TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Companies that have leveraged technology to make the procurement and delivery of food more accessible to more people have been seeing a big surge of business this year, as millions of consumers are encouraged (or outright mandated, due to Covid-19) to socially distance or want to avoid the crowds of physical shopping and eating excursions. Today, one of the companies that is supplying produce and other items both to consumers and other services that are in turn selling food and groceries to them

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Technical Review Startup Marketing San Diego 343

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2020

I still know some entrepreneurs who boast of simply following their gut instincts, rather than listen to anyone or any data, to make strategic decisions. We’ve all worked with autocratic leaders in large companies who seem to thrive in this mode. They all forget or ignore the high-profile failures that have resulted from some single-handed business decisions.

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Organization Social Media Technology Startup 173

L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Downtown-based J2 Global Inc., an internet information and services company, has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire RetailMeNot Inc. for about $420 million.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 6, 2020

Los Angeles-based Draper Goren Holm , a new venture capital fund founded by Tim Draper, Alon Goren, and Josef Holm, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $25M in its very first fund. According to the firm, its Fund 1 will make seed and Series A investments in the fintech and blockchain startup world. The fund was announced at the LA Blockchain Summit, which is virtual this year.

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Draper Funding Keiretsu Incubator 160

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

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Mojiit, the Los Angeles-based company behind the popular avatar generation service Mojichat, has landed one of its highest-profile users with the launch of Odell Beckham Jr.’s live stream over the weekend. As Odell Beckham Jr. did his first live stream with the gaming superstar Dr. Disrespect , he turned to Mojichat to create the pop-up onscreen emote that danced above a logo from Scuf Gaming , a retailer of customized controllers.

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Advertising Los Angeles Activity Screening 179

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2020

One of the biggest impediments to starting a new venture is the “ terror barrier ,” as popularized by Bob Proctor, a 85-year-old millionaire and world renowned entrepreneur. This is the imaginary barrier that always seems to appear at the critical point where we would step out ahead of peers or competitors, but fear causes us to stop short. Everyone has a comfort zone, or level of risk, where they feel in control.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Amazon and Rivian , the electric vehicle developer with operations in Irvine and Carson, California, have revealed Amazon's first electric delivery vehicle, which Amazon plans to roll out as part of its climate efforts. According to Amazon, it plans to roll out its electric delivery vehicles as early as 2022, with 100,000 on the road by 2030. Amazon said it is looking to be net zero carbon by 2040.

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Carson .Net Invest Develop 147

L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 5, 2020

While TikTok awaits further developments in the proposed sale of its U.S. operations to Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc., the social media platform notched a victory last week in its fight against the Trump administration.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Due to the pervasive Internet, the scope of most successful startup teams today has become global. Also, more people are only available to work remotely , especially with the current pandemic. The traditional model for hiring permanent employees who can grow their career with your company just doesn’t work, and can jeopardize your business before it even gets traction.

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Competition Startup Demand Training 168

Xconomy

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Amid the bombast of Tuesday’s presidential debate, viewers caught some discussion about the response to the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. In the crosstalk, the president made an unsupported claim that we are weeks away from having vaccines. It’s true that some pharmaceutical companies are already manufacturing their COVID-19 vaccine candidates for broader use.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Los Angeles-based Virgin Hyperloop One has set the location for a new certification center, which will test, develop, and validate its systems on Thursday. According to the company, it will spend $500M to build a certification center in West Virginia, focused both on validating usage of its technology in Virginia, as well as the United States and the world, with plans to eventually build a full sized, operational hyperloop system at the location.

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Los Angeles Technology Angel Develop 124

L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Downtown-based J2 Global Inc., an internet information and services company, has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire RetailMeNot Inc. for about $420 million.

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Services Company Companies 130

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 7, 2020

I would guess that most of you are early adopters , just by the fact that you are interested enough to come here and see what’s new in the business world. Every entrepreneur and startup loves you, but too many forget that every potential customer is not like you. In fact, early adopters represent only a small percent of the total opportunity, and may derail your mainstream effort.

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Startup Custom Customer Design 141

Xconomy

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Arrowhead Pharmaceutical’s gene silencing treatment for a rare liver disease will move through the regulatory process and potential commercialization with the muscle of Takeda Pharmaceutical behind it. Takeda (NYSE: TAK ) has agreed to pay $300 million up front in a partnership on Arrowhead (NASDAQ: ARWR ) drug ARO-AAT as a treatment for alpha-1 antitrypsin-associated liver disease.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 9, 2020

San Diego-based sales enablement and marketing software developer Seismic said this week that it has named a new Chief Product Officer. Seismic said it has named Krish Mantipragada as its new Chief Product Officer, joining the company from Medallia, where he also was Chief Product Officer and an Executive Vice President. Mantipragada also previously served at First Data and SAP.

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Product Southern California San Diego Sales 124

L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Six months after hiring its first chief financial officer, FabFitFun Inc. is looking to expand its finance and accounting teams, possibly with an eye on a bigger prize.

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Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2020

The pervasiveness of social networking and the Internet has caused a new focus and value on “openness,” which leads to a new element of leadership, called “open leadership.” The mantra of open leadership is “Be Open, Be Transparent, and Be Authentic.” This is counter to the traditional business premise of “control,” so many companies are still pushing back.

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Framework Social Media Software Review Social Network 159

Xconomy

OCTOBER 9, 2020

It’s October: a time of days growing shorter, leaves changing color, and phone calls in the wee hours that rouse scientists from slumber notifying them they’ve won the highest honor in their fields. This week, the 2020 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine was awarded to Harvey Alter, Michael Alton, and Charles Rice, whose research led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus.

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Research San Diego Blogging Invest 61

socalTECH

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Costa Mesa-based Veritone has swapped its CFO, saying that it has named local technology industry veteran Michael L. Zemetra as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer as part of a "planned transition". The company said prior CFO Peter F. Collins will serve in an advisory capacity during a transition period. Veritone did not say where Collins is departing to, but did praise his work in taking the company from a start-up company to its public status.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2020

Irvine-based Capillary Biomedical , a startup focused on develping new insulin pump technology, said on Wednesday afternoon that it has raised $1.5M in loan funding. The company said the funding came in the form of a loan from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (Helmsley). According to the company, the new funds will go towards clinical studies of its technology, to evaluate the potential for extended-wear of insulin infusion sets by people with Type 1 diabetes for 7 days and be

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2020

Costa Mesa-based Givsum , which develops online software to help charitable organizations with their operations and fundraising, says it has received both new funding, as well as support, from two accelerators. Givsum said that has received capital investments from both SteelBridge Labs and OC4 Venture Studios, but did not say how much it raised from those efforts.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2020

Los Angeles-based business advisory and financial services company B. Riley Financial has made a strategic investment in a developer of software for the financial industry, IQvestment Holdings , the company announced this morning. Size of the investment was not announced. According to B. Riley Financial, Chuck Hastings joins IQvestment Holdings' board of directors, with Jon Merriman joining the company's advisory board.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 6, 2020

Los Angeles-based MediaAlpha , which develops a technology platform to help insurance companies acquire customers, has filed for an IPO, saying it is looking to raise up to $100M on the public markets. The company's major backers are White Mountains Insurance Group and Insignia. The IPO is being underwritten by J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, RBC Capital Markets, Canaccord Genuity, William Blair, and MUFG.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 5, 2020

Pasadena-based online vitamin seller iHerb says it plans to invest $100M in Russia, as a part of an effort to serve the Russian community. The company said the investment will include exporting Russian products, partnerships with Russian logistics companies, expansion of our technology development center, and the building of robotic fulfillment centers.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Camarillo-based wireless internet services provider (WISP) GeoLinks said on Friday that it has acquired the network assets, including fixed wireless infrastructure and spectrum licenses, from TPx Communications (TPx). Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. According to GeoLinks, it will fold the assets into its existing network, with all current TPx customers remaining under TPx management.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Los Angeles-based Presence.Fit announced it had raised $1.5M in a funding, and launched a new, mobile fitness app which combines live instruction with real time sensing of motion and metrics. The startup--cofounded by Dr. Masaki Nakada and Robert Jadon--says its combines artificial intelligence with live personal trainers, and runs on the iPhone. The fitness app developer says its software allows trainers to see users remotely through the front-facing camera of a mobile device, so that trainers

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Mobile Artificial Inteligence Metrics Los Angeles 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Los Angeles-based Harbor , a startup which is developing apps to gamify the process of preparing your family and home from disasters and emergencies, has launched its iOS app , three months after announcing its seed funding. The startup is led by former Headspace executive Dan Kessler, and raised $5M in August. The company's app guides users through different things they can do to improve their emergency and disaster preparedness, based on their zip code.

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Seed Funding Guide Los Angeles Startup 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand , which develops software used for managing employee development, says it has hired its first Chief Diversity Officer, Duane La Bom. The company said La Bom is responsible for driving the company's diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. La Bom was most recently Executive Director of Global Diversity & Inclusion for Texas Instruments, and prior to that, he was the Chief Diversity Officer and VP of Talent Management for Andeavor.

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Cornerstone OnDemand Santa Monica Equity Software 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2020

HAPSMobile , the developer of a solar-power, unmanned aircraft system which is part owned by Monrovia, California-based Aerovironment , has seen a successful stratospheric test flight of its solar powered unmanned glider, the company said late Wednesday. According to HAPSMobile--which is a subsidiary of SoftBank Corp. and minority owned by UAV developer Aerovironment--the solar power Sunglider reached an altitude of 62,500 feet on its fifth test flight.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Vancouver, British Columbia- and Los Angeles-based Oxigen , a water brand which says it has a "ph balanced water boosted with oxygen", has raised $15M in a Series B funding round. According to the company, the funding came from celebrities and others, including Stephen Curry, Brett Eldredge (recording artist), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Bryan Ezralow (The Ezralow Companies), Jonathan Glaser (JMG Capital), Michael Meldman (Casamigos Tequila, Discovery Land Co.), Victor Coleman (Hudson Paci

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2020

Santa Monica-based TigerConnect , which provides collaboration and communications tools for the hhealthcare industry, says it has raised $45M more in a Series D funding round, as it has seen surging demand due to the pandemic. According to the company, the new round was led by HealthQuest Capital, and also included New Leaf Ventures, Montreux Growth Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Invus and Industry Ventures.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2020

Los Angeles- and New York-based Greycroft Ventures , which has invested in such local companies as Scopely, Thrive Market, and Maker Studios, has raised two new venture capital funds, for a total of $678M total. The firm disclosed that it closed its early stage fund, Greycroft Partners VI , at $310M, and raised $368M in its growth stage fund, Greycroft Growth III , at $368M.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2020

Los Angeles-based social app developer Triller --which competes directly against TikTok--said late Tuesday that it will start offering up livestreaming features on its app starting next week. According to Triller, the livestreaming feature will launch on October 12th, with new paywall and donation options included to help creators monetize their content.

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Startup Los Angeles Content Platform 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 6, 2020

Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX has received a new, $149M contract to help develop new, missile tracking satellites for the U.S. Department of Defense, part of two contracts awarded by the DoD to improve its capabilities. SpaceX is reportedly looking to use the same base platform as it has been for Starlink for the satellite tracking. The award was through the Pentagon's Space Development Agency.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 6, 2020

Santa Barbara-based Anchore , a developer of policy-based workflow and compliance software, said it has rolled out a new set of open source, DevOps tools. The company said its open source tools are designed for automating DevSecOps pipeline security and analysis. The company said the new tools, Syft and Grype, are available at toolbox.anchore.io. Anchore's backers include Andreas von Blottnitz, along with Doug Carlisle of Menlo Ventures; the company's founder, Said Ziouani, is a veteran of Eucal

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Tool Santa Barbara Design Software 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 6, 2020

Pomona-based Lerata , which provides national real estate tax and flood services, says it has acquired Dallas-based property tax intelligence company Accumatch. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. According to the company, Accumatch was founded in 2002, and provides escrow tax payment services, non-escrow tax services and a variety of custom delinquency services for loan servicers using its own technology architecture.

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