TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

With the help of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, the U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin, Maxar Technologies, SAIC and the Israel Aerospace Industries company, Techstars and Starburst Aerospace are launching an accelerator focused on the space industry in Los Angeles. Already a major hub for the space and aerospace startup industry, with companies like SpaceX, Relativity Space, Virgin Orbit, Rocket Lab, Phase Four, and others calling Los Angeles home, the new accelerator will provide another booste

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Los Angeles Angel SpaceX Entrepreneur 275

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

San Diego-based Inseego , which develops wireless hotspots and other related technology, said it has partnered with Ericsson to bring new 5G NR (New Radio) products to the market. According to Inseego, it is launching a set of 5G NR products in 2019, which will provide high-performance 5G mmWave and sub-6GHz mobile and fixed wireless solutions for worldwide deployments.

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Networking San Diego Mobile Product 133

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Seed investments are down by any measure (funds, deals, dollars) over the past 3 years in deals < $1 million AND in deals between $1–5 million. What gives? Over the past month a colleague ( Chang Xu ) and I sifted through data on the venture capital industry (as we do every year) and made a bunch of calls to VCs and LPs to confirm our hypotheses.

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Venture Capital Invest Seed Funding Startup 328

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 28, 2019

It’s a fact of life that a banker, lender or lessor will ask for a personal guarantee from the founder or entrepreneur most every time. But what if you’ve diluted your interest from 100% to something less than 50%? Should your investors expect you to carry 100% of the risk? The short answer is “yes.” Seems unfair, doesn’t it? To most lenders, the guarantee is still a requirement, putting the entrepreneur in a position of additional risk that is not spread among the shareholders.

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Entrepreneur Course Email Pricing 120

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

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

Cryptocurrency is rarely out of the news, but the recent case involving Canadian currency exchange QuadrigaCX is a real show stopper. With the sudden death of its founder, Gerald Cotton, customers are owed an estimated $190 million due to a missing password only he knew. A huge amount of cryptocurrency is believed to be stored on a device that is now inaccessible, leaving customers in the dark as to what has happened to their funds.

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News Custom Customer Commerce 148

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 1, 2019

A version of this article previously appeared in Forbes. I recently interviewed Bruce Heavin, Co-Founder and Head of Innovation at Lynda.com, as part of UC Santa Barbara’s Innovator Stories series. Bruce, along with his wife Lynda, created a learning company from their garage, initially by holding in-person classes and later selling VHS tapes via mail order.

Sales 113

Sales Education Startup Class 113

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

San Diego-based Portfolium , a startup developing tools to allow students to showcase their achievements, projects, and other portfolio of academic work to potential employers, has been acquired by educational software provider Instructure , the two announced late Tuesday. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Portfolium was founded in 2014, and was led by founder and CEO Adam Markowitz.

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Tech Coast Angels San Diego Incubator Education 172

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

I’ve heard a lot of people question whether there is too much money in venture capital chasing too few great deals. “We’re in a new tech bubble!” some have pronounced. “Valuations are out of control” is the mantra of others. Others believe that new business models are emerging that could replace venture capital all together. Every year I try to answer the question of “what has changed in the Venture Capital industry” and this year my colleague Chang Xu and I took a deep dive through the data and

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Venture Capital Capital Startup Funding 292

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 21, 2019

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen executive summaries of business plans in which the entrepreneur seeks $5,000,000 to build the business. Four reasons you should reconsider. First, few startups can use that much money today with all the virtual services available and increasingly inexpensive methods of development, prototyping and marketing.

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Startup Invest Summary Resource 120

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

After a deal that just closed this week, Spotify is stretching its streaming wings beyond music and into podcasts. It reportedly paid a hefty $230 million to acquire the podcast publisher and network startup Gimlet Media, and has also acquired the podcast monetization platform Anchor for an undisclosed price. It’s the biggest podcast industry acquisition ever, and Spotify isn’t done.

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Acquisition Media News Platform 124

Xconomy

FEBRUARY 19, 2019

The first-ever marketed medicine for the fatty liver disease known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, could be on the horizon. The data, from a closely watched drug known as obeticholic acid, aren’t perfect. But they are nonetheless expected by the drug’s developer, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, to be good enough to support approval.

Study 109

Study Help Marketing Develop 109

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

Chris Lorenz, Geoffrey Anderson, and James Borow may have spent their days over the past few years working at Snap, but on nights and weekends Anderson and Lorenz were laboring on a different project — improving Ethereum development tools. . Now the three men are finally ready to take the covers off of the labor of love they’ve been working on and launch Forge Platform , a new toolkit for distributed applications.

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Platform Outsource Development Tool Startup 216

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 14, 2019

The personal account details of nearly 28 million users of HauteLook , the private sales site founded in Los Angeles and now owned by Nordstrom , have been hacked and have just shown up for sale on the "dark web" , according to security researchers. According to a report from The Register, HauteLook's data--along with that from Dubsmash, Myfitnesspal, MyHeritage, and many others--just went up for sale on the "dark web" for less than $20,000 in Bitcoin.

Web 168

Web Sales Research Los Angeles 168

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

I’ve sat on many boards over the past 2 decades and seen my share of high-functioning boards and low-functioning boards. Here are some observations I have from this exposure: If a company moves from strength-to-strength with predictable outcomes, easy financings, low staff turn-over, limited competitive threats then the composition of the board probably doesn’t matter as much.

Startup 269

Startup Venture Capital Layoffs Resource 269

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 14, 2019

Early stage investors have been arguing over this for years. Do they bet on the entrepreneur (jockey) or the business idea and plan (the horse)? This is serious stuff. If you are looking for money, this question will certainly come up in one form or another when you approach professional or organized angel or VC investors. A more complex answer.

Venture Capital 120

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Ideas Summary 120

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Workplaces and alcohol have a long and tipsy history together, from 60s-era Mad Men culture to a co-working space hot-button topic today. It’s no secret that the tech industry is pretty drink-friendly, with a beer fridge often nestled between the ping-pong table and a snack bar on the list of attractive workplace perks. But, in recent years, we’ve started side-eyeing tech’s drinking habits.

Study 123

Study Startup Slides Advertising 123

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

Every time I challenge a business plan with little or no budget for marketing, I get the answer that they will be using “viral” marketing, which costs nothing. The founder explains that the product is so “buzz-worthy” that usage will spread rapidly through word-of-mouth only, meaning people loving it and recommending it to their friends. First of all, Seth Godin pointed out a long time ago that viral marketing does not equal word-of-mouth.

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Marketing Invest SEM Startup 107

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Timing is the single most valuable skill of the modern economy, but I would argue its’s the least understood and also the least practiced. Capitalism is fundamentally about timing, since market competition is about finding opportunities before others. When should you start a company? What company should you start? When should a VC invest? When should you join a company?

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Venture Capital Startup Technical Review Invest 202

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Santa Monica-based TigerConnect , the developer of healthcare communications software, has rolled out a new set of products and product enhancements, all aimed at communications between healthcare providers, patients, and health systems. According to the company, it has rolled out a new product called TigerTouch, which it says allows health systems to communicate directly with patients through video, voice, and text.

Product 165

Product Software Santa Monica Mobile 165

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

One Thing That Great Leaders Understand I was scanning Twitter this past week and I came across these great Tweets by Michael Seibel at Y Combinator. When I was young I thought management was about distribution/delegation of responsibilities. I now realize it is truly about the maintenance of morale and motivation. Morale and motivation are moving targets that require consistent and proactive effort to maintain.

Course 264

Course Satisfaction Resource Startup 264

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 14, 2019

Early stage investors have been arguing over this for years. Do they bet on the entrepreneur (jockey) or the business idea and plan (the horse)? This is serious stuff. If you are looking for money, this question will certainly come up in one form or another when you approach professional or organized angel or VC investors. A more complex answer.

Venture Capital 120

Venture Capital Entrepreneur Ideas Summary 120

Tech.Co

FEBRUARY 12, 2019

Tesla has announced that a “dog mode” will be added to its cars as soon as this week. The reason? Someone asked Elon Musk for it on Twitter. The latest mode is just the latest in a long line of updates and improvements that Tesla has rolled out across its cars, with some being recommendations tweeted directly at Musk, then quickly adopted.

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News Satisfaction Custom Customer 123

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 3, 2019

Innovation is the key to long-term business success, both in startups as well as established organizations. Yet every business and every entrepreneur I know struggles with this challenge, focused on hiring the right people and implementing the right process. Yet, in my experience the key seems to be more a discipline of innovative thinking from everyone, driven from the top.

Startup 105

Startup Outsource Development Entrepreneur Ideas 105

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 27, 2019

Andrew Erskine has developed his legal career along with the rise of the tech startup scene in Los Angeles. Today, as a partner at Orrick in its Santa Monica office, he works with companies large and small in the area and beyond. His approach: “The way that I practice and the philosophy I have is that clients aren’t really coming to me with legal problems.

Technical Review 141

Technical Review Startup Los Angeles Santa Monica 141

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 22, 2019

Santa Monica-based Tapatalk , which develops a popular mobile application to allow users to access and read online forums, is turning to Blockchain in an attempt to reward content creators. According to Tapatalk, its "Gold Points" reward system--which rewards forum content creators based on pageview or ad impressions--will now be powered by blockchain technology.

Content 160

Content Software Review Technical Review Santa Monica 160

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 22, 2019

Should You Allow Board Observers on Your Startup Board? Photo by Antenna on Unsplash A board observer is somebody who attends your board meeting but doesn’t have a voting right. There are also certain points in a board meeting where you can ask the board observers to step out of the room unless they’ve negotiated specific rights that preclude this.

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Startup Venture Capital Writing Training 255

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 7, 2019

Think you don’t use negotiation most every day of your life? From the time we learn to manipulate our parents from the crib to today, we learn to negotiate to obtain our wants and needs. As we grow, we negotiate constantly with our parents, then with our peers. As we enter the business world, we negotiate with our bosses and our subordinates. We negotiate with our suppliers, customers, investors, and even our auditors.

Pricing 120

Pricing Sales Tool Entrepreneur 120

Xconomy

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

Alector, a company taking an immunotherapy approach to Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders, has raised approximately $176 million in an initial public offering. The South San Francisco, CA, biotech sold 9.25 million shares Wednesday evening priced at $19 apiece, which was the midpoint of its targeted $18 to $20 per share range. Those shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Thursday under the stock symbol “ALEC.

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Pricing Develop Development San Diego 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Wednesday, March 6, 2019 -- ACG101 Food Manufacturers and Distributors. California's agriculture is the most productive and varied in the U.S., owing to the climate, topography, complex systems of water delivery and diverse population of growers in our state. This year, the ACG 101 annual Food and Ag program takes a look at a different aspect of this fertile industry: Manufacturing and Distribution.

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ACG Product 100

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 25, 2019

With an angle on a long-neglected part of the shipping industry — the short-haul movement of cargo from docks to logistics centers — Dray Alliance is joining a growing startup scene for logistics businesses based in Los Angeles. With some of the nation’s largest ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, the Southern California region is now fertile ground for businesses hoping to tackle what amounts to a trillion-dollar industry.

Startup 140

Startup Long Beach Los Angeles Southern California 140

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

Santa Monica-based venture investor March Capital Partners (www.marchcp.com) announced last week that it has raised a second fund, worth $300M. To learn about the new fund, we sat down with Jamie Montgomery , one of the fund's co-founders, to hear about March Capital's strategy and the new fund. Tell us a little bit about the new fund? Jamie Montgomery: It's interesting, as you grow, you get bigger and more focused.

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Funding Capital Artificial Inteligence Startup 160

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 24, 2019

I have been writing a series on how startup boards get selected, who sits on them and what to avoid. I will also delve into how to prepare for them, how to make the meeting effective and how to best follow up to make sure people take action. Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash In response to one of my posts I saw this great Tweet by Bilal Zuberi and it resonated.

Startup 251

Startup Help Technical Review Writing 251

Berkonomics

FEBRUARY 7, 2019

Think you don’t use negotiation most every day of your life? From the time we learn to manipulate our parents from the crib to today, we learn to negotiate to obtain our wants and needs. As we grow, we negotiate constantly with our parents, then with our peers. As we enter the business world, we negotiate with our bosses and our subordinates. We negotiate with our suppliers, customers, investors, and even our auditors.

Pricing 120

Pricing Sales Tool Entrepreneur 120

Xconomy

FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Last year was a remarkable year for biotech companies going public. Not only did an unusually large number of biotech companies go public, but a significant number of early-stage biotech companies went public at premium valuations relative to their later-clinical stage peers. There were approximately 58 biotech IPOs in 2018 (excluding offerings with under $25 million of proceeds) for total gross proceeds of $6.3 billion [1], of which a significant number were early-stage companies — either in pr

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Tips Companies Company Marketing 100

SoCal Tech Calendar

FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Wednesday, March 6, 2019 -- How to Pitch to Investors. Russell Ficher Business Collection, Camarillo Library. For anyone starting or thinking about creating a startup, one of the most important parts of the process is pitching and looking for investors. In this presentation, Benjamin Kuo, Founder and Editor of socaltech.com, Southern California's leading online resource for information on startups, venture capital, and the technology industry all across Southern California, talks about some hint

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Ventura Southern California Startup Tips 100

InfoChachkie

FEBRUARY 18, 2019

A version of this article previously appeared Forbes. In my capacity as a Professor of Practice at UC Santa Barbara , I was asked by the Student Association if I would consider interviewing rapper, fashion designer and entrepreneur Tyler The Creator. I was flattered to be considered, but Tyler’s Manager, Christian Clancy, wisely thought better of it and requested a more hip and informed Professor to conduct the interview.

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Hawthorne Design Startup Santa Barbara 100