TechCrunch LA

MAY 2, 2017

Looking to make EV car sharing the next perk for real estate developers, Envoy, a new Los Angeles startup has launched its first pilot. Initially, they’re starting with one apartment building and a fleet of two cars in an LA apartment complex. But, what the young startup lacks in reach, it makes up for in gumption. Founded by two real estate developers, Aric Ohana and Ori Sagie, the… Read More.

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Develop Development Startup Los Angeles 329

Berkonomics

MAY 18, 2017

If you have been following the last several weeks of these postings, then now we’re getting organized. There are many ways to express the road map for your enterprise. One of the most popular was used by the U.S. Army late in World War II, and adopted by many high profile businesses such as Texas Instruments after the War. The structure combined the listing of the goal with a series of strategies and then tactics, each designed to support each other, each measurable and made public throughout

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Organization Metrics Demand Resource 275

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 17, 2017

I’ve been involved with several startups where a giant incumbent attacks you and tries to sue you out of existence. When you first receive the threat it feels like the local pizza shop when they first get a call from the local mafia boss and you can feel the shake-down coming. The first instinct is fear, then dread, then panic. You begin to think about how hard it will be to fund raise, sign customers, hire employees, etc. with the cloud of a lawsuit hanging over you.

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Riot Games Pricing Startup Venture Capital 254

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 23, 2017

Real Office Centers, co-working tenants evicted from Santa Monica office, Snapchat launches custom group stories, and Pepsi to label millions of cans with Snapchat codes.

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Santa Monica Snapchat Report Customer 227

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.

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Tech.Co

MAY 18, 2017

While the Bay Area hold the title of most prolific startup ecosystem , there’s no denying that California is a veritable gold mine of entrepreneurial talent. Los Angeles, for one, is not only brimming with innovative ideas, it’s also home to a wide range of unique startups that are solving the problems of the world. Everyone knows that a startup is only as good as its leadership, which is why the 22 startups listed below are helmed by some of the best and brightest in Silicon Beach.

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Los Angeles Angel Startup Outsource Development 205

socalTECH

MAY 17, 2017

Ted Dhanik is co-founder and CEO of West Hollywood-based engage: BDR (www.engagebdr.com), which recently just launched an influencer marketing platform aimed at Instagram.users. Ted was an executive at Myspace, as VP of Strategic Marketing, and was at LowerMyBills before that. Engage:BDR has just launched a platform which lets brands browse and discover influencers, create campaigns, and reach customers through limited time advertisements posted by those influencers.

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Advertising Platform West Hollywood Content 183

Berkonomics

MAY 4, 2017

Have you ever driven a car that had no speedometer? I had that thrill when a student at the Richard Petty Stock Car School of Driving at a motor speedway in California. With a wide track, angled aggressively at the curves, and being told to hug the wall on the straightaways, there was little reference available to a novice driver as to speed. I followed my instructor’s car closely, but still could not tell anything about my speed, so that I could neither compensate for lags behind the leader n

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Metrics Screening Email Customer 266

Xconomy

MAY 18, 2017

Preliminary findings from an economic impact study show that genomics is emerging as a distinct innovation cluster in San Diego. The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. began collecting data for the report earlier this year in a bid to assess how genomics fits into San Diego’s innovation economy. Final results of the EDC study won’t be released until June 19, the first day of the Bio International Convention, as part of a panel discussion on the local genomics cluster.

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Study San Diego Venture Capital Press 97

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 9, 2017

Cover Technologies Inc., a prefab building company that designs and manufactures backyard studios, has raised $1.6 million in seed funding, according to a statement released Tuesday.

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Seed Funding Design Funding Technology 188

Tech.Co

MAY 24, 2017

For some reason, the 2012 Atlantic article, “ Why Women Still Can’t Have It All ,” has always fueled me. At the time that was written, I had a 3-year-old daughter, was pregnant with my second child, and wanted nothing more than to prove that article wrong. I wanted the career and the family. And not just the token two children, but to actually be the one who volunteered in their classes and screamed at them to stop picking flowers on the soccer field.

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Class Journal Writing Demand 89

socalTECH

MAY 18, 2017

Los Angeles-based Social Native , an online marketplace which connects brands with content creators creating social media content, has raised $8M in a funding round, the company disclosed today. The funding came from SoftBank Capital, along with angels Jeff Ragovin and Eytan Elbaz. Social Native is led by CEO David Shadpour. Ragovin and Elbaz both joined Social Native as executives in January.

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Social Media Content Los Angeles Media 181

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 19, 2017

As an angel investor, I sometimes worry that all the viable unique ideas must already be taken. Entrepreneurs keep talking to me about the Internet of Things (IOT), autonomous vehicles, inter-planetary travel, and other exciting opportunities, but the majority of real plans I get seem to be “me too” variations of several common themes that have already been done too many times.

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Ideas Sites Social Network Startup 87

Berkonomics

MAY 25, 2017

In past weeks, we explored the need for a tangible goal and strategies that are measurable as steps toward achievement of your goal. Today, we explore how to create tactics to accompany each strategy, and even suggest a number of tactics to consider for each strategy. Tactics support strategies and are more short term and procedural than the strategies they support.

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Resource Training Sales Demand 243

Xconomy

MAY 18, 2017

After beta testing technology that provides remote assistant services for the blind, San Diego-based Aira has raised $12 million in a Series B round that it says will enable the company to expand its service to thousands of visually impaired users this year. Aira takes advantage of the gig economy by connecting online independent contractors (via dedicated wireless bandwidth provided by AT&T) to guide low-vision users equipped with a modified version of Google Glass, the Internet-connected e

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Services San Diego Guide Google 92

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 26, 2017

City officials are not digging Elon Musk’s plan for underground tunnels to LAX.

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Tech.Co

MAY 31, 2017

When you’re in a competition and on the spot, answering questions to industry experts can be a nerve-wrecking process. The best part is that afterward you walk away with valuable insight, experience and lessons learned. GalvanizeU graduates Baolin Liu and Jonathan Hourany, current gU student Anthony Abercrombie, Data Scientist in Residence Eugene Huang, and their teammate Jared Wilber, a UC Berkeley grad student, learned a ton after their time on stage at the iidata Time Analysis Competit

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Competition Slides Artificial Inteligence Tips 88

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2017

Los Angeles-based advertising technology developer engage:BDR , which is led by MySpace alum Ted Dhanik, has launched a new product aimed at influencer advertising on Instagram. According to engage:BDR, its new product, IconicReach, helps brands manage their advertising campaigns on Instagram, letting them discover and manage influencers on the Instagram platform. engage:BDR says it already has been working with such brands as American Apparel, Nasty Gal and ProActiv in creative video and displa

Advertising 178

Advertising Los Angeles Pricing Platform 178

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 3, 2017

Many entrepreneurs I know are confused by definition and need for an Advisory Board versus a Board of Directors. Some view both of these as a waste of time and burden on the CEO, while other founders surround themselves with insiders and cronies in an attempt to expedite and add credibility to their own interests. I suggest a few simple considerations will clarify the alternatives.

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Allegis Startup Entrepreneur Acquisition 69

Berkonomics

MAY 11, 2017

It’s time to speak of some sort of business plan. As a professional investor in early stage companies, I have long discounted long, detailed business plans in favor of a concise “executive summary” followed by a believable spreadsheet-based financial forecast projecting three to five years into the future. Yes, everything does change between drafting that plan and its successful execution.

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Summary Resource Writing Email 243

Xconomy

MAY 31, 2017

Has the era of genetic oncology arrived? Last week, the biomedical world took a notable step in that direction when the FDA said Merck’s drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda), already one of the world’s most successful cancer immunotherapies, could now treat any tumor with a particular genetic fingerprint. It was the first time a drug has been approved strictly for a genotype —a tumor’s genetic profile—regardless of the organ or body part where the tumor is growing.

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Study Tool Organization Geni 90

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 12, 2017

Elon Musk’s Boring Co. begins horizontal digging in Hawthorne with tunneling machine, military could have low-cost launch market in five years with increased investment, and Social Reality rebrands as SRAX.

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Hawthorne Report Invest Marketing 149

Tech.Co

MAY 30, 2017

Putting unrealistic pressure on yourself to perform and excel could be limiting you to progress and succeed. We talked with Kyle Goguen, founder and president of Pawstruck.com , an online retailer and manufacturer of natural dog treats and chews, and asked him what advice he has for small business owners and lessons learned. What advice helped shape who you are as an entrepreneur today?

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Tips Email Entrepreneur Startup 84

socalTECH

MAY 1, 2017

A new report, released by the Angel Resource Institute in the last week, has spotlighted the Tech Coast Angels and the Pasadena Angels as among the top four angel groups in California, and the Tech Coast Angeles as number two in the nation in terms of the number of deals in 2016. The rankings were released in the Angel Resource Insitute's 2016 ARI HALO Report.

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Tech Coast Angels Pasadena Angels Pasadena Angel 170

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 6, 2017

It’s time to take the drudgery and dread out of work at your business. You don’t like it, millennials won’t put up with it, and current productivity levels at work continue to decline. Only 32 percent of American workers are even engaged at work today. Most workers are still rushing to retirement, where they hope to escape to more stimulating activities with a real sense of accomplishment.

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Satisfaction Coach Startup Organization 67

socalTECH

MAY 30, 2017

San Diego-based Arcturus Therapeutics , a developer of mRNA-based treatments for disease, has signed a deal to receive up to $3M in funding from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, a nonprofit which supports drug discovery and development. The company said the $3M will go to advance LUNAR-CF, a novel messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutic formulated with Arcturus' drug delivery technology.

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socalTECH

MAY 9, 2017

Monrovia, California-based AeroVironment has unveiled a new, palm-sized drone today, aimed at the military, called the Snipe. The Snipe--which it says can be worn on a uniform and is used for close-range intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)--is an ultra-miniature quadcopter, and which it says it is already delivering to an un-named, U.S. government customer.

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Monrovia Customer Custom 154

socalTECH

MAY 26, 2017

San Diego-based Qualcomm has agreed to pay $940M to BlackBerry Limited , in a conclusion of an arbitration case, over overpayment of royalties by BlackBerry to Qualcomm, BlackBerry said on Friday. The agreement comes after an arbitration decision made on April 12th. According to BlackBerry, Qualcomm will pay the full amount of the final award on or before May 31, 2017.

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San Diego Report 147

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 10, 2017

Snap Inc., parent company of Snapchat, reported a net loss of $2.2 billion (-$2.31 a share) during its first quarter as a public company, stemming mostly from stock-based compensation issued to employees for its initial public offering in March.

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Report Snapchat .Net Company 145

socalTECH

MAY 3, 2017

Los Angeles-based streaming television provider Hulu has officially launched its new, live TV streaming service into beta, saying it will offer up more than 50 sports, news, entertainment, and kids' channels for $39.99 per month. The company said its Hulu with Live TV (Beta) service will also offer up to 50 hours of recorded storage, and two, simultaneous streams per account, and access to Apple TV, Xbox One, iOS and Android, and Chromecast.

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Hulu Services News Entertainment 145

socalTECH

MAY 2, 2017

Andrew Bermudez , co-founder and CEO of Irvine-based Digsy (www.getdigsy.com) wasn't looking to build software to help commercial real estate brokers close more deals. He was just trying to collect more data for his startup on what was happening on real estate deals that the company had been referring to brokers. However, he quickly discovered the deal data the company was collecting was not just data--but a guide to the best practices on helping brokers close more deals, quickly.

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Sales Startup Email Tool 145

socalTECH

MAY 31, 2017

Santa Ana-based SuperMoney has recently launched a new, online search engine for loans, looking to replicate the success of online search and aggregation sites like Kayak and LendingTree. According to the company, led by CEO Miron Lulic, it helps consumers find online loans, helping users compare different loan offers based on basic information such as loan amount, credit score estimate, employment status, and more.

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Orange County Los Angeles Sites Media 138

socalTECH

MAY 26, 2017

Hawthorne-based SpaceX showed off a static fire test on a side booster rocket for its Falcon Heavy last week, saying that theFalcon Heavy will be using a booster that launched its Thaicom 8 mission into space. The test firing, at SpaceX's test labs in McGregor, Texas, are part of an effort by SpaceX to launch its first Falcon Heavy rocket sometime this year.

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SpaceX Hawthorne Company Companies 138

socalTECH

MAY 19, 2017

San Diego-based Qualcomm has shown off some technology which it says lets electric vehicles (EVs) charge while driving at highway speeds, using its wireless charging technology. According to Qualcomm, its dynamic electric vehicle charging (DEVC) allows electric vehicles to charge at up to 20 kilowatts at highway speeds, using a special track, allowing for what it calls "dynamic charging" while in motion.

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San Diego Technology Funding 138

socalTECH

MAY 19, 2017

In today's world of web application development, speed is everything. Developers are now turning out code and releasing it live to the world in near real time--what is called DevOps and Agile development. In that world, the risk of security holes is huge. Venice Beach-based Signal Sciences (www.signalsciences.com) has created sofdtware designed for those application developers to help protect those web applications.

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Web Startup Southern California Software 138

socalTECH

MAY 18, 2017

San Diego-based diagnostic testing products maker Quidel Corporation announced this week that it has acquired the InflammaDry and AdenoPlus diagnostic businesses from RPS Diagnostics. Quidel said it would pay approximately $14M in cash for those product lines. InflammaDry and AdenoPlus are rapid, lateral-flow based, POC products for the detection of infectious and inflammatory diseases and conditions of the eye.

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San Diego Product Acquisition 138

socalTECH

MAY 16, 2017

Culver City-based cancer immunotherapy developer NantKwest announced this morning that it has named Dr. Leonard Sender as Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs for Pediatric, Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology. NantKwest said the move specifically will help it address pediatric cancer, which it says is the leading cause of death for children in the United States.

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Culver City Help Develop Development 138