Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 28, 2015
Every year around the holidays journalists and bloggers around the world publish “top ten” lists or “annual buyer’s guides” or similar. And every year I think about doing the same. But it’s the holidays and I usually can’t be bothered. Plus, after reading everybody else’s list it feels pedestrian to publish mine.
Berkonomics
JUNE 25, 2015
By David Steakley. This week’s insight comes from David Steakley, who has contributed several great posts to Berkonomics this year. David is an active angel investor in Texas and is a former management consultant, where he obviously plied his trade well. – Dave. Companies can strike it rich by finding an element of business operations which many companies need, but few have the capability or expertise to execute with excellence – and then aim to supply that element.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Tech.Co
JUNE 17, 2015
I don’t like when people say: “I’m just not creative”. It doesn’t make me mad, but that’s my least favorite phrase in the world because I think it’s a cop out. I’m here to tell all of you out there who think creativity is some grand, innate talent that it’s not: it’s entirely learnable, and you’re all creative – you just don’t know it yet. There’s a team of Los Angeles entrepreneurs who would agree with me on that, and they launched their platform Kadenze to help people tap their creativity.
socalTECH
JUNE 30, 2015
Santa Monica-based HomeHero , a new startup providing an online marketplace for in-home, senior care services, said Tuesday afternoon that it has raised $20M in a Series A funding round. The funding came from Graham Holding Company, along with Social+Capital Partnership, Tencent Holdings Limited and The Launch Fund. The funding comes on top of an earlier, $3M seed round for the company last year from SocialCapital.
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.
Eric Greenspan
JUNE 27, 2015
I’m a big fan of clean fingers. As I type this I can see my fingerprints forming on my iPhone screen. It makes me nuts. The line to the bathroom at the car wash is too long to deal with, or I’d go wash my hands. I wish I had a moist towelette in my pocket, but I don’t. The age of the touchscreen is upon us. We tap, tap, slide all day, everyday.
InfoChachkie
JUNE 22, 2015
A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. Facebook recently joined Google and Twitter by offering a click-to-call functionality in its ads, giving consumers an option to call businesses directly, versus emailing them or completing an online form - effectively making the plain old phone one of the most powerful on/offline marketing tools of the coming decade.
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Berkonomics
JUNE 18, 2015
If you could predict a crisis within your business before its occurrence, wouldn’t you move to prevent or reduce its impact? Making such predictions is a skill that can be developed, and here’s one method of doing so. There are five basic kinds of internal risks than a business faces over time. Of course, there are external risks that cannot be controlled or predicted, but can be planned for as well –. natural disasters, sudden political or economic events that rattle the entire economy, and mo
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 7, 2015
Many entrepreneurs still don’t understand that building a business culture today of doing good, like helping people (society) and planet (sustainability), is also a key to maximizing profit. Employees and customers alike are looking for meaning, not simply employment and commodity prices. Every company needs this focus to attract the best minds and loyalty in both categories.
socalTECH
JUNE 30, 2015
Irvine-based medical device developer Inari Medical has raised $12.4M in a Series B funding, the company announced this morning, for its efforts to develop medical devices for the vascular thrombus and emboli. The funding came from Versant Ventures and US Venture Partners, both of which are existing investors in the company. Inari also said tun-named, medical device industry veterans also joined in the round.
Eric Greenspan
JUNE 25, 2015
Three years ago, I got the news that my investor was unable to fund and my 11 year old company would miss it’s first payroll. It was a Sunday, around noon. When the news arrived, I moved fast and did all I could to start the process of acceptance. What would happen next was I supposed expected, but impossible to really understand. I’m not going into the details of what happened but you can read that story here and it’s called Never Make the Same Mistake Twice.
InfoChachkie
JUNE 15, 2015
A version of this article previously appeared in the Wall Street Journal. During my 15-years as a startup executive, I relished being proven wrong. Knowing that I was had made a mistake empowered me to make the correct decision. Being wrong is much preferred to erroneously thinking you are right and relentlessly executing a losing strategy. Effective entrepreneurs reject dogmatism and embrace doubt.
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 22, 2015
I’ve heard many investors and some executives repeat the mantra, “Never offer exclusive deals,” and since this blanket statement is generally bad advice I thought I’d offer the less conventional but I believe more practical version of why exclusive deals can actually be a huge bonus for a startup and why I actively encourage them.
Berkonomics
JUNE 11, 2015
By Frank Peters. Our guest insight this week is from Frank Peters, well-known in the angel and in the bicycle worlds for his podcasts and passion. His personal story is full of lessons for us all. – Dave. We’ve all heard the modern day mantra: Fail Fast. It’s good advice; the theory being that entrepreneurs can discover the flaws in their business models sooner, make course corrections and move in a more favorable direction.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 3, 2015
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
socalTECH
JUNE 30, 2015
Los Angeles-based Nativo the native advertising technology developer led by Justin Choi, said Tuesday morning that it has raised $20M in a Series B funding round. The funding was led by Advance Vixeid Partners (AVP), and also included RezVen Partners and the company's other existing investors. Nativo said it will use the new funding to scale its operations.
Eric Greenspan
JUNE 18, 2015
I know you aren’t feeling well. I know you’re bored in that hospital bed. I know you are on meds. I know it hurts. I know she broke your heart. I know you failed. I know you got rained on. I know you hate that. I know you are tired and your kids are bugging you. I know you have challenges. I know you’re broke. I know you missed your flight.
InfoChachkie
JUNE 9, 2015
A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. With top-ranked accelerators Lauchpad LA closing its doors and Y Combinator rebranding itself as a seed fund, it seems fair to ask the question, “Are Accelerators Dead?”. Good news: a quick review of TechCrunch’s March 2015 List of Top 20 U.S. Accelerators , which includes two LA-based accelerators in the Top Ten ( Mucker Lab and Amplify LA ), proves that the overall health of the Accelerator landscape is sound.
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 19, 2015
Business leaders have many tasks to accomplish and prioritizing stuff can be hard. Yesterday I wrote about the need to “ do fewer things, more often ” in which I described that frenzied world we live in and why the shiny objects and distractions stop us from living up to our true potential. Today I’d like to give that advice in more tangible terms and with a framework to think about your tasks – the funnel.
Berkonomics
JUNE 2, 2015
So your business has begun to take off. You’ve figured out your channels of distribution, pricing model and how to support your growing list of customers. Don’t be alarmed by this next statement. That’s relatively easy. You can be the one to develop a product or service, promote it, and support it when you are a small operation. But what if you need to repeat the process of positioning, selling, and supporting your product ten thousand or more times as often as you do today?
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 6, 2015
Traditionally, the majority of entrepreneurs have been logical thinkers, problem solvers, with full attention to details. These are the stereotypical left-brain engineers. Yet I see a big shift from the knowledge age, with its left-brain foundation, to a critical focus today on visualization, creativity, relationships, and collaboration, which are more in the domain of right-brainers.
socalTECH
JUNE 30, 2015
Los Angeles-based enterprise software maker Chrome River , which develops cloud-based software used for expense reporting and automated invoice processing, announced today that it has raised $100M in a Series D funding round. The funding came from Great Hill Partners. Chrome River said it will use the funding to accelerate global growth and support product innovation.
Tech.Co
JUNE 23, 2015
When it comes to any major sporting event, would you rather watch a recording of it or would you rather watch it live? It’s a pretty simple answer: nothing beats a live broadcast. For a long time though the power to broadcast live to a big audience has been strictly in the hands of TV stations and media conglomerates. But then some entrepreneurs got an idea: let’s put the power of the live broadcast directly in the hands of the people.
InfoChachkie
JUNE 1, 2015
A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. It sounds crazy to offer unlimited vacation time to your startup employees. Something to the left of socialism. Yet that is exactly what Richard Branson announced this past Fall. According to Branson, “We should focus on what people get done, not on how many hours or days worked. Just as we don’t have a nine-to-five policy, we don’t need a vacation policy.”.
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 18, 2015
We are experiencing a frenetic time. I rarely talk to any startup entrepreneur or VC who doesn’t feel it and somehow long for simpler times despite the benefits we all enjoy from increased enthusiasm for our sector. For entrepreneurs there’s too much money sloshing around. One would think entrepreneurs would never want less available cash – until such time as their competitors ridiculously and unnecessarily all raise $50 million in the name of a “land grab” thus mak
Tech Zulu Event
JUNE 29, 2015
Silicon Beach Fest has sadly come to an end, however Elvina Beck hit the marina for this year’s SBF getting some insightful tidbits of information from SBF attendees. So sit back, experience and enjoy what SBF had to offer. Oh and did we mention they are all dancing to the Spice Girls?!? Appearances By: Hank Leber of Vytmn | Tech community in L.A.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 20, 2015
Every culture and community puts pressure on its members to follow the norms. Even young people who start out wanting to be different are called “freaks,” and most are slowly bent back into the norm by the time they “grow up.” Maybe that’s why so many entrepreneurs struggle with building a disruptive new business, where breaks from the norm are the key to success.
socalTECH
JUNE 30, 2015
San Diego-based therapeutic antibody developer AnaptysBio announced this morning that it hass named two new board members. AnaptysBio said it added Hollings Renton--the former CEO and president of Onyx Pharmaceuticals-- and John Schmid--former CFO of Auspex Pharmaceuticals--to add strategic plannning and corporate finance exertise to the company's board.
Tech.Co
JUNE 12, 2015
The technological world we live in affords some pretty unique and awesome opportunity, like drone aerobatics. However one of the often underestimated, or potentially overlooked, trends is the customization and personalization options we get because of tech. All of us at Tech.Co have covered this topic. In fact, I wrote about a company recently that lets you design, choose, and print customized vinyl decals for your car – it’s super cool.
Frank Addante
JUNE 25, 2015
I’ve been reflecting on what it was like each time I started a new venture. We were brimming with excitement, passion and energy. We knew what we were creating was going to disrupt the media industry and make it better, faster, smarter. But maintaining that high has been difficult. Eight years after starting Rubicon Project, I’ve found that our excitement, passion and energy comes in waves.
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 11, 2015
Product Hunt. It seems out of nowhere it has become the go to website for startup companies to launch their new products or businesses. It reminds me a lot of how TechCrunch felt in 2006. It was the place that every startup knew they HAD TO be in order to attract initial users and also gain the attention of venture capitalists. I strong showing on TechCrunch created initial product demand and if you could sustain that it led to buzz overall in the tech community.
Tech Zulu Event
JUNE 25, 2015
Advertising technology is hot with the rise of mobile, evidenced in part by Verizon’s merger with AOL valued at $4.4 billion, and on a much smaller scale, Undertone’s recent acquisition of mobile ad provider Sparkflow. Until recently, three legacy providers (Sizmek, PointRoll and Google’s DoubleClick) have dominated the rich media market. But that’s changing with a new crop of rich media platforms disrupting the ecosystem with new mobile and non-standard rich media ad formats, one of which R
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 13, 2015
Entrepreneurs and startups often ask if they should select only social media for marketing, or stick with digital media, or just count on traditional media. The answer is yes to all, and the challenge is how to choose how much of each, and how to integrate them for maximum impact and the least cost. None should be considered competitive mutually exclusive to any other.
socalTECH
JUNE 30, 2015
Irvine-based Linksys , the unit of Belkin which develops home and business networking equipment, said today that it has launched a new, high gain antenna for Wi-Fi networks. The company said its new, dual-band, omni-directional antennas help provide roughly 2 times the performance over stock antennas on most wireless routers. The new antennas--which provider 4dBi gain in 2.4Ghz and 7dBi in 5Ghz--are aimed at use at the edge of Wi-Fi networks, and simply replace a router's existing RP-SMA antenna
Steve Reich
JUNE 20, 2015
There is a conflict in many startups that no one seems to write about–the clash that can occur between the founder and the professionals they bring in to help build their companies. It was highlighted for me by a conversation with a friend this week who had just joined a young company in the Bay Area as as a CFO. He remarked that with just a few tweaks in the business model, he thought the team could get to an exit in 18-24 months.
Frank Addante
JUNE 25, 2015
I’ve been reflecting on what it was like each time I started a new venture. We were brimming with excitement, passion and energy. We knew what we were creating was going to disrupt the media industry and make it better, faster, smarter. But maintaining that high has been difficult. Eight years after starting Rubicon Project, I’ve found that our excitement, passion and energy comes in waves.
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 11, 2015
This morning it was announced that Matt Murphy had left his role as a partner Kleiner Perkins to join as a partner in Menlo Ventures. As much of the coverage in the press this morning acknowledges it’s rare for a partner to leave from one firm to another. It’s even more rare for VCs to talk publicly about other VCs, so I thought it would be fun to break rank and tell you about Matt.
Expert insights. Personalized for you.
261 
Let's personalize your content