Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 21, 2021

When you see startups like SpaceX and Pinterest grow from a low valuation to a billion dollars in just a few years, it’s easy to assume that if you just keep doing what you are doing, you can get there as well. Of course, that means a mindset willing to give up much more equity, and taking on a whole new level of risk.

Startup 151

Startup Course Sales Entrepreneur 151

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2022

In the old days, every entrepreneur planned on taking their startup public, and making it big. Today the rate of startups going public (IPO – Initial Public Offering) is finally up from the dead zone of the last two decades, and is now double the rate back in 1999. Startups going public are laid open to competitors and critics.

Startup 98

Startup Report IBM IBM 98

socalTECH

JUNE 6, 2019

According to an unconfirmed report on Wednesday, Santa Monica-based on-demand scooter rental startup Bird is in the midst of talks to acquire another, on-demand scooter company, Scoot. According to the report, Scoot was last valued at around $71M, and had raised $47M in total funding. READ MORE>>.

Report 113

Report Santa Monica Demand Competition 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 13, 2014

Los Angeles-based comedy website Funny or Die --started by Will Ferrell--is looking for a buyer, according to reports this week from Bloomberg. to help sell the company, according to the report, saying that the website is seeking $100 million to $300 million in the sale of the company. READ MORE>>.

Report 138

Report Hollywood Acquisition Content 138

socalTECH

AUGUST 22, 2013

That acquisition by JustFab of fellow fashion startup ShoeDazzle yesterday? The acquisition valued ShoeDazzle at only around $30M, a huge drop in the company''s value, compared with a $240M valuation back in 2011, according to Dow Jones. justfab shoedazzle merger acquisition fashion ecommerce subscription' funding round.

Acquisition 164

Acquisition Los Angeles Report Startup 164

socalTECH

DECEMBER 28, 2016

the parent company of Snapchat, has reportedly acquired Israeli startup Cimagine Media. The acquisition was first reported by a local Israeli financial daily. Venice-based Snap, Inc. , The deal is reportedly worth between $30M and $40M. Cimaging Media develops augmented reality technology. Cimagine was founded in 2012.

Snapchat 113

Snapchat Media Report Venice 113

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 17, 2014

Based on a trio of recent, cloud technology acquisitions by major, Silicon Valley technology powerhouses, that would be Southern California. Three companies--all started in Southern California--have been picked up for their cloud technology over the last few months, including today''s acquisition of Pasadena-based Metacloud by Cisco Corp.;

Southern California 145

Southern California Startup Santa Barbara SoCal 145

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2017

MakieLab , the custom, 3D printed doll startup which had been part of Disney's second Disney Startup Accelerator program, has been acquired, reportedly by Disney itself. Full details of the acquisition and buyer were not officially announced, however, MakieLab said that it has been acquired by a "a fantastic US media behemoth".

Report 113

Report Burbank Custom Customer 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 26, 2017

Santa Monica-based car startup Fair.com is acquiring the auto leasing business of Uber , according to a report from the WSJ today. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Fair operates an auto car shopping/financing service, which is led by longtime industry veteran Scott Painter (formerly of TrueCar).

Report 100

Report Truecar Santa Monica Acquisition 100

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

In a very bold move, Venice-based Snapchat has apparently turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook , according to a report today from the Wall Street Journal. snapchat merger acquisition exit facebook tencent mobile' READ MORE>>.

Snapchat 210

Snapchat Report Southern California Journal 210

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

It reportedly paid a hefty $230 million to acquire the podcast publisher and network startup Gimlet Media, and has also acquired the podcast monetization platform Anchor for an undisclosed price. It’s the biggest podcast industry acquisition ever, and Spotify isn’t done. Spotify Acquires Gimlet Media and Anchor.

Acquisition 124

Acquisition Media News Platform 124

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 18, 2023

Although many won’t admit it, true entrepreneurs can’t wait to exit their current startup, and build a new and better one with their next great idea. For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment. Set your startup health gauges and use them.

Startup 99

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Acquisition 99

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 26, 2020

Despite the fact that the number of IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) for startups have continued to stay low, I still hear it touted often as the preferred exit strategy. According to TheStreet , US IPO market results in Q2 2020 posted a strong bounce-back from Q1 with 58 IPOs, after a slow start due to the Covid19 pandemic.

Startup 127

Startup Technical Review Acquisition Study 127

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 24, 2020

Venice, California-based Snap has acquired the assets of ill-fated augmented reality (AR) hardware developer Daqri , according to a report today. Financial details of the asset acquisition were not announced. According to Protocol, the acquisition was of "certain Daqri assets" and around two dozen employees.

Venice 124

Venice Acquisition Startup Report 124

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 30, 2022

Personal protective equipment (PPE) was in short supply over the past two years, and it was widely reported that some had to reuse what is typically a single-use item, like surgical gowns. The products can be reused for up to 50 washes, so you can use the same gown instead of changing into a different one, which saves money and waste.”.

Develop 257

Develop Development Venture Capital Startup 257

TechEmpower

AUGUST 21, 2023

Keeping up with the competition: You’re a market leader in a fast-growing field. Newer, nimbler competitors keep introducing new features before your team can catch up. Outgrowing your stack: Your tech stack was just right for your startup. Due diligence prep: You’re coming up on a funding round or looking at a potential exit.

Technical Review 260

Technical Review Development Team Review Software Review TechEmpower 260

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 15, 2016

Is another, Los Angeles consumer startup-- The Honest Company --about to be acquired by Unilever ? An unconfirmed report Thursday afternoon, from TechCrunch, says that Unilever is in early talks to acquire the company, founded by Jessica Alba and SoCal serial entrepreneur Brian Lee. READ MORE>>.

Dollar Shave Club 100

Dollar Shave Club Report Company Companies 100

socalTECH

OCTOBER 21, 2020

Los Angeles-based Quibi is shutting down and has hired a restructuring firm to help it wind down the company, with co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg confirming to investors on Wednesday that the company will shut down, according to a report from the WSJ. Quibi has raised more than $1.75

Report 100

Report Content Los Angeles Mobile 100

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2021

Venice, California-based Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, has acquired 3D image acquisition company Pixel8earth. Pixel8earth develops a crowdsourced, 3D imagery acquisition service, which allows people to help build out a an open, 3D map of the world--mapping into 3D space. The deal was reportedly worth $7.6M.

Snapchat 113

Snapchat Venice Acquisition Report 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 1, 2014

Ian Rogers , the CEO of Beats Music , is set to head up iTUnes Radio , according to a report from the WSJ Friday afternoon. The WSJ, citing "people familiar with the matter" said that Rogers will run both Beats Music and iTunes Radio, now that the acquisition is complete. beats music apple merger acquisition rogers'

Report 168

Report Yahoo Acquisition Los Angeles 168

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 24, 2022

As a business consultant and angel investor, I often ask for your own assessment of marketing ROI , or customer acquisition cost (CAC). Here I recommend the use an outside consultant report periodically to avoid internal turf wars. Are you making the proper investment, and is it paying off? That’s $300 a lead.

Custom 100

Custom Customer Acquisition Technical Review 100

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 9, 2021

Although many won’t admit it, true entrepreneurs can’t wait to exit their current startup, and build a new and better one with their next great idea. For these reasons, I always look for an overt exit strategy in every startup I might consider for an angel investment. Set your startup health gauges and use them.

Startup 173

Startup Entrepreneur Metrics Acquisition 173

socalTECH

MARCH 26, 2018

Venice, California-based Snap , the parent firm of Snapchat , has quietly acquired a 3D gaming engine developer based in the UK, according to a report. According to the report, Snap acquired PlayCanvas, a developer of 3D game design software, last May. No details on the acquisition have been announced by either of the companies.

Snapchat 138

Snapchat Venice Startup Report 138

L.A. Business Journal

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016

OSI Systems completes $269 million acquisition of American Science and Engineering, Lionsgate and Univision team up for Spanish-language streaming service, artificial intelligence startup Oben raises $10 million, and more

Artificial Inteligence 100

Artificial Inteligence Acquisition Report Services 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2010

Ultimately to become defensible the client application would want to diversify its “stream&# so would start supporting Facebook, MySpace and perhaps even IM products. I said this many times publicly before it ever started happening with Tweetdeck and Seesmic. Think about the creative tension. Kind of obvious, huh?

Acquisition 287

Acquisition Develop Development Conference 287

TechCrunch LA

JULY 23, 2019

On Tuesday, Haptik announced it has acqui-hired Convrg, a Los Angeles-based startup that develops chatbots, to serve customers in North America. The startup had raised only a “small seed round” prior to today’s announcement, Vaish said, declining to reveal any financial details. For that, we need team and dedicated operation there.

Los Angeles 209

Los Angeles Angel Startup Google 209

socalTECH

OCTOBER 1, 2012

Viewdle , a developer of computer vision technology which is venture backed by Anthem Ventures and Qualcomm, among others, is in the midst of an acquisition by Google , according to reports today. The original report came via Forbes, with followup from TechCrunch. TechCrunch said the acquisition is worth around $30M.

Google 157

Google Anthem Report Santa Monica 157

socalTECH

MARCH 29, 2013

It looks like the sale of book review and community Goodreads was worth between $150M to $200M, according to a report form AllThingsD Friday, potentially making the acquisition one of the better returns on capital from a Southern California technology startup in recent years.

Report 203

Report Technical Review Southern California Santa Monica 203

socalTECH

JULY 23, 2012

There's been a surge in startup accelerator activity in Los Angeles in the last year, as interest in starting a company in the region has grown, and a wide range of experienced entrepreneurs and investors have pitched in to help companies get to the next level.

Los Angeles 234

Los Angeles Angel Report Startup 234

socalTECH

DECEMBER 7, 2021

Venture-backed startup Better.com, which offers up an online mortgage service--and which has offices in Irvine--is getting widespread heat for its approach to layoffs--a three minute Zoom call, and the CEO's messages saying those laid-off employees were "stealing" from the company having allegedly working only two hours daily.

Layoffs 113

Layoffs Acquisition Report Startup 113

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 22, 2018

Recognizing the tens of billions of dollars that the Southern Californian region leaves on the table, because it hasn’t taken its rightful place in the American technology industry, a new group called the Alliance for Southern California Innovation has just released a report to analyze how SoCal can work to assume its pole position.

Southern California 224

Southern California Dollar Shave Club SoCal Develop 224

socalTECH

MAY 18, 2021

Los Angeles-based Canoo, an electric vehicle startup which has announced a number of futuristic looking vehicles--but has yet to deliver one to the market--is now under SEC investigation, according to a number of reports. special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) acquisition last year. Canoo went public in a $2.4M

Conference 113

Conference Acquisition Los Angeles Report 113

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 8, 2021

A spin-off is merely a startup spawned by a mature parent (company), and conventional logic would dictate that it has a survival advantage over the lowly startup. Contrary to popular belief, according to a report by A. Mingle and learn from the startup culture and new technology – without losing control.

Company 125

Company Companies Startup Examples 125

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

Los Angeles-based Xos, a relatively unknown, new electric truck startup, has agreed to go public at a $2 billion valuation, via a SPAC offering, according to reports. The company--which had just raised $20M--will be acquired in a reverse merger with NextGen Acquisition Corp.

Report 113

Report Acquisition Los Angeles Custom 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 21, 2020

Time might be running out for Los Angeles-based mobile video streaming service Quibi , according to a report , which says that Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg is considering shutting down the company.

Report 100

Report Content Los Angeles Mobile 100

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 8, 2009

A post by Fred Wilson pointed me to Dave McClure's Startup Metrics presentation. This is a great presentation and one that I'm going to point out to startup / early stage company CEOs. Define what you need from a metrics and reporting standpoint. If these numbers work out, then often scaling is more a question of capital.

Metrics 225

Metrics Startup Web 2.0 Slides 225

socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2017

The startup is led by Alexander Watson, who previously was at the National Security Agency (NSA) and also had served at Websense. San Diego-based Harvest.ai , a developer of software that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to prevent data loss from enterprises, has reportedly has been acquired by Amazon.com. Harvest.ai

Artificial Inteligence 100

Artificial Inteligence Report San Diego Software 100