Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 15, 2010
I have always believed in the saying, “It’s better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.&# It’s a way of life. It’s not about abusing situations but about knowing when to push the boundaries. It’s about knowing that the overwhelming number of people in life are naysayers and “no sayers&# and sometimes you gotta just roll the dice and say WTF.
socalTECH
JUNE 16, 2010
Last week, Irvine-based Inspired Instruments (www.yourockguitar.com) announced a round of funding, saying that it has developed an electronic guitar which combines the game controller functionality for popular videogames like Rock Band and Guitar Hero with actual musical functionality. To hear about how the firm is hoping to change the music industry, and bridge between the world of video games and music, we spoke with CEO and co-founder Kevin Kent.
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Berkonomics
JUNE 15, 2010
Do home-based employees work with the same dedication and productivity as those in office cubicles next to each other? That depends upon the management as much as the employee. I have a friend who is a CEO of a recruiting firm who “virtualized” her company after a decade of maintaining a fixed office location. She organizes morning conference calls, has each employee tweet the others in their department when starting work and ending the day, creates the feel of closeness with e
SoCal Tech Calendar
JUNE 18, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010 -- Grow Your Companys Trust Online. SoCalAMA. With all the corporate scams, financial scandals, and unscrupulous merchants that seem to be highlighted in the news every day, customers have become increasingly suspicious of businesses. As a result, it is vital for an honest company that offers quality products or services to maintain its reputation of integrity.
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 17, 2010
Last September I was on a panel with Guy Kawasaki talking about Twitter. He said at the time that he Tweeted 4 times for every story that he wrote. FOUR TIMES! The exact same Tweet. I couldn’t believe it. His rationale was that he found that his audience was tuning into Twitter at several different times during the day and he found that four was the optimal number to convert enough of the people reading his posts into traffic back to his website.
socalTECH
JUNE 15, 2010
Santa Monica-based Rubicon Project , the online advertising optimization firm founded by Frank Addante, is on track to do $100M in revenues this year and will reach profitability in Q4, according to a blog post by Addante Tuesday afternoon. Addante said the firm--which has taken $42M in venture capital from Clearstone, Mayfield, IDG, and Peacock Equity fund--is on track to achieve the "ultimate test of success" for any startup, profitability.
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SoCal Tech Calendar
JUNE 18, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010 -- TMA's 8th Annual Night of Excellence. This event continues to be the single largest local networking event in our industry. Please join us for an evening of exceptional networking with over 300 attorneys, bankers, equity sponsors and practictioners. See [link] (more).
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 18, 2010
To see the video of This Week in VC click on this link. What a pleasure that I got to spend an hour talking with both Om Malik (whom I’ve always respected his views) and Paul Jozefak , a venture capital partner at Neuhaus Partners in Germany (and formerly the head of Europe for SAP Ventures). We spent the first 45 minutes or so talking about industry trends (in this order): The history and background of True Ventures, one of my favorite early-stage VC’s (and the one with whom Om is
socalTECH
JUNE 15, 2010
Woodland Hills-based ReachLocal said today that it has launched a new, beta of a local business site called Bizzy. ReachLocal said that Bizzy will allow users to connect with local businesses, receive exclusive offers, invitations to events, tips, and news from their favorite businesses. The new site is launching first in New York, San Francisco, and Dallas.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 13, 2010
Every startup founder feels the pressure of the thousands of things that need to get done, all seemingly at the same time. There is just not enough time! The real solution is better time management to put you back in control of your life. We all know someone who always professes to be stressed out and “so busy” that they never have time for anything – yet they never seem to get things done.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JUNE 18, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010 -- Red Herring Conference San Diego. On June 22-24, 2010, more than 500 industry professionals will connect in San Diego, California to honor the Top 100 private technology companies in North America. The program will host presentations from the Red Herring 100 North America Award winners, thought provoking panel discussions, and keynote addresses from legendary venture capitalists, global CEO's as well as technologist insiders.
Tech Zulu Event
JUNE 18, 2010
Neon lights. Lady Gaga. No Doubt. To my right, electric drums, bass, guitar; musical instruments from Rockband 3 send notes to my ear while I nervously stare at five (obviously experienced) dancers on a small stage to my left. They’re playing a Kinect game developed by Harmonix called Dance Central. TechZulu chief Efren Toscano looks at me and says I’m next.
socalTECH
JUNE 15, 2010
San Diego-based e-commerce firm ProFlowers.com was the top ranked U.S. web property for May, based on percentage change in unique visitors, according to the latest comScore Media Metrix numbers. According to comScore, Mother's Day, graduation, proms, and weddings helped to drive traffic to flower gift and greeting sites, driving ProFlowers to the top of the unique visitors increase list.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 15, 2010
By Akira Hirai The thought of preparing a business plan for the first time can be very intimidating. There are many "moving parts," and it’s easy to get lost in the details. The task becomes much easier if you think of your plan in terms of four essential cornerstones that serve as the foundation of all business plans: Opportunity, Solution, Execution, and Outcomes.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JUNE 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 -- Red Herring Conference San Diego. On June 22-24, 2010, more than 500 industry professionals will connect in San Diego, California to honor the Top 100 private technology companies in North America. The program will host presentations from the Red Herring 100 North America Award winners, thought provoking panel discussions, and keynote addresses from legendary venture capitalists, global CEO's as well as technologist insiders.
Tech Zulu Event
JUNE 17, 2010
1980. A yellow dot with a wide mouth moves across a black screen, weaving through a colored maze of ghosts while chomping even smaller white dots. PAC-Man grew to become a cultural icon, a game that would change the face of gaming, spawning new versions for nearly every platform released during last 30 years. Now, forget the joystick. At E3 2010 , it’s all about how you move your body, or at least that’s what the big three keep telling us.
socalTECH
JUNE 15, 2010
Monrovia, California-based Prolacta Bioscience , the venture backed firm developing human milk fortifiers for premature infants, announced this morning that it will be donating funds to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure as part of its milk donation program. The firm, which collects excess milk from mothers for developing its milk fortifiers for premature infants, said it will donate one dollar to Komen per ounce of qualified breast milk it collects through the Helping Hands Milk Bank.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 14, 2010
Women entrepreneurs are starting small businesses at approximately twice the national average for all startups. Despite some inaccurate stereotypes, the evidence is that these are in every industry, from small consulting firms to medical high technology. As a result, there have also been many new resources popping up specifically aimed at women. In most cases, the business questions asked and the answers given are essentially the same for all entrepreneurs, whether they be men or women.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JUNE 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 -- CommNexus Presents:Windows Phone 7 What's New and What's Next. Windows Phone 7 is coming and now is the opportunity to start programing for this exciting new phone. In the first part of the presentation we will be focusing on the changes made to the phone itself, discussing the design decisions and integrated experiences that are part of its infrastructure.
Tech Zulu Event
JUNE 17, 2010
After the re-release of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 there was no doubt that Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was just around the corner. And now that wait will soon be over. We were able to get a hands on preview during E3 at the Capcom booth and although a bit rusty at first that old combo muscle memory quickly returned. The Controls are pretty much the same as before, except on the Xbox 360 controller the A button allows you to perform the launcher hit with all characters.
socalTECH
JUNE 14, 2010
Coffee chain Starbucks , the second home of startup entrepreneurs and frequent makeshift offices of many a startup or technology professional in town, is going to open up free Wi-Fi for its customers. According to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, the firm has recognized its customers desire for a better, in-store Wi-Fi experience, and will offer one-click, free Wi-Fi as of July 1st in its U.S. stores.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 17, 2010
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 academic credentials (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.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JUNE 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 -- Red Herring Conference San Diego. On June 22-24, 2010, more than 500 industry professionals will connect in San Diego, California to honor the Top 100 private technology companies in North America. The program will host presentations from the Red Herring 100 North America Award winners, thought provoking panel discussions, and keynote addresses from legendary venture capitalists, global CEO's as well as technologist insiders.
Frank Addante
JUNE 15, 2010
Two years ago, I wrote a blog post that garnered a lot of (friendly) flack from our investors here at the Rubicon Project. Titled Optimized for Speed = 30% Waste, in the post I talked about how different companies operate in various gears at different stages of their development. I noted that it's really important to define and set the "gear" for the company and make sure everyone is aware of.
socalTECH
JUNE 16, 2010
Display ad numbers released today from Internet analysis firm comScore shows that CPMs for Internet publishers were highest for newspapers, and lowest for social networking sites. According to comScore, in April 2010 the CPMs for display ad impressions were $6.99 for newspaper sites, and $6.29 for sports sites. Among the lowest CPMs are social networking sites, which garnered only an $0.56 CPM, as well as email, with a CPM of $0.94.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 16, 2010
Sometimes I chastise startups who seem to be first selling me their new technology, to be more market-driven (find points-of-pain solutions). I usually get pushback about the success of all the great technology companies, like Intel and Apple. Let me be clear – technology and market-driven need not be mutually exclusive! The best startups find a way to drive the market with their technology, rather than push their new technology-driven ‘solution’ on the marketplace.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JUNE 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 -- Recounting the Beans: Old School Executive Compensation in a New World Environment. Speaker is Mark Lipis of Lipis Consulting. The owners refuse to have partners and you sense suitors are sniffing around; now what? The owners plan to hand the company over to Junior; now what? See [link] (more).
Tech Zulu Event
JUNE 18, 2010
Since the early 1980's Donkey Kong has been a staple in the Nintendo family constantly growing with the times. This year at E3 Expo 2010 Nintendo announced the return of Donkey Kong with Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii. I had a chance to play it in the Nintendo booth during E3 and let me tell you, if you loved the Super Nintendo version you will adore this one.
socalTECH
JUNE 17, 2010
Santa Monica-based LIVESTRONG.COM , the online health and fitness site run by Demand Media in a partnership with Lance Armstrong, said today that it has partnered with RadioShack Corporation for an iPhone app. According to the two, they have released Team RadioShack, a free mobile iPhone app which allows users to get information about Lance Armstrong and Team RadioShack.
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 14, 2010
Over the years I collected (or thought up) a series of short-hand phrases to remind me of life’s lessons that are applicable to business. One of my favorite ones is “what you’re a hammer everything looks like a nail.&# The definition is kind of obvious. We’re all biased by our backgrounds and tend to put forward solutions that our backgrounds suggest to us.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JUNE 12, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010 -- TechAmerica Westlake Senior Financial Executive Roundtable Breakfast Series. Overview of the Tech Industry on the 101 Corridor. Speaker: Ben Kuo, socalTECH.com. present an overview of the tech hotspots on the 101 Corridor from Hollywood to Santa Barbara. Ben will discuss: -An overview of where the tech clusters are along the 101 freeway from Hollywood to Santa Barbara -Where venture capital is flowing within this market -Market data of the number, sizes and industry focu
Tech Zulu Event
JUNE 18, 2010
I stand on the roof of a concrete structure, surrounded by glossy purple dropships. A message comes across my headset, "Reinforcements are on their way!". In minutes wave after wave of whiny grunts, long-haired jackals, and muscular elites jump out of the dropships. I hit the A button on my controller, igniting my jetpack. This is going to be a good time.
socalTECH
JUNE 17, 2010
MySpace co-president Jason Hirschhorn is leaving the firm, according to the firm, and fellow co-president Mike Jones is taking over the helm as CEO. MySpace, which confirmed earlier rumors of the move Thursday afternoon, said that Hirschhorn is returning to New York, and that "we fully respect" Jason's decision to leave. No details on why Hirschorn is leaving was given by the company.
Both Sides of the Table
JUNE 12, 2010
We had a special edition of This Week in Venture Capital this week shooting out of the Next New Networks offices in New York. Our guest was Mo Koyfman of Spark Capital. Spark Capital is relatively new to VC (founded in 2005) yet has become one of the hottest new VCs having invested in Twitter, Tumblr, AdMeld, Boxee, KickApps and many more companies.
SoCal Tech Calendar
JUNE 15, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010 -- Social Media and Content Marketing Workshop and Breakfast. See [link] (more).
Tech Zulu Event
JUNE 18, 2010
Zelda needs no introduction. If you don’t know who Zelda is, do yourself a favor: buy (or borrow) a Nintendo 64 and play a game called the Zelda: the Ocarina of Time. As much as a shooter like Goldeneye or platformers like Super Mario 64, Z:OT made the platform worth having. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword , Shigeru Miyamoto’s latest piece of art, will probably be the game that gets me to finally shell out a few bucks for a used Wii.
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