TechCrunch LA

MARCH 27, 2020

Consumers now have their first chance to sample the wares of a short-form streaming service — and it’s not Quibi. Ficto , a streaming service without a paywall offering interactive dramas, film adaptations, comedies, documentaries, talk shows, game shows, and news, is now live on iOS and Android. The company’s entertainment is designed to be interactive with live-streaming, geo-location, live chat, polling, choice-based narratives, 360 viewing, augmented reality, and click t

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Los Angeles Content Angel Outsource Development 152

socalTECH

MARCH 27, 2020

Santa Monica-based Bird reportedly let 400 of its employees go on Friday, via a pre-recorded Zoom meeting, according to a report. The on-demand scooter company said it laid off 30% of its staff, saying "Layoffs are never easy or comfortable to do" and saying that the layoffs were done as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a tweet, Bird said due to "CDC, WHO and a number of government mandates, Bird employees are currently all working from home and the impacted individuals received the news on

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Layoffs Santa Monica News Report 124

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2020

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. Let me assure you, from personal experience, and from helping many successful as well as struggling entrepreneurs, that starting a business is hard work, and doesn’t come with any of the benefits mentioned.

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socalTECH

MARCH 27, 2020

Chandler, Arizona-based Zovio , a provider of education technology services, says it plans to boost hiring in San Diego, as well as in Chandler, Arizona and Denver, Colorado, as a result of soaring unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company said it provides personalized learning products for higher education institutions. Despite the positive plans for hiring, it appears the positions might not go very far in an expensive market like San Diego: Zovio said the new positions have a

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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

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 27, 2020

A social media platform used to match advertisers with thousands of influencers has been hacked. Social Bluebook, a Los Angeles-based company, allows advertisers to pay social media “influencers” for posts that promote their products and services. The company claims it has some 300,000 influencers on its books. But in October 2019, the company’s entire backend database was stolen in a data breach.

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Social Media Email Tips Media 100

socalTECH

MARCH 27, 2020

Newport Beach-based restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill says it is shifting its eSports competition, the 2020 Chipotle Challenger Series , into an online tournament format. The eSports tournament--which was in person in Dallas, Texas last year--will include both professional gamers and celebrities, and will offer up $50,000 in prizes and free Chipotle for a year.

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socalTECH

MARCH 27, 2020

Santa Barbara-based Seek Thermal , which develops thermal imaging products, says it has rolled out a new, low-cost thermal imaging system which automates temperature screening using skin temperature. The company said its new product, Seek Scan, delivers accurate skin temperature measurements, automatically detecting faces, and alerts if someone is warmer than a customizable alarm temperature.

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Screening Santa Barbara Pricing Design 113

Xconomy

MARCH 27, 2020

Equillium has halted two clinical trials of its lead drug candidate out of an “abundance of caution” related to the coronavirus outbreak but continues to enroll in a third, which is evaluating the antibody as a treatment for acute graft-versus-host disease. The decision made by the San Diego biotech, revealed in its annual report filed Thursday with regulators, is one of the latest examples of clinical trial progress being stymied by the deadly virus , which is delaying the development of some n

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San Diego Examples Report Sites 67

socalTECH

MARCH 27, 2020

Santa Monica-based online healthcare marketplace operator GoodRx , which operates online marketplaces for prescriptions, doctors, and other healthcare services, is expanding its marketplace to include online doctor's visits (telehealth). The company said the GoodRx telehealth marketplace will make it easier for patients to find online medical providers.

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