socalTECH

JUNE 9, 2014

'Viral videos are great -- attracting millions and millions of views, and spreading far and wide--but how do you monetize those viral videos? And, even more, how to do you manage the jump on the viral video train again, and keep those viral hits coming? Los Angeles-based Jukin Media (www.jukinmedia.com) thinks it has figured that out, and instead of trying to create viral videos, has been buying up the rights to those videos--before they really go viral--to create not just a one-hit, viral video

Media 235

Media Content Startup IP 235

InfoChachkie

JUNE 9, 2014

'A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. I just suffered through the worst "can you help me" call of my career. It was a rather hapless soul who was seeking my help networking within Santa Barbara''s startup community. Fortunately, this particular call was brief. In the fifteen minutes that we chatted, the caller made some shocking networking mistakes.

Networking 232

Networking Santa Barbara Research Blogging 232

Berkonomics

JUNE 12, 2014

'It is rare when one person starts a company, supplies all the funding, and shares no management tasks or equity with others, and still grows the company to any significant size, worthy of a multi-million dollar opportunity to cash out at exit. We should think of the creation and growth of a high valued company as the sum of three parts, with three distinct classes of participants helping to make real value out of a raw start-up.

Startup 214

Startup Equity Invest Class 214

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 7, 2014

'Starting a new business is a serious undertaking. Yet many aspiring entrepreneurs I know approach it as a fun project, get-rich quick scheme, or perhaps an expensive hobby. Others quit their day jobs and commit everything to their new passion, without regard for their own well-being, or the welfare of others around them. Neither of these approaches bodes well for success.

Entrepreneur 106

Entrepreneur Startup Ideas Framework 106

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

socalTECH

JUNE 11, 2014

'Irvine-based virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR is continuing to build out its team, and has snagged one of the co-founders of game maker Naughty Dog--Jason Rubin--as head of worldwide studios. Oculus VR said that Rubin will head up first-party content initiatives in Seattle, San Francisco, Menlo Park, Dallas and Irvine for the company. Rubin is best known for his role in shaping Naughty Dog''s Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter series.

Content 227

Content Develop Development Company 227

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 10, 2014

'Malibu and Beverly Hills have long been hot neighborhoods for entertainment execs. But the tech culture of Los Angeles is shifting real estate’s center of gravity. As the line blurs between tech and entertainment, and as Silicon Valley seeks synergy with L.A.’s creative talent pool, Silicon Beach is the new center for both homes and headquarters. The real estate dimension of Silicon Beach is part of an undeniable economic force.

Entertainment 108

Entertainment Santa Monica Journal Belkin 108

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 8, 2014

'Entrepreneurship is not a job for the Lone Ranger. Every startup requires building and maintaining effective relationships with people, including partners, team members, customers, and investors. That means giving and asking for feedback, and learning from it, especially negative feedback. “Friction” is feedback mixed with emotion or drama, making it all the more difficult to sort out the value.

Startup 103

Startup Entrepreneur Mentor Examples 103

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2014

'Los Angeles-based payment processing technology developer CheckAlt , which is led by Shai Stern, said this morning that it has acquired a subsidiary of Diebold , in the area of item and payment processing. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. CheckAlt said it acquired Diebold''s ERAS subsidiary, which provides item and payment processing solutions for regional banks, community banks and credit unions.

Mobile 213

Mobile Acquisition Los Angeles Help 213

Tech Zulu Event

JUNE 9, 2014

'I admit. I’m a gadget geek, but not in the traditional sense. For me the warm feelings from stumbling across new tech stems from something distinct – not quite external validation, or the compulsory drive to have the newest things (#BlackFridayNeverAgain). Instead, it comes from discovering awesome gadgets that really resonate with my personal lifestyle.

Startup 96

Startup Software Product Venture Capital 96

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2014

'Add another, big exit to the list of the growing list of companies in Southern California: Media Temple , the premium hosting provider founded by Demian Sellfors. The company was actually acquired in October , however, no financials on that acquisition were announced at the time. However, thanks to the IPO filing of acquiring company GoDaddy last night, we now know how much was paid for Media Temple: $94.48M in cash.

Media 210

Media Southern California Truecar Internet Brands 210

socalTECH

JUNE 9, 2014

'Santa Monica-based Washio , which operates a smartphone driven, laundry and dry cleaning pickup and delivery service, said today that it has raised $10.5M in a Series A funding round. The funding came from Canaan Partners, and also included A Grade Investments, Pejman Mar Ventures, Sherpa Ventures, and Jerry Yang (Yahoo). The company--think "Uber for laundry"--let users request that their dirty laundry be picked up and washed.

Santa Monica 193

Santa Monica Seed Funding Yahoo Venture Capital 193

socalTECH

JUNE 11, 2014

'Carpinteria-based Procore , a developer of construction management software, has raised $15M in a funding round from Bessemer Venture Partners, the company disclosed today. The startup is led by Tooey Courtemanch and Steve Zahm. The company--which recently moved into a new, 13,000 square foot headquarters on the Carpinteria bluffs--develops software used by construction teams to manage communications, blueprints, projects, and much more.

SaaS 178

SaaS Software Capital Custom 178

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2014

'Think your startup has got the perks? Fast growing, mobile advertising startup Airpush , which has quietly grown to nearly $100M in revenues, has something probably no other startup has in the office: a hot tub. The company said it has moved into a new office in Venice, which it calls "LA''s most respectable tech neighborhood". The company--which, amazingly, had grown to that nearly $100M with only remote workers and no physical office--said its new loft offices are nearby Snapchat, Whisper and

Venice 178

Venice Advertising Snapchat Mobile 178

socalTECH

JUNE 11, 2014

'Santa Monica-based Expresscoin said Wednesday that it has launched a new service to buy and sell Bitcoin, as well as other alternative currencies, such as Dogecoin. The startup--formerly known as Cash Into Coins--said it is looking to bring Bitcoin to the masses with its service, helping average customers to buy and sell bitcoin without needing access to a brokerage firm.

Services 170

Services Santa Monica Invest Custom 170

socalTECH

JUNE 9, 2014

'GoDaddy , the parent company of Los Angeles premium website hosting service Media Temple , has filed for an IPO--in the process, showing that the company paid $94.48M in cash for Media Temple. GoDaddy said it is looking to raised up $100M in its IPO, which is being underwritten by Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities, RBC Capital Markets, KKR Capital Markets, and Stifel.

Media 164

Media .Net Acquisition Los Angeles 164

socalTECH

JUNE 9, 2014

'Los Angeles-based online advertising technology developer OpenX Technologies said this morning that it has launched a new product, the OpenX SSP (Supply Side Platform). According to OpenX, the new product combines real-time-bidding (RTB) and ad network demand into a single auction system, which can help publishers maximize their advertising yield and increasing competition for their inventory.

OpenX 159

OpenX Product Advertising Demand 159

socalTECH

JUNE 12, 2014

'Technology giant Google is reportedly looking to take a stake in Mojave, California-based space tourism and spaceship developer Virgin Galactic , according to a report Thursday evening. According to the report, from Sky News, Google is looking to invest $30M in return for a small stake in Virgin Galactic, to give it access to satellite launch technology to put its satellites into low-Earth orbit.

Google 157

Google News Report Acquisition 157

socalTECH

JUNE 12, 2014

'San Diego-based Zingle , which is developing texting tools for businesses such as hotels and restaurants, said this week that it has tapped a Silicon Valley veteran as its new CEO. The company said it named John Girard, the former Founder and CEO of Clickability, to head up the company''s operations from San Diego. Zingle offers up a texting service to allow hotels and restaurants to accept orders and requests via text.

San Diego 157

San Diego Tool Invest Custom 157

socalTECH

JUNE 12, 2014

'Visual Unity , a developer of "over-the-top" (OTT) and multiscreen technology, said Thursday that it has raised $7.2M in a funding round. The company--which is based partially in Los Angeles--said the funding came from 3TS Capital Partners. Visual Unity said it is split between Los Angeles, Munich, Prague, Moscow, Istanbul, Dubai, and Hong Kong. The company''s product helps content owners and distributors monetize their video assets on the Internet.

Venture Capital 153

Venture Capital Los Angeles Content Capital 153

socalTECH

JUNE 12, 2014

'Santa Monica-based Mobile Majority , which offers up premium, mobile brand advertising, said this week that it has raised $8M in a Series B funding round. The company--which until now was known as PaeDae--said it is delivering a product which allows for universal, validated ad delivery across different ad networks, to help address fraud and viewability of their ads on mobile.

Mobile 153

Mobile Santa Monica Advertising Venture Capital 153

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2014

'Los Angeles-based online advertisig company Adconion is being acquired by Amobee , Amobee said late Tuesday, paying approximately $209M for the company, excluding debt. The companies said that Adconion is being valued at $235M in the deal. Amobee also is acquiring online ad company Kontera Technology, in a separate deal worth $150M. Amobee said it will use the buys to strengthen its digital marketing technology and solutions.

Advertising 153

Advertising Acquisition Los Angeles Technology 153

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2014

'Los Angeles, high technology mogul Elon Musk is no stranger to grand visions (electric cars? spaceships?)--many of which he''s been able to turn into reality. So, his latest idea--making flying cars, and cars that can also be submarines--may not be all that far fetched. Musk, who is CEO of Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), and also runs electric car maker Tesla Motors , said at an event yesterday in London that he''s interested in building a flying car at Tesla, just for

Hawthorne 153

Hawthorne SpaceX Los Angeles Ideas 153

socalTECH

JUNE 11, 2014

'Happy Hour Pal , a developer of mobile apps to connect consumers with happy hour deals and offers, said this week that it has launched into San Diego, beyond its roots in Hawaii. The startup--based in Honolulu--said it has begun listing happy hours pecials on its app for San Diego consumers, letting them find those specials based on specific types of food, drink, time, and location.

San Diego 149

San Diego Mobile Startup Develop 149

socalTECH

JUNE 11, 2014

'Los Angeles-based j2 Global said late Tuesday that it is raising $300M via an issue of convertible senior notes, which will be due in 2029. The publicly held company--which owns a significant number of Internet services, in addition to publisher Ziff Davis--said it will use that debt funding for general corporate purposes, including acquisitions. j2 Global did not say how much of that capital would go towards acquisitions, however, the company has been a ravenous acquirer of companies across th

Acquisition 149

Acquisition Software Review SaaS Email 149

socalTECH

JUNE 13, 2014

'San Diego-based Omnitracs , which offers up fleet management software and services, said yesterday that it has named David Post as the company''s new President and Chief Operating Officer. Post joins the company from MRI Software, where he had been CEO. The company said Post led efforts to acquire MRI Software from Intuit. He also served at Sunquest Information Systems, CIGNA, Kintana, Accenture, and Keane Consulting.

San Diego 147

San Diego Software Services Company 147

socalTECH

JUNE 13, 2014

'Santa Barbara-based Invoca , the developer of cloud-based, call marketing and click-to-call technology which is backed by Accel Partners, Upfront Ventures and Rincon Venture Partners, said it has hit 100 employees, and also expanded its executive team. The company said it named Kevin Ferguson as Senior Vice President of Sales; J. Scott Hamilton as VP of Business Development; Kyle Christensen as Vice President of Marketing; and Liso Riolo as VP of Customer Success.

Santa Barbara 147

Santa Barbara Marketing Sales Customer 147

socalTECH

JUNE 12, 2014

'In a demonstration of the power of targeting in a world of ubiquitous computing power, Santa Monica-based ad startup GumGum is powering a new advertising campaign which is able to target ads based on hair color shown in photos. Accoridng to L''Oreal Paris and GumGum, they are using image recognition technology to dynamically target product ads, based on hair color identified in photos of faces on its publisher partners'' sites.

Technology 147

Technology Slides Help Santa Monica 147

socalTECH

JUNE 12, 2014

'Santa Barbara-based property management software developer Yardi has scored a win in New Zealand, saying that one of New Zealand''s largest independent property management and advisory companies has adopted its software. Financial impact of the win was not disclosed. Yardi said that Quadrant is implementing its Yardi Voyager 7S real estate property and financial management platform, as an effort to replace its existing platform and a lot of spreadsheets.

Santa Barbara 147

Santa Barbara Platform Software Development Software 147

socalTECH

JUNE 11, 2014

'La Jolla-based biopharmaceuticals developer Ambrx has set its initial estimated pricing range for its IPO, saying in a filing this morning that it expects to price its IPO at between $12.00 and $14.00 per share. The offering will raise around $86.94M for the company. Ambrx has applied to list on the NASDAQ Global Market as AMBX. The company is venture backed by Tavistock, Maverick Capital, Apposite Healthcare, Versant Ventures, 5AM VEntures, Roche, and Merck, among others.

Pricing 147

Pricing Acquisition Capital Marketing 147

socalTECH

JUNE 11, 2014

'Qualcomm ''s Executive Chairman, Paul Jacobs , is one of the major investors in stealthy digital photography startup Light , which revealed last night that it has raised a $9.7M funding round for its efforts to re-invent photography. The company--led by Dave Grannan--said the funding came from Bessemer Venture Partners, Charles River Ventures, Paul Jacobs, as well as Sanjay Jha of Motorola Mobility.

Invest 147

Invest Venture Capital Mobile Funding 147

socalTECH

JUNE 11, 2014

'La Jolla- and Shanghai-based RuiYi , a biopharmaceuticals firm developing treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, said yesterday that it has raised $4M in a venture debt funding, from Silicon Valley Bank. The company said it will use the funds to advance a pipeline of novel monoclonal antibodies (mAb) targeting G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).

San Diego 147

San Diego Funding Develop Development 147

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2014

'ALiso Viejo-based storage networking equipment maker QLogic Corp. ''s Executive Chairman--and former CEO-- HK Desai , has passed away, the company said Monday. According to QLogic, Desai died Sunday night after a sudden cardiac arrest. He was 68. Desai had been at QLogic since August of 1995, and was instrumental in guiding the company, having been first interim CEO in 1995 and serving as CEO of the company until 2010, when he became Executive Chairman.

Guide 147

Guide Networking Company Companies 147

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2014

'Irvine-based Local Corporation , which offers up local advertising technology, has added two veterans of the local startup industry-- David M. Hughes and John M. Payne --as new board members. Hughes is CEO of The Search Agency , and Payne is currently CEO of SimpleAir , and is well known for his CEO roles at Zumbox, Breach Security, CircleUp, Preventsys, and Stamps.com, among other companies.

Zumbox 147

Zumbox Startup Advertising Technology 147

socalTECH

JUNE 13, 2014

'Santa Barbara-based enterprise resource planning software developer QAD has appointed a new board member, saying late Thursday that it has added Leslie J. Stretch as a board member. Stretch is President and CEO of Callidus Software, and also had served at Sun Microsystems and Oracle. QAD said it now has six members of its board. READ MORE>>.

Santa Barbara 138

Santa Barbara Oracle Resource Software Development 138

socalTECH

JUNE 12, 2014

'Culver City-based Beats Electronics said this morning that it has launched the company''s first, wireless earphones. The company said its new Powerbeats2 Wireless earphones are designed specifically for athletes, and are lightweight, and sweat resistant. Beats Electronics said the earphones were "inspired by" LeBron James, who is helping to market the new earphones.

Culver City 138

Culver City Design Acquisition Help 138

socalTECH

JUNE 12, 2014

'San Diego-based renewable energy company EDF Renewable Services said yesterday that it has signed a deal in Michigan, to offer up maintenance and operations support for the 75 megawatt, Brookfield Wind Park. Financial impact of the deal was not disclosed. The wind energy installation is owned by DTE Energy. EDF Renewable SErvices said it now has contracts for 400MW of wind energy with DTE Energy.

Services 138

Services San Diego Company Companies 138