socalTECH

JANUARY 29, 2016

Los Angeles-based Naritiv , a new startup developing a network of content creators for Snapchat, has raised $3M in a funding round, the company said Thursday. The startup--founded by Dan Altmann and Eric Posen--says it is enabling the creation of mobile-first content for Snapchat and other social network platforms.

Snapchat 100

Snapchat Content Social Network Class 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 30, 2016

By now if you follow me on Twitter you probably know that I do near daily “Snapstorms” or a collection of short videos (usually < 5 mins in total) with entrepreneur advice on Snapchat. Here’s a recent one I did on Fund Raising in tough markets. You can follow me on Snapchat at msuster. Snapchat is similar.

Snapchat 150

Snapchat Course Media Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2016

As the human ear ages it loses its ability to hear high-pitched sound frequencies (above 15-16 kHz) through a condition known as presbycusis that starts at 18 years old. Thus begins Snapchat and why you don’t get it. Snapchat will be used for both like the Internet (and TV) are. That’s the point. So get over it.

Snapchat 150

Snapchat Screening Venture Capital Guide 150

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 15, 2014

Of course this can be done and of course I am a big proponent of the rise of startup centers across the country as the Internet has moved from the “infrastructure phase” to the “application phase” dominated by the three C’s: content, communications and commerce. Locally we call it “the Snapchat effect.”

Company 369

Company Companies Startup Snapchat 369

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

The new batch of startups coming from across the U.S. SketchAR — this Lithuanian company is developing an AI-based mobile app for teaching drawing using augmented reality. — hailing from Mexico City, this startup makes mini games in augmented reality for brands and advertisers.

Artificial Inteligence 331

Artificial Inteligence Social Network Los Angeles Snapchat 331

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

Santa Monica-based venture investor March Capital Partners (www.marchcp.com) announced last week that it has raised a second fund, worth $300M. To learn about the new fund, we sat down with Jamie Montgomery , one of the fund's co-founders, to hear about March Capital's strategy and the new fund.

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Funding Capital Artificial Inteligence Startup 160

socalTECH

OCTOBER 15, 2014

The Disney Accelerator , the startup accelerator sponsored by Walt Disney and being run by TechStars, had its demo day Tuesday, showing off the nine companies to emerge out of the accelerator. in its seed funding round. disney startup accelerator walt angeles entertainment consumer funding venture capital techstars'

Class 185

Class Startup Seed Funding Entertainment 185

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2014

It had an influence on the people who fund our industry in a negative way as many asset managers who fund our industry read this flawed report. I hope to publish that deck and a full write up in the next 10 days in partnership with Dan Primack at Fortune (if my write up doesn’t suck, I guess ;-)). Startup Lessons'

Venture Capital 362

Venture Capital Capital Startup Writing 362

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

The rise of “micro VCs” or seed-stage funds. The rise of alternative sources of capital (crowd funding and the like). Always-on connectivity of mobile (164m US smartphone users). Lower costs to start a business (95% reduction), many more companies created & funded by angels / seed. Why is this?

Venture Capital 398

Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2014

A few years ago I started calling the local tech ecosystem down here #LATech. In fact, many people know I grew up in NorCal and still have a 650 area code on my mobile phone. Burstly is a Santa Monica-based team that I also proudly funded. Startup Lessons' I had an agenda. LA has a serious technology scene.

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Startup Santa Monica Snapchat Yahoo 318

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Let me start with the obvious baseline that most people probably know instinctively: Los Angeles is the 3rd largest technology startup ecosystem in the US. Given how efficient markets are when a large market like LA starts to blossom it attracts capital pretty quickly. LA By The Numbers. It is different. More substantive.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 28, 2014

billion active mobile users monthly as of March 31, 2014, while Twitter has 255 million active users. And this gives way for mobile messaging apps. There’s Snapchat that uses photos and then instantly disappears after 10 seconds, and then there’s the up-comer, Emojli , that uses tiny cartoonish icons for engagement.

Snapchat 82

Snapchat Social Media Social Network Media 82

socalTECH

MAY 24, 2016

Los Angeles-based mobile app startup Chatter said today that it is about to launch an app, which will let fans hold one-on-one, five minute chats with their favorite stars--and, at the same time, help raise money for charities. The company says it has raised seed funding from Innovation Factory. The app runs on iOS and Android.

Seed Funding 113

Seed Funding Snapchat Mobile Los Angeles 113

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 14, 2019

Betaworks is betting on the content studio aspect through companies like SuperPlastic , a new startup launched by Paul Budnitz, the founder of the alternative social network ello and Budnitz Bicycles. “We saw the impact that the rise of mobile was having on linear. Lil Miquela and fellow brud avatar Blawko22.

Social Media 261

Social Media Content Media Artificial Inteligence 261

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 2, 2017

Can a mobile app make creating and designing your space as easy as posting a selfie on Snapchat or Instagram? We caught up with co-founder Beatrice Fischel-Bock on the idea and journey behind Hutch. We started this about five years ago. You're no longer working up the corporate ladder staying in the same place.

Snapchat 100

Snapchat Design Startup West Hollywood 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. Most experienced VCs won’t push you to give up founder control at this stage of the business nor should they. Planning and dealing with extra-ordinary events: M&A, fund raising, crises.

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Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

socalTECH

MARCH 2, 2016

We caught up with co-founder and CEO Vic Belonogoff to learn more about Render Media, whose flagship site is Opposing Views. The people who we our content and videos in are essentially connected, mobile, have their phone with them all the time. We started focused on small, niche health sites, and Oppoing Views fell into our lap.

Media 100

Media Content News SEO 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2015

The hardest thing about starting a company is that from day one you emerge as this completely vulnerable entity trying its hardest to project success, power, trajectory and inevitability while you secretly know that you’re one knock-out blow from extinction. It’s a Hobbesian calculation.

Startup 150

Startup Google Software Review Snapchat 150

LATechDigest

MAY 30, 2016

Mobile App Hackathon (-6/4). Here’s what’s new in LA’s tech space: SNAPCHAT Raises $1.8B MARCH CAPITAL Opens LA Shop with $240M Fund ( link ). Thnx for sharing ur experience w/us @acrowder33 @VNTANAlive @CrossCampusLA @InnovatPasadena #technology #startup pic.twitter.com/W3j07hqzNt. Accelerating IoT.

Belkin 45

Belkin UCLA Funding Pasadena 45

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 12, 2016

Part I, Team) Tact was founded by Chuck Ganapathi , who was formerly the SVP of Products at Salesforce.com having led initiatives like their chat product, CRM and mobile. Here’s how they did it … Mobile First —  It is now well understood that “mobile first” dominated the consumer Internet and we take this for granted.

Software 105

Software Mobile Artificial Inteligence Oracle 105

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

If a company wanted to distribute software on a mobile device it need to sell via a “portal” (US term) or a “deck” (UK term) of a mobile carrier. Although the carriers made a lot of money initially by selling dial-up Internet services, customers never took their software because, well, it sucked.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Startup Customer Custom 150

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

Currencies only began in earnest about 2,500 years ago and ever since have been a great enabler of democracy and social mobility, not the other way around. For example, distribution to find new apps in a mobile Internet is tightly locked down by the oligopoly of Apple and Google. It’s certainly food for thought.

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Course Startup Framework Marketing 280

LATechDigest

OCTOBER 26, 2016

Speakers included Mayor Eric Garcetti , Snapchat influencer Jake Paul (fresh off his 60 Minutes appearance), Loot Crate cofounder Chris Davis (whose company just topped the Inc 5000), and early Snapchat & Riot Games / SF-based investor Peter Lasky. — LATech Digest (@LATechDigest) October 25, 2016.

Snapchat 40

Snapchat Lootcrate Riot Games Downey 40

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

I had an enjoyable conversation this morning with a young team straight out of college this morning and they were calling to ask advice on how to approach fund raising (angels vs. VCs, how to select a VC, etc.) In the end it will be up to you to figure out what to do. Think of web vs. mobile. It’s a bit of all of these.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 6, 2017

In the entrepreneur world, most of the energy I see is focused on the current opportunity bubbles, now including anything mobile, the new sharing economy (Uber, Airbnb), or yet another social media app (Snapchat, WhatsApp). Passion is necessary but not sufficient to start a business.

Ideas 55

Ideas Snapchat Social Media Entrepreneur 55

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2016

And also why today Mitu attracted $27 million in funding from AwesomenessTV (DreamWorks/Hearst), WPP, Verizon and Upfront Ventures. And this brings our total funding to $43 million to solidify our market position as the leading Latino digital media company. Of course anybody can produce Hispanic content.

Company 150

Company Companies Netflix Content 150

socalTECH

JULY 20, 2015

Los Angeles-based Flipagram (www.flipagram.com) has created a potent and wildly viral mobile app, which combines photos, music, and video to create addictive, engaging mini slideshows of your life. So, in September of 2007, I got back into it, and we got a group of people going on a new startup, DotSpots. They were Flipagram LLC.

Flipagram 100

Flipagram Social Network Networking Blogging 100

socalTECH

JULY 20, 2015

Los Angeles-based Flipagram (www.flipagram.com) has created a potent and wildly viral mobile app, which combines photos, music, and video to create addictive, engaging mini slideshows of your life. So, in September of 2007, I got back into it, and we got a group of people going on a new startup, DotSpots. They were Flipagram LLC.

Flipagram 100

Flipagram Social Network Networking Blogging 100

LATechDigest

MAY 13, 2016

Up to seven companies will be selected for this year’s program, which launches right after Labor Day, and wraps in the middle of November. THRONE , the mobile peer-to-peer marketplace for the $85B sneaker and streetwear industry, which prior to joining SMASHD had received $25,000 from DreamIt Ventures.

Mentor 75

Mentor Venture Capital Draper USC 75