Sat.Mar 20, 2021 - Fri.Mar 26, 2021

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Bill Gates wants Western countries to eat “synthetic meat”; Meatable has raised $47 million to make it

TechCrunch LA

In a recent interview discussing Bill Gates’ recent book “ How to Avoid a Climate Disaster “, the Microsoft and Breakthrough Energy founder (and the world’s third wealthiest man ) advocated for citizens of the richest countries in the world to switch to diets consisting entirely of what he called synthetic meat in an effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

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Urb-E Raises $5 Million for E-Bike Deliveries

L.A. Business Journal

With ecommerce on the rise and millions of consumers now expecting same-day shipping options when shopping online.

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Worth Network Aims At Instagram Marketing

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Worth Network, a new software startup, is aiming to help marketers reach more consumers via organic Instagram posts, the company said today. According to the company, it is currently helping restaurant chains such as Silverlake Ramen, Pokeworks, EMC Seafood and others, and is looking to expand to consumer product goods, health and wellness, and other industries, with its service.

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Switching costs: A competitive advantage?

Berkonomics

We know that one of the ways we hold onto our customers is if there are high switching costs to move away to a competitor. But how about the other side of the coin? Do you have an estimate of the cost for a potential customer to switch to your side? And are you prepared to help with concessions if needed? Here’s important homework for your marketing effort.

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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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LA’s socially conscious bank challenger, Aspiration, launches a carbon offset credit card

TechCrunch LA

Aspiration , the financial services business for socially conscious consumers, is back with another environmentally friendly offering for its customers — this time, it’s a credit card. The Los Angeles-based company, which has raised roughly $250 million from investors including the celebrities Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr.’s Footprint Coalition, and Orlando Bloom and more traditional institutional investors like AlphaEdison, Capricorn Investment Group, the Omidyar Networ

Downey 245
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Openpath Helps Offices Reopen Safely

L.A. Business Journal

Culver City-based startup Openpath Security Inc. has been developing mobile-based door lock systems since 2016.

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Wix Can Now Integrate with Google My Business

Tech.Co

Getting your website noticed by local customers just got a whole lot easier for Wix users. The leasing website builder has announced an expanded partnership with Google to integrate Google My Business into the platform. To say Google is important when it comes to keeping your business relevant would be something of an understatement. The search engine powers an unmatched number of conversions, which makes it a vital tool for many businesses looking to reach as many new users as possible.

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Closing on $103M, MaC VC is changing the face of venture capital

TechCrunch LA

The partners at MaC Venture Capital , the Los Angeles-based investment firm that has just closed on $103 million for its inaugural fund, have spent the bulk of their careers breaking barriers. Formed when M Ventures (a firm founded by former Washington DC mayor Adrian Fenty); the first Black talent agency partner in the history of Hollywood, Charles D.

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Second-Home Marketplace Pacaso Valued at $1 Billion

L.A. Business Journal

Real estate technology startup Pacaso has raised $75 million in funding at a $1 billion valuation.

Funding 246
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9 Steps To Overcoming Your Biggest Startup Challenges

Startup Professionals Musings

Creating a startup, or managing any business, is all about problem solving. Some people are good at it and some are not – independent of their IQ or their book smarts (there may even be an inverse relationship here). Yet I’m convinced that problem solving is a learnable trait, rather than just a birthright. Entrepreneurs who are great problem solvers within any business are the best prepared to solve their customers’ needs effectively as well.

Startup 156
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ServiceTitan Snags $500M, Valuing Firm At $8.3 Billion

socalTECH

Glendale-based ServiceTitan, which develops software used by home service providers and others in the trades to manage appointments, billing, marketing, and more, has raised a huge, $500M funding round. The new funding values the company at $8.3 billion. The funding was led by Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital, and also included H.I.G. Growth, Arena Holdings, Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Dragoneer, Durable Capital Partners, ICONIQ Growth, Index Ventures and T.

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TechFire Fireside Chat: Aydin Senkut (Felicis Ventures)

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, March 30, 2021 -- TechFire Fireside Chat: Aydin Senkut (Felicis Ventures), in discussion with Michael Platner, Chair of the Corporate Practice and Co-Chair of the Securities and Corporate Finance Practice, Lewis Brisbois (online).

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Ecommerce Logistics Company Flowspace Raises $31 Million

L.A. Business Journal

Flowspace Inc., the Del Rey-based developer of a software platform built to manage warehouse and shipping logistics, announced March 17 that it had raised $31 million in a Series B funding.

Company 147
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5 Key Success Attributes For An Aspiring Entrepreneur

Startup Professionals Musings

As an entrepreneur mentor, my mission is to foster the attributes in you as a startup founder that I believe will lead to success. I know from experience that my friends who are angel investors are looking for the same indications, although none of us has a scorecard , or even know exactly what we are looking for. Sometimes good things are easy to see in others, but hard to see in yourself.

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MaC Venture Capital Launches $103M Seed Fund

socalTECH

Los Angeles- and Palo Alto-based MaC Venture Capital has launched a new, $103M seed stage investment fund today, saying it plans to invest in technology startups across the fintech, e-commerce and marketplaces, interactive media, connectivity, enterprise SaaS, space and aerospace, logistics, and other sectors. The firm said it is majority Black-owned, and will employ cultural investment framework, using business and consumer trend research to identify companies that are "leveraging shifts in cul

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Small Luxury Homes: How to Afford Your Dream Home

AllTopStartups

When you imagine your dream home, what does it look like? Is it a modern and rustic mansion nestled amongst the cliffs? A massive brick estate with a pool and… The post Small Luxury Homes: How to Afford Your Dream Home appeared first on AllTopStartups.

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TikTok Is Boosting Black Content Creators

L.A. Business Journal

In a 30-second TikTok video, Bran Movay, 23, gives users an inside look at his daily routine.

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7 Tough Leadership Challenges Gauge Your CEO Ability

Startup Professionals Musings

As a business advisor, I often talk to business professionals who are critical of their CEO, and are convinced that they could do the job better. Yet I suspect that few of you have seriously thought about the scope of problems that every CEO must face, and what capabilities are the key to success, whether your company is a small startup, or a multi-billion multi-national conglomerate.

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Faraday Future Snags $100M In Debt

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based electric vehicle company Faraday Future said on Friday tht it has received $100M in a debt financing, which it will use to advance the delivery of its first vehicle, the FF 91. According to Faraday Future, the debt included $85M from funds managed by the Credit Group of Ares Management Corporation, with the remainder provided by funds managed by affiliates of Birch Lake Fund Management, LP and other lenders.

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Pepperdine University Most Fundable Companies Competition

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, March 31, 2021 --.

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Ecommerce Logistics Company Flowspace Raises $31 Million

L.A. Business Journal

Flowspace Inc., the Del Rey-based developer of a software platform built to manage warehouse and shipping logistics, announced March 17 that it had raised $31 million in a Series B funding.

Company 130
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7 Key Startup Activities Where Follow-Up Is Critical

Startup Professionals Musings

When someone introduces me to an “idea person,” I automatically jump to the down-side conclusion that this person doesn’t do follow-up. Of course there are people who are great at getting things done, but haven’t had an original idea in their life. Great entrepreneurs, like Bill Gates, are great at both. I was with IBM in the early PC days when Bill worked with us to provide PC DOS and other software.

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H24US Aims At Hydrogen Separation Market

socalTECH

A new, Camarillo-based startup, H24US Corp., says it is taking aim at the hydrogen separation market, with the developments of its own advanced polymer membrane technology. The self-funded company is led by President Mike Rocke. The company says it is in the midst of seeking funding to build out the company's hydrogen membrane and hardware production volume manufacturing; it's unclear how far along the company is in its technology development.

Marketing 113
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What is a Content Delivery Network and What Types of Businesses Should Leverage It?

Southern California Edison Blog

A content delivery network (CDN) is a network of edge servers that accelerate website speed and content delivery by hosting content physically closer to customers via points of presence (PoP). A CDN hosts website assets, such as HTML code and pages, and content, such as images and videos, in geographic locations that are closest to users, streamlining data transfer for faster load times. .

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Magnite Sells $350 Million in Notes to Fund SpotX Deal

L.A. Business Journal

Advertising technology company Magnite Inc. announced March 15 that it plans to raise $350 million in a private debt offering that will partially fund its planned acquisition of SpotX Inc.

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How To Scale Your Startup Far Beyond Organic Growth

Startup Professionals Musings

Every entrepreneur tries to maximize his startup growth by building and selling more product and services for the widest geographic area that he can support. This strategy is called “organic growth,” yet it alone may yield only a fraction of the potential you could achieve, unless you add the additional strategies of partnerships and M&A (mergers and acquisitions).

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Second Sight Medical Raises $27.9M In Private Placement

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Second Sight Medical Products, a developer of implantable visual prosthetics which it intends to use to provide artificial vision to blind individuals, says it has raised $27.9M in a private placement. The publicly traded company--which trades as EYES on the NASDAQ--said it sold 4,650,000 shares of common stock at a price of $6.00 per share.

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Strategic Assets: Should Your Business Invest in Commercial Property

AllTopStartups

Real estate across the globe is worth a virtually countless amount of money as a collective. Looking at a residential property in the USA alone, you’re talking almost 33 trillion… The post Strategic Assets: Should Your Business Invest in Commercial Property appeared first on AllTopStartups.

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GeoLinks Buys High Speed Spectrum From Verizon

socalTECH

Camarillo-based wireless Internet provider GeoLinks, let by Skyler Ditchfield, says it has acquired 208 Local Multipoint Distribution Service (LMDS) band spectrum licenses from Verizon covering markets across the United States. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. According to GeoLinks, the spectrum--in the 29/31 GHz bands--will allow it to roll out high speed services in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas-Ft.

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Impact Acquires Trackonomics

socalTECH

Santa Barbara-based Impact, which provides affiliate partnership tracking and automation tools, said this week that it has acquired Trackonomics Ltd, a provider of supply-side affiliate e-commerce tools. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. According to Impact, the acquisition will enhance its publisher technology capabilities. Impact said that Trackonomics provides full-funnel revenue attribution at the page and the link level, telling publishers exactly how every page is gene

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R/GA Launches Coalition Venture Studio

socalTECH

R/GA, the firm that was behind the Dodgers Accelerator, has launched a new startup venture studio aimed at helping Black-led and Black-owned startups, the firm said on Thursday. R/GA said the new Coalition Venture Studio will support Black founders with expertise, resources, funding, connections, and education. The effort is being supported by the Dodgers and Elysian Park, as well as Andreessen Horowitz's TxO Initiative, Harlem Capital, Collab Capital, Ohub, Mac Venture Capital and Gingerbread C

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VIZIO Prices IPO, Will Start Trading Today

socalTECH

Irvine-based VIZIO priced its IPO last night, saying it will sell 12,250,000 shares of its Class A common stock at a price to the public of $21.00 per share. The price is at the low end of its earlier estimated IPO range of $21.00 to $23.00 per share. VIZIO will start trading this morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VZIO. The company's IPO was underwritten by J.P.

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Bagover Targets Luxury Handbag Resales

socalTECH

Calabasas-based Bagover has launched a new, e-commerce website for selling and buying used luxury handbags, saying that it will offer up a curated line of what it calls "pre-loved and vintage" handbags. The new startup, led by founder Sara David, says it will offer a new way for luxury handbag fanatics to shop with a purpose. Bagover says it will donate a minimum of 2 percent of its profits to women's shelters across America.

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BQE Software Scores Private Equity Funding

socalTECH

Torrance-based BQE said on Wednesday that it has received a "significant investment" from private equity investor Serent Capital. Financial details of the investment were not announced. Serent Capital is a private equity investor that invests in technology and tech-enabled software companies. BQE develops time billing and project management software for engineering and professional firms, including the architecture industry.

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Chipotle Invests In Autonomous Delivery Robot Maker Nuro

socalTECH

Newport Beach-based Chipotle Mexican Grill said this morning that it is making an investment in autonomous delivery robot maker Nuro, as part of Nuro's Series C funding round. Chipotle did not say how much it is investing in Nuro. According to Chipotle, the investment is the first significant investment in a third-party technology company it has made since Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol was appointed in 2018.

Invest 113
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Glytch Finds Series A Funding

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Glytch, a startup which says it is combining location-based entertainment with professional esports arenas, says it has raised a Series A funding round, led by Benevolent Capital. Size of the investment was not announced. Glytch said that Benevolent Capital, led by Brett Johnson, has acquired the majority of its preferred Series A funding.

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