Sat.Feb 05, 2011 - Fri.Feb 11, 2011

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Why Entrepreneurs & VCs Should Focus on Basecamp, Not the Summit

Both Sides of the Table

This article originally appeared on Silicon Alley Insider. A few months ago I wrote a post called “ Invest in Lines, Not Dots.&# It was my investment philosophy that observing teams’ performance over time was far more insightful than reacting to how good of a product demo they do, how good they present Powerpoint slides or how great tech blogs say they are.

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Jason Nazar On Startups, Execution, and Hiring

socalTECH

Jason Nazar is CEO of Santa Monica-based Docstoc (www.docstoc.com), the online document sharing site, and a fixture at Los Angeles technology events. Nazar--who moderated a panel on the venture capital industry in Los Angeles at Twiistup 8 yesterday, and who is considered by many to be one of the key "super connectors" in the LA technology community--took a few minutes with us to give his advice to startup entrepreneurs.

Twiistup 258
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Interview: Lynda Weinman of Lynda.com

InfoChachkie

Messenger : Lynda Weinman , Co-Founder and Executive Chair, lynda.com and author of Designing Web Graphics , a world-wide bestseller, translated into 15 languages. Value Prop Twitter Style : Lynda.com is: “The best, new, online way to learn how to use your software. Search for a specific answer or learn something new from start to finish. ”. If you haven’t already subscribed yet, subscribe now for. free weekly Infochachkie articles!

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Never run out of money.

Berkonomics

Money in the bank is like oil in the car. This is such an obvious observation that you should think that it does not rise to the level of an “insight”. Yet, there is sage advice behind this statement that I could not ignore placing it right in the middle of these insights. As an executive, you have many ways you are pulled every day, both tactical and strategic.

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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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Improving Sales: The Excuse Departement is Closed

Both Sides of the Table

This article originally appeared on TechCrunch. Most technology startups seem to be funded by product people or business people. Specifically what is often not in the DNA of founders are sales skills. Nor do they exist in the investors of early-stage companies. The result is a lack of knowledge of the process and of sales people themselves. My first startup was no different.

Sales 316
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Interview with Hamilton Chan, PaperLinks

socalTECH

Hamilton Chan is founder of Los Angeles-based PaperLinks (www.paperlinks.com), a new startup which is developing mobile applications which take advantage of QR codes--the 3D barcodes which are cropping up everywhere--to help users marketers go beyond just linking those codes to web pages, but also to power social applications. The firm has a native, iPhone application which uses QR codes to drive user friendly, social modules for events, pulling up information, and much more natively in iOS.

Startup 233

More Trending

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Financing A Business

SoCal Tech Calendar

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 -- Financing A Business. AccessEN. An in-depth discussion on financing a business will be led by John Geer, president of Private Equity Partners.

Equity 124
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Seth Sternberg – Meebo

Both Sides of the Table

One of the great joys of doing the web series This Week in VC every week is that I get to spend time with great people debating the issues of our day including how our industry is evolving as well as insights into how companies got started, got their initial traction and dealt with adversities. “But Mark, isn’t it one big time suck?&#. Oh, yeah.

Startup 286
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FTD Groupon Deal Goes South

socalTECH

A nationwide offer from FTD , the flower delivery service owned by Woodland Hills-based United online , with daily deals phenomenon Groupon has gone south, after consumers complained that the price presented to Groupon users was more than the price a user would get by going directly to FTD's web site. Group had offered up $10 for $20 worth of flowers at FTD Thursday in one of their national, daily promotions.

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Entrepreneuriship Is Best Learned Experientially

InfoChachkie

I recently replied to a Quora entry which asked, “What are the best business-related books?” I shared my humble opinion that entrepreneurs should spend less time reading and more time experiencing reality. I concluded by including a link to an entry I wrote entitled, The Author’s Dilemma – Why Business Books Suck. The person asking the question subsequently replied that I was “ignorant” and missing out on a great learning opportunity by not reading.

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Managing Innovation

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, February 17, 2011 -- OCTANe Building Blocks - Managing Innovation. Innovation is the core business competency of the 21st century. In order to not only compete and grow but to survive in a global economy, businesses must innovate. Here, we'll talk about four trends that we see shaping innovation in the near term, and how you should respond.

OCTANE 113
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Ten Top Investor Turnoffs Around Business Plans

Startup Professionals Musings

After struggling to create your business plan for months, every entrepreneur likes to think that their document is inspirational and will reach someone who is smart enough to see the brilliance of the idea, intuitive enough to recognize their business acumen, and enthusiastic enough to offer the money required to make it happen. Every serious investor, on the other hand, has a stack of these in their in-basket (email or real plastic) awaiting review, and is looking for the flaw or less-capable e

Summary 97
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MyShape Runs Out Of Cash, Shuts Down

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based MyShape , the online personalized fashion and women's clothing firm, has shut down. According to a message on the firm's site, it is "temporarily suspending its retail operations" and is no longer offering products. According to sources near the firm, the firm has sold off its inventory and is now hoping to find a buyer for the company via an assignment for the benefit of creditors.

MyShape 217
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Gov 2.0 LA | Presented Live by TechZulu

Tech Zulu Event

It's time for round two for Gov 2.0 LA. For those of you who may not be unfamiliar with Gov 2.0 LA, it is a hybrid conference that stimulates the brain and position people to have actual time to talk to each other. bridging digital diplomacy, social media, entrepreneurship, mobile and mapping and reaching into the crossover into citizen engagement tools.

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Entrepreneurship Speaker: Frank Peters, The Frank Peters Show

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, February 17, 2011 -- 2011 Entrepreneurship Speaker Series. UCI CalIt2. Speaker: Frank Peters, Host, "The Frank Peters Show" and Chairman Emeritus, Tech Coast Angels. Contact Goran Matijasevic at goran@uci.edu.

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Seven Tips For Entrepreneurs Who Are Lone Rangers

Startup Professionals Musings

You can’t win as an entrepreneur working alone. You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other support people. That doesn’t mean you have to be a social butterfly to succeed, or introverts need not apply. It does mean that you need to look, listen, and participate in the business world around you, and network through all available channels, like business-oriented social networks online (LinkedIn), local business organizations (Chamber of Co

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OpenX Launches New Ad Platform, Powers Groupon

socalTECH

Pasadena-based OpenX , the Internet ad server developer, said today that it has launched a new version of its OpenX Enterprise software. The firm said that the new platform is being used by customers such as Groupon, Orange-France Telecom Group, and Excite Japan. OpenX said the updated software includes such features as real-time ad bidding, more control by publishers over ad quality and pricing, new APIs, and other features.

OpenX 215
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A Conversation with Arianna Huffington & Tim Armstrong | Signal LA

Tech Zulu Event

Visit TechZulu for full story.

News 53
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Maverick Angels Open Evening for Entrepreneurs

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 -- Maverick Angels Open Evening for Entrepreneurs. The Open Evening is a bi-monthly event geared towards familiarizing entrepreneurs with the Maverick Angels process, our members, and our sponsors. At this event you will learn the advantages of becoming involved with our next-generation angel network and what it takes to navigate your company through the investment landscape.

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Entrepreneurs Need to Recognize Their Limitations

Startup Professionals Musings

If you are going to be a real entrepreneur, it’s important that you know yourself well. After all, you won’t have a direct manager charged with giving you feedback, and your direct reports probably will be afraid to tell you what they really think. In any case, your skills, talent, knowledge, personality, and strengths are your best assets as an entrepreneur.

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ClearBook.com Takes On Used Car Pricing

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based TrueCar , the automotive pricing startup run by Scott Painter, is launching a new site today focused on used car pricing. The new site ClearBook.com , offers us a used car vehicle index, aggregating used car marketplace sales to provide pricing guidance for consumers and dealers. TrueCar said that ClearBook will provide price guidance based on used car years, make, model, mileage, and conditions.

Pricing 207
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Get Inside the Mind of an Angel Investor

Both Sides of the Table

In my ongoing quest to get you good transcripts of the wonderful interviews we’ve done in the past, I present you with one amazing interview here with Tom McInerney – a friend, co-investor, former entrepreneur turned angel investor and “wizard of Oz&# behind the scenes at the uber hot startup Klout. What is wonderful about this interview is that I got Tom on the record on: what angels look for and how they work?

Angel 302
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Paid and Mobile Search Marketing

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 -- Paid and Mobile Search Marketing. A panel of experienced, veteran experts in paid and mobile search marketing will address the latest trends and issues in the field.

Mobile 100
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Six Reasons Why Big Dreams and Laser Focus Succeed

Startup Professionals Musings

It’s great to dream big, but your startup needs a laser focus in the beginning to get market and investor attention. Google did it with search engines, Apple did it with a personal computer, and even Wal-Mart did it through low prices. A business plan I saw a while back to combine all the good features of several popular social networks on one site does not do it.

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Southern California Linked IPOs Grow

socalTECH

The number of Southern California related initial public offerings is growing steadily upwards, as Gevo --originally started in Pasadena, and based on technology out of Caltech and UCLA--hit the market this morning. Gevo is just the latest in a surge of companies hitting the public markets which have Southern California links. Those include a rumor of an IPO at music service Pandora , which is based in Northern California, which was co-founded by UberTwitter's Jon Kraft, a successful IPO for Los

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ResumeBucket Hits Milestone

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based ResumeBucket says today that it has hit a milestone of 1 million communications between employers and job seekers on the site, and now has over 600,000 users in its database. The firm said it is approaching 5,000 active companies using its site for finding talent. ResumeBucket operates an online site for employees, which allows them to post their resume; the firm is headed by Ted Hekman, and was co-founded by Josh Stomel.

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SpaceX Lands Contract For Commercial Moon Mission

socalTECH

Hawthorne-based SpaceX , the commercial rocket firm run by Elon Musk, has landed a contract to deliver a payload to the moon. According to a Pittsburgh-based aerospace startup, Astrobotic Technology , it has signed a contract with SpaceX to deliver a robotic payload to the moon on the SpaceX Falcon 9. Financial details of that contract were not disclosed.

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Founder Insitute LA Gears Up For Spring Semester

socalTECH

The Los Angeles chapter of the Founder Insitute , the startup incubation program run locally by Ken Rutkowski, is gearing up for its Spring Semester, saying that it has added a number of new mentors for the semester. The Founder Institute said that it has added Steve Lehman , Founder, Chairman and CEO of Premiere Radio Networks, and Cheryl Tiegs , the businesswoman and fashion model, as two of the mentors.

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Active Launches Hyperlocal Activity Site

socalTECH

San Diego-based Active.com , the operator of online sports and community activity registration sites, said this morning that it has expanded into the hyperlocal information market, with the launch of a new, local Bay Area activity guide. Active said the new, hyperlocal Active.com Bay Area site provides information on sporting events, fitness activities, and other things to do in the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as discounts on gear and activities through its Schwaggle program.

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Google To Ramp Hiring In Southern California, Too

socalTECH

Search engine giant Google says that its hiring surge this year will affect its Southern California offices, despite a lack of an increase in its listed positions on its jobs pages for its Santa Monica and Irvine locations. According to a communications and public affairs executive at the firm, in response to an article last week in this publication, Google is indeed actively hiring in Southern California, as it is everywhere else, as its anticipates its biggest hiring year in company history.

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Mogreet Hires Marketing VP

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Mogreet , the video mobile marketing firm led by James Citron, said today that it has named Tara Zanecki as Vice President of Marketing and Client Services. Zanecki joins the company from Obscura Digital in San Francisco. Mogreet said Zanecki has more than 15 years of sales and marketing experience in technology. Mogreet is venture backed by Ascend Venture Group, Black Diamond Ventures, DFJ Frontier, Spyglass Ventures and Clovehitch Partners.

Mogreet 187
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WebVisible Cuts Deal with Husqvarna

socalTECH

Irvine-based WebVisible , which provides local online marketing services and software, and chainsaw maker Husqvarna said this morning that the two are in an online search advertising partnership. According to the two, Husqvarna will make WebVisible's search engine marketing platform available to its dealers, through a co-marketing program, which will help those dealers place online campaigns across ad networks and search engines.

Redpoint 185
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Music Reports Signs Mobile Music Service

socalTECH

Woodland Hills-based Music Reports , the developer of software used for managing music rights and royalties reporting, said this morning that it has signed a licensing and reporting agreement with Cricket Communications , the operator of the Muve Music digital music service. Financial details of the deal were not announced. Music Reports said it will provide music publishing data matching, licensing, and royalty reporting services to Muve.

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Magento's Major Investor: eBay

socalTECH

The secret investor in Los Angeles-based Magento , the developer of e-commerce website software run by Roy Rubin is online auction giant eBay , according to reports. Magento, which according to a regulatory filing raised $22.5M in March of last year, had acknowledged a funding, but had not revealed any details on the firm's investors. According to AuctionBytes, eBay revealed that it owns 49 percent of Magento this week in an Analyst Day, and took a stake in the firm via its subsidiary, Paypal.

Commerce 180
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Riot Games Acquired By Tencent

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based Riot Games , the online videogame developer headed by Brandon Beck, said late Friday that Tencent Holdings has acquired a majority stake in the company. Tencent is one of the biggest Internet services providers in China. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, however, reports are the deal was worth nearly $400M. The firms said that Riot Games will continue to maintain its headquarters in Los Angeles, and has plans to "hire aggressively" in 2011.

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Mattel Partners With Stardoll

socalTECH

El Segundo-based toy maker Mattel has inked a licensing agreement with online fashion game maker Stardoll , Stardoll announced today. Stardoll runs an online fashion virtual world for teen and tween girls. Financial details of the licensing deal were not disclosed. Stardoll said that the deal will take the Stardoll brand from the virtual into the physical world, with first products to become available in autumn of this year.