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Ryan Blair, HashtagOne: From Gang Member, To Entrepreneur, To Anti-VC

socalTECH

He eventually founded and sold consumer health firm ViSalus to a public company and is now back making investments, in technology companies, as a venture capitalist here at Los Angeles-based HashtagOne (www.hashtagone.com). What's the theme of your investments? That's why we have investments in Heal, Saucey, and FragMob.

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Some Thoughts on Branding Startups and Communities

Both Sides of the Table

ZestCash, founded by Douglas Merrill, former CIO of Google [Hollywood]. Think about venture capital. Those that were around 30+ years ago never had to think about branding – there were hardly any other VCs. But if you were going to start a venture capital fund today, you’d want to stand out.

Startup 304
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New Bootstrap Fund Pulls Itself Up in World of Health IT Deals

Xconomy

Healthtech entrepreneur Parker Hinshaw and his wife Jean Balgrosky said they intended to take a step back when they founded Bootstrap Incubation near San Diego in the fall of 2012. They came to San Diego in 1996, when Scripps Health hired Balgrosky as CIO and senior vice president. Jean Balgrosky.

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Want to Start a Technology Company in LA?

Both Sides of the Table

We have many seasoned entrepreneurs who have built successful companies here and made a lot of money for investors and themselves. Funding is different – In Silicon Valley you have mega venture capital funds and many of them. LA generally doesn’t have an appetite for this kind of investment at early stages.

Company 290
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Can You Really Build a Great Tech Firm Outside Silicon Valley?

Both Sides of the Table

Last year I was on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley meeting with one of the most prominent venture capital firms in the country. The VC partner, somebody I greatly respect said, “Yeah, we like Gil and what they’re doing. In my LA I often see computer screens open with entrepreneurs talking about digital media.

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Who Should you Hire at a Startup?

Both Sides of the Table

Please don’t also confuse this with whether a VC should invest in a CEO who’s done it before – that’s a given. I had always been a scrappy entrepreneur. One such meeting that he set up was with the CIO of the largest consumer products company in Europe. I’ll explain both below.

Startup 327