Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 15, 2010

They “don’t care what people ate for lunch.&# They’re fine on their existing social networks, which these days mostly means they’re happy with Facebook. Traditional social networks are more restricted to people whom I already know and information and updates are less discoverable.

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Social Network Networking Blogging RSS 347

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APRIL 5, 2016

Bombd , a startup which develops a social networking and messaging app revolving around sharing instant photos with others, has set up shop in Venice Beach. in total, valuing the company at $10M; the company is apparently currently talking with venture investors both locally and in Silicon Valley about a new funding round.

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Social Network Venice Networking Startup 100

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DECEMBER 9, 2009

Jason Calacanis , the high profile founder of Santa Monica-based Mahalo , is one of the angel investors in a mobile social networking service, Gowalla , the company said today. Series B funding for the firm. Series B funding for the firm. Calacanis is also an investor in Gdgt.com and ChallengePost.com.

Social Network 145

Social Network Networking Mobile Mahalo 145

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 21, 2010

I just cover the companies that were funded that week. Also, some of the deals I write about I have actually seen as part of their fund raising process. Increasing this is also migrating to social network messaging but email is still king. The build “implicit social networks.&# Others I have not.

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Venture Capital Capital Email Blogging 265

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AUGUST 27, 2014

Venice-based Snapchat is in the midst of raising a new round of funding, led by storied venture capital investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which valued the company at close to $10 billion, according to a report. snapchat venture capital rumor valuation kpcb investment messaging social networking'

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Snapchat Report Social Network Funding 168

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DECEMBER 15, 2017

Los Angeles-based Villiger , a startup developing a mobile app to help parents book tutors, baby sitters, and other services, has raised a seed round of funding, the company said this week. Size of that funding round was not announced. Villiger's CEO is Walton Goggins.

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APRIL 30, 2014

Social networking site MovieLaLa --which focuses on upcoming movies--said Tuesday that it has raised an angel investment from Salesforce.com founder Marc Benioff. movielala venture capital angel investment mark benioff salesforce movie social networking marketing content hollywood' READ MORE>>.

Social Network 160

Social Network Hollywood Funding Venture Capital 160

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 1, 2009

In my previous post, The VC Ice Age is Thawing (for now) I wrote about the reasons why the VC market came to a screeching halt in September 2008 and remained largely shut until at least April 2009. There are now signs the VC market has gathered pace meaning it’s a great time to be fund raising.

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Venture Capital Marketing Startup Social Network 255

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2009

I had previously raised VC in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005. In case VC’s haven’t figured this out yet, shit rolls downhill. My blog linked to Brad Feld’s blog because I was so grateful for his series on term sheets and he was one of the biggest reasons that as a VC I felt compelled to blog. Tempus Fugit.

Venture Capital 274

Venture Capital Blogging Startup Slides 274

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JULY 12, 2012

Los Angeles-based venture fund Siemer Ventures , the early-stage, venture capital investor run by David Siemer and Eric Manlunas, has funded Tradesparq , the operator of an Asian, B2B marketplace that matches volume buyers and suppliers. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed. READ MORE>>.

Funding 133

Funding Social Network Venture Capital Email 133

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JULY 19, 2012

Los Angeles investor Baroda Ventures , the venture capital arm of David Bohnett, has re-upped on online fashion and e-commerce site Fab.com , in a big, $105M third round of funding for that site. Baroda has been an investor in Fab since its seed funding back in June of 2010. Bohnett is the founder of Geocities.com.

Funding 178

Funding Seed Funding Commerce Social Network 178

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 7, 2013

Based on the final report for 2012 from Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), it may appear that IPOs are back as a viable startup exit strategy. For the full year 2012, venture-backed initial public offerings raised $21.5 Identify the right people in the right venture firms.

Venture Capital 101

Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 101

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2010

One of things I’ve loved the most about doing now 11 weeks of This Week in VC is a chance to have an hour-long recorded conversation with investors. And in my interviews with many VCs I feel that people can watch these and get to know the VC’s as human beings a bit better. So how did Mike get into VC?

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Venture Capital Blogging Startup Fandango 230

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JANUARY 11, 2012

in a venture round today, upping its total raised for the company to $5.8M. The funding came from Anthemis Group, Firstmark Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, and others. Payoff.com uses social networking and gamification to help users pay off debt and improve their finances.

Funding 157

Funding Social Network Venture Capital Startup 157

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DECEMBER 9, 2009

Los Angeles-based Goodreads , an online social networking site focused on book readers, said today that it has raised its Series A funding to $2M. The firm said the round was led by True Ventures. The firm said the new funding will go to expand the services and features of its social networking site.

Funding 157

Funding Social Network Venture Capital Networking 157

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DECEMBER 13, 2010

Los Angeles-based venture capital firm Baroda Ventures , the venture capital arm of GeoCities founder David Bohnett, has re-upped in an investment round in New York-based Fabulis , a gay social networking site. The funding came along with the renaming of the site to Fab.com.

Funding 145

Funding Social Network Venture Capital Sites 145

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 24, 2011

I just read the Q1 2011 report from CB Insights , which shows venture capital is back. billion jump in funding over the same quarter of 2010 with a similar number of deals, so it clearly shows a trend to larger deal sizes for fewer startups. Back to VCs, Silicon Valley venture capital firms are still the most active.

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Venture Capital Startup Capital Seed Funding 93

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 14, 2009

This is part of my ongoing series Pitching a VC. Very few people fund individuals. Quick caveats: having fewer investors (3-5) is better than many investors (10-15) and PLEASE make sure you hire a great lawyer who has experience in doing start-ups to avoid pitfalls that will make VC harder down the line. Team: You need a team.

Angel 291

Angel Funding Venture Capital Startup 291

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

Today they say its Africa’s largest and fastest growing social networking utility with over 4,000 daily new sign-ups. They also add that LAGbook ranks #2 in the city of Yaba-Lagos, where the social network was incepted, and #37 in the city of Hirtshal, Denmark. What is LAGbook? Why the name? How does LAGbook work?

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Social Network Networking Advertising Startup 100

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AUGUST 28, 2014

San Diego-based professional networking site Connequity says it has raised $550,000 in an angel round, and has opened up a new Series A funding, after renaming the company from its former name, GROWconnections. The startup--which is still in private beta of its service--said the angel funding came in June. READ MORE>>.

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Social Network San Diego Venture Capital Networking 153

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JULY 26, 2011

Los Angeles-based Baroda Ventures , the venture capital investment firm of GeoCities founder David Bohnett, has re-upped its investment in fashion site Fab.com. Fab.com said it raised $8M in a Series A funding round Tuesday. Fab.com said the funding will go towards scaling its business. READ MORE>>.

Venture Capital 157

Venture Capital Social Network Sites Los Angeles 157

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JUNE 3, 2010

in a funding round, and acquired online social networking site WEvolt , focused on comic books and creative content. WOWIO said the funding was led by CEO Brian Altounian. Tags: wevolt wowio venture capital comic strip content hollywood creative. READ MORE>>.

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Funding Hollywood Social Network Content 140

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MARCH 10, 2010

Van Nuys-based Audiolife , a firm that develops tools and technology to sell merchandise to music fans, announced today that it has raised $1M in a bridge round of funding. Source of the new funding was not disclosed. Tags: audiolife music ecommerce artist venture capital angel investment. READ MORE>>.

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Van Nuys Funding Social Network Venture Capital 145

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MAY 1, 2014

Qualcomm said that the new business is being funded from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., i-Hatch LBS Fund (which includes Zebra Technologies Corporation and AEG), as well as other venture capital, strategic, and individual investors. Financial details of the funding were not disclosed. READ MORE>>.

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Venture Capital San Diego Social Network Advertising 147

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JUNE 30, 2010

Beverly Hills-based Baroda Ventures , the venture capital firm of GeoCities founder David Bohnett , has invested in gay social networking site Fabulis. Baroda Ventures Partner Peter Lee confirmed the investment in the New York company, which was worth $250,000. The deal was first reported by VentureBeat.

Beverly Hills 150

Beverly Hills Funding Yahoo Social Network 150

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FEBRUARY 8, 2018

Los Angeles- and Austin-based Moonshots Capital , the venture capital fund led by serial entrepreneur Kelly Perdew, is ramping its investment pace, with the first two formal investments out of its new fund. seed funding in that firm. Moonshots led the $1.4M presidential elections in 2016.

Invest 150

Invest Capital Seed Funding Social Network 150

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MARCH 25, 2010

Los Angeles-based Taltopia , an angel backed, online social networking site focused on Hollywood, said today that it has launched both Apple iPhone and Google Android applications. Taltopia is backed by $800K in angel funding; the firm said it is now actively seeking investors in a second round of funding. READ MORE>>.

Funding 165

Funding Hollywood Social Network Entertainment 165

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APRIL 4, 2013

According to a regulatory filing from the company--which develops an iOS app that allows users to share their secrets and meet new people --the company involves such people as John Hadl (founder, chairman of Total Beauty Media); Jeremy Liew (ShoeDazzle, Lightspeed Venture Partners); and Brad Brooks (TigerText). READ MORE>>.

Santa Monica 157

Santa Monica Social Network Venture Capital Mobile 157

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JULY 30, 2013

Bottlenose , a brand new startup in social media analytics, has raised $3.6M in a Series A funding round. The company said the funding round was led by ff Venture Capital, and also included Lerer Ventures, Transmedia, Advancit, as well as other leading funds and angel investors. READ MORE>>.

Social Media 174

Social Media Media Social Network Venture Capital 174

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APRIL 30, 2009

According to the firm, the funding came from Australian investors Bruno Charlesworth, Michael Kantor and Steve Castan, along with former Sony Pictures co-President and CBS Television President Jeff Sagansky. Tags: view2gether venture capital content hollywood video community social networking.

Funding 100

Funding Social Network Hollywood Venture Capital 100

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MAY 9, 2013

Los Angeles-based Yektra announced this morning that it has raised $3M in a Series A funding round. The funding came from Maurice Gallagher, Bray Capital, Shay O''Brien, and Michael Rogers. yekra venture capital funding digital entertainment content' READ MORE>>.

Platform 127

Platform Demand Entertainment Social Network 127

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 22, 2012

GraphEffect today unveiled the latest version of its social network for marketers with an open API for developers. GraphEffect is a collaboration platform for social marketers which had only been available to large marketing partners including American Express, Toyota, Estee Lauder, Clorox, and Samsung. Venture Funding.

Social Network 65

Social Network Marketing Networking Social Media 65

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APRIL 13, 2010

San Diego-based TweetPhoto , an online site which allows users to share photos through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, and other social networking sites, said today that it has raised $2.6M in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Canaan Partners and also included Anthem Venture Partners and un-named angels.

Social Network 160

Social Network Anthem San Diego Venture Capital 160

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FEBRUARY 23, 2011

In a bid to help research from the University of Southern California reach the market, the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation said Wednesday afternoon that it is awarding $439,000 in gap funding to seven projects from USC, which have a high potential to spin out of the school. READ MORE>>.

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USC Funding Southern California Technical Review 170

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JANUARY 14, 2009

Santa Monica-based venture capital firm Anthem Ventures is the lead investor in an avatar-focused, social networking site called Meez. Anthem's Brian Mesic has been added to the firm's board as part of the funding. Amount and details of the funding were not disclosed.

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Anthem Funding Santa Monica Venture Capital 100

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APRIL 12, 2010

Los Angeles-based mEgo , the firm headed by Julia Johnston and Ariel McNichol, and develops software for creating personalized "avatars," has raised $833,025 in a Series A funding round targeted at $1.5M. The funding came to light through a recent regulatory filing by the firm. READ MORE>>.

Social Network 150

Social Network Venture Capital Sites Networking 150

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NOVEMBER 9, 2011

Pasadena-based Idealab has led a round into LA-spawned Mingly , a developer of software which connects Gmail with a user's social networks. Mingly said it raised $500,000 in a seed round of financing from Idealab, Allen Morgan, Alex Karelin, and other angels Wednesday. and Startup Nights here in LOs Angeles.

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Idealab Funding Social Network Pasadena 140