Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2017

It conjures up a range of emotions anytime I’ve privately expressed my opinion to thought leaders in our industry that I believe it is one of the most innovative companies in digital media. Some, of course, agree with me that BuzzFeed has been and continues to be the gold standard innovator in digital media to emulate.

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Buzzfeed Media Content News 210

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 14, 2017

Rubicon Project chief executive steps down following rough year, Softbank invests in artificial intelligence startup Oben, and Vice Media to produce original Snapchat shows.

Artificial Inteligence 113

Artificial Inteligence Snapchat Report Media 113

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Back then only 15% of our dollars were invested locally whereas today 50% of our dollars are invested in LA. It’s not just Snapchat, although there’s that. https://medium.com/media/3c33723f326245292958d4b055dfb424/href Today we learned that another great fund was announced — Fika Ventures. Don’t we know it.

Dollar Shave Club 321

Dollar Shave Club Cornerstone OnDemand Riot Games Venture Capital 321

socalTECH

JANUARY 17, 2014

Southern California''s venture capital investments totaled a little more than $598.4M The investments were a drop from Q4 of 2012, $711.8M was invested in the region. billion was invested across Southern California''s technology industry. in the quarter and social media darling Snapchat raised $50.0M.

Southern California 246

Southern California Venture Capital Orange County Tech Coast Angels 246

Tech.Co

JULY 31, 2017

Shift to Snapchat-Styled Videos. With all sorts of text/video messaging apps, email and social media as the primary mean of communication, the phone has become both a public and a business nuance. Michael Litt recently shared how her B2B company decided to use Snapchat-style videos to engage with both her team and their customers.

Snapchat 66

Snapchat Product Email Social Media 66

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 14, 2019

Meanwhile, new venture-backed companies like the superstealthy Shadows, SuperPlastic and Toonstar are all developing virtual characters that will launch via social media channels like Snap and Instagram, or on their own platforms. ” So the two founders began contemplating what a new, low-cost, high-touch media network might look like.

Social Media 261

Social Media Content Media Artificial Inteligence 261

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 16, 2016

Computer Vison Startup Nanit If you follow me on Snapchat ( msuster ) you might already know that I’ve been looking at and investing in a number of companies in the computer vision space. Today I am so excited to announce our latest investment in the category —  Nanit  — which is a smart baby monitor.

Invest 150

Invest Course Startup CTO Hire 150

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 5, 2022

From Los Angeles to Silicon Valley , a trend emerged among social media influencers and startup founders alike: move into a mansion with 10 or so collaborators, work day and night together to build fame and wealth, and hope that your new roommates do their dishes. “Some of these programs are cool, but it’s like, what’s after that?

Platform 210

Platform Social Media Netflix Content 210

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

” I hear it when I visit LPs (the people who invest in VCs) all across the country, “Yeah, I haven’t been out there for a few years but I keep hearing that something is going on there.” He built & IPOd Demand Media. ” Or if you ask the venerable Greg Bettinelli, he’s #LongLA.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

socalTECH

MARCH 16, 2017

Earlier this week, Derek Norton , a long time advisor to the media, Internet, and technology industry in Los Angeles, announced a brand new venture capital fund called Watertower Ventures (www.watertowerventures.com). Where are you planning making investments? Derek Norton: We're investing in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and New York.

Invest 145

Invest Funding Capital Startup 145

Tech Zulu Event

JANUARY 21, 2014

Snapchat, the messaging pioneer leads the charge with a staggering $123 million raised (and a valuation of $3-4 billion) even amongst a strange series of uncertainty surrounding their denial of Facebook’s $3 billion cash offer and security leaks.

Los Angeles 105

Los Angeles Angel Startup Snapchat 105

socalTECH

JUNE 8, 2020

in a funding round led by Octopus Ventures, and also which also included Experian Ventures, Cherry Tree Investments, Dig Ventures, Mucker Capital, Unlock Venture Partners, TechStars and Wavemaker Partners. What we do, is we take them from social media into a one-to-one relationship, via text, directly to their phone. What is Stackin'?

Content 124

Content Social Media Startup Artificial Inteligence 124

socalTECH

DECEMBER 27, 2016

Today's contribution is from Brad Brooks , the co-founder and CEO of TigerText , which provides clinical communication solutions for the healthcare industry, and also co-founder of anonymous social media app Whisper. Brad Brooks: Locally, I think Snapchat's IPO is going to spawn a massive ecosystem in the Southern California tech community.

Southern California 113

Southern California Social Media News Entertainment 113

socalTECH

MARCH 11, 2014

We have already licensed this out to great partners like SNL, and we have a great relationship with NASCAR, which helps them managed their owned media on YouTube. Zach Games: Rich and I were trying to build a big software company here in LA, and in order to that, you need people who are invested in the ecosystem.

Hollywood 159

Hollywood Help Media Content 159

socalTECH

DECEMBER 22, 2016

Cody Simms: Techstars tripled down on Los Angeles in 2016 with the launch of three investment and mentorship programs for startups through which we will be investing in more than 30 startups per year in LA. Cody Simms: Locally in LA the Snapchat IPO will have a huge impact on our local startup ecosystem.

Southern California 100

Southern California Snapchat Yahoo Social Media 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 13, 2016

Mitu Network is the largest digital media company for Latinos in the US and also targeting Mexico and South America. The company that I invested in – Maker Studios – became the largest and covered video games, music, comedy, women’s life style, mom’s, animation and the like. ESPN in sports. CNN/Fox in news.

Company 150

Company Companies Netflix Content 150

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2015

Everybody now knows that LA produced SnapChat, Tinder and Maker Studios. If you’re a tech or media startup considering whether LA is now a mature market I think the data will assuage any concerns. We intend to put out more research both on our geography but also on the markets we’re interested in investing in.

Marketing 150

Marketing Newsletter Venture Capital Blogging 150

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 16, 2013

Previously known as GRP Partners, Upfront Ventures has focused on early stage investments since 1996. Fun Fact: Their latest investment was into LA-based Daqri – the augmented reality platform that has been used for campaigns with Cadillac and MAXIM Magazine. Social Media: Snapchat. Venture Capital: Upfront Ventures.

Startup 111

Startup Snapchat Venice Social Media 111

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 14, 2018

The world’s top tech companies have heavily invested in AR/VR and are persistent in broadcasting the technologies’ potential to blur the lines of how consumers interact with the digital world. Beyond the tech titans, it’s the small startups that are dialing into what’s missing in the ecosystem right now.

UCLA 185

UCLA Startup Snapchat Los Angeles 185

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 8, 2014

I don’t need to tell you what else is LA … SnapChat, Whisper, Tinder. We have invested $17.3 One measure of CincyTech’s overall impact is that in 2013, its portfolio companies represent 80% of total seed and early stage capital invested in Southwest Ohio. All great communication companies. KickStarter?

Startup 390

Startup Venture Capital Capital Funding 390

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 19, 2013

Evan Spiegel , SnapChat (Los Angeles, mobile app). Internap , PricewaterhouseCoopers , Demand Media , Stubbs, Alderton & Markiles LLP , Oracle , Cresa Partners , UK Trade & Investment , PIXT , and many others. Rob Reed , MomentFeed (Los Angeles/Ventura, analytics). Ophir Tanz , GumGum (Los Angeles, advertising).

Southern California 279

Southern California SoCalTech Dollar Shave Club Santa Monica 279

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

I was reminded of this yesterday watching my friend Justin Kan on Snapchat with this 10-second reminder, “No matter how much you raise at your company you’ll end up spending it in 12–24 months” https://medium.com/media/8594cb16d022a083932b0f3d60b79ebd/href I would probably amend it to say 12–18 months. People do what people do.

Startup 292

Startup Software Review Pricing Entrepreneur 292

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

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 16, 2016

Prime examples include Uber, Airbnb and Snapchat. People are even talking about “decacorns" -- investable companies with net worth now exceeding $10 billion -- like Dropbox and Pinterest. Seed-round investment. This term refers to an initial venture-capital investment, often wrongly sought to seed early product development.

Startup 57

Startup Software Review Equity Invest 57

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

With small amounts of money invested (sub $3 million) the risks are reasonably low for most VCs and the consequences of bad decisions or decisions a VC has limited say in is tolerable. Unless you’re SnapChat, Instagram or similar this is probably 3-5 years into your existence. We have also built out an amazing management team.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

socalTECH

AUGUST 17, 2020

The reason for this business, is folks are always going on social media to recommend products to their friends, but they're not making any money from it. We want to help you monetize your knowledge, your skills, and your social media. Our team has a passion for e-commerce, and we also have athletes and others on our team.

Help 113

Help Commerce Platform Orange County 113

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2017

Most of the guidance you see for entrepreneurs is aimed at those who are selling a product (Apple, Tesla, Xiaomi), or selling a service (Uber, Airbnb, Snapchat). Use visibility and social media to pull clients in. They match individual customer preferences, whether it be voice, email, texting, or social media, to close deals.

Social Media 56

Social Media Pricing Technical Review Demand 56

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). I do believe we are entering a new era of opportunity for entrepreneurs. Now is the time to float your own.

Ideas 55

Ideas Snapchat Social Media Entrepreneur 55

Xconomy

DECEMBER 28, 2017

A series of events this year—from the Equifax data breach to the foreign use of social media to influence the U.S. presidential election—has prompted some to question the utopian promise of innovation, especially when it comes to Web companies and cybersecurity.

Social Media 65

Social Media Commerce Web Media 65

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

While many tech startups do this intuitively (say, SnapChat thinking it would be much better if our photos out partying disappeared) it still happens. The fees generated from speaking engagements and consulting can be worth several times the investment of getting your book on a best seller list. So, yes, you can buy a best seller.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 13, 2013

Which I have shown to do, but anybody who invests in tech, invests in team. Do you think the main visuals are the appealing factors in digital media? Don’t build your product, test, and try to validate unless what you are validating is a revenue model because Snapchats of the world are one in a billion. ML: I do.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Mobile Startup Los Angeles 87

Tech Zulu Event

FEBRUARY 17, 2016

In fact, Twitter was one of the first mobile social media platforms. But I couldn’t justify the investment any more. In 2009, when the platform was just under three years old, Nielsen put out a report stating that Twitter had grown 1,382% year-over-year. What Twitter looked like soon after launch in 2006. I stayed on the platform.

Platform 40

Platform Startup News Content 40