Both Sides of the Table

MAY 24, 2021

Silicon Valley and the media industry that surrounds it values youth. The culture is driven by the 20-something irreverent founder with huge technical chops who in a “David vs. Goliath” mythology take on the titans of industry and wins. It has historically been the case that VCs would rather fund the promise of 100x in a company with almost no revenue than the reality of a company growing at 50% but doing $20+ million in sales.

Venture Capital 363

Venture Capital Capital Funding Startup 363

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 26, 2021

Britive Inc., a Glendale-based cloud cybersecurity company, has raised $10 million in Series A funding to continue to develop its security software.

Glendale 327

Glendale Software Funding Develop 327

socalTECH

MAY 25, 2021

Los Angeles-based Park Place Payments, a fintech startup focused on payment processing, disclosed on Tuesday that it has raised $1.5M in a seed funding round. The funding was led by Curate Capital. Park Place is led by founder and CEO Samantha Ettus. The company's payment processing workforce is mostly women.

Seed Funding 203

Seed Funding Los Angeles Capital Funding 203

TechCrunch LA

MAY 20, 2021

Renovating a home is an exciting, yet often fraught-filled, endeavor. One startup that aims to help make the process simpler, cheaper and less stressful by helping people manage the home renovation process has raised $6 million to help it grow even faster. Builders VC led the round, which included participation from Celtic, Newfund and Wish co-founder Danny Zhang.

Technical Review 185

Technical Review Startup Venture Capital Software Review 185

Advertiser: Aggregage

Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.

Company

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 22, 2021

It’s sad when the startup is “successful,” but the founder still feels totally unsatisfied. I see it happening all the time. The business is a winner, but the family or other relationships are broken by the stress. Or the entrepreneur started down this path to be their own boss and change the world, but find they are now answering to many more people, with nothing really changed.

Satisfaction 174

Satisfaction Entrepreneur Guide Writing 174

Berkonomics

MAY 27, 2021

First, the short answer. No matter what your size, if you intend to grow your business into more than just a lifestyle workplace, you should create a board of directors. If you take money from knowledgeable investors, you will be required to create a board as a part of the investment process. So, why go through the effort? Boards perform two important types of task.

Resource 156

Resource Acquisition Class Help 156

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 10, 2021

Akash Nigam, founder and chief executive of Venice-based Genies Inc., said he wasn’t entirely sure what a nonfungible token was until last summer when he met with Dapper Labs Inc. Chief Executive Roham Gharegozlou.

Geni 321

Geni Venice Companies Company 321

socalTECH

MAY 18, 2021

For today's interview, we sat down and chatted with >Zeb Evans, the founder and CEO of San Diego-based ClickUp (www.clickup.com), the developer of a workplace productivity software platform which is based by such companies as Google, Airbnb, and Nike. ClickUp has raised $135M in venture capital so far. What is ClickUp? Zeb Evans: ClickUp is a workplace productivity platform, for putting all of your work in one place, including tasks, docs, goals, and chat.

Doc 203

Doc San Diego Demand Product 203

TechCrunch LA

MAY 13, 2021

TiMi Studios, one of the world’s most lucrative game makers and is part of Tencent’s gargantuan digital entertainment empire, said Thursday that it has struck a strategic partnership with Xbox. The succinct announcement did not mention whether the tie-up is for content development or Xbox’s console distribution in China but said more details will be unveiled for the “deep partnership” by the end of this year.

Mobile 144

Mobile Los Angeles Entertainment Research 144

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 29, 2021

An underutilized, but valuable resource, every startup should investigate is a formal or informal connection to your alma mater, including any local university. These resources are definitely not limited to students, since every university seeks out and needs the real world exposure and experience of entrepreneurs who already are active in the real world marketplace.

Incubator 172

Incubator Mentor Class Resource 172

Berkonomics

MAY 20, 2021

Enterprise time as a measurable commodity. Let’s examine the challenges to a CEO in making use of enterprise time, one of your most valuable and often misused assets. Enterprise time, as opposed to personal time management, is the sum total of resources available to a company expressed in terms of time – time to develop, to debug, to produce, to deploy, to respond to issues, and to make changes in plans that are not working.

Resource 156

Resource Outsource Development Metrics Custom 156

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 20, 2021

Wednesday, May 26, 2021 -- LA BEST - LA Bioscience Ecosystem Summit 2021. The Los Angeles Bioscience Ecosystem Summit 2021 (LABEST) is the premier showcase for bioscience innovation in Los Angeles County. This event is a collaboration with colleagues from across the county to present promising academic research, entrepreneurial faculty investigators, as well as local start- up companies.

Southern California 100

Southern California Research Startup Los Angeles 100

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 3, 2021

Lindsay McLean, founder and chief executive of Home-Lister Inc., said the idea for the company came to her after working with a real estate agent to sell her first home.

Companies 312

Companies Company Ideas 312

socalTECH

MAY 12, 2021

Pasadena-based GuRu Wireless, a developer of wireless power charging technology, is powering a new effort to bring wireless charging to Motorola, the two companies said this morning. According to the two, Motorola and GuRu will work together to bring over-the-air wireless power to Motorola's smartphones. GuRu claims its technology allows for delivery of watts of power over meters.

Pasadena 203

Pasadena Technology Develop Development 203

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 24, 2021

Going into 2020, the micromobility industry was already experiencing some growing pains. A year later, local micromobility companies are optimistic.

Companies 299

Companies Company 299

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 3, 2021

USC officials will break ground May 6 on a new building that could become a key center for technological advancement in Los Angeles.

USC 299

USC Los Angeles Technology Angel 299

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 26, 2021

Topia Interactive Inc., which develops virtual meeting places where members can join “worlds” created by artists and designers, raised $5 million.

Design 291

Design Develop Development 291

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 3, 2021

Launching a startup is like jumping off a cliff and building a hang glider on your way down, according to Nicole Emrani Green, who co-founded ecommerce gifting startup Givingli Inc.

Startup 290

Startup 290

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 10, 2021

A planned high-speed rail project between Las Vegas and Southern California that stalled out last fall amid the pandemic now appears to be back on track.

Southern California 279

Southern California 279

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 24, 2021

Owners are increasingly giving their dogs and cats the luxury treatment, which is leading to strong growth for the pet care industry in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles 264

Los Angeles Startup Angel 264

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 10, 2021

A direct rail connection to LAX has moved one step closer to reality, and Sylmar-based construction contractor Tutor Perini Corp. appears poised to deliver it.

264

264

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 4, 2021

Miso Robotics Inc. will make the software behind its kitchen automation technology available to foodservice businesses as a standalone product.

Software 264

Software Technology Product 264

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 31, 2021

Marina Del Rey-based Whatnot Inc. raised $50 million in Series B funding to grow its staff and expand its marketplace of collectible fan memorabilia.

Marina Del Rey 246

Marina Del Rey Funding 246

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 10, 2021

Downtown-based infrastructure giant AECOM recently won portions of two major multiyear federal contracts.

246

246

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 10, 2021

A direct rail connection to LAX has moved one step closer to reality, and Sylmar-based construction contractor Tutor Perini Corp. appears poised to deliver it.

246

246

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 3, 2021

Snap Inc. recorded positive free cash flow in the first quarter of 2021, the first time the company has done so since going public in 2017.

Company 246

Company Companies 246

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 10, 2021

Brian Anderson hated shopping on his phone.

Help 237

Help 237

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 17, 2021

Augmented reality and holographic technology exist largely as a novelty for most Americans. But as smartphone cameras evolve and 5G networks come online, many investors and businesses are betting that the technology will become commonplace.

Arcturus 223

Arcturus Software Networking Technology 223

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 17, 2021

Pasadena-based Embodied Inc. released a product last year called Moxie, an artificial-intelligence-enabled robotic companion for young children.

Artificial Inteligence 214

Artificial Inteligence Companies Company Pasadena 214

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 24, 2021

Westwood-based financial technology platform Sunbit Inc. raised $130 million in Series D funding, bumping its valuation to $1.1 billion.

Platform 200

Platform Funding Technology 200

socalTECH

MAY 4, 2021

Los Angeles-based Genies, a startup that helps people create their own avatars--which they can decorate by buying special NFTs (non-fungible tokens)--has raised $65M in a Series B funding, the company said this week. The funding was led by Bond Capital, and also included NEA, Breyer Capital, Tull Investment Group, NetEase, Dapper Labs and Coinbase Ventures.

Geni 186

Geni Los Angeles Capital Invest 186

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 10, 2021

Most aspiring entrepreneurs believe their initial idea and inspiration requires the most important creative thinking. Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that the initial idea is the easy part, and it’s the later implementation, and the competitive business marketing that are the real creative challenges. There is a tough balance here to achieve, since a large portion of starting and running a business requires analytical, logical thinking.

Ideas 171

Ideas Patents Training Entrepreneur 171

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 2, 2021

I’m always looking for evidence of early startup characteristics that might be predictors of long-term success. Every investor has his own list, usually based on his own very small sample, or simply his gut feeling. Of course, we would all like to have a magic list based on more definitive tracking of many real startups over time. In that context, I came across an old study of 27 startups featured in Inc’s annual “Anatomies of a Start-up,” done for “The Journal of Business Venturing,” and publis

Startup 170

Startup Study Journal Sample 170

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2021

These days I see a surge of new startups as businesses seem to be recovering from the pandemic. If you are not starting one yourself, the next best thing is joining one as a partner, or as an early employee. It takes much the same preparation to make you the best entrepreneur, or the best job candidate. Of course experience is the best teacher, but you need to get the job to get the experience.

Tips 168

Tips Startup Coach Networking 168

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 26, 2021

Based on my experience with startups, trust is the most valuable asset you can have, especially when asking people to step into the unknown by funding your innovation, by joining your team, or just buying your new product as an early customer. You need to understand the unfortunate fact that, due to the realities of life struggles, trust does not come by default from anyone these days.

Companies 165

Companies Company Metrics Entrepreneur 165

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 24, 2021

Whether it’s a business or personal interaction, multiple studies show that as much as 70-93% of the communication is nonverbal. That means that people addicted to text messages, twitter, and email may be sending less than half the message, and receivers often misinterpret even that half. Yet the use of SMS text messaging for all purposes, including business, has grown consistently worldwide since it was introduced 25 years ago, to an estimated 2.5 trillion/year for business alone, according to

Layoffs 164

Layoffs Email Tool Study 164