December, 2017

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Ex-Uber data chief Kevin Novak joins LA-based startup Tala in big win for LA ecosystem

TechCrunch LA

Kevin Novak, the architect of Uber's dynamic pricing technology and the head of its data team, has joined the Los Angeles-based financial services startup Tala as its new head of data.

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How well do you use your business time?

Berkonomics

Forming business relationships at the highest level. As you follow these insights from ignition to liquidity event, you’ll detect a continuing theme, emphasizing the need for deep and wide relationships that the CEO and senior staff can call upon for advice and guidance. This is the time to elevate those insights to the level of highest value for the corporation, one that cannot be listed on a balance sheet nor included in an appraisal of corporate worth.

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Blockchain-Based Health Care Start-Up Curisium Raises $3.5 Million

L.A. Business Journal

Curisium, a Manhattan Beach–based start-up company that allows health care systems and biotech firms to contract through blockchain technology, has raised $3.5 million from investors, officials announced Thursday.

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10 Causes of High Sales Rep Turnover – Which One Is Yours?

socalTECH

By now you know some of the sales people that won’t be with you next year. But, which of your A-Players are planning to leave after they get their bonus? This post gives you some factors that may predict the.

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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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Men Say …

Both Sides of the Table

Men use similar tropes on why #MeToo may go too far. It’s time to break these down. It’s time for more men to start saying, “enough is enough,” “I believe her,” and “I will step out of my comfort zone and speak up so that others feel empowered to follow me.” Men will make mistakes. But mistakes are much better than silence. Mistakes are better than condoning misconduct, harassment, bias or abuse.

Startup 195
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How Digital Entrepreneurs Approach Startup Life

Tech.Co

If you are thinking “Should I build an office out of my garage, Apple or Hewlett-Packard style?”, read on. “The garage didn’t serve much purpose, except it was something for us to feel was our home,” Steve Wozniak told The Guardian , clarifying the real role of Steve Jobs’ parents’ garage in the creation of the first Apple computers. It is up to you to accept this pragmatic view or stick to the romanticized version.

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Several more real costs of taking outsider investments.

Berkonomics

Close. Let’s talk about the reality of taking money from professional investors. It is not the first time we’ve covered this general subject nor the last. But this time, we concentrate upon governance changes. Once a company founder has tapped the funds available from his or her resources and from friends and family, if the company needs more cash for growth, the most obvious next step is to look for money from angel investors and venture capitalists, typically in the $300,000 TO $3,000,000 ran

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Miso Robotics Hires COO to Help Expand Restaurant Installations

L.A. Business Journal

Miso Robotics, a maker of burger-flipping robotic arms, announced it has appointed former Yahoo executive Melissa Burghardt as its chief operating officer.

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Reflections On 2017: Anna Barber, Techstars LA

socalTECH

During the holiday season, our tradition over the last few years has been to post reflections on the past year and some predictions from Southern California's "movers and shakers" in the technology industry. Today, we have a contribution from Anna Barber , the Managing Director of Techstars LA (www.techstars.org), one of three startup accelerators run by Techstars in the Los Angeles area.

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Silicon Beach Networking Mixer At Wurstkuche in Venice

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, December 13, 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.

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Why Coachella Valley Is a Hub for Renewable Energy Startups

Tech.Co

Coachella Valley is referred to as the “Desert Empire” to differentiate it from the neighboring urbanized Inland Empire and the Imperial Valley. The Valley also houses desert resort cities of Palm Springs and Palm Desert and is the location for the infamous Coachella Music Festival. What you may not know that in the middle of these buzzing cities lies a hub for renewable energy innovation.

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With the Los Angeles tech scene exploding, CrossCut Ventures raises $125 million to invest

TechCrunch LA

CrossCut Ventures, a Los Angeles-based seed investment firm has just closed its fourth (and largest) fund with $125 million in new cash. It’s been a long road for the firm’s three co-founders, who have been investing in Los Angeles since 1997. In that time they’ve seen the city’s technology scene evolve in fits and starts, but now, with companies like Snap, Dollar… Read More.

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How would you like a great advisory board?

Berkonomics

Have you ever thought of creating an advisory board? As you can guess, that would be an informal group with no legal responsibilities, but one able to be called upon to act as business, industry and scientific advisors to you and the company. Usually, you would want to create an advisory board to fill in the critical areas of need not evidenced in the board of directors or within the company itself.

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TrueCar Settles Lawsuit with Car Dealer Association

L.A. Business Journal

California New Car Dealers Association announced on Thursday that it settled its lawsuit against TrueCar Inc.

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Reflections on 2017: Michael Terpin, Transform Group International

socalTECH

During the holiday season, our tradition over the last few years has been to post reflections on the past year and some predictions from Southern California's "movers and shakers" in the technology industry. This morning, we have a contribution from Michael Terpin , the CEO of Transform Group International and Chairman of BitAngels. Michael is a bit of an honorary Southern California, spending a large chunk of his time in Los Angeles (where he's built many of his companies) although he's now off

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3 A.I. Predictions for 2018: Emotion, Data, Ethics

Xconomy

1. Emotion A.I. will increase our humanity and empathy for each other. In recent years, the smartphones, bots, and devices we spend so much of our time with could be accused of contributing to the desensitization of our society. When a fight breaks out, some teens’ first reaction is to pull out their phones and take a video, rather than call for help.

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Why Coachella Valley Is a Hub for Renewable Energy Startups

Tech.Co

Coachella Valley is referred to as the “Desert Empire” to differentiate it from the neighboring urbanized Inland Empire and the Imperial Valley. The Valley also houses desert resort cities of Palm Springs and Palm Desert and is the location for the infamous Coachella Music Festival. What you may not know that in the middle of these buzzing cities lies a hub for renewable energy innovation.

Startup 107
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Ex-Uber data chief Kevin Novak joins LA-based startup Tala in big win for LA ecosystem

TechCrunch LA

Kevin Novak, the architect of Uber’s dynamic pricing technology and the head of its data team, has joined the Los Angeles-based financial services startup Tala as its new head of data. Read More.

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An experienced coach has seen your movie before.

Berkonomics

Business coaches come in all sizes and shapes. Entrepreneurs will have a relative willing to devote time, a school friend with business experience, professionals who charge for the service, investors with a reason to promote your success and more. Photo courtesy IBM Business Coaching. But by far the best coaches are those that have lived through the process you’re going through and built successful enterprises in your same industry.

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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 8: Snapchat Gets Up To $1 Million a Day for Branded Augmented Reality

L.A. Business Journal

Snapchat gets up to $1 million a day for branded augmented reality; K1 invests $200 million in SecureAuth; and Disney adds tech execs to board.

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Minkonet Raises $1M, Sets Up Headquarters In Los Angeles

socalTECH

Minkonet , a South Korean startup which is developing 3D video game capture technology, said this morning that it has raised $1M in a "Pre-Series A" investment round, and has set up a brand new headquarters in Los Angeles. The funding came from Evergreen Investment Partners, along with existing investors Bluepoint Partners and Kite Foundation. According to Minkonet, the funding specifically goes towards its operations in Los Angeles, and expansion into North America.

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AIMed

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, December 13, 2017 -- AIMed: Artificial Intelligence In Medicine. Event on AI in medicine and healthcare.

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Why I Made the Decision to Go from Home Office to Coworking Space

Tech.Co

Coworking has exploded globally over the past two years. According to one study, there were over 835,000 people working out of coworking spaces last year. The number of coworking spaces alone is expected to jump from 11,300 in 2016 to 13,800 by the end of this year. The largest VC backed companies in this space have raised several hundreds of millions in funding to help expand their global footprint.

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Passport, the technology business for city transit systems, raises $43 million

TechCrunch LA

Passport, company that’s managing much of the technical aspects of how people pay to use public transportation resources in cities like London, Miami and Los Angeles, has just raised $43 million. The money, from Bain Capital Ventures, will go to help the company expand its payment and transaction services nationally and internationally. Read More.

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7 Groups Of Difficult Customers Test Every Business

Startup Professionals Musings

Have you ever noticed that some of your business owner friends get all the bad customers, and yours all seem fairly reasonable? Or is it the other way around? I’m always amazed that, in my role as a business advisor, bad customers somehow seem to gang up on certain businesses. I long ago learned that the customer is not always right, but you can turn most around to be great.

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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 21: Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin Win Swarming Cruise Missile Development Contract

L.A. Business Journal

Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin win swarming cruise missile development contract; GumGum to exceed $100 million in revenue in 2017; and founder of Timehop left Snap after less than a year.

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How to keep ahead of evolving cyber threats

socalTECH

Not long ago, malware and other viruses were nothing more than occasional mild annoyances, but cyber crime has become big business in the past few years. With organisations across the world now using the Internet every day to do business, criminals have taken advantage. With more people to target, and more tools at their disposal, hackers have reshaped the cyber security landscape in the past decade.

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AIMed

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, December 14, 2017 -- AIMed: Artificial Intelligence In Medicine. Event on AI in medicine and healthcare.

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Tech Industry Must Implement Old-School Corporate Best Practices

Xconomy

There is little doubt that Silicon Valley has taken a reputational hit in 2017, partly as a result of the media’s usual star-making and -breaking process, but mostly through self-inflicted wounds. However, while specific details in the press may be shocking, the problems were predictable: Bad behavior often follows when there is an imbalance in power, and in the past few years, the heat of the tech market has created an environment where historical lessons of conduct and oversight were ignored f

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Education technology meets its limits

TechCrunch LA

This week has been a good one for those who like to talk about the limits of technology. Over in the UK, a prankster managed to fool Trip Advisor into naming his shed the #1 ranked restaurant in London. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, a city struggling to manage several wind-fueled wildfires, the L.A.P.D. has asked drivers to refrain from using navigation apps because they’re steering… Read More.

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Gift Guide 2017: Star Wars Gadgets and Gear

Tech.Co

Star Wars. The franchise is one of the most famous of all time — the original 1977 film is up there with Gone With the Wind as the most beloved 20th century flick. Unlike Gone With the Wind , the futuristic Star Wars franchise lends itself incredibly well to branded tech gadgets. And also (sadly?) unlike Gone With the Wind , it has its official eighth episode debuting in theaters in just a few weeks.

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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 26: SpaceX Launch Lights Up L.A. Skies

L.A. Business Journal

A SpaceX launch of 10 Iridium satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base lit up the Los Angeles sky on Dec. 22; WhatsApp is ending support for BlackBerry and Windows Phone 8.0 at the end of the year; and Fair.com is acquiring Uber’s Xchange Leasing and picking up 150 employees.

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Independent Technology Group Acquired By InterVision Systems

socalTECH

Westlake Village-based Independent Technology Group , a provider of information technology services, including networking, storage, and security services, has been acquired by Santa Clara, California-based InterVision Systems. InterVision is owned by private equity investor Huron Capital. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. ITG was led by Kevin Barker and Doug Martin, who the companies said will remain active in the business.

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AIMed

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, December 12, 2017 -- AIMed: Artificial Intelligence In Medicine. Event on AI in medicine and healthcare.

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Tamr’s Andy Palmer on Diversity in Tech & A.I.’s Data Challenge

Xconomy

As 2017 comes to a close, we’re surveying business and technology leaders from around our network to get their perspectives on the year in tech—and what’s next. Below are the highlights from our e-mail exchange with entrepreneur and investor Andy Palmer, the co-founder and CEO of Cambridge, MA-based Tamr , a “data unification” software company.

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With the Los Angeles tech scene exploding, CrossCut Ventures raises $125 million to invest

TechCrunch LA

CrossCut Ventures, a Los Angeles-based seed investment firm has just closed its fourth (and largest) fund with $125 million in new cash. It’s been a long road for the firm’s three co-founders, who have been investing in Los Angeles since 1997. In that time they’ve seen the city’s technology scene evolve in fits and starts, […].