August, 2021

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Introducing Trust, and the Importance of Product-Founder Fit

Both Sides of the Table

Photo by Vanna Phon on Unsplash Customer acquisition is the lifeblood of many startups from e-commerce to gaming to marketplace companies, among others. Most of these startups spend the lion’s share of their marketing budget in today’s social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Snap, TikTok and so on because?—?no surprise?—?that’s where the customers are.

Product 424
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The shocking truth about employee loyalty

Berkonomics

How we often handle employment issues today. When we accept the work commitment from a person we hire, we make a pact with the new employee that often stops at agreeing to pay for service rendered and to provide a safe working environment. There should be more than that. . With some people you hire, you know you are just renting their services as they pass through your organization, aimed at a higher calling.

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Metro Moves Ahead With 2 Bids for Sepulveda Pass Project

L.A. Business Journal

In an unprecedented move, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has issued notices to two competing contract bidding teams to proceed on design and other preliminary work for a rail transit project through the Sepulveda Pass.

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A bug in a medical startup’s website put thousands of COVID-19 test results at risk

TechCrunch LA

A California-based medical startup that provides COVID-19 testing across Los Angeles has pulled down a website it used to allow customers to access their test results after a customer found a vulnerability that allowed access to other people’s personal information. Total Testing Solutions has 10 COVID-19 testing sites across Los Angeles, and processes “thousands” of COVID-19 tests at workplaces, sports venues and schools each week.

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Can You Ask for Office Rent Relief? How to Manage Your Lease During COVID-19

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.

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Invoca Claims Record Results, Says It Will Hit $100M Revenues By EOY

socalTECH

Santa Barbara-based Invoca, which develops call tracking and other customer tracking software, says it is on the path towards $100M in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by the end of its fiscal year. The company did not disclose its current revenues, but said it has seen "record growth" in the first half of FY21. The company has raised $116M in venture capital, from such investors as Accel, Upfront Ventures, H.I.G.

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5 Entrepreneur Exasperations To Moderate Your Passion

Startup Professionals Musings

The best part of being an entrepreneur is having the independence to make your own decisions, the flexibility for a better work/life balance, and personal satisfaction from driving change. But nobody said it would be easy. The road to business success is filled with challenges and frustrations that most aspiring entrepreneurs never even imagined. In my role as advisor to many startups, I try to prepare them for the inevitable bumps in the road ahead, as well as to provide practical guidance on h

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Do you tell someone “WHY” along with “WHAT?”

Berkonomics

How to get more performance from your directives. Empowering your direct reports with the reasons for your orders gives them incentive to act, motivation to accept authority, and purpose behind action. I try to teach this with the simple phrase that is the headline of this insight. Wouldn’t you want to know “why” if you thought an order illogical? Think of the last time someone above you in your business or personal life gave you an order to do something that seemed either illogical or of low p

Report 156
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Fisker to Raise $625 Million to Fund Second EV Model

L.A. Business Journal

Manhattan Beach-based Fisker Inc. is lining up capital to start production on a second electric vehicle in late 2023 after unveiling a debt offering of $625 million.

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Entering the Japanese Market

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, August 12, 2021 -- Entering the Japanese Market by Partnering With The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). Biocom California. Please join Biocom Los Angeles and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) for a virtual webinar to learn how Life Science companies in the Greater LA area can enter the Japanese market. Learn ways to create new business opportunities through partnering with JETRO, a nonprofit agency that promotes trade and investment between Japan and the rest of t

Marketing 100
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Slingshot Aerospace Rolls Out Satellite Collision Avoidance Effort

socalTECH

El Segundo, California- and Austin, Texas-based Slingshot Aerospace says it is rolling out a new collision avoidance and communications platform for space, which it says will help spacecraft owners and operators communicate and collaborate. According to the company, its new product, Slingshot Beacon, will be piloted by OneWeb, Spire Global Inc., Orbit Fab, and others, which aaccount for 53 percent of the satellite constellations in low earth orbit (LEO).

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8 Ways To Minimize Entrepreneur Burnout In A Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

New entrepreneurs routinely jump into a startup with a full charge of passion and energy, but often find themselves drained of both after a few months by the workload and challenges. As a result, burnout and loss of passion are consistently listed among the top causes of startup failure, according to many experts. The challenge is find ways to continually recharge along the way.

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The Soft Science of Being a Part of a Team

Inverted Software

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” – Michael Jordan. You often hear the term “team player”, but what does it really mean? Teams can achieve magnificent things if everyone on the team is working towards the same goals, or they can fail miserably when team members are divided. Starting with the smallest family unit or military squad and ending with your company, great teamwork is the basis for success.

Startup 105
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Are you being watched at work?

Berkonomics

Your past and present experiences. Ever had a manager above you who said one thing and did another? At least once? Or in a pattern of repeats? Well, you’re not alone. Did you think less of that person for it? Would you follow that manager to the ends of the earth? Well, almost everyone has had multiple such experiences with a senior manager. And most people think less of that person than before.

Examples 156
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Clearlake Capital to Buy Cornerstone OnDemand for $5.2 Billion

L.A. Business Journal

Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand Inc., a human resources management software company, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Clearlake Capital Group in a transaction worth $5.2 billion.

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Breaking the Series A Barrier: From Seed to Series A

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, August 25, 2021 --.

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Aardvark Therapeutics Gets $29M In Series B

socalTECH

San Diego-based Aardvark Therapeutics, a biopharmaceuticals company focused on metabolic diseases, said this morning that it has raised $29M in its Series B funding round. The funding was led by Sorrento Therapeutics, and also included Vickers Venture Partners, Premier Partners, BNH Investment, and Korea Omega, along with The Foundation for Prader-Willi Research.

San Diego 140
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7 Ways Your Marketing Needs To Meet Today’s Customers

Startup Professionals Musings

Every business I know is intimately familiar with outbound marketing, or pushing your message out to customers through email, newspaper, and television advertising. Only a few really understand the process and value of inbound marketing, for pulling customers to your brand. In my experience, it’s the fastest way to create trust and authenticity in this age of the consumer.

Custom 172
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There is More to Software Than Just Making it Work

Inverted Software

“I hired a software development company from India. They outbide all the US based companies I contacted and offered developers at a cheap price. Two years later they are still working on my systems. The number of hours I been billed is staggering and the system is buggy and barely usable.”. The above quote is a real customer that ended up at our office.

Software 105
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Why your investors may not respond when you need money

Berkonomics

When do most companies communicate? Early stage company investors as a group have a common gripe – almost universal. Information flows from the company irregularly, in fact most often when the company is urgently in need of more money. How these investors try to solve the problem. Investment documents usually call for quarterly reporting by the company to the investors.

Invest 156
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Vegas-to-LA Rail Developer Buys Land for Second Station

L.A. Business Journal

With its announcement of a land acquisition in Las Vegas last month, the developer of a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Southern California now has land for two key stations.

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Link-in-bio monetization platform Snipfeed raises a $5.5M seed round

TechCrunch LA

The link-in-bio business is heating up as more mobile website builders compete for a coveted slice of real estate on a creator’s TikTok, Instagram or Twitter. Linktree leads the space, securing a recent $45 million Series B raise to build out e-commerce features, but Beacons boasts competitive creator monetization tools with just a $6 million seed round in May.

Platform 286
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RepairSmith Pulls Up WIth $42M Funding For Mobile Auto Repair

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based mobile automotive repair startup RepairSmith, led by Joel Milne, has raised $42M in a new funding round, the company announced this morning. The Series B funding came from TI Capitl, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche Ventures, and Spring Mountain Capital. According to the company, the funding will go towards rapid expansion of its service. The company offers up mobile automotive repair and maintenance in 650 cities.

Mobile 124
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6 Positive Steps For Taking Control Of Your Work Life

Startup Professionals Musings

Every dedicated business professional I know can’t find enough hours in a day to do their best work, and yet they often find themselves saying yes to new requests from the people around them. In some cases it may be fear of retribution by the boss, but more often they just hate to disappoint others, and end up instead with high stress and low credibility in a crisis to deliver.

Startup 172
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That’s No Moon Launches With $100 Million Investment

L.A. Business Journal

Sawtelle-based gaming studio That’s No Moon Entertainment Inc. launched July 28 with a $100 million investment from Smilegate Entertainment, a global game development company based in Seoul, South Korea.

Invest 264
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SpaceX Acquires Swarm Technologies

L.A. Business Journal

SpaceX has agreed to purchase Swarm Technologies, which designs small satellites to manage internet-of-things services.

SpaceX 321
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State Approves Most of Proposed Edison Rate Hike

L.A. Business Journal

Southern California Edison executives were generally pleased with the state’s decision in early August to allow the utility to tap ratepayers to raise $6.9 billion in revenue this year, even though that was $730 million short of what Edison requested.

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Jam City Still Eying Public Offering After Canceling SPAC

L.A. Business Journal

Culver City-based mobile gaming company Jam City Inc., which canceled plans for a SPAC merger last week, will continue to pursue a public offering.

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Metro’s Regional Connector Enters Final Construction Phase

L.A. Business Journal

The final major construction push for the long-awaited $1.8 billion Metro Regional Connector Transit Project through downtown has finally arrived.

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Twitch, Zynga Founders Back ForeVR in $7 Million Raise

L.A. Business Journal

Hollywood-based virtual reality gaming studio ForeVR Games Inc. raised $7 million in additional seed financing to grow its studio and slate of offerings.

Hollywood 246
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Long Beach Reemerges as an Aerospace Hub

L.A. Business Journal

From startups to established titans, aerospace companies are expanding their presence in Long Beach.

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LAX Makes Headway on $14.5 Billion Modernization

L.A. Business Journal

Last month saw several significant milestones on different fronts in the $14.5 billion effort to modernize Los Angeles International Airport.

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Wealthiest Angelenos: Snap Soars, Driving Huge Returns

L.A. Business Journal

For those Wealthiest Angelenos whose fortunes are tied to technology, the pandemic brought big gains in net worth over the past year.

.Net 243
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Willa App Helps Freelancers Get Paid

L.A. Business Journal

Kristofer Sommestad has worked with freelance creators throughout his career in technology.

Help 290
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Nacelle Raises $50 Million For Ecommerce Solutions

L.A. Business Journal

Software company Nacelle has raised $50 million in a Series B funding round.

Software 290
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Ryff Raises $12 Million For 3D Ad Placement

L.A. Business Journal

Ryff Inc., an advertising technology startup, has raised $11.7 million in funding.

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Media, Entertainment Drive LA’s Growth as a Tech Hub

L.A. Business Journal

Los Angeles is cementing its status as a hotspot for the tech industry.