Berkonomics

DECEMBER 23, 2021

Here’s the question: This piece of wisdom came from Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, during a board meeting for one of the companies where he sits as board member. Jeff asked the question “Is there anything big or small, which is working better than you expected? Is there anywhere we could double down?”. What a great insight. Bezos’ point was that we spend a lot of time focusing on what’s not working in Board meetings (especially during difficult times) and not enough time focusing on what is sur

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 21, 2021

La Jolla-based GoSecure, a provider of managed security services, said today that it has acquired Covail, a security and risk optimization and automation company. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. GoSecure said it will use Covail's expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) to augment its platform. GoSecure is led by CEO Neal Creighton.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 20, 2021

It takes an effective team to attract and serve a community in business these days. With real-time online reviews and feedback via the Internet, and instant relationships via social media, a voice from the top that is inconsistent with what is heard from the firing line defines a dysfunctional and noncompetitive company for today’s customer. Thus team makeup is the critical success factor.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 24, 2021

Based on my experience in business, it takes a team that works together to be successful, in conjunction with leadership from the top. You may be able to establish a startup while working alone, or managing autocratically , but long-term business growth and success requires the power of effective group relationships to achieve exceptional engagement , team alignment, and results.

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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

DECEMBER 20, 2021

San Diego-based SkySafe, which develops drone defense and airspace security systems, has raised $30M in a Series B funding round, according to the company. The round was led by Kingfisher Investment Advisors, and also included Gaingels, Castor Ventures, plus Andreessen Horowitz. The company says it has now raised $45M in total. The company will use the funding for hiring, R&D, and expanded production.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 19, 2021

If you want people to invest in your idea, then my best advice is first write a business plan, and keep it simple. Don't confuse your business plan with a doctoral thesis or the back of a napkin. Keep the wording and formatting straightforward, and keep the plan short. For minimum content, see my original article “ These 10 Key Elements Make a Business Plan Fundable.

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 22, 2021

In a blow to the return to normal for the tech industry, a number of companies--including Amazon, Meta, and Twitter--announced yesterday that they will not be attending what had been expected to be the first, in-person Consumer Electronics Show since the beginning of this pandemic. CES--which had run an online event early in 2021--had announced they would be going back to in-person events for 2022.

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 22, 2021

Another glitch in Amazon Web Services this morning briefly took down a large number of services this morning, including Slack, Hulu, and others, due to what AWS reported was a power outage at a data center. According to the Amazon Web Services Dashboard a power outage at a data center affected its US-EAST-1 region, with continuing issues now with the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud.

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 21, 2021

Los Angeles-based VYRNT, a startup developing an e-commerce platform for NTFs, says it has raised $1.5M in an initial funding. The company said the funding came from Jaycen Joshua (owner of Canton House Studios), and Steve Miller, (co-founder of Anomaly Create). The company said it is working on a "next-generation e-Commerce platform for NFTs focused on the Metaverse".

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 21, 2021

Los Angeles-based Sketchy, an educational technology company known for creating visual study tools, says it is taking aim at the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) in a deal with Blueprint, a provider of MCAT prep products. Financial details of the deal were not announced. The companies said the two have partnered to help students prepare for the MCAT.

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 21, 2021

Los Angeles-based fintech startup Novea, the parent company of Novea, Jacana Warranty, and Jacana Insurance, says it has raised $50M in equity funding, along with $5M in debt. The funding came from Newpoint Financial Group, a Swiss investor. According to the company, the funding will go to support its proprietary user platform, which is aimed at the consumer warranty and service contracts industry.

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2021

Santa Barbara-based Yardi announced this morning that it has acquired 42Floors.com, an online marketing platform for tenants and brokers. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Yardi announced that it has redsigned 42Floors to include a new, commercial property search engine featuring more than 320,000 listings nationwide across multiple verticals. 42Floors will become part of Yardi's CommercialEdge network of marketplaces.

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2021

Los Angeles-based TeleSign, which provides two factor authentication and other related services to businesses--which has been running as a unit of Belgian telecom firm Proximus--is going public via a SPAC, the companies said on Friday. The two said that TeleSign will be acquired by North Atlantic Acquisition Corporation (NAAC), in a deal worth $487M.

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2021

Los Angeles-based XR Studios, an agency specializing in augmented and virtual reality production, has been acquired by Solotech, a provider of audio, video, lighting, rigging, soft goods, control and collaboration solutions and services for the entertainment industry. Financial details of the acquisition were not annoucned. Solotech said it will use the acquisition to expand its virtual production services in LA, with a dedicated campus for "extended reality" efforts.

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Entertainment Acquisition Los Angeles Services 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 22, 2021

Los Angeles-based private equity investor Diversis Capital Management said this week that it has backed field sales software developer SalesRabbit. Financial details of the investment were not announced, however, Diversis said it provided a "significant growth investment" to SalesRabbit. SalesRabbit offers up both native mobile and web-based software aimed at field sales organizations.

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socalTECH

DECEMBER 20, 2021

Carlsbad-based satellite communications services provider Viasat says it received two new contracts wih the U.S. Navy this morning. According to Viasat, the contracts came from the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM), to provide Wi-Fi, voice, and TV in Guam plus managed Wi-Fi in Poland. The win is an expansion of existing work that Viasat provides for Unaccompanied Housing (UH), Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) facilities and Navy lodging facilities.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 22, 2021

As I talk to many of you in my role as business advisor, I still often hear the concern for maximum return to the business and stakeholders, more than a passion for sustainably enriching the lives of your customers and team. In this age of instant and global communication via social media and the Internet, I see more and more evidence that delighted customers should be your top priority.

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Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 18, 2021

Brands are people first. Customers are people too, so customers tend to take their relationship with a brand personally. Thus it’s not a surprise that people love their favorite smartphone brand, cringe when you mention their cable company, or even hate the mention of a particular bank. Startups, as well as every existing business, need to realize that this brand perception is becoming more and more driven by their relationships with customers, as well as feedback from other customer brand relat

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