March, 2017

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Startups: What are your odds for success?

Berkonomics

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
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Get your pitch applications in for the Boulder Micro-Meetup

TechCrunch LA

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
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Embark Ventures Raising $50M Venture Capital Fund

socalTECH

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.

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Tele-Therapy Startup iExhale Raises $1.86M

L.A. Business Journal

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

Startup 186
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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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Downtown Los Angeles Tech Mixer Networking At Pez Cantina

SoCal Tech Calendar

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.

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If I’d Only Known Then… A Boomer’s Millennial Pep Talk

InfoChachkie

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.

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See you tonight at the Boulder Micro-Meetup

TechCrunch LA

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
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Raken Gets $2M For Construction Reporting Software

socalTECH

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.

Software 171
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ServiceTitan Raises $80 Million Series B.

L.A. Business Journal

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
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Roadmap to Commercialization

SoCal Tech Calendar

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
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6 Ways to Kill Bad Habits One Small Step At A Time

Startup Professionals Musings

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
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Which is more important: Management quality or a better plan?

Berkonomics

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

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With New Data, Amgen Promises Refund If Cholesterol Drug Doesn’t Work

Xconomy

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
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Zadara Storage Expands Support To AWS Beijing

socalTECH

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
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Celebrities Become Well-Known as Tech Funders

L.A. Business Journal

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

Help 186
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FundingPost Los Angeles VC and Angel Investor Conference

SoCal Tech Calendar

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.

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5 Key Steps In Being A Role Model For Accountability

Startup Professionals Musings

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.

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How to protect your company lists and trade secrets

Berkonomics

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
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Gottlieb Reportedly On Tap to Lead FDA, and Biopharma Exhales

Xconomy

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
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Soylent Unveils AI Bot, Starts Accepting Bitcoin

socalTECH

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.

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Rubicon Project CEO Steps Down Following Rough Year

L.A. Business Journal

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
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ViaSat MarketLink

SoCal Tech Calendar

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
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8 Reasons To Initiate A Startup In A Sluggish Economy

Startup Professionals Musings

According to CNN Money , the economy is still very sluggish, with only 1.6 percent growth in 2016. Yet if you wait for an economy bubble before starting your new business, you will be making a comparable mistake to the people who thought during the dot-com bubble "all I have to do is a startup, and I'll be rich." In reality, what matters more is who you are, not when you do it.

Startup 77
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Are Personal Loans a Good Idea?

AllTopStartups

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
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CureMatch Uses Analytics to Rank Best Options for Cancer Treatment

Xconomy

CureMatch, a San Diego-based healthtech startup, says today it has created a Web-based platform that uses analytic software to help doctors sort through what can be a bewildering array of cancer treatment options. Selecting the right combination of drugs to treat a particular cancer can be one of the biggest challenges that doctors face, according to CureMatch CEO Blaise Barrelet.

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Flippy The Robot Takes Over Burger Flipping At Pasadena Restaurant

socalTECH

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
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Silicon Beach Report March 20: SpaceX Studying Mars Mission Landing Sites

L.A. Business Journal

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
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PUBLIC VENTURE CAPITAL: A GROWTH PATH YOU NEED TO EXPLORE

SoCal Tech Calendar

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.

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10 Ways For Business Leaders to Improve Their Skills

Startup Professionals Musings

Being a successful business leader requires continuous improvement in your leadership skills, as well as your products and processes. If you don’t focus on it, you can expect to be one of the 25 percent of CEO turnovers that occur every year from firing or forced retirement, as reported by a recent Harvard study. Business leadership requirements change just like market requirements.

Coach 72
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The Snap IPO Happened. What Next LA?

Both Sides of the Table

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.

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Tocagen Plans IPO to Finance Trials of Gene Therapy in Brain Cancer

Xconomy

Gene therapy developer Tocagen is preparing an initial public stock offering to finance clinical trials of its experimental treatment for a form of brain cancer. The San Diego-based biotech filed the paperwork Thursday for an IPO that could raise up to $86 million—a figure likely to change as the company determines how many shares it will sell, and at what price.

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Water Planet: Our Seed Investor Is Kevin Costner

socalTECH

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
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Global Crossing Founder Winnick Takes Majority Stake in Streaming Service Qello

L.A. Business Journal

L.A. billionaire and former telecommunications mogul Gary Winnick has a new tech venture.

Services 170
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FundingPost Orange County VC and Angel Investor Conference

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, April 4, 2017 -- FundingPost Orange County VC and Angel Investor Conference. Join us for this intimate VC and Angel Investor Conference. Interested in meeting early-stage accredited investors in Orange County? Then register for the FundingPost Investor RoundTable on April 4th, 2017 at 5:00pm. FundingPost has hosted 300+ sold-out venture events in 23 cities over the past 16 years.

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9 Keys To Measuring Your Social Media Campaign ROI

Startup Professionals Musings

If you are an entrepreneur these days, or trying to grow an existing business, everyone is telling you that you need to use social media. There are many ‘experts’ out there telling you how to do it, or even offering their services. But very few are talking about how to measure your results and return on investment (ROI), and the right metrics for optimizing your marketing environment.

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Why 2017 Should be a Great Year to Raise Venture Capital

Both Sides of the Table

Recently Upfront Ventures published its outlook for the technology startup world and venture capital overall titled it “ WTF Happened to Winter ?” The conclusion of our report was that winter did come, but it was mild and short. This was driven by the influx of corporate VCs, foreign VC money, sovereign wealth funds and the new war chests of VCs who raised new funds in the past 18 months.