Expert insights. Personalized for you.
As a long-time business advisor and angel investor, I’m a believer that “two heads are better than one” in building a new business. Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader. MORE
In February, ecommerce platform Etsy revealed that a record fourth quarter had earned them $717.1 million in revenue and added 10 million active buyers. Etsy also hiked its transaction fees by 30%, raising the costs to sellers from 5% to 6.5% on each sale. Now, those sellers are responding. MORE
Most of you business owners I know are looking forward to the day when your product, team and processes begin to mature, and your business growth keeps tilting upward as you scale. You expect to relax a bit, and relish in the success that you see coming. MORE
The good news is that a recent Kauffman Early-Stage Entrepreneurship (KESE) Index shows the highest level of new business activity recorded in the last two decades, and the cost of entry at an all-time low. MORE
Most of the entrepreneurs I have met are smart, but many are not always wise. MORE
Los Angeles-based e-sports and gaming platform FaZe Clan said this week that it has linked with fintech company Current, where FaZe Clan's talent will help engage their fans using Current's mobile banking products. Financial details of the partnership were not announced. Current is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global Management, TQ Ventures, Avenir, Sapphire Ventures, Foundation Capital, Wellington Management, QED Investors and EXPA, and is based in New York. MORE
Starting and running a company is a team effort. Yes, it takes a leader (entrepreneur), but you can’t do it alone, without a team. Maybe only you and a co-founder comprise the team at first, to provide key skills, back you up, and test your ideas. MORE
In my experience, the right team culture is critical to every business and startup success, so every business leader wants to know how to create it. In reality, I’m convinced that none of us can “ create culture ” directly, but we can create an environment where the desired culture emerges. MORE
Every entrepreneur and business leader I know realizes that it takes a dedicated team to build and run a successful business, and nurturing that team is one of your most important priorities. MORE
Los Angeles-based music and entertainment event and online streaming platform operator LiveOne says it is launching a new NFT platform, in a partnership with DaVinci. According to the company, it is launching a new platform called GamifyOne, which will allow users to trade music stocks, include "gamified crypto trading", NFTs, and its own token. The company said the platform will feature a slate of new interactive original show formats based on music, entertainment and artists. MORE
We think of media advertising as either paid or free – placed by paying a fee or by a PR firm or by you at no placement cost, especially when you provide editorial content beneficial to the publisher. But now there’s new media…. MORE
El Segundo- and Austin-based Slingshot Aerospace has scored a $25.2M contract from the U.S. Space Force, the company said this week, to develop a new space training product called Digital Space Twin. According to the company, it will develop a government version of the product for space wargaming and other missions gritical to national security. MORE
Many entrepreneurs think that adapting to the new technologies, like smart phones and Internet commerce, are the key to attracting new customers. In fact, businesses need to adapt even more completely to the changes in the buying and social behavior of consumers. MORE
Even entrepreneurs who have built many startups, or sold their last one for millions of dollars, know they make occasional people leadership mistakes. They know leadership is all about managing their own complicated, illogical, and fallible human foibles, as well as the people they depend on. MORE
Finding your needle in the haystack. There is so much information being shot at us daily via social media streams that we should monitor and control that which pertains to our business – and do so with some level of expertise. Start with a simple tool. MORE
Pasadena-based restaurant robotics startup Miso Robotics said this morning that it has inked a partnership with Jack in the Box, the pilot the use of its Flippy 2 and Sippy robots at the fast food chain. According to Miso Robotis, Jack in the Box will pilot those products at one of the restaurant chains's standalone locations, with possible plans for further integration in the months ahead. The initial pilot will be at a Jack in the Box in San Diego. MORE
Land a rocket on a barge? Drop your rocket into the ocean with a parachute? Nope-- Long Beach-based Rocket Lab says it is planning to make an attempt to capture one of its Electron Rockets mid-air using a helicopter, during its next mission. According to Rocket Lab, the effort to catch its rocket by helicopter is part of its program to make its Electron rocket a reusable. MORE
In my experience as a business advisor and angel investor these days, I seem to more frequently hear from entrepreneurs and business owners with “can’t-fail” or “get-rich-quick” ideas. MORE
Marina Del Rey-based Armata Pharmaceuticals, a publicly held biotech company focused on bacteriophage therapeutics for antibiotic-resistant and difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, said on Thursday that it has raised $26.9M in the second tranche a private placement. The company said the funding came from Innoviva Strategic Opportunities LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Innoviva. MORE
Santa Monica-based online new and used vehicle marketplace TrueCar says it has named a new Chief People Officer. According to the company, it has appointed Jill Angel as its new Chief People Officer, reporting to Mike Darrow, the President and CEO of the company. MORE
San Diego-based autonomous driving technology developer TuSimple said this week that one of its co-founders, Mo Chen, is departing the company's board of directors, and will not stand for re-election, although he will finish out his tenure on the board. According to the company, it has also appointed Reed Werner to fill a different vacancy on the board. The company did not say why Chen decided to leave the company's board of directors, where he had served since the company was founded in 2015. MORE
Think you're getting more robocalls than usual? According to Irvine-based YouMail, which provides a robocall blocking and voicemail service, you are. The firm said that its tracking found that U.S. phones received nearly 4.4 billion robocalls in March, up 16.1 percent from February call volumes. YouMail said that robocalls had declined earlier this year due to new rules for call authentication, but have since recovered; the company said call volumes are still below the peak of 5.7 MORE
New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need. MORE
How I didn’t follow my own advice. Years ago, I led a deal and invested in a company that looked like it had lots of promise to disrupt the women’s clothing industry with special algorithms and an online store. But something had bothered me from the very start – unsalable inventory. MORE
After many extended coaching sessions with entrepreneurs and small business owners, I’ve found myself wondering if my value-add was anything more than you could get by self-coaching. MORE
Los Angeles-based cloud storage provider IDrive Backup says that it has added new, Amazon S3 compatible storage, through a new sevice it calls IDrive e2. The company said the new service is free for the first 10GB of data, and additional storage starting at $0.004/GB/month. IDrive said it is aiming its service at hosting applications, media workflow, gaming assets, e-commerce resources, and other large volumes of data. MORE
Most people think innovation is all about ideas, when in fact it is more about delivery, people, and process. MORE
One of the first harsh realities that every entrepreneur has to learn is that most of the things that are critical to startup success are outside of their direct control. MORE
The entrepreneur’s challenge is to effectively communicate their value proposition, not only to customers, but also to vendors, partners, investors, and their own team. Especially for technical founders, this is normally all about presenting impressive facts. But in reality facts only go so far. MORE
It’s always been tough to start a new business, even when the bottom line was just making a profit to stay alive. A few years ago, a second focus of sustainability (“green”) was added as a requirement for respectability. Now I almost always hear a third mandate - social responsibility. MORE
The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers. MORE
Whether you are trying to motivate your team, close a deal with a customer, or get funding from an investor, a casual conversation is usually a waste of your valuable time. These result is a founder who is always “too busy,” but never seems to get the business done and the team moving. MORE
Most people agree that entrepreneurs have to think differently and take risks to have much chance of building a successful business. MORE
The alternative protein space is hot, hot, hot as evidenced by both the number of companies developing products and the venture capital going into the space. MORE
How many times have investors heard startups start their pitch by touting that their technology is “disruptive?” MORE
Every startup lucky enough to get some traction gets to the point where they decide to hire some “regular employees” for sales, marketing, and administrative tasks. Then they are surprised to see productivity and creativity take a big dip. MORE
If we never advertised, we’d never sell anything. Right? Perhaps right, but there are three major types of advertising, some requiring large outlays of cash, some not. The types of advertising. First, you can advertise your brand so that people recognize it when they see it in later materials. MORE
Berkonomics
APRIL 28, 2022
Finding your needle in the haystack. There is so much information being shot at us daily via social media streams that we should monitor and control that which pertains to our business – and do so with some level of expertise. Start with a simple tool.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 17, 2022
As a long-time business advisor and angel investor, I’m a believer that “two heads are better than one” in building a new business. Very few entrepreneurs have the range of skills and experience to be the solution creator as well as business creator, or operational as well as sales leader.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
socalTECH
APRIL 6, 2022
Think you're getting more robocalls than usual? According to Irvine-based YouMail, which provides a robocall blocking and voicemail service, you are. The firm said that its tracking found that U.S. phones received nearly 4.4 billion robocalls in March, up 16.1 percent from February call volumes. YouMail said that robocalls had declined earlier this year due to new rules for call authentication, but have since recovered; the company said call volumes are still below the peak of 5.7
Tech.Co
APRIL 11, 2022
In February, ecommerce platform Etsy revealed that a record fourth quarter had earned them $717.1 million in revenue and added 10 million active buyers. Etsy also hiked its transaction fees by 30%, raising the costs to sellers from 5% to 6.5% on each sale. Now, those sellers are responding.
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.
TechCrunch
APRIL 18, 2022
The alternative protein space is hot, hot, hot as evidenced by both the number of companies developing products and the venture capital going into the space.
Berkonomics
APRIL 21, 2022
We think of media advertising as either paid or free – placed by paying a fee or by a PR firm or by you at no placement cost, especially when you provide editorial content beneficial to the publisher. But now there’s new media….
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Berkonomics
APRIL 7, 2022
How I didn’t follow my own advice. Years ago, I led a deal and invested in a company that looked like it had lots of promise to disrupt the women’s clothing industry with special algorithms and an online store. But something had bothered me from the very start – unsalable inventory.
socalTECH
APRIL 6, 2022
Land a rocket on a barge? Drop your rocket into the ocean with a parachute? Nope-- Long Beach-based Rocket Lab says it is planning to make an attempt to capture one of its Electron Rockets mid-air using a helicopter, during its next mission. According to Rocket Lab, the effort to catch its rocket by helicopter is part of its program to make its Electron rocket a reusable.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 16, 2022
Every entrepreneur and business leader I know realizes that it takes a dedicated team to build and run a successful business, and nurturing that team is one of your most important priorities.
socalTECH
APRIL 1, 2022
El Segundo- and Austin-based Slingshot Aerospace has scored a $25.2M contract from the U.S. Space Force, the company said this week, to develop a new space training product called Digital Space Twin. According to the company, it will develop a government version of the product for space wargaming and other missions gritical to national security.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 23, 2022
Every startup lucky enough to get some traction gets to the point where they decide to hire some “regular employees” for sales, marketing, and administrative tasks. Then they are surprised to see productivity and creativity take a big dip.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 15, 2022
Most people think innovation is all about ideas, when in fact it is more about delivery, people, and process.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 11, 2022
New entrepreneurs are always looking for a shortcut in getting their venture story and plan across to investors, and closing on the funding they need.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 9, 2022
Starting and running a company is a team effort. Yes, it takes a leader (entrepreneur), but you can’t do it alone, without a team. Maybe only you and a co-founder comprise the team at first, to provide key skills, back you up, and test your ideas.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 30, 2022
In my experience as a business advisor and angel investor these days, I seem to more frequently hear from entrepreneurs and business owners with “can’t-fail” or “get-rich-quick” ideas.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 22, 2022
Even entrepreneurs who have built many startups, or sold their last one for millions of dollars, know they make occasional people leadership mistakes. They know leadership is all about managing their own complicated, illogical, and fallible human foibles, as well as the people they depend on.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 1, 2022
The entrepreneur’s challenge is to effectively communicate their value proposition, not only to customers, but also to vendors, partners, investors, and their own team. Especially for technical founders, this is normally all about presenting impressive facts. But in reality facts only go so far.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 2, 2022
Many entrepreneurs think that adapting to the new technologies, like smart phones and Internet commerce, are the key to attracting new customers. In fact, businesses need to adapt even more completely to the changes in the buying and social behavior of consumers.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 24, 2022
The good news is that a recent Kauffman Early-Stage Entrepreneurship (KESE) Index shows the highest level of new business activity recorded in the last two decades, and the cost of entry at an all-time low.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 29, 2022
Most of you business owners I know are looking forward to the day when your product, team and processes begin to mature, and your business growth keeps tilting upward as you scale. You expect to relax a bit, and relish in the success that you see coming.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 10, 2022
Most of the entrepreneurs I have met are smart, but many are not always wise.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 8, 2022
Most people agree that entrepreneurs have to think differently and take risks to have much chance of building a successful business.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 27, 2022
It’s always been tough to start a new business, even when the bottom line was just making a profit to stay alive. A few years ago, a second focus of sustainability (“green”) was added as a requirement for respectability. Now I almost always hear a third mandate - social responsibility.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 20, 2022
In my experience, the right team culture is critical to every business and startup success, so every business leader wants to know how to create it. In reality, I’m convinced that none of us can “ create culture ” directly, but we can create an environment where the desired culture emerges.
socalTECH
APRIL 29, 2022
Los Angeles-based e-sports and gaming platform FaZe Clan said this week that it has linked with fintech company Current, where FaZe Clan's talent will help engage their fans using Current's mobile banking products. Financial details of the partnership were not announced. Current is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global Management, TQ Ventures, Avenir, Sapphire Ventures, Foundation Capital, Wellington Management, QED Investors and EXPA, and is based in New York.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 25, 2022
One of the first harsh realities that every entrepreneur has to learn is that most of the things that are critical to startup success are outside of their direct control.
socalTECH
APRIL 22, 2022
Los Angeles-based cloud storage provider IDrive Backup says that it has added new, Amazon S3 compatible storage, through a new sevice it calls IDrive e2. The company said the new service is free for the first 10GB of data, and additional storage starting at $0.004/GB/month. IDrive said it is aiming its service at hosting applications, media workflow, gaming assets, e-commerce resources, and other large volumes of data.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 13, 2022
After many extended coaching sessions with entrepreneurs and small business owners, I’ve found myself wondering if my value-add was anything more than you could get by self-coaching.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 4, 2022
The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early stages of a startup, before their new product or service is bringing in revenue from real customers.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 3, 2022
Whether you are trying to motivate your team, close a deal with a customer, or get funding from an investor, a casual conversation is usually a waste of your valuable time. These result is a founder who is always “too busy,” but never seems to get the business done and the team moving.
socalTECH
APRIL 26, 2022
Pasadena-based restaurant robotics startup Miso Robotics said this morning that it has inked a partnership with Jack in the Box, the pilot the use of its Flippy 2 and Sippy robots at the fast food chain. According to Miso Robotis, Jack in the Box will pilot those products at one of the restaurant chains's standalone locations, with possible plans for further integration in the months ahead. The initial pilot will be at a Jack in the Box in San Diego.
socalTECH
APRIL 22, 2022
Santa Monica-based online new and used vehicle marketplace TrueCar says it has named a new Chief People Officer. According to the company, it has appointed Jill Angel as its new Chief People Officer, reporting to Mike Darrow, the President and CEO of the company.
socalTECH
APRIL 4, 2022
Los Angeles-based music and entertainment event and online streaming platform operator LiveOne says it is launching a new NFT platform, in a partnership with DaVinci. According to the company, it is launching a new platform called GamifyOne, which will allow users to trade music stocks, include "gamified crypto trading", NFTs, and its own token. The company said the platform will feature a slate of new interactive original show formats based on music, entertainment and artists.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 18, 2022
How many times have investors heard startups start their pitch by touting that their technology is “disruptive?”
socalTECH
APRIL 1, 2022
Marina Del Rey-based Armata Pharmaceuticals, a publicly held biotech company focused on bacteriophage therapeutics for antibiotic-resistant and difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, said on Thursday that it has raised $26.9M in the second tranche a private placement. The company said the funding came from Innoviva Strategic Opportunities LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Innoviva.
socalTECH
APRIL 29, 2022
San Diego-based autonomous driving technology developer TuSimple said this week that one of its co-founders, Mo Chen, is departing the company's board of directors, and will not stand for re-election, although he will finish out his tenure on the board. According to the company, it has also appointed Reed Werner to fill a different vacancy on the board. The company did not say why Chen decided to leave the company's board of directors, where he had served since the company was founded in 2015.
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