TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 30, 2022

Digital avatar startup Genies , known its for high-profile partnerships with celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Migos and Cardi B, has just released its long-anticipated NFT storefront, “The Warehouse.” ” He views Facebook and Snapchat primarily as messaging apps and said Instagram is having an “identity crisis.”

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Geni Silver Lake Startup Platform 219

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 26, 2016

Many first-time founders seek advice when thinking about what ideas would be great for a startup company and receive the wrong advice that you need to focus on a billion-dollar idea. There are very few ideas that are obviously a billion-dollar idea from the start. So what should you do? But you need to understand venture economics.

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Venture Capital Startup Capital Ideas 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 2, 2014

Many startups these days are started by young, technical or product founders who are in the idealistic phase of their lives and careers. And it’s why many early-stage companies blow up. Look at many of the high profile companies you know and you can trace some press coverage of high-profile blow-ups in team members.

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Startup Coach Course Snapchat 385

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Do you need a board when you first start you company? If you haven’t raised any money or if you raised a small round from angels or friends & family I would suggest you avoid setting up a formal board unless the people who would join your board are deeply experienced at sitting on startup boards.

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Startup Venture Capital Tips Capital 236

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. But being best-in-class at online marketing is also a sine qua non to standout from your peer group. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize.

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Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

socalTECH

JULY 27, 2016

Beverly Hills-based Influential , a developer of influencer marketing software, has raised $5M in a Series A funding, according to the company. The company says it has now raised a total of $9M. The company says its clients include Hershey's, Coca-Cola Company, NBC Universal, Nestle, General Mills and Sony Pictures.

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Beverly Hills Artificial Inteligence Marketing IBM 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 30, 2016

conversation literally every week with startups. You will build out features or expend to platforms — often before you have enough market feedback to warrant it. It forces you to keep salaries reasonable in a market where wage inflation has been the norm for years. I have this “How much should I raise?” million or $4 million.

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Startup Software Review Pricing Entrepreneur 292

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 17, 2017

There are certain topics that even some of the smartest people I talk with who aren’t startup oriented can’t fully grok. It’s common cocktail party chatter to hear people confidently pronounce that some well known startup is sure to blow up because, “How could they succeed when they’re not even profitable!”

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Startup Venture Capital Sales Course 227

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 6, 2016

In 2006 I started using Facebook and most of my friends & colleagues thought I was strange. In 2007 I started using Twitter and most of my friends & colleagues wondered why people would care what I ate for lunch. In 2008 I started VC blogging. In 2011 I started using Instagram. I already have Facebook.”.

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Snapchat Product Startup AMA 150

socalTECH

MARCH 20, 2019

Loop Now Technologies , a startup founded by former LinkedIn and Snapchat employees--which has offices in Los Angeles--says it has launched a brand new, short-form video and social media app called Firework. The company's Chief Revenue Officer is Cory Grenier, who previously was Director of Sales & Marketing at Snapchat.

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Social Media Snapchat Media Content 113

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. Disney offered up up to $120K in investment capital, access to entrepreneurs and executives at Disney, and other resources to its startups.

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Class Startup Seed Funding Entertainment 185

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

Our interview this morning is with James Borow , the co-founder of Pepper Financial (www.trypepper.com), a startup which is creating a new set of tools to help businesses grow smarter. Tell us a little bit about what you're up to now? We all left together fairly recently to start this business, and have raised $5.6M.

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Snapchat Startup SpaceX Los Angeles 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 3, 2022

Isn’t it frustrating to think you finally understand something in business, like marketing with social media, only to realize that the landscape changed while you were looking at other priorities? Jim should know, since he is the president of Ignite Social Media , one of the best known social media marketing agencies.

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Social Media Media Snapchat Platform 140

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

If you want the full SlideShare deck with many slides not in either post it’s in this link –> The LA Tech Market. Has it begun to mature or is it just better marketed than in was say 5 years ago? Given how efficient markets are when a large market like LA starts to blossom it attracts capital pretty quickly.

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Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 9, 2013

The topic of the conference was “The Sharing Economy” and as I read many of the session title descriptions I realized that people would be talking more about “collaborative consumption” (think airbnb, taskrabbit, uber) than about why people are sharing more on Instragram & Snapchat. Network Up. Prices down.

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Marketing Course Pricing Networking 361

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

The new batch of startups coming from across the U.S. — hailing from Mexico City, this startup makes mini games in augmented reality for brands and advertisers. Since launching the platform in 2018, startups from the Snap accelerator have gone on to acquisition (like Stop, Breathe, and Think, which was bought by Meredith Corp.)

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Artificial Inteligence Social Network Los Angeles Snapchat 331

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 6, 2015

As an active investor in the Los Angeles technology market we’re always seeking to better understand the data and trends of why our market has grown so rapidly since 2009. Everybody now knows that LA produced SnapChat, Tinder and Maker Studios. The report on the LA Tech Market can be found on this link.

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Marketing Newsletter Venture Capital Blogging 150

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 16, 2013

Today’s startup innovators come from about six hours south of Silicon Valley. Fun Fact: One of the most prominent figures from their firm, Mark Suster t, runs a blog startups follow religiously. Marketing: SteelHouse. Their Behavioral Marketing Platform even broke new ground at ad:tech 2011 winning an innovation award.

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Startup Snapchat Venice Social Media 111

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 16, 2022

A question that I still hear debated often is whether a new online platform startup growth strategy should focus on user count or profits. Most startups and investors I know don’t have unlimited funds, so the first question they should ask and do ask today, is “When is your company going to be profitable (self-sustaining)?”

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Platform Snapchat Startup Course 118

Tech.Co

NOVEMBER 12, 2015

When Los Angeles, CA was listed as the fastest-growing tech startup region in 2014, many guesses were raised about the root cause of its success. No, to see the strength of Los Angeles’ startup scene, you must look at the whole story. This is one of the essential ingredients that make up a sustainable startup community.

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Cornerstone OnDemand Startup Buzzfeed Los Angeles 113

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2014

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 ;-)). Think DropBox, Airbnb, Pinterest, Maker Studios, SnapChat, Tinder). Companies are now raising much more capital in the private markets now before they go public.

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Writing 362

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 17, 2018

“We are the preferred prescription provider of Snapchat Spectacles,” says Lensabl chief executive Andrew Bilinsky. “[And] we are already talking to and partnering with a variety of brands to start and scale their prescription operations [and] really scale our direct to consumer lens business.”

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Snapchat Los Angeles Pricing Startup 179

socalTECH

MAY 7, 2018

How do you get top tier venture capitalists interested in your startup? Our interview this morning is with Lidia Yan , the founder of NEXT Trucking (www.nexttrucking.com), a venture-backed startup which operates an online marketplace for freight shipping. How did the company start? That's when we came up with NEXT Trucking.

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Startup Pricing Marketing Entrepreneur 173

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 23, 2014

15 years ago we were at the peak of Internet hype with the launch of many over-capitalized businesses with a market size & opportunity was limited. The VC market has right-sized (returned back to mid 90′s levels & less competition). But markets value high growth over short-term profitability. Where are we today?

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Venture Capital Technical Review Startup Seed Funding 398

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 14, 2018

TechCrunch is heading to UCLA on October 18 and we’ve assembled some of the AR/VR industry’s most prescient founders, investors and executives to chat about the startups and trends driving virtual and augmented reality in 2018. Startups are working to centralize the experience but it’s going to look a lot different.

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UCLA Startup Snapchat Los Angeles 185

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. We know the perceptions you have of our market from our past. Startup Lessons' I had an agenda. LA has a serious technology scene. Maker Studios.

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Startup Santa Monica Snapchat Yahoo 318

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2018

Even with instant two-way communication via the Internet and mobile phones, your greatest new solution or service won’t found or properly recognized without marketing. The challenge is to rise above the clutter, and stand out in the rush of over 500,000 other new businesses that get started in the U.S. every month.

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Marketing Metrics Social Media Content 96

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 16, 2018

pointed at all of the companies in Los Angeles that came out of the demise of MySpace, and argues that the growth of Snap is about to trigger another wave of startups in the market. In the report, Amplify.LA In the report, Amplify.LA For its own part, Amplify.LA billion, with so far 9 of its companies acquired. READ MORE>>.

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Snapchat Venice Los Angeles Report 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. As You Start to Mature. In the Early Days. You’ll get empathy. Experience.

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Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 28, 2019

Isn’t it frustrating to think you finally understand something in business, like marketing with social media, only to realize that the landscape changed while you were looking at other priorities? Jim should know, since he is the president of Ignite Social Media , one of the best known social media marketing agencies.

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Social Media Media Snapchat Platform 95

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 15, 2017

10 years ago we found ourselves trying to persuade LPs and VCs that it was worth spending more time getting to know the LA market and now the most common refrain that I hear from them is “there really is something going on in LA.” It’s not just Snapchat, although there’s that. Don’t we know it.

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Dollar Shave Club Cornerstone OnDemand Riot Games Venture Capital 321

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 28, 2014

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. Snap Away with Snapchat. Snapchat, founded by Bobby Murphy and Evan Spiegel, boasts of its massive following among kids and teenagers.

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Snapchat Social Media Social Network Media 82

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 27, 2015

Isn’t it frustrating to think you finally understand something in business, like marketing with social media, only to realize that the landscape changed while you were looking at other priorities? Jim should know, since he is the president Ignite Social Media , of one of the best known social media marketing agencies.

Social Media 101

Social Media Media Marketing Snapchat 101

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 16, 2017

Isn’t it frustrating to think you finally understand something in business, like marketing with social media, only to realize that the landscape changed while you were looking at other priorities? Jim should know, since he is the president Ignite Social Media , of one of the best known social media marketing agencies.

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Social Media Media Snapchat Platform 64

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 30, 2013

Isn’t it frustrating to think you understand something new in business, like marketing with social media, only to realize that the landscape changed while you were looking at other priorities? Jim should know, since he is the president Ignite Social Media , of one of the best known social media marketing agencies. Marty Zwilling.

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Social Media Media Marketing Platform 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 24, 2015

Santa Monica-based FameBit , the online marketplace which helps brands connect with YouTubers, said today that it has surpassed 15,000 creators on the site, and now has more than 650 million subscribers across YouTube, Snapchat, Vine, and Instagram.

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Paramount Santa Monica Snapchat Content 100

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 16, 2013

I work with a lot of startups. I start to notice when bad behavior creeps into the system as a whole. The minute you try to monetize now they have metrics with which to beat you up and say you’re business has limitations.” ” Case in point: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, SnapChat. Sorry to give away the game.

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Venture Capital Startup Funding Snapchat 412