TechCrunch LA

MAY 21, 2019

For over 100 years entrepreneurs have come to Hollywood to try their luck in the dream factory and build an empire in the business of storytelling. Propelled by new technologies, new businessmen have been landing in Los Angeles since the invention of the nickelodeon to create a studio that would dominate popular entertainment. Over the past five years, virtual reality was the latest new thing to make or break fortunes, and the founding team behind the Korean company AmazeVR are the latest would-

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Chief Technology Officer Content Hollywood Netflix 211

Xconomy

MAY 21, 2019

New medicines, devices, and diagnostics produced by the life sciences community in California are giving clinicians better tools to fight disease and improve quality of life for patients around the world. Emerging technologies, such as stem cell and gene therapies, are beginning to make their mark. According to the California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)’s latest California Life Sciences Industry Report , California is home to more than 3,400 life sciences companies.

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Education Companies Company Tool 79

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 24, 2019

Audio sharing platform Soundcloud Inc. announced May 23 it will acquire Venice-based rights distribution company Repost Network.

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Networking Venice Platform Company 133

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2019

My Commencement Speech?—?Life at Your Crossroads Photo by Justin Luebke on Unsplash Crossroads Cal Poly Pomona! What’s up!?! I’m so grateful to be up here addressing you today. Today you’re either here to graduate or support somebody graduating. A graduate is at his or her first major crossroad in life. You are faced with decisions about which road to take.

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Pomona Startup Tips Networking 253

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

socalTECH

MAY 22, 2019

For our interview this morning, we talked with David Wood , the Founder and CEO of Eventene (www.eventene.com), an early stage startup, bootstrapped startup developing event management software. David--a veteran of Microsoft, having been the lead developer of Microsoft Exchange--tells us why he started his company. What does Eventene do? David Wood: We make event planning software for social organizations.

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Startup Evite Organization Software 212

Berkonomics

MAY 9, 2019

Ever stand with someone you’ve never met when at a party, a trade show or just meet someone in the hallway? We all have. And then that person opens his or her mouth and spends a boring two minutes describing their business to you? Leaving you wondering how much of that you got and how much you might retain? We all have. So, here’s the antidote to prevent you from becoming “that” person.

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Coach Entrepreneur Email Examples 136

Tech.Co

MAY 1, 2019

Pranksters in Brisbane, Australia, have hacked the audio files on rentable scooters owned by transportation startup Lime. At least eight scooters had their messages switched. According to local news, the scooters had their audio messages replaced with more edgy statements, although Lime has failed to see the funny side. The news follows a series of unfortunate events for scooter companies, from criticism from environmentalists to vandalism.

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News Software Review Technical Review Journal 125

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 15, 2019

Burbank-based Shag Enterprises Inc, an artificial intelligence company that’s created a predictive platform for online ordering, announced on May 15 it raised $1.4 million in seed funding led by New York-based E&A Venture Capital.

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Seed Funding Artificial Inteligence Platform Burbank 221

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 21, 2019

Managing Your Startup Board?—?A Short Presentation I was invited to do a keynote presentation at the Khosla Ventures CEO Summit this week in Sausalito. It was an amazing gathering of some of the most ambitious early-stage CEO’s looking to make a dent in fields related to healthcare, biology, AI and other transformative fields. It’s encouraging to know that there are still great VC firms like KV that are looking to make these short of big bets on shaping the future.

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Startup Slides Venture Capital Course 234

socalTECH

MAY 6, 2019

Los Angeles-based AppOnboard says it has begun giving away its codeless app development software, AppOnboard Studio , to help developers create "instant apps" and playable ads, as well as prototypes. The startup--led by startup veteran Jonathan Zweig--said the free version of its software makes it easy for people to design and build interactive versions of their mobile apps and games.

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Software Mobile Tool Google 195

Berkonomics

MAY 30, 2019

Attention spans are growing shorter by the second. Studies have shown that attention spans for engaging a reader or listener have fallen from eleven seconds to eight seconds on average. Eight seconds to reach someone in most any medium. Ouch! Growing weary of paid advertisements. We have grown more than a bit weary of most advertising, no matter in what form.

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Case Study Study Custom Customer 120

TechCrunch LA

MAY 25, 2019

Hello and welcome back to Startups Weekly, a newsletter published every Saturday that dives into the week’s most noteworthy venture deals, fundraises, M&A transactions and trends. Let’s take a quick moment to catch up. Last week, I wrote about an alternative to venture capital called revenue-based financing and before that, I jotted down some notes on one of VCs’ favorite spaces: cannabis tech.

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Startup Venture Capital Newsletter Tips 223

Xconomy

MAY 9, 2019

It will be hard to top last year’s flurry of biotech companies joining the public markets, but this week is shaping up to be the busiest for life science IPOs in recent memory. Five biotechs priced their IPOs and at least one more is coming. According to IPO research firm Renaissance Capital , 47 IPOs have priced so far this year across all sectors, down 27 percent compared to the same period in 2018.

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Pricing Research Capital Marketing 110

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 16, 2019

Hyperloop Technologies Inc., doing business as Virgin Hyperloop One, raised $172.2 million of a planned $224.7 million equity funding round May 13 according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

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Equity Funding Technology 150

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2019

Elon Musk via Flickr by TED Conference To be successful as an entrepreneur, you don’t have to be a fabulous person, but it helps. Some people, and some entrepreneurs, have that something extra that you can’t quite put your finger on, like Ryan Seacrest is searching for on American Idol. But the entrepreneurs that have it, including Elon Musk and Richard Branson, seem to be able to effortlessly get team members, investors, and customers to follow them anywhere.

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Entrepreneur Social Media .Net Blogging 103

socalTECH

MAY 30, 2019

Our interview this morning is with Robin Richards , the CEO of Los Angeles-based CareerArc (www.careerarc.com). Richards--a serial entrepreneur who has been involved in a number of technology companies here, including NTI Group (sold to Blackboard), Internships.com, MP3.com, and Vivendi Universal Net USA, where he was also CEO. Richards also has been an active angel investor in local startups.

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Content Social Network Coach Help 193

Berkonomics

MAY 23, 2019

It is an old warning in the entertainment industry. Define your persona the way you want others to view you – before someone else defines you by comparing you to someone not as flattering as you would like. Sometimes you win when others define your story. I have a friend in the music business who worked hard to gain introductions to, and become mentored by, several known names in the business.

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Mentor Statistics Press Blogging 120

TechCrunch LA

MAY 23, 2019

The Los Angeles ecosystem is $76 million stronger today as Fika Ventures , a seed-stage venture capital firm, announces its sophomore investment fund. Fika invests roughly half of its capital exclusively in startups headquartered in LA, with a particular fondness for B2B, enterprise and fintech companies. The firm was launched in 2017 by general partners Eva Ho and TX Zhuo, formerly of Susa Ventures and Karlin Ventures, respectively.

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Funding Startup Seed Funding Los Angeles 218

Xconomy

MAY 29, 2019

Drugs that rev up a patient’s immune system have changed how we treat cancers of the skin, lung, and more, offering people whose tumors have spread a chance to live longer than ever thought possible. But until this year, the field had nothing for breast cancer, which kills more women than any other cancer type. That changed in March, when the FDA approved a combination of the immunotherapy atezolizumab (Tecentriq), made by Roche, and chemotherapy for a subset of patients with an aggressive

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San Diego Blogging 107

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 14, 2019

Bird working to integrate Apple Pay; Comcast sells Hulu stake; Crypto hackers arrested after West Hollywood theft

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Hulu West Hollywood Hollywood Report 140

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 30, 2019

Wednesday, June 5, 2019 -- ACG101's 3rd Annual Emerging Growth Pitch Competition and Showcase. On June 5th, we're showcasing a select group of Greater-Los Angeles's finest startups in an event you won't want to miss. 10 selected startups will pitch to attendees, guest judges (investors and seasoned entrepreneurs) in a showcase/demo table style presentation.

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Competition SoCal Southern California Los Angeles 100

socalTECH

MAY 9, 2019

Los Angeles-based Phyn , the Belkin spinout which is developing very advanced, machine learning-driven smart water usage monitoring systms, has raised $12M more in a funding round, the company announced on Thursday. The funding came from Belkin International and Uponor, both prior investors in Phyn. According to Phyn, the new funding will go towards research and new product development, to help it grow its footprint in the U.S., and continued expansion in global markets.

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Belkin Artificial Inteligence Research Los Angeles 147

Berkonomics

MAY 16, 2019

There must be at least several companies out there right now positioning to compete with you. If you’re large enough, you may be the target, and if smaller, you are the minnow not the shark – and need to be agile and creative. The five strategies: Picking one to emphasize. So, how do you position yourself to be a stand out? There are five strategic positioning areas for you to consider.

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Companies Company Pricing Competition 120

TechCrunch LA

MAY 29, 2019

Most of the buzz about esports focuses on high-profile professional teams and audiences watching live streams of those professionals. What gets ignored is the entire base of amateurs wanting to compete in esports below the professional tier. This is like talking about the NBA and the value of its sponsorships and broadcast rights as if that is the entirety of the basketball market in the US.

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Startup Coach Competition Los Angeles 204

Xconomy

MAY 24, 2019

The FDA today has made Zolgensma, a Novartis treatment for the rare genetic disease spinal muscular atrophy, the second approved gene therapy in the US. The news marks a milestone for SMA patients, who have only one other approved medicine available. But it comes with a cost: At $2.125 million, Zolgensma’s price tag creates a critical test for the economic viability of gene therapy as it goes head-to-head with an established treatment.

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News Pricing San Diego Blogging 107

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 23, 2019

West Los Angeles-based investor Fika Ventures announced May 23 it completed the raise of a $76 million fund, the VC’s second since its 2017 launch.

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West Los Angeles Los Angeles Funding Angel 113

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 29, 2019

Thursday, May 30, 2019 -- RecruitMilitary Greater Los Angeles Veterans Job Fair. This free event for veterans, military spouses, transitioning military, National Guard members and Reservists features 70 employers ready to hire.

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Los Angeles Angel 100

socalTECH

MAY 6, 2019

Santa Monica-based last-mile transportation startup Bird is facing big issues with keeping its scooters up and operating, according to a story from the LA Times published on Sunday. According to the LA Times, despite a massive rollout of scooters across the world, the scooters are wearing out "long before they could earn back their cost". An study shows that Bird had nearly 7,000 scooters active in Los Angeles County in January, but only 1,500 of them survived until April.

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Santa Monica Report Study Los Angeles 147

Berkonomics

MAY 2, 2019

So, you’re managing all that work, all those interruptions, all those texts and pesky emails. You get home at some reasonable hour, kind of tired, and needing a recharge. Sound familiar? Well, that’s probably because you’ve “wasted” a significant portion of your time on tasks others could have done effectively. So, where do you get those sparks of genius that could change your company and change the world?

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Email Training Entrepreneur Sales 120

TechCrunch LA

MAY 8, 2019

GumGum , the Los Angeles-based startup that’s spent the past decade applying machine learning technologies to advertising and sports, has spun out a new healthcare startup focused on the dental industry called Pearl. The company has raised $11 million in financing from undisclosed strategic investors and Craft Ventures, the investment firm set up by former Yammer founder, David Sacks.

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Artificial Inteligence Startup Yammer Los Angeles 200

Xconomy

MAY 29, 2019

The nominees and finalists for the first-ever Xconomy Awards San Diego were an impressive bunch, making it tough for our judges and the editors to pick the winners. There were multiple deserving companies and people in each category. After much discussion and debate, we decided that these winners represent the best of the San Diego life sciences and healthtech community.

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San Diego Ideas Venture Capital Companies 107

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 20, 2019

Tetra Tech acquires WYG; Riot Games employees unsatisfied with walkout results; Snap finds new executives

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Riot Games Report 113

SoCal Tech Calendar

MAY 17, 2019

Thursday, May 23, 2019 -- Keiretsu Forum. Orange County Forum. Angel investor event.

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Orange County Keiretsu Angel 100

socalTECH

MAY 15, 2019

Burbank-based CareerArc , which develops social recruiting and outplacement. technology and services, says it is in the midst of a big expansion in Los Angeles, and has added about 20 percent to its headcount over the last three months. The company said, as part of that growth, it has named Jason Blais as Executive Vice President of Sales, Linda Souza as Senior Vice President of Marketing, and also promoted Yair Riemer to President of its Career Transition Services Division.

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Burbank High Tech Sales Los Angeles 145

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2019

Image via Flickr by Fortune Conferences In every business, especially new ones, quick and effective problem solving is a critical skill. The problems you face are more complex and moving faster than ever before, and the consequences of a poor or incomplete solution can be costly to your business, and well as to your community, human health, and the environment.

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Demand Examples Summary Tool 99

TechCrunch LA

MAY 30, 2019

In a previous life, John Underkoffler spent his days in Los Angeles dreaming up all of the possible ways men and machines would interact as a science adviser on films like Minority Report. Now, he designs those systems for the real world through his company Oblong Industries , which has labored to create a full stack of collaborative tools for business users that are every bit as high-tech as the one’s Underkoffler dreamt for the silver screen.

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Screening Tool High Tech Los Angeles 175