November, 2017

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Uber adds LA to flying taxi test cities, demo flights slated for 2020

TechCrunch LA

Uber has inked a partnership with Nasa over its flying taxi plans and says now it’s aiming to get demo flights up and running in Los Angeles by 2020. Read More.

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What Happens When Startups Turn from Their Innovation Stage to Operational Excellence?

Both Sides of the Table

Nearly every successful tech startup I’ve observed over the past 20 years has gone through a similar growth pattern: Innovate, systematize then scale operations. An alternate outcome that I also unfortunately observe in some cases are companies who had extreme early success with an initial product adoption but failed in key areas that limited the growth and therefore the ultimate financial outcomes.

Startup 286
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Niche marketing works. Here’s how.

Berkonomics

Close. How many of us throw away marketing dollars because our paid efforts reach an audience that is much larger than the target or niche audience we need to reach? Whether it be for publications, social marketing, or even those once-necessary postal mailers, we have tools now that were not available just a few years ago. So, let’s up our marketing knowledge first with a few short answers to marketing questions….

Marketing 266
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DermTech Raises $10M In Series C Funding

socalTECH

La Jolla-based molecular dermatology startup DermTech announced today that it has raised $10M in its Series C funding round, part of an ongoing $15M financing effort by the company. The startup, which is developing precision medicine technology for the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancers, inflammatory diseases, and other skin diseases, said the funding included investments by RTW Investments, along with other private investors.

Funding 199
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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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LinkedIn, Silver Lake Take Stake In Cornerstone OnDemand

L.A. Business Journal

Cornerstone OnDemand, a personnel management software developer, announced on Wednesday that private equity firm Silver Lake Partners and Microsoft Corp.’s LinkedIn plan to invest $300 million in the company.

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5 Intrapreneur Startup Lessons From The Co-Father Of The Xbox

InfoChachkie

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. I was great fun to interview Robbie Bach, Co-Father of the Xbox, as part of UC Santa […]. The post 5 Intrapreneur Startup Lessons From The Co-Father Of The Xbox appeared first on John Greathouse.

Startup 149

More Trending

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10th Annual Digital Family Reunion

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, December 6, 2017 -- 10th Annual Digital Family Reunion: Envisioning LA Tech in 2027. Please join us for the 10th Annual Digital Family Reunion: Envisioning LA Tech in 2027. If you've attended before, you already know the magic of DFR.and if this is your first, get ready to experience what happens when LA's entire tech community convenes to celebrate all that connects us.

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Are you ready to take on an office lease?

Berkonomics

Rent your first office with caution. . Several years ago, I became involved with a Southeast Asian company looking to expand into the United States. During the discussions with the CEO about hiring North American managers, he made it clear that he wanted us to find a first-class office facility from which to start the search process, and proceeded to name cities that attracted him.

Startup 256
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HopSkipDrive Raises $7.4M More For Ride Service For Kids

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based HopSkipDrive , the ridesharing service which helps deliver kids to and from school, after-school activities, and home, said this morning that it has raised $7.4M in a new funding round. The funding came from Student Transportation Inc. (STI), a company in the school transportation, safety, and fleet services market. FirstMark Capital, Upfront Ventures, as well as new investors Skyview Capital and Halogen Ventures also participated in the funding.

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Sniffing Out New Business

L.A. Business Journal

SeekOps Inc., a Pasadena startup, manufactures a methane sensor that it attaches to a quad-copter drone and flies over oil and gas fields looking for leaks.

Pasadena 150
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Startup Spotlight: Cyber Security, Car Care, and Reducing Grunt Work

Tech.Co

With the new iPhone X, biometric security was taken to the next level with FaceID to protect one’s personal and banking information. Each week, TechCo features tech startups that can help streamline your daily life. This week in Startup Spotlight, we found an affordable cyber security service for small businesses, biometric startup with facial recognition tech for businesses, car care for smart cities, a platform that will reduce the grunt work at marketing agencies, and more.

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Former Hulu exec Noah Heller launches new venture fund to focus on LA tech

TechCrunch LA

Noah Heller, one of the chief architects of Hulu's virtual reality strategy, has left the video streaming service to set up his own venture firm, 3Rodeo. Primarily focused on backing Los Angeles-based technology startups, the new fund has already committed capital to three deals, Heller confirmed.

Hulu 235
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Global LAVA: Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Investing

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, November 30, 2017 -- Global LAVA: Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Investing. Speakers: Sheri Kaiserman, Head of Advanced Securities at Wedbush; Brad Bulent Yarar, Co-Founder Blockchain Investors Consortium (BIC); Adam Ettinger, Shephard Mullin; Heidi Pease, Co-Founder of UCLA and Los Angeles Blockchain Labs.

LAVA 100
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Avoid “The tyranny of the new office” syndrome.

Berkonomics

Close. One of the most obvious observations I make with growing company CEO’s is that planning for a new office is done with an optimistic view of the future, incorporating planned space that compromises only slightly the measured needs for the next three or more years as outlined in the financial forecast. The result, signing a lease for space enough to handle the growth called for in the plan, is a predictable group behavior I’ve come to label “The tyranny of the new office.

Email 243
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How To Sell A Used 1996 Honda Accord, LA Style

socalTECH

In an example of why technology companies serious about content continue to flock to Los Angeles, an epic Youtube video selling a used 1996 Honda Accord --complete with overhead drone video across the Southern California coast--posted last Thursday--has gone viral. The video was created by a Youtube user for his girlfriend, who is selling her car on eBay.

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Silicon Beach Report Nov. 20: Ten Franchise Teams for ‘League of Legends’ North American e-sports League Unveiled

L.A. Business Journal

Ten franchise teams for ‘League of Legends’ North American e-sports league unveiled, SpaceX launch of secret Zuma mission on hold until after Thanksgiving and Maglev transportation company Arrivo welcomes regulations.

SpaceX 113
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6 Lessons From Navy SEALs For New Venture Founders

Startup Professionals Musings

You have to be extra tough mentally to start a new business venture. While thinking about it, I realized that it’s really not that different from the toughness required and trained into America’s elite military force of Navy SEALs, who are known to be cool under fire, able to sense danger before it’s too late, and never give up on achieving their objective.

Startup 98
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Former Hulu exec Noah Heller launches new venture fund to focus on LA tech

TechCrunch LA

Noah Heller, one of the chief architects of Hulu’s virtual reality strategy, has left the video streaming service to set up his own venture firm, 3Rodeo. Primarily focused on backing Los Angeles-based technology startups, the new fund has already committed capital to three deals, Heller confirmed. Read More.

Hulu 235
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Silicon Beach Networking Mixer At Wurstkuche in Venice

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, November 29, 2017 -- Silicon Beach Networking Mixer At Wurstkuche in Venice. Join the fastest growing startup and tech 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.

Venice 100
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Sign short term leases early on. Move as you grow.

Berkonomics

Close. Avoid long-term commitments. It is statistically true that at least half of the young companies funded by angel or venture investors will not survive three years from funding to demise, and more than that percentage will die with two years if not well financed. The greatest burden of either a growing company or one needing to retract and reduce expenses is the office lease.

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Borrow Debuts New, Short Term Subscription EV Service

socalTECH

West Hollywood-based automotive startup BORROW has launched a new, subscription service which gives users access to a pre-owned, electric vehicle (EV) through short term leases, the company said this week. According to Borrow, it allows customers to "subscribe" to short term, three, six, or nine month renewable subscriptions to such vehicles as the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3, or Tesla Model S.

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Silicon Beach Report Nov. 29: Proofpoint to Acquire Secure Browser Developer Weblife for $66 Million

L.A. Business Journal

Proofpoint to acquire secure browser developer Weblife for $66 million, SpaceX will fly cargo to the Space Station on a used Falcon 9 Rocket and Evan Spiegel explains why Snapchat is separating social from media in redesign.

Snapchat 100
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Startup Spotlight: Electric Folding Bike, DIY Science Kits and a Smart Trashcan

Tech.Co

If you are starting to get a jump on your holiday list, we have some startups that have built some gadgets that could find its way into your life. Each week, TechCo features tech startups that can help streamline your daily life. This week in Startup Spotlight, we found a smart trashcan, full-size electric folding bike, biometric smart lock, and DIY STEM kits for all ages.

Startup 84
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Enjoius raises $1.4 million to bring its party planning services to you

TechCrunch LA

Just in time for the holiday season, a group of prominent Los Angeles entertainment and technology executives have come together to back the new startup, Enjoius, which aims to make it easier for hosts to plan their perfect party.

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Klotho Therapeutics Raises $10M to Test Drug in Kidney Disease

Xconomy

Klotho Therapeutics , a virtual biotech developing a kidney disease treatment based on its proprietary engineered version of the human klotho enzyme, said Thursday it has raised $10 million in Series A financing from San Diego’s Thynk Capital. Thynk Capital founder and principal Jim Plante also is Klotho’s founder and CEO. Plante is a technology industry veteran in San Diego who has served as the CEO of Bel-Tronics, and as the founding CEO of SmartDrive Systems and Pathway Genomics.

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Are you uncomfortable with home-based workers?

Berkonomics

Do home-based employees work with the same dedication and productivity as those in office cubicles next to each other? That depends upon the management as much as the employee. I have a friend who is a. CEO of a recruiting firm who “virtualized” her company after a decade of maintaining a fixed office location. She organizes morning conference calls, has each employee tweet the others in their department when starting work and ending the day, creates the feel of closeness with employee contest

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Reliam Gets $75M For Managing The Public Cloud

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Reliam , which provides managed services to help companies manage their operation on public cloud services like Amazon Web Services, has received a $75M commitment from private equity investor Great Hill Partners. According to the companies, the funding will go towards funding acquisitions, as well as for organic growth. As part of the investment, Simon Anderson, the former CEO of DreamHost of co-founder and chairman of InkTank, has joined the company as CEO.

Equity 153
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Silicon Beach Report Nov. 27: Snapchat Launches Augmented Reality Product Placement

L.A. Business Journal

Snapchat launches augmented reality product placement; Hulu exec departs to launch virtual reality investment fund and human beats NASA’s JPL artificial-intelligent controlled drone in race.

Snapchat 100
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How Snapchat Is Taking a Crack at Stopping Fake News

Tech.Co

As of an August Pew Research study , 43 percent of Americans report “often getting news online,” just seven percentage points lower than the number who get their news from TV sources. In other words, the internet is a huge and growing source of news — and it’s a lot harder to regulate the internet than television. Fears of incorrect news items, creating by bad actors hoping to profit off of their viral posts shared on the strength of tribal prejudices, haunt many people in 2017

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Enjoius raises $1.4 million to bring its party planning services to you

TechCrunch LA

Just in time for the holiday season, a group of prominent Los Angeles entertainment and technology executives have come together to back the new startup, Enjoius, which aims to make it easier for hosts to plan their perfect party. Read More.

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With $114M Injection, Semma Continues Quest for Diabetes Cell Therapy

Xconomy

For all the excitement surrounding stem-cell based therapies in the early 2000s, the field still has little to show for it in terms of approved therapies. The many technical challenges of working with stem cells have not, however, deterred Semma Therapeutics, which today announced a whopping $114 million Series B round from a sizable list of investors.

Funding 82
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10 Strategies To Kick Up How You Will Be Remembered

Startup Professionals Musings

Every entrepreneur and business leader waits too long before really working on the legacy that he wants to leave to society and his family. They realize too late that they don’t really want to be remembered for how many hours they spent on airplanes, how many emails they produced, or even how much money they made for the business. If you disappeared today, what would your legacy show?

Guide 74
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Mission Ventures Gets Exit, As TIBCO Acquires Alpine Data

socalTECH

San Diego-based venture capital investor Mission Ventures has seen an exit in its venture portfolio this morning, at data science and Hadoop software developer Alpine Data. Palo Alto-based TIBCO Software announced this morning that it has acquired San Francisco-based Alpine Data, which is a developer of cloud-based data science and social collaboration tools.

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Silicon Beach Report Nov. 22: Divergent 3D Announces $65 Million Round for 3-D Printed Car Frames

L.A. Business Journal

Divergent 3D announces $65 million round for 3-D printed car frames; Elon Musk claims Boring Co. generated $300,000 by selling hats; and an L.A. councilman wants cybersecurity programs for small businesses.

Report 100
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4 Startup Mega Campuses Coming to Europe

Tech.Co

Mega startup campuses, the latest trend in coworking, are spreading their wings in Europe. They are different from the traditional coworking space not just in size, but also in scope and ambition. As the founding head of Campus London , Google’s first physical hub for startups and now home to over 80,000 registered members, I thought it would be interesting to share the latest developments in this space from my perspective.

Startup 70
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Los Angeles Auto Show

SoCal Tech Calendar

Monday, November 27, 2017 --.