Berkonomics

MARCH 16, 2017

So, what do you think is more important? The quality of your management team, or the plan you execute toward success? Checking with professional investors from angels to VC’s, the answer appears to be near unanimous: the quality of the proposed or actual management team comes in a strong first, before the attractiveness of the business plan itself. The quest for a great management team is not a fluke, but rather a result of backward looks at the failure rate from past investments by those same

Statistics 243

Statistics Ideas Entrepreneur Startup 243

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Los Angeles-based Embark Ventures , a new venture capital fund led by Yipeng Zhao and venture capitalist Peter Lee, is raising a $50M venture capital fund, according to a recent SEC filing by the firm. The filing says the firm has so far raised $45M out of a $50M target in the fund, from six limited partners. Embark's website says it is focused on pre-seed and seed stage investments in Internet and software companies.

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Venture Capital Capital Funding Equity 202

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 16, 2017

Honest Co.’s CEO Brian Lee steps down, venture capital firm Blockchain Capital plans to raise funds by selling digital currency, and SpaceX successfully launches EchoStar satellite.

SpaceX 113

SpaceX Venture Capital Report Capital 113

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Earlier this week, Derek Norton , a long time advisor to the media, Internet, and technology industry in Los Angeles, announced a brand new venture capital fund called Watertower Ventures (www.watertowerventures.com). We sat down with Derek to learn more about the new $5M fund and what it's all about. Tell us about the new fund? Derek Norton: I just closed on a new fund, worth $5M, which I raised from a group of high net worth, high profile LPs.

Invest 145

Invest Funding Capital Startup 145

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

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 16, 2017

Wednesday, March 22, 2017 -- Venice Beach Tech Networking Mixer. Join the fastest growing tech startup community in Los Angeles! Meet new people and participate in lively discussions with outstanding names in the Silicon Beach community. Register immediately for an Early Bird Ticket.

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Venice Networking Los Angeles Startup 100

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Are you an entrepreneur, looking for capital here in Southern California? It's turning out to be a great time for entrepreneurs looking for funding in the region, with not only high profile exits of such companies as Snap Inc., but a bunch of new, early stage investors looking to seed or fund the next big tech success story. Here's a rundown of some of the venture capital investors who have set up shop in Southern California, plus those with big new funds, which have been announced so far since

Southern California 138

Southern California Artificial Inteligence Funding SoCal 138

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Online advertising exchange operator and ad technology developer OpenX has rolled out a new, page analysis tool for Google Chrome, called Ad Footprint by OpenX Labs , the company said on Wednesday. The new extension helps online publishers explore the load of advertising tags on their pages, helping them figure out how long it takes pages and advertising to load, and how to optimize user experience and page speed.

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OpenX Tool Advertising Google 124

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 16, 2017

Wednesday, March 22, 2017 -- The 14th Annual LAVA Venture Awards Dinner. LAVA 14th Annual Venture Awards Dinner. Celebrating 30+ years of service to the Los Angeles Entrepreneurial Community. Featuring Frank Mottek, KNX1070 Business Hour Host as Master of Ceremonies. The Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA) will hold its 14th Annual Venture Awards Dinner to recognize Southern California’s best venture-backed companies, and to celebrate the induction of a special guest into the LAVA Hall of Fam

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LAVA Southern California Los Angeles Venture Capital 100

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

The Art of Manufacturing , a podcast hosted by technologist Krisztina Holly has launched its second season, as part of its efforts to help bolster manufacturing ecosystem in Los Angeles. The podcast--part of Make It In LA , an effort backed by newly re-elected Mayor Garcetti--features a new guest every Thursday, starting with Kellie Johnson, the President of ACE Clearwater Enterprises, a major high tech aerospace manufacturer.

High Tech 113

High Tech Los Angeles Help Angel 113

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 16, 2017

Wednesday, March 22, 2017 -- Join us at the Pepperdine West Los Angeles Graduate Campus and learn invaluable information about what it means to be an entrepreneur. Breakfast provided. Are you looking to expand your knowledge of new product innovation and commercialization? If the answer is yes then this session is definitely for you! This session breaks down the chaotic product innovation process into three simple sections.

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Product Pepperdine West Los Angeles Pricing 100

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Hawthorne-based SpaceX successfully launched a communications satellite, EchoStar XXIII , into orbit early Thursday morning. SpaceX launched one of its Falcon rockets into space at 2:00 am EDT on Thursday morning, after a delay earlier in the week due to high winds. The morning launch itself was shifted about a half an hour, again due to high upper altitude winds.

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SpaceX Hawthorne 113

Xconomy

MARCH 16, 2017

2016 will be remembered for many things, not least as the year that AI and machine learning stepped into the technological and cultural spotlight. Advances in applied machine learning fueled our enthusiasm for smarter, more talkative devices. It impacted how we learned about and processed the news—and fake news—of the national elections.

Artificial Inteligence 72

Artificial Inteligence Marketing News Technology 72

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

San Diego-based renewable energy developer EDF Renewable Energy is expanding its renewable energy efforts, into distributed electricity and storage. EDF Renewable Energy said it has created a new business unit, Distributed Electricity and Storage (DES), which will focus on distributed solar and storage projects up to 30 megawatts (MW). The company said it will focus on providing that storage to commercial, industrial (C&I) and utility customers in the United States.

San Diego 113

San Diego Acquisition Custom Customer 113

Xconomy

MARCH 16, 2017

Startups that develop advanced military technologies often never come to light. But San Diego’s Daylight Solutions has managed to openly thrive in two very different markets. The company has advanced its specialized solid-state laser technology for customers in both the defense industry and commercial sector. Paul Larson, who co-founded Daylight Solutions with CEO Tim Day in 2005, said they followed a path that was very different from a classic defense contractor, but not too different from a ty

High Tech 55

High Tech Startup Customer Custom 55

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Coding bootcamp operator Coding Dojo says it is starting its first day of classes in Orange County on Monday, the first time the bootcamp operator has run a program in Orange County. The company--which announced the expansion into Orange County in December--runs a 14-week, on-site program to teach graduates software coding skills. The company also has campuses in Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, Silicon Valley, and Washington DC.

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Orange County Class Los Angeles Sites 113

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Pasadena-based Family.me , which is developing a social, family tree application, has launched out of beta, saying that it is aiming to help families document and share their memories. Family.me said it is creating a free, private social network to help families discover, share, and preserve memories. The service lets users collaboratively create a family tree with their family, and attach photos, videos, and other information within that tree.

Social Network 113

Social Network Pasadena Networking Sites 113

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Coding bootcamp operator Coding Dojo had said this week that it was starting its first day of classes in Orange County on Monday, the first time the bootcamp operator has run a program in Orange County. However, in an update on Thursday, a spokesperson for the company says it has delayed that opening until a later date, to be announced later. The company--which announced the expansion into Orange County in December--runs a 14-week, on-site program to teach graduates software coding skills.

Orange County 100

Orange County Class Los Angeles Sites 100