Sat.Apr 06, 2019 - Fri.Apr 12, 2019

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DroneBase raises capital and partners with FLIR Systems to train pilots on thermal imaging tech

TechCrunch LA

Publicly traded sensor technology developer, FLIR Systems , is investing in a strategic round of funding for the outsourced drone imaging company, DroneBase. The two companies are also partnering to provide FLIR’s thermal imaging technology and training services to DroneBase’s stable of pilots. Terms of the investment were not disclosed. “Our investment in DroneBase helps expand the adoption of FLIR thermal imaging technology by putting it in the hands of more pilots who fly dr

Training 147
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CyberSecurity: 5th Generation Threats- What We Know. Should Know. And, Don't Know.

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, April 17, 2019 --.

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Why You Can’t Get Serious About Productivity Unless You Optimize How Your People Use Your Space

Both Sides of the Table

I fund startups for a living and before that I ran two software startups that I founded. I’ve spent countless hours looking at historical finances, budgets, forecasts and future projections. With a standard tech startup I can tell you in my sleep that your two biggest cost items by a long shot are people (between 60–75% of total costs) and space (10–20% of total costs).

Product 214
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Which Circle Do You Want To Be In…The Blue One (NHL) or the Red One (TED)?

Eric Greenspan

The NHL centre ice circle is blue. The TED carpet that speakers stand on is a red circle. Both are highly desired places to stand, speak or skate. But the best way to get to either is to focus on what will get you there, not on getting there. Focus on the work, development, the achievements and the ride, and maybe, although unlikely, you’ll stand in one of those circles one day.

Writing 179
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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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The team behind Baidu’s first smart speaker is now using AI to make films

TechCrunch LA

The HBO sci-fi blockbuster Westworld has been an inspiring look into what humanlike robots can do for us in the meatspace. While current technologies are not quite advanced enough to make Westworld a reality, startups are attempting to replicate the sort of human-robot interaction it presents in virtual space. Rct studio , which just graduated from Y Combinator and ranked among TechCrunch’s nine favorite picks from the batch, is one of them.

Startup 235
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CitySourced Merges With Rock Solid Technologies

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based CitySourced , which develops mobile apps to help cities communicate with their constituents, has merged with Rock Solid Technologies , a provider of software to the government. Financial terms of the merger were not announced. Rock Solid is owned by private equity investor Strattam Capital. CitySourced was founded in 2009, and is led by CEO Jason Kiesel.

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2019 SFVBJ Women's Council

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, April 17, 2019 -- 2019 SFVBJ Women's Council. San Fernando Valley Business Journal.The San Fernando Valley Business Journal is proud to present the 2019 Women's Council Awards at the Hilton Woodland Hills. The San Fernando Valley Business Journal is proud to present our Women's Council Awards at the Hilton Woodland Hills. At the luncheon awards program, we will honor women who have made a difference throughout the Valley area.

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With a new CEO and fresh funding from Upfront, healthy prepared food delivery service Territory looks to grow

TechCrunch LA

With a new chief executive officer and $4 million in fresh funding from investors including the Los Angeles-based investment firm, Upfront Ventures, Territory Foods is poised for growth. The company recently hired powerhouse executive Abby Coleman, the former vice president of marketing and strategy at Quidsi and head of e-commerce at Diapers.com as its new chief executive and is now looking to expand its footprint and unique approach to meal delivery beyond its current geographies.

Services 133
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SpaceX Seeking $510M In New Funding

socalTECH

Hawthorne-based SpaceX is looking to raise another $510M in funding--the second time the firm has gone out for funding this year-- according to a regulatory filing from the firm. The funding will bring SpaceX's total raised to more than $2.75 billion, and reportedly values the rocket firm at over $30 billion. The new funding came to light after another, successful launch for the company--the first, commercial flight of a Falcon Heavy rocket on Thursday.

SpaceX 149
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5 Startup Cost Realities Most Founders Underestimate

Startup Professionals Musings

Image via Flickr by Phil Gyford Starting a new venture still costs real money, even though the entry price has come down dramatically in last few decades. For example, I come from a software background, and back in the early PC days, it could easily cost half a million dollars for a team of professionals to produce a commercial product. Now, with powerful high-level tools and open source software, winning smartphone apps can be built by a good hacker for a few thousand dollars.

Startup 105
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ACG 101 Spring Social and Brewfest!

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, April 17, 2019 -- ACG 101 Spring Social and Brewfest! ACG 101 Corridor Chapter. Spring has Sprung, and that means only one thing: It's time for the ACG 101 Annual Spring Social! This year we're being hosted by our very own 2018 Rising Star Award winner, Figueroa Mountain! Come meet and mingle with our area's top dealmakers, craft brewmasters, and company leaders, including Bob Berezansky, CFO of Figueroa Mountain Brewing.

ACG 100
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VC Trends in 2019: More Money, Fewer Deals But Women Still Get Less

Xconomy

If you’ve been following venture capital trends, what you expected to happen in the first quarter of 2019 did: More money is being invested in fewer deals, and women founders still are getting less of it than men. Venture firms sent $32.6 billion into startups nationally during the first three months of 2019, the second largest amount for any quarter since at least 2006, according to data released overnight by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association.

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Semtech Gets Design Win With Aerospace Manufacturer

socalTECH

Camarillo-based semiconductor developer Semtech has chalked up another design win for its LoRa wireless radio frequency technology, saying that its technology has been selected by an aerospace manufacturer, Ineo-Sense , for it smart asset tracking tools. Semtech said its wireless technology is being used in Ineo-Sense's "Clover-Core" sensor products, used for asset tracking in manufacturing settings.

Design 133
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6 Tips to Boost Workforce Engagement and Motivation

Startup Professionals Musings

Image via Wikipedia The challenge for all of us in business is to improve competitiveness by improving employee productivity and reducing costs. According to Gartner , one of the biggest drags on productivity is employee engagement, still hovering around 30 percent, and costing our businesses over $450 billion per year. I believe the only way to improve engagement is to make work more satisfying.

Tips 96
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Caltech Entrepreneurs Forum - Venture Funding

SoCal Tech Calendar

Saturday, April 13, 2019 -- Caltech Entrepreneurs Forum - Venture Funding. The Los Angeles Tech and Venture Scene 2019 / Anatomy of a Successful Seed Round. Our program keynote will debut the 2019 Amplify.LA presentation which offers a comprehensive overview of the Los Angeles tech and venture landscape. It includes a look back on 2018, and covers all the players, investors, history and emerging players in LA tech.

CalTech 100
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Thwarting Opposition, Bristol Gets Shareholder OK for $74B Celgene Buyout

Xconomy

The early opposition has turned out to be just noise. Shareholders of Bristol-Myers Squibb today approved the pharma giant’s planned buyout of Celgene, paving the way for a deal that will create one of the largest biopharma organizations in the world, and send ripples throughout the sector. Bristol (NYSE: BMY ) said Friday that more than 75 percent of its shareholders voted to approve the deal at a meeting on Friday.

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XPRIZE Gives $1M Award To Israeli Moon Landing Team

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based XPRIZE , which organizes prize competitions to inspire people to advance technology to help change the world, said last night that it has awarded a $1M "Moonshot Award" to SpaceIL , the Israeli team which attempted a moon landing on Thursday. XPRIZE said it decided to recognize the successful lunar orbit and (not-so-successful) landing attempt for its contribution to private space exploration.

Google 133
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7 Whirlwind New Venture Partner Marriages To Avoid

Startup Professionals Musings

Image via Pixabay Most entrepreneurs who start a company alone soon come to the conclusion that two heads are better than one – someone to share the workload, the hard decisions, and the costs. In a moment of crisis, you may be tempted to take on the first person expressing interest as a co-founder. This would be a mistake, and could easily cost you your startup.

Startup 70
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CyberSecurity: 5th Generation Threats- What We Know. Should Know. And, Don't Know.

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, April 17, 2019 --.

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Senators Grill Pharmacy Benefit Execs About Skyrocketing Drug Prices

Xconomy

Executives from five of the companies that negotiate drug prices on behalf of insurers testified Tuesday before the Senate finance committee. It was the latest in a series of hearings centered on the rising cost of prescription medication, which has captured attention on both sides of the political aisle and is likely to become a central issue in the 2020 election cycle.

Pricing 94
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Procore Joins Philanthropy Movement

socalTECH

Carpinteria-based cloud software developer Procore Technologies , which develops cloud- and mobile- software for the construction industry--and is one of Southern California's multi-billion valuation unicorn startups --says it has joined Pledge 1% , a philanthropic group which challenges technology companies to pledge 1 percent of their equity, product, and employee time for their communities.

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10 Wins From Driving Multiple Concurrent New Ventures

Startup Professionals Musings

Image via Flickr by watsonsinelgin With the cost of entry at an all-time low, and the odds of success equally low, more and more entrepreneurs are starting multiple companies concurrently. This “parallel entrepreneur” idea has been around since at least the days of Thomas Edison, and for the new generation of entrepreneurs, who have been multi-tasking since birth, it’s probably not even a stretch.

Startup 99
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EvoNexus Launches Fintech Incubator

socalTECH

San Diego-based startup incubator operator EvoNexus is launching a brand new, financial technology (Fintech) incubator, in a partnership with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Franklin Templeton , the incubator announced this morning. According to EvoNexus, the incubator will work with startups focused on technology areas that will impact financial services companies of all sizes and the customers they serve.

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Core Innovation Capital Plans $100M, Third Fund For Fintech Investments

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based fintech venture capital investor Core Innovation Capital is out looking for new investors in its third fund, with a target of $100M, according to regulatory filing by the firm on Friday. The fund--managed by Arjan Schutte and Kathleen Utecht--invests in financial technology companies, and counts such portfolio companise as Fair , Honest Dollar (acquired), CoverHound , Mirador (acquired), Nerdwallet , Ripple , Tio (acquired), and many others.

Invest 133
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GoGuardian Names CFO

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based educational software developer GoGuardian , a developer of. software for the K-12 market, said it has named Mike Jonas its new Chief Financial Officer. Jonas was most recently CFO of ThriftBooks, and also had been at Microsoft for 14 years. GoGuardian is led by CEO Advait Shinde; the company develops a range of software, including software for Chromebook management, plus software that helps educators identify learning patterns, protect students from harmful and distracting cont

Education 133
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SRAX Runs Into Financial Reporting Issues

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Social Reality (SRAX), which developing digital marketing and consumer data management software--and more recently, has tried to launch its own cryptocurrency called BIGtoken--said it is restating its results all the way back to March of 2017. According to the company, both its quarterly results and yearly financial statements should "no longer be relied upon", including press releases involving those financial statements.

Report 133
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HyperX Rolls Out New Gaming Headsets

socalTECH

Fountain Valley-based videogame accessory maker HyperX , which is part of Kingston Technology, has rolled out a new product today, a new set of headsets that it says are the first on the market to ship for less than $100. The company says its HyperX Cloud Stinger Wireless gaming headset and HyperX Cloud Alpha Purple Edition are both now shipping, with up to 17 hours of battery life on a single charge.

Marketing 133
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Cullgen Collects $16M

socalTECH

San Diego-based biotechnology company Cullgen has raised $16M in a Series A funding, to go towards possible treatments for cancer, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases, the company said this morning. The funding came from Sequoia Capital China and Highlight Capital. According to Cullgen, the funding round will go towards its development of its internal pipeline of protein degraders, which has use in possibly treating cancer, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases.

San Diego 127
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LA's DroneBase Gets Strategic Funding From FLIR Systems

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based drone imagery and UAV pilot network operator DroneBase has received a strategic funding round from thermal imaging camera maker FLIR Systems , the two said this morning, with FLIR becoming the exclusive provider of thermal imaging cameras for the DroneBase pilot network. Size of the investment was not announced. According to the companies, the deal will put more of FLIR's thermal imaging cameras into the hands of drone pilots, which will enable DroneBase to offer up specialized

Funding 127
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FastPay Links With Advantage Software

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based FastPay , which provides receivables financing to help online publishers and media receive faster payment on their ad inventory, says it has linked up with Advantage Software , an agency management systems provider, in an alliance. According to the companies, the deal will help Advantage offer up B2B payments via virtual card, ACH, portal, secure fax, and checks.

Software 124
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Bird Plans Massive European Expansion

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based, last-mile, scooter rental service Bird said on Friday that it plans a massive, European expansion this summer, with plans to launch the service in more than 50 European cities. According to Bird, the move will expand its European fleet more than ten-fold. Bird said that, as part of the expansion in Europe, it will also roll out a new electric scooter, the "Bird Zero", which it says is designed and engineered specifically for the e-scooter sharing industry.

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QAD Deploys With European Luxury Goods Maker

socalTECH

Santa Barbara-based supply chain planning software developer QAD has deployed its software with European luxury goods maker Maroquinerie Thomas , the company said on Thursday. According to QAD, Maroquinerie Thomas is using its QAD DynaSys Cloud Production Planning, Procurement Planning and Advanced Analytics tools. Financial details of the customer win were not announced.

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SmartDrive Wins Large Trucking Firm

socalTECH

San Diego-based video-based transportation safety systems developer SmartDrive Systems has scored a win with a large trucking firm, Atlas Trucking, for that company's entire fleet, SmartDrive said this week. Financial details of the win were not announced. SmartDrive Systems said that Atlas rolled out its platform without even conducting a pilot deployment, just based on recommendations from other fleets.

San Diego 113
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Mavenlink Finds $48M More

socalTECH

Irvine-based Mavenlink , a startup which develops business process management software and related tools for services businesses, has raised $48M more, in a Series E funding round. The funding came from Carrick Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs Growth Equity. Mavenlink's round brings the Orange County's total funding to more than $111.5M. The company last raised a funding round back in 2016, which also was led by Goldman Sachs.

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SpaceX Successfully Launches Falcon Heavy Into Space, Lands 3 Boosters

socalTECH

Hawthorne-based SpaceX has successfully launched a Falcon Heavy into space with a communications satellite payload, and also landed all three rocket boosters attached to the Falcon Heavy, including two side boosters and a central core. SpaceX launched the Arabsat-6A high capacity telecommunications satellite from NASA Kenney Space Center in Florida on Thursday afternoon, at 6:35 p.m.

SpaceX 113
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Sellbrite Acquired By GoDaddy

socalTECH

Pasadena-based Sellbrite , which develops software which helps brands and retailers list their products on online marketplaces, has been acquired by GoDaddy , the companies announced on Wednesday. Financial details of the buy were not announced. According to GoDaddy, the acquisition will help it power a new offering, GoDaddy Online Store, which lets small businesses sell products on marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, and Etsy.

Pasadena 113