Sat.Jun 20, 2020 - Fri.Jun 26, 2020

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ClickUp Collects $35M

socalTECH

San Diego-based ClickUp , a startup which develops "remote work" software aimed at helping organizations collaborate on projects, has raised $35M in a Series A funding round. The funding was led by Craft Ventures, and also included Georgian Partners. As part of the funding, David Sacks has joined the board. According to ClickUp, its customers included Google, Nike, Uber, Airbnb, Netflix, and Ubisoft, where it helps replace or integrate workplace applications for employees.

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Relativity Space gains new customer in Iridium and new launch site at Vandenberg

TechCrunch LA

Relativity Space has a new customer for its 3D-printed rockets: Established satellite maker and operator Iridium, which has picked the company for launches in 2023. To accomplish those, and other launches like them, the company is also setting up a new launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. “It’s obviously pretty huge news for us,” Relativity co-founder and CEO Tim Ellis told TechCrunch. “Not only do we have a second launch site, but we have an anchor cus

Sites 181
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QR Codes Facilitate Contactless Ordering

L.A. Business Journal

Diners might soon find QR codes popping up on tables as local restaurants reopen under new health and safety guidelines designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Design 189
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How to measure your power in the Internet marketplace.

Berkonomics

There are several key performance indicators that help new generation company management see more clearly their progress and corporate health. The old measures, including return on investment, percentage of profit against revenue or employee count, and more, obviously are still relevant. But businesses that expose their story to tens of millions of potential customers through the Internet need additional tools.

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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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5 Stages Of The Market Lifecycle Gate Startup Success

Startup Professionals Musings

As a frequent advisor to new entrepreneurs and startups, I often hear your frustration with being treated differently from other startups by investors, on expectations for valuation , traction, and market size. Of course, it could be your level of experience, or the quality of your team, but the difference is often more related to the lifecycle stage of the market you are trying to enter.

Marketing 174
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Cities are wrestling with a potential new exodus in the COVID-19 era, but Urban-X still believes in their future

TechCrunch LA

Embodying the tensions that cities across the world face as they wrestle with controlling a pandemic in dense, urban environments, Urban-X , the accelerator for technology startups focused on the problems cities face, has launched its eighth, fully remote, cohort. While the accelerator program backed by the BMW-owned Mini Cooper automaker and the venture capital firm Urban Us is based in Brooklyn, it’s conducting its latest program virtually, with participating startups coming from Atlanta

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Newegg Aims Sale At Those Stuck Inside

socalTECH

Holiday sales? Summer vacation sales? In a sign of the times, instead of the more traditional sales, Los Angeles-based online electronics retailer Newegg is aiming its next sale at people who are preparing to spend more time stuck at home this summer due to the pandemic, saying it has launched a new "Big Sale for Those Inside". The company said it will run its four day promotion starting June 22nd, with a variety of gaming products.

NewEgg 133
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5 Strategies For Balancing Revenue Versus User Growth

Startup Professionals Musings

Some analysts argue that revenue drives growth, while others say user growth drives revenue. Both have worked. Google reached $1B in revenue within five years of incorporation, and now has a market capitalization of over $1 trillion. Twitter showed no focus on revenue in the first five years, but was able to parlay 500M users into a $35B public company, and now growing revenue.

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Reneo Readies for Global Test of Drug for Rare Mitochondrial Disease

Xconomy

Reneo Pharmaceuticals has encouraging results from an early trial of a compound it is advancing for rare diseases characterized by impaired mitochondria—our cells’ energy generators—and the company says it is now designing a large global study of its drug candidate. Headed by president and CEO Niall O’Donnell (pictured), the San Diego-based company launched last year with $50 million and an investigational small molecule drug it licensed from High Point, NC-based vTv Therapeutics (NA

San Diego 127
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SpaceX Adds Satellite Client for Latest Launch

L.A. Business Journal

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., the Hawthorne-based aerospace company, launched 58 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket on June 13, then successfully landed the rocket on a waiting SpaceX ship at sea.

SpaceX 147
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Virgin Galactic Completes Another SpaceShipTwo Flight

socalTECH

Virgin Galactic , the commercial spaceflight operator which has done most of its work from Mojave, California, says it has completed its second flight from its new Spaceport America launch location in New Mexico. According to the company, the successful glide flight is a milestone on progress towards launch of its commercial service. The company says the glide flight, flown at higher speeds, allowed the team to continue to evaluate systems and vehicle performance in advance of future rocket-powe

Services 113
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7 Startup Leadership Keys To Ramp Up Team Commitment

Startup Professionals Musings

Entrepreneurs need to be effective team leaders, since no one can transform an idea into a product and a business without some help. Unfortunately many founders I work with as a mentor are experts on the technical side, but have no insight into leading a team. But fortunately, team building is a skill that can be learned and practiced, for those willing to put in some effort.

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Virtual Tech Happy Hour

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, June 25, 2020 -- Startup Coil Tech Happy Hour. Welcome to Virtual Tech Happy Hour. After brief announcements and updates from community leaders, we'll break up the community into smaller breakout groups and reshuffle every 10-20 minutes with different discussion topics.

Startup 100
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DroneBase Raises $8M, Sets Plans for Expansion

L.A. Business Journal

Santa Monica-based aerial data analytics company DroneBase Inc. announced $7.5 million in Series C funding, as well as expansion to the renewable energy market and its first overseas office in Germany.

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Artiva Biotherapeutics Raises $78M For Cancer Therapy

socalTECH

San Diego-based Artiva Biotherapeutics has raised $78M in a Series A funding round, for its cancer therapies, the company said late Thursday. According to the company, the financing was co-led by 5AM Ventures, venBio Partners, and RA Capital Management, and also included Medivate Partners and seed investors and strategic partners GC LabCell (Green Cross LabCell Corporation) and GC (Green Cross Holdings Corporation).

San Diego 113
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6 Entrepreneurship Advantages For Seniors In Business

Startup Professionals Musings

A popular myth that most of you probably believe is that startups are only for the younger generations. In fact, I see more and more evidence that new entrepreneurs are coming from the older age groups (age 45-64), and success rates move up with age. Is it possible that age and experience are more of an advantage in this business than young passion and fearlessness?

Startup 129
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Inclusive Startup Pitch Competition

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, June 25, 2020 -- Inclusive Startup Pitch Competition by Startup Coil. Entrepreneurs and Seed Stage Startups pitch live to a panel of investor judges. We all get the future we build together. Entrepreneurs can have outsize impact on how societies and economies develop and evolve. Startup Coil is committed to supporting equity and inclusivity in search of a future that's brighter for all us.

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Rocket Lab USA Planning Monthly Satellite Missions

L.A. Business Journal

Rocket Lab USA Inc., the Long Beach-based space systems company, is targeting monthly launches for the remainder of 2020 following a successful June 12 mission that deployed satellites for NASA, the National Reconnaissance Office and the University of New South Wales Canberra Space.

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QLess Gets Wins For Line Management

socalTECH

Pasadena-based QLess , a developer of artificial intelligence software for managing lines, says it has scored a number of wins with local governments, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said that both the City of South Gate City Hall and the City of San Joaquin in California have adopted its customer interaction management (CIM) tool, which it says virtually eliminates the need for lines and waiting rooms.

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Artiva Bio Raises $78M to Broaden Access to Cancer Cell Therapies

Xconomy

Creating cell therapies for cancer is a complex process. The business case for them has proven tricky, too. Biotech veterans Tom Farrell and Peter Flynn have teamed up to start a new San Diego company that aims to develop allogeneic, or off-the-shelf, cell-based immunotherapies using natural killer (NK) cells that can be manufactured at scale and delivered to cancer patients outside of the hospital.

San Diego 107
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TechFire x DLA Piper: Bessemer Venture Partners' Ethan Kurzweil

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, June 24, 2020 -- TechFire x DLA Piper: Bessemer Venture Partners' Ethan Kurzweil, Join TechFire, and presenting sponsor DLA Piper to hear from a top Silicon Valley VC, Ethan Kurzweil of Bessemer Venture Partners!

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DroneBase Raises $8M, Sets Plans for Expansion

L.A. Business Journal

Santa Monica-based aerial data analytics company DroneBase Inc. announced $7.5 million in Series C funding, as well as expansion to the renewable energy market and its first overseas office in Germany.

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Valence Launches To Help Black Professionals With Social Networking

socalTECH

In a move to help make Black professionals easier to connect, Los Angeles-based Valence said on Thursday that it has launched a new, social networking service, with backing from investments from Upfront Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Accel. The amount of funding in Valance was not disclosed by the company, although the firm disclosed that $1M in funding into the company came from Upfront Ventures.

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Bio Roundup: Gilead’s Pionyr Grab, Relay to IPO, Unicorn Sana & More

Xconomy

Uncertainty related to the continued spread of the pandemic continued to consume most of the oxygen in the room this week, but life sciences news outside of that arena continued apace. Once considered all but shuttered, the IPO market again saw an active week between new public debuts and more companies joining the queue. Indeed, nearly two-thirds of IPO activity in the second quarter stemmed from healthcare, driven primarily by biotech firms.

News 104
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Heath Tech and Innovation. General Assembly

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, July 2, 2020 --.

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HyreCar Leans Into Deliveries

L.A. Business Journal

HyreCar Inc., the digital car-sharing marketplace, has set its first partnership with a car manufacturer.

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Treehouse Games Finds $2.6M

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Treehouse Games , a developer of cooperative games aimed at helping friends spend time together, has raised $2.6M in a seed funding round, the company said this week. The funding was led by LVP, and also included Transcend Fund and Kristian Segestrale, the CEO of Super Evil Megacorp. Treehouse Games was founded by former Riot Games employee Michael Chu, and Ryan Sullivan.

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La Jolla Pharma Steps In With Better Offer, Wins Tetraphase Bidding War

Xconomy

It’s common for antibiotics developers to run into financial trouble these days but what’s unusual is seeing a bidding war erupt for one of them. The competition for Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals now has a new winner : La Jolla Pharmaceutical. San Diego-based La Jolla (NASDAQ: LJPC ) has pledged to pay Tetraphase shareholders $43 million in cash now plus another $16 million tied to sales goals for Tetraphase (NASDAQ: TTPH ) antibiotic eravacycline (Xerava).

San Diego 101
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Women in Tech Networking Hour (Virtual)

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, June 30, 2020 --.

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HyreCar Leans Into Deliveries

L.A. Business Journal

HyreCar Inc., the digital car-sharing marketplace, has set its first partnership with a car manufacturer.

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Creative Artists Agency, NEA Launch Investment Partnership

socalTECH

The Creative Artists Agency and venture investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA) have launched a new, investment partnership to invest in early-stage, consumer focused businesses, the two said on Thursday. According to the companies, the new venture-- Connect Ventures Spire Animation Studios , which was co-founded by Brad Lewis, the producer of Ratatouille.

Invest 113
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10 Key Business Plan Elements Not In A Product Spec

Startup Professionals Musings

As an advisor to new hardware entrepreneurs, I often hear the myth that a business plan is no longer required to find an investor, if your idea is good enough. You may have heard that venture capitalists in Silicon Valley no longer read business plans. What you don’t realize is these famous investors only deal with entrepreneurs who sold their last company for a $100M dollars or more.

Product 169
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AEG, Mobilitie Team On 5G Rollout To Staples Center, L.A. Live

socalTECH

In a move to improve connectivity at the Staples Center and L.A. Live , live sports and entertainment venue operator A.E.G. and wireless communications provider Mobilitie said this week that they are in the midst of a partnership to provide next-generation, 5G wireless to the STAPLES Center and L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. Financial details of the deal were not announced.

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Digital Motors Certified By Jaguar Land Rover North America

socalTECH

Irvine-based Digital Motors , which develops online vehicle sales and retailing software for the automotive dealership market, says it has been certified by Jaguar Land Rover North America for use by its retailers. The company said it is now a "certified vendor" for the Jaguar Land Rover Digital Certified Program, which the company says makes it "a top recommended choice" for Jaguar Land Rover retailers upgrading their digital presence to include online stores and in-store desking solutions.

Sales 113
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Rogue Games Adds Former Sony President, CEO Tretton

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based game publisher Rogue Games announced on Wednesday that it has added former Sony President and CEO Jack Tretton as a Strategic Advisor to the company. Tretton was former President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, and according to Rogue led the PlatStation business at Sony for two decades. Rogue said that Tretton will advise its board of directors, which includes Matt Casamassina, Chris Carvalho, Dmitry Grishin, and Andre Bliznyuk.

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Poseida Therapeutics Finds $110M More

socalTECH

San Diego-based biopharmaceuticals developer Poseida Therapeutics has raised $110M more in funding, in its Series D round, the company announced this morning. According to the company, the financing was led by led by funds advised by Fidelity Management Research Company, LLC, with participation by Adage Capital Management and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, and also included other current investors.

San Diego 113