Sat.Aug 09, 2014 - Fri.Aug 15, 2014

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PCM Sells Santa Monica Property For $20.2M

socalTECH

'El Segundo-based technology catalog retailer PCM said late last week that it has sold the land to its retail store in Santa Monica to the Regents of the University of California, for $20.2M. According to PCM, the deal includes two parcels of land, including a 32,5000 square foot portion of land and another adjacent 9,750 square foot property. The two properties are currently being used as the retail storefront for MacMall.

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Do you really want to be the first to market?

Berkonomics

'Over the years, as I managed my several computer companies as CEO or executive chairman, I made the decision to go to market with a brand new product that had never before been exposed to my customer’s marketplace. In each case, after overwhelming publicity, certainly noticed by a great number of potential decision makers, and after record-breaking sessions at industry trade shows to introduce these to the potential buyers, the products failed in the marketplace.

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10 Epic Ways to Save Money

Eric Greenspan

'We all want to save money. Here’s some clever methods to do so: When signing up for a trial or a demo, NEVER buy right away. Wait for the email that says “Join today and save with this coupon” or “We miss you. Come back…” Sign up and quit. You’ll almost be guaranteed a “come back and try us for half off” email.

Email 128
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Every Small Business Founder Needs An Advisor

Startup Professionals Musings

'Sponsored by VISA Business Friends tell you what you want to hear. Advisors tell you what you need to hear. When the message is the same from both, you dont need the advisor anymore. In that sense, you should think of an advisor more like your mentor who has done all he can. You always need the friend. Also dont confuse a business advisor with a business coach.

Mentor 104
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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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Boingo Wireless Wins World Trade Center

socalTECH

'Los Angeles-based Wi-Fi and small cell network provider Boingo Wireless reports that it has been selected fro the new, World Trade Center in New York City. According to Boingo, it has just signed an agreement with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority) to design, install, and operate a cellular and Wi-Fi network system in the new World Trade Center.

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Smartest Motorcycle Helmet Raises over $900K in One Day | Skully AR-1

Tech Zulu Event

'In just one day the Skully AR-1 was able to nab funding of over $900,000 and counting on Indiegogo and they still have a month left! Absolutely crushing their goal of $250,000. For those who may not be familiar with the Skully AR-1, its a motorcycle helmet with heads up display, review camera and GPS navigation. Voice commands let you keep a grip on the handlebars, and smartphone pairing gets the headgear online.

More Trending

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Entrepreneurs Must Start Selling And Listening Early

Startup Professionals Musings

'Savvy entrepreneurs start testing their ideas on potential customers even before the concept is fully cooked. They have enough confidence in their ability to deliver that they dont worry about someone stealing the idea to get there first, and they dont forget to listen carefully to critical feedback. They become walking public relations machines for themselves, as well as their idea.

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Demand Media Buys Saatchi Art, Appoints Sean Moriarty As CEO

socalTECH

'Santa MOnica-based Demand Media made a surprise move this morning, saying it has appointed former Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty as its new CEO--and also acquiring Moriarty''s startup, Saatchi Art. According to Demand Media, it paid $17M for Saatchi Art, in a mix of cash and stock, in a deal which will add revenues of $0.5M to $1M per quarter to the company.

Demand 204
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Silent Beacon | Your Personal Alert System

Tech Zulu Event

'The constant fear of being alone in certain situations can create some problems. Even the thought of one of your loved ones alone can strike uneasiness at times. Thanks to the ever-growing landscape of technology, the ability to have a personal warning/emergency caller is available for anyone in need. Silent Beacon is creating a device by changing the infrastructure of personal alarm systems without the user shelling out tons of cash to own one.

Pricing 95
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Dynamic Duos – Are You Batman Or Robin?

InfoChachkie

'A version of this article previously appeared in The Wall Street Journal. Balance is one of the most important aspects of skiing. A solid foundation formed by two strong legs is key, especially at a competative level. Balance is also an extremely important factor among a founding startup team. Although it is difficult, balance can be achieved on one leg.

Startup 257
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Inventor Entrepreneurs May Be The Rare Exception

Startup Professionals Musings

'In my experience, inventors and technologists arent interested or arent very good at building a business, and entrepreneurs arent usually good scientists. These people need to find each other, and can jointly make a great team for a new startup. Without the synergy, companies like Apple might never have gotten off the ground. Historically, its also not often that a good inventor was also a good entrepreneur.

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Amazon To Open New Fulfillment Center In Redlands, Hire 2500

socalTECH

'E-commerce giant Amazon.com is expanding in Southern California, saying today that it is opening up a new, fulfillment center in Redlands, to help deliver large items to customers. According to Amazon.com, the new 700,000 square foot fulfillment center is looking to hire 2,500 people, to help pick, pack, and ship things such as big screen televisions and kayaks to its customers.

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Other States Should “Line” Up Behind California | A Tale of Process, Andreesen & Lyft Line

Tech Zulu Event

'When ride-sharing company Lyft announced its new service Lyft Line — which, for those unaware, lets people headed in the same direction share the cost of a ride together — the first thing I thought of was the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Weird, I know. But CPUC was behind last year’s rule legitimizing for-profit ridesharing companies like Lyft, Sidecar, and Uber for legal operation within the state.

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NRG Energy Buys Goal Zero

socalTECH

'Energy giant NRG Energy --which runs its solar power business out of Carlsbad--has acquired consumer solar power products maker Goal Zero , the company said today. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Goal Zero is a maker of solar charging products, and is well known in the outdoor and adventure products area. According to NRG, it will use the acquisition to help cross sell products between system power, residential solar and personal power, helping to educate Goal Zero''s c

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AuditFile, Started At UCLA, Raises $3M For Auditing Software

socalTECH

'AuditFile , a developer of cloud-based auditing software for CPAs, has raised $3M in a funding round, the company said Thursday. The company was founded by Kevin Bong, who started the company in his dorm room at UCLA as a senior. According to the company, his brother, Steven Bong, convinced him to turn down job offers and move back home to the Bay Area to work on the company full time.

UCLA 170
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Geneva Healthcare Gets $1.8M

socalTECH

'San Diego-based Geneva Healthcare has raised $1.8M in a funding round, the company said this morning, to go towards the development of its platform for managing data from cardiac devices. The company said the funding came from high net worth individuals, including cardiologists, physicians and successful technology entrepreneurs. Geneva Healthcare, which is led by Kai Worrell, says it has already been deploying its technology across hospitals in Southern California.

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TenOneTen Ventures Eyes $25M Fund

socalTECH

'Los Angeles-based venture capital investor TenOneTen Ventures , which is run by David Waxman and Gil Elbaz, is looking to raise a $25M fund, according to a regulatory filing from the company this week. The investment firm--which already has been very active in Los Angeles--indicated in the filing that the fund has yet to raise any commitments from investors.

Funding 164
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ClariPhy Raises $19.74M

socalTECH

'Irvine-based ClariPhy , which develops high speed, CMOS ICs used for optical networking, has raised $19.74M in a funding round, according to a regulatory filing from the firm today. Details on the funding have not yet been announced by the company. ClariPhy previously has raised funding from Norwest Venture Partners, Onset Ventures, Allegis Capital, Pacific General Ventures, Oclaro, and Nokia Siemens Networks.

Allegis 164
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CurbStand Ties With Fatburger On LA Valet Promotion

socalTECH

'Los Angeles-based mobile app developer CurbStand , which lets users locate, pay and tip valet parking providers, has tied with LA hamburger chain Fatburger on a new promotion, the company said today. According to CurbStand, it is launching a new campaign called #soLAvalet, which will offer up valet parking at Fatburger locations in West Hollywood and downtown LOs Angeles at its location on Figueroa.

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Cirrus Insight Launches New App For Salesforce

socalTECH

'Irvine-based Cirrus Insight , which develops apps which connect Salesforce with Gmail and other Google apps, has launched a new app, which it says helps companies monitor adoption of Salesforce, customer engagement, and email effectiveness. Cirris said its new app, called Cirrus Analytics, is aimed at helping such things as how many events with prospects a sales team had last week; what leads came from Gmail; how effective Salesforce email templates are; and more.

Template 159
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Why Warner Bros. Is Tapping Into The World Of Technology Startups

socalTECH

'If you''re a large, Hollywood studio, how do you tap into the energy and ideas of the startup community? Warner Bros. has figured out one way -- which is to run a startup accelerator, Warner Media Camp (www.mediacamp.com)--which pulls a class of startups into the company for an intense, twelve week program every year, and helps those companies tap into the resources of the studio.

Startup 159
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RadPad Gets $2M

socalTECH

'Los Angeles-based mobile rental marketplace app developer Radpad said Tuesday that it has raised $2M in a funding round, which came from existing investors SG VC, L.P., Social Leverage L.P. and Michael Huffington, along with new investors Queensbridge Venture Partners (led by Nasir Nas Jones and Anthony Saleh) and Happy Walters (co-president of Relativity Media).

Mobile 157
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CheckAlt Scores Four New Credit Union Customers

socalTECH

'Los Angeles-based CheckAlt , the developer of payment processing technology led by serial entrepreneur Shai Stern, said this week that it has signed on four new credit union customers for its mobile deposit technology. Financial impact of the win was not announced. CheckAlt said it signed up University & Community Federal Credit Union; Legal Community Credit Union of Colorado; Jordan Federal Credit Union; and Gulf Coast Community Federal Credit Union, all of whom are using its technology in

Customer 153
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DogVacay's New VacayCam Helps Capture Dog Candids

socalTECH

'Santa Monica-based online pet sitting marketplace and community DogVacay has a cute, new feature, which helps the company''s hosts capture great canine candids. The company said its new iPhone app features a new tool called VacayCam, which uses the sounds of barks, meowing, and squeaky toys to capture the attention of pets for cute candid photos of pets that sitters are taking care of.

Help 153
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Beautified Targets LA With Mobile Beauty Appointments App

socalTECH

'Beautified , the developer of a mobile app and marketplace which lets users book appointments with hairdressers, stylists, massage therapists, and fitness trainers, is planning to expand into Los Angeles, after taking a round of funding. The company--which is based in New York--disclosed this morning that it has raised $1.2M in a seed funding round, to specifically expand in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Mobile 153
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Agent Ace Finds $6M For Real Estate Referrals

socalTECH

'Santa Monica-based Agent Ace , a new startup looking to help consumers find real estate agents, said Monday that it has raised $6M in a Series A funding round. The funding came from March Capital Partners and Triangle Peak Partners. According to the company--which was founded and is led by Mazen Fawaz--the company uses historical home sale data to match homebuyers and sellers with real estate agents for their specific home.

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IDrive Targets Enterprise Linux Backup

socalTECH

'Los Angeles-based online backup provider IDrive , which is led by Raghu Kulkarni, said Thursday that it has launched a new service specifically targeting the enterprise market. The company said its new IDrive DataCenter service provides enterprise level, cloud backup of Linux servers, and is aimed at data center and hosting companies. The company said the new service lets customers make automatic, scheduled backups, supports 256-bit AES encryption, and more.

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Amgen Sees Clinical Trial Failure, Recall

socalTECH

'Thousand Oaks-based Amgen reported Wednesday that its Phase 3 clinical trial for its compound Kyprolis--which was being targeted for treatment of multiple myeloma--has failed, and that the study has been discontinued. Separately, in more bad news for the company, it also reported a recall of a number of lots of Aranesp in a number of countries due to a quality control issue.

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BeachMint Merges With Conde Nast's Lucky

socalTECH

'Los Angeles-based e-commerce website operator Beachmint is merging with Lucky , the shopping and fashion publication title owned by Conde Nast , creating a new company called The Lucky Group , the companies said Monday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The new company will be headed by Beachmint''s Josh Berman. As part of the deal--which makes Conde Nast the majority owner of the company--Lucky will launch a new e-commerce store featuring merchandise from brand featured in every

Anthem 147
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Ixia Targets 100GbE Development

socalTECH

'Calabasas-based network testing equipment provider Ixia is targeting 100GbE technology development, saying this morning that it has added new support for the high speed networking protocol on a number of its products. Ixia said it added the 100GbE support on its Xcellon Multis and Xcellon-Lava portfolio of products. The testing equipment is aimed at network equipment manufacturers, who use the equipment for networking testing and emulation.

Develop 147
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Report: YouTube Stars More Popular With Teens Than Hollywood Celebrities

socalTECH

'Watch out, Hollywood--a report from Variety says that YouTube stars are more popular than mainstream celebrities with American teenagers aged 13 to 18. Variety said it commissioned a survey in July with 1,500 respondents, which assessed their familiarity with a wide range of celebrities, and asked them to rank them by such things as influence, approachability, authenticity, and other factors.

Hollywood 147
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Surf Air Raises $73M, Orders 15 New Planes

socalTECH

'Santa Monica-based Surf Air , the membership-based airline which has been serving Silicon Beach, is in a major expansion, saying that it has ordered 15 new planes--with an option on another 50--and raised $73M in debt and equity. The airline--which is now led by Jeff Potter--said it ordered a total of up to 65 Pilatus aircraft to be delivered over the next five years, or approximately $312M in airplanes.

Anthem 145
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Factual Launches New Tool WIth Dropbox, Tastemade

socalTECH

'Los Angeles-based geodata provider Factual has tied up with Dropbox and Tastemade on the launch of a new product called Geopulse Geotag, the company said yesterday. Geopulse Geotag is a "reverse geocoder", which helps with geographic labeling of images, messages, events, and more created on mobile devices. According to Factual, Dropbox is using the new product in Carousel by Drobox, its photo gallery product, which will show users where photos and videos were taken.

Tool 138
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Conversant Hires Former Bing Shopping Executive

socalTECH

'Westlake Village-based Conversant , the online advertising and marketing technology company which was until recently known as ValueClick, has hired on the former head of Bing Shopping as a VP. Conversant said this week it has named Raju Malhotra as Senior Vice President of Products, to drive its product strategy. Malhotra was previously at Centro, and also served at Microsoft leading product strategy and the launch of Bing Shopping.

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ViaSat Expands In Arizona

socalTECH

'Carlsbad-based wireless networking and satellite technology developer ViaSat says that it is in a big expansion at its facilities in Arizona, and is in the midst of building a new, 116,000 square foot campus for its operations there. According to ViaSat, the new campus, at the Arizona State University Research Park in Tempe, will include a two story office building, a manufacturing building, and more, and will initially support as many as 350 employees, with another future increase slated to al

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Conversion Logic Applies Data Science To Video Ad Attribution

socalTECH

'A new, Santa Monica company, Conversion Logic launched yesterday, in an attempt to help companies better understand how their video advertising is doing--using data science. The new startup, which was founded by Trevor Testwuide and Alison Lohse, says it is looking to make it easier for brands, ad agencies, media buyers, and digital marketers to gain insights into video, to better understand what video ads are providing conversions.