Sat.Dec 17, 2016 - Fri.Dec 23, 2016

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How to plan to make a successful acquisition

Berkonomics

One of my company CEO’s recently described his rule for acquisition success, and it resonated with me as a great goal for planning during acquisition exercises. This CEO states that he has made it work twice when acquiring companies, and that is enough for him to make it his rule for all future acquisitions. If the target company is able to show a ten percent EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization), then the acquisition team should be able to create a way to

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Reflections on 2016: Kevin Winston, Digital LA

socalTECH

This holiday season, we are again sharing the reflections on 2016 from Southern California's technology ecosystem. This morning, we have Kevin Winston of Digital LA (www.digitalla.net), the organization which is LA's largest digital networking group and which is behind the Silicon Beach Fest, the first and largest tech, startup and entertainment conference in LA.

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Aecom Joint Venture Team Wins San Onofre Decommissioning Project

L.A. Business Journal

A joint venture team including L.A.’s Aecom Technology Corp. has been awarded a contract for part of the decommissioning process of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear generating station in northern San Diego County.

San Diego 158
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Startup Cafe

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, December 20, 2016 -- Startup Cafe #2. Hosted by Startups In The Sky @ Industrious Los Angeles. See https://startupcafe2.splashthat.com/.

Startup 100
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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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What Is Causing Startups to Go Bankrupt?

Xconomy

Many startups have a great product that’s viable, marketable, and ripe with potential. But if that was the only indicator of success, then nine out of 10 startups wouldn’t fail. The annals of startup history wouldn’t be littered with instances of companies like Friendster or Color that had fantastic products, but eventually sank. The truth is that startups often go bankrupt for reasons that extend beyond the viability of their products.

Startup 74
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Stop, Breathe, and Think: Using Your Smartphone To Tackle Your Emotional Health

socalTECH

As we head towards the end of the year, a lot of people are starting to think about New Year's resolutions, and how to improve their life. One area is to improve your emotional wellness and health. Los Angeles-based Stop, Breathe, and Think (www.stopbreathethink.org) has created an app to help you have better awareness of your emotional health, and�using meditation and other exercises�helps you gain better mastery over your emotions.

Startup 142

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Encore Entrepreneur Is The New Baby Boomer Lifestyle

Startup Professionals Musings

Contrary to what you might guess, the highest rate of entrepreneurial growth over the last few years is not Gen-Y upstarts, but Boomers over the age of 50, now called encore entrepreneurs. In fact, according to the most recent Index of Startup Activity by the Kauffman Foundation and recent SBA reports , these Baby Boomers are actually driving a new entrepreneurship boom.

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7 Ways to Secure Your Connected Devices Against Hackers

Xconomy

’Tis the season for giving gifts. And increasingly, those shiny new toys and gadgets can be connected to the Internet—from TVs to watches, speakers to Barbie dolls. That Internet connection opens up a ton of possibilities for how we can use and enjoy our new devices. (“Alexa, play my Christmas playlist on Spotify, and also order my favorite pizza from Domino’s,” says my future self.

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Appetize Raises $20M In Funding, Ramps Hiring

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based point-of-sale technology developer Appetize said Tuesday that it has raised $20M in a new funding round, led by private equity investor Shamrock Capital Advisors. Oak View Group, led by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, also participated, along other investors. As part of the funding, the company said that Shamrock's Andy Howard and Alan Resnikoff have joined the company's board of directors, with Oak View's Leiweke joining as an observor.

Funding 142
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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 19: Rubicon Project Tests Tool to Block, Snooze, or Like Ads

L.A. Business Journal

Rubicon Project tests tool to block, snooze, or like ads, Snapchat gives celebrities no special treatment, and Elon Musk proposes a tunneling company.

Tool 151
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8 Key Principles To Keep Up With The Speed of Change

Startup Professionals Musings

Things change so fast these days in business that your first priority as an entrepreneur is to stay current, by talking to customers, peers, and experts. Secondly, you must constantly communicate suggested changes to your team, implement necessary pivots, and realign all the elements of your business, including partners, investors, and vendors. No change means falling behind.

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14 for ’17: Key Clinical Data To Watch For Next Year (Part 2)

Xconomy

We continue our look ahead to some of the clinical data due in 2017 that could shape healthcare practice and sway investor sentiment for years to come. Part one of our preview is here , with looks at key studies in lung cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, and more. In part two, we examine studies in leukemia, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, postpartum depression, amyloidosis, and Zika virus vaccine. [ Editor’s note: Ben Fidler and Frank Vinluan contributed t

Study 67
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Report: Snap Buys Ad Tech Firm Flite

socalTECH

Venice-based Snap , the parent firm of Snapchat, has acquired San Francisco-based ad technology developer Flite , according to reports this morning. According to recode, the acquisition is an "acquihire", and Snap is using the buy to help bring in new ad technology talent, rather than any software developed by Flite. The deal has not yet been announced by either company.

Report 133
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Walt Disney Merges Maker with Competing Department

L.A. Business Journal

Walt Disney Co. has swept its subsidiary Maker Studios into a new area within its digital consumer products and interactive media division.

Media 118
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10 Reasons That Collaboration Is The New Imperative

Startup Professionals Musings

Any entrepreneur with a vision can postulate a new business, but it takes a collaboration of many people to make it a success. Today the complexity of forces required for success include multi-disciplinary skills, competencies, and experiences in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Entrepreneurs who embrace the “lone wolf” approach usually live to regret it.

Study 62
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Ionis, Biogen Make History With FDA Nod for Spine Disease Drug

Xconomy

Patients with spinal muscular atrophy got an early Christmas present on Friday. The FDA approved nusinersen (Spinraza), making the drug the first-ever marketed treatment for the rare, potentially deadly genetic disorder. Nusinersen is an injectable drug developed by Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IONS ) and partner Biogen (NASDAQ: BIIB ), and is meant to slow the progression of the disease.

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TaskUs Hires More Than 5,300 In 2016, Now At 7,000 Employees

socalTECH

Santa Monica-baseed digital outsourcing provider TaskUs , led by Bryce Maddock and Jaspar Weir, said Tuesday evening that it hired over 5,300 employees in 2016, and now has more than 7,000 total employees spread across eleven different offices. The outsourcer, which provides back office services to many, major Internet services, app developers, and others, says it has increased its revenue by 410 percent over the last 2 years.

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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 20: Walt Disney Merges Maker with Competing Department

L.A. Business Journal

Walt Disney merges Maker with competing department, Snap Inc. acquires ad tech firm, Faraday Future attacks journalists on Twitter, and more.

Report 109
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10 Recommendations For Getting Ahead In Any Business

Startup Professionals Musings

Does it sometimes seem like people all around you are getting promoted, or leaving to start their own business, while all your hard work and experience are getting you nowhere? Maybe it’s time to take a hard look at your habits and the perceptions they convey, compared to some of the other people on your team. These people can’t all be related to the boss, or be just lucky.

Startup 60
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Acadia Drug Shows Early Promise in Treating Alzheimer’s Psychosis

Xconomy

An Acadia Pharmaceuticals drug developed to treat hallucinations and delusions experienced by Parkinson’s disease patients is now showing signs it could also treat similar psychoses associated with Alzheimer’s disease. San Diego-based Acadia (NASDAQ: ACAD ) reported that patients treated in an exploratory study with its drug pimavanserin showed a statistically significant reduction in psychosis compared against a group given a placebo.

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Soylent Supplier Cuts Off Supplies, Takes Issue With Recall Handling

socalTECH

A major supplier of supplies to Los Angeles-based Soylent said on Tuesday that it has suspended its supply of all of its ingredients to Soylent, after Soylent had blamed the company's algal flour for the violent gastrointestinal distress suffered by some of its customers. According to TerraVia Holdings, it has suspended supplying Soylent with all of its ingredients, effective immediately saying it is "surprised and disappointed" that Soylent has implied its algal flour was to blame for the high

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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 21: Snap Opens China Office

L.A. Business Journal

Snap Inc. opens China office, Walt Disney to produce content for Snapchat, and TaskUs hires 5,700 employees in 2016.

Snapchat 110
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5 Startup Strategies To Capitalize On Today’s Culture

Startup Professionals Musings

Some investors seem to focus wholly on the strengths of the management team, or a sustainable competitive advantage, and in reality these are the core attributes for every funding equation. While these may be necessary for funding, they may not be sufficient to make your startup the great success embodied in your vision. In the last few years, perhaps in reaction to the business integrity issues leading to the recession back in 2008, I am seeing a renewed focus on other less tangible attributes

Capital 58
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14 For ’17: Key Clinical Data to Watch For Next Year (Part 1)

Xconomy

[Editor’s note: Alex Lash and Frank Vinluan contributed to this report.] After years of research, frustration, hype, and millions (sometimes hundreds of millions) of dollars invested, a drug program boils down to the clinical data—usually from big, late-stage studies—that can sometimes make or break a company. There were high profile successes in 2016.

Study 60
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Amavitae Targets Job Skills Gap

socalTECH

Need to find a job, but finding you just don't have the right background to land a position? Santa Monica-based Amavitae is hoping its mobile app will help advance your career. The startup, which launched earlier this month, said it has created an app which helps provide pathways to the education and training you need for the job you want. The startup said its app--which runs on Android and iOS--helpsp provide free assessment to users, using an analysis of education, experience, military status,

Education 124
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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 22: Jaunt Launches VR app for PlayStation

L.A. Business Journal

Jaunt Launches VR app for PlayStation.

Report 119
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The gift-giving platform that offers experiences instead of things

Tech Zulu Event

If you’re going to spend a good amount of money on a gift for someone, you want it to be something special, something thoughtful, something they can look back on in a few years time and be reminded of the wonderful person you are. After all, material things can only satisfy someone for so long – possessions can get lost or broken but good memories can last a lifetime.

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Industry Needs Common Security Standards to Thwart IoT Attacks

Xconomy

A silver lining has emerged in the wake of the massive and well-publicized denial-of-service attack launched less than two months ago by hackers using millions of IoT devices to cripple the websites of major companies like Amazon, Netflix and Twitter. This ambush has triggered a redoubling of efforts to focus on the need for industry-led cybersecurity standards for IoT devices.

Netflix 56
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Rubicon Project: Our System Protected From Big Russian Ad Fraud Operation

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based advertising marketplace operator Rubicon Project and its partner White Ops , a provider of human verification services for the digital ad market, said their combined efforts have protected buyers on sellers on Rubicon's marketplace from a major Russian advertising fraud effort uncovered this month. The two said they have been protecting its users from the "Methbot" fraud operation--which reportedly was hauling in $3M to $5M a day from phony web sites and ads --ad was generating

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Silicon Beach Report Dec. 23: Snapchat Launches Filter Game

L.A. Business Journal

Snap Inc.’s Snapchat launches filter game.

Snapchat 116
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Remote Entrepreneurship: How Startups are Going Global

AllTopStartups

Ask the average person what his idea of a startup is, and he’ll likely describe someone at a card table in his garage with a laptop developing a product or… The post Remote Entrepreneurship: How Startups are Going Global appeared first on AllTopStartups.

Startup 40
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The Price of Growth: Founders’ Dilution

Xconomy

Founders of a company considering the various available fundraising options often ask the challenging question: Why take venture capital money, which may significantly dilute the founders and might result in a loss of control of the company? Although the venture capital path is always a possibility, founders are often concerned about the consequences of such investments.

Pricing 55
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Fandango Plans Move To New Office In Beverly Hills

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Fandango says it is planning to move its office, currently on W. Olympic Boulevard, to a new office in Beverly Hills, the company said this week. According to Fandango, the move will happen sometime in mid-2017, with the company occupying the top two floors of the four story building at 407 Maple Drive. The company said the move comes in order to have more office space for an expanded workforce, after the company acquired Rotten Tomatoes, Flixter, and FandangoNOW (M-GO) this ye

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Qualcomm, Lionsgate Team On Power Rangers VR

socalTECH

San Diego-based Qualcomm and Los Angeles-based Lionsgate said this morning that the two are in ap artnership, where they will power a new Power Rangers Virtual Reality (VR) experience, which will roll out at CES. The two said the VR experience will let audiences to "enter the zords of their favorite Power Ranger". Financial details of the collaboration were not announced.

San Diego 118
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Snap Opening Office In China

socalTECH

Venice, California-based Snap , the parent company of Snapchat , has opened up an office in China, according to job posts and information surfaced via Chinese social media this week. The new office, in Shenzhen, will work on R&D for the company's new Spectacles product, its camera-enabled sunglasses product. Reports say so far, the office has around 20 employees, out of a total of around 1,500 total employees at Snap.

Snapchat 118
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OneRoof Energy Cuts Staff, Starts Winding Down Operations

socalTECH

San Diego-based residential solar power installer OneRoof Energy said late Friday that it has "significantlyr educed" its work force, and has begun winding down its operations, after it said it was unable to secure financing necessary to continue sales, marketing, and development. The company did not say how many people it laid off in the move. The company said it is now "considering various measures to preserve cash" and looking to "maximize the value of its assets.

San Diego 116