Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

Today Upfront Ventures is announcing that we’ve backed Rebecca Kantar ’s startup Imbellus , a company designed to assess human potential and ultimately change the way we teach children. We led a $4 million investment along with Thrive Capital, GLG and Sound Ventures. The news blogs will cover the what, how and how much but I want to focus on the “why” and try to be instructive of what I think makes for a great A-round startup.

Design 230

Design Startup Ideas Writing 230

L.A. Business Journal

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

Le Holdings Co. of China, the main backer of electric car startup Faraday Future, announced on Monday that it raised $1.08 billion from a group of Chinese investors to develop an electric car. Le Holdings Co. of China, the main backer of electric car startup Faraday Future, announced on Monday that it raised $1.08 billion from a group of Chinese investors to develop an electric car.

Startup 149

Startup Develop Development 149

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

Ventura-based The Trade Desk , which operates an online advertising exchange, priced its IPO late Tuesday evening, saying that it will sell 4,666,677 shares of its Class A common stock at $18.00 per share. The company will begin trading today on the NASDAQ Global Market as TTD. The Trade Desk priced at the high end of an already increased estimated IPO range, which had been upped to between $16.00 and $18.00 per share yesterday; the company had originally set an estimated IPO range of between $1

Pricing 149

Pricing Ventura Incubator Class 149

L.A. Business Journal

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

Faraday Future’s main backer receives $1 billion to pursue electric cars, Hulu orders two virtual reality shows, job candidate screening startup Imbellus raises $4 million, and more.

Hulu 109

Hulu Screening Report Startup 109

Advertiser: Aggregage

Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.

Company

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

Los Angeles-based DataScience , the data analytics software developer led by Ian Swanson, has rolled out its data analysis platform, the DataScience Cloud. The new software is aimed at data science teams in the enterprise. DataScience said its platform supports connect any time of data source to data sciences sources, including databases, distributed filesystems, software-as-a-services; includes visualization tools and data browsers; connections to an API; and more.

Platform 145

Platform Tool Software Development Software 145

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

The days of leadership without engagement are gone. With interactive social media and video everywhere, everyone needs to feel they have a relationship with their leaders, and every brand needs leader personification for customers to relate. Soon you won’t be able to name a business as one of your favorites if you can’t personally visualize and relate to company leadership.

Social Media 99

Social Media Metrics Custom Customer 99

Xconomy

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

A core tenet of Xconomy—and the reason behind our broad coverage across information technology, life sciences, energy, and more—is that the most interesting and important innovations often arise from the intersection of different disciplines. One of the most important intersections today is between agriculture, the life sciences, and information technology—as evidenced by the growing field of agtech.

Newsletter 73

Newsletter Research Technology Equity 73

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

Ventura-based The Trade Desk , saw a huge pop in the markets this morning, with its stock trading up nearly 60 percent, at $28.66 per share--significantly above the $18.00 per share the company priced at late last night. The Trade Desk--which is now trading as TTD on the NASDAQ Global Market--operates an online advertising market and exchange. The company was trading around $28.66 right around noon ET.

Ventura 143

Ventura Pricing Advertising Sales 143

Tech.Co

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

Nazis used radio; today’s extremists use social media. Then as now, new technology provides extremists with unchecked ability to spread hate and prey upon disenfranchised audiences to realize their deadly agenda. This event will explore the tension between protecting free speech and limiting incendiary propaganda. What responsibility do technology companies, governments, and individuals have to limit uses of technology to keep our world safe?

Los Angeles 70

Los Angeles Social Media Angel News 70

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

Officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base , in Lompoc--just North of Santa Barbara--said that the wildfire raging on the base has stabilized, and that the fire boundry is now "relatively stable" and not likely to spread beyond containment lines. Although the base has not given containment numbers, they said that it is expecting winds to shift to the northwest today, helping the 1,000 firefighters on the scene with control of the fire.

Santa Barbara 143

Santa Barbara SpaceX Hawthorne Help 143

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

Irvine-based endpoint protection and cybersecurity tools developer CrowdStrike said this morning that its Falcon platform has been validated for compliance with theHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The company said the compliance was done by HIPAA assessor Coalfire. According to CrowdStrike, its platform has been validated to identify the eight key technical requirements for HIPAA, allowing it to assist healthcare organizations with their own HIPAA compliance efforts.

Platform 131

Platform Tool Organization Develop 131

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

Santa Monica-based social CRM software developer Nimble has rolled out a new version of its platform, which it is calling "Nimble 4.0". According to the company, led by longtime CRM veteran Jon Ferrara, the updated software includes such new features as embedding within Office 365 and Google Apps; synchronizes contacts, emails, and calendars; new automatic market segmentation tools; personalized outreach emails; new templates for Gmail; and much more.

Tool 131

Tool Template Santa Monica Email 131

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

Allset , a startup which lets you book a table at a local restaurant and pre-order food, so that you can just show up, grab a seat, and eat, said it is expanding into Los Angeles after a funding round. Allset--which currently has operations in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Manhattan--said the funding came from Andreessen Horowitz, Metamorphic Ventures, FJ Labs, as well as SMRK VC Fund and Alexandr Chernyak.

Funding 125

Funding Los Angeles Venture Capital Research 125