TechCrunch LA

MARCH 6, 2020

Chinese gaming giant Beijing Kunlun has agreed to sell popular gay dating app Grindr for about $608 million, ending a tumultuous four years under Chinese ownership. Reuters reports that the Chinese company sold its 98% stake in Grindr to a U.S.-based company, San Vicente Acquisition Partners. The app, originally developed in Los Angeles, raised national security concerns after it was acquired by Beijing Kunlun in 2016 for $93 million.

Los Angeles 321

Los Angeles Software Review Acquisition Report 321

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 5, 2020

I am due to speak at the SaaStr conference next week: Wednesday, March 11th at 10:45 AM. I had originally signed up to talk about the “VC Market Trends” overall but it seemed inauthentic to speak about VC funding without addressing the virus in the room. So I wrote a brand new deck outlining some Upfront views on what we may see in the funding markets ahead.

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Funding Venture Capital Conference Marketing 314

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 2, 2020

Southern California’s demand for electric vehicle industry skilled workers will continue to grow, further pushing up salaries and filling local training classrooms, according to a new report.

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Training Demand Report 250

socalTECH

MARCH 24, 2020

Culver City-based Feet First Events , which runs corporate team building events, says it has launched a new "virtual game" aimed at helping businesses adapt their teams to working remotely. According to the company--which normally runs in-person, corporate team building events--its new "Cyber Sleuths" virtual game uses video and web-conferencing platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Team, Google Hangouts learn the tools to succeed working remotely for the first time.

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Culver City Entertainment Screening Web 174

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

Berkonomics

MARCH 26, 2020

So many tasks; so little time. As a manager, you have a number of critical tasks that are general to your position as opposed to specific to your industry. These include ensuring the continued health of the organization, setting the moral compass for your stakeholders, providing for succession by training and documenting, leading the effort in compliance of regulations and safety needs, and … elimination of all possible bottlenecks that impede the efficiency of your organization.

Organization 156

Organization Demand Satisfaction Training 156

Tech.Co

MARCH 9, 2020

The coronavirus outbreak has many businesses urgently considering their work-from-home policies. If you're soon likely to be logging on from your living room, there are some best practices for working from home that will keep your tasks efficient and your business secure. Working from home has become standard for many professionals in recent years. Whether the flexibility of remote work is an added perk for busy staff, or simply a necessity for out-of-town workers, it's an increasingly popular a

Tips 147

Tips Software Review Study Email 147

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 8, 2020

Every new entrepreneur who has not spent years in corporate life has the advantage of an unbiased look at business opportunities, but at the same time has the disadvantage of missing critical business experiences that can cost them dearly in their first startup venture. In my experience, building a successful business is more difficult than building an innovative solution.

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Training Entrepreneur IBM IBM 144

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 30, 2020

Ring is one of the most recognized brands and most widely used technologies in a smart-home market that’s expected to total $101.1 billion in 2020.

Marketing 226

Marketing Technology 226

socalTECH

MARCH 2, 2020

For today's interview, with talked with David A. Smith , the founder of Croquet (www.croquet.io), a new Los Angeles startup which actually has its roots at the very beginning of the modern computing era. Croquet is developing software for collaborative applications, which has applications in virtual worlds and augmented and virtual reality. Croquet has a fascinating history in that its roots actually came out of the Xerox Altothe very first computer created to support graphical user interfaces,

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Platform Startup Examples Web 168

Berkonomics

MARCH 19, 2020

Great executives and managers seem to intuitively know what they don’t know. But it is not at all uncommon to not even know what questions to ask. Who would have thought about COVID 19 and public’s panic responses? Image credit: Alexas_Fotos / Pixabay. One week we all thought we had our responses dedicated to supply chain disruptions. By the next week it was protecting our associates and employees.

Email 156

Email Report Technology Custom 156

Xconomy

MARCH 13, 2020

The UC San Diego Health System has developed a diagnostic test that can determine whether a patient has contracted the novel coronavirus in about eight hours. Developed under guidance that the FDA published roughly two weeks ago amid the severe shortage of tests for the viral illness, COVID-19, UCSD Health developed and validated an in-house test in nine days, , according to an emailed statement distributed late Friday.

San Diego 135

San Diego Outsource Development UCSD Develop 135

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 16, 2020

Uber Eats said Monday it will waive delivery fees for all orders from independently owned restaurants on the app as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread and causes cities to shutter all non-essential businesses. Restaurants throughout the U.S. are facing economic headwinds as city and state officials take steps to stop the spread of COVID-19 , a disease caused by novel coronavirus.

Los Angeles 274

Los Angeles Email Angel Custom 274

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 4, 2020

Business success is all about having the best team, yet the average entrepreneur has little prior experience with hiring people and building top-notch teams. It’s no wonder that 45 percent of startups fail in the first five years, and an even smaller percentage ever see a return for their years of effort. Most new entrepreneurs assume their passion will attract and motivate the right team members.

Organization 135

Organization Satisfaction Entrepreneur Screening 135

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 30, 2020

Michael Burke, who had been expected to step down as chief executive at Century City-based engineering company AECOM at the end of March, will remain at the helm of the company for the foreseeable future.

Century City 223

Century City Company Companies 223

socalTECH

MARCH 31, 2020

Long Beach-based space launch company Virgin Orbit has temporarily shifted its attention from developing rockets and its satellite launch systems, and applied its engineering skills to developing a new ventilator, designed to help in the battle against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. According to Virgin Orbit, it has developed a new, new mass-producible bridge ventilator, working with the Bridge Ventilator Consortium (BVC), led by the University of California Irvine (UCI) and the University o

Long Beach 160

Long Beach Development Develop UCI 160

Berkonomics

MARCH 12, 2020

Reduce the emotion; reduce the threat of lawsuit. You’ve certainly experienced the angry outburst from an associate or employee who has just learned of an event that the person took as “unfair,” no matter how rational the explanation by the decision maker. Most emotional responses to decisions in business are generated not because the person making the response feels the decision was unwise, but rather unfair.

Examples 156

Examples News Email Companies 156

Xconomy

MARCH 19, 2020

Three hundred Takeda employees from the Japanese pharma giant’s California research center have been working from home for 10 days straight. Neurocrine Biosciences, one of the few commercial-stage biotechs in town, is working to ensure the animals housed in its vivarium are appropriately minded. Ciara Kennedy, CEO of clinical-stage antifungal therapy developer Amplyx, is facing a slowdown in trial enrollment as hospitals focus on handling the influx of pandemic patients.

San Diego 120

San Diego Research Develop Development 120

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 9, 2020

Cadillac has cancelled the upcoming debut of the Lyriq, an all-electric mid-sized SUV designed to be an entry point into luxury brand’s new EV lineup, over concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak. GM’s luxury brand had planned to reveal the Lyriq on April 2 at an event in Los Angeles. COVID-19, a disease caused by a new virus that is a member of the coronavirus family and a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past, has caused governments and compa

Los Angeles 252

Los Angeles Organization Design Angel 252

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 9, 2020

A common pain of startups after an exhilarating first surge of early adopters is a long and frustrating plateau of slow growth, where it seems like nothing you do will get your business to profitability. Too many entrepreneurs don’t know what to do at this point, largely accounting for that disappointing 50 percent of startups that fail in the first five years, according to Gallup.

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Search Engine Optimization Startup Social Media Metrics 131

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 30, 2020

RCT Studio, a Burbank-based developer of interactive games, announced it has raised $10 million in Series A funding.

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Burbank Funding Develop Development 165

socalTECH

MARCH 2, 2020

Fountain Valley-based HyperX , the gaming division of Kingston Technology , says it has released two new gaming keyboards, the HyperX Alloy Origins and Alloy Origins Core keyboards. According to the company, the new mechanical keyboards feature a new switch, the "HyperX Aqua". The keyboards also include RGB exposed backlit keys, which are popular with gamers.

Technology 145

Technology Companies Company 145

Berkonomics

MARCH 5, 2020

Why five risks? In the creation of a young company, there are five principal risks to be addressed by the entrepreneur. Professional investors will probe these five risk areas and make the decision to invest based upon comfort with each. So, it is important for the entrepreneur to identify, address and mitigate each of these in order to increase valuation and decrease the risk of ultimate loss of the business.

Outsource Development 156

Outsource Development Ideas Resource Patents 156

Xconomy

MARCH 5, 2020

A 20-patient Phase 1 study of an RNA drug discovered by Ionis Pharmaceuticals that is being tested as a treatment for Huntington’s disease by Roche was suspended after two reports of infections related to a device used to take samples of cerebral spinal fluid during the trial. The suspension doesn’t appear to be related to the drug, tominersen, and no other trials of the investigational treatment were impacted—including an ongoing global Phase 3 study due to read out in 2022.

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Sample Study Report San Diego 120

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 3, 2020

NASA and a clutch of startup and established companies are moving forward with plans to transform mobility in urban environments through the Urban Air Mobility Grand Challenge. If it’s fully implemented, the new Urban Air Mobility system could enable air transit for things like package delivery, taxi services, expanded air medical services, and cargo delivery to underserved or rural communities, the Agency said in a statement.

Santa Monica 250

Santa Monica Companies Company Mobile 250

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 11, 2020

I was shocked to read an old Gallup study that indicates only 13 percent of employees worldwide are actively engaged at work, and more recent data shows only a small change in the right direction. In my own experience as a startup advisor and mentor, I find that entrepreneurs who can’t attract and maintain a highly motivated team rarely even get off the ground.

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Product Examples Mentor Activity 129

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 30, 2020

For Saucey Inc. Chief Executive Chris Vaughn, the signs pointing to a spike in demand for the company's alcohol delivery app came well ahead of the stay-at-home order.

Demand 165

Demand Report Companies Company 165

socalTECH

MARCH 31, 2020

San Diego-based AristaMD , a developer of telehealth software, which allows primary care providers to conduct and document electronic medical consultations, has raised $18M in a Series B funding round. The funding was led by Cigna Ventures and MemorialCare Innovation Fund (MCIF), and also included Avalon Ventures, CU Healthcare Innovation Fund and Stanford Health Care.

Funding 140

Funding Avalon San Diego Platform 140

Tech.Co

MARCH 5, 2020

In June 2019, banking start-up Monzo announced its plans to launch in the US. The UK finance company has garnered a lot of attention, both online and in real life, thanks to its distinctive coral-colored cards, and its intention to make the banking process easier. But what is Monzo, exactly? And what do its plans to grow its offering in the US look like, and potentially mean, for US consumers?

Summary 113

Summary Startup Report Sites 113

Xconomy

MARCH 20, 2020

The past week brought a sea change in many of our daily lives as the impact of the continued spread of the novel coronavirus altered how we work and play as communities around the world attempt to slow its spread. Xconomy, as always, is focused on the stories coming out of the life sciences community. Major developments on the COVID-19 front took place this week as research into and development of potential therapeutics and vaccines proceeded.

Outsource Development 113

Outsource Development Research Develop Development 113

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 5, 2020

The Scoot Moped — an electric moped born out of Bird’s acquisition of Scoot — will launch in Austin five months after unveiling the shared micromobility vehicle. The new moped is the latest effort by Bird to diversify its product offerings to capture more customers. The Scoot Mopeds, which are now available on the Bird app, feature large-volume tires, hydraulic disc brakes, two side mirrors, an LCD display for vehicle speed information, as well as two sizes of helmets, which are stored in

Technical Review 237

Technical Review Framework Los Angeles Mobile 237

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 7, 2020

As a startup advisor and investor, I’ve met many aspiring entrepreneurs, and I often get asked the question, “I have a great idea for a startup – do you agree that it real potential?” They don’t know that most experts agree the person is more important than the idea, yet I’ve never been asked, “I have a great idea for a startup – do you agree that I have real potential as an entrepreneur?

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Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Sample 127

L.A. Business Journal

MARCH 6, 2020

Culver City-based virtual reality company Talespin announced $15 million in series B funding led by Cornerstone OnDemand Inc., a provider of cloud-based learning software.

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Cornerstone OnDemand Culver City Content Software 147

socalTECH

MARCH 20, 2020

Venice, California-based Robin Games , a startup that is developing mobile games aimed at women, has raised $7M in a seed funding round, the company said on Thursday. The funding was led by LVP, and also included 1Up Ventures, Alpha Edison, Everblue Management, firstminute Capital, Greycroft Tracker Fund, Hearst Ventures and Third Kind Venture Capital.

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Seed Funding Funding Venice Venture Capital 140

SoCal Tech Calendar

MARCH 17, 2020

Monday, March 23, 2020 -- Digital Summit LA. Come experience the most impactful offering of digital marketing tips, strategies, and best practices, while networking with over 1000+ marketing professionals just like you!

Tips 100

Tips Networking Marketing 100

Xconomy

MARCH 23, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic is narrowing the avenues open to biotechs for financing their endeavors, according to some industry veterans. “I think that fear of losing out has pretty much gone out the window right now,” said Equillium (NASDAQ: EQ ) CEO Bruce Steel in a phone interview with Xconomy, speaking generally of investor appetite. “I think they’re going to be very patient and pick their spots in terms of where they’re going to invest, and that’s going to put a lot of pressure on companies.

Invest 105

Invest San Diego Avalon Companies 105

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 3, 2020

It turns out the virtual and augmented reality companies aren’t dead — as long as they focus on the enterprise. That’s what the Los Angeles-based extended reality technology developer Talespin did — and it just raised $15 million to grow its business. . Traditional venture capitalists may have made it rain on expensive Hollywood studios that were promising virtual reality would be the future of entertainment and social networking (given coronavirus fears, it may yet be),

Training 220

Training Los Angeles Tool Cornerstone OnDemand 220