Berkonomics
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
It is no secret that the IRS looks carefully below the surface for personal use of company assets (including cash) in its corporate income tax audits. This insight addresses more the impact of such behavior upon the actions of employees and others who observe that behavior from a senior manager or owner of a business – and know that they cannot say anything about it without jeopardizing their jobs.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
Snap Inc., parent company of ephemeral photo-sharing and messaging app Snapchat, has made public its $3 billion initial public offering of its stock on the New York Stock Exchange.
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socalTECH
JANUARY 30, 2017
Calabasas-based network testing software and hardware developer Ixia has been acquired by Keysight Technologies , in a deal worth $1.6 billion in cash, the two announced this morning. Keysight and Ixia said that Keysight will pay $19.65 per share in cash for Ixia, a premium of approximately 45 percent to Ixia's stock price on December 1st, when Ixia said it was considering "strategic alternatives".
SoCal Tech Calendar
FEBRUARY 3, 2017
Thursday, February 9, 2017 -- TCVN Workshop: Structure Your Company the Right Way. Choosing a structure for your company is typically a confusing and difficult process. Ask three lawyers and get five different answers! Corporation or LLC? Delaware, California or Nevada? C-corp. or S-corp.? Confused? Many factors come into play when choosing an organizational structure.
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.
Xconomy
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
Another major U.S. health insurer, UnitedHealthCare, has said it would cover the first-ever approved drug for the rare disease spinal muscular atrophy, a closely watched bellwether in the national debate over drug prices. While UHC’s policy is less restrictive than the one disclosed recently by rival insurer Anthem, UHC has nonetheless set limits and will only pay past an initial handful of doses if doctors can prove the drug is working.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 3, 2017
Business Journal lays out five factors that could figure in to Snap’s first year as a public company.
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
SoCal Tech Calendar
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
Wednesday, February 8, 2017 -- Silicon Beach Networking Mixer. Every month we get together to network and mingle with local startup founders and their teams. Join our group to meet new people and participate in lively discussions with outstanding names in the silicon beach community See https://www.eventbrite.com/e/silicon-beach-networking-mixer-at-wurstkuche-in-venice-tickets-31584566288?
Xconomy
JANUARY 30, 2017
When I last spoke to Sophie Vandebroek in December, it was for a kind of exit interview as she prepared to leave her longtime job as Xerox’s CTO and head of its worldwide research organization. We went over highlights of her Xerox tenure, her outlook on key technology trends for 2017 and beyond—the Internet of Everything, cognitive computing, healthcare IT, and cybersecurity chief among them—and her own plans for the future.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 1, 2017
Westside Rentals Sells to CoStar’s Apartments.com, Flipagram Acquired by Chinese Company, L.A. Region Leads Nation in Business Startups, and more.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
Los Angeles-based online technology retailer Newegg reports this morning that its B2B subsidiary, NeweggBusiness , has been awarded a General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule contract. The company said the contract will enable it to grow its revenues from agencies of the U.S. government. GSA Schedules enable government agencies to bypass drawn out competitive bidding and contract negotiations for a pre-approved list of products, where pricing and terms have already been vetted and negotiat
SoCal Tech Calendar
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
Wednesday, February 8, 2017 -- New FLOWE Wind Power Tech in SoCal. Clean Technology Council. FLOWE wind power uses spatial design to increase the efficiency of very small vertical turbine arrays. It solves large turbine issues like massive constriction and maintenance costs, increased area needs, eyesore complaints and accidental bird/bat fatalities.
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 30, 2017
Entrepreneurs are people who dream up new ideas, and then commercialize them into new businesses. Most people believe that the hard part is coming up with the idea, and the easy part is turning it into a business. Yet, in my experience as a mentor to entrepreneurs, the majority of failures I see are related to starting and growing the business, not developing the solution.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 3, 2017
Five challenges for Snap Inc. in its first year as a publicly traded company, SpaceX test fires recycled rocket, Disney pays $100 million to settle wage fixing lawsuit, and more.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 3, 2017
Irvine-based data analytics software developer Alteryx said yesterday that it has named Seth Greenberg as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), and Scott Jones as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). The company, which is backed by Iconiq Capital, Insight Venture Partners, and Meritech Capital Partners, said that Greenberg joins from LifeLock, where he also was CMO; he also has served at Intuit, serving as Vice President of Intuit QuickBooks.
SoCal Tech Calendar
FEBRUARY 1, 2017
Thursday, February 2, 2017 -- JavaScript- The Hard Parts. Learn JavaScript Meetup. This week for Javascript - The Hard Parts, we cover Callbacks and Higher Order Functions This includes how to handle or recreate the functions. See https://www.meetup.com/Learn-JavaScript/.
Xconomy
JANUARY 30, 2017
Here at the (relative) beginning of 2017, we can safely say that the previous year was among the most significant in history from a cybersecurity standpoint. Nation-state actions, in the form of the assumed Russian interference in the U.S. elections (especially the presidential race) and in the leaks of e-mails from the Clinton campaign, dominated cybersecurity news.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
Snap Inc. files for $3 billion IPO; discloses 158 million daily active users, concerns raised over cracks in SpaceX’s rockets, and Faraday Future sets sights lower, plans for smaller factory.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 1, 2017
Los Angeles-based Two Bit Circus , the STEM-focused, entertainment-and-education startup led by Brent Bushnell, is gearing up for its first beta night, which is being held in a couple of weeks. The company told the invite-only guests to the event that its first "Beta Nights With Two Bit Circus" will include a night of game playing, networking, and community-building, and pulling back the curtain on a number of its games.
SoCal Tech Calendar
FEBRUARY 1, 2017
Wednesday, February 1, 2017 -- Upfront Summit 2017. Invite only.
Xconomy
FEBRUARY 1, 2017
Fundraising is tough for startups but it’s particularly difficult in agriculture, a sector that has fewer firms focused on agtech investments. The dynamics are starting to change, though. A growing number of early-stage agtech startups are raising money and they’re pulling capital from a broader pool of sources, according to a new report from AgFunder, an online agtech investment marketplace.
L.A. Business Journal
JANUARY 31, 2017
Ahead of its forthcoming initial public offering, Snap Inc. has unlocked its automated advertising bidding program to all marketers.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
Among the massive trove of information in Venice, California-based Snap Inc. 's IPO filing on Thursday is the tidbit that the company more than tripled its number of employees in the last year, going from 600 full time employees on December 31, 2015, to 1,859 as of December 31, 2016. The company said in the S-1 that it expects headcount to grow in the foreseeable future.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 1, 2017
As an advisor to early-stage entrepreneurs, I see a lot of dreams, but not so many business results. I’m always excited by the dream, and disappointed by what I perceive as a lack of courage in many people to take the actions required to realize the dream. I’ve always wished I had a magic metaphor to motivate the best dreamers to become the best entrepreneurs.
Xconomy
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
A team of decorated academic chemists in San Diego have been working since 2014 on a biotech startup that aims to find new drugs faster. The company now has a lot of cash in the bank and a well-known biopharma scientist to guide it. Vividion Therapeutics is launching with $50 million pledged from investment firms Arch Venture Partners and Versant Ventures.
L.A. Business Journal
JANUARY 30, 2017
Online flower shop Bouqs Co. has raised a $24 million Series C round of capital led by Partech Ventures.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 1, 2017
Los Angeles-based digital advertising technology developer Centerfield announced late Tuesday that it has raised $156M in financing, and acquired performance marketing company Qology Direct. Financial details of the Qology buy were not announced. The funding came from H.I.G. Growth Partners, the dedicated growth capital investment affiliate of H.I.G.
Startup Professionals Musings
FEBRUARY 3, 2017
As an entrepreneur, you have to improvise and adapt quickly to survive and thrive in the face of the unpredictable challenges of the market. But this improvisation a not a comedy, although there are some distinct correlations, in relation to reacting, adapting, and communicating. In business and in comedy, you win most often with “Yes, and …” instead of “Yes, but ….
Xconomy
FEBRUARY 3, 2017
Folks had just clocked out last Friday when the Trump Administration announced a travel ban that threw airports around the country into chaos. That announcement set the tone for this week in life sciences. Many in biopharma blasted Trump’s order and tried to grapple with its implications. At the same time, a handful of the industry’s top CEO’s flew to Washington for a meeting with the President, who promised to speed the drug approval process, lower drug prices, and overhaul the FDA.
L.A. Business Journal
JANUARY 31, 2017
Snap Inc. opens up its automated bidding platform, Disney relaunches Club Penguin as mobile game, and Radish raises $3 million for serialized fiction stories.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 1, 2017
Hawthorne-based SpaceX has signed another contract with satellite constellation operator Iridium Communications , for the launch of as many as five additional satellites for its satellite network. Separately, the next launch by SpaceX appears to be from Florida, of a NASA payload to the International Space Station. In the Iridium Communications announcement, Iridium said it will send as many as five satellites into space alongside a seaprately payload from NASA, which is expected in early 2018 f
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 28, 2017
We all face pressure in our lives, but there’s nothing like that of an entrepreneur facing customer crises and the competitive challenges of a new business. Don’t believe the myth that all you have to do to get rich is bring up an ecommerce website, and the money rolls in while you sleep. Most successful business leaders have learned how to reframe pressure situations into opportunities.
Xconomy
JANUARY 31, 2017
Four days after President Donald Trump issued an order to temporarily ban U.S. entry for people from seven Muslim-majority countries—and for all refugees—the drug industry’s two main lobbying groups have remained silent, even while individual executives in the industry have voiced opposition. The main life science trade group in California has also stayed on the sidelines.
L.A. Business Journal
FEBRUARY 3, 2017
Snap’s IPO could create a new pecking order among L.A.’s billionaires and tech companies.
socalTECH
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
Newport Beach-based CAD/CAM software developer MSC Software is being acquired by Stockholm, Switzerland-based Hexagon AB , in a deal worth $834M, Hexagon announced this morning. MSC Software develops computer-aided engineering (CAE) software, including simulation software for virtual product and manufacturing process development. Hexagon said that MSC has over 1200 employees spread across 20 countries.
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 29, 2017
Blogging has come a long way in the past few years, from a social release for narcissists, to today’s required vehicle for promoting your consulting business and gaining valuable online exposure. Even with product businesses, it’s the ultimate way to build your brand credibility, bring in customer leads, and get feedback from your target market. Let me be clear – a product or consulting startup today without a blog, even with a static website, risks not being competitive in cost and time to reac
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 29, 2017
Trump. In a week there is enough evidence to know that he truly is the narcissistic child and xenophobic race-baiter we saw during the election and that wasn’t just reality TV to get him elected. Here is a quote you should regret believing “ The press takes him literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally.” You should all take him literally.
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