Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 22, 2015
I’ve heard many investors and some executives repeat the mantra, “Never offer exclusive deals,” and since this blanket statement is generally bad advice I thought I’d offer the less conventional but I believe more practical version of why exclusive deals can actually be a huge bonus for a startup and why I actively encourage them.
Eric Greenspan
JUNE 25, 2015
Three years ago, I got the news that my investor was unable to fund and my 11 year old company would miss it’s first payroll. It was a Sunday, around noon. When the news arrived, I moved fast and did all I could to start the process of acceptance. What would happen next was I supposed expected, but impossible to really understand. I’m not going into the details of what happened but you can read that story here and it’s called Never Make the Same Mistake Twice.
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socalTECH
JUNE 25, 2015
Earlier this week, Los Angeles-based CrossCut Ventures (www.crosscutventures.com) announced its third, venture capital fund--a continuation of an investment theme very much centered around the growth of Southern California, and in particular, the Silicon Beach startup ecosystem. We spoke with one of the co-founders of CrossCut, Brian Garrett , ahead of the announcement earlier this week.
InfoChachkie
JUNE 22, 2015
A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. Facebook recently joined Google and Twitter by offering a click-to-call functionality in its ads, giving consumers an option to call businesses directly, versus emailing them or completing an online form - effectively making the plain old phone one of the most powerful on/offline marketing tools of the coming decade.
Advertiser: Aggregage
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.
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 25, 2015
Many people don’t know that I actually became Chairman of my first company and relinquishing the CEO role before the company was sold. It’s a topic I’m well versed in personally and I understand the difficult emotional decision of whether to hand the reigns to someone else of the baby you’ve struggled so hard to launch into the world.
Berkonomics
JUNE 25, 2015
By David Steakley. This week’s insight comes from David Steakley, who has contributed several great posts to Berkonomics this year. David is an active angel investor in Texas and is a former management consultant, where he obviously plied his trade well. – Dave. Companies can strike it rich by finding an element of business operations which many companies need, but few have the capability or expertise to execute with excellence – and then aim to supply that element.
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 20, 2015
Every culture and community puts pressure on its members to follow the norms. Even young people who start out wanting to be different are called “freaks,” and most are slowly bent back into the norm by the time they “grow up.” Maybe that’s why so many entrepreneurs struggle with building a disruptive new business, where breaks from the norm are the key to success.
Tech.Co
JUNE 23, 2015
When it comes to any major sporting event, would you rather watch a recording of it or would you rather watch it live? It’s a pretty simple answer: nothing beats a live broadcast. For a long time though the power to broadcast live to a big audience has been strictly in the hands of TV stations and media conglomerates. But then some entrepreneurs got an idea: let’s put the power of the live broadcast directly in the hands of the people.
Tech Zulu Event
JUNE 25, 2015
Advertising technology is hot with the rise of mobile, evidenced in part by Verizon’s merger with AOL valued at $4.4 billion, and on a much smaller scale, Undertone’s recent acquisition of mobile ad provider Sparkflow. Until recently, three legacy providers (Sizmek, PointRoll and Google’s DoubleClick) have dominated the rich media market. But that’s changing with a new crop of rich media platforms disrupting the ecosystem with new mobile and non-standard rich media ad formats, one of which R
socalTECH
JUNE 23, 2015
Venice, California-base CrossCut Ventures , one of the region's earliest believers in the potential of Silicon Beach startups, has raised a new, $75M fund, the firm announced this morning. Managing Directors of the new fund are Rick Smith, Brett Brewer, and Brian Garrett, along with new addition Clinton Foy. This is the third fund for CrossCut, which said the new fund was significantly oversubscribed, having had an initial target of $50M.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 26, 2015
Few investors these days have the time or patience to read a full business plan, so a better way to catch their eye is with a tightly written and well formatted two-page executive summary. As a model, think high-quality marketing collateral, with text and graphics in columns and sidebars, but focused on the value of your business, rather than selling your product.
Frank Addante
JUNE 25, 2015
I’ve been reflecting on what it was like each time I started a new venture. We were brimming with excitement, passion and energy. We knew what we were creating was going to disrupt the media industry and make it better, faster, smarter. But maintaining that high has been difficult. Eight years after starting Rubicon Project, I’ve found that our excitement, passion and energy comes in waves.
Tech Zulu Event
JUNE 23, 2015
Back in 2012 when the Flame virus was wreaking havoc across the world, the need for army-trained hackers became a whole new frontier for IT software companies. The threat of hacking and loss of data has never been real than now. There are over a billion passwords stolen and stored in a single Russian databases. The worst thing that can happen to any company is waking up one morning and finding out all the data has either been stolen or tampered with.
socalTECH
JUNE 26, 2015
In the latest, Central Coast IPO move, Santa Barbara-based Invoca , a maker of call marketing automation tools, says it is prepping for an IPO in 2017, and has hired a new CEO with experience running two pubicly traded software companies. Invoca said it has named Mark Woodard, who led E2open through its IPO, and was also CEO of Serena Software, as its new CEO.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 21, 2015
The cost of entry for an aspiring entrepreneur has never been lower, and the total wealth of opportunities has never been larger. You can start a new web site business on the Internet for as little as $100, with cheap smart phone apps, new technology innovations, or tapping the multitude of opportunities brought by capitalizing on our concern for dwindling natural resources.
Steve Reich
JUNE 20, 2015
There is a conflict in many startups that no one seems to write about–the clash that can occur between the founder and the professionals they bring in to help build their companies. It was highlighted for me by a conversation with a friend this week who had just joined a young company in the Bay Area as as a CFO. He remarked that with just a few tweaks in the business model, he thought the team could get to an exit in 18-24 months.
Frank Addante
JUNE 25, 2015
I’ve been reflecting on what it was like each time I started a new venture. We were brimming with excitement, passion and energy. We knew what we were creating was going to disrupt the media industry and make it better, faster, smarter. But maintaining that high has been difficult. Eight years after starting Rubicon Project, I’ve found that our excitement, passion and energy comes in waves.
socalTECH
JUNE 23, 2015
Santa Monica-based Heal , an on-demand startup offering up access to house calls from doctors via smartphone, has raised $5M in a seed funding round, the company announced this morning. The funding came from Slow Ventures, March Capital and Pritzker Capital, along with angels Paul Jacobs (Qualcomm); James Lassiter (Overbrook Entertainment); Stephen Rader (Clarity Partners); Jamie McCourt; Lionel Richie; and Mike Wortsman (Univision).
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 24, 2015
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.
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 24, 2015
I recently interviewed Matt Mazzeo of Lowercase Capital. By now most of you know that Chris Sacca invested in what is now thought to be one of the best performing VC funds of all time having invested an $8.4 million fund in: Uber, Instagram, Docker and Twitter, amongst others. He then went on to build perhaps the largest single shareholding in Twitter.
socalTECH
JUNE 23, 2015
Pasadena-based prepaid debit card provider Green Dot Corporation , which is led by Steve Streit, said Monday afternoon that it is in a new, long term agreement with Walmart. Green Dot said it will remain the program manager and issuer for Walmart's MoneyCard, in a deal which will cover the next five years. Green Dot rose to prominence--and an IPO--almost entirely on the strength of its business through Walmart.
socalTECH
JUNE 24, 2015
In what might turn this week into a binge watching bonanza for Seinfeld fans, Los Angeles-based streaming television site Hulu has begun streaming every single episode of Seinfeld online. Hulu, which announced the deal for the streaming television rights to Seinfeld in April, says it has all 180 episodes of the sitcom available for streaming online to its premium subscribers.
socalTECH
JUNE 24, 2015
Culver City-based Sense360 , the new, smartphone sensor platform developer led by startup veteran Eli Portnoy, has just launched its program, saying that it is looking to make it easier for app developers to leverage sensor data from smartphones. Sense360 said its software allows apps to tap into such sensors as ambient light readers, accelerometers, and GPS, in a much easier way.
socalTECH
JUNE 24, 2015
Los Angeles-based fintech venture capital investor Core Innovation Capital has launched an effort to raise a second fund, Core Innovation Capital II, according to regulatory documents filed by the investor. Core Innovation--led by Arjan Schutte--focuses on financial technology startups. The fund looks to be targeting the new fund at $75M, and, as expected, has not announced any details on the new fund.
socalTECH
JUNE 24, 2015
Pasadena-based New Matter , the Idealab-backed startup developing affordable, consumer 3D printers, has begun shipping production units of its devices, the company said this morning. The company says its Mod-t 3D printers are now in production, and have a retail price of $399. The new 3D printer uses Polylactic Acid (PLA) plastic, which is safer and more environmentally friendly than typical 3D printing media.
socalTECH
JUNE 24, 2015
Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand , the developer of cloud-based, talent management software led by Adam Miller, said today that it has linked with TED , the eponymous organizer of the inspirational conferences. According to Cornerstone OnDemand, it will be delivering curated TED Talks to its clients, to help in the area of professional learning and development.
socalTECH
JUNE 23, 2015
San Diego-based solar power provider OneRoof Energy said today that it has linked up with Fry's Electronics , to install kiosks in a number of Fry's stores. OneRoof said the deal initially includes Fry's San Diego and Sunnyvale locations. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. In store kiosks are quite common now in the solar power industry--other similar arrangements include one SolarCity has with Best Buy and LinkedIn.
socalTECH
JUNE 25, 2015
Venice-based startup CarLove.co has launched a beta of a new, on-demand service for car repair, starting in West Los Angeles, the company said today. The service lets users pick a nearby car mechanic, and actually dispatches a driver to pick up your car and deliver it to the mechanic for you--so you never have to leave the house. CarLove said that its insured drivers are dispatched, take the car to the garage of your choice, where your car is diagnosed and you are given a quote and ability to ap
socalTECH
JUNE 22, 2015
Los Angeles-based Rubicon Project says that mobile advertising spend is now more than 20 percent of the activity on its ad platform, as the company has ramped up its mobile efforts. According to Rubicon, it has been on a two year initiative to automate buying and selling of premium advertising on mobile, with mobile now more than 20 percent of its total managed revenues--up from less than 3 percent two years ago.
socalTECH
JUNE 24, 2015
San Diego-based venture investor Avalon Ventures has re-upped its investment in product database provider Indix , as part of a $15M Series B funding. Indix has a giant database of detailed specifications and details of all kinds of products, which are used by e-commerce providers, retailers, brands, and other customers for selling their products. The funding round came from Nokia Growth Partners, Nexus Venture Partners and Avalon Ventures.
socalTECH
JUNE 24, 2015
Santa Monica-based Activision , along with Bungie and Red Bull , are in a major marketing partnership around the launch of the new expansion for Destiny , called The Taken King , the companies said this morning. According to the thre, Red Bull will be offering specially marked cans of the drink, offering up bonuses that can be redeemed within the game.
socalTECH
JUNE 23, 2015
Los Angeles-based NantCell , one of the companies that is part of Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong's NantWorks , said today that it has acquired an Italian company, VivaBioCell SpA. Financial terms of the deal wer enott disclosed. VivaBioCell is based in Udine, Northern Italy. The deal was done through VBC Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of NantWorks. VivaBioCell focuses on stem cell and tissue engineering for regenerative medicine.
socalTECH
JUNE 25, 2015
Los Angeles-based Connexity has acquired PriceGrabber , the online shopping comparison engine and lead generation, the two said Wednesday. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. Connexity offers up online marketing services, and was until recently known as Shopzilla, also well known for its comparison shopping tools. According to Connexity, PriceGrabber's shopping network helps more than 2,000 retailers access tens of millions of shoppers each month.
socalTECH
JUNE 22, 2015
Anyone who works or has worked in a corporate environment is familiar with the motivitional poster--with their upbeat messages and motivating statements. In a modern day update on that age old corporate standby, Los Angeles-based Enplug this week said it has partnered with Startup Vitamins , another Los Angeles startup, to feature motivational Startup Vitamins posters on Enplug's big displays.
socalTECH
JUNE 22, 2015
Goleta-based Transphorm , which is developing power conversion technology, said this morning that it hass raised $70M in a new investment round, led by KKR. Other investors in the company also include Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Foundation Capital, Google Ventures, Soros Quantum Strategic Partners, INCJ, and Fujitsu. Transphorm is developing power conversion semiconductors based on Gallium Nitride (GaN), and was co-founded by NObel prize winner Dr.
socalTECH
JUNE 25, 2015
Los Angeles-based mobile dating app developer Tinder , which is currently owned by IAC, is aiming at an IPO, according to IAC Thursday, although the hot dating app developer will be bundled with the rest of Match.com and IAC's other dating properties. According to IAC, its board approved the pursuit of an IPO of The Match Group, which will include Match, Meetic, and OurTime, and OkCupid, in addition to Tinder.
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