Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

Every year Upfront Ventures surveys Limited Partners (LPs) who are the main source of capital that invests in VC funds and thus the main source of capital that goes to startups to get an early-warning sense of the year ahead, leaving aside any Black Swans. The results are in (and the full deck available ) and a few things are clear: LPs are at their most optimistic phase about venture since the great recession of 2007–2009 LPs believe that the venture markets have permanently changed and there a

Startup 286

Startup Venture Capital Seed Funding Capital 286

Berkonomics

MARCH 9, 2017

Well, the numbers don’t lie, even if there are several sources of these statistics. Starting a company is HARD – in so many ways. And risky too. I read several years ago, that the average startup restaurant lasts only about a year. Ouch! Here I am a professional investor in early stage companies, and I attempt to find those with the greatest chance of success and growth in value over time.

Startup 266

Startup Statistics Tech Coast Angels Study 266

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 24, 2017

A reminder that I’ll be holding a micro-meetup at Boomtown on Broadway in Boulder, Colorado on Wednesday, March 29th at 7pm. You’ll have 2 minutes to pitch in front of two local judges and then 2 minutes of questions. No slides, no props, no costumes (Ok, maybe costumes.) Boomtown is at 2060 Broadway B1 in the basement. To get there, park around Spruce and Broadway and it’s… Read More.

Slides 213

Slides Los Angeles Angel Startup 213

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.

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Capital Funding Equity 202

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

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 9, 2017

Telemedicine startup iExhale announced that it closed a $1.86 million seed round led by New York’s Dorilton Capital on Thursday.

Startup 186

Startup Capital 186

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 31, 2017

Thursday, April 6, 2017 -- Downtown Los Angeles Tech Mixer Networking At Pez Cantina. Join Us For A Night Of Tech Networking At Pez Catina in Downtown Los Angeles! Support women entrepreneurs and join the fastest growing tech networking and startup community in Los Angeles! Meet new people and participate in lively discussions with outstanding names in the Los Angeles tech community.

Los Angeles 100

Los Angeles Networking Angel Entrepreneur 100

Berkonomics

MARCH 23, 2017

I have a good business friend, an experienced manager and teacher with a Harvard MBA, whose deep thinking creativity and intelligence are admired by many. But he dilutes his effectiveness with wordy PowerPoint presentations. It has become a long running joke between us, as I often remind him that most of us have a very limited attention span and ability to recall important points from a presentation.

Writing 243

Writing 243

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 29, 2017

A reminder that I’ll be holding a micro-meetup at Boomtown on Broadway in Boulder, Colorado tonight at 7pm. You’ll have two minutes to pitch in front of two local judges and then two minutes of questions. No slides, no props, no costumes (Ok, maybe costumes.) Boomtown is at 2060 Broadway B1 in the basement. To get there, park around Spruce and Broadway and it’s in the… Read More.

Slides 170

Slides Los Angeles Angel Startup 170

socalTECH

MARCH 6, 2017

San Diego-based Raken has raised $2M in a funding round, for the company's construction reporting and compliance software. The funding was led by Rincon Venture Partners , and also included Eniac Ventures and Spider Capital. Raken is led and was co-founded by CEO Kyle Slager and CTO/CPO Dr. Sergey Sundukovskiy. The company develops cloud-based software used to help monitor construction project progress and compliance, and was founded in 2013.

Report 171

Report Software San Diego Capital 171

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 15, 2017

ServiceTitan, a Glendale-based provider of business software for home service businesses, announced Wednesday it closed an $80 million Series B funding round.

Glendale 147

Glendale Software Funding Services 147

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 30, 2017

Wednesday, April 5, 2017 -- Roadmap to Commercialization. Santa Ana District SBDC. Why is the right business model critical to your venture start-up's success? Can a bad value proposition kill your business? How well do you really know your target customer? As a founder, your "Hero's Journey" will be fraught with numerous obstacles, "uncertainty, fear and doubt".

Startup 100

Startup Course Customer Custom 100

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2017

Mayor Eric Garcetti at Upfront Summit, February 2017 I first sat down with then councilman Eric Garcetti on the Ides of March 2012 — almost 5 years ago exactly. He was running to be the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles and he outlined his vision to “open up the city government to technology and innovation” if he were elected. He wanted to bring the same level of technology focus and energy that Mayor Bloomberg had brought to New York City.

Riot Games 191

Riot Games Los Angeles Technical Review Venture Capital 191

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

InfoChachkie

MARCH 28, 2017

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. “Point of view is worth 80 IQ points.” Alan Curtis Kay, Personal Computer Pioneer I […]. The post If I’d Only Known Then… A Boomer’s Millennial Pep Talk appeared first on John Greathouse.

Entrepreneur 116

Entrepreneur 116

socalTECH

MARCH 21, 2017

Irvine-based enterprise storage services provider Zadara Storage said today that it has expanded its support for Amazon Web Services storage regions, to AWS Beijing. Zadara said the expansion comes in a partnership with Futong, which will make Zadara's VPSA Storage Array at the Sinnet Technology Co., Ltd, data center. Zadara said the region is its sixth AWS region internationally.

Web 164

Web Networking Services Technology 164

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 17, 2017

Firms have grown familiar in helping celebrities put their money on the next rising-star startup.

Help 186

Help Startup 186

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 30, 2017

Wednesday, April 5, 2017 -- FundingPost Los Angeles VC and Angel Investor Conference. Join us for this intimate VC and Angel Investor Conference. Interested in meeting early-stage accredited investors in LA? Then register for the FundingPost Investor RoundTable on April 5th, 2017 at 2:00pm. FundingPost has hosted 300+ sold-out venture events in 23 cities over the past 16 years.

Los Angeles 100

Los Angeles Venture Capital Conference Angel 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 5, 2017

With the advent of LinkedIn, Facebook, and dozens of other websites profiling you, the old-fashioned written resume is an artifact of a hiring practice that is now superfluous. The real “resume” that you have to live with is everything that you or anyone else has posted about you on any site on the Internet. You can’t hide, since no Internet presence will always be a negative.

Social Network 94

Social Network Examples Tips Startup 94

Berkonomics

MARCH 30, 2017

Most senior and middle level managers will understand when a subordinate comes to them to resign and begin a new business. But all will immediately question whether the new business will compete in any way with their enterprise, and react to the future entrepreneur in either of two very distinct ways based upon those fears. Even more suspicious is the action of an employee who resigns suddenly without notice or explanation.

Company 202

Company Companies Layoffs Competition 202

Xconomy

MARCH 17, 2017

Stung by slow sales of its next-generation anti-cholesterol drug, Amgen hopes new clinical data, released this morning, will spur doctors to boost prescriptions and—perhaps more important—drive insurers to loosen their restrictions. The data, from a massive study of more than 27,000 patients, come at a time when drug and healthcare prices are a top U.S. political issue, and pricey new cholesterol drugs have been a key battleground.

Study 87

Study Pricing Sales Journal 87

socalTECH

MARCH 7, 2017

Los Angeles-based food alternative developer Soylent has rolled out a new chatbot, called "Trish", and started accepting Bitcoin from its customers. According to Soylent, its new "nutrition-obsessed artificially intelligent spokesperson" will appear both on its virtual store on its site, as well as other channels, including broadcast, digital social, and beond.

Artificial Inteligence 160

Artificial Inteligence News Startup Web 160

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 14, 2017

Rubicon Project Founder Frank Addante has stepped down from his role as chief executive following an exodus of senior executives at the company over the last month and lowered revenue forecast in the company’s fourth quarter filing released after the market closed on Tuesday.

Marketing 124

Marketing Company Companies 124

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 30, 2017

Wednesday, April 5, 2017 -- ViaSat MarketLink. EvoNexus. ViaSat will be selecting early stage companies that impact technical areas in cybersecurity for potential partnerships. Selected companies will be provided with a private 1-hour meeting with ViaSat executives. There is no fee for this opportunity, simply apply.

Company 100

Company Companies 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 10, 2017

Every entrepreneur I know has a few bad habits they intended to overcome a long time ago, such as micromanaging, or failure to get enough rest and relaxation. As a result, both their business and their personal lives continue to suffer. Wouldn’t you like to know how to make that big step to get past your procrastination and get to your maximum potential once and for all?

Writing 84

Writing Startup Satisfaction Entrepreneur 84

AllTopStartups

MARCH 29, 2017

Personal loans aren’t cheap but when you do your home work, you can find great rates for your needs. As with any financial product, when it comes to taking out a… The post Are Personal Loans a Good Idea? appeared first on AllTopStartups.

Ideas 40

Ideas Product 40

Xconomy

MARCH 10, 2017

According to several news reports, the Trump administration will nominate Scott Gottlieb to be the new commissioner of the FDA, a selection that had the life sciences industry breathing a sigh of relief Friday afternoon. The 44-year-old Gottlieb is a physician, a venture partner at New Enterprise Associates, and was also the deputy commissioner of medical and scientific affairs at the FDA between 2005 and 2007, during George W.

Report 86

Report News San Diego Blogging 86

socalTECH

MARCH 7, 2017

Remember those days of flipping hamburgers as your first job in high school? It looks like those days might be at an end, as a local startup, Miso Robotics , and hamburger chain CaliBurger have unveiled a new robot, "Flippy", which uses artificial intelligence to grill burgers in Pasadena. CaliBurger, which so far as rolled out the robot just to Pasadena, says it plans to roll out the AI-driven robots to more than 50 restaurants worldwide by the end of 2019.

Pasadena 160

Pasadena Artificial Inteligence CalTech Customer 160

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 20, 2017

SpaceX studying Mars mission landing sites, Snap Inc. gets first buy rating from Wall Street firm, and Two Bit Circus develops VR and motion simulator.

Study 133

Study SpaceX Sites Report 133

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 29, 2017

Tuesday, April 4, 2017 -- PUBLIC VENTURE CAPITAL: A GROWTH PATH YOU NEED TO EXPLORE. Join us for a wine-tasting, reception and seminar to learn how to access public venture capital in Canada (without needing to move there). You will meet capital providers, dealmakers, and advisors who will discuss why this is a growth path you should explore.

Venture Capital 100

Venture Capital Capital 100

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2017

It’s easy to say to people on your team that they must be accountable for their actions, but it’s not so easy to tell them how to do it. It’s even harder to give them the mindset of wanting to be accountable. In fact, many business leaders forget that they are the role model for accountability, and don’t audit their own actions to make sure that they always practice what they preach.

Examples 80

Examples Organization Custom Customer 80

socalTECH

MARCH 23, 2017

Los Angeles-based Water Planet , which develops water treatment membrane technology originally developed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), revealed today that its seed investor is none other than actor Kevin Costner. The company said that Costner and his business partner, Rod Lake, were actually the company's founding investors back in 2011.

UCLA 157

UCLA Los Angeles Funding Invest 157

socalTECH

MARCH 9, 2017

Los Angeles-based Local Roots Farms , a startup located at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), says it is showing off a traveling, indoor farm at SXSW, which showcases its hydroponic technology. Local Roots said its farm is built inside a 40 foot shipping container, which is designed to grow leafy greens equal to five acres of land, with up to 99 percent less water than conventional agriculture, and without the use of pesticides and herbicides.

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Mobile Technology Incubator 157

socalTECH

MARCH 6, 2017

Los Angeles-based Maple Media (maplemedia.io) recently announced a big, $30M funding from Shamrock Capital, to assemble a collection of mobile applications in the utility, productivity, games and entertainment verticals. We caught up with co-founder Clark Landry to chat about his new startup, which he co-founded with Michael Ritter. What's the idea behind Maple Media?

Media 153

Media Mobile Startup Acquisition 153

socalTECH

MARCH 10, 2017

Redlands-based GIS software maker Esri said on Thursday that it has been selected by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), to help support that lab's users. According to Esri, the deal with ORNL gives the lab's users access to spatial analysis tools in the ArcGIS platform. Financial impact of the deal were not announced. Esri said the deal is the first, major enterprise agreement between the company and a Department of Energy (DOE) laboratory.

Research 149

Research Tool Platform Help 149

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

socalTECH

MARCH 23, 2017

Los Angeles-based mobile game developer JamCity , and the animated series, Family Guy , said this morning the two have teamed together to launch a new mobile game called Family Guy: Another Freakin' Mobile Game. The game was created in collaboration with Twentieth Century Fox Television, and has just started pre-registering fans for the new title. According to Jam City, the new game lets players "help Peter Griffin save Quahog--one drink at a time", and is not for kids or the "easily offended".

Mobile 140

Mobile Content Los Angeles Help 140