Sat.Oct 19, 2019 - Fri.Oct 25, 2019

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Substance abuse affects about 15% of American employees, Path wants to ensure they get help

TechCrunch LA

America has an addiction problem. It’s a problem that serial entrepreneur Josh Bruno has seen first hand. And it’s why he has launched a new company called Path , which pitches access to specialized substance addiction treatment professionals as an employee health benefit, to do something about it. “ I have unfortunately lost five friends now to alcohol and opioid overdoses.

Help 129
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EV Connect Raises $12 Million Series B

L.A. Business Journal

Electric vehicle charging station manager EV Connect raised a $12 million Series B round co-led by Japanese investors Mitsui & Co. Ltd.

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HelloOffice Sets Up Shop In LA

socalTECH

HelloOffice , a San Francisco-based real estate startup, is opening up an office in Los Angeles, after raising $6.5M in a funding round. The company said it raised funds from Initialized Capital, Founders Fund, Founder Collective, Peak State Ventures, SV Angel, Liquid 2 Ventures, SaaStr, and The House Fund. HelloOffice helps companies find office space, operating as a commercial real estate brokerage to help companies find office space.

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Gamify those otherwise dull work assignments

Berkonomics

Most of us are driven by the competitive spirit, the desire or need to win. It reinforces self-worth, provides closure at the end of a good effort, and energizes us during the effort to achieve. Being driven to achieve results. Many of us as managers – and our employees as workers – are driven by process, actions required to achieve a result.

Metrics 120
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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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Mercedes-Benz app glitch exposed car owners’ information to other users

TechCrunch LA

Mercedes-Benz car owners have said that the app they used to remotely locate, unlock and start their cars was displaying other people’s account and vehicle information. TechCrunch spoke to two customers who said the Mercedes-Benz’ connected car app was pulling in information from other accounts and not their own, allowing them to see other car owners’ names, recent activity, phone numbers, and more.

Startup 189
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Rick Fox Exits Echo Fox, Settles Lawsuits

L.A. Business Journal

Rick Fox will leave the esports company he founded and settle lawsuits he was been trading with his co-founders.

Company 133

More Trending

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25th Annual Economic Forecast Conference - Orange County Business Council

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, October 30, 2019 -- OCBC 25th Annual Economic Forecast Conference. The 25th Annual Economic Forecast Conference at Hotel Irvine is hosted by Orange County Business Council and California State University, Fullerton. This annual conference offers critical economic indicator insight to the leading business, government and academic leaders in Orange County.

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Combining StitchFix and Instagram, FlipFit ushers in the next phase of social retail

TechCrunch LA

Nooruldeen Agha, has been thinking about what’s next for fashion retail for years. The serial entrepreneur behind the Dubai-based online fashion retailer, Elabelz and marketing studio Elephant Nation had always wanted to redesign the shopping experience for how customers actually shopped in stores and online. “If it was 1994 and we knew what technology is today and we want to reinvent this [shopping] experience… one thought was how we bought our whole life and how we go to the mall,&

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Aggressive Plan for SpaceX

L.A. Business Journal

A look at SpaceX’s partnership with NASA and its goals for human spaceflight.

SpaceX 157
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SpaceX Tests Encrypted, Military Communications Through Starlink

socalTECH

Hawthorne-based SpaceX has been testing encrypted, military communications through its broadband Internet, Starlink satellite constellation, according to Reuters , saying the U.S Air Force has been testing very high speed communications using Elon Musk's network of low earth orbit satellites. The report said that the Air Force "Global Lightning" program has shown the ability to send data at 610 megabits per second between two military C-12 planes, while in flight, part of a broader effort to tes

SpaceX 113
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Music Tectonics Conference

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, October 29, 2019 -- Music Tectonics Conference. Explore the seismic shifts shaking up the music industry as a result of technology and innovation. The first annual Music Tectonics Conference in Los Angeles October 28-29, 2019, is a destination event for innovators in music and technology. The conference speaker lineup brings together thinkers, doers and investors to explore the seismic shifts that are shaping the business of music.

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Newly launched pet health startup Gallant wants you to bank your dog’s stem cells for $990

TechCrunch LA

With $11 million in funding and a mission to open up the doors of regenerative therapies to dogs across the nation, the Los Angeles-based startup Gallant is now opening its doors for the first time. The company was founded by DogVacay founder and chief executive Aaron Hirschhorn after seeing his own pet’s struggle with debilitating illness and knowing firsthand that regenerative medicine and stem cell therapies could help.

Startup 163
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Tetra Tech Wins Work

L.A. Business Journal

Tetra Tech scores $85 million contract with the U.K. Department for International Development.

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Scientist.com Expands Support For Ethical Animal Treatment

socalTECH

San Diego-based Scientist.com , which operates an online marketplace for outsourced research, says it has expanded support to make sure that animal welfare is included in its outsourcing. The company said that the expansion ensures that any non-human animals involved in scientific research are handled ethically and humanely. The company said its due diligence process will "ensure that marketplace suppliers who provide in vivo services treat animals involved in scientific research in an ethical a

Outsource 100
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Music Tectonics Conference

SoCal Tech Calendar

Monday, October 28, 2019 -- Music Tectonics Conference. Explore the seismic shifts shaking up the music industry as a result of technology and innovation. The first annual Music Tectonics Conference in Los Angeles October 28-29, 2019, is a destination event for innovators in music and technology. The conference speaker lineup brings together thinkers, doers and investors to explore the seismic shifts that are shaping the business of music.

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The Los Angeles Fire Department wants more drones

TechCrunch LA

As it looks to modernize its operations, the Los Angeles Fire Department is turning to a number of new technologies, including expanding its fleet of drones for a slew of new deployments. One of the largest fire departments in the U.S., next to New York and Chicago, the LAFD has a budget of roughly $691 million, employs more than 3,500 and responded to 492,717 calls in 2018.

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Snap Reports Growth in Users, Revenue for Third Quarter

L.A. Business Journal

Snap Inc.’s revenue and user base continue to grow while its losses shrink.

Report 100
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Allied Esports Lands Deal With TV Azteca For Latin American Gears League

socalTECH

Irvine-based e-sports programming provider Allied Esports and Mexican television producer TV Azteca said this morning that the two have entered into an alliance, where Azteca Esports will broadcast the Gears 5 Pro League in Latin America. Financial details of the deal were not announced. According to the two, October 28, Azteca Esports will produce live, weekly coverage of the four-team Latin America region, including a live finale on November 25 at TV Azteca Studios in Mexico City.

Invest 100
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LAVA First Time Entrepreneur Workshop

SoCal Tech Calendar

Saturday, October 26, 2019 --.

LAVA 100
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MediaLab acquires messaging app Kik, expanding its app portfolio

TechCrunch LA

Popular messaging app Kik is, indeed, “here to stay” following an acquisition by the Los Angeles-based multimedia holding company, MediaLab. It echoes the same message from Kik’s chief executive Tim Livingston last week when he rebuffed earlier reports that the company would shut down amid an ongoing battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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6 Principles To Move Innovation Intentions To Results

Startup Professionals Musings

Real innovation in the business world is still rare. As I’ve said before, everyone talks about innovation, but the majority of new business plans I see still reflect linear thinking – one more social network with more features, another smartphone app for marketing, or one more platform for faster e-commerce. Historic changes and great successes don’t come from linear thinking.

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Qualcomm Creates $200M 5G Investment Fund

socalTECH

San Diego-based Qualcomm said on Thursday that it has launched a new, $200M fund specifically to invest in companies in the 5G ecosystem. According to Qualcomm, the new Qualcomm Ventures 5G Ecosystem Fund will specifically lookin to invest in startups developing new and innovative 5G use cases, driving 5G network transformation and expanding 5G into enterprise markets.

Invest 100
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Medical Technology Innovation Forum 2019

SoCal Tech Calendar

Monday, October 28, 2019 --.

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Electric vehicle charging software EV Connect raises $12 million

TechCrunch LA

EV Connect , the Los Angeles-based company that sells software to manage electric vehicle charging, has raised $12 million in a Series B round led by investors Mitsui & Co. and Ecosystem Integrity Fund. The company has raised $25 million to date. EV Connect’s cloud-based platform has an open standard architecture that is designed to be hardware agnostic.

Software 124
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5 Strategies To Thrive In Customer-Driven Disruption

Startup Professionals Musings

In my experience as a business consultant, I find than most people still believe that technology drives business disruption. I’m more convinced that technology merely enables disruption, and changing customer interests and needs really causes it. Many companies try to recover with more advertising and rebranding, and discover that these strategies don’t work well in today’s market.

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Report: SpaceX May Conduct Crew Dragon Test Next Week

socalTECH

Hawthorne-based SpaceX may be getting set to run a test of its Crew Dragon, putting it back on track to put astronauts into space, six months after a test failure destroyed its prior Crew Dragon. According to CNBC, the static fire test of the capsule's SuperDraco engines are expected on November 2nd. Those engines--aimed at use at landing the Crew Dragon in an emergency--were the ones that failed in April, destroying the company's first Crew Dragon.

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Bio Roundup: Biogen’s Reversal, FDA Moves Fast, a CF Cocktail & More

Xconomy

Earlier this year, it seemed that companies testing Alzheimer’s disease treatments based on a long-held hypothesis as to its cause—brain deposits of a protein called beta amyloid—were giving up the ghost. Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB ) was among them. The drug maker had stopped testing of a drug developed to target amyloid plaque after a Phase 3 failure.

Develop 49
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Meet Bespoke Financial, a lender for cannabis companies backed by Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital

TechCrunch LA

Bespoke Financial wants to provide cannabis businesses with the same kind of financial services that other businesses get, but that dispensaries and growers can’t yet access. The regulations around cannabis operations are so stringent at the local level — and so nebulous at the federal level — that national banks won’t give businesses in the cannabis industry the same basic services (like short-term loans).

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How The Right Employees Have An Innovation Advantage

Startup Professionals Musings

Conventional business wisdom tells us that entrepreneurs are today’s main source of innovation. We see the stories of young founders leaving college with a big idea, going to work in their garage, and building something that changes the world. We hear about corporate employees, strangled by slow-moving bureaucracy, that are blocked from making transformative discoveries.

IBM 53
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Heal Links With Alignment Healthcare For Primary Care Services

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based in-home, doctor house-call provider Heal is making it possible for members of Alignment Health Plan to select Heal's licensed, board-certified doctors for primary care, the two said on Thursday. Financial details of the partnership were not announced. According to the two, the work together will offer up primary care for Alignment Healthcare's Medicare Advantage Health Plan members.

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UK Regulator Has “Competition Concerns” Over Illumina-PacBio Tie-Up

Xconomy

Nearly one year after DNA sequencing machine maker Illumina announced plans to acquire smaller rival Pacific Biosciences , antitrust regulators in the UK say the merger could stifle competition in the region and reduce industry innovation. The Competition and Markets Authority has been eying the proposed $1.2 billion tie-up since April. The regulator’s in-depth review, which concluded this week, was launched in June—around the time Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN ) and PacBio (NASDAQ: PACB ) initia

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Report: Fair Cuts Nearly Half Of Staff, Replaces CFO

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based Fair , the subscription vehicle service lead by startup veteran Scott Painter, is laying off 40 percent of its staff, according to reports , and also is replacing its CFO. The report says that current CFO Tyler Painter, the brother of CEO Scott Painter, is being replaced by Kirk Shryoc. It's unclear what the reasons for the steep cuts are; the company had announced a big $100M debt and equity investment from Ally Financial only two months ago.

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NextGen Healthcare Buys Topaz Information Solutions

socalTECH

Irvine-based NextGen Healthcare has acquired Topaz Information Solutions , a company offering up solutions in the behavioral health and social services area, the company said yesterday. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. According to NextGen Healthcare, all employees of TopazIS have joined the company as part of the deal. NextxGen said the buy will help it accelerate market penetration into the behavioral health segment.

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Virgin Galactic Set To Trade Monday On NYSE, After Reverse Merger

socalTECH

Mojave-based Virgin Galactic is set to start trading on the NYSE as SPCE on Monday, after shareholders of a blank-shell merger company owned by Chamath Palihapitiya approved the reverse merger between the companies. The two had embarked on the effort to take Virgin Galactic public via a reverse merger back in May. The reverse merger came via Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

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Wander Debuts Wireless, High Speed Networking In Santa Monica

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Wander has waded into the high speed, Internet access business, saying on Wednesday that it has launched a new, roughly $25-per-month high speed networking service in Santa Monica. The startup--led by David Fields and Dan Rahmel--said that it is providing last-mile, wireless Internet to users using low-cost wireless hardware and its own software.

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Intrepida Bio Gets $9.5M

socalTECH

San Diego-based Intrepida Bio , a biopharmaceuticals startup focused on developing medicines that modulate the innate immune system to fight cancer and other diseases, has raised $9.5M in a funding round, according to the company. The funding came from Sofinnova Investments and Canaan. According to Intrepida, the funding will go towards investigational new drug (IND) application-enabling studies of Intrepida's lead oncology program.

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