Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 18, 2010

To see the video of This Week in VC click on this link. What a pleasure that I got to spend an hour talking with both Om Malik (whom I’ve always respected his views) and Paul Jozefak , a venture capital partner at Neuhaus Partners in Germany (and formerly the head of Europe for SAP Ventures).

Venture Capital 225

Venture Capital Google Web Sites 225

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 10, 2016

My partner Greg Bettinelli (worth following on Twitter) was recently named by The LA Business Journal as the “ Top deal maker in Los Angeles in Venture Capital.” Build out our junior staff including pulling through some younger professionals into the investment ranks. Invest more heavily in platform services.

Venture Capital 150

Venture Capital Journal Invest Santa Monica 150

socalTECH

MAY 24, 2016

Santa Monica-based March Capital Partners , the venture capital investment firm founded by venture investment veterans Jim Armstrong, Sumant Mandal, Gregory Milken and Jamie Montgomery, said this morning that it has had a final close on its first fund, at $240M. READ MORE>>.

Capital 172

Capital Funding Clearstone Internet Brands 172

socalTECH

AUGUST 8, 2010

Santa Monica-based Demand Media , the online media firm run by Richard Rosenblatt, has finally filed for its long awaited IPO. Morgan Stanley, UBS Investment Bank, Allen & Company LLC, Jefferies & Company, Stifel Nicolaus Weisel, RBC Capital Markets, Pacific Crest Securities, Raine Securities, and JMP Securities.

Demand 184

Demand Media .Net Santa Monica 184

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

We have significant VC commitments (listed below) – every entering company will get $50,000 in funding, mentorship from top VCs and successful entrepreneurs plus free office space. To provide an opportunity for VCs and senior executives to engage with the community by giving back rather than just attending more cocktail parties.

Venture Capital 287

Venture Capital Funding Startup GRP Partners 287

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2016

In 2016, our Santa Monica office more than doubled market share of early-stage companies. Despite the Q1 correction in valuation, and subsequent drop in VC funding, we saw numerous LA companies not only survive, but thrive - despite the macroeconomic trends. You can see all of our holiday reflections here. Rob Freelen: Focus.

Santa Monica 124

Santa Monica Southern California Venture Capital SoCalTech 124

socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2013

Los Angeles-based venture capital investor GRP Partners announced this morning that it has raised a fourth fund, worth $200M, and also renamed the firm Upfront Ventures. upfront ventures partners venture capital fund startup msuster suster launchpadla' READ MORE>>.

GRP Partners 164

GRP Partners Funding CitySearch Venture Capital 164

socalTECH

APRIL 15, 2013

the investment banking firm which got its start in Los Angeles focusing on high tech companies--and as a onetime venture capital investor--has exited the investment banking and advisory business, the firm said today. s roots as an investment firm. montgomery monty angeles investment banking' READ MORE>>.

Signal Hill 113

Signal Hill Southern California Santa Monica High Tech 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 9, 2018

Santa Monica-based business outsourcing service provider TaskUs , founded by Bryce Maddock and Jaspar Weir, said this morning that it has raised $250M in an investment round. The investment came from private equity investor Blackstone Group. According to TaskUs, the funding round values the company at $500M.

Outsource 100

Outsource Santa Monica Social Media Commerce 100

socalTECH

JUNE 27, 2013

Despite the increase in startup activity in Southern California, local venture capital funds are still few and far between, and a large chunk of the funding here is still from Sand Hill Road. As you probably know, two thirds of our investments go into Los Angeles. How has your broad social media presence affected your dealflow?

Funding 196

Funding Venture Capital Los Angeles Social Media 196

Both Sides of the Table

NOVEMBER 11, 2013

Nearly four months ago we rebranded at Upfront Ventures. You can watch the video above for a very brief overview of why we rebranded and where we see our place in the VC ecosystem along with what has changed in our industry. Relaunching our brand is part of our larger initiative to build a VC firm of the future.

Venture Capital 324

Venture Capital Startup Blogging Platform 324

socalTECH

MAY 1, 2019

Santa Monica-based advertising startup VideoAmp said on Wednesday that it has raised a big $70M funding round, led by the Raine Group, and also included Ankona Capital, Mediaocean, and RTL Group. As part of the funding, Peter Liguori (former CEO of Tribune Media) joins the company's board of directors. READ MORE>>.

Funding 113

Funding Santa Monica Advertising Platform 113

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

Changes in the Software World & in Venture Capital. But notably you had the following changes: Horizontally scalable computing & storage systems, which meant you required less capital up front for hardware. We have invested $17.3 And then the world changed. Changes in the Startup Ecosystem. Welcome to the future.

Startup 390

Startup Venture Capital Capital Funding 390

socalTECH

AUGUST 19, 2010

Santa Monica-based Total Beauty Media 's John Hadl has joined venture capital firm U.S. Venture Partners , USVP said today, on the heels of the acquisition of USVP's LimeLife by Total Beauty. According to U.S. Hadl is also CEO of Brand-in-Hand (BIH), a provider of mobile advertising to brands.

Los Angeles 187

Los Angeles Angel Santa Monica News 187

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 22, 2010

Santa Monica-based Tecca said today that it has launched a new, personal electronics shopping and information service with the backing of Best Buy Co. and Fuse Capital. Tecca's chairman is Ross Levinsohn, and the firm is headed by Mickie Rosen, who also is a partner at Fuse Capital. READ MORE>>.

Services 188

Services Santa Monica Google Incubator 188

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 24, 2012

He knows every startup & VC in town.” I told him that our market was absolutely booming and was worthy of a commensurate investment. Invest they have. I told David, “Look at the changes we’ve seen in the VC / funding market. The whole movement to seed funds / early investments happened for a reason.

Venture Capital 299

Venture Capital Startup Los Angeles GRP Partners 299

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 28, 2018

My friend Michael Broukhim, founder & co-CEO of FabFitFun and I recently had a catch-up meeting for 3-miles on the Santa Monica “Bird Trail” No company has ever elicited so many questions by friends, colleagues, entrepreneurs, fellow VCs and journalists as has Bird, the company that pioneered the electronic scooter as a service market.

Santa Monica 256

Santa Monica Funding Startup Course 256

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Daryl Bernstein , RightSignature (Santa Barbara, software). James Borow and Clark Landry (shared position), SHIFT (Los Angeles, Santa Monica, advertising). Sam Friedman , ParkMe (Santa Monica, mobile apps). Aaron Hirschhorn , DogVacay (Santa Monica, marketplace). Ryan Hudson , Honey (Pasadena, apps).

Southern California 279

Southern California SoCalTech Dollar Shave Club Santa Monica 279

socalTECH

JUNE 6, 2018

The company said it is opening up a nine new centers, including one in Hollywood and one in Santa Monica, as a result of that earlier funding. The VOID says its centers include everything from virtual reality to "multi-sensory effects" for interactive entertainment and storytelling. READ MORE>>.

Entertainment 138

Entertainment Southern California Santa Monica Hollywood 138

socalTECH

JANUARY 10, 2013

Santa Monica-based Beats Electronics , the headphone and audio equipment maker co-founded by Dr. Dre and Interscope Geffen's Jimmy Iovine, has snagged high profile CEO Ian Rogers away from Topspin Media. Size of that investment was not announced. Ian Rogers remains on the board of Topspin Media as Exec Chairman.

Services 164

Services Santa Monica Yahoo Media 164

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

led by Altos Ventures and Maverick Capital, with Larry Braitman. Founded in 2008 in Santa Monica by Ron Goldman (former CRO of shopping.com) and Rahul Sonnad. Incubated by Clearstone Ventures in 2008. Competitors: Google (Invite Media) , MediaMath , X+1. Tags: This Week in Venture Capital.

Zag 248

Zag Truecar Venture Capital CarsDirect 248

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 14, 2014

If you follow the tech media you would be subject to a lot of narrative biases that are completely off base – and this includes the value of email and phone calls. It’s why the first company I ever invested in as a VC – Invoca – just announced a $20 million funding by Accel Partners. THE ANNOYING THING.

Email 339

Email SaaS Venture Capital Google 339

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 10, 2012

It’s becoming harder to distinguish tech companies from media companies. I’ve been meeting with LPs (those who invest in VC funds) over the past year and discussing trends I see in the market and where I think we need to be as a firm to be near to and meet the needs of our customers. And make-up artists. And writers!

Technology 313

Technology Rustic Canyon Cloud Computing Beverly Hills 313

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2018

Here, we have the thoughts of Clinton Foy , General Partner and Managing Director of Crosscut Ventures (www.crosscut.vc). Venture Capital is a Long Term Game. When I first joined Crosscut Ventures five years ago, the firm had $20 million under management and was just starting to invest out of its second fund.

Riot Games 133

Riot Games Southern California Startup Santa Monica 133

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2012

Tracy built her company, Recycled Media , out of necessity. She hasn’t raised any venture capital. It represents the great majority of entrepreneurship and eschews the fairytale rags-to-VC-riches stories we so often read about in the press. She did her first tech startup after the age of 30. That may soon change.

Startup 363

Startup Entrepreneur SEO Venture Capital 363

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2011

Last year I was on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley meeting with one of the most prominent venture capital firms in the country. The VC partner, somebody I greatly respect said, “Yeah, we like Gil and what they’re doing. I live in the city of Santa Monica. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Southern California Google Startup 313

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 1, 2010

StartupDemo partners Mixergy & AsAble.com have just announced their VC/Angel investor panel for the event. This Panel is filled with investing super stars who will be going over amazing content for all the startups and entrepreneurs out there. Allen Morgan , Mayfield Ventures. Panel speakers: Paige Craig , aka. to 11:00 p.m.

Venture Capital 58

Venture Capital Mixergy Orange County Tech Coast Angels 58

socalTECH

OCTOBER 20, 2008

PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association released their Q3 2008 venture capital numbers over the weekend, finding that Southern California companies raised nearly $751 in funding during the quarter. Surprisingly, Media and Entertainment only saw $18.1M in investments.

Southern California 113

Southern California Orange County Funding Report 113

Tech Zulu Event

OCTOBER 25, 2013

The area between Santa Monica and Playa Vista, otherwise known as Silicon Beach, houses more than 35% of startups in Los Angeles. Google, Hulu, Riot Games, Demand Media, and many other big name players residing in Silicon Beach, it is no small wonder why many tech startups flock towards the sunny beach-side view. With Yahoo!,

Report 104

Report Orange County Startup West Los Angeles 104

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 12, 2014

The Walt Disney Company & Techstars have officially announced the Disney Accelerator, a three-month mentorship and seed-stage investment program for 10 lucky companies. The LA-based accelerator is powered by Techstars and is looking for “technology-based companies focused on transformative media and entertainment experiences.”

Entertainment 102

Entertainment Santa Monica Ideas Mentor 102

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 18, 2013

28 from 7pm-10pm in Santa Monica. The panel is comprised of Southern California’s Top VC’s, Angels, and Startup Accelerator founders. We will also have some of the top companies present that each of the panelist has invested in. Peter Csathy - CEO Manatt Digital Media Ventures. in 2008.

Startup 111

Startup Entertainment Media Santa Barbara 111

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 30, 2011

24 7pm at Coloft in Santa Monica. The panel is comprised of Southern California’s Top VC’s, Angels, and Startup Accelerator founders. As an active early stage investor, Mike has personally invested in over 30 startup businesses including Klout, Betterworks, Formspring, ShoeDazzle and LunchMoney to name a few.

Tech Coast Angels 105

Tech Coast Angels Startup Angel Southern California 105

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 19, 2013

Angel Investors look for very different things than more advanced VC’s who’ve been investing for years, who are different still from those who are just getting into the investing world. The bottom line though, is they want to believe in your capability to pull off whatever they’re investing in.

Tech Coast Angels 87

Tech Coast Angels Technical Review Invest Venture Capital 87

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

Last week, Santa Monica-based Tecca (www.tecca.com) launched a consumer electronics, consumer information service, backed by Fuse Capital and Best Buy. We caught up with Mickie Rosen , the firm's CEO, about the company, its links to Best Buy, and how it was incubated out of Fuse Capital.

Incubator 239

Incubator Startup Web Technical Review 239

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 12, 2015

at the Dethrone Base Camp in Santa Monica. We will have amazing panelists from March Capital, Greycroft, Machinima, Silicon Valley Bank and Amplify who will share their insights and forecast for start-ups in 2015. Our line-up of panelists include many of Southern California’s top VCs, Angels and Startup Accelerators.

Startup 40

Startup Artificial Inteligence Venture Capital Santa Monica 40

Jason Nazar

MARCH 22, 2011

Challenge #3 – There Needs to Be More Institutional Capital in Los Angeles. There simply are NOT enough venture capital firms in the Southern California. In the bay area there are dozens of firms that are actively making investments. Opportunity #3 – There is Plenty of Capital for Great Team/Products.

Company 111

Company Companies Startup Twiistup 111

Tech Zulu Event

SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

We would like give a huge thank you to Social Media Week and the supportive startup community here in Los Angeles. In attendance we had startups galore with VC's and Angle's mixing and mingling all through the night. VC/Angel Panel. Topic discussion: Impact of social media on startups and on funding leads for investors.

Social Media 60

Social Media Technical Review Tech Coast Angels Venture Capital 60