TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 14, 2019

Meanwhile, new venture-backed companies like the superstealthy Shadows, SuperPlastic and Toonstar are all developing virtual characters that will launch via social media channels like Snap and Instagram, or on their own platforms. ” Los Angeles-based Brud is by far the most established of this new breed in the U.S.

Social Media 261

Social Media Content Media Artificial Inteligence 261

socalTECH

DECEMBER 5, 2013

Josef Holm: Tubestart is a crowdfunding platform for YouTube creators, web series creators, and for digital video in general. The main difference between the mainstream platforms and us, is first, that we have really, really great hands-on support people who only do video all day long, which has a significant impact.

Content 231

Content Platform Sites Web 231

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

There are now signs the VC market has gathered pace meaning it’s a great time to be fund raising. There’s no doubt (at least anecdotally) that the pace of VC investments in early-stage technology companies has picked up in the past few months. Because you have multiple forces at work. but I’ll save that for post 3/3).

Venture Capital 255

Venture Capital Marketing Startup Social Network 255

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 16, 2019

The New York-based company was founded last year by Gina Bartasi, a fertility industry vet who previously launched Progyny, a fertility benefit solution for employers, and FertilityAuthority.com, an information platform and social network for people struggling with fertility.

Mobile 167

Mobile Pricing Social Network Los Angeles 167

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 28, 2013

a crowd-powered platform that gives accredited investors access to exclusive deal flow and technology transfer opportunities has launched in beta its crowd-powered portal for startups, JumpStartFund. Social network for investors. Get feedback, collaborate and get funded. El Segundo, CA based JumpStarter Inc.,

El Segundo 76

El Segundo Social Network Startup Patents 76

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 15, 2010

Especially when he’s surrounded by Danny Rimer (who funded Skype, MySQL, Last.FM I think the best solution for the social networking era is “in-stream&# advertising. I won’t belabor this – I have an investment in this space ( ad.ly ) so I’m biased. PLUS RELATED FUNDING …. uh, hello!

Venture Capital 271

Venture Capital Capital Google Platform 271

socalTECH

APRIL 14, 2011

He was also the founder of Wallstrip, which he sold to CBS back in 2007, is an investor in a significant number of web and social media companies. Through Howards investment in betaworks, he also owns early shares in Twitter. So, we built our own, new and improved version of a microblogging platform.

Ideas 248

Ideas Web Startup Content 248

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

I just cover the companies that were funded that week. Also, some of the deals I write about I have actually seen as part of their fund raising process. Knewton – “Online adaptive test prep and virtual classroom platform&# - I love the innovation that is coming from the test prep industry. Others I have not.

Venture Capital 265

Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Amidst the media frenzy surrounding Facebook’s S1 filing to go public, some people took pause today to reflect on what the IPO could mean for the social networking giant. They’ll tell you Paternot was an entrepreneurial whiz kid who co-founded the very first social network in the 90′s called TheGlobe.com.

Social Network 110

Social Network Yahoo Media Networking 110

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

There have been a lot of entrepreneurs here in software and other industries, and interestingly enough there seem to be more self-funded, bootstrapped firms here, rather than those looking for venture capital to get off the group. You are self funded too, we recall. What we do is provide an automation solution to the market at large.

Networking 214

Networking IBM IBM Pacific Palisades 214

socalTECH

OCTOBER 10, 2014

Max Fischer: BeLinked, formerly LinkedUp, is the first, mobile dating app that has the popular swipe left, swipe right feature, but which is based on the LinkedIn platform and LinkedIn API. LinkedIn is one of the largest social networks, with 300 million users, and we fell that it has a higher quality user base. Why LinkedIn?

Networking 185

Networking Startup Ideas Mobile 185

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 22, 2010

Things that make it investment-grade for outside investors will also benefit you, since you are the ultimate investor. Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. No investor wants to wait that long for his payback, or fund the years of waiting. Executive team.

Invest 74

Invest Tips Competition Metrics 74

socalTECH

MARCH 29, 2012

For a number of high profile brands, it's by using the software and services of Los Angeles-based PromoJam (www.promojam.com), which just announced a round of funding to accelerate it efforts last week from Golden Seeds and the Band of Angels. Amanda MacNaughton: PromoJam is an enterprise, social marketing technology platform.

Social Media 217

Social Media Startup Platform Media 217

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 14, 2019

Even though investors, like myself, have long made it clear that we invest in people, not ideas, new venture owners insist on talking about their latest “ million dollar idea ,” rather than their “ million dollar team.” In a very real sense, we funded him, and he superseded even IBM.

IBM 87

IBM IBM Ideas Technical Review 87

socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2011

To do that, the firm has combined the world of social networking and personal finance with its newly launched service. Scott Saunders: I spent nearly my entire career on the investment side, and in 2005 switched over to the entrepreneurial side of the world. Tell me the story behind Payoff.com?

Startup 197

Startup Ideas Southern California Social Network 197

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 4, 2019

If you are looking for funding and customers for your new business, you need to identify your “unique selling proposition” (USP) right up front, in 30 seconds or less, to differentiate yourself in today’s information overload. A new easier to use social network may not get anyone excited.

.Net 73

.Net Examples Customer Custom 73

socalTECH

APRIL 4, 2011

Specifically, it allows the automatic creation of ads, the automatic optimization of ads based on conversions, and other things that help companies advertise more effectively on Facebook, and using it to run large scale campaigns on the platform. How did firm come about? Clark Landry: It was founded by myself and James Borow, our CEO.

Advertising 198

Advertising Startup Santa Monica Social Network 198

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2013

I called this trend “ Torso TV ” because the “head” of consumption (largest number of views) was dominated by platforms that had massive distribution (think TV stations, radio or retail outlets that sell CDs and DVDs. I first wanted to invest in this trend by backing a company called Filmaka. think Apple.

Startup 380

Startup Media Content Platform 380

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 18, 2012

The English/International version of the platform was launched in January 2012. Our headquarters are in Berlin, but we have platform users from all corners of the world. The idea for exploreB2B resulted from my own experience in business development for a young consulting company and my brother’s enthusiasm for tech and social media.

Networking 71

Networking Help Social Media Platform 71

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2012

Things that make it investment-grade for outside investors will also benefit you, since you are the ultimate investor. Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. No investor wants to wait that long for his payback, or fund the years of waiting. Executive team.

Competition 113

Competition Metrics Startup Invest 113

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 11, 2012

ZunguZ is a global social payment platform that integrates deeply into the social graph of Facebook and financial service providers. We may keep the platform with the name ZunguZ and look for a client facing name for the application. Omidyar Networks – head of investment. What is Zunguz? Why the name?

Software Review 92

Software Review Social Network Platform Technical Review 92

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

Huddlewoo a live video platform set to launch early 2013 to give people the ability to access extraordinary people for one-on-one conversations and mentoring. We are a platform that facilitates the most important conversations of people’s lives! The calendar, payment and live-video are all facilitated through our platform.

Mentor 94

Mentor Platform Social Network Chief Technology Officer 94

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 13, 2011

Things that make it investment-grade for outside investors will also benefit you, since you are the ultimate investor. Terms like “every customer needs this” and “next generation platform” are far too soft, and should be avoided. No investor wants to wait that long for his payback, or fund the years of waiting. Executive team.

Competition 116

Competition Metrics Startup Sales 116

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 17, 2012

It is a platform that allows anyone who offers a service to advertise it for free – we promote this profile on the most popular social networks such as Twitter , Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, Stumbleupon and many more. Any funding yet? TechZulu caught up with Conolly and this is what we learn. Why the name?

Advertising 79

Advertising Services Social Network Startup 79

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 3, 2009

I believe that Twiistup is now a platform from which to grow and highlight what is uniquely LA. For highlighting what is uniquely LA, for adhering to a strict quality standard for speakers and for building this great platform for the future Francisco Dao (aka “ The Man ”) should feel proud of what he has accomplished.

Twiistup 228

Twiistup SoCal Southern California Yammer 228

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 18, 2013

We will also have some of the top companies present that each of the panelist has invested in. Our Panelist Include: Brock Pierce - Starting & Investing in Bitcoin, Games, and Gambling Businesses. Mr. Csathy previously served as the CEO of social network and online video technology company Sightspeed, Inc.,

Startup 111

Startup Entertainment Media Santa Barbara 111

socalTECH

MARCH 1, 2012

While I was there, I was product manager leading efforts to include third party content into the platform. After IAC, I started my own company, MerchEngines, which was a search marketing platform for local businesses. There were also opportunities for me down here, as I was running the venture fund. We sold that to IAC.

Southern California 245

Southern California Idealab Startup Customer 245

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 29, 2009

My firm GRP Partners recently funded a young LA based company named Ad.Ly People rightly recognize that comments on blogs are just a form of a stream and thus the growth of open commenting platforms like Disqus and IntenseDebate. So PPC (pay-per-click) advertising on social networks has performed poorly to date.

Ideas 286

Ideas Advertising Google Technical Review 286

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

To gain some insight into the area, we spoke with Ian Swanson, one of the founders of Sometrics (www.sometrics.com), which develops software to gather information on social media and optimize advertising. The firm has also received investments from Greycroft Partners and AT&T. We'll do a rev share with those platforms.

Social Media 113

Social Media Advertising Social Network Userplane 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 13, 2012

I think we were able to effectively transition, because our technology platform. At the time, our platform allowed us to build our games, and have one game which we could send to multiple devices. That said, it's sometimes difficult to compete against better funded competitors. That was tough for a lot of our competitors.

Mobile 168

Mobile Java Google Startup 168

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

I now observes the fund raising process as a profession. This is the fund raising perspective from both sides of the table. Fund raising (as is much of life) is a sale – pure and simple. Partners make investment decisions. Fund raising is bloody hard. Already invested in one of my key competitors?

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

socalTECH

OCTOBER 14, 2011

Sam Rogoway: We use YouTube as our hosting platform, for a variety of reasons. In between practicing, I actually started and ran my own social network, TripUp, which was later acquired by Sidestep, which is now Kayak. That has allowed more creative people to get into video, without having to make such a huge investment it.

Networking 150

Networking Search Engine Optimization Product Startup 150

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 23, 2008

To gain some insight into the area, we spoke with Ian Swanson, one of the founders of Sometrics (www.sometrics.com), which develops software to gather information on social media and optimize advertising. The firm has also received investments from Greycroft Partners and AT&T. We'll do a rev share with those platforms.

Social Media 100

Social Media Advertising Social Network Userplane 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2017

The implications of the decision you make are huge, including brand image, funding requirements, and long-term business viability. This doesn’t work well with “nice to have” offerings, like social networks, but does work for new drugs and medical devices that solve critical health problems.

Pricing 66

Pricing Customer Custom Advertising 66

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 17, 2010

Funding is different – In Silicon Valley you have mega venture capital funds and many of them. They not only have gotten bigger but they have an amazing track record of funding the biggest names in the sector: Cisco, Apple, Google, Facebook. As a result many funds are OK with big bets.

Company 290

Company Companies Technology Startup 290

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

They make it easy to collect investment funds, track ownership, and provide targeted updates to investors. Novimap is an online and mobile mapping platform. enables developers to sell cross-platform web-apps that optimize to your mobile device. Or your personal laptop with your business laptop.

Company 106

Company Companies Web Evite 106

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2011

What I’d like to do is tell you the story of how the investment came to be, what my thesis is / was and share some thoughts on macro trends. The Team – I’m on record as saying that 70% of my investment criteria are team related. I’m also on record as saying I invest in lines & not dots. Pose is no different.

Invest 303

Invest Company Companies Web 2.0 303