socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

'We''re proud to announce the Socaltech 50 , our list of the 50, up-and-coming people in Southern California''s technology ecosystem. Getting to this list was not easy: we received over 700 nominations for people to be considered on the list, and it took a lot of work by our selection committee to whittle down the list to the finalists. Our selection committee -- which included Marc Averitt (Okapi Venture Capital), Barbara Bry (Blackbird Ventures, founder of Proflowers), Amanda Coolong (TechZulu

Southern California 279

Southern California SoCalTech Dollar Shave Club Santa Monica 279

InfoChachkie

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

'Despite what you might think, you are never too old to benefit from the helpful guidance of a mentor. At 51 years old, I am proof that even someone with decades of entrepreneurial success (and failure) can become more effective personally and professionally with the assistance of someone who has already walked their path. If you haven''t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for free weekly JohnGreathouse.com articles!

Mentor 263

Mentor Startup Technical Review Software Review 263

Berkonomics

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

'Cash is everything to a new business. How many times do we have to say this? The days of being able to trust that there will be an investor or lender on the other end of a call or email whenever needed ended with the 2000 and 2008 bursts of those respective bubbles. It’s entirely possible that Amazon could not be created and funded today with its planned seven years until profitability.

Startup 209

Startup Email Invest Capital 209

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 17, 2013

'A while back I received a discouraging note from an entrepreneur with a patent and a medical software application who couldn’t find a dime of investment, and was grousing that seed funding just wasn’t available anymore. After exchanging a couple of notes, I concluded that she was more likely a victim of item #1 on my reject list below, rather than a drought on seed funding.

Software Review 106

Software Review Funding Startup Seed Funding 106

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.

Company

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

'Los Angeles-based CapLinked , the developer of business transaction and deal management software-as-a-service, said today that it has raised $1M in an expansion round for the company. The new funding came from Subtraction Capital, FF Angel, 500 Startups, and other investors. The startup--which is led by PayPal veteran Erik M. Jackson--said the funding is an expansion on its Series A funding it announced in the first quarter of the year.

Software Review 235

Software Review Funding Draper SaaS 235

Tech Zulu Event

NOVEMBER 16, 2013

'We’ve been there. Turn on your phone and look at the productivity folder. Three, maybe four apps; each with their own learning curve and rules of engagement. Something to write your notes, another to set reminders, and one that does both. But you know, with a social aspect and extra cute buttons. We’ve all been there. For most of us it’s a golden sand pit.

Product 99

Product Email Ideas Organization 99

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

'San Diego-based IP communications application provider VoxOx VoxOx is dropping the rates on its phone calls to the Phillippines, the company said, to help people look to keep in touch with families and friends in the country. The company--which provides both personal cloud communications services for consumers and businesses--said it will charge a penny a minute for its international calling rate to the Philippines until at least January 1st, 2014, to help families affected by the Super Typhoon

IP 225

IP San Diego Help Services 225

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

'Are you the 19-year old founder of a startup? You''re over the hill. Fourteen looks to be the new nineteen, as yet another company founded by a 14-year old launched in LA yesterday at the Techweek conference. Cyborg Industries said yesterday that it has launched a "revolutionary, patented data transfer technology" called the Spectrocable, developed by 14-year old high school sophomore Nicolas Dupont.

Startup 214

Startup Patents Los Angeles Conference 214

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

'One of the hottest areas in enterprise and cloud software has been the move by the industry to adopt technologies like NoSQL, a way to tap into the distributed nature of the cloud to accelerate distributed applications. One of the startups in that area--born out of a.NET development organization here in Los Angeles--is FatCloud (www.fatcloud.com), which develops a NoSQL database which ties directly into Microsoft''s SQL Server database.

Startup 198

Startup Yahoo Software Education 198

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

'Los Angeles-based SodaHead , the developer of online polling services and software, has just launched a major upgrade to the company''s polling software for WordPress. The company--which been powering the polling software behind such sites as ESPN, ABC News, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, and Warner Bros Television--said the updated poll publishing and management tool adds such features as geographical mapping of polls, ability to split polls by demographic, customize the layout and design of pol

Software 198

Software Tech Coast Angels Mission Ventures News 198

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

'Los Angeles-based fashion site Nasty Gal has sued a fellow, Los Angeles fashion e-commerce provider, New Nasty , over it use of the word "Nasty", according to a legal filing by Nasty Gal this week. A lawsuit filed on November 18th in the California Central District Court accuses Charamon Hunter, the owner of New Nasty, of trademark infringement for the use of the name "Nasty".

Commerce 198

Commerce Los Angeles Sites Angel 198

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

'In one more example of why Southern California has become a hotbed for new, technology-based startups, a group of local Benedictine monks in Valyermo--just north of Los Angeles near Palmdale--apparently has its own, hot e-commerce startup, MonksInk.com. The monastery says it has tripled its sales and customers over the last year for its online, ink and tonor cartridge efforts.

Commerce 180

Commerce Southern California Palmdale SoCal 180

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

'San Diego-based restaurant loyalty app provider MOGL launched a brand new version of its mobile app, and launched a huge push to enlist its users to help fight off hunger in the US. The loyalty startup said Thursday that it will now allow its users to donate the cash back from the service to local food banks, directly, to provide even more funding to fight hunger in the cities it serves.

San Diego 178

San Diego Mobile Funding Help 178

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

'Santa Monica-based TrueCar , the auto pricing and sales company headed by Scott Painter, said late yesterday that it has sold its one millionth vehicle through its service, and that $31 billion in sales have gone through its network to date. The company says it now has nearly 40,000 monthly transactions and accounts for nearly three percent of U.S. monthly retail vehicle sales.

Truecar 176

Truecar Sales Pricing Santa Monica 176

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

'San Diego-based venture capital investor Mission Ventures has re-upped its investment in San Francisco-based Alpine Data Labs , a developer of Hadoop software for the big data market. Alpine Data Labs said Friday that it has raised $16M in a Series B funding, which came from Sierra Ventures, Mission Ventures, UMC Capital, and Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH.

Mission Ventures 170

Mission Ventures Sherman Oaks Venture Capital San Diego 170

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

'San Diego-based CareFusion announced this morning that it is spending $500M to acquire the Vital Signs division of GE Healthcare. GE''s Vital Signs division manufactures single-patient-use consumables for respiratory care and anesthesiology. CareFusion said that Vital Signs has annual revenues of approximately $250M. The company explained the acquisition will help it with its long term growth strategy, help create scale, and increase its presence outside the United States.

San Diego 164

San Diego Acquisition Help Company 164

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

'Santa Monica-based life sciences accelerator Cal-X Stars Business Accelerator said this morning that it is in an effort to raised $15M in funding for the accelerator, via a number of crowdsourcing sites. The accelerator--backed by Leonhardt Ventures--says it focuses on startups in the cardiovascular and social good areas. The firm has retained Merriman Capital to assist it in the offering.

Santa Monica 164

Santa Monica Sites Capital Funding 164

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

'Los Angeles-based IDrive , the software developer behind the online storage service IBackup , said Thursday that it has updated its online backup software, adding new integrated mobile backup apps, updates to the software for Windows and Mac OS, a new graphical interface, and more. The backup provider--which targets its service to small and mid-sized businesses--says it now has over 100,000 small businesses using its software.

Software 159

Software Software Development Los Angeles Mobile 159

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

'Laguna Hills-based startup Cirrus Path , which develops tools to help connect Salesforce.com with Gmail, said this week that it has launched a new mobile app called Cirrus Insight. The app--which runs on iPhone, and is expected to release soon for iPad and Android--lets users access Salesforce.com''s CRM data and email in a single place. The company said the beta app lets users track emails in Salesforce.com, lets users create lead and contacts from an inbox, schedule events and tasks, and much

Mobile 159

Mobile Email Sales Tool 159

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

'Los Angeles-based FatCloud , the developer of a NoSQL database product for Microsoft''s SQL Server environment, said it has launched a new, free version of its product. The company said that its new FatDB Community Edition is targeted at developers, letting them download and use a fully functional version of its.NET NoSQL database. FatCloud''s software is used by developers creating big data analysis and similar applications.

Los Angeles 159

Los Angeles Software Pricing Product 159

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

'Santa Monica-based real-time, secure messaging app provider TigerText --which has seen widespread adoption with healthcare providers--said today that it has integrated its product with contact center software provider Startel. According to TigerText, the integration allows Startel''s answering service customers to security text message colleagues and clients from within the Startel software, which is critical to meet HIPAA rules for answering services serving the healthcare market.

Software 159

Software Santa Monica Services Customer 159

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

'Los Angeles-based SOA Software , which develops products for managing the connections between enterprise software, said today that it has added a new product aimed at the Microsoft environment. The company said its new product, Intermediary for Microsoft, helps connect front end mobile, cloud, and portal applications with Microsoft services. Pricing on the new product was not announced.

Software 159

Software Product SaaS Los Angeles 159

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

'Los Angeles-based.BUILD said this week that it has launched a new company focused on administering the new, global top level domain (gTLD) of the same name, targeting the construction and other industries. The startup said it was founded by George Minardos and Thomas Brackey, and is offering up its domain names via Godaddy.com. The domain name is one of thousands expected to appear sometime in the next few months as the industry expands beyond the typical.com,net, and.org extensions.

.Net 159

.Net Los Angeles Startup Angel 159

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

'Pasadena-based OpenX said this morning that it has hired four new executives, to help bolster its mobile advertising efforts. The digital and mobile advertising technology and ad network operator said it has added Rob Kramer as general manager, mobile; Jin Yu as vice president, engineering & chief architect; Laura Buchman as vice president, publisher solutions; and Martin Price as senior director, product.

OpenX 159

OpenX Mobile Advertising Pasadena 159

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 22, 2013

'San Diego-based Avalon Ventures announced this morning that it has launched a new company, Sitari Pharmaceuticals , with $10M in a Series A financing. Avalon said new startup is focused on the development of novel treatments for celiac disease, and was formed in conjunction with GlaxoSmithKline, as part of a collaboration to fund and launch to to 10, early-stage life sciences companies in San Diego.

Avalon 153

Avalon San Diego Capital Funding 153

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

'Irvine-based cloud storage provider Zadara Storage and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) provider CloudSigma said this morning that the two are in a strategic partnership. According to the two companies, CloudSigma will offer up Zadara''s Virtual Private Storage Array service via its IaaS offering. Financial details of the link were not announced.

SaaS 153

SaaS Networking Customer Custom 153

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

'Redondo Beach-based Modnique , an online fashion retailer which runs flash sales events on apparel, handbags, kids, and other products, said Monday that it has launched a new site in Russia. The company said the Russian site offers up full Russian language capabilities, local payment options, and more. Modnique says its customer base is 55 percent outside of the United Sates.

Redondo Beach 153

Redondo Beach Sales Sites Custom 153

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

'Irvine-based chipmaker Broadcom announced a design win this morning, with smartphone manufacturer XOLO , which is based in India. According to Broadcom, XOLO is using Broadcom''s smartphone platform as the basis of its new Q100 Opus smartphone. Broadcom did not say what the financial impact or expected shipping volumes on the win would be. XOLO''s smartphone uses three Broadcom chips--its BCM23550 quad core HSPA+ processor, BCM4334 connectivity combo chip and BCM4752 multi-constellation GNSS lo

Design 153

Design Company Companies Platform 153

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

'Los Angeles-based television streaming site Hulu is set for the launch tomorrow of Microsoft''s new Xbox One, saying that its video app--Hulu Plus--will be available as part of the Friday launch of the Xbox One. Hulu said its development team has been working with Microsoft on the app for Xbox One, which will include tray navigation, larger images, updated search, and other features.

Hulu 147

Hulu Activision Los Angeles Platform 147

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

'In more Hulu news today, the online television streaming site said it has added a long list of well known titles to its Hulu Kids section, including Sesame Street, Thomas and Friends, Strawberry Shortcake, Bob The Builder, The Electric Company, Barney, and many others. Hulu said it now has hundreds of titles in its kids section, which is available only on Hulu Plus, the company''s premium subscription service.

Hulu 147

Hulu Content News Sites 147

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

'Ziff Davis , the publishing arm of Los Angeles-based Internet services firm j2 Global , said Tuesday that it has acquired deal aggregation site TechBargains.com , from Exponential Interactive. Financial terms of the acquisition were not anounced. According to Ziff Davis, the financial impact to j2 Global was not expected to be material to the company.

Acquisition 147

Acquisition Email Sites Media 147

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

'Los Angeles-based YouTube network Fullscreen said today that it has launched a brand new, third party discount program for video creators, which is it calling Sign In with Fullscreen. The service--which lets users sign in with Twitter or Facebook--gives Fullscreen''s video creators access to discounts on t-shirts, audio tracks, closed captioning services, and much more.

Content 147

Content Networking Los Angeles Services 147

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

'Looking to score the best price on that gift for the holiday season? A new, Los Angeles startup, Scoutfit , said today that it has launched a new, online shopping service which helps users track discounts and get price alerts on items during the holiday. The startup said it emails out price alerts to users whenver new promotion codes are available or a specific item dropes in price.

Pricing 147

Pricing Email Los Angeles Sites 147

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

'Monrovia-based Xencor , the developer of biopharmaceutical technology headed by Bassill Dahiyat, delayed its IPO Friday, citing poor market conditions for the offering. The company had hoped to IPO on the NASDAQ Global Market. The company is backed by MedImmune Ventures, HealthCare Ventures, and others. Despite a frenzied rush towards the IPO market in Silicon Valley, Southern California''s own crop of venture-backed companies have not seen nearly the same number of IPOs--although the region ha

Southern California 147

Southern California Monrovia Social Network Acquisition 147

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

'San Diego-based Qualcomm said today that it will begin shipping its new smartwatch on December 2nd. Qualcomm said its Qualcomm Toq will start shipping on Cyber Monday, and is compatible with Android phones. The new watch is Qualcomm''s entry into the emerging smartphone-connected watch market. The watch had been announced in September. The new device features Qualcomm''s MEMs displays, Bluetooth audio, and Qualcomm''s WiPower wireless charging technology.

San Diego 147

San Diego Marketing Technology 147

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

'A new, Los Angeles startup-- VerifyInvestor.com , said Monday that it has launched a new, online accredited investor verification service, which will help startups meet new requirements for funding with the new JOBS Act. The startup, headed by startup industry attorney Jor Law, said its service is aimed at providing a convenient, and cost-effective means to help companies verify whether their investors meed federal standards for accredited investors.

Services 140

Services .Net Venture Capital Los Angeles 140