TechCrunch LA
JUNE 16, 2020
UNest , a Los Angeles provider of financial planning and savings tools for parents including college savings plans and other beneficial investment vehicles for various life events, has raised $9 million in a new round of funding, the company said. . Its round will be used to speed up its growth through strategic hires and partnerships, according to UNest.
L.A. Business Journal
JUNE 16, 2020
Century City-based AECOM has named Troy Rudd to become its new chief executive, replacing longtime CEO Michael Burke.
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socalTECH
JUNE 15, 2020
Recently, A new, nonprofit organization, Gift A Plate (www.giftaplate,org), launched effrts in Los Angeles, to allow people to donate to help both restaurants and families in need. The organization said it is looking to help aid restaurants and families who have been greatly impacted by COVID-19 in LA. The new nonprofit is was created by software company PlateIQ (www.plateiq.com), and is led by Bhavuk Kaul, who who chatted with about the new effort.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 17, 2020
It seems like every entrepreneur I meet these days is quick to proclaim themselves a visionary, expecting that will give more credibility to their startup idea, and improve their odds with investors. In reality, I’m one of the majority of investors who believe that startup success is more about the execution than the idea. Thus, unless the visionary highlights a cofounder who can take the vision and execute, I assume the worst.
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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.
TechCrunch LA
JUNE 16, 2020
When Bümo co-founders Joan Nguyen and Chriselle Lim began planning for the rollout of their business, a combination daycare and co-working space for professional women on the go, they never expected to be offering daycare services virtually. But in the face of a global pandemic, every company has had to improvise and in the few months since its launch in 2019, that’s just what Bümo did.
L.A. Business Journal
JUNE 15, 2020
The Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator, an aerospace-focused incubator based in El Segundo, has announced the participants for its 2020 program, which will be conducted virtually this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 19, 2020
Technical entrepreneurs love their technology, and often are driven to launch a startup on the assumption that everyone will buy any solution which highlights this technology. Instead, they need to validate a customer problem and real market need first. Don’t create solutions looking for a problem , since investors ignore these, and customers other than early adopters will be hard to find.
TechCrunch LA
JUNE 15, 2020
As coronavirus keeps offices closed, wealthy venture capitalists are moving out of apartments in San Francisco and New York and decamping to other vacation-friendly zip codes. In San Francisco, a city known for high housing costs, rates for a one-bedroom apartment have dropped 9% from a year ago. As one investor said to me the other day: Will Lake Tahoe’s seed ecosystem have a resurgence?
Berkonomics
JUNE 18, 2020
Woe to those teaching yesterday’s methods. We all know that the world of marketing has turned upside down these past years through the power of the Internet. College professors teaching marketing must be having a real challenge keeping up with the new channels of communication, the relative values of advertising buys in this new world and explaining how to make the most out of these cheaper and more powerful channels.
socalTECH
JUNE 19, 2020
Even as the global pandemic has thrown growth plans into question, apparently, at least one Los Angeles company is ramping up its hiring: Jam City. According to a report, the LA mobile games developer has "dozens of positions" open at the company. Jam City is behind a large number of popular, casual mobile games, including the recently launch game World War Doh, the Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery mobile game; Panda Pop; Cookie Jam, and many others.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 14, 2020
As an advisor to entrepreneurs and active angel investor, I often get questions about the realism of the Shark Tank TV series, compared to professional investor negotiations. The simple answer is that with all the staging of TV lights and billionaire investors, it’s nothing like Silicon Valley. Yet the process is eerily realistic, and every entrepreneur can glean some important lessons.
TechCrunch LA
JUNE 17, 2020
DroneBase , a Los Angeles-based provider of drone pilots for industrial services companies, has raised $7.5 million during the pandemic to double down on its work with renewable energy companies. While chief executive Dan Burton acknowledged that the company was fundraising prior to the pandemic, the industrial lockdown actually accelerated demand for the company’s services.
Xconomy
JUNE 15, 2020
The FDA on Monday revoked its emergency authorization permitting use of the antimalarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat the novel coronavirus, citing a lack of evidence of their efficacy. In late March the agency authorized the drugs, which President Donald Trump touts often as a potential treatment, for patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 and unable to participate in a clinical trial.
socalTECH
JUNE 15, 2020
San Diego-based Qualcomm Technologies has launched a new program to help small businesses move towards the "mobile-first" world, the company said last week. According to Qualcomm, its Qualcomm Small Business Accelerator Program will offer up products powered by Qualcomm Technologies solutions, plus collaboration tools and technical and integration support, so they can continue to maintain operations throughout the current global pandemic and beyond.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 15, 2020
Most entrepreneurs spend far too much time thinking negatively about competitors, and can’t resist making derogatory statements to their own team, to investors, and even to customers. This approach only makes these important constituents question your integrity, intelligence, and your understanding of business basics. Pointing out flaws in others does not give you strength.
TechCrunch LA
JUNE 16, 2020
Open Raven , the Los Angeles-based security startup founded by a team of cybersecurity veterans from CrowdStrike and SourceClear, has closed on $15 million in new financing only four months after emerging from stealth and in the middle of a pandemic. . The company already boasted an impressive roster of investors well-versed in enterprise software and cybersecurity including Upfront Ventures; Goldman Sachs’ chief information risk officer, Phil Venables; RSA’s former chief strategy of
Xconomy
JUNE 18, 2020
Typically a new biotech assembles a group of investors that collectively puts in the money a fledgling company requires to develop or acquire potential therapies. Engrail Therapeutics, which emerged from stealth Thursday with $32 million in outside financing, landed its entire Series A funding from a sole source: Nan Fung Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Hong Kong property developer Nan Fung Group.
socalTECH
JUNE 19, 2020
Redland-based Esri reports that it has been selected by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), to power a the country's first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) dashboard. Financial impact of the win were not announced. Esri said the dashboard was created in cooperation with Esri Saudi Arabia and the country's Ministry of Health (MoH), and is the official source of data for tracking COVID-19 cases throughout the kingdom.
Startup Professionals Musings
JUNE 13, 2020
Too many entrepreneurs tell me they are looking for an investor, and can’t differentiate between venture capital (VC) investors versus accredited angel investors. They argue that the color of the money is the same from either source. They fail to realize that the considerations are quite different for each, which can make or break their investment efforts, and ultimately their startup.
TechCrunch LA
JUNE 17, 2020
Imagine Impact , the entertainment accelerator launched by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard to try and bring Silicon Valley-style mentorship and project development techniques to Hollywood, has inked a development deal with Netflix and is looking for submissions. Under the agreement, Impact will identify and develop film ideas in four specific genres over the next year that they will then bring to Netflix to produce and distribute, through a global submission process.
Xconomy
JUNE 16, 2020
Gene sequencing company Pacific Biosciences of California is seeking two new leaders in the wake of retirement announcements by a pair of longtime top executives. PacBio (NASDAQ: PACB ) president and CEO Michael Hunkapiller plans to retire by year’s end, and the company’s chief financial officer, Susan Barnes, is slated to do the same in August. Hunkapiller has served as chief executive since 2012, when he succeeded former company head Hugh Martin , stepping into the position about 15 months aft
socalTECH
JUNE 19, 2020
Carpinteria-based Procore Technologies , which develops construction management software, says it has launched a number of new features, aimed at greater collaboration and communications. The company--one of the Central Coast's fastest growing companies--says it launched the new features at its own virtual construction industry event, Next Steps Summit.
Southern California Edison Blog
JUNE 15, 2020
Telecom carriers require reliable networks to provide telecommunications services to their customers. Without the proper capacity or availability to carry the necessary traffic, telecoms will have trouble attracting new business and remaining competitive. A carrier-grade network can help carriers overcome those challenges by providing carriers with a highly tested and dependable network that is scalable to meet future demand.
socalTECH
JUNE 19, 2020
Los Angeles-based HONK , an app-based service which connects motorists with roadside assistance and towing, says that American drivers are still not driving as much as they did--even as most lockdowns have been loosened. According to HONK, it ran a survey showing that 45 percent of American drivers are fueling their vehicles no more than once a month.
socalTECH
JUNE 19, 2020
Santa Monica-based Red 6 , a startup which is developing augmented reality training systems for the aerospace and defense market, said it has received a strategic investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures. Size of the funding was not announced. According to Red 6, the funds will go towards development and commercialization of its ATARS (Airbone Tactical Augmented Reality System).
socalTECH
JUNE 18, 2020
Santa Monica-based GoodRx says it has named Karsten Voermann as Chief Financial Officer and Bansi Nagji as President, Healthcare, saying that it is in the midst of rapid growth. The company said it hired 65 new full-time employees since March, increasing its headcount by 22 percent. The company says it now has a total of 350 employees. GoodRx said Voermann has previously served as acting CFO at Mercer Advisors and Mercury Payment Systems; Nagji was previously at McKesson, serving as Executive Vi
socalTECH
JUNE 18, 2020
Los Angeles-based advertising exchange operator Rubicon Project has lost its President and COO, Mark Zagorski, the company said early this morning. According to Rubicon Project, Zagorski, currently President and Chief Operating Officer, will resign at the end of June to "pursue a new opportunity". The company said that its CEO, Michael Barrett, will re-assume the President role as a result of Zagorski's departure.
socalTECH
JUNE 18, 2020
San Diego-based Engrail Therapeutics , a biopharmaceuticals company developing treatments for diseases of the nervous system, has raised $32M in a Series A funding, the company announced this mroning. The funding was led by Nan Fung Life Sciences (NFLS). The company said the funding will go towards clinical development of its first pipeline asset, ENX-101, a sub-type selective GABA A modulator.
socalTECH
JUNE 18, 2020
San Diego-based life sciences giant Illumina said late Wednesday that it has acquired BlueBee , a developer of cloud-based software for genomic analysis. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. BlueBee was a spinoff from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), and was venture backed by Buysse & Partners, Korys, Quest for Growth, Capricorn Partners, Heran Partners, Delft Enterprises and Participatie Maatschappij Vlaanderen.
socalTECH
JUNE 17, 2020
Match Group , the parent company of Los Angeles-based dating app developer Tinder , has joined in on criticizing Apple for its fees--saying that Apple "squeezes industries" like like e-books, music and video streaming, cloud storage, gaming and online dating for 30% of their revenue. The statement comes as a major antitrust case against Apple was filed in the EU.
socalTECH
JUNE 17, 2020
Los Angeles-based 8minute Solar Energy reports that it has signed a contract to develop a new, 250MW solar power plus storage project in California. According to the company, the contract, with Monterey Bay Community Power Authority (MBCP) and Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), will supply Community Choice Energy (CCE) providers. The company said the project will include 150 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy storage, providing enough power for 93,000 homes.
socalTECH
JUNE 17, 2020
San Diego-based startup Trust & Will , which offers up online estate planning, says it has hit 100,000 members to its service. According to the company, the recent pandemic doubled the volume of individuals seeking its estate planning services. The company was founded in 2017, but only raised its Series A in December of 2019, when it raised $6M in funding.
socalTECH
JUNE 17, 2020
Los Angeles-based Allset , a startup which allows users to book a table and pre-order food at restaurants, said it has launched a new app and website. The company said the upgraded app and website will make it easier for its users to find and gte food they want from local restaurants. The new app works on both iOS and Android. Allset also said it recently raised $8.35M in new funding, and has now raised $16.6M in total; details on the timing and source of those funds were not outlined, however,
socalTECH
JUNE 17, 2020
Santa Monica-based drone data management software developer DroneBase announced on Wednesday morning that it has raised $7.5M in a Series C funding. The funding round came from invest investors Valor Equity Partners and Razi Ventures, and also included prior investors Union Square Ventures (USV), Upfront Ventures, Hearst Ventures, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and DJI.
socalTECH
JUNE 16, 2020
The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) says that it is launching a brand new nonprofit Venture Forward , which it says will help advance initiatives around diversity, education, research, and history within the venture capital industry, to help promote a strong and inclusive community. The NVCA--which represents the venture capital industry--said that the new nonprofit is a response to the fact that although the industry produced "tremendous innovation and economic success" it has done
socalTECH
JUNE 16, 2020
Los Angeles-based Open Raven , a cybersecurity startup focused on preventing enterprise data leaks, has raised $15M in a new funding round, the company disclosed on Tuesday. The funding came from Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers (KPCB), along with Upfront Ventures, Signal Sciences, as well as angels Phil Venables (Chief Information Risk Officer, Goldman Sachs) and Niloo Razi Howe (former RSA Chief Strategy Officer).
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