Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 23, 2017
Have you figured out what you want to have, or to be, when you reach the end of your personal run in this business life? It is a fair question. Most of us work in our businesses, either as managers or owners, and rarely step outside to think about how this will end in a perfect world. Investors call this discussion “exit planning” and of course they include themselves in the.
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 18, 2017
Union Square Ventures (USV) has been one of the most successful venture capital firms of the past 10–15 years and continues to be a leader in our industry. Recently the firms two founding partners (and also Managing Partners) — Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham — decided to transition management of the firm to Andy Weissman (who joined in 2012) and Albert Wenger (joined in 2008 and writes one of the most thoughtful blogs in our industry ).
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L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 22, 2017
Global Eagle stock plunges after CEO and CFO resign, AwesomenessTV CEO Brian Robbins resigns, microfinance startup Tala raises $30 million, and more.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
For this morning's Insights and Opinions section, where we feature the contributions of our readers, we have an article from Wiliam Hsu , co-founder and managing partner of Mucker Capital (www.muckercapital.com). He explains all the ways VCs say "no" without actually using the word "no". You can read the full article at The Cryptic VC's Guide to Saying "No" On Investments in our Insights and Opinions section.
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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.
SoCal Tech Calendar
FEBRUARY 21, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017 -- StartEngine Equity Crowdfunding Workshop. StartEngine is organizing the first equity crowdfunding one day free workshop for companies to go live the same day. Normally, a company will spend thousands of dollars on an accountant, lawyer, copywriter and other vendors to get their campaign to go live plus many dozen of hours in preparation time.
Both Sides of the Table
FEBRUARY 20, 2017
It’s easy to find yourself caught in the trap of just GSD (getting s**t done) and not stepping back to be thoughtful about whether you’d benefit from doing fewer things but doing those things truly well. It’s the parable of the tree-chopping team that is so focused on efficiency of how fast it can fell a tree that it doesn’t bother to make sure it is clearing the forest in the right direction when one person actually stops the constant cutting to climb a tree and make sure they’re cutting in the
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 23, 2017
Santa Monica-based AirMap , which is developing software and a service for airspace management for drones, has raised $26M in a Series B funding round, the company said this morning. The funding was led by Microsoft Ventures, and also included Airbus Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Rakuten, Sony, and Yuneec, along with prior investors General Catalyst and Lux Capital.
SoCal Tech Calendar
FEBRUARY 19, 2017
Saturday, February 25, 2017 -- Technology Startups go to the Movies: Opportunities and Hurdles for Selling New Technologies into the Motion Picture Industry! Caltech Entrepreneurs Forum. Southern California is still the home of Hollywood - the symbolic name for the motion picture industry - but that industry has changed dramatically in recent years.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 19, 2017
An entrepreneur lifestyle that continues to gain in popularity these days is being a “social entrepreneur.” In the simplest of terms, these are people who seek to generate “social value”, rather than profits, and use traditional business principles to provide solutions to social issues On the surface, this sounds like entrepreneurs who want to build a non-profit organization.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Israeli web development company Wix said last week that it had purchased popular West Hollywood-based online artist platform DeviantArt for $36 million, including $3 million in assumed debt.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 22, 2017
Techstars Music , a new startup accelerator program run by startup accelerator operator Techstars, has launched in Los Angeles, Techstars said this morning, with eleven startups. According to Techstars Music, the first eleven companies in its program include Amper (AI + music), Hurdl (LED wearables at concerts), JAAK (blockchain for music metadata), Pacemaker (social mixtapes), Pippa (podcasting), Popgun (deep learning, singing computers), Robin (ticket concierge), Shimmur (social interaction wi
SoCal Tech Calendar
FEBRUARY 19, 2017
Saturday, February 25, 2017 -- Caltech Entrepreneurs Forum - Entertainment. Southern California is still the home of Hollywood -- the symbolic name for the motion picture industry, but that industry has changed dramatically in recent years. Many of the studios have sizable in-house technology development operations, but all acquire technology or technology products from outside their corporate borders.
Xconomy
FEBRUARY 22, 2017
PMV Pharmaceuticals is the latest startup to load up with cash in an attempt to home in on one of the toughest targets in cancer biology: the tumor suppressor protein known as p53. The company, headquartered in Cranbury, NJ, disclosed this morning that it has raised a $74 million Series B round from Topspin Biotech Fund, Euclidian Capital, InterWest Partners, OrbiMed Advisors, and Osage University Partners.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 23, 2017
The city of Los Angeles is planning to donate rent-free space to the recently launched Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 21, 2017
Tired of chasing after the latest sighting of a Snap v129ending machine for your own pair of Spectacles, the company's sunglasses, which can be used to automatically post to Snapchat? Snap started selling its signature sunglasses online over the weekend, offering up the popular glasses for $129.99, for delivery in 2-4 weeks. The Spectacles had previously only been available through limited time, one day appearances of the "Snapbot"--an automated vending machine which was being placed randomly ac
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Most of the guidance you see for entrepreneurs is aimed at those who are selling a product (Apple, Tesla, Xiaomi), or selling a service (Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat). Yet, according to statistics from the Small Business Association (SBA), over half of new businesses offer something else - personal professional services, including consulting, business coaching, and advisory services.
Xconomy
FEBRUARY 20, 2017
Bipartisanship hasn’t exactly been the watchword in Washington over the past month as the new Trump administration grapples with stalled nominations, court battles over its travel ban, and investigations of campaign contacts with Russia. But deeply divided politicians may still find some common ground over education policy—in ways that could be good for educational technology companies and other inventive startups, says the CEO of a richly-endowed non-profit that’s trying to catalyze chang
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 21, 2017
Goldman Sachs predicts $2 billion in revenue for Snap Inc. in 2018, Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos resigns after controversial statements surface, Disney demonstrates wireless charging technology, and more.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Calabasas-based network testing hardware and software developer Ixia said yesterday that it has shifted to a 100 percent, channel sales model for its enterprise customers. Ixia said the adoption of the model was made to show its "unwavering commitment" to its network of reseller partners. Ixia said it has more than 800 resellers who are part of its partner program.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 22, 2017
One of the biggest challenges in changing your lifestyle from an employee to starting your own business, is focusing on the right ownership elements, versus having a boss who sets the business goals, and provides performance feedback. Most entrepreneurs relish being their own boss, but find the transition to “ownership thinking” to be more difficult than anticipated.
Xconomy
FEBRUARY 21, 2017
Cidara Therapeutics is halting work on an experimental topical antifungal drug designed to treat vaginal yeast infections after the compound wasn’t better than the current standard of care in a Phase 2 clinical trial. San Diego-based Cidara (NASDAQ: CDTX ) said in a statement on Tuesday it will now shift its resources to other compounds in its portfolio, including an intravenous form of the antifungal.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Aerojet Rocketdyne buys missile maker, Snap founders tighten grip on voting power in response to one investor, and how Nasty Gal fell from $85 million in sales to bankruptcy.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Redland-based GIS software maker Esri and the ArcticDEM project, a public-private partnership between the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the Polar Geospatial Center, and Esri, has release a big storehouse of elevation data for the Arctic, the groups said this week. According to the NGA, the release of the elevation data is the largest to date for the project.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 18, 2017
Smart people only visit and buy from credible and memorable websites. In the past, if your startup had a website presence, the company was credible by definition. In today’s world, a website is necessary but not sufficient for credibility. Dreamers and gamblers have found out that if the website isn’t validated as credible, it’s probably a scam, and everyone loses.
Xconomy
FEBRUARY 22, 2017
As we gear up for Robo Madness 2017: A.I. Gets Real , our annual robotics and artificial intelligence conference at Google’s offices in Kendall Square, let’s connect a few dots around the topic of automation. In just the past day or two: —Uber has started testing self-driving cars in Tempe, AZ , after having its tests banned in San Francisco in December.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Shares of in-flight internet firm Global Eagle fall to Earth after a front-office shakeup.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Carlsbad-based radio frequency and mixed signal integrated circuits maker MaxLinear has scored a design win with Irvine-based Vubiq Networks , saying this week that Vubiq is using one of its systems-on-a-chip for a new radio link product. MaxLinear said that Vubiq is using its MxL85100 baseband SoC for its HaulPass V10g radio link product. Expected shipping volumes of the product were not announced.
Tech.Co
FEBRUARY 19, 2017
Finding a business opportunity is a challenge for most entrepreneurs. We’re saturated with companies specializing in almost every business opportunity. For this reason, new entrepreneurs are left wondering how they can start up a business and compete with already established enterprises. To grow your startup, you need to analyze the market forces in the industry you want to invest in.
Xconomy
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
A short week makes for a shorter roundup. As we’ve come to expect, however, there was no dearth of health and life-sciences news from Washington, D.C. A bipartisan group of Congress members who oversee health policy countered President Donald Trump’s encouragement of vaccine skeptics ; the real test will be the upcoming budget’s funding of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine programs.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 20, 2017
WhatsApp updates with Snapchat-like vanishing content, SpaceX lands its latest Falcon 9 rocket booster, media buying on Snapchat confuses advertisers, and more.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Marina Del Rey-based Shareability , a startup which focuses on creating viral content, said this week that Rob Reed, the founder and former CEO of MomentFeed, has joined the company as Partner and Chief Revenue Officer. The company said Reed will oversee Sales and Marketing for the company. Shareability said Reed joined the company because "online video is the next big wave of marketing disruption and innovation".
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 20, 2017
Most budding entrepreneurs don’t realize that nine out of ten startups fail within 24 months. They only see and remember the recent new entrants in the billion dollar valuation club, including Uber, Airbnb, and Snapchat. While last year was not a banner year for new businesses, the startup rate is still about one per minute, so you need more than luck to improve your odds of success.
Xconomy
FEBRUARY 20, 2017
Former Sapphire Energy CEO Jason Pyle is one of four agricultural technology veterans who have agreed to advise the startups taking root at Radicle, the San Diego-based accelerator focused on agricultural and food tech ventures. Radicle named Pyle, who is now the CEO of BaseHealth, a Silicon Valley healthtech developer of analytic software, as a venture partner in a statement released last week.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
In a move that appears to follow in the footsteps of rival toymakers Lego Group and Hasbro Inc., El Segundo’s Mattel Inc. partnered on Feb. 14 with Chinese e-retailer Alibaba Group to develop content centered on Mattel brands for Chinese consumers.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Justin Mateen , the co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Los Angeles-based Tinder , is one of the seed investors in FOSSA , a developer of open source license management software. FOSSA said Thursday that it has raised $2.2M in a seed funding round, which came from Bain Capital Ventures, along with angels Marc Benioff (Salesforce), Steve Chen (YouTube), Jaan Tallinn (Skype), Amr Awadallah (Cloudera), as well as Justin Mateen (Tinder).
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Two publications this morning--the WSJ and the Los Angeles Times , have dissected the fall of Los Angeles-based NastyGal --once, one of the symbols of the rise of Silicon Beach--and how it went from nearly $100M a year in revenue to bankruptcy. NastyGal's Sophia Amoruso had started the company on eBay, took it to the venture market, but was unable to sustain its growth, or loyal customers.
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