TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Today, SpotOn said it has closed on $300 million in Series E financing that values the company at $3.15 Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) led both the Series D and E rounds for the company, which says it has seen 100% growth year over year and a tripling in revenue over the past 18 months. Image Credits: SpotOn.

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Software Review Invest Acquisition 296

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2013

One of the largest concentrations of technical talent in Los Angeles is in Glendale, at YP -- staffed with a surprising number of Los Angeles startup vets. We were quite surprised to learn about the extent of your operations here. Our whole product and technology team is about 500 people. How big is YP? Louis and Atlanta.

Technical Review 223

Technical Review Glendale Advertising Google 223

socalTECH

MAY 21, 2013

One of the largest concentrations of technical talent in Los Angeles is in Glendale, at YP (www.yp.com) -- staffed with a surprising number of Los Angeles startup vets. We were quite surprised to learn about the extent of your operations here. Our whole product and technology team is about 500 people. How big is YP.com?

Technical Review 211

Technical Review Glendale Advertising Google 211

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2011

The venture capitalists we look at to fund our deals are certainly tightening down, there's no question about that. Investors are very focused on diligence, on business models that make sense, and those companies that have a definite competitive advantage and defensibility to what they're doing.

Tech Coast Angels 231

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 231

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

In my last post I pointed out that many of the media commentators who have criticized the YouTube video network companies as not having strong businesses were mistaken. The best “MCNs” are in fact building strong technology businesses with rapid growth and strong, defensible assets. Europe is roughly the same as the US.

Company 339

Company Companies Technical Review Content 339

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 9, 2019

With a standard tech startup I can tell you in my sleep that your two biggest cost items by a long shot are people (between 60–75% of total costs) and space (10–20% of total costs). The only other significant cost item that I see in some early-stage startups is inventory (for hardware or eCommerce companies).

Product 214

Product Software Review Technical Review Startup 214

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Companies that have leveraged technology to make the procurement and delivery of food more accessible to more people have been seeing a big surge of business this year, as millions of consumers are encouraged (or outright mandated, due to Covid-19) to socially distance or want to avoid the crowds of physical shopping and eating excursions.

Technical Review 343

Technical Review Startup Marketing San Diego 343

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Responding to Elizabeth Warren’s call to regulate and break up some of the nation’s largest technology companies, the venture capitalists that invest in technology companies are advising the presidential hopeful to move slowly and not break anything. This too shall pass.” — Balaji S.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2020

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Most founders like to talk about their many months or years of sweat-equity , but cash invested is a stronger commitment.

Technical Review 174

Technical Review Startup Invest Patents 174

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 24, 2020

Divergent, the Los Angeles-based startup aiming to revolutionize vehicle manufacturing, has cut about one-third of its staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has upended startups and major corporations alike. However, he did confirm to TechCrunch that he had to reduce staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s No.

Startup 251

Startup Technical Review Outsource Development Platform 251

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010

We all know about AngelGate by now. Here’s what you need to know… As a funny coincidence I happend to have written about the topic of collusion 3 weeks prior to the fateful dinner. They’re not in search of price fixing or collusion, they’re in search of diligence information about the company.

Pricing 292

Pricing Entrepreneur Technical Review Venture Capital 292

socalTECH

JUNE 3, 2019

If you see all of the examples, like Salesforce, Warby Parker, the companies that do good outperform all of their peers. Pledgeling has built a technology platform that makes it super easy to integrate charity into their customer experience, and, as we say, grow through giving. How did you decide to get into this as a company?

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Software Review Mogreet Platform 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 17, 2018

Richard Wolpert is a well known investor in the Los Angeles technology community, through his own fund, Chance Technologies; as a Venture Partner at Amplify.LA and Venture Advisor at Accel Partners; and has a long history in the tech community, having been Chief Strategy Officer at RealNetworks and President of Disney Online.

Startup 147

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Software Review 147

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2019

During the holiday season, our tradition over the last few years has been to post reflections on the past year and some predictions for 2019 from Southern California's technology industry. There was no monetary reward for those who participated (and Startup Boost does not take fees or equity from the companies that we help).

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Software Review Startup Coach 157

Tech.Co

JULY 28, 2020

All the optimism in the world couldn't make an in-person CES 2021 happen, as the world's largest trade show has officially been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The cancelling of tech conferences was one of the first signs that the pandemic was going to be disruptive, and not in a fun, entrepreneurial way.

Technical Review 166

Technical Review Conference Press Help 166

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 8, 2022

For example, TOMS shoes inspired everyone by highlighting and effectively communicating a higher purpose from founder Blake Mycoskie of helping the needy by donating a pair of shoes for every pair sold. Challenge yourself to delivering a technical innovation. Driven to reduce personal hardship and suffering.

Technical Review 143

Technical Review Coach Mentor Custom 143

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 23, 2021

For example, I commonly see metrics to keep track of revenue per employee, overtime, and absenteeism, but I don’t often see measures of overall customer satisfaction with individual employees. Customers enjoy fresh perks to give them something to talk about, and make your business stand out.

Custom 147

Custom Customer Technical Review Metrics 147

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 26, 2020

I called an (ex) LP to tell him about her and my goals for her. Kara said “no” because she wanted to start her own company, which she did and I backed. Leadership is about recognizing your next generation of talent and helping lift them up. Or, maybe it’s just about getting out of the way and watching what they can achieve.

Venture Capital 361

Venture Capital Startup Invest CitySearch 361

socalTECH

OCTOBER 22, 2020

We caught up with Krisztina, who has been active in Southern California's startup community for a number of years, to learn more about the firm and its investment style. Krisztina Holly: We are an early stage fund, known for our ability to discovery and cultivate very complex science and technology deals. That's where we add value.

Southern California 124

Southern California Capital Technical Review Startup 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 6, 2021

New entrepreneurs, especially technical ones, are excited by early adopters, and tend to focus on their feedback, which will always suggest more product features and options. The company has since gone public, and is still a market leader. Focus first on finding more of the right customers. Focus on the mainstream customer majority.

Technical Review 160

Technical Review Technical Advisors Startup Mentor 160

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

We are often asked how companies get funded, why VCs make the decisions we make and what we’re looking for in entrepreneurs. I think this is a Seriously great example of how this process works for at least one VC – Upfront Ventures. But I’m guessing the narrative is similar elsewhere.

Funding 373

Funding Technical Review Startup Screening 373

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 2, 2019

Most of you aspiring entrepreneurs have no idea how dramatically your own role has to evolve as you develop a solution, start a business, and expect it to scale into a successful self-managed company. Thus my job as a small business advisor really is really more about getting you developed than perfecting the business.

Company 99

Company Companies Technical Review Startup 99

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

Set a personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behavior. When McDonald’s was still a small company, Ray Kroc, the CEO, had a penchant for asking a store manager to help him clean up trash in their parking lot. Find something to celebrate and something to laugh about. But no one is superhuman. Marty Zwilling

Technical Review 107

Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur Examples 107

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

There were many moments in each space when pioneers were funding startups and the press hadn’t written much about them and if you were a typical investor you were still funding the last trend while some VCs were trailblazing into new categories. Almost nobody believed and now look at it. Online education.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 23, 2015

.” If you don’t create the message about yourself, the market will. Of course you could start your own company. As I talked about in “ Is it Time to Learn or Time to Earn ” – overwhelmingly the best economics go to those that start successful companies.

Technical Review 150

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital IP 150

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 18, 2023

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Most founders like to talk about their many months or years of sweat-equity , but cash invested is a stronger commitment.

Startup 83

Startup Technical Review Invest Patents 83

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 1, 2020

For example, Xerox tried to broaden the use of "xerox" as the standard term for "photocopying" to extend their existing customer segment into office automation and all kinds of computing. These days, branding is less about products or solutions, and more about the overall customer experience and expectations.

Custom 123

Custom Customer Technical Review Examples 123

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2013

What I’m talking about here is a level of discipline and skill necessary to collect and analyze the relevant business data, known as metrics. As the end of the year approaches, it’s a good time for every startup to assess the metrics, technology, and platforms they’re using to manage the business. Customer loyalty and retention.

Metrics 100

Metrics Technical Review Sales Custom 100

InfoChachkie

OCTOBER 20, 2014

According to a recent Forbes article , UC Santa Barbara''s Technology Management Program offers students a superior startup education over the University of Pennsylvania (home of Wharton), as well Harvard, Northwestern and even its acclaimed southern neighbor, the University of Southern California. The TMP is an example of lean academia.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 3, 2010

We thought today for our interview, that we'd get an update on the angel investment environment here in Southern California from Scott Sangster , the incoming President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tech Coast Angels , the biggest angel investment group in Southern California. It was actually a really good year last year.

Tech Coast Angels 182

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Angel Southern California 182

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 26, 2021

As the catalyst for this collaborative fantasy epic, these authors would post twelve initial origin stories about their fictional universe, to which they owned the copyright. Within hours, fans confronted the authors in the Discord server with their concerns about the project. An emerging tech dystopia.

Writing 196

Writing Outsource Development Technical Review Examples 196

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 8, 2015

Every startup founder loves to prompt for questions from investors and potential key team members about their vision, and the huge opportunity that can be had with their disruptive technology. Most founders like to talk about their many months or years of sweat-equity , but cash invested is a stronger commitment. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Invest Startup Patents 103

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 28, 2023

This is counter to the traditional business premise of “control,” so many companies are still pushing back. Charlene Li, in her classic book “ Open Leadership ,” shows leaders how to tap into the power of the social technology revolution and use social media to be “open” while still maintaining control.

Social Media 112

Social Media Media Software Review Social Network 112

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 13, 2020

If you have a software development background like mine, I’m sure you often get questions about when to outsource, versus building the solution in-house. Outsourcing is defined as contracting the work to another company, usually located in a developing country, like India, China, or Eastern Europe. Factor in all the cost elements.

Outsource Development 122

Outsource Development Outsource Software Review Technical Review 122

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 25, 2020

Set a personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behavior. When McDonald’s was still a small company, Ray Kroc, the CEO, had a penchant for asking a store manager to help him clean up trash in their parking lot. Find something to celebrate and something to laugh about. But no one is superhuman. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 123

Technical Review Startup Entrepreneur Examples 123

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 20, 2019

But people are still begging for more technology or laws, often to protect them from themselves. As examples, I present my list of ten of the most common ways entrepreneurs can be victimized by ignorance or greed, based on questions and stories I get from entrepreneurs and associates. Off-shore unsolicited investor offers.

Technical Review 91

Technical Review Funding Email Entrepreneur 91

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 18, 2022

The alternative protein space is hot, hot, hot as evidenced by both the number of companies developing products and the venture capital going into the space. Investment into alternative proteins, for example, plant-based meats and dairy substitutes was $5 billion in 2021, according to both the Good Food Institute and Crunchbase data.

Software Review 187

Software Review Metrics Startup Technical Review 187