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Want to Start a Technology Company in LA?

Both Sides of the Table

We have many seasoned entrepreneurs who have built successful companies here and made a lot of money for investors and themselves. I like to repeat the mantra, “necessity is the mother of all invention,&# meaning that because investors have this expectation you find entrepreneurs that focus on nearer term monetization.

Companies 290
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Some Thoughts on Branding Startups and Communities

Both Sides of the Table

ZestCash, founded by Douglas Merrill, former CIO of Google [Hollywood]. Idealab, led by Bill Gross, who founded Overture, CitySearch and MANY other business [Pasadena]. Like they truly understood entrepreneurs. I want to invest in the best entrepreneurs in the country – regardless of where they’re located.”

Startup 304
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Can You Really Build a Great Tech Firm Outside Silicon Valley?

Both Sides of the Table

We were talking about a company, Factual (disclosure my firm is an investor), which was founded by one of LA’s most talented Internet entrepreneurs, Gil Elbaz , who as co-founder of Applied Semantics (purchased by pre-IPO Google for $102 million and now Google AdSense) is responsible for a large portion of the Internet’s monetization.