Sat.Oct 22, 2011 - Fri.Oct 28, 2011

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Lead, Follow or Get the Fuck Out of the Way

Both Sides of the Table

Today’s post courtesy of the Dave McClure school of vocabulary. About a month ago I was meeting with a seasoned entrepreneur. After 10 minutes I felt like we were old buddies because we had both been through the trenches of startup tech land and had had similar experiences. He was recounting one of his higher profile startups to me. He founded the company, raised a bunch of money, built the product and established a good reputation and market position.

Startup 418
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10 Reasons To Start A Company In An Economic Downturn

InfoChachkie

There has recently been a common theme among the entrepreneurs I have interviewed and the conferences I have attended: despite the relatively weak state of the world economy, now is a great time to create a high-tech startup. As Guy Kawasaki pointed out in our recent conversation , “…it is cheaper than ever to start a company. People are free or cheap because of the recession.

Company 257
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Registration Form Design with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn Authentication

SoCal CTO

I continually face the challenge of designing and building registration / sign-up pages on a wide variety of different web sites and mobile applications. Back in January 2010, I wrote a post that's one of the most popular on this blog: When to Use Facebook Connect – Twitter Oauth – Google Friend Connect for Authentication? That post looked at when and why you would use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. as part of your registration and authentication mechanism.

Design 225
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Swagbucks Rewards $15M in Prizes, Sees $25M In Revenues This Year

socalTECH

Torrance-based Swagbucks.com , an online site which allows users to earn virtual currency or other rewards from taking actions online, has now given away $15M in prizes since its launch in 2008. The site--which is headed by Scott Dudelson--also said it is on track to have $25M in revenues this year. Swagbucks site allows users to register and then play games, shop online, search the web, and conduct other activities on the web in exchange for loyalty points "Swag Bucks" -- which can be redeemed

Torrance 241
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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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Money is not the only measure of success.

Berkonomics

You’ve surely heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, in which Abraham Maslow laid out a human’s needs from the physiological first, to safety, then love and belonging, on to esteem and finally self-actualization. Assuming that you have now passed through a successful sale of your shares in a business, and the money is in the bank, enough to at least temporarily satisfy your needs, if not much more, you have climbed the ladder within Maslow’s Hierarchy.

Coach 166
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When Hiring Entrepreneurs, Ignore Their Resumes

InfoChachkie

Note: This is the third installment in the Startup Team Building series. Read Part I HERE and Part II HERE. When hiring ATM Operators at a Big Dumb Company (BDC), assessing each candidate’s ability to execute predictable tasks is of paramount importance. As such, the recruitment process revolves around applicants’ resumes, which highlight w hat they have previously done in their professional careers.

More Trending

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ReachLocal Strengthens Ties To Google

socalTECH

Woodland Hills-based ReachLocal , the online marketing firm which helps small and medium sized businesses place online ads, has strengthened its ties into Google AdWords today, saying it has been added to the Google AdWords Premier SMB Partner (PSP) Program. Google announced the new program this morning, to help small and medium sized business connect with others to place advertising on AdWords.

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Savvy Entrepreneurs Adopt More Good Habits

Startup Professionals Musings

Most of the entrepreneurs I know realize they have some bad habits, like maybe procrastination or not listening well, so they focus on dropping these. New studies indicate that a more productive approach would be adopting new good habits and behaviors that clearly move your business forward, like good time management and implementing customer recommendations.

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Bringing Cancer Awareness Support Online

Tech Zulu Event

We’ve all at some point in our lives have helped support a cause. Whether it was for our own personal morale, a last minute tax write off, or to support a loved one. It’s human nature to help others in some way, some how. Thanks to the growth of the internet we’re able to show that support even greater. In our off-line lives, people show support daily by sporting branded clothing, silicon bands, or even pins.

News 82
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paidContent Entertainment

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, November 3, 2011 -- paidContent Entertainment. Last November, industry leaders, disruptors, creators, distributors and investors gathered in West Hollywood for the day-long paidContent Entertainment: The Battle for the Digital Home. This year, well bring the same mix together for an incisive look at the state of media and entertainment today.

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AeroVironment Launches Unmanned Aircraft For Domestic Use

socalTECH

Think unmanned drones are just something you'd see in Afghanistan, Iraq, or Pakistan? There may soon be unmanned aircraft hovering over your own town. Monrovia-based Aerovironment said Thursday that it has launched a new, small unmanned aircraft system aimed specifically at law enforcement and first responders here in the United States. Aerovironment said it has opened up evaluations of its new Qube portable unmanned aircraft system, aimed at public safety applications, to provide the same kind

Monrovia 211
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Innovation is About Execution, Despite the Myths

Startup Professionals Musings

Most people think innovation is all about ideas, when in fact it is more about delivery, people, and process. Entrepreneurs looking to innovate need to understand the execution challenge if they expect their startup to carve out a profitable niche in the marketplace, and keep innovating to build and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. Everyone thinks they know how to make innovation happen, but I can’t find much real research on the subject.

Startup 97
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Google me, Tweet me, Facebook me: The Action of Tech Platforms

Tech Zulu Event

‘ Facebook me,’ ‘ tweet it,’ ‘ Shazam that;’ in the world of tech, your name is not just a service or brand, it is your verb. The stakes have been raised. The goal is not only to create a brand but rather the hope of becoming everyday jargon referring to the action in which you provide. In the world of social, sharing, and online apps, becoming a verb may be the difference between life and death of a company.

Google 82
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BlogWorld 2011

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, November 3, 2011 -- BlogWorld and New Media Expo. Learn how to create better content, grow your brand, audience and revenue online from the worlds most successful New Media experts and Social Media innovators.

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Anybeat Rolls Out Chat Roulette Feature

socalTECH

Taking a chapter out of the popularity of sites like Chatroulette in connecting up strangers with one another, Los Angeles-based Anybeat , the alternative social networking site run by Dmitri Shapiro, said Friday that it has rolled out a new feature called "Interest Roulette". The new feature automatically connects users to other people on the site, who share interests with your profile.

Veoh 209
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The Controversial First Role to Hire After Your “A Round”

Both Sides of the Table

I’ve thought a lot about team construction of early stage companies. I was once asked on Quora what my idea startup team would be. I wrote the following : “I like to invest at the seed or A round. My ideal team is simple: Assuming 6 people. 1. 5 engineers. 2. 1 CEO who doubles as head of product management. 3. Nothing else. But obviously I am open to other configurations.

Startup 325
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Spotlight: LA Tech | One Year, Recap, and Thank You!

Tech Zulu Event

Many thanks to everyone who participated in last night’s Spotlight: LA Tech at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. In addition to the 330+ students, entrepreneurs and investors in attendance, the event also achieved over 45,000 views on the TechZulu live stream. If you missed it, or simply want to relive the moment, check out the rebroadcast above.

Idealab 77
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OnHollywood

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, November 3, 2011 -- OnHollywood. OnHollywood is where cutting-edge technology CEOs from the back streets of Silicon Valley meet the Hollywood digital entertainment and media elite. This two day executive event features high-level debates on which forces are disrupting user behavior and creating new opportunities, content strategies and monetization schemes in the video, music, gaming, and mobile industries.

Hollywood 113
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Launchpad LA Gears Up For New Class

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Launchpad LA , the business mentoring and acceleration program which has been spearheaded by Mark Suster and Adam Lilling, looks to be gearing up for its third class. The group--which last ran a program in early 2010--has recently opened up an application page for its 2011 Winter Term, and has been sending out invites for a launch event in early November.

Class 208
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Nantworks Buys Ziosoft

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Nantworks , the business incubation and technology development firm headed by LA billionaire Patrick Soon-shiong, has acquired Ziosoft , a provider of medical imaging and visualization software. According to Ziosoft, which develops supercomputing software for 4D and 5D medical imaging, it has joined NantWorks, and is now wholly owned by Soon-Shiong's new company.

Incubator 193
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Interview with Amir Banifatemi and Kai Tao, K5Launch

socalTECH

Last week, a group of four angel investors here announced their plans to create a new, accelerator program to spur the creation of an entrepreneurial community in the area around new startups. K5Launch (www.k5launch.com) is modeled after the successful Y-Combinator and TechStars acceleration programs, and invests equity, provides mentors, and runs a three month program to get very early stage startups off the ground.

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Jessica Simpson's BeautyMint Set To Launch Next Week

socalTECH

BeautyMint , the online commerce-and-celebrity site that was announced by BeachMint and celebrity Jessica Simpson, is getting set to launch Monday, according to emails to potential users of the site. The site--which is focusing on skincare products endorsed and developed by Simpson--is the latest in a string of celebrity-focused e-commerce businesses being launched by BeachMint, the latest startup of MySpace vet Josh Berman and Diego Berdakin.

Commerce 183
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Virgin Galactic Hires First Pilot

socalTECH

Mojave-based Virgin Galactic , the commercial spaceflight operation being launched by Richard Branson, said today it has hired its first, official pilot for its commercial operations. The firm said it interviewed more than 500 applicants to find the first astronaut pilot to join its flight team, tapping former USAF test pilot Keith Colmer to the position.

Help 180
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Interview with Erik Rannala, MuckerLab

socalTECH

One of the biggest complaints you hear from both entrepreneurs and investors in Los Angeles, is the lack of a credible, visible startup accelerator in the Los Angeles area. Accelerator programs--like YCombinator in Silicon Valley, and TechStars in Colorado--have come to the forefront of the minds of entrepreneurs as a way to boost their ideas quickly into the market, find funding, and into existence.

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ESET Partners With Malware Detection Service

socalTECH

San Diego-based ESET , the developer of anti-virus scanning software, reports today that its technology is being included in a malware detection service from OPSWAT. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The two said the partnership will help improve OPSWAT's SDK-based, malware scanning service, Metascan Online. The two said the deal will help provide ESET with malware samples from its online service, helping ESET to identify newly emerging threats.

Services 172
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Patrick Soon-Shiong Aims At Pancreatic Cancer Treatments

socalTECH

The Chan Soon-Shiong Insitute for Advanced Health --one of the projects of that billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong--said today, along with Soon-Shiong's incubator NantWorks , that Soon-Shiong has been working on a treatment for advanced metastatic pancreatic cancer, and has published "encouraging" trial results on its efforts. The institute said that SOon-Shiong has published the results of a study which combines two drugs, gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel, for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Journal 168
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CALIENT Technologies Raises $19.4M

socalTECH

Santa Barbara-based CALIENT Technologies , a developer of photonic switching equipment, said this morning that it has raised $19.4M in a round of venture financing. The round came from both new and existing investors. Names of those investors were not disclosed. Calient said its new funding will go towards expanding its products to the data center and cloud computing markets.

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Friendgift Looks To Spur Friends To Buy You Products

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based FriendGift said Tuesday that it has launched a service which will allow users to shop for products, and then convince their friends to help pay for those products. Friendgift is a spinoff of Friendgiftr, and is headed by Rob Carpenter, said its new FriendPay service can be used as a gift registry, or just as a way to get friends to help out with big purchases.

Product 165
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Microsemi Shuts Down Another Factory In Thailand

socalTECH

Flooding in the country of Thailand is further impacting the operations of semiconductor maker Microsemi Corporation , the Aliso Viejo-based firm said this morning. Microsemi said that continued flooding in the country has forced a shutdown of its second facility in Thailand, outside the city of Bangkok. Microsemi had already been forced to shutdown its operations in Ayutthaya, Thailand.

Company 164
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Ortiva Wireless Adds $2.0M

socalTECH

La Jolla-based Ortiva Wireless has added another $2.0M in what looks like an inside, convertible debt round, according to a regulatory filing by the firm this week. The firm--which is backed by Artiman Ventures, Mission Ventures, and Comcast Interactive Capital, among others--indicated it had raised $2.0M out of a $2.15M funding effort, in a combination of debt and warrants.

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Hulu Inks Deal With The CW

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Hulu said Friday that it has inked a deal with The CW , the stream the current season of shows from the network on both Hulu and Hulu Plus. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The CW is a network which targets young women ages 18-34, and features such series as "The Vampire Diaries," "Gossip Girl," "Nikita," and "America's Next Top Model.

Hulu 159
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BlueCava Gets $9.5M For Device ID Technology

socalTECH

Irvine-based BlueCava , a developer of device identification technology used for both online advertising tracking, as well as fraud prevention, said Tuesday that it has raised $9.5M in a funding round. The round was led by S3 Ventures, and also included Mark Cuban and Tim Headington. S3's Brian R. Smith joins the company's board along with the funding.

S3 157
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Websense Takes Aim At Time Wasting Viral Videos

socalTECH

San Diego-based Websense is taking aim at all of those time-wasting, viral videos your employees have been forwarding around, with its security software. The company said Thursday that it has released technology which help employers cut down on employees watching time-wasting viral videos and entertainment--while still allowing those employees to access other, useful content on sites like YouTube, Facebook, and other social sites.

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Hulu Rolls Out On Sony BRAVIA, PS3 In Japan

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Hulu , the online television and film streaming site, has expanded its distribution in Japan, via a deal with Sony. According to Hulu, it has launched on Sony BRAVIA HDTV and Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming consoles, as the first non-gaming app to be distributed on the PS3 in Japan. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Hulu announced its entry into the Japanese market on September 1st.

Hulu 154
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Analytix On Demand Acquires Firm, Becomes CentraMed

socalTECH

Irvine-based Analytix On Demand , a developer of business intelligence software for the healthcare market, said Tuesday that it has acquired healthcare consulting and education firm Integrated Revenue Management, Inc. Financial terms of the buy were not announced. As part of the acquisition, Analytix On Demand said it has renamed the company CentraMed.

Demand 154
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Internet Brands Buys Five Auto Websites

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Internet Brands is continuing its domain acquisition streak, saying Tuesday that it has acquired five, new enthusiast websites. Internet Brands said it has acquired 5series.net , CobaltSS.net , gtr.co.uk , DieselTruckResource.com and DieselBombers.com. Financial terms of the acquisitions were not announced. All of the websites provide automotive related information, and become part of Internet Brands Automotive Network. 5series focuses on BMW 5 owners; cobaltSS.net is aimed at