Sat.Mar 04, 2017 - Fri.Mar 10, 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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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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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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Alumni Panel + QandA with Techstars

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, March 16, 2017 -- Alumni Panel + QandA with Techstars. Join Techstars Los Angeles for an Alumni Panel and Q+A Session. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Techstars mentorship-driven accelerator programs, meet the teams, and hear from our alumni companies.

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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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Why Skateboarders Suddenly Became Scary Good In The Mid-80’s

InfoChachkie

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. Skateboard legend and award-wining filmmaker Stacy Peralta recently shared a compelling insight as part of UC […]. The post Why Skateboarders Suddenly Became Scary Good In The Mid-80’s appeared first on John Greathouse.

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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.

More Trending

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Becoming Investor Ready - How to Prepare for the Investor Audition

SoCal Tech Calendar

Monday, March 13, 2017 -- Becoming Investor Ready - How to Prepare for the Investor Audition. Determine how investable your business is and what it will take to be at the front of the line for those that have money, and learn what to do if you don’t get the money. You will look into the mind of two seasoned investors and learn what it takes to become investor ready and get funded.

Invest 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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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 7: Snap Inc. Shares Fall as Short Sellers Move on the Stock

L.A. Business Journal

Snap Inc. shares fall as short sellers move on the stock, Hyperloop One unveils photos of test track in Nevada, and Two Bit Circus hires theme park executive.

Report 124
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SBIR/STTR Workshop

SoCal Tech Calendar

Friday, March 10, 2017 -- SBIR/STTR Workshop. TriTech SBDC and UCI's "The Cove" are working together to bring you a complimentary workshop that provides a detailed overview of the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Small technology based organizations are eligible to apply for the funds available under these programs.

UCI 100
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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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Local Roots Shows Off Mobile, Indoor Farming Technology

socalTECH

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.

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Silicon Beach Report March 9: Global Crossing Founder Winnick Takes Majority Stake in Streaming Service Qello

L.A. Business Journal

Global Crossing founder Winnick takes majority stake in streaming service Qello, Tele-therapy startup iExhale raises $1.86 million, and Snapchat Spectacles shop pops up in Venice.

Snapchat 113
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International Women's Day Lightning Talks

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 -- INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY LIGHTNING TALKS. General Assembly. During these engaging, interactive lightning talks, get inspired by female leaders who are spearheading local innovation in tech, culture, social media, and politics. They’ll discuss how they’ve pioneered gender equality in their industries, the challenges they faced, and provide key tips and strategies on taking action.

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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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Interview with Clark Landry, Maple Media

socalTECH

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
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Facebook’s Use of Cloned Snapchat Features May Step on Snap’s Growth

L.A. Business Journal

Snap may have little legal recourse as Facebook scores big with cloned Snapchat features.

Snapchat 165
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Fierce, Funded, and Female: A Discussion On Capital Raisin

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 -- Fierce, Funded, and Female: A Discussion On Capital Raising. General Assembly. Join a group of female investors and successful entrepreneurs for an open discussion on raising money for your new venture. How much should you raise, when and from whom? What are the pros and cons of equity funding from angels, VC firms, crowdfunding and bank lending?

Capital 100
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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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Esri Wins Oak Ridge National Laboratory

socalTECH

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
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Winnick Dials Up Deal for OTT-Streaming Site

L.A. Business Journal

Word broke last week that Los Angeles billionaire and former telecommunications mogul Gary Winnick was back in the game, taking a majority stake in startup streaming service Qello.

Sites 100
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SBTHH+LATHH : Cinco but not Mayo Tech Happy Hour

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, March 8, 2017 -- SBTHH+LATHH : Cinco but not Mayo Tech Happy Hour. This is now a JOINT EVENT with the LA Tech Happy Hour. If you aren't already excited for Cinco, you should be now! Combined we are pushing over 100 attendees so mark your calendars and come ready to network.

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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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Microsemi Powers Recent Iridium Satellite Launch

socalTECH

Aliso Viejo-based semiconductor maker Microsemi 's chips are being used in the ten Iridium NEXT satellites that were just launched into orbit by SpaceX, according to Microsemi. According to Microsemi, Iridium NEXT is making use of more than 2,000 Microsemi radiation-tolerant field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in its satellite constellation, and over 200,000 Microsemi devices across the entire project.

SpaceX 138
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Silicon Beach Report March 10: Volvo Signs Deal for AeroVironment’s EV Chargers

L.A. Business Journal

Volvo signs deal for AeroVironment’s EV chargers, Hulu Live TV won’t include Viacom networks, and DirecTV sports fee varies wildly by zip code.

Hulu 113
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7 Keys To Hard Hitting Social Media Use For Business

Startup Professionals Musings

If you are an entrepreneur today, and not using social media to promote your business, you are missing out on a huge opportunity. But, contrary to what most people preach, it isn’t entirely free. Most social media outlets don’t require a subscription charge, but they certainly require an investment to be hard hitting – in people, in technology, your reputation, and your time.

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Will Driverless Cars Ever Yield Profits for Uber and Lyft?

Xconomy

Uber has suffered a series of troubles early this year, from sexual harassment claims by a former staff engineer to an intellectual property theft lawsuit by Google unit Waymo. But Uber’s most longstanding, recurrent, and core problem stems from its relationship with its contract drivers. It’s not surprising that Uber is seeking an escape from that relationship with an ambitious plan: to dial drivers out of its business model altogether by replacing them with self-driving cars.

Google 76
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Thinkbox Software Acquired By Amazon AWS

socalTECH

Thinkbox Software , a developer of software used to manage video rendering tools used in film production, and which has an office in Los Angeles, has been acquired by Amazon Web Services. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Thinkbox was based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The company said it was "business as usual" for the company, whose products include rendering tool software Krakatoa, compute management software Deadline, and many others.

Software 138
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Silicon Beach Report March 8: Tinder Running Members Only Version of Its App

L.A. Business Journal

Tinder running members only version of its app, Conversion Logic raises $9 million, and Soylent launches artificially intelligent spokeswomen

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How You Should Start a Business Before the Bubble

Startup Professionals Musings

In the entrepreneur world, most of the energy I see is focused on the current opportunity bubbles, now including anything mobile, the new sharing economy (Uber, Airbnb), or yet another social media app (Snapchat, WhatsApp). Too few entrepreneurs are searching for the next bubble, so too many funding requests I see as an investor are yet another “me too” solution, with low odds.

Ideas 55
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Toyota And Others Enabling Self-Driving Cars to Talk to Each Other

Xconomy

Drivers have plenty of ways to communicate with their fellow drivers, beyond the basic turn signal. Some methods are nice, like a friendly wave to beckon a merging car into your lane. Others, not so much. We’ve all probably cursed or honked at another driver, or been given the finger. But if driverless cars become a reality, those vehicles will also need to be able to reliably communicate with each other, using wireless communications technologies.

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Riot Games Wins $10M In Lawsuit Against Software Maker

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based online game maker Riot Games has won $10M in a lawsuit against software maker LeagueSharp , as well as a court ban on LeagueSharp's software tools. Riot Games had filed a lawsuit in August alleging that LeagueSharp's software violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and allowed players to cheat at League of Legends. READ MORE>>.

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Silicon Beach Report March 6: Snap Shares Fall 12 Percent

L.A. Business Journal

Snap shares fall 12 percent, Disney Research tests robot interaction with children, and Björk to bring VR exhibition to L.A.

Report 113
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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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Three Ways to Bolster The Innovation Ecosystem for Women

Xconomy

When the topic of encouraging more female leadership in the startup economy arises, discussions usually center on what women entrepreneurs should do differently. How they should present with greater authority, or how they should “dress the part” for their next investor pitch. Put frankly, how they should adopt any manner of different behaviors.