Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

So if you’re casually reading and don’t really care about angel financing – abort now! Good idea & plan: You must start with a good idea and a PowerPoint deck (my outline is here , scroll down mid way). Very few people fund individuals. I’ll make my next posting shorter. I get that.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 30, 2009

Los Angeles-based Crosscut Ventures (www.crosscutventures.com) is one of the newest venture capital funds in the area, and has quietly been working on funding local companies over the last year. Let's start with an overview of the fund. We closed our fund in August of 2008. What do you invest in?

Southern California 153

Southern California Startup Palomar Rustic Canyon 153

socalTECH

OCTOBER 31, 2012

There's been a sudden surge in accelerator in Southern California, looking to help get startups off the ground and funded. To learn more about how the company went from just an idea at an accelerator to a healthy exit, we spoke with founder Eli Portnoy. But, do they really help? Congrats on the acquisition!

Startup 225

Startup Acquisition Doc Ideas 225

socalTECH

JULY 20, 2010

One of Southern California's successful, serial entrepreneurs is Winston Damarillo , who founded Gluecode, which he sold to IBM in 2005. Earlier this month, his latest startup, El Segundo-based Morphlabs announced it had raised a Series B funding worth $5.5M. earlier this year, and then got it funded, raising about $5.5

Southern California 242

Southern California Startup Cloud Computing El Segundo 242

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

I have been through many months with them but because of lack of funds, I spent lot of time doing non-technical work for first 4-5 months, spending time with them on putting pitches for investors, cash flows, budgets, writing business plans, product prototype setups etc. They both would have lots of thoughts and ideas.

CTO 167

CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 167

socalTECH

OCTOBER 29, 2015

in a funding round. Brett and I both grew up in Southern California. So, what is PeerStreet? I came up with this idea due to a deep obsession with the mortgage industry. Brew Johnson: The one thing I'd add, since this is very So-Cal focused, is that Brett and I are very happy about the team we've attracted here.

Southern California 100

Southern California Google Technical Review Manhattan Beach 100

SoCal CTO

OCTOBER 15, 2009

Steve Gilison worked as a market researcher and product manager at a startup where my company, TechEmpower , did the software / web development. I’m currently working with several startups, helping them launch new web businesses. Likely any successful web entrepreneur has more ideas than time. What are you working on now?

Los Angeles 179

Los Angeles Product Angel Startup 179

SoCal CTO

JANUARY 18, 2011

I have been through many months with them but because of lack of funds, I spent lot of time doing non-technical work for first 4-5 months, spending time with them on putting pitches for investors, cash flows, budgets, writing business plans, product prototype setups etc. They both would have lots of thoughts and ideas.

CTO 150

CTO CTO Hire CTO Coach Equity 150

socalTECH

JUNE 6, 2011

Those programs--epitomized by YCombinator in the Bay Area, and TechStars in Boulder, Colorado--attract newly minted entrepreneurs with a mixture of cash and mentoring, and a program which rapidly takes ideas and turns them into viable, executing businesses. I helped them raise a few rounds of funding, ran their European operations.

Startup 221

Startup Mentor Southern California Incubator 221

socalTECH

MAY 25, 2012

If you were a student in college, working on a startup idea, what would spur you to drop your education plans, and go full time on your startup? I started playing around with a similar idea in my freshman year. He really took to the idea, and enjoyed it. We understand you were in school when you started this?

Startup 239

Startup CTO Coach Content Web 239

SoCal CTO

MARCH 12, 2012

I promised I would write this post with some thoughts and ideas on the topic. The bad news is that Finding Developers is Tough Here in Los Angeles and even people willing to pay have a hard time finding Web Development in Los Angeles. Where to Search for the Technical Cofounder So where might you run into the right person?

CTO Hire 211

CTO Hire CTO Coach Startup Equity 211

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 7, 2013

” So Ethan went to work as a product manager at Google Video. He had an idea for a startup that would help consumers better book service jobs and would take on Service Magic, which he believed had a business model that could be disrupted. So I asked Ethan to build his product first and then we would fund.

CTO Coach 359

CTO Coach Google CTO Hire Yammer 359

socalTECH

OCTOBER 24, 2011

Accelerator programs--like YCombinator in Silicon Valley, and TechStars in Colorado--have come to the forefront of the minds of entrepreneurs as a way to boost their ideas quickly into the market, find funding, and into existence. We're providing seed funding, office space, and put them through a three month, structured program.

Technical Advisors 176

Technical Advisors Startup Southern California Los Angeles 176

socalTECH

DECEMBER 10, 2009

One of the industries which has seen a lot of activity lately in Southern California is clean technology, with a large amount of investment activity and new company formation. The web site caters only to people in the green space. Nikhil Jain: We already have a list of deals, from Southern California, the rest of the U.S.,

Southern California 193

Southern California Startup eHarmony Sites 193

SoCal Tech Calendar

OCTOBER 11, 2012

Hypemarks is a social way to share and find content on the web. They were graduates of Start Engine's first batch and now reside at Idea Lab in Pasadena, CA after receiving 350k in seed funding. Join Poly Founders as we host Tim Sae Koo, the founder and CEO of Hypemarks for a night of stories, questions, and networking.

Pomona 100

Pomona Seed Funding Pasadena Web 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 24, 2010

In light of the recent success, we sat down with Marc Averitt and Sharon Stevenson to talk about the recent exit, where they are with their fund nowadays, and what advice they have for entrepreneurs. So what's going on with the fund nowadays? Nice chatting with you today! Let's talk about the exit. Interesting.

Startup 185

Startup Southern California Ideas Research 185

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 1, 2011

Southern California--despite the lack of huge, name brand firms-- has a significant number of enterprise software companies, of which Network Automation is just one. You are self funded too, we recall. Gary Bishop: Yes, we're a self funded company, which was founded in 2004. The technology has just exploded.

Networking 214

Networking IBM IBM Pacific Palisades 214

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 26, 2008

The firm was pitching for funding at the Technology Council of Southern California's VentureNet event earlier this month. We spoke with Lisa LeVasseur, CEO of the firm, and Sce Pike, President of the company, to learn more about how they are hoping to tackle the mobile phone market and where the idea came from.

VentureNet 100

VentureNet Startup Mobile Technology Council 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 22, 2010

This week I was preparing for my weekly This Week in Venture Capital web show and was researching some of the deals that were announced for the week. One of the companies that just announced $10 million in funding was a company I had never heard of called Huddle. “Huddle helps businesses connect, share and work better together.

Screening 266

Screening Screencast Web Yammer 266

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 16, 2010

We talked with Noah about how the company grew out of a business plan competition at the University of Southern California, his recent funding from the Maverick Angels, as well as how the firm hopes to stand out among a crowded list of comparison shopping sites. So, we decided to go out and do it.

USC 207

USC CPC Sites Startup 207

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009

We talked with Billy last week about the firm, and what it's trying to do: What's the whole idea behind Kijubi? Billy Fried: As an active person, with an active family and active friends, I've gone on vacation and searched around for things to do, or looked for things to do on a weekend here in SoCal. It's an outdated concept.

Activity 164

Activity Startup Sites Web 164

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

One of the readers asked my opinion around sharing your startup concept: My first question has always been - how do you protect your idea while shopping around for feedback, partners, developers, etc.? Especially if the idea could be whipped-up by a few 24-year olds in a few weeks? Lots of thoughts here.

Startup 211

Startup IP Ideas Patents 211

socalTECH

JULY 16, 2013

As much as the idea of "Silicon Beach" wants to represent the whole of the local technology industry in Los Angeles, there are -- as one would expect in such a large metropolitan area -- many different neighborhoods and communities spread across the region, all with their own individual identities, companies, and technology focuses.

Pasadena 242

Pasadena Santa Monica CalTech Technical Review 242

SoCal CTO

SEPTEMBER 20, 2011

One of the readers asked my opinion around sharing your startup concept: My first question has always been - how do you protect your idea while shopping around for feedback, partners, developers, etc.? Especially if the idea could be whipped-up by a few 24-year olds in a few weeks? Lots of thoughts here.

Startup 198

Startup IP Ideas Patents 198

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 21, 2012

Steve Jillings has a long track record of running successful startups in Southern California, ranging from such companies as FrontBridge Technologies (sold to Microsoft in 2005 for over $200M) and Vantage Media (acquired in 2007). Telesign provides authentication services for the largest web companies in the world.

Marina Del Rey 238

Marina Del Rey Startup IP Examples 238

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 21, 2010

They get together with a few buddies, bounce around ideas, build some code (sometimes internally, sometimes through contractors), start talking to potential angel investors and then register their company. So eventually you have your company funded but only 2 of the 5 people who started the company are still around.

Startup 318

Startup IP Southern California Entrepreneur 318

Eric Greenspan

DECEMBER 5, 2009

I have vanity urls setup at just about every site on the web. It’s been an amazing experience so far, but the best part are the relationships I’ve built since getting started. As a board member of the Technology Council of Southern California, I first reached out to my fellow board members.

Social Network 180

Social Network Networking Yahoo Social Media 180

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

From the article: Mithril had its best moment yet last week when a portfolio company, Auris Health, sold to Johnson & Johnson for more than $3 billion — returning at least $500 million to the fund. Quality tech news from around the web. South California is also seeing declining seed investment. All appears well. Obsessions.

Venture Capital 202

Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

socalTECH

APRIL 16, 2010

Albert previously founded CheapCheapCheap.com, an online coupon and deal finding site, and we thought we'd hear from Albert why he thinks the local, group purchasing market is so interesting, and how he hopes to grow the service beyond just Orange County. Albert Ko: At DealPerk, we cater toward Orange County, here in Southern California.

Orange County 170

Orange County Startup Sites Southern California 170

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 25, 2013

Drumbi is a web-assisted phone call program by which data is collected through data channels rather than voice channels. Investor networks like Tech Coast Angels are becoming one of the leading sources of funding to startup companies in the region — having invested over $120 million in more than 200 companies.

Orange County 97

Orange County Tech Coast Angels SoCal Southern California 97

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 30, 2012

Months of submissions and the amazing help from our judges , the Spotlight is shinning down on awesome companies that were born right out of Southern California. The evening will consist of a series of live stage demonstrations guaranteed to impress and inspire new ideas among all in attendance. Mobile Web America, Inc.

CalTech 91

CalTech Company Companies Idealab 91

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 13, 2011

The venture capital industry is so heavily skewed to Northern California, which the remains spilled over Boston, New York & Southern California. So it was wonderful to hear from a leading venture capital firm based in Washington DC. It is very unique to have a single source of a fund that size.

Venture Capital 277

Venture Capital Examples Startup Invest 277

socalTECH

OCTOBER 5, 2011

One of Southern California's biggest assets are the number of world class, local universities researching and developing technology and knowledge across a large number of disciplines. The idea is really to make the process as simple as possible. The idea was to make it simpler for people to find rehab.

UCLA 204

UCLA Research Tech Coast Angels Offshore 204

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Their first fund was a $75 million fund raised in 2006 and they very recently announced a brand new $130 million fund. Closing a VC fund in 2009/10 is a major achievement in and of itself. In the intro section of the show we talked a lot about why VC funds are becoming smaller again and where Greycroft fits.

Venture Capital 240

Venture Capital Startup Platform Technical Review 240

socalTECH

MAY 27, 2010

For this morning's interview, we have an interview with Kieve Huffman , the co-founder of Dather (www.dather.com), a new Los Angeles startup which has created a tool which helps to aggregate social networking web sites and media. So, I've been sending them deep links to Flickr and YouTube, and trying to convince them to sign up for Facebook.

Startup 213

Startup Buzznet Entertainment Social Network 213

Eric Greenspan

DECEMBER 5, 2009

I have vanity urls setup at just about every site on the web. It’s been an amazing experience so far, but the best part are the relationships I’ve built since getting started. We will collaborate on ideas and projects. I’ve jumped on the bandwagon, big time! I love Namechk.com for this. ’s HQ in Burbank.

Social Network 196

Social Network Networking Social Media Yahoo 196

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 20, 2011

After months of submissions and the amazing help from our judges , the Spotlight is shinning down on awesome companies that were born right out of Southern California. The evening will consist of a series of live stage demonstrations guaranteed to impress and inspire new ideas among all in attendance. Event Details.

UCLA 102

UCLA Company Companies Idealab 102