Sat.Jun 08, 2019 - Fri.Jun 14, 2019

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Relativity is building a 3D-printing rocket manufacturing hub in Mississippi

TechCrunch LA

The future of rocket manufacturing has touched down in Mississippi. At NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center , nestled in Hancock County, Miss., right on the border of Louisiana, the Los Angeles-based 3D-printed spacecraft manufacturer, Relativity Space , is planning a massive $59 million expansion to make a permanent manufacturing hub in this bucolic corner of the southeast.

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Riot Games Facing Investigation Over Gender Discrimination

socalTECH

In more bad news for Los Angeles-based videogame maker Riot Games , the company is now facing an investigation by California officials , over its refusal to provide information on its pay practices. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has filed suit, demanding that Riot Games turn over employee pay data so that the agency can analyze whether the company is paying less to women than men.

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Your Tech Startup Is Probably Not Ready to Raise Money

Xconomy

I know, I don’t even know you. Here’s the thing. Let’s say Melanie is an early-stage investor. If she placed a bet blindly for every startup that thinks they’re ready to raise, her chips would fall on the “not ready to raise” words written in fancy script on the soft green felt of the betting table. And she’d win. A lot. My goal here isn’t to blindly tell you you’re not ready, but to help you figure out if you are (as quickly and painlessly as possible).

Startup 98
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Should a leader support constant change?

Berkonomics

The worrying that always precedes a change. When a new CEO or manager is hired into a company, for a while lots of energy flows from the top and new ideas seem to be generated daily. It is one reason not to fear the unknown when upper level management long in place turns over, often leaving most everyone worrying over how they’ll ever do without their lost leader.

Ideas 120
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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 CEOs: Celebrity Endorsements - Paradigm

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, June 20, 2019 -- LA CEOs: Celebrity Endorsements - Paradigm. Join your CEO and CFO peers in our informative LA CEOs breakfast presentation led by Roger Wood - Partner Paradigm Talent Agency. This sponsor supported event is restricted to qualified CEOs and CFOs only. Confirmed RSVP required. No service providers will be admitted.

Services 100
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New LA Startup Combines Virtual Reality, Massage

socalTECH

Is the future of getting a massage virtual reality? A new, brick-and-mortar startup in Los Angeles, Esquapes sure hopes so, saying on Monday that it plans to launch the world's first ever "virtual reality massage center" in Los Angeles. Esquapes said it has created a center for "automated massages" which combines virtual reality and "curated fragrances" to transport its clients to a "place of relaxation"--whether that's an exotic beach, a desert spa, a tropical jungle, or other locations--to hel

Startup 168

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Celebrating San Diego Life Sciences: Xconomy Awards Gala Slideshow

Xconomy

View the Slideshow We at Xconomy were thrilled to see such a great turnout at our first-ever awards gala in San Diego. About 250 people from the local life sciences community filled a ballroom at Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa (see photos above). As Greg Huang, Xconomy’s editor in chief, said in his opening remarks before a sold-out crowd on May 29: How far the region has come since Xconomy first launched here, back in 2008!

San Diego 101
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SoCal First Look Innovation Showcase 2019

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 -- SoCal First Look Innovation Showcase 2019. The SoCal First Look Innovation Showcase supports, nurtures and stimulates our unique innovation culture in Southern California and promotes its position as a vibrant hub for start-ups and emerging technology. In addition to the presenters, venture capitalists and early stage angel investors attend the event, along with local elected officials, business leaders and senior administrators from the universities.

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Locana Wins $550,000 Grant

socalTECH

San Diego-based gene therapy startup Locana has just received $550,000 in a grant, from the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), according to the MDA. The award will go to advance Locana's development program for treating mytonic dystrophy (DM). According to the MDA, the grant came from its MDA Venture Philanthropy (MVP) grant program, which specifically funds drug development, discovery and clinical application of treatments and cures for neuromuscular disorders.

San Diego 138
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Silicon Beach Report June 10: Pluto TV Pushes into Latino Markets

L.A. Business Journal

Quibi unveils pricing details; SpaceX to launch JPL’s atomic clock; Pluto TV launches Latino programming

SpaceX 124
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8 Ways To Use Personal Values To Highlight Leadership

Startup Professionals Musings

True business success and leadership starts with real personal values, extends to building a team, and finally to inspiring customers and your community. That’s a huge leap from an entrepreneurial idea, to a product, to making money. Is it any wonder that the majority of startups fail? My job as a new business advisor is to help entrepreneurs get over this chasm early.

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Preccelerator Workshop: Financial Modeling for Startups w/ Eli Eisenberg

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, June 18, 2019 -- Financial Modeling for Startups Workshop In this workshop you will learn the following: The theory and purpose of a financial model in a pitch deck An approach to financial modeling that resonates with investors How to build the model.

Startup 100
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SerImmune Finds $1.4M In Ongoing Funding

socalTECH

Santa Barbara-based SerImmune , a company developing immune mapping technology, has raised $1.4M in new funding, as part of what appears to be an ongoing $7.0M funding effort. The funding--which was disclosed via a regulatory filing--shows the round as a debt funding round, suggesting the funding is likely a convertible debt funding from existing investors.

Funding 138
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Silicon Beach Report June 12: Bird Acquires Scoot

L.A. Business Journal

Hulu, Disney acquire Lions Gate rights; Immortals acquires Infinite Sports & Entertainment; Scoot scooped up by Bird

Hulu 113
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Bio Roundup: Roche-Spark Drags On, GSK Taps CRISPR, Diabetes News & More

Xconomy

Is one of the bigger biopharma acquisitions of the year in trouble? This past week, antitrust regulators once again delayed Roche’s planned $4.8 billion buyout of gene therapy developer Spark Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ONCE ). The US Federal Trade Commission wants yet more information about the buyout, and overseas, the UK Competition and Markets Authority opened a separate investigation.

News 97
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4 Keys To A Super-Charged Team And Workplace Culture

Startup Professionals Musings

Startup work environments are always chaos, but they can still be great environments to work in, or they can be terrible. Whether yours is terrible or great, that same tone flows out to your customers, and regulates your productivity inside. You as the founder are the starting point and definer, so you need to get it right. What does it take to create a positive workplace culture?

Startup 89
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AppOnboard Acquires Buildbox

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based AppOnboard , which develops mobile app design and development software, has acquired Buildbox , a developer of mobile game development software. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. According to AppOnboard, Buildbox's tool have been used so far to power more than 45,000 unique games, and has seen more than 3 billion estimated downloads on app stores.

Mobile 124
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Silicon Beach Report June 11: GameMine acquires 1,200 titles

L.A. Business Journal

Square Enix announces “Avengers,” “Final Fantasy” titles; Snapchat filters have unexpected use; GameMine expands gaming library

Snapchat 100
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3 Tips to Boost Security, Trust With Increasingly Remote Workforce

Xconomy

Employers are increasingly offering remote work options as a differentiator to attract top talent in today’s competitive hiring market. And, with modern technology at their fingertips, employees have come to expect a seamless working experience whether they’re home, in the office, or on the road. These new expectations, coupled with the increase of contract and part-time workers, have forced organizations to adapt to a whole new workplace landscape.

Tips 97
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How To Tune Business Strategy For Long-Term Success

Startup Professionals Musings

The biggest challenge these days doesn’t seem to be in starting a new business, but sustaining it against the onslaught of market changes and new competitors that emerge every day. Yet, as an angel investor, I still see too many new business owners who are convinced that their biggest challenge is to get money to start, and once launched with some initial success, they can relax.

Startup 88
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Atlazo Finds $3.4M For Healthcare IoT Technology

socalTECH

San Diego-based Atlazo , a startup developing systems-on-a-chip (SoC) semiconductors aimed at used in healthcare and Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications, has raised $3.4M in a seed funding round. The funding round was led by the Tech Coast Angels, and the TCA's San Diego chapter. According to the TCA, its angel network members invested $2.5M in the round.

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Bird Acquires Scoot Networks

L.A. Business Journal

Santa Monica-based Bird Rides Inc. is buying Bay Area competitor Scoot Networks Inc.

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U-M Leads 10-University Project to Tackle Equity, Inclusion in STEM

Xconomy

Academic researchers have long studied gender and racial disparities in STEM education, but they have not had widespread success in addressing these challenges. A University of Michigan professor and colleagues from 10 universities are hoping to change that. At public research universities like U-M, introductory courses in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) subjects are the required first steps in the process of earning a STEM degree.

Equity 85
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Finding The Right Angel Investor For Your New Venture

Startup Professionals Musings

If your startup is looking for an angel investor, it makes sense to present your plan to flocks of angels, and assume that at least one will swoop down and scoop you up. Or does it? Actually numbers and locations are just the beginning. The challenge is to find the right angel for you, and for your situation. Here are some basic principles: Angels invest in people, more often than they invest in ideas.

Angel 96
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Spring Labs Finds $23M In Series A

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Spring Labs , a startup developing a blockchain-based platform for sharing of financial information, has raised $23M in a Series A funding. According to Spring Labs, the funding was led by GreatPoint Ventures, and also included August Capital, as well as General Motors Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of General Motors, RRE Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Multicoin Capital, The Pritzker Group, and CardWorks.

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Silicon Beach Report June 14: Bird Required to Pay Tariffs on Chinese Imports

L.A. Business Journal

Bird, Uber tariff relief requests denied; AppOnBoard buys BuildBox; Pluto TV links with Comcast

Report 100
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Can AI Tools, $76M Lead BlackThorn to Targeted Pysch Drugs?

Xconomy

It’s notoriously tough for experimental psychiatric drugs to succeed in clinical tests. BlackThorn Therapeutics wants to show that an AI-driven, precision approach can make it easier, and today it’s added another $76 million to get the chance to prove it. The new Series B round will give San Francisco-based BlackThorn—a startup spun out of the Scripps Research Institute in 2013—the backing to run human tests of two experimental treatments.

Tool 78
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4 Strategies To Ramp Up The Total Customer Experience

Startup Professionals Musings

Much has been written recently about the requirement to focus today on the total customer experience, as a competitive edge or even for survival. Traditionally, you just worried about the quality of the sales transaction (price, speed, service), but the “customer experience” now includes ease of pre-sale shopping, post-sale support, with a connected relationship throughout.

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Interview with Ilya Pozin, Cofounder of Pluto TV

socalTECH

In January, Los Angeles-based Pluto TV (www.pluto.tv) was acquired by Viacom for $340M, one of the largest acquisition deals so far in the region this year. We caught up with Pluto TV's co-founder and Chief Growth Officer, Ilya Pozin , to hear about how the company started, and its path to acquisitionas well as to get some tips on startup success. Ilya also founded Coplex, a startup development studio.

Startup 124
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Silicon Beach Report June 13: Sure Raises $23 Million

L.A. Business Journal

Bird paid $25 million for Scoot; Sure raises $23 million; Disney Plus subscriber projections

Report 100
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Oncternal Therapeutics Goes Public After Reverse Merger With GTx

Xconomy

Oncternal Therapeutics has joined the growing ranks of San Diego biotechs to go public, but it didn’t go through an IPO to get there. The San Diego-based company said Monday that it completed a reverse merger with GTx, a Memphis, TN biotech whose market value plummeted last fall after its lead drug candidate failed a Phase 2 trial. GTx had been testing a therapy for post-menopausal women with stress urinary incontinence, a condition that can cause a person to unintentionally lose urine during ph

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Bird Acquires Scoot

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based Bird announced on Wednesday that it has acquired Scoot , a San Francisco-based scooter service--giving Bird entry back into the San Francisco market, and also helping Bird scale out its operations. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. According to Bird, Scoot will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, and also help Bird offer more vehicles featuring the latest technology advancements for the sharing market.

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Triton Digital Acquires Omny Studio

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Triton Digital , a provider of advertising services and technology for the online radio streaming, digital audio and podcasting markets, has acquired Omny Studio , a developer of a podcast and on-demand audio publishing platform. Financial terms of the acquisition were not annoucned. Omny Studio was based in Melbourne, Australia. According to Triton Digital, the entire team at Omny Studio has joined the company, after it acquired the technology, assets, and team of Omny.

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Newegg In Global Expansion Effort

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based electronics- and technology retailer Newegg says it is in a major, global expansion effort, saying this morning that it has added another 29 countries to its network, growing the number of companies it is doing business in to more than 80. According to Newegg, it has been working over the last two years to expand its geographical reach, adding local language support, free shipping on select items, and local returns.

NewEgg 124
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EvoNexus, UC San Diego Team On FinTech Efforts

socalTECH

San Diego- and Orange County-based startup incubator EvoNexus and the University of California San Diego's Rady School of Management announced this morning that the two are in a new partnership, aimed at creating a new generation of FinTech startups. According to the two, the partnership will help students and alums of UCSD Rady, by creating an "entrepreneurial path" for them into the EvoNexus FinTech Incubator.

San Diego 124
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Cubic Wins Air Force Contract

socalTECH

San Diego-based Cubic Corporation announced this morning that it has scored a win with the U.S. Air Force (USAF), to develop a data radio for the USAF. According to Cubic, the award went to its Cubic Mission Solutions (CMS) business division, for delivery of a Small Form Factor (SFF) Radio prototype for the Data Link Enterprise (DLE). The size of the contract was not announced.