Both Sides of the Table
DECEMBER 11, 2022
Something happened in the past 7 years in the startup and venture capital world that I hadn’t experienced since the late 90’s — we all began praying to the God of Valuation. It wasn’t always like this and frankly it took a lot of joy out of the industry for me personally. What happened? How might our next phase of the journey seem brighter, even with more uncertain days for startups and capital markets?
Berkonomics
DECEMBER 15, 2022
Here’s a statement that you never thought would apply to your business planning. . Sometimes we get stuck in the muck with our marketing, product, management focus, and in keeping up with trends. It is natural for executives and entrepreneurs with lots on their plate and little extra time – to just keep up the same activities that have made the company a success.
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Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 10, 2022
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.
socalTECH
DECEMBER 16, 2022
San Diego-based biopharmaceuticals company Avidity Biosciences said on Thursday that it has upsized its public offering, and will be offering up 12,000,000 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $17.25 per share, and is now expecting to raise $207M for the company. The company said it plans to use the new funding to fund the research and development of its development programs, to continue development work associated with advancing its AOC platform and for working capital and gen
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Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 12, 2022
As a business advisor, I have too often seen technical entrepreneurs get a product or service off the ground with ease, but then struggle mightily when their business reaches a couple of million in annual sales, or the employee count grows beyond a handful. It’s at this stage that the job changes from creative and tactical to managerial and strategic.
Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 16, 2022
One of the dysfunctions I often see in my coaching and mentoring work with small businesses is team member burnout. The impact is low employee engagement , low productivity, and ultimately business failure or lack of growth. Most people see this as a management failure, but I believe that you as a team member have an equal responsibility in recognizing the problem and fixing it.
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socalTECH
DECEMBER 16, 2022
Los Angeles-based AllGear Digital--which owns media sites GearJunkie, Switchback Travel, Bikerumor, and others--said on Thursday that it has raised $40M in a funding round. The funding was led by Bardin Hill Investment Partners. The company--run by co-founder and CEO Eric Phung--was previously known as Lola Digital Media. The company said the new funding will go to "organic growth initiatives" and to bring on additional publishers.
socalTECH
DECEMBER 15, 2022
Los Angeles-based biotechnology company Appia Bio said this morning that it has named Robert S. Negrin, M.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Negrin is a professor of medicine and former chief of the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation at Stanford University. Appia Bio says it is developing allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor natural killer T (CAR-NKT) cell therapies for cancer patients; its founders include Nobel laureate David Baltimore, Ph.D., who is president emeritus and dis
socalTECH
DECEMBER 15, 2022
Los Angeles-based Docupace, a developer of cloud-based software for the wealth management industry, said today that it has launched a new product. The company said its RIA Productivity Suite is aimed at advisory firms to help them digitize, streamline, connect, and automate their operations. Pricing on the new product was not announced. The company said its software includes everything from client onboarding, to CRM, doument storage, digital signatures, and more.
socalTECH
DECEMBER 14, 2022
Los Angeles-based GoGuardian, which develops software for the K-12 education market, said on Monday that it has named Michael Jonas as Co-President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). Jonas has been the CFO of GoGuardian since 2019. Jonas was previously CFO of ThriftBooks and spent 14 years at Microsoft.
socalTECH
DECEMBER 14, 2022
San Diego-based Maxwell Biomedical announced this morning that it has acquired Cardialen, a Minneapolis-based company that develops a low-energy defibrillation and cardioversion therapy designed to treat atrial fibrillation (AFib) and ventricular tachycardia (VT). Financial details of the transaction were not announced. Maxwell Biomedical was founded in 2019, and says it is working on an atrial pacing device that automatically detects AFib and imperceptibly delivers SRT to restore and maintain a
socalTECH
DECEMBER 13, 2022
Santa Barbara-based Beni, a startup which lets users find and buy secondhand apparel and accessories, said this morning that it has raised $5M in funding. According to the company, the funding was spit between a seed round of $4M, and earlier pre-seed and seed funding. The new seed funding was led by Bouyant Ventures, and also included Better Ventures,XYZ Venture Capital, Chingona Ventures, and Starting Line Ventures.
socalTECH
DECEMBER 13, 2022
Los Angeles-based electric vehicle manufacturer Fisker has unveiled an image of a new vehicle, the Fisker Ronin, a new, convertible, electric vehicle. Fisker--which has just started ramping up production of its first vehicle, the Fisker Ocean--says it hopes to start production in late 2023 for the new vehicle, with shipments in 2024. Fisker is claiming that the Ronin will have a 660 mile range between recharges.
socalTECH
DECEMBER 13, 2022
San Diego-based Pack, a developer of e-commerce tools, says it has raised $3M in a seed funding round. The funding was led by Norwest Venture Partners, and also included Alpaca and Vanterra Ventures. Pack says it is developing what it calls "headless commerce", which helps brands create personalized shopping experiences. The company said the funding goes towards engineering, product, design, and go-to-market.
socalTECH
DECEMBER 12, 2022
Los Angeles-based mobile automotive repair and maintenance startup RepairSmith has been acquired by automotive retailer AutoNation said on Monday. According to AutoNation, it will pay $190M for RepairSmith, in a deal which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023. AutoNation says RepairSmith has significant operational footprint in the southern and western United States.
socalTECH
DECEMBER 12, 2022
Irvine-based electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian said this morning that it will "no longer pursue" the Memorandum of Understanding with Mercedes-Benz, where it would co-produce electric vans in Europe with Mercedes-Benz. According to Rivian, the deal--which it only announced a few weeks ago--was paused so it can "pursue the best risk-adjusted returns on our capital investments", and so it can focus on its "current consumer product development roadmap and manufacturing capacity expansion as well
Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 14, 2022
Based on my years of experience in both startups and large companies, trusted relationships are more the key to success than a great business model, how smart you are, or how much money you have. Aspiring entrepreneurs who struggle in a corporate environment often can’t wait to start their own company, only to find that relationships are even more critical and volatile there.
Startup Professionals Musings
DECEMBER 11, 2022
After many years of working with angel investors seriously trying to find new ventures worthy of their hard-earned money, I find their frustration often exceeds that of entrepreneurs sincerely looking for financial help. That’s a lose-lose situation, so I’ve given a good bit of thought to how every entrepreneur can improve their odds, and keep investors less frustrated at the same time.
socalTECH
DECEMBER 12, 2022
Los Angeles-based conversational artificial intelligence (AI) software developer MeetKai said this morning that it has partnered with the Los Angeles Chargers. According to the company, it has become the "Official AI partner" of the Chargers. Financial details of the deal were not announced. According to MeetKai, it will be developing an "AI-based locker room tour" plus will have its logo at the Chargers' home and away media backdrops.
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