Sat.Jan 26, 2013 - Fri.Feb 01, 2013

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Goodbye Jody. You Really Were Awesome

Both Sides of the Table

Jody. You’re gone too early. We still had so many more times to spend together. I loved this image I saw posted by Andy Rankin. Because this is the one word that was not in your vocabulary. And it was the first word I muttered when I heard the news tonight. I remember when we met years ago. I think Michael Kantor introduced us. You were pitching me an online business selling other people’s baby food.

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Capturing The Entrepreneurial Energy At StartEngine's Demo Day

socalTECH

It was standing room only at StartEngine 's Demo Day Wednesday afternoon, held at Santa Monica's Cross Campus , as the startup accelerator launched eight of its latest startups into the world, after a 90 day process of mentoring, honing their business model, and heads down development. In a way, the event--like the Demo Days from the other accelerators around town--seems to have focused the startup community and prospective startup community on the possibilities inherent in a new startup.

Startup 256
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Effective Email Introductions or Why Blind Intros Suck

InfoChachkie

A version of this article previously appeared on Forbes. It just happened again. A well-intentioned colleague introduced me to a stranger via email, without first confirming with me that the intro was welcomed. Such "blind"matchmaking is more often than not a waste of everyone’s time: the person making the introduction, the person being introduced and me.

Email 256
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Oh please! Walk the talk!

Berkonomics

Ever had a manager who hung those motivational posters around the office, spoke of “pushing together,” or “you’re empowered to give great service” – and then acted at least once in complete disregard of those statements? It takes only one time caught by subordinates to lose the faith of an entire group of faithful followers. And that certainly counts for customers too, although the customer jungle drums don’t communicate quite as fast as the virtual water cooler system, even with today’s many w

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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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We Need to Have Sympathy for Those With Depression. It is an Illness

Both Sides of the Table

Somebody commented that in 2013 I have done a lot more personal posts than usual. I didn’t set out that way. It just happened. Lots of tragedies in the past couple of months. Aaron Schwartz. Sandy Hook. Now Jody Sherman. And my friend Brad Feld & his wife had written a book on the importance of personal relationships which made me want to weigh in on that.

Startup 400
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Silicon Beach Firms Plan Showcase At SXSW

socalTECH

A local group is planning an Silicon Beach-themed event at the upcoming SXSW Interactive event in Austin, to help showcase the diversity of companies in the LA tech industry. According to organizers Kevin Winston of DigitalLA and Nicole Jordan of Radix Collective, the Silicon Beach Sunday Funday --planned for March 10th--will include a mixture of companies from multiple verticals - everything from fashion to enterprise to demo, connect, and network at SXSW.

More Trending

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Anonymous Response to Death of Swartz | There Will Be Change or There Will Be Chaos

Tech Zulu Event

The popular ‘hacktivist’ organization, Anonymous, has stated in their most recent video that the US Government is now a target to what may very well be their biggest threat of coercion, a WikiLeaks-style exposure to the US government’s sensitive secrets. This is in response to the tragic death of Aaron Swartz , the 28 year-old programmer and founder of Demand Progress who was facing 35 years in prison for allegedly downloading over 4 million illegal documents from JSTOR.

Demand 92
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Should Startups Announce Their Funding?

Both Sides of the Table

Understanding “The Funding Angle” I sit at enough board meetings to hear conflicting advice given to entrepreneurs about how to handle PR and announcements at startups. I think many board members (including VCs) were trained 10+ years ago when life was very different and their advice often comes from an outdated lens. One of the advantages of blogging, using social media, public speaking, etc as a VC is that you get a more nuanced view of these shifts by watching your own successes a

Startup 355
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How FreedomPop's Free Wireless Internet is Disrupting Telecom

socalTECH

How do you go about trying to completely disrupt the entire telecom industry? If you're FreedomPop , the Encino-based startup, you start by offering up free 4G wireless data access, and then expand to offer free, voice-over-IP services, along with home-based wireless Internet services. No fly by night startup -- the company is backed by the founders of Skype -- we talked with COO Stephen Sesar about how FreedomPop can provide free wireless Internet, the firm's expansion plans, and how the compan

Startup 245
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10 Criteria for a Memorable Name for Your Startup

Startup Professionals Musings

First things first – your startup needs a name! This may seem a silly and frivolous task, but it may be the most important decision you make. The name of your business has a tremendous impact on how customers and investors view you, and in today’s small world, it’s a world-wide decision. Please don’t send me any more business plans with TBD or NewCo in the title position.

Startup 104
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Skytypers Take Startups To The Sky For Super Bowl Sunday

Tech Zulu Event

Picture your company message on a “Sky Tweet.” With over 100 million viewers, Super Bowl translates to big money for the advertising industry. But how much do you think it would be worth to advertise over the skies of Super Bowl itself? TechZulu has partnered up with Skytypers to get a group of startup companies interested in advertising their companies’ message this Super Bowl Sunday in New Orleans for a really low price.

Startup 89
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Should You Bother Targeting the Tech Blogs for Your PR Campaigns?

Both Sides of the Table

I’ve started a recent series on PR at startups since I get asked for advice on this topic so often. I will put the full list of posts here. The start of this series was, Should Your Startup Announce Funding ? 6 or 7 years ago when TechCrunch was at its peak market share (they are still strong but many more tech blogs have also popped up) there was a term for getting covered there called “the TechCrunch bounce.” If your company was featured there (in the early days of what peop

Blogging 309
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Two Southern California Technology Researchers Get White House Honors

socalTECH

Two, Southern California researchers were awarded the nation's top honor for their contributions to science and technology Friday, as President Obama awarded twelve researchers the National Medal of Science, and eleven inventors with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation at a ceremony at the White House. Dr. Frances Arnold , a professor at the California Institute of Technology , was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and Dr.

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What is the Primary Reason For Startup Failure?

Startup Professionals Musings

When I heard a friend make the statement “Your startup can’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt it as their mantra. Pivoting or dealing a new hand is not quitting. If we all repeat this mantra, perhaps we can improve the statistic that over half of new startups fail within five years. Nothing is more discouraging to future entrepreneurs than a failed startup.

Startup 100
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Ecomom Founder, Jody Sherman Passes Away

Tech Zulu Event

Today the startup community mourns the death of CEO and co-founder of Ecomom , Jody Sherman. Ecomom is a site for eco-conscious and health minded parents, connecting eco-friend products to responsible consumers. No details have been released by the family but the news has gone viral via Facebook and Twitter. It has only been confirmed by a message on his own Facebook timeline from his wife which reads: “This is Jody’s final post, and it isn’t coming from Jody.

News 76
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EventUp Hits Eight Locations, Plans Further Expansion

socalTECH

EventUp , the online marketplace which helps people find and book unique venues for their events, has now expanded into eight markets, after recently adding Washington, D.C., to its list of cities. The company, which now has operations in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, said that the market is among a number of markets it plans to expand into during 2013, as it rolls out its service nationwide.

Malibu 229
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Event Honors Sky Dayton, Identifies SoCal's Tech and Innovation Leaders

socalTECH

Who are the top technology and innovations leaders? C-Suite Quarterly has identified the top leaders in Southern California's technology industry, and is honoring them Wednesday evening at an event at the Viceroy in Santa Monica. The event--which is being sponsored by HP, Macallan, Cohiba, and others, is honoring Boingo's Sky Dayton , as well as other entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk , Brian Lee , Bill Gross , Karen Kerr , Gil Elbaz , Richard Rosenblatt , Josh Berman , Adam Miller , Brandon Beck

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Tinder Takes On Dating Via iPhone

socalTECH

Is your iPhone the answer to your romatic life? Tinder , a brand new iPhone dating app created by Sean Rad and Justin Mateen of Hatch Labs, has just launched, in a quest to help users better connect with others via their iPhone. The new app, the first to spin out of Hatch Labs, helps users find who likes you nearby, and connects you with them if you're interested, via an anonymous process.

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Activision Offering $1M Prize In Call of Duty Championship

socalTECH

Who would have thought that playing video games could be so lucrative? Activision said Friday that it has launched a new Call of Duty gaming competition, which will feature a $1 million prize, for the top player of Call of Duty: Black Ops II on the Xbox 360. Activision said that the Call of Duty Championship, presented by Xbox, will take place in April in Hollywood, awarding the top team a $1 million tournament prize.

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TakeLessons Scores $4M More For Finding Music Lessons

socalTECH

San Diego-based Take Lessons , an online marketplace which helps people find local teachers for music and singing lessons, disclosed today that it has raised $4M in a Series A follow on funding. The funding was led by Triangle Peak Partners, and also included Siemer Ventures, Crosslink Capital, and SoftTech VC, among others. TakeLessons asks users for the type of music lesson and zip code, and then connects those potential students with local teachers.

San Diego 214
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Insights and Opinions: Turbo-charging your CTO

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What are some of the key steps that CEOs ought to do to communicate with their CTOs? For our Insights and Opinions section today, we share an article by John Shiple , who provides technology consulting to CEOs, helps outline some of the key things startup (and other) CEOs ought to know in dealing with their CTO. Start at the top  with the CEO and CTO. To improve communication between these two leaders, CEOs should address the following issues: Clarify your expectations of your CTO.

Help 214
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GrubTonight Launches Social Dinner Reservation Service

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What's the best way to meet new people, and expand your social circle in a city? One way might be to try out GrubTonight , a newly launhced iPhone application from Venice-based Grubwithus, which allows users to find organized dinners in a local area, reserve a seat, and meet others at meals. The free application, which curently is only available in Los Angeles, let users find nearby dinners at local restaurants, where they can then reserve a seat and prepay for dinners, getting a chance to netwo

Services 210
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MomentFeed Raises $1.7M More

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MomentFeed , the developer of location-based analytics software headed by Rob Reed, has raised $1.75M in new funding, according to a regulatory filing from the firm Thursday. Details on the funding have yet to be announced. Santa Monica-based develops software which helps retailers better understand the social interaction of consumers with their retail locations, including such things as Facebook Places, Foursquare, and Instagram.

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Lyft Launches Ridesharing App In LA

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Do you need a ride across town, but don't have a car or want to drive? Lyft , the developer of a service and mobile app which lets users find, and offer, rides across town, said it is launching today in the Los Angeles area. Lyft's app--which works with both iPhone and Android--lets users offer rides to people on-demand, at what it says is a "fraction of the cost" of a cab.

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Fullscreen Names East Coast Sales VP

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Culver City-based YouTube network Fullscreen said Tuesday that it has hired Justin Danko as Vice President of Sales and Brand Strategy, East Coast. Danko was previously VP of Branded Entertainment at Viacom Media Networks, working on MTVN Music Group and MTV Entertainment Group; he also worked at Comedy Central and USA Network. Fullscreen offers up a number of services to both content creators and brands, and is headed by George Strompolos, who the firm said helped co-created the YouTube Partner

Sales 196
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Stickam Shuts Down

socalTECH

Stickam , the live video streaming service, announced on its web site Thursday that it would be shutting down its services, effective 11:59PM PST. Reason for the shutdown was not disclosed. The Los Angeles-based company said that it "did everything we could to keep this dream alive", but was "sad to have to say goodbye." Stickam had been founded in 2005.

Stickam 196
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Fisker Automotive Seeks Buyer By Next Month

socalTECH

Irvine-based Fisker Automotive , the troubled electric vehicle designer, is hoping to find a buyer or investor by next month--in order to keep operating--according to the WSJ Monday. The WSJ said that the firm--which has hired investment bankers to try to find it a suitor--also has been unable to produce vehicles, due to the bankruptcy of its battery partner, A123 Systems.

Report 183
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Martoko Debuts For Better LinkedIn Contact Management

socalTECH

Are you a heavy user of LinkedIn, who has difficulty sorting through the hundreds of contacts you have? A new, handy tool released Monday by Amplify LA , the startup accelerator, might just fit the bill. Amplify said that it has released Martoko , a brand new software tool which lets users add a layer of their own metadata and tags to LinkedIn data, into alpha, to allow LinkedIn users to better sort and find people they know by selecting those tags.

Tool 183
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NewEgg's Quest Against A Patent Troll

socalTECH

Most high tech executives in Southern California might not be aware that Newegg , the online electronics and technology products retailer, is based here in the City of Industry. Even fewer might not be aware that they might just owe some thanks to the firm, after it scored a patent win against a so-called "patent troll" which was plaguing dozens of online retailers, demanding licensing terms for using shopping card technology it said it owned the rights to.

NewEgg 182
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LA's Innovators Get Spotlight, But Investors Cautious

socalTECH

The Los Angeles innovation economy is alive, well, and looks to be getting widespread recognition--finally--beyond just local high tech investors and executives, based on the turnout at an event Wednesday held by CSQ , which publishes a quarterly magazine focused on different industries (philanthropy, sports, entertainment, technology) focused on Los Angeles and Ventura County.

Ventura 182
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DTS Wins Panasonic TV Designs

socalTECH

Calabasas-based audio technology developer DTS said Wednesday evening that its audio decoding technology will be used in a line of new televisions from Panasonic. DTS said that Panasonic will integrate DTS decoding capability into its ZT60, VT60, ST60, S60, X60 series PDP TVs and WT60, DT60, ET60, E60, EM60 series LCD TVs in North America. Financial details of the win were not disclosed.

Design 182
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Rubicon Project: LA's Next IPO?

socalTECH

Rubicon Project , the online advertising technology firm headed by serial entrepreneur Frank Addante, looks like it may just be the next Southern California company to file for an IPO, based on a number of executive appointments made Tuesday. Rubicon--which has widely been rumored to be in preparation for an IPO, among local executives--said Tuesday that it has named Greg Raifman as President of the firm, and Todd Tappin as COO and CFO.

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Qualcomm Wins Smart Meter Maker Itron

socalTECH

San Diego-based Qualcomm Technologies has scored a design win with Itron , a maker of smart energy and electricity makers. Itron said today that it has linked with Qualcomm Technologies, a subsidiary of Qualcomm, to use Qualcomm's Gobi MDM8x15 chipset for its next generation smart energy platforms. Financial impact of the win was not disclosed. Itron is using Qualcomm's chips to connect its smart meters across cellular networks, including 4G-LTE, 3G, and 2G networks.

San Diego 180
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Ellie Jumps Into Activewear With $2M In Funding

socalTECH

Science, Inc., the startup incubator headed by Mike Jones, has just tossed its ring into the another e-commerce category: women's activewear. Science just launched Ellie , a site which offers up clothing for activewear for women, via subscription. The firm aid this morning that it has raised $2M in a funding round from Trinity Ventures, Rustic Canyon Partners, and Blumberg Capital.

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StartEngine Debuts Eight New Startups At Demo Day

socalTECH

StartEngine , the startup accelerator headed by Howard Marks, is launching its newest class of startups today in a private event in Santa Monica. StartEngine said that the companies--who have all gone through the 90 day mentorship process at StartEngine--include the BedAbroad (international student housing marketplace); CARBON 38 (online luxury fitness destination for women; Smilu (cross-platform, multiplayer video games); WhereMyDogsAt (mobile social networking for dog owners); Ember (demand si

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CallFire Wins Emergency Notification Deal

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based CallFire , the startup developer of voice APIs and telephony software, said today that it has been selected by Southern Wesleyan University for an emergency SMS notification system. According to CallFire, it system is being used by SWU to operate a campus-wide text messaging system designed to help safeguard the school in the event of a crisis, at a cost of less than $100 for the university.