Expert insights. Personalized for you.
Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. MORE
Santa Monica-based micromobility provider Bird has rolled out a new plan to get people to park the company's scooters in better location, tapping augmented reality technology from Google. According to Bird, it has launched something called "Bird VPS" (Visual Parking System), which uses Google's augmented reality APIs to geo-localize parked scooters. The company said it is using that AR technology, and Google Street View to detect and prevent improper parking. MORE
Most of you business owners I know are looking forward to the day when your product, team and processes begin to mature, and your business growth keeps tilting upward as you scale. You expect to relax a bit, and relish in the success that you see coming. MORE
Los Angeles-based e-sports and gaming platform FaZe Clan said this week that it has linked with fintech company Current, where FaZe Clan's talent will help engage their fans using Current's mobile banking products. Financial details of the partnership were not announced. Current is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global Management, TQ Ventures, Avenir, Sapphire Ventures, Foundation Capital, Wellington Management, QED Investors and EXPA, and is based in New York. MORE
Pasadena-based Prismpop announced this morning that it has raised $5M in seed funding, which was led by Female Founders Fund, Foundation Capital, Revolution Capital, Plum Ventures, Mucker Capital and Uphonest Capital, including an earlier seed funding from Unshackled Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group, Sequoia Capital (Scout Fund), Plug and Play, and others. The startup is led by CEO and founder, Peggie Li. The company said it was originally incubated at Mucker Capital. MORE
In building successful businesses, I find that creating a new and innovative product or service is usually the easy part. The hard part is providing the leadership required to align and motivate all the constituents and players – from engineers, to investors, vendors, and ultimately customers. MORE
San Diego-based startup Fig said today that it has launched a new, mobile app which helps those on medical diets shop for food. According to the company, its app helps users browse through products available at grocery stores, and analyze ingredient labels to find foods that match up to those dietary restrictions. The startup was founded by Max Rebarber and Andrew Hollar. MORE
San Diego-based K-12 cyber safety software developer Linewize said today that it has acquired parental control software developer Qustodio, in a deal worth $52M. The acquisition came via Linewize's parent company, Family Zone. The company said Qustodio has more than 4 million users, with deals with telecom operators in such countries as Spain, France, Singapore, Mexico, Japan, Brazil and Chile. MORE
A new, Los Angeles-based travel startup, Faye announced this morning that it has raised $8M in its seed funding, led by Viola Ventures and F2 Venture Capital. The startup says it is providing travel insurance via an app. According to the company, it is providing "whole-trip" insurance that covers trips, health, belongings, and even pets. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Elad Schaffer, along with co-founder and CTO Daniel Green. faye travel insurance startup viola ventures MORE
Using old email lists for the first time is like eating really stale doughnuts. The taste is pretty bad, and the side effects could be disastrous. Strict rules about spam accounts. Email companies like Constant Contact, Mail Chimp and many others all have strict rules. MORE
Irvine-based Synoptek, a business and technology consulting firm, said this week that it has acquired Macquarium, a business consulting and development services firm. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Macquarium's customers include Southern Company, Norfolk Southern, Snap-on-Tools, Home Depot, MGM, Equifax, UPS, Wells Fargo and others. synoptek macquarium business consulting technology development merger acquisition MORE
Finding your needle in the haystack. There is so much information being shot at us daily via social media streams that we should monitor and control that which pertains to our business – and do so with some level of expertise. Start with a simple tool. MORE
In my experience as a business advisor and angel investor these days, I seem to more frequently hear from entrepreneurs and business owners with “can’t-fail” or “get-rich-quick” ideas. MORE
For a few, delegating comes easily, maybe too easy. For others who are perfectionists, letting go of even the most trivial task is almost impossible. If you are in this second category, you probably don’t like the references behind your back that you are a “control freak” or a “micro-manager.” MORE
Even though ‘big data’ has now been around for several years, the opportunities for startups seem to keep growing, just as the amount of data keeps growing. According to Forbes , over the last two years alone 90 percent of the data in the world was generated. MORE
There’s a famous intersection in Tokyo, Shibuya Crossing, where thousands of people cross each day, seemingly in random directions. Here’s the test: try to follow one person in his or her journey. That would be like picking a piece of information form a maze. MORE
One of Britney Winters’ goals is to “live a less tangled life.” ” She grew up in Houston and went on to attend Stanford and major in engineering. She worked on Wall Street as an investment banker for a few years in New York before returning to Houston with a job in energy. MORE
Canoo, the pie-in-the-sky electric vehicle startup which fled Los Angeles for Arkansas in June of 2021, apparently "may not have enough money to stay in business", according to a report. The report, from TechCrunch, says Canoo has been burning through cash and has no near-term revenue, and is currently grappling with the exit of its co-founders, legal issues, an SEC investigation and production delays. deadpool bentonville cleantech arkansas factory vehicle electric canoo MORE
Carlsbad-based satellite Internet provider Viasat said on Wednesday that it has been selected by Southwest Airlines. Viasat said that Southwest Airlines has selected its next genneation Ka-band satellite for in-flight connectivity on all of Southwest's new aircraft deliveries, starting this fall. Financial impact of the win was not announced. viasat southwest airlines kaband satellite MORE
As of Thursday, the entire cryptocurrency sector has plummeted, losing $200 billion across the entire market within a day. MORE
Ecommerce company Shopify supports small businesses with technology like ecommerce website builders and retail Point of Sale systems. Now, it's dramatically expanding capacity in another area, fulfillment, with the acquisition of Deliverr. Shopify is paying $2.1 MORE
Most businesses spend big money testing their brand logo, catchy marketing phrases, and demographics, but spend little time training and validating that their employees can and do deliver exceptional experiences to their customers. MORE
San Diego-based biopharmaceuticals firm Halozyme Therapeutics said today that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 for its proposed acquisition of Antares Pharma has expired. The company said its deal still remains subject to various conditions. Halozyme offered to acquire Antares Pharma for $5.60 per share in cash on April 26th. The deal is worth approximately $960M in total. halozyme therapeutics merger acquisition antares pharma pharmaceuticals MORE
Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating. MORE
Hawthorne-based SpaceX has expanded availability of its Starlink satellite-based internet service to a total of 32 countries, the company said on Thursday. According to the company, it is now providing its service to Australia, Chile, US, Canada, Europe, Brazil, and elsewhere, an expansion from 25 countries supported in February. SpaceX started rolling out international support last September. spacex starlink internet international expansion satellite MORE
Lake Forest-based OStream. ostream department defense artificial intelligence vision recognition port hueneme MORE
Uber Eats is launching two autonomous delivery pilots in Los Angeles on Monday with Serve Robotics, a robotic sidewalk delivery startup, and Motional, an autonomous vehicle technology company. MORE
NetEase, the second-largest gaming company in China and the sixth-largest in the world, has opened its first US-based studio in Austin as China’s gaming industry slows. The company’s archrival Tencent was a step ahead in expanding to North America. TiMi, Tencent’s cash cow studio known for the mobile blockbuster Honor of Kings, began hiring in Los Angeles back in 2020. Last year, it added a base in Montreal. MORE
Marketing is everything these days. You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail. MORE
It’s always been tough to start a new business, even when the bottom line was just making a profit to stay alive. A few years ago, a second focus of sustainability (“green”) was added as a requirement for respectability. Now I almost always hear a third mandate - social responsibility. MORE
Elon Musk appears to have gotten cold feet--or perhaps, is angling to lower the price--on his deal to acquire popular social media app Twitter. According to a post by Musk, who is CEO of Hawthorne-based SpaceX, he is putting the "Twitter deal temporarily on hold", after seeing details on how many users on the service are actually spam or fake accounts. MORE
West Hollywood-based LGBTQ+ dating app developer Grindr said on Tuesday that it in a deal to go public, via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). According to the company, it plans to combine with Tiga Acquisition Corp., which trades on the NYSE as TINV. The company said the deal includes $284M from Tiga Acquisition Corp., and $1.6 billion in rollover equity, giving the combined company a post-transaction enterprise value of $2.1 billion. MORE
As the economy rebuilds after some tough economic times, more and more people seem to be turning to entrepreneurship and their dream lifestyle as an alternative to traditional employment. MORE
Successful startups seem to follow similar paths to greatness, and unfortunately all too often that path leads them back down the hill much faster than they went up. MORE
London and Los Angeles political leaders showed up at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), saying this week that they will be working together to tackle the climate emergency and air pollution. MORE
Newport Beach-based cannabis software developer BLAZE Solutions said on Tuesday that it has acquired a Canadian software compaany, Greenline. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Greenline is based in Vancouver, and builds point-of-sale (POS) software for dispenaries. BLAZE said the acquisition will help it to better serve its international clients, while also enabling the Company to gain experience operating in Canada's federally regulated marketplace. MORE
Trying to be a business leader by instilling fear in your employees and partners is never a good approach, but it is particularly devastating in a startup. MORE
Berkonomics
MAY 12, 2022
There’s a famous intersection in Tokyo, Shibuya Crossing, where thousands of people cross each day, seemingly in random directions. Here’s the test: try to follow one person in his or her journey. That would be like picking a piece of information form a maze.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 14, 2022
For a few, delegating comes easily, maybe too easy. For others who are perfectionists, letting go of even the most trivial task is almost impossible. If you are in this second category, you probably don’t like the references behind your back that you are a “control freak” or a “micro-manager.”
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Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 7, 2022
Trying to be a business leader by instilling fear in your employees and partners is never a good approach, but it is particularly devastating in a startup.
TechCrunch LA
MAY 5, 2022
NetEase, the second-largest gaming company in China and the sixth-largest in the world, has opened its first US-based studio in Austin as China’s gaming industry slows. The company’s archrival Tencent was a step ahead in expanding to North America. TiMi, Tencent’s cash cow studio known for the mobile blockbuster Honor of Kings, began hiring in Los Angeles back in 2020. Last year, it added a base in Montreal.
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.
socalTECH
APRIL 29, 2022
Los Angeles-based e-sports and gaming platform FaZe Clan said this week that it has linked with fintech company Current, where FaZe Clan's talent will help engage their fans using Current's mobile banking products. Financial details of the partnership were not announced. Current is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global Management, TQ Ventures, Avenir, Sapphire Ventures, Foundation Capital, Wellington Management, QED Investors and EXPA, and is based in New York.
Tech.Co
MAY 6, 2022
Ecommerce company Shopify supports small businesses with technology like ecommerce website builders and retail Point of Sale systems. Now, it's dramatically expanding capacity in another area, fulfillment, with the acquisition of Deliverr. Shopify is paying $2.1
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 4, 2022
Most business mentors tell me that the single biggest problem they have to deal with in small companies is the lack of open, honest, and effective communication, both from the top down and from the bottom up. Some entrepreneurs forget that talking is not communicating.
TechCrunch
MAY 15, 2022
Uber Eats is launching two autonomous delivery pilots in Los Angeles on Monday with Serve Robotics, a robotic sidewalk delivery startup, and Motional, an autonomous vehicle technology company.
socalTECH
MAY 2, 2022
San Diego-based startup Fig said today that it has launched a new, mobile app which helps those on medical diets shop for food. According to the company, its app helps users browse through products available at grocery stores, and analyze ingredient labels to find foods that match up to those dietary restrictions. The startup was founded by Max Rebarber and Andrew Hollar.
Tech.Co
MAY 12, 2022
As of Thursday, the entire cryptocurrency sector has plummeted, losing $200 billion across the entire market within a day.
Berkonomics
APRIL 28, 2022
Finding your needle in the haystack. There is so much information being shot at us daily via social media streams that we should monitor and control that which pertains to our business – and do so with some level of expertise. Start with a simple tool.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 8, 2022
Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle.
TechCrunch
MAY 3, 2022
One of Britney Winters’ goals is to “live a less tangled life.” ” She grew up in Houston and went on to attend Stanford and major in engineering. She worked on Wall Street as an investment banker for a few years in New York before returning to Houston with a job in energy.
socalTECH
MAY 13, 2022
Irvine-based Synoptek, a business and technology consulting firm, said this week that it has acquired Macquarium, a business consulting and development services firm. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Macquarium's customers include Southern Company, Norfolk Southern, Snap-on-Tools, Home Depot, MGM, Equifax, UPS, Wells Fargo and others. synoptek macquarium business consulting technology development merger acquisition
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 9, 2022
Most businesses spend big money testing their brand logo, catchy marketing phrases, and demographics, but spend little time training and validating that their employees can and do deliver exceptional experiences to their customers.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 1, 2022
Marketing is everything these days. You can have the best technology, but if customers don’t know you exist, or they don’t know how your technology solves a real problem for them, your startup will fail.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 30, 2022
In my experience as a business advisor and angel investor these days, I seem to more frequently hear from entrepreneurs and business owners with “can’t-fail” or “get-rich-quick” ideas.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 11, 2022
In building successful businesses, I find that creating a new and innovative product or service is usually the easy part. The hard part is providing the leadership required to align and motivate all the constituents and players – from engineers, to investors, vendors, and ultimately customers.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 29, 2022
Most of you business owners I know are looking forward to the day when your product, team and processes begin to mature, and your business growth keeps tilting upward as you scale. You expect to relax a bit, and relish in the success that you see coming.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 27, 2022
It’s always been tough to start a new business, even when the bottom line was just making a profit to stay alive. A few years ago, a second focus of sustainability (“green”) was added as a requirement for respectability. Now I almost always hear a third mandate - social responsibility.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 13, 2022
As the economy rebuilds after some tough economic times, more and more people seem to be turning to entrepreneurship and their dream lifestyle as an alternative to traditional employment.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 15, 2022
Successful startups seem to follow similar paths to greatness, and unfortunately all too often that path leads them back down the hill much faster than they went up.
Startup Professionals Musings
MAY 6, 2022
Even though ‘big data’ has now been around for several years, the opportunities for startups seem to keep growing, just as the amount of data keeps growing. According to Forbes , over the last two years alone 90 percent of the data in the world was generated.
socalTECH
MAY 13, 2022
Elon Musk appears to have gotten cold feet--or perhaps, is angling to lower the price--on his deal to acquire popular social media app Twitter. According to a post by Musk, who is CEO of Hawthorne-based SpaceX, he is putting the "Twitter deal temporarily on hold", after seeing details on how many users on the service are actually spam or fake accounts.
socalTECH
MAY 13, 2022
London and Los Angeles political leaders showed up at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), saying this week that they will be working together to tackle the climate emergency and air pollution.
socalTECH
MAY 13, 2022
Hawthorne-based SpaceX has expanded availability of its Starlink satellite-based internet service to a total of 32 countries, the company said on Thursday. According to the company, it is now providing its service to Australia, Chile, US, Canada, Europe, Brazil, and elsewhere, an expansion from 25 countries supported in February. SpaceX started rolling out international support last September. spacex starlink internet international expansion satellite
socalTECH
MAY 12, 2022
San Diego-based biopharmaceuticals firm Halozyme Therapeutics said today that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 for its proposed acquisition of Antares Pharma has expired. The company said its deal still remains subject to various conditions. Halozyme offered to acquire Antares Pharma for $5.60 per share in cash on April 26th. The deal is worth approximately $960M in total. halozyme therapeutics merger acquisition antares pharma pharmaceuticals
socalTECH
MAY 12, 2022
Carlsbad-based satellite Internet provider Viasat said on Wednesday that it has been selected by Southwest Airlines. Viasat said that Southwest Airlines has selected its next genneation Ka-band satellite for in-flight connectivity on all of Southwest's new aircraft deliveries, starting this fall. Financial impact of the win was not announced. viasat southwest airlines kaband satellite
socalTECH
MAY 12, 2022
Santa Monica-based micromobility provider Bird has rolled out a new plan to get people to park the company's scooters in better location, tapping augmented reality technology from Google. According to Bird, it has launched something called "Bird VPS" (Visual Parking System), which uses Google's augmented reality APIs to geo-localize parked scooters. The company said it is using that AR technology, and Google Street View to detect and prevent improper parking.
socalTECH
MAY 12, 2022
San Diego-based K-12 cyber safety software developer Linewize said today that it has acquired parental control software developer Qustodio, in a deal worth $52M. The acquisition came via Linewize's parent company, Family Zone. The company said Qustodio has more than 4 million users, with deals with telecom operators in such countries as Spain, France, Singapore, Mexico, Japan, Brazil and Chile.
socalTECH
MAY 11, 2022
Newport Beach-based cannabis software developer BLAZE Solutions said on Tuesday that it has acquired a Canadian software compaany, Greenline. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Greenline is based in Vancouver, and builds point-of-sale (POS) software for dispenaries. BLAZE said the acquisition will help it to better serve its international clients, while also enabling the Company to gain experience operating in Canada's federally regulated marketplace.
socalTECH
MAY 11, 2022
Lake Forest-based OStream. ostream department defense artificial intelligence vision recognition port hueneme
socalTECH
MAY 11, 2022
Canoo, the pie-in-the-sky electric vehicle startup which fled Los Angeles for Arkansas in June of 2021, apparently "may not have enough money to stay in business", according to a report. The report, from TechCrunch, says Canoo has been burning through cash and has no near-term revenue, and is currently grappling with the exit of its co-founders, legal issues, an SEC investigation and production delays. deadpool bentonville cleantech arkansas factory vehicle electric canoo
socalTECH
MAY 11, 2022
Pasadena-based Prismpop announced this morning that it has raised $5M in seed funding, which was led by Female Founders Fund, Foundation Capital, Revolution Capital, Plum Ventures, Mucker Capital and Uphonest Capital, including an earlier seed funding from Unshackled Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group, Sequoia Capital (Scout Fund), Plug and Play, and others. The startup is led by CEO and founder, Peggie Li. The company said it was originally incubated at Mucker Capital.
socalTECH
MAY 11, 2022
A new, Los Angeles-based travel startup, Faye announced this morning that it has raised $8M in its seed funding, led by Viola Ventures and F2 Venture Capital. The startup says it is providing travel insurance via an app. According to the company, it is providing "whole-trip" insurance that covers trips, health, belongings, and even pets. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Elad Schaffer, along with co-founder and CTO Daniel Green. faye travel insurance startup viola ventures
socalTECH
MAY 10, 2022
West Hollywood-based LGBTQ+ dating app developer Grindr said on Tuesday that it in a deal to go public, via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). According to the company, it plans to combine with Tiga Acquisition Corp., which trades on the NYSE as TINV. The company said the deal includes $284M from Tiga Acquisition Corp., and $1.6 billion in rollover equity, giving the combined company a post-transaction enterprise value of $2.1 billion.
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