foundation | Prepare For A Boost In The Los Angeles Startup Ecosystem

Tech Zulu Event

That’s right Startup Angelinos! If you thought that the startup community here was starting to pick up, well its about to get a boost from The Startup Foundation. Startup Weekend, a global grassroots network of entrepreneurs and leaders, announced an initiative in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation that will lead to the creation of vibrant startup communities in cities across the nation.

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Advertise.com Plans Hiring Boost

socalTECH

Lousy economy? No one hiring? Don't tell that to Sherman Oaks-based Advertise.com , the online advertising network run by Daniel Yomtobian. The firm said today that it is planning to grow its workforce by as much as 30 percent over the next two quarters, due to "significant growth" in online ad spending. Advertise.com said it recently move dinto new office space, as part of that plan for growth, across technology, sales, and marketing departments.

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How To Kick Innovation Up a Notch to Nanovation

Startup Professionals Musings

What sparks paradigm-shifting innovation in any business? It’s a special mix of entrepreneur and company, regular in every respect except for having the courage and foresight to make an idea happen that was supposed to be impossible. As an entrepreneur in a startup, how do you know if you have this potential, and what are the steps to get from an innovation to a revolution?

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eyecode: Works by Golan Levin

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 -- eyecode: Works by Golan Levin. Golan Levin is an artist, engineer and educator interested in new modes of interactive expression and nonverbal communication. Through performances, responsive artifacts, and virtual environments, Levin applies creative twists to digital technologies that highlight our relationship with machines, expand the vocabulary of human action, and awaken participants to their own potential as creative actors.

Education 113
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Chill.com | A Place To Chill And Watch Online Video

Tech Zulu Event

Chill.com , from the makers of Namesake , is a video community sharing platform. After you sign up for an account, super easy if you have a Facebook account, you are taken to a page with available lounges for you to view video. You can also create your own lounge. Each lounge has its own theme based on the videos being shown. Everything from hip hop music videos to entertainment news and gossip, there is sure to be a lounge to suit your taste.

Content 74
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Roambi Ties with Business Intelligence Software

socalTECH

San Diego-based MellMo , the developer of the Roambi mobile business reporting application, has tied with an Italian developer of business intelligence software, the company said today. MeLLmo and Tagetik, and Italian software firm, said the two have launched Roambi for Tagetik, part of a strategic relationship which gives Tagetik's customers access to data on their iPhone or iPad.

Software 160
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Entrepreneurs Challenge The Gartner Hype Cycle

Startup Professionals Musings

The Hype Cycle was a concept put forward by Gartner, Inc. back in 1995 meant to apply to technology product evolution and acceptance. As I was reading about it recently, it occurred to me that the concept relates directly to how investors see startup opportunities and potential success as well, at least those with technology in their offerings. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, the Gartner Hype Cycle characterizes the over-enthusiasm or "hype" and subsequent disappointment

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EFactor presents: 7 Steps to a Successful Startup

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, October 6, 2011 -- EFactor presents: 7 Steps to a Successful Startup. Are you an entrepreneur? Do you have a great idea? Do you want to transform it into a successful startup? Entrepreneurs don't like to write business plans, but how do you know if there is real potential for you idea? Are there certain paths that should or shouldn't be taken?

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Increase Your RSVP Accuracy With tureRSVP

Tech Zulu Event

Busy taking classes and studying all night? Have an idea for a startup but afraid you don’t have time to work on it? Well tuff, these fine young folks currently attending the University of Southern California surely didn’t think so. Not only did they start a company but they have taken it as far as attending and pitching at one of the most prestigious conferences known in the startup world, DEMO.

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Parking In Motion Raises Funding

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based Parking In Motion , a developer of systems to help drivers find open parking space, said this morning that it has raised a Series A round of funding. Size of the funding round was not disclosed. The round was co-led by IDG Ventures and Fontinalis Partners. Parking In Motion is led by Sam Friedman. The company says it has a database of more than 25,000 parking locations in over 500 cities, and is tapping into smart parking meters, sensors, and parking gates to locate parking sp

Funding 157
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Entrepreneur: Challenge Yourself Before You Invest

Startup Professionals Musings

The first question most people seem to ask when contemplating a new startup is where they will get the money. That’s certainly a valid question, but all the money in the world won’t make your business a success if you hate what you are doing, and you aren’t prepared to do the job. I suggest that there are several other questions even more important than the money one.

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Successfully Launching New Products and Services

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, October 6, 2011 -- Successfully Launching New Products and Services. Gold Coast Business Forum. Hear senior representatives from local companies that have recently developed and brought successfully to market, new products and services.

Product 100
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WeVideo | In The Cloud Collaborative Video Editing

Tech Zulu Event

How would like to edit your videos from any device or browser? Better yet, how would you like to have multiple contributors and all be able to collaborate on a video editing project in the cloud? I know I would and now can with recently launched cloud video editor WeVideo. WeVideo offers up a powerful Flash-based video editing application currently available through any web browser, and according to CEO Jostein Svendsen, will also be available in native applications on all iPhone & Android

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Border Stylo Updates Retrollect

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Border Stylo , the mobile app developer headed by Diego Prats and Oscar Guido, has updated its Retrollect iPhone app, the firm said this week, completely re-coding the app, revamping its creation process, and improved sharing options on the software. Retrollect is the firm's app which make site easier to share collections of "View-Master" themed pictures, tweets, Facebook updates, and other information.

Mobile 154
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Connexity Gets $2M In Credit Line

socalTECH

Ventura-based Connexity , a developer of Internet advertising and targeting technology, announced today that it has secured $2M in a debt financing. The financing came from Silicon Valley Bank. Connexity said the line will go towards additional working capital, to accelerate its growth. Connexity is headed by Dave Gross, the former CEO of FastClick and Celerus Diagnostics, and investor at Persistence Partners.

Ventura 154
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VOKLE Boots Up Online Singing Competition

socalTECH

In an interesting application of a live, streaming video site, Santa Monica-based Vokle , the online, interactive live events service headed by Robert Kiraz, announced today that it is hosting a live singing competition on its site. Vokle said it will feature ten finalists from around the country on a three part singing contest on the site. The competition will be streamed live via webcam to Vokle's viewers.

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BP Logix Wins Customer

socalTECH

San Diego-based BP Logix , a firm providing business process management software, said today that it has signed Rentokil Initial plc, a provider of business services, as a customer. BP Logix said that Rentokil is using its products across its European operations. Financial impact ofthe win was not disclosed. BP Logix said that Rentokil Initial has over 66,000 employees spread out across 58 countries.

Customer 153
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Specific Media Pares Staff As It Digests MySpace

socalTECH

Irvine-based Specific Media has cut a small amount of its staff, as it continues to absorb its buy of Los Angeles-based MySpace. Specific Media would not confirm the exact extent of its cuts, but reports say the cuts were less than 8 percent of the firm. In a statement, the company said it has identified "sales and operating synergies that exist between itself and Myspace" and is "consolidating forces" to align the workforce with the direction it is headed.

Media 150
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Enevate Expands Battery Efforts In Irvine

socalTECH

Irvine-based Enevate , a developer of rechargeable battery technology, is expanding in Irvine, according to reports today. The venture backed firm, which has investments from Mission Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, is tripling its office space to 22,000 square feet, according to the Orange County Register. Enervate is a spinout of technology from UC Irvine, and is developing batteries aimed at 3G and 4G smartphones and tablets.

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Insights and Opinions: What Startups Need to Know About Patent Reform

socalTECH

In our Insights and Opinions section of the site, we feature editorials, informational articles, and other content that is relevant to the high tech community in Southern California. Congress recently passed some major changes to federal patent law. To address what has changed and how it might affect startups, Victor Lin of Innovation Law Group , contributed this article.

Patents 150