socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2015

'Do you love walking dogs? A new, Los Angeles-based startup, Zingy , is looking to create a new, online marketplace to connect dog owners with other dog lovers to help walk their dogs. According to Zingy, it has created a new, on-demand pet service which provides dog owners with access to a community of trusted dog walkers. The new marketplace startup said it is aimed at helping dog lovers earn additional income, and to help create meaningful and rewarding employment opportunities.

Class 180

Class Training Demand Los Angeles 180

InfoChachkie

JANUARY 5, 2015

'A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. In his premier film appearance in the blaxploitation send-up “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” Chris Rock inadvertently addresses a key pricing challenge faced by most entrepreneurs. Watch this 93-second clip and see if you can identify the pricing pitfall addressed in this humorous snippet. Caution: contains a bit of profanity (it is Chris Rock, after all).

Pricing 159

Pricing Product Startup Customer 159

Berkonomics

JANUARY 8, 2015

'It seems to be a rule, not an exception. The first professional senior manager that an entrepreneur hires to share the growing workload does not last more than a year. Why? Entrepreneurs start businesses with a strong vision of what and how , involved in every process from buying supplies to hiring and directly supervising early employees. The culture of the company is built day by day by those actions, often centering on the founder’s vision and management style with little room for deviati

Metrics 157

Metrics Coach Training Entrepreneur 157

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 5, 2015

'Businesses always seem to take longer to succeed than an entrepreneur expects. Seth Godin once said that overnight success in startups takes about six years, and Seth is an optimist. Thus we all look for shortcuts. Execution shortcuts would be hidden strategies to achieve the endgame sooner, without losing 40 to 60 percent of the financial potential along the way.

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Ideas Startup Demand 107

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

JANUARY 7, 2015

'Local angel groups have hit the jackpot again with an investment, this time with the October acquisition of Pasadena-based Bluebeam in a $100M deal by German software company Nemetschek AG. The Tech Coast Angels and the Pasadena Angels revealed today that their return on Bluebeam was 20x for angels who participated in funding Bluebeam. The Pasadena Angels led the 2002 investment in Bluebeam, which makes PDF software for the architecture, engineering and construction, allowing users to click bet

Tech Coast Angels 178

Tech Coast Angels Pasadena Angels .Net Angel 178

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 7, 2015

'From business to employee relations, as an organization, you have a lot on your plate. The one item that should never be ignored is security threats surrounding your IT organization. Hackers are learning new ways to infiltrate systems and steal valuable organizational information every day. It seems that no organization is safe, even the big guys are getting hit with terrible cyber attacks.

Company 66

Company Companies Organization Networking 66

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2015

'San Diego-based SweetLabs , the app distribution platform for Windows and Android, led by former DivX founder Darrius Thompson, said Tuesday that it has surpassed 1 billion app installs on its platform. SweetLabs develops a platform which allows users to install apps on PCs, much as they are used to installing apps on iOS and Android, and currently has partnerships with PC OEMs like Lenovo, Toshiba, and Acer.

San Diego 158

San Diego Platform Google Advertising 158

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2015

'Are you a web design wiz who would like to show off their web design chops to the world? LA''s General Assembly and fellow Los Angeles company.XYZ are offering up a free domain name, website hosting, and General Assembly course credits to entrants to a new design contest, which challenges web designers to create a website based on the.xyz domain extension.

Design 145

Design LMU Web Design Pepperdine 145

socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2015

'Can you smartphone help improve your phone''s wireless coverage? A new, Encinitas-based startup, Antenna79 --which says it was started by Qualcomm and LifeProof veterans--has rolled out a new, smartphone case that it says can help users improve the performance of their smartphone''s wireless. Antenna79 says its new cases couple a gold plated, embedded antenna with a protective case, and offers up to 2x the signal strength for your phone.

Startup 143

Startup Technology Equity Help 143

socalTECH

JANUARY 8, 2015

'Santa Monica-based mobile entertainment startup Seriously has tapped a 20th Century Fox veteran to head up its business development efforts, and a former Rovio exec for product development efforts, the company said Thursday. Seriously said it has hired Matt McMahon as its new VP of Business Development, and Mikko Hakkinen as Head of Product. McMahan was most recently VP of Mobile at 20th Century Fox, in charge of such mobile games for Family Guy, Ice Age, Avatar and The Simpsons.

Santa Monica 139

Santa Monica Mobile Entertainment Capital 139

socalTECH

JANUARY 5, 2015

'Playa Vista-based Belkin is significantly expanding its ecosystem of its Wemo connected home devices, with the introduction of a number of addition Wemo-enabled devices at CES--including Wemo Water, which uses a single sensor attached to a water pipe in your home to track water usage across the house; door and window sensors to monitor if anyone has left a door and window open in your home; a key fob sensor which can track people and pets throughout the home; an alarm monitoring device which li

Belkin 139

Belkin Product Company Companies 139

socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2015

'San Diego-based QuickFire Networks , a developer of technology being aimed at speeding encoding of streaming video, has been acquired by Facebook , the company announced on its website Thursday. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. QuickFire Networks, which was led by Craig Y. Lee, said it would be winding down its business operations, and that key members of its team will be joining Facebook to work on the company''s video streaming efforts.

Networking 135

Networking San Diego Acquisition Software 135

socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2015

'Irvine-based Zumasys , a developer of cloud computing products for the business market, said today that it has acquired the jBase database product from Temenos. Financial terms of the deal were not announced. jBase is a cloud-based, database product which connects applications built on the Pick operating system with SQL Server, Oracle, and the cloud.

Cloud Computing 135

Cloud Computing Oracle Acquisition Product 135

socalTECH

JANUARY 8, 2015

'San Diego-based sales software developer Seismic has raised $20M in a Series B funding round, to go towards its sales content management software, the company said this morning. The funding was led by JMI Equity, and also included Sigma West. As part of the funding, JMI''s Peter Arrowsmith joins the company''s board of directors. Seismic said it will use the funding for product and sales, marketing, and customer support.

Content 131

Content Software San Diego Sales 131

socalTECH

JANUARY 8, 2015

'Irvine-based a href="[link] said this morning that it hs launched a new family of products aimed at the electronic signature market. Kofax said its new Kofax SignDoc products are aimed at the enterprise and government agencies, and lets those customers implement e-signatures into almost any business process. Kofax said its e-signature product offers up both "click to sign" and handwritten signature capture, as well as ability to capture biometric information at the time of the signature.

Marketing 131

Marketing Pricing Software Product 131

socalTECH

JANUARY 8, 2015

'Agoura Hills-based TouchCommerce , the provider of customer engagement services and software, reported today that Total Gym Fitness is using the company''s solution on smartphones. TouchCommerce said that Total Gym is using its mobile TouchGuide product on smartphones, to help convert customers, by providing a step-by-step, automated product comparisons.

Agoura Hills 131

Agoura Hills Agoura Guide Mobile 131

socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2015

'Los Angeles-based cloud storage and backup service iDrive has rolled out a new product, which combines the convenience of a local, Wi-Fi storage device with the company''s cloud storage and backup service. iDrive said its new wireless hard drive, the IDrive Wi-Fi , provides up to 2TB of data storage directly linked to the company''s cloud. iDrive said the new device makes it much easier to back up and restore data from the cloud, over a speedy Wi-Fi connection, rather than what can be much slow

Los Angeles 131

Los Angeles Services Product Angel 131

socalTECH

JANUARY 5, 2015

'San Diego-based DivX is changing hands, once again, and has been acquired by streaming video technology provider NeuLion , the two companies said Monday, in a deal worth $62.5 million, split between $37.5M in NeuLion stock and a $25M convertible note. NeuLion said that DivX had an estimated GAP unaudited revenues of $10.8M for the six months ended September 30th.

San Diego 131

San Diego Acquisition Capital Technology 131

socalTECH

JANUARY 8, 2015

'Santa Monica-based CARD.com , which offers up personalized prepaid MasterCards from a growing catalog of brands, said today that it has signed two new partnerships--one bringing Paddington Bear cards to the market, and another with celebrity chef Jason Santos. In the Paddington Bear deal, CARD.com said it will offer up thirteen card images featuring the Paddington children''s character.

Santa Monica 130

Santa Monica Mobile Marketing 130

socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2015

'San Luis Obispo-based Shopatron , which develops cloud-based online order management software, said Thursday that it has partnered with e-commerce provider Mozu and Brand Labs. The companies said the effort is aimed at helping retailers with their e-commerce efforts. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Shopatron helps provide software to help fulfill e-commerce orders for retailers, handling such efforts as in-store pickup, shipping from stores, drop shipping, and more.

Commerce 125

Commerce Software Help Develop 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 9, 2015

'Intuit''s TurboTax division has kicked off the tax filing year, saying Thursday that it has rolled out its free, online filing of tax returns for Americans. TurboTax--which has for a number of years offered up free filing of federal returns--said this year, it will be also be filing state tax returns at no cost for its users. The company--whose TurboTax software division is based in San Diego--said that its free filing product will be zero cost an expected 60 million Americans who file 1040A an

San Diego 125

San Diego Software Product Company 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 8, 2015

'For our Insights and Opinions section today, where we share advice, thoughts, and more from the local community, we have a piece from Nick Hedges , the President and CEO of Los Angeles-based Velocify. 2015 will be the year that transforms the daily activity of the sales rep. The coming of age of support technologies, built on big data analytics and social networks will profoundly affect the day-to-day focus of sales organizations.

Sales 125

Sales Technology Social Network Los Angeles 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2015

'Irvine-based customer service outsourcing provider Alorica said Wednesday afternoon that it has paid $275M for the agent services businesses of West Corporation. Alorica said that those businesses represented approximately $580M in revenues for West in 2014. Alorica said it has also hired 1,500 nearshore employees in Jamaica and Mexico, 5,400 offshore employees in the Philippines, and 18,400 domestic employees to the company--bringing the company''s total employee base to over 48,000.

Offshore 125

Offshore Outsource Customer Custom 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2015

'Do you wish you could get you and your friends into the hottest nightclubs--all from your smartphone or tablet? Los Angeles-based Discotech is looking to help you reserve bottle service, find events, and sign up for the VIP guest lists at local nightclubs, and says that it now has over 20,000 users using its app. The startup said its four founders, who all graduated from UC Berkeley, specifically moved to Los Angeles in September of 2013 to launch the app, which is now live in Los Angeles, Las

Services 125

Services Los Angeles Hollywood Mobile 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2015

'Pasadena-based enterprise search software developer X1 --one of the longest running offshoots of Idealab--reported today that it had a "record" sales year for the company in 2014. The company said it saw a sales increase of nearly 70 percent over 2013. Actual company financials were not announced. The company said its biggest purchase was a $1M contract from a large, US government agency for a 20,000 seat install of its software.

Idealab 125

Idealab Outsource Development Pasadena Sales 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2015

'Fountain Valley-based flash memory maker Kingston Digital is targeting the new 4K and HD video capture market, with a brand new, ultra high speed microSD flash memory card. According to Kingston Digital, its newest product provides UHS-I Speed Class 3, 90MB/sec read, and 80M/sec write, which is specifically aimed at enabling the capture of 4K2K video.

Class 125

Class Writing Marketing Product 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2015

'Glendale-based LegalZoom said today that it is expanding in the United Kingdom, after being approved as an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) in that country--the first step in allowing the company to provide legal services in the UK. LegalZoom said it is the first US company to be licensed as a provider of reserved legal activities in the UK. LegalZoom''s efforts in the UK will be led by Craig Holt, who previously founded a network of local law firms in the UK called Quality Solicitors.

Legalzoom 125

Legalzoom Glendale Activity Networking 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2015

'Monster , the consumer electronics firm which co-designed the original Beats By Dr. Dre headphones , has sued Beats Electronics , saying that Beats stole the technology behind its immensely popular headphones from the company. Monster claims it was defrauded of its share of the $3 billion that was paid for Beats by Apple last year. Monster is now seeking punitive damages in lawsuit, which was filed in the San Mateo County Superior Court.

Design 125

Design Technology Company Companies 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2015

'Glendale-based Everbridge , the provider of unified and emergency communications services, said Tuesday that it has acquired Nixle , a developer of a software platform used by public safety, government agencies, and others to communicate emergency and other information. Financial terms of the asset deal were not disclosed. Everbridge said it also acquired the team of San Francisco-based Nixle, which had around 7,000 customers in the public safety and government area signed up for its service.

Glendale 125

Glendale Acquisition Platform Services 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2015

'Two, local Los Angeles area startup investors have gotten an early--and potentially, very lucrative--exit over at Wit.ai , a Bay Area startup working on natural language processing software and voice recognition technology. Wit.ai said today that it has been acquired by Facebook. Financial terms were not disclosed, however, Wit.ai had only raised $3M in a seed funding in October of 2014, which was led by Andreessen Horowitz, and also included Ignition Partners, NEA, A-Grade, SVAngel, Eric Hahn,

Seed Funding 125

Seed Funding Invest Acquisition Los Angeles 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2015

'Carlsbad-based RF and mixed signal IC provider MaxLinear has scored a design win with telecommunications networking company Hitron Technologies , saying that Hitron is using its chips for a new family of DOCSIS products. MaxLinear said Hitron is using its MxL268 Full-Spectrum Capture (FSC) 32-channel digital cable front-end receiver and the MxL231 programmable gain amplifier (PGA) as part of a new family of products for the cable market.

Design 125

Design Networking Product Marketing 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2015

'Hawthorne-based SpaceX scrubbed an attempt this morning to launch another resupply mission to the International Space Station, after encountering some technical issues. SpaceX had hoped to launch its CRS-5 mission to the ISS at 6:20am EST today, but scrubbed the launch about 90 second before it was to depart from the launch pad. SpaceX''s next launch window is 5:09 a.m. on Friday from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

SpaceX 125

SpaceX Hawthorne Research 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 6, 2015

'Los Angeles-based 3D theater projection technology provider RealD said today that it has named Anthony Marcoly as the company''s new President, Worldwide Cinema. Marcoly was previously President, Paramount Pictures International, and also spent over 26 years at The Walt Disney Company. His last position at Disney was President, International Theatrical.

Paramount 125

Paramount Los Angeles Technology Angel 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 5, 2015

'Calabasas-based Spotlight Ticket Management , the venture-backed startup which helps companies manage their corporate sports and entertainment tickets for big brands like Coca Cola, Google, Comcast, and many others, has renamed itself Ticketmanager , the company said today. Ticketmanager is venture backed by Point Judith Capital and Coyote Ridge Ventures, and raised a $6M funding round earlier in 2014.

Calabasas 125

Calabasas Entertainment Google Sales 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 5, 2015

'Epicor , the big enterprise software developer which has extensive operations in Orange County, said Monday that it has completed its acquisition of ShopVisible , the developer of e-commerce and order management software. The deal had been announced originally on December 11th. No financial details of the acquisition deal have been announced by either of the companies.

Orange County 125

Orange County SaaS Acquisition Commerce 125

socalTECH

JANUARY 5, 2015

'Santa Ana-based UEI reported a win this morning with Comcast , saying that it will supply voice remote controls for Comcast''s XFINITY services. Financial details of the agreement were not announced. Universal Electronics said it has already been a supplier of remote controls, remote control technology, and other services to Comcast. The new remote controls apparently include voice commands to change channels and search for shows, over-the-air firmware updates, and other features for Comcast''s

Report 125

Report Services Technology 125