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

socalTECH

JUNE 2, 2017

The world of mobile apps has added serious challenges for software developers, who don't just have to deal with crashes�they have to deal with slow performance, strange hangs, multiple carrier networks, and more. Software is a different beast in the mobile environment. Mobile, in a lot of respects, is still in the super early innings.

Mobile 178

Mobile Develop Development Tool 178

socalTECH

APRIL 17, 2015

Los Angeles-based FastPay , the provider of financing products for ad and media driven companies which is led by Jed Simon, has backed mobile and video advertising products firm Altitude Digital with $30M in financing, Altitude said Thursday. Terms of the financing were not announced. READ MORE>>.

Advertising 100

Advertising Platform Funding Venture Capital 100

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.

Buzzfeed 210

Buzzfeed Media Content News 210

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Sometimes that’s venture capital generally (like last year’s conversation with Reid Hoffman ) and sometimes it’s in a space where I’ve invested (like mobility and city innovation with Bird’s Travis VanderZanden , one of our portfolio founders.) They’re primarily thinking about 7 AM?—?7

Content 244

Content Netflix Platform Mobile 244

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2010

Our guest this week on #TWiVC was Dana Settle , partner at Greycroft Partners , a venture capital firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. It’s always fun debating companies with Dana because she’s always so knowledgeable on deals – particularly those in the digital media, ad-tech and eCommerce spaces. OTHER DEALS: 1.

Venture Capital 240

Venture Capital Startup Platform Technical Review 240

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 16, 2019

The New York-based company was founded last year by Gina Bartasi, a fertility industry vet who previously launched Progyny, a fertility benefit solution for employers, and FertilityAuthority.com, an information platform and social network for people struggling with fertility. are still handing out hoards of paperwork and using fax machines.

Mobile 167

Mobile Pricing Social Network Los Angeles 167

socalTECH

JUNE 20, 2012

A trio of online advertising vets are heading up a new, mobile advertising firm, Gradient X , which said this morning that it has raised $3.75M in a seed financing round. The firm said it will provide a demand side platform focused on advertising on mobile media. READ MORE>>.

Mobile 140

Mobile OpenX GRP Partners Advertising 140

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 1, 2010

Current round: $20.0mm Series-B led by Andreesen Horowitz, with USV and O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures. A social analytics platform for Facebook app developers and publishers that provides detailed demographic and engagement data. Incubated by Clearstone Ventures in 2008. Includes content mobile guides, ie. Kontagent. -A

Zag 248

Zag Truecar Venture Capital CarsDirect 248

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 15, 2010

It’s always fun chatting with Jason because he’s knowledgeable about the market, quick on topics and pushes me to talk more about VC / entrepreneur issues. Next Wednesday we’ll have Dana Settle of Greycroft Partners, a New York / LA early-stage venture capital fund. I’d link to it but it’s behind a paywall.

Venture Capital 285

Venture Capital Startup Advertising Redpoint 285

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 8, 2019

Warren’s plan called for regulators to be appointed to oversee the unwinding of several acquisitions that were critical to the development of the core technology that make Alphabet’s Google and the social media giant Facebook so profitable… and Zappos. One issue is do we need regulation on the full platform companies.

Technical Review 144

Technical Review Startup Chief Technology Officer Social Media 144

socalTECH

AUGUST 29, 2019

As part of the funding, March Capital's Gregory Milken joins Knock Knock's board of directors. Knock Knock develops "chat" games, which run on social media sites and through chat platforms, which it calls "chat-native" games. READ MORE>>.

Capital 113

Capital Funding Social Media Los Angeles 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 26, 2017

Our team has an eye for identifying legacy industries and nascent trends, and creating platforms for innovation. I think we will see the rise of a newer and larger mobile-focused media companies and the continued evolution in traditional television entertainment. I expect this will drive a wave of meaningful M&A.

Dollar Shave Club 140

Dollar Shave Club Userplane Tsavo Southern California 140

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 30, 2016

https://medium.com/media/fcbf3382017c6dc3792ff6baf03d260b/href Nope! Every platform has its unique strengths. Snapchat has an enormous audience of mobile-first consumers tuning in every day looking for content to consume in a way that YouTube doesn’t. https://medium.com/media/84c05236d43bd3da8059e096fb7f695a/href Immediacy.

Snapchat 150

Snapchat Course Media Venture Capital 150

socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2015

Los Angeles-based Pluto TV , which is developing an online Internet TV platform aimed at curating live TV entertainment for Internet users, said Wednesday afternoon that it has signed up a roster of over 20 new content partners fro the service. READ MORE>>.

Content 100

Content Entertainment News Venture Capital 100

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 18, 2011

I hope you’ll excuse me when I do the latter in combination with the former to try and explain how I see macro trends and help you think about the mind of a VC. I first met the founder of Pose, Dustin Rosen , when he was a junior person with an LA-based venture capital firm called The Mail Room Fund. Pose is no different.

Invest 303

Invest Company Companies Web 2.0 303

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2014

This was pre social media. I never asked Marc why he stopped blogging but I presume it is some combo of having started a venture capital firm (which you might guess takes a bit of time) and also allowing some air time for his then-less-well-known compadre. It shouldn’t be a one-way media publishing platform.

Social Media 307

Social Media Blogging Media Startup 307

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 17, 2018

Former YouTube exec unveils Next 10 Ventures, a $50M fund to back online creators. The firm’s hypothesis is that digitally savvy, mobile-first content creators are big money makers, or will be 10 years down the line — hence the fund’s name. What’s in it for Next 10?

Incubator 197

Incubator Content Education Seed Funding 197

Xconomy

JANUARY 19, 2017

StockTwits, the Twitter-like social media platform for sharing stock market tips and ideas, has acquired San Diego’s SparkFin, a fintech mobile app for discovering and sharing stocks and other investment ideas. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ian Rosen, a former MarketWatch general manager.

Mobile 40

Mobile San Diego Social Media Services 40

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 17, 2010

We held a 90-minute demo session where 150 of LA’s VC’s and senior technology executives watched the LPLA V2 group present in small groups of 12-15 each. The VC’s & executives were then asked to make “commitments&# (in writing) to 3-5 of the companies that they felt they could make some sort of contribution to.

Company 276

Company Companies Startup Southern California 276

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

I invested in LA-based Gogii , one of the fastest growing, most exciting mobile social networking companies you’ve never heard of and maker of a product called textPlus. Well, we started out a free text messaging platform. Add that to mobile and you’re talking about one talented executive. People like free.

Gogii 310

Gogii Invest Blogging Startup 310

Tech Zulu Event

MARCH 7, 2010

TechZulu will be streaming Digiday : Mobile live from 8:00am - 5:00pm PST Monday 3/8. Discover the what the future holds for you and this game changing media platform. 9:00am: Keynote Presentation: Mobile Advertising: The Hype, The Hope, and The Financial Reality. Presenter: Scott A.

Mobile 40

Mobile Media Case Study Advertising 40

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 16, 2012

And of course I’ve sat on the other side of the table: As a VC. This is not just the perspective of a VC although I can’t say I have zero VC bias. This is not just the perspective of a VC although I can’t say I have zero VC bias. I now observes the fund raising process as a profession. Why buy me?

Develop 366

Develop Development Funding Venture Capital 366

Startup Professionals Musings

JUNE 2, 2021

Customers today quickly get beyond these, and put a competitive priority on the experience of others, reflected in reviews and social media, and their own total experience with your sales process, delivery, returns, and support on their schedule. Features, availability, and brand are just the price of entry.

Competition 142

Competition Software Review Social Media Customer 142

socalTECH

DECEMBER 30, 2016

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. Other examples include media tech companies ZEFR and GumGum � both having record years and positioned extremely well for continued growth in 2017.

Santa Monica 124

Santa Monica Southern California Venture Capital SoCalTech 124

socalTECH

DECEMBER 26, 2019

This was a big year for Crosscut because were finally delivering on our promise of implementing a full-scale investing platform after 11+ years in business. Growing our practice from 3 original partners who would meet at coffee shops into a full institutional investing platform is a constant evolution. in 2005 for $680M.

Southern California 100

Southern California News Platform Class 100

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2019

Social media is a boon for entrepreneurs and startups. With the key social media platforms today, an entrepreneur can tune a product, build a brand, and grow the business with very low cost and a high interactivity never before possible. The elements include communications, mobile platforms, and location-based services.

Startup 128

Startup Social Media Satisfaction Entrepreneur 128

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 19, 2014

We are often asked how companies get funded, why VCs make the decisions we make and what we’re looking for in entrepreneurs. I think this is a Seriously great example of how this process works for at least one VC – Upfront Ventures. We met in August (so much for VCs taking the Summer off!) Domain Knowledge.

Funding 373

Funding Technical Review Startup Screening 373

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. In my LA I often see computer screens open with entrepreneurs talking about digital media.

Venture Capital 313

Venture Capital Southern California Google Startup 313

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

is an HR tech platform that makes it very easy for companies to source diverse talent. Companies can get on the platform and set up a company profile, and post jobs, and source candidates for those jobs. Chuka Ikokwu: We focus on both the media and technology industry, and we don't just focus on engineering. is all about?

Technical Review 140

Technical Review Startup Platform Resource 140

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. This year, we focused on diversifying and strengthening our team by recruiting Maureen Klewicki as an investor and senior associate, and Nick Kim as our head of platform.

Riot Games 133

Riot Games Southern California Startup Santa Monica 133

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 7, 2013

Anyone who reads this blog frequently will know that I am a big believer in low-cost video content and specifically the power of YouTube as a content creation & distribution platform. Our industry just took one big step towards legitimacy with the hiring of renowned media exec Ynon Kreiz to run Maker Studios. hours of TV / day.

Media 320

Media CTO Coach CTO Hire Los Angeles 320

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010

Mickie Rosen: We announced the relationship between Fuse Capital and Best Buy a year and a half ago. We set up a digital media fund, which had the goal of investing in new digital media properties, ideas, and concepts. So, we decided our initial focus should be on the mobile platform. What was behind that decision?

Incubator 239

Incubator Startup Web Technical Review 239

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 14, 2013

I am a VC. But through expressing points-of-view I can raise above the consciousness of my customers (entrepreneurs and limited partners who invest in VC funds) in ways that I couldn’t without breaking through the noise of the hundreds of others of VCs who also have money. I hand out money. How differentiated is that?

Marketing 389

Marketing Press Blogging Startup 389

socalTECH

AUGUST 20, 2010

For this morning's interview, we thought we'd talk with Los Angeles-based Sidebar (www.sidebar.com), a venture backed startup in the mobile space, to learn more about what they are up to. Patrick Kennedy: Sidebar is a company that was founded to bring consumers personalized content, focused on mobile delivery of that content.

Content 189

Content Screening Mobile Customer 189

socalTECH

OCTOBER 19, 2017

But, there is broad agreement that it would be a wonderful thing to get more entrepreneurs and venture capital into the region. As you know, Silicon Valley has a locker grip on the venture capital community. I think our board is agreement for the need for more venture capital. more) READ MORE>>.

Southern California 170

Southern California Venture Capital Startup Entrepreneur 170

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 25, 2010

Blanchard/O’Reilly Media. Most early-stage entrepreneurs who have worked with me (either as an angel or as a seed VC) know that I don’t rely at all on the social proof of other investors. As I’m generally a believer in ‘pricing rounds’ I initially didn’t agree with the premise of the post.

Venture Capital 286

Venture Capital Pricing Technical Review Startup 286