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Early-stage investment firm Defy updates the venture partner model

TechCrunch LA

Vassallo and Sequeira prefer the term “sage” to describe the folks they’re looking to bring in to help mentor their companies. Both Lee, a Los Angeles-based serial entrepreneur who founded or co-founded Honest Co., Just don’t call them venture partners. million round.

Invest 109
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Interview with Alex Benzer, SocialEngine

socalTECH

It's like WordPress, but instead of blogging, it provides an online community, which is self-hosted. Alex Benzer: My partner and I met here in Los Angeles, in high school. We're definitely Los Angeles natives, but we got the opportunity to do TechStars. We have some great mentors now.

Startup 242
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How I Got the Monkey Off My Back – Today Was a Good Day

Both Sides of the Table

Working with early-stage teams : coaching, mentoring, setting strategy, rolling up sleeves: 9/10. “Ok, so this guy can write a blog and source deals but can he make any money?” Sourcing high-quality leads : 9/10. Since then? So I think it’s now fair to rate me at 9/10 on follow-on fundings. The monkey on my back.

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What I’ve Learned from Fred Wilson

Both Sides of the Table

My goal in the interview overall was to capture more of the personal side of Fred since so much of his investment thesis and portfolio work already comes out in his blog. We talk a lot about his schooling, his early jobs as a developer and then as a VC and we talk about his decision to spend winters in Los Angeles.

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Reflections on 2016: Cody Simms, Techstars

socalTECH

Today, we have Cody Simms , Executive Director of Techstars (www.techstars.org), which has been very active this year in the startup accelerator and mentoring area. You'll be able to see all the many 2016 reflections here as they are posted. What was the biggest news from you or your firm this year?

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CEO meeting in westside Los Angeles (Santa Monica), March 13th [Updated]

CEO Flow

Aaron is also the Program Director for Entretech’s Nitro.la , a non-profit mentoring network in partnership with USC, UCLA and Caltech, to help develop LA’s entrepreneurial community by “getting more companies funded in greater Los Angeles&#. Date & Time: Friday, March 13.

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CEO meeting in westside Los Angeles (Santa Monica), March 13th [Updated]

CEO Flow

Aaron is also the Program Director for Entretech’s Nitro.la , a non-profit mentoring network in partnership with USC, UCLA and Caltech, to help develop LA’s entrepreneurial community by “getting more companies funded in greater Los Angeles&#. Date & Time: Friday, March 13.