Berkonomics
JANUARY 23, 2020
It’s more common than you think. Some of the world’s best companies to work for are those that encourage employees to spend time following their own paths of curiosity toward development of new products or services. Google, 3M, Facebook , and Microsoft all allow their employees to take time to explore new ideas they conceive and attempt to develop.
TechCrunch LA
JANUARY 11, 2020
Throughout 2019, a number of mobility companies launched in additional markets, while many pulled out of areas that no longer served them. Meanwhile, transportation startups continued to raise more money even as they laid off employees, a sign that industry consolidation has officially begun. In October, Bird raised a $275 million Series D round at a $2.5 billion valuation.
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L.A. Business Journal
JANUARY 30, 2020
Caltech won a $1.1 billion verdict against Apple and Broadcom for allegedly infringing on the Pasadena university's wireless technology patents.
TechCrunch LA
JANUARY 30, 2020
SpaceX is said to be in talks with local government officials about setting up a new rocket factory in the Port of Los Angeles, a location that would give it easy access to the ocean for transporting its next-generation Starship and Super Heavy launch vehicles to its coastal launchpad sites in Florida. CNBC reported that these discussions were confirmed by Port of LA officials.
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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.
socalTECH
JANUARY 22, 2020
As worries about the spread of a new virus from China--which has resulted in the quarantine of Wuhan, China , a city of 11 million--a Los Angeles company, Dimer UVC Innovations , is offering up its technology to airports and officials, at no cost, to a number of airports. According to Dimer UVC Innovations, its germ-killing robot, the GermFalcon, is designed to use ultraviolet light to kill viruses, bacteria, and superbugs on surfaces and in the air--with a model specifically designed for use in
TechCrunch LA
JANUARY 23, 2020
TikTok , the fast-growing user-generated video app from China’s Bytedance, has been building a new music streaming service to compete against the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. And today it’s announcing a deal that helps pave the way for a global launch of it. It has inked a licensing deal with Merlin , the global agency that represents tens of thousands of independent music labels and hundreds of thousands of artists, for music from those labels to be used legally o
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Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 11, 2020
In my experience working with entrepreneurs, once they feel they have a winning formula for their business, they are often hesitant to change or update it. They forget that adapting their company and themselves as their customers evolve is the key to long-term survival. Think of Blockbuster and Toys ‘R’ Us , both of whom missed customer changes and the move to online.
L.A. Business Journal
JANUARY 22, 2020
Social media company TikTok has opened an office in Culver City's Hayden Tract business park.
Xconomy
JANUARY 30, 2020
Some companies that belong to the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), a large industry trade group, convene diverse hiring committees, seek out representation among their suppliers and vendors, and are led by executives that talk regularly about the importance of an inclusive workforce. Others have no women or people of color as employees, gather no data on employee demographics, and have no initiatives in place to support diversity and inclusion.
socalTECH
JANUARY 22, 2020
Los Angeles-based Acquicent , the startup which is developing a marketplace that allows users to invest in "museum-grade" collectibles such as art and vintage automobiles, is announcing this morning that it has added Kevin Conroy, CEO of ConroyMedia and former director of Sotheby's, as both an advisor and ivnestor. Conroy was on the board of Sotheby's from 2016 to 2019, and also had served as MGM's President of Digital from 2016-2018, Univision's Chief Strategy and Data Officer from 2009-2016, a
TechCrunch LA
JANUARY 26, 2020
The Los Angeles startup community is joining the rest of the world in mourning the death of NBA superstar, entrepreneur and investor Kobe Bryant who was killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, Calif., shortly before 10 a.m. on Sunday. Reports indicate that Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, and seven other passengers were on board a helicopter traveling to Bryant’s basketball training facility Mamba Academy.
Berkonomics
JANUARY 25, 2020
Like to make professional videos for a small cost? Postings to on-line sites? Dave takes you through the process, shows the results, and gives you the costs. There’s lots more information you will find as you experiment and may need when selecting and learning the tools Dave lists. But you’ll be well on your way to making great videos that will set you apart from all the many podcasters and influencers using just their smartphone camera.
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 25, 2020
Entrepreneurs and startups are big believers in innovation, but sometimes they forget that innovation must be continual to assure long-term success, rather than the one big-bang idea that initiated their journey. By default, innovation in every business decreases over time, and continuous innovation requires ongoing initiatives and measures of customer perceived value.
L.A. Business Journal
JANUARY 24, 2020
Century City-based engineering giant AECOM reportedly has been in possible buyout talks with Montreal-based engineering services firm WSP Global Inc.
Xconomy
JANUARY 28, 2020
Subtle changes can presage a worsening of a chronic condition, but symptoms may not become apparent to a patient until it’s time to call an ambulance. BioIntelliSense, a Denver-based digital health startup, has developed a wearable sensor meant to monitor patients’ vital signs remotely and provide near real-time data that clinicians can use to identify physiological changes indicating a need for intervention.
socalTECH
JANUARY 29, 2020
Tim Cadogan , the current CEO of Pasadena-based OpenX , is set to take over at San Diego-based GoFundMe , according to GoFundMe. Cadogan is taking over for Rob Solomon, who had been CEO of GoFundMe for the last five years. The reason for the shift was not given, however, GoFundMe said that Solomon will stay as Chairman of the company. GoFundMe lets peopel raise money through crowdfunding, for everything from charitable causes to personal needs.
TechCrunch LA
JANUARY 29, 2020
Beyond Meat, the publicly traded producer of plant-based protein replacements for meat, is currently giving other companies in the alternative meat space an education in just how finicky appealing to consumer tastes can be. On the same day that the Canadian Tim Horton’s restaurant chain is dropping Beyond Meat products from its menus, the company and fried chicken chain KFC announced the expansion of a pilot run of the company’s chicken replacement products at new stores in Nashville
Berkonomics
JANUARY 9, 2020
The recruitment traps. It has happened to all of us who have been leaders in business long enough. One of your employees is approached by an employee of a customer or of a supplier, stating that “It sure would be great to work in your company.” And without a policy or sometimes without thinking, your employee responds with a “Let me help,” or worse yet, “I have a position open.”.
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 1, 2020
Welcome to another challenging new year ahead! You’ve probably already made your resolutions for 2020, but if not, I suggest a renewed commitment to finding happiness and satisfaction in your chosen business lifestyle. After all, most of us spend more hours in this role than any other, and life is too short to spend most of your life unhappy. As a mentor to entrepreneurs and business owners, and seeing their workload and challenges, it would be easy for me to conclude that starting a business is
L.A. Business Journal
JANUARY 30, 2020
EV maker BYD Motors will construct a 50,000-square-foot facility in Rancho Dominguez to build electric forklifts.
Xconomy
JANUARY 31, 2020
An Aimmune Therapeutics drug developed to treat peanut allergy won FDA approval late Friday—the first time the agency has approved an oral immunotherapy for a food allergy. The Aimmune (NASDAQ: AIMT ) drug, Palforzia, was developed to desensitize patients to peanuts. The FDA decision covers patients between the ages of 4 and 17 who have a confirmed peanut allergy diagnosis.
socalTECH
JANUARY 22, 2020
Santa Monica-based TigerConnect , which develops communications tools for the healthcare and other industries, said on Wednesday that it has named Tim Goodwin as the company's new Chief Technology Officer. Goodwin was most recently CTO at Vacasa, which provide online vacation rental management. Goodwin also served as CIO and Senior Vice President at Fiserv Digital Channels.
TechCrunch LA
JANUARY 24, 2020
Los Angeles is one of the most desirable locations for commercial real estate in the United States, so it’s little wonder that there’s something of a boom in investments in technology companies servicing the market coming from the region. It’s one of the reasons that CREXi , the commercial real estate marketplace, was able to establish a strong presence for its digital marketplace and toolkit for buyers, sellers, and investors.
Berkonomics
JANUARY 2, 2020
So, we’ve previously discussed why it is important for you to build consensus in an organization in most every major decision. To do that, you must be able to relinquish some degree of power, overriding decisions made by consensus only with some thought and certainly with an explanation to those involved. Never fear empowering others. If you’re secure in your position, you should never fear empowering direct reports to make decisions that fall within the resources allocated to them and within t
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 4, 2020
One of the big questions that every entrepreneur struggles with is how much funding they should request from investors in the first round. They know from forums such as Shark Tank on TV that asking for either too much or too little will derail credibility in the eyes of the investor, and leave the entrepreneur with no money and a struggling startup.
L.A. Business Journal
JANUARY 10, 2020
After shutting down an existing esports league, Activision Blizzard Inc. is betting big on a new league that will begin its inaugural season Jan 24.
Xconomy
JANUARY 31, 2020
Arcutis Biotherapeutics raised about $159 million from its IPO, offering 1.6 million more shares than anticipated and pricing at the high end of its planned range. The Westlake Village, CA-based biotech sold about 9.4 million of its shares at $17 apiece. Arcutis (NASDAQ: ARQT ) shares began trading Friday. The stock price closed at $21.80, up 28 percent.
socalTECH
JANUARY 8, 2020
For today's interview, we spoke to Bill Curtis , the founder of Malibu-based CurtCo Media (www.curtco.com). Curtis is the former publisher of the Robb Report, which he sold back in 2015, and has a long history of operating media companies that have published such titles as Home Office Computing, Home Theater, Mobile Computing, Worth, and many others.
TechCrunch LA
JANUARY 7, 2020
Real estate is a big business in the sprawling city of Los Angeles, and new technology tools to target the industry continue to attract investor attention. The latest of these is Luxury Presence , which pitches digital marketing services to real estate agents and has raked in $5.4 million in financing to support the buildout of its services and sales teams to manage clients.
Berkonomics
JANUARY 16, 2020
Sometimes it is the first thought you or your managers have when in need of skilled talent, especially for sales or product development. It is not hard to find and observe the best employees of a good competitor at work, skillfully moving the competitor forward in a visible way. Two slices of the pie for one price. And it is a tempting slice of pie – two slices for one price – to take a critically needed employee from a competitor, damaging that firm while building yours.
Startup Professionals Musings
JANUARY 10, 2020
Most new entrepreneurs don’t anticipate the learning burden of being the leader, including the sense of loneliness and isolation at the top. People outside the team can’t relate to the pressures of “the buck stops here,” and everyone on the team assumes that they are the primary ones under pressure to deliver. Even in a single entrepreneur startup, the leader carries a heavy weight.
L.A. Business Journal
JANUARY 6, 2020
Santa Monica-based Snap Inc. paid $166 million to acquire AI Factory Inc., a San Francisco-based startup founded by Snap's former director of engineering.
Xconomy
JANUARY 27, 2020
So far this year four privately held companies have made the transition to trading on the public markets. By month’s end, five more are anticipated to join the class of 2020 initial public offerings—and four of those are in life sciences, according to IPO research firm Renaissance Capital. Two are clinical-stage biotechs: Cambridge, MA-based Black Diamond Therapeutics, which is looking to raise $151 million, and Westlake Village, CA-based Arcutis Biotherapeutics, which aims to add $125 mil
socalTECH
JANUARY 6, 2020
San Jose-based PayPal Holdings said this morning that it has completed its $4 billion cash acquisition of Los Angeles-based Honey , the developer of a browser plug-in that helps consumers find the best coupons for purchases when they are shopping online. According to PayPal, the deal will "transform the shopping experience for PayPal's consumers while increasing sales and customer engagement for its merchants.
TechCrunch LA
JANUARY 29, 2020
Kleiner Perkins , one of the most storied franchises in venture capital, has already invested much of the $600 million it raised last year and is now going back out to the market to raise its 19th fund, according to multiple sources. The firm, which underwent a significant restructuring over the last two years, went on an investment tear over the course of 2019 as new partners went out to build up a new portfolio for the firm — almost of a whole cloth.
Tech.Co
JANUARY 6, 2020
2019 was the year podcasting turned into a major industry. A few high-profile acquisitions put Spotify into the running against Apple, while buzzy new startups like Luminary jumped into the pool as well. Today, major media prognosticators including market research company Forrester and the Interactive Advertising Bureau foresee podcasting as the next billion-dollar media market , with a report from the latter saying that one-billion-dollar mark could be surpassed as soon as 2021. 90 million Amer
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