Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 13, 2010
You know the type. You see them on Twitter, Facebook or Plancast plotting out their next 12 conference. You see their Tweets from airports across the globe. Look at me! I’m in Spain! Now I’m in France. Next week I’m speaking in Cabo San Lucas! They are professional conference attendees. They are CEO’s addicted to the schmoozing.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 6, 2010
Not happy with just keeping up with the thousands of updates from your fellow Twitter users? If not, El Segundo-based toy maker Mattel has launched a new toy this week which connects the Twitter micro-messaging service to your own pet dog. Mattel said it has launched a new gadget called Puppy Tweets , which allows users to follow their dog's activities via Twitter.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Eric Greenspan
OCTOBER 19, 2010
Jackson Greenspan, 6 months. It’s hard to believe that my newborn is not so new anymore. The past 6 months went by faster than any I can ever remember. Jackson keeps getting bigger and the days keep getting shorter. The older I get, the faster life seems to wiz by. I’m pretty sure I used to pray to be older and for a day to finally end. Now, I just want one more minute or another week or the past 10 years back.
InfoChachkie
OCTOBER 20, 2010
Reginald Martinez Jackson was a perennial major league baseball all-star throughout most of his 21-year career. Reggie earned the nickname “Mr. October” because of his consistent ability to hit home runs during clutch situations in playoff and World Series games, which contributed to his teams winning five Championships. He was also often referred to as a “hotdog” for his self-promotional antics and lackadaisical on-field play.
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.
Berkonomics
OCTOBER 18, 2010
Plan 10% of your time for board relations. Most all leaders new to the CEO position underestimate this time requirement. It is good for the company when the CEO shares concerns, threats and opportunities with the board. The rule of “no surprises” works well for the longevity of a CEO. But there are always surprises. CEO’s should communicate with members of the board if not a committee of the whole as soon as possible when threats to the corporation arise.
SoCal Tech Calendar
OCTOBER 28, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010 -- Cleantech Focus Los Angeles: Water Efficiency and the Corporate Perspective. Cleantech Group, known for a second-to-none network of investors, entrepreneurs, technologies and policy leaders, has developed a unique understanding of where commercial opportunity lies in the deployment of cleantech business models. Introducing Cleantech Focus Los Angeles, a networking event and conference focused on opportunties in water.
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 28, 2010
How do you take a business you started as your own personal web site, and turn it into an online powerhouse, completely bootstrapped, from the little town of Ojai, California--not exactly known as a technology town? Not too many people are aware of the success and story of Lynda.com (www.lynda.com), started by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin , and how the firm's now grown to a double-digit, multimillion dollar business which is known as THE source for online training on such things as web design,
Startup Professionals Musings
OCTOBER 28, 2010
In these tough economic times, more and more people are turning to entrepreneurship as an alternative to traditional employment. I applaud this trend, but caution all of you thinking this direction to approach entrepreneurship with your eyes wide open. It is not for everyone, as the entrepreneur’s path is fraught with challenges. Many experts have tried to clearly lay out the criteria for success in a way that allows you to judge your own situation and your own temperament, and make a rational d
Tech Zulu Event
OCTOBER 25, 2010
"We have spent years building our online clout and our network on the Internet, but never really get the respect we deserve as we walk around in the real world," said Mohit at TechCrunch Disrupt SF. Visit TechZulu for full story. Tags: Entrepreneurship Social Media TechZulu Law Android BizRate Christina Gagnier Coloft David Kazzie etnrepreneurs Farhad Mohit gri.pe iPhone LA LA Startups law Law news Lisa Borodkin Mobility News online shopping Reputation ShopZilla tech news TZ Law TZLaw YouTube.
Berkonomics
OCTOBER 26, 2010
Give one percent equity to each outside board member vesting over four years of service. Many early stage CEOs and board members have asked for some guidance regarding pay and time commitments for board members. Here is my best advice, based upon many boards and many years. Pay early stage board members of companies that are not lifestyle businesses one percent of the fully diluted equity in the form of an option that vests over four years of service.
Jason Nazar
OCTOBER 14, 2010
Here is the video interview I did with Paige Craig on TWIST this week. We talk about topics like how to raise angel investment, the qualities entrepreneurs should demonstrate and Paige’s new business.
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 22, 2010
On why you should be an entrepreneur, “A lot of people do what they have to do. You want to get yourself to a position where you can do what you want to do&# (Chamillionaire). Last night I co-hosted a dinner at Soho House in Los Angeles with some of the most senior people in the media industry with executives from Disney, Fox, Warner, media agencies and many promising tech & media startup CEO’s.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 4, 2010
Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment said that its third expansion for World of Warcraft is expected to debut in stores on December 7th. The firm--which has been running a invite-only beta of the expansion pack for World of Warcraft since July--said it will make the release available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Macintosh computers both at retail stores and online as a download.
Startup Professionals Musings
OCTOBER 24, 2010
Social networking is indeed the new business networking. But you need to understand the different cultures to make it work. For example, my personal interest is entrepreneurs, and MySpace is for tweens. Me going to MySpace is sort of like your parents crashing your high school prom – everyone is uncomfortable and neither side has any fun. Since I’ve been lurking around the various social networks for the last year or so, I’ve learned a few things, so I thought it would be helpful to clue you in
Tech Zulu Event
OCTOBER 6, 2010
Click here to watch live on October 28th at 8pm PT. TechZulu and CAPLINKED are teaming up to putting together an amazing panel for all the startups and entrepreneurs out there. And if you just so happen to not be in town or are not from Southern California no worries. TechZulu will be live streaming the entire panel and you will be able to participate virtually.
CEO Flow
OCTOBER 28, 2010
Higher bonuses and incentives for white collar work reduces performance? Watch this!
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 12, 2010
A while back I wrote a bunch of posts on Sales & Marketing and have been meaning to get back to that theme for a while. Even if you don’t have “direct&# sales I would tell you that “everything is a sale&# including fund raising, hiring, getting press and doing business development. So I hope these posts will be useful to all and not just those who need road warriors.
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 17, 2010
Anyone who works in the venture business or frankly just lives in Silicon Valley will be used to hearing a buzz word rise up out of nowhere to capture the technology zeitgeist and find its way into every entrepreneur’s product development plan or every aspiring entrepreneur’s pitch deck. I call this “the puck at your feet&# because it’s not where the industry is heading but rather where the industry is today.
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 29, 2010
I’m often asked by people, “how do I get into VC?&# and I normally respond by saying, “there is no easy path. It’s often a combination of luck, relationships & timing. Often these jobs aren’t even publicized.&#. Well, I know 3-4 VC jobs that are publicly available. GRP Partners is looking to hire two analysts (maybe even three) to join our practice in Los Angeles.
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 31, 2010
This article was originally posted in a much more concise version over GigaOm if you prefer the shorter version. This is part of my ongoing Sales & Marketing Series. In the first part of this post I talked about how sales in a startup is often evangelical , requires as consultative sale and needs constant adjustments based on customer feedback.
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 26, 2010
I’m working on a larger series on “scaling sales&# that will drop this weekend or early next week so I thought I’d go for a more light-hearted topic today. I’ve always thought about writing a few posts on features in products that drive me nuts. I have a short list of what I consider the worst UX offenders and Bcc has got to top the list.
Both Sides of the Table
OCTOBER 5, 2010
I have often complained how much I hate sitting on panels. The reason is that conferences usually pack them up with speakers to maximize the number of high profile guests in attendance to sell more general admission tickets. So with a panel of 5-6 people and 30-45 minutes it’s hard to have a real conversation. Every speaker wants to get their points in so the conversation often lacks rhythm.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 19, 2010
Although creating films and cross licensing videogame titles is not new to the videogame industry, it looks as if Santa Monica-based Activision Publishing and automotive maker Jeep have taken the trend of taking videogames into other product areas to a new area today: a new, Call of Duty: Black Ops-themed Jeep Wrangler. Jeep and Activision said this morning that the two are in an exclusive partnership, where Jeep will create a 2011 Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty: Black Ops Edition.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 11, 2010
Virgin Galactic , the commercial spaceflight venture of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, said over the weekend that it has completed a piloted, free flight of SpaceShipTwo, the spaceship the firm is developing in Mojave. According to Virgin Galactic, it released the VSS Enterprise, its first vehicle, from an altitude of 45,000 feet over the weekend, and successfully landed at the Mojave Air and Space Port.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 14, 2010
Looking to bridge the gap between the immense amount of technology created at local universities and the commercial market, a new group--the Tech CEO Network (www.techceonetwork.com)--has quietly been working in Los Angeles to try to help spin out new companies from institutions like UCLA, Caltech, USC, UCSB, and other colleges and universities in town.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 7, 2010
The University of Southern California and wealthy engineer Fariborz Maseeh , now a hedge fund manager in Newport Beach, is announcing this week a $1M endowment, which will fund an annual, $50,000 prize for a business plan competition for the school's engineering students. The new prize, which is being funded by the Massiah Foundation, will award $50,000 each year to the best, entrepreneurial plan and idea to come out of the USC Viterbi engineering school.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 25, 2010
Kevin O'Connor is the co-founder of DoubleClick , which he took from startup to IPO on the Nasdaq in 1998, sold it to private equity firm Hellman & Friedman for around $1.2 billion in 2005, and finally sold again to Google in 2007 for $3.1 billion. After DoubleClick, Kevin eventually settled down in Santa Barbara, which is where his newest startup-- FindTheBest.com (www.findthebest.com) is headquartered.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 5, 2010
Los Angeles-based BeachMint , the stealth e-commerce startup headed by former MySpace exec Josh Berman and backed by Anthem Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, and others, has rolled out a new, fashion e-commerce site, JewelMint. According to BeachMint, the new site will feature unique jewelry designs created by actress Kate Bosworth and celebrity stylist Cher Coulter.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 6, 2010
Los Angeles-based MySpace has launched a new iPhone app, the site has announced. According to MySpace, its new 'Drawler' application allows iPhone users to draw, color, add stickers, art, and other decorations to mobile phone photos. MySpace said the free application also allows users to share those creations with friends on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 8, 2010
San Clemente-based RateBlend.com , a new site developed by Nuvolocity , said this week that it has launched a web-based calculator site targeted at commercial real estate professionals. According to Nuvolocity, the new site helps those professionals calculate lease rental rates and rental concession savings. Nuvollicity was founded by Kris Williams, who was a former software developer at MySpace.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 21, 2010
Emphasizing the challenge that faces Los Angeles-based MySpace in taking back the initiative in the social networking industry, competing social network Facebook has seen a significant boost to its efforts to dominate social networking, as it aligned with Amazon.com, Zynga, Comcast, Liberty Media, and Allen & Company in funding a new venture fund from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Thursday.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 26, 2010
Woodland Hills-based ReachLocal , the provider of local online marketing services for small and medium sized businesses, reported its results Tuesday, saying that it had $77.1M in revenues for Q3 of 2010, up 47 percent from Q3 of last year, when it had $52.6M in revenues. The quarterly results were a 10 percent growth from the prior quarter. The firm reported a net loss of $2.8M, compared with net income of $14.9M for the quarter.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 12, 2010
Kamran Pourzanjani , the former CEO and founder of PriceGrabber.com, and Omid Rahmat , the former CEO of Tom's Hardware, have acquired Portland- and Santa Barbara-based ELC Technologies , the development firm founded by Jonathan Siegel. ELC is the firm behind startups RightScale, RightCart, and RightSignature, and also provides technology consulting and development to other companies.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 12, 2010
Los Angeles-based Demand Media , the online content publishing empire of Richard Rosenblatt, has updated its S-1 filing with the SEC, saying that it has applied to list its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol "DMD". The firm had not yet specified an exchange where it hopes to take the company public before today. In addition, Demand Media revealed it had executed a 1-for-2 reverse stock split of its common stock ahead of its planned IPO, and also that it plans to use $50 to $75M
socalTECH
OCTOBER 22, 2010
The fight over Proposition 23, the California referendum coming to the polls to overturn AB32, has more backers today, from a group of 30 San Diego CEOs. According to The Green Chamber of San Diego County and those CEOs, they are urging San Diegans to vote no on Proposition 23, saying that the effort to repeal the state's Clean Energy Law would be "be harmful at best and devastating at worst" to its business community, neighborhoods, and the California economy.
socalTECH
OCTOBER 4, 2010
Southern California venture totals for Q3 totaled around $1.0 billion in investments, according to the Q3 analysis of venture capital deals by socalTECH.com. According to an analysis of socalTECH's proprietary database of venture capital deals, venture investors invested slightly more than the $966M in Q3 of 2009, but less than the $1.6 billion invested in Q2.
Expert insights. Personalized for you.
414 
Let's personalize your content