Both Sides of the Table
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
'If you Can’t Make Time, MakeSpace. A few months ago I wrote about an entrepreneur, Sam Rosen, whom we brought on as an EIR at Upfront Ventures. I would have liked to have been even more Upfront with you back then about our intentions with Sam but out of respect to him we held back on our broader thesis until now. Today we announced our launch. Here’s the deal.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 27, 2013
'Organizers of the annual Siemer Silicon Beach Summit said this week that they''ve created a new prize, worth $160,000, which it will award to a startup, in a combination of cash and services. Siemer Ventures, Manatt Digital Media, Grant Thorton, Trinet, and SocialRadius said the "Big Kahuna Award", which is part of its annual WaveMaker Awards recognizing companies with the potential for rapid scaling and success, will receive $75,000 in cash from Siemer VEntures and Manatt Venture Fund, plus $8
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Berkonomics
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
'So you’ve found the buyer, received a letter of interest, signed it, and tied your company up for a period to complete the deal. Everyone on the board is anxious to close this. You’ve committed time to do whatever is needed. You’ve informed your top management of the pending deal and they know they will be impacted and are a bit skittish. You wonder if you should make a public announcement to your troops, worrying over loss of focus, people thinking of jumping ship, competitors finding mors
InfoChachkie
SEPTEMBER 23, 2013
'A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. Pilot agreements are provisional contracts under which companies can assess the veracity of a potential, long-term relationship. Startups often pursue such arrangements, hoping it will reduce the friction normally encountered during the negotiation process and lead to revenue more quickly. Ironically, the result is often just the opposite.
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.
Eric Greenspan
SEPTEMBER 27, 2013
'Eric Greenspan at Macaw Coffee Company Farm. My latest venture is coffee. Yes, coffee. After 20+ years as an IT geek, I’ve jumped ship. After starting my career with IBM and building three successful IT companies, I’ve decided to follow my true passion. I’ve been a foodie most of my life, so this fits me quite well. As far as technology goes, sure, I’ll be using my knowledge and skills to develop a business around technology and the process of producing our product uses
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
'Online peer-to-peer room rental marketplace Airbnb is launching a big promotion in Los Angeles this weekend, with five "pop-up" houses which it is erecting in locations around the city, created by local celebrities. Airbnb said its "pop-up" houses--prefab houses being installed at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, The Cook''s Garden by HGEL in Venice, The Arts District, The Viper Room, and The Grove--will be bookable by users, and were designed by James Franco, Anjelica Huston, Moby, Molly Sims &
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Startup Professionals Musings
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
'A good entrepreneur is not necessarily born a good salesman. In fact, they are often the opposite, more focused on building things rather than selling them. Yet, in today’s world of information overload, marketing and selling skills are critical to the success of every startup. The alternative “If we build it, they will come” approach has long been relegated to the field of dreams , after Kevin Costner’s movie by the same name.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
'There''s been a lot of buzz about tech mogul Elon Musks''s idea behind "Hyperloop"--a concept to make transit between Los Angeles and San Francisco in only minutes, using 800 mph, aluminum pods. However, Musk''s idea has only been that--an idea--with no plans to actually implement the transportation system. Los Angeles-based JumpStartFund wants to change that, and said today that it has tapped two notable engineers to head up crowd-sourcing on its site for the concept.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
'Looking for a weekend getaway? WanderWe , a new, online travel site from Los Angeles-based Oversee.net, said today that it has launched, to help travelers find and book short trips, within a 500 mile radius of home. The new site says it allows travelers to find short trips, based on distance from home, budget, and the kind of experience they''d like to have, and was specifically designed for tablet browsing.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
'Frank Slootman , the CEO of San Diego-based ServiceNow , has invested in a big data startup, as he continues to expand out his angel funding activity. According to Mountain View-based BlueData , Slootman was one of the angels in a new, $15M Series B funding round raised by the company. That round was led by Ignition Partners, and also included Atlantic Bridge Ventures, Intel Capital, Amplify Partners and Data Collective.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
'Santa Monica-based TigerText , the developer of secure, real time messaging services, reported a win in Connecticut, with healthcare network Hartford HealthCare, and the University of Connecticut''s School of Medicine Residency Program. TigerText said its secure, HIPPA-compliant text messaging services are being used across Hartford Hospital, Hospital of Central Connecticut, MidState Medical, Windham Hospital and the Hartford HealthCare Medical Group to streamline communications.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
'Video and music streaming device developer Roku and Culver City-based online movie streaming service M-GO said this morning that the two are in a partnership, which will give Roku customers direct access to movies and TV shows via M-GO. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Roku said the M-GO service will be accessible via "moves" and "TV shows" shortcuts on its streaming device.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
'Shutterkeep , a new, Los Angeles startup, said this morning that it has launched a new, unlimited photo storage service targeted at photographers and other creative professionals. Shutterkeep said its service is unique in its support for RAW format photographs and preservation of photos in their original resolution. Most online photo storage services are aimed at consumers, and typically re-size or limit the resolution of the photos stored in those services, making them of limited use to profes
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
'Kickstarted , a new online community focused on successfully crowdfunded projects, launched today, in an effort to connect the organizers of crowdfunded projects from such sites as IndieGogo, Kickstarter, and other projects with customers. The Los Angeles area startup is hoping to make it easier for crowdfunded projects to find additional customers for their projects, by streamlining request for samples, communication via email, Facbeook, Twitter, SMS, and more.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
'Los Angeles-based venture capital investment firm DFJ Frontier is bolstering its ranks, and has snagged an entertainment and media veteran as a new Venture Partner at the company. According to DFJ Frontier, it has added Bruce Long has previously served as an executive at such companies as Technicolor, Deluxe, and Ascent Four Media. He''s also served at Encore Video/Encore Visual Effects, Heroes Title Design, Next Element, CBS Music, Iconix Imaging, Bancom Financial Corporation, and New Antics.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
'Burner , the Los Angeles startup which lets users create one-time, "burnable" phone numbers for temporary use, has raised $2M in a seed funding, the company said today. The funding came from Founder Collective and Venrock, as well as 500 Startups, angel David Cohen, and TenOneTen. David Frankel of Founder Collective, and Marissa Camprise of Venrock have both joined the company''s board with the funding.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 23, 2013
'Deka , a new startup developing custom Bluetooth headsets, said today that it has launched a crowdfunding effort to help launch the company. The startup--led by Erik Adams--said it is raising $100,000 on an Indiegogo campaign for its products, which let users create their own, custom 3D printed Bluetooth headsets. The company says it is developing custom, 3D printed covers for headsets, ranging from daisies to skulls, to help decorate a Bluetooth headset for a user.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 23, 2013
'Los Angeles-based online advertising technology provider OpenX announced this morning that it has named former SpotRunner executive John Gentry as its President. Gentry was President of Spot Runner, and also served as Chief Revenue Officer at Green Dot, SVP and GM at Overture Services, and also had been at Disney/ABC Cable Networks and Discovery Communications.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
'Jason Calacanis , the serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and conference organizer, announced Tuesday morning that it has closed his first, formal angel investing fund, The LAUNCH Fund I. Calacanis said the fund will invest $100-$250K in 50-100 startups. LPs in the fund include Calacanis, David Sacks, and others. Calacanis has already been making investments as part of his LAUNCH Festival, and the new fund will also be invested in companies presenting at those startup launch events.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
'Los Angeles-based NameLayer , a company which has been accumulating a portfolio of tech-startup friendly domain names, has been acquired by startup accelerator TechStars. NameLayer--which was founded by Julian Shapiro and Edward Zeiden--had develops an algorithm to selectively purchase and commercialize domain names in an automated way, and was founded in 2011.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
'Who are the top 100 up-and-comers in Southern California''s technology industry ? We''re looking to identify those in the technology industry across all sectors who are most likely to create the next big thing, produce the next big exit or to influence the industry in a significant way. socalTECH is looking to honor the future of our industry here through identifying our list of the "Socaltech 100", which we will announce in a few months--after taking suggestions and nominations from our reader
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
'San Diego-based PatientSafe Solutions , a developer of mobile healthcare software, has received a strategic investment, bringing its Series C funding to $27M. According to PatientSafe, the strategic investment came from EDBI, the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board. The Series C funding was led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, and also included Camden Partners, TPG Biotech, and Psilos Group.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 27, 2013
'The newly launched, online home improvement project site and community Porch , which is split between San Diego and Seattle, is in the midst of raising $27.7M in a funding round, according to a regulatory filing by the firm this week. According to the filing, the company has so far raised $8.2M in its funding round, which kicked off a couple of weeks ago.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
'Unmanned aerial vehicle company 3D Robotics announced Thursday that it has raised a huge, $30M funding round for the company, which was founded by Chris Anderson and Jordi Munoz. The San Diego company aid the funding round was led by Foundry Group and True VEntures, and also included O''Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and SK Ventures. 3D Robotics develops both software and hardware which can be used to create your own drones.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 23, 2013
'Culver City- and Seattle-based Indi Molecular , a startup developing a synthetic replacement for antibodies, has raised $1.5M in a seed funding round. The funding was led by InterWest Partners, and also included a number of un-named angel investors. Indi Molecular''s technology is based on PCC (protein catalyzed capture) agent technology licensed from the California Institute of Technology.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
'Culver City-based Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has acquired the home entertainment (Blu-ray and DVD) rights to the new, animated Angry Birds Toons series, the company said today, and expects to have the first volume of the animated series on Blu-ray and DVD by December. Financial details of the licensing deal were not announced. Sony Pictures is already releasing the theatrical, 3D Angry Birds title in 2016.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
'San Diego-based wireless equipment provider Novatel Wireless is deploying another product today, a 4G LTE broadband router, in conjunction with Verizon. According to Novatel Wireless, the new router--which provides both voice and data connections for in-home and small offices--started shipping online and is available at Verizon stores, as of this morning.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
'Donuts , the domain name registry companies targeting the emerging generic, top-level domain name (gTLD) market, has launched a new service aimed at protecting trademarks across its portfolio of gTLDs, the company announced today. Donuts--which has major operations in Los Angeles--said that its new Domains Protected Marks List (DPML) service will allow trademark owners to protect all of their terms, across its range of gTLDs, at a cost significantly less than the usual practice of defensively r
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 24, 2013
'San Diego-based life sciences products company Sequenom reported late Monday that it has engaged Jefferies LLC as a financial advisor, to review potential "strategic alternatives" for its Genetic Analysis business segment. Sequenom said it is looking at a "full range of potential strategic alternatives" for the business. Sequenom develops a range of genetic analysis and diagnostic testing products.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 23, 2013
'Postcard On The Run , the Los Angeles startup led by Josh Brooks, is powering a new free postcard promotion from Sony Pictures. According to Postcard On The Run, users of its app for iOS, Android, or Windows Phone can send a free postcard courtesy of Sony Pictures, in a promotion for Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2. Users of the app can use promo code CLOUDY to send a free postcard.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 23, 2013
'Irvine-based enhanced voicemail provider YouMail has updated its iPhone app, saying that it has added a new feature to let users annotate their voicemails. The company said the new feature lets users annotate important messages in the system, and comes as part of a big update to help fix bugs, crashes, and other issues in the company''s app. YouMail''s service provides custom voicemail mailboxes, call screening, voicemail transcription, and much more to both business and home users.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 23, 2013
'San Diego-based life sciences equipment developer Illumina said this morning that it has named Dr. Richard Klausner as its new Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. Klausner was previously a managing partner at venture capital firm The Column Group, and also has served at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and National Cancer Institute.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 27, 2013
'Los Angeles-based deal room software-as-a-service provider CapLinked recently rolled out a new feature which captures version information between documents uploaded to the service, adding even more functionality into the company''s service. The company''s new feature lets users upload multiple versions of a file, tracking old versions of the file, and ability to restore old versions from an archive.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
'Santa Monica-based coworking space Cross Campus said Wednesday that it is shifting its space to a new location at the corner of Colorado Avenue and 10th street. According to Cross Campus, it has outgrown its current coworking space, and the new location will also give it access to the upcoming Expo line. Cross Campus said the move is part of an expansion move for Cross Campus, both in Southern California and nationally.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 26, 2013
'Santa Monica-based content delivery network operator EdgeCast Networks said this morning that it has added a new CFO, plus has added a new office in London. According to EdgeCast, it has named John Powers as its new CFO, and has appointed former CFO Mike Kleiman as its new COO. In addition to the new appointments, EdgeCast said that co-founder and chief revenue officer Phil Goldsmith has relocated to London, as part of an expansion by the company to Europe.
socalTECH
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
'Los Angeles-based movie ticketing and information site Fandango announced Wednesday that it has launched a brand new site, focused on horror films. The new Fandango House of Screams includes original videos from film producer and rocker Slash, including highlights of upcoming horror films and related content. Fandango also said it will be producing its own, special features and a "Behind the Screams" video mini-series focused on Universal Studios'' Halloween Horror Nights.
Expert insights. Personalized for you.
340 
Let's personalize your content