Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 21, 2009

On the third Wednesday of every month I co-chair a meeting called the SoCal VCA (venture capital alliance), which represents participants from all of the top venture capital firms in Southern California as well as prominent members of the Tech Coast Angels (TCA). They have data from surveys they did with corporate development officers (e.g.

Venture Capital 241

Venture Capital Technical Review Southern California Companies 241

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 30, 2011

In the initial phases of any new market you’re developing a product (hopefully with a minimal set of features), getting feedback from customers, refining your product based on user feedback and then re-launching your product. Markets develop for a complex set of factors that are often beyond all of our control.

Development Team Review 374

Development Team Review Technical Review Startup Resource 374

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 15, 2014

Many questioned whether it could survive under the fail whale, inevitable competition from Facebook, founder fighting, fights with 3rd-party developers let alone become a revolutionary business that could make money. Periodically we do portfolio reviews to evaluate whether we have enough diversified risk across the fund. Far from it.

Funding 362

Funding Technical Review Ideas Startup 362

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. Want to be an entrepreneur? Techpreneurs.

Santa Barbara 258

Santa Barbara Technical Review Startup Venture Capital 258

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

The main thrust of the post is that with YouTube taking a 45% of revenue and talent taking 70% of the remaining revenue, YouTube Networks didn’t have sustainable businesses unless they invested heavily in technology as a tool to increase margin and provide defensibility. That is the definition of Disruptive Technology.

Company 339

Company Companies Technical Review Content 339

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 9, 2020

There could be more demand for electric vehicles post COVID-19 crisis, believes Energica founder Livia Cevolini. One of those is greater demand for EVs after the pandemic. Before the health crisis shutdown most of Italy, Energica had already seen larger demand for its high-performance e-motos, with a price range of $17,000 to $23,000.

Technical Review 277

Technical Review Competition Demand Sales 277

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 5, 2010

TWTFelipe is the founder of TWTApps , who had developed some really cool add-on applications for Twitter to extend its functionality. In 2005 he was graduated and took a job in South Carolina working for technology company while he started his own web design company on the side. Felipe grew up in Brazil. But I have some.

Technical Review 282

Technical Review Startup High Tech Software Review 282

TechEmpower

FEBRUARY 10, 2016

We’ve heard this from startup founders, product managers, development team leads, CTOs, and others who see their product gaining traction, but simultaneously see performance falling off a cliff. Often this situation is characterized as a “good problem to have” until you’re the technical person who needs to solve the problem—and quickly.

Web 330

Web Technical Advisors Framework Technical Review 330

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 12, 2018

seems like an unlikely place to grow one of the next billion-dollar startups in the booming Los Angeles tech ecosystem. Battery isn’t the only marquee investor to find value in ServiceTitan’s business developing software managing day labor. The city of Glendale, Calif. “Silicon Beach” this ain’t.

Glendale 271

Glendale Los Angeles Startup Technical Review 271

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 22, 2010

Santa Monica-based Factual , the open data startup headed by Gil Elbaz, the inventor of Google's AdSense technology, said today that it has launched a new open set of data that the firm says provides geo-coded data for 14 million local U.S. Tags: factual elbaz applied semantics good data dataset open developer software mashup.

Software Review 206

Software Review Rustic Canyon Miramar Google 206

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Los Angeles-based 3D film technology provider RealD announced this morning that filmmaker James Cameron has resigned from the company's board of directors. The company said that Cameron has left the board due to his work on Avatar 2 and Avatar 3. RealD develops 3D movie projection technology. READ MORE>>.

Technical Review 147

Technical Review Demand Los Angeles Technology 147

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 20, 2017

So how did a company that provides storage grow so fast (we’ll exit 2017 with 10’s of millions in recurring revenue), why is it so defensible and is it really a tech startup? If you buy that Amazon is a tech startup then essentially you’ve already answered the question. years of software development.

Technical Review 268

Technical Review Funding Software Review Artificial Inteligence 268

socalTECH

AUGUST 4, 2015

Santa Barbara-based Ice Energy (www.ice-energy.com) has quietly been working away at developing energy storage systems to help smooth out the demand for energy on the nation's power grid. Can you talk about your technology? The reason they do that, is we solve the peak demand problem they have on the grid.

Southern California 219

Southern California Technical Review Demand Outsource Development 219

TechEmpower

MARCH 4, 2024

Focusing on generative AI applications in a select few corporate functions can contribute to a significant portion of the technology's overall impact. It plays a crucial role in product development too, where generative AI speeds up design processes, streamlines testing, and tailors user experiences effectively.

Generative AI 297

Generative AI TechEmpower CTO Hire Outsource Development 297

socalTECH

APRIL 27, 2012

Los Angeles-based SOA Software is expanding in Australia and New Zealand, the firm said this week, due to growing customer demand in the region. READ MORE>>.

Software Review 140

Software Review Software Technical Review Demand 140

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 27, 2011

Exec Summary: Most companies (98+%) in the world (even tech startups) should be very profit focused. If you spent the 3 years perfecting some hugely differentiated technology IP that may also be different. Fast early growth in a market is often eroded when competition gets fierce and prices are forced down due to competition.

Startup 419

Startup Venture Capital Sales Technical Review 419

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 5, 2014

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. Yet I see many technology entrepreneurs that focus on the basics of marketing too little and too late. Marketing is everything these days. Marty Zwilling.

Technical Review 103

Technical Review Tips Marketing Entrepreneur 103

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

To say that the tech elite were cynical of Hulu’s launch would be an understatement , but by the time it launched just a few months later it was getting great reviews. Amongst other things it chronicles the frustration many media companies have had in not being able to play by the same rules as the tech companies.

Hulu 292

Hulu Technical Review Content Advertising 292

socalTECH

DECEMBER 3, 2012

A lot of software startups have shied away from serving public institutions, despite a big market, due to concerns about how slow they adopt things. Once those states were signed up, and did lots of due diligence, it went easier. We're looking at it as an alternative to Taleo, SuccessFactors, Cornerstone On Demand, and so on.

Software Review 243

Software Review SaaS Startup Technical Review 243

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 21, 2020

Maven had paused service due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Maven had already suspended its consumer car-sharing and a peer-to-peer service due to COVID-19. Our learnings and developments from Maven will go on to benefit and accelerate the growth of other areas of GM business.”. GM’s experiment with car sharing is over.

Los Angeles 215

Los Angeles Technical Review Email Services 215

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Pasadena-based robot developer Miso Robotics, which develops kitchen assistance robots, says it is looking to raise another $40M more via crowdfunding, after just completing $50M in an equity crowdfunding push. The company said it is undergoing a "SEC review process" ahead of the new crowdfunding effort.

Artificial Inteligence 124

Artificial Inteligence Technical Review Pasadena Demand 124

socalTECH

AUGUST 18, 2009

In the recent surge in interest in the clean technology and energy investment area, we're constantly surprised by the number of startups in the area focused on some aspect of the industry. Let's start on the technology side--can you tell us about the technology, and its origins? It's very simple, from the technical perspective.

UCLA 159

UCLA Technical Review El Monte Startup 159

socalTECH

OCTOBER 15, 2015

Santa Barbara-based Ice Energy , the developer of energy storage devices which use ice to offload electric grids of peak loads, said Wednesday that it has launched a new, bundled solution which combines both its energy storage and photovoltaic solar energy. READ MORE>>.

Santa Barbara 100

Santa Barbara Demand Technical Review Product 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 5, 2015

Santa Barbara-based energy storage technology developer Ice Energy announced today that it is opening up a new, research and development center in Riverside, with plans to immediately hire 12 at the location. megawatt deployment the company has contracted with Southern California Edison (SCE). READ MORE>>.

Riverside 113

Riverside Santa Barbara Southern California Outsource Development 113

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 23, 2012

"The demands and the amount of work that it takes to put something like [Facebook] into place, it's just so much that if you weren't completely into what you were doing and you didn't think it was an important thing, then it would be irrational to spend that much time on it." 4) Rational Exuberance. "The

Startup 268

Startup Tips CTO Coach Technical Review 268

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 28, 2021

If you are the hot-shot technical innovator that invented your solution, make sure you have an equally adept business and marketing expert to complement your skills. “If Bill Gates was the technical genius, but Steve Ballmer, from Procter & Gamble, ran the business side of the equation. Needed help can be your biggest burden.

Technical Review 131

Technical Review Case Study Mentor Software Review 131

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 22, 2018

Apparently with a physical storefront where it can convince customers of the wonders of on-demand mobility. Update: TechCrunch has confirmed Lime’s plans for the store, and that the deal to build it came through Lime’s investor Fifth Wall Ventures that arranges partnerships between tech companies and real estate developers.

Santa Monica 221

Santa Monica Startup Technical Review Education 221

Tech.Co

DECEMBER 7, 2015

Specifically, two high school seniors in LA, Dillon Rosenblatt and Tyler Makhani, recently built out an app called Tutors , a platform for on demand tutoring. “As a result of the immense growth and popularity of on-demand services in other major industries, it just makes sense that tutoring will follow the craze.”

Demand 116

Demand Technical Review Los Angeles Platform 116

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

As inflation rates spiral and consumer demand takes a hit, business owners are forced to be more mindful of their bottom lines than ever. Create a membership here Deadline: Applications are reviewed quarterly 3. There's no denying that 2024 is a challenging year to run a business. Want to browse the web privately? ?

Technical Review 184

Technical Review Software Review Startup Competition 184

socalTECH

JANUARY 28, 2019

However, there is already the technology out therefrom San Luis Obispo-based Whitefox Defense (www.whitefoxdefense.com)  to both detect, and neutralize those drones. We spoke with founder and CEO Luke Fox to learn more about the company, and its technology. Explain how your technology works?

Startup 187

Startup Technical Review Technology Competition 187

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 7, 2020

Although his focus is naturally on bigger companies, I contend that his recommended strategies apply equally well to entrepreneurs and startups: Demand a mindset of deep thinking for the long term. In my experience, even in startups, longer-term strategy often gets pushed off the agenda due to current challenges.

Technical Review 124

Technical Review Layoffs Social Media Metrics 124

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 14, 2017

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. and we were met with weak demand, slow growth and high costs. We spent a few hundred thousand dollars opening up operations in Chicago and Washington D.C.

Startup 287

Startup Technical Review Customer Custom 287

socalTECH

JUNE 8, 2011

We actually built that about a year and a half ago, and are bringing that back due to overwhelming demand. Our project manager, a couple of our advisors, and a couple of our sales people, our head of business development--we're all from Active. We want to be the technology tool kit for social commerce. READ MORE>>.

Platform 263

Platform Training Software Review Advertising 263

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2020

This distrust for the scripted message has led to a new demand for unfiltered marketing, and the emergence of business credibility heroes, like Elon Musk, with his bold statements about space travel, and sometime villains, such as Mark Zuckerberg defending Facebook privacy practices. They want the raw data versus a polished message.

Customer 173

Customer Custom Social Media Technical Review 173

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2022

If you are like most entrepreneurs I know, there just aren’t enough hours in a day to get all your own work done, as well as run the many one-hour meetings each team member seems to demand for decisions and mentoring. But it only works if you observe the following principles: Never hide from your team.

Mentor 154

Mentor Technical Review Coach Slides 154

socalTECH

MARCH 12, 2013

The company--which is in the business of operating a content delivery network (CDN) to accelerate the delivery of web graphics, multimedia, applications, and more to end users-- recently disclosed it more than doubled its revenues in 2012, and has grown to over 230 employees--all due to a huge amount of demand for CDN services by its customers.

CTO Hire 248

CTO Hire Content Networking Web 248

Tech.Co

JULY 13, 2023

Initially pinned as a generative AI startup for Twitter when it first hit the headlines back in April, the xAI website seems to suggest that the new startup will remain separate from the social media platform, as well as Musk's collection of other technology companies. Will xAI Rival OpenAI?

Artificial Inteligence 106

Artificial Inteligence ChatGPT Generative AI Technical Review 106