L.A. Business Journal

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

The “metaverse” is currently one of the hottest topics in tech — particularly since social media giant Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta Platforms Inc.

Social Media 245

Social Media Platform Media 245

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 30, 2021

San Diego-based ViaCyte, a clinical-stage regenerative medicine company, said today that it has named Marty Lorenzo as General Counsel. Lorenzo previously was Vice President Legal Affairs and Assistant Corporate Secretary at Petco. Lorenzo also previously served at DLA Piper, Mintz Levin, and Kilpatrick Townsend. The company says its first product candidates are being developed as potential long-term treatments for patients with type 1 diabetes to achieve glucose control targets and reduce the r

San Diego 201

San Diego Product Develop Development 201

Berkonomics

DECEMBER 2, 2021

Here’s the argument: Many people believe that bottom-up budgeting leads to waste and misdirection. The advocates of top-down budgeting are strong in their belief that if you give each person or department no guidance, they will budget to their wants or specific needs, not to those that support a corporate goal. Why some CEO’s argue to budget from the top.

Email 156

Email Services Companies Company 156

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 28, 2021

People who get stressed managing their own lives don’t make good entrepreneurs. Small businesses require multi-tasking, work prioritization, and decision-making, with no assistants or help from specialists. That’s why Fortune 500 executives usually don’t survive as startup CEOs. First you have to learn to accept total responsibility for things that happen to your business, just like you are responsible for everything in your personal life.

Entrepreneur 149

Entrepreneur Activity Help Startup 149

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

L.A. Business Journal

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Jeff Appelbaum knew before the pandemic began that food and drink sales were moving “outside the four walls of restaurants.

Sales 147

Sales 147

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DECEMBER 3, 2021

San Diego-based Regulus Therapeutics, a biopharmaceuticals firm focused on targeted microRNA, said it has named Mohammad Ahmadian, Ph.D., as Vice President, Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Development. Ahmadian previously was Vice President & Resident Director of Kinovate Life Sciences, and also previously served at Nitto Denko Technical Corporation.

San Diego 113

San Diego Develop Development 113

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2021

These days, if your startup does not have an Internet home base up and running, you are not ready for business or potential investors. Customers go there to check on the details of your offerings and verify that you are not a scam, investors look there to check out your management and sales approach, and suppliers expect to find contact information.

Web 139

Web Startup Sites Design 139

L.A. Business Journal

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Thanks to a flood of upstart rocket manufacturers in recent decades, sending objects into space is easier than it has ever been.

Seed Funding 130

Seed Funding Funding 130

socalTECH

DECEMBER 3, 2021

Los Angeles-based NationBuilder, which provides tools for managing fundraising, including website hosting, email and text blasts, donations and fundraising, and similar, said it has named Hilary Doe as President of the company. Doe was previously Chief Strategy Officer for the company. Doe previously had been at the Roosevelt Institute. NationalBuilder's tools are used by many political campaigns, as well as nonprofits.

Tool 113

Tool Email Los Angeles Angel 113

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Within the startup realm, there is a big difference between having an innovative product versus an innovative business. Some startups have a new technology, but stick to a tried-and-true business model. Others take an existing product, and give it new life with a creative business model. The most competitive startups do both, all the time and every time.

Competition 135

Competition Netflix Ideas Metrics 135

L.A. Business Journal

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Santa Monica-based robotics incubator Wavemaker Labs is laser-focused on the future of the food industry.

Santa Monica 130

Santa Monica Incubator 130

L.A. Business Journal

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Acuant Inc., a Westchester-based identity verification firm, was acquired by U.K.-based GB Group for a cash-free, debt-free enterprise value of $736 million.

Westchester 130

Westchester 130

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 1, 2021

The recent world-wide health pandemic has highlighted again how fast things can and do change in the environment today, and it’s up to you to make sure your business can survive and thrive in this new world. As the current supply chain problems illustrate, we are all interconnected , and can no longer run our businesses without consideration for all the other businesses and society.

Examples 128

Examples Social Media Summary Satisfaction 128

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 3, 2021

Smart potential customers only visit and buy from credible and memorable websites. In the past, if your startup had a website presence, the company was credible by definition. In today’s world, a website is necessary but not sufficient for credibility. Dreamers and gamblers have found out that if the website isn’t validated as credible, it’s probably a scam, and everyone loses.

Web 117

Web Search Engine Optimization eBook Advertising 117

socalTECH

DECEMBER 3, 2021

Santa Monica-based TrueCar, which operates an online marketplace for autos, said that it has named Rich DiStefano to Senior Vice President of Product. DiStefano previously has served at such companies as Walmart, Hilton, Ticketmaster, Live Nation, and Match.com. The company said that DiStefano will report to President and CEO Mike Darrow.

Truecar 113

Truecar Product Ticketmaster Santa Monica 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 3, 2021

Monrovia-based Covisus, a developer of supply chain tracking products, said this week that it has raised a Series A funding. Size of the funding was not announced. The funding came from Hale Capital Partners. The company said it has developed "covert" item-level supply chain tagging technology, which places tracking information into the "intrinsic surface texture" of the item.

Monrovia 113

Monrovia Funding Capital Technology 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 2, 2021

Los Angeles-based research and analytics provider MarketCast says it has appointed its very first Chief Product Officer, naming Carmen Palmer to the role. Palmer was previously at NBCUniversal, on NBC's Content Distribution Digital Products team. The company said Palmer also spend nearly a decade at Yahoo! previously. MarketCast provides studios, entertainment platforms, sports, and lifestyle brands with research and analytics services.

Product 113

Product Yahoo Research Entertainment 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 2, 2021

Los Angeles-based livestreaming and on-demand audio, video, and podcasting content provider LiveOne says it has connected its long list of products into Google's Android Automotive platform. The company said its services, including LiveXLive, PodcastOne, Slacker Radio, React Presents, Gramophone Media, Palm Beach Records and Custom Personalization Solutions, can all be downloaded in-dash from Google Play for the Android Automotive application.

Google 113

Google Platform Demand Content 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 2, 2021

Los Angeles-based robot delivery company Coco said today that it has launched a new version of its delivery robot, the COCO 1. According to the company, the delivery robot--which is manufactured by Segway--says the new robot is larger, and offers up a further delivery radius, aimed at offering up larger food and grocery deliveries. The company said the new robot includes a more efficient drivetrain and larger battery capacity, allowing it to make deliveries up to three miles, which is double the

Los Angeles 113

Los Angeles Funding Angel Company 113

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DECEMBER 2, 2021

San Diego-based Surglogs, a healthcare startup developing software for managing regulatory compliance for ambulatory surgery centers and health care facilities, has raised $10.5M in a Series A funding. The funding was led by OpenOcean, and also included Credo Ventures, 8VC and a group of angel investors from previous rounds. According to the company, it is looking to help front-line clinicians streamline and automate patient safety and compliance processes.

San Diego 113

San Diego Software Funding Help 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 2, 2021

Los Angeles-based Groundswell, a fintech startup which helps companies offer up personal, donor-advised funds to their employees for charitable giving, said this week that it has raised $15M in a seed funding round. The funding was led by GV, and also included Human Ventures, Moonshots Capital, Felicis Ventures, and Core Innovation Capital. The startup said the funding will go towards bolstering its staff and commercialization.

Seed Funding 113

Seed Funding Los Angeles Capital Funding 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2021

San Diego-based InnoPhase, a developer of wireless chipsets, says it has rolled out two new, Wi-Fi radios. The company said its low power modules are targeted at sensors, security cameras, asset tracking devices, health monitoring wearables, audio speakers and other applications. The company said the Talaria TWO INP1014 and INP1015 Wi-Fi plus BLE5 modules are edge-of-network IoT devices that require low power consumption and provide a direct-to-cloud connection.

San Diego 113

San Diego Networking Develop Development 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2021

Santa Barbara-based Invoca, which develops artificial intelligence powered, sales conversation tools and call tracking products, says it is launching a certification program for its agency customers. The company said it will offer up comprehensive training aimed at helping empower sales, marketing, eCommerce, and customer experience teams using it platform.

Artificial Inteligence 113

Artificial Inteligence Santa Barbara Training Sales 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 1, 2021

Los Angeles-based The Wonderful COmpany--the brand behind the well knokwn POM Wonderful juice brand--said it has named winners in its $1M Wonderful Innovation Challenge. According to the company, it had over 400 applicants to the contest, and has awarded a portion of its $1M prize to two, pilot programs seeking to use the 50,000 tons of pomegranate husks it generates each year.

Companies 113

Companies Company Class Los Angeles 113

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DECEMBER 1, 2021

Westlake Village-based Ember Technologies, best known for its temperature-controlled mugs, said today that it has raised $23.5M in a Series E funding round. The funding was led by GOLDTek Technology, a subsidiary of Foxconn Technology Group, and also included EDBI and others. According to Ember, the new funding will go to develop new product categories and scale its brand internationally.

Westlake Village 113

Westlake Village Research Funding Technology 113

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NOVEMBER 30, 2021

Los Angeles-based Camino Financial announced this morning that it has hired a new Vice President of Engineering. According to the company, it has appoined Eric Smeby to the position. Smeby previously has served at such companies at Capital One and Ellucian, and founded a startup named TuitionCoin. Camino Financial develops artificial intelligence software for offering up credit to underserved, Latinx entrepreneurs.

Artificial Inteligence 113

Artificial Inteligence Los Angeles Entrepreneur Software 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 30, 2021

Long Beach-based Virgin Orbit has set the planned board of directors for the company, assuming its ongoing special purpose acquisition (SPAC) deal goes through as planned. According to Virgin Orbit, the new board of directors of the combined company, which will be named Virgin Orbit Holdings will include Dan Hart, the CEO of Virgin Orbit; Evan Lovell, Chief Investment Officer, Virgin Group ;George Mattson, Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, NextGen; Katharina (Katrina) McFarland, former Assistant Secre

Long Beach 113

Long Beach Acquisition Research Platform 113

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NOVEMBER 30, 2021

Irvine-based venue management software developer Clubspeed announced on Monday that it has acquired Vantora, a developer of online booking and waiver management software. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. The company said the buy will help it expand its product portfolio. Clubspeed is left by CEO Alok Pandey. Clubspeed says it provides its software to family entertainment centers.

Entertainment 113

Entertainment Software Development Acquisition Software 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 30, 2021

Los Angeles-based youth transportatoin service HopSkipDrive announced this morning that it will invest $2M in free ride credits, to help solve a school bus driver shortage. According to the company, it will provide those $2M in ride credits to existing education partners in CA, CO, WI, and WA as part of its Opportunity for All Community Fund. HopSkipDrive's service is based on its own network of drivers--which it calls "CareDrivers"--who earn income for driving around children; the company says

Customer 113

Customer Custom Education Los Angeles 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Valencia-based Valencia Technologies, which is developing a device for the treatment of urgency urinary incontinence (UUI), said it has named a number of executives this morning. The company said it has named Jerry Schloffman as Chief Commercial Officer, Jim Crines as Interim Chief Financial Officer, Arthur Rascon as Senior Vice President of Operations, and Ann Decker as Vice President of Reimbursement and Health Policy.

Technology 113

Technology Develop Development Companies 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

City of Industry-based electronics and computer products e-commerce retailer Newegg announced this morning that it is expanding its facilities in Georgia and California. According to the company, it has expanded into two new distribution centers located in Atlanta, GA and Ontario, CA. The Atlanta facility is 200,000 square feet, and the Ontario facility is 240,000 square feet.

NewEgg 113

NewEgg City of Industry City of Industry Commerce 113

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NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Pasadena-based Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture arm of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, says that has been ranked as one of the year's top five most active U.S. investors in the "agrifoodtech" sector. According to the company, it is on track to double its investment activity this year. The company says it invests in companies that improve human health and nutrition, as well as those companies that are combating climate change through sustainable agriculture technologies and practices.

Activity 113

Activity Invest Pasadena Equity 113

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NOVEMBER 29, 2021

San Diego- and Shanghai-based Ablaze Pharmaceuticals which is developing cancer treatments, said this morning that it has raised $75M in its Series A funding round. The funding was co-led by Vivo Capital and AdvanTech Capital, and also included RAYZ Investments, Nan Fung Life Sciences, Pivotal bioVenture Partners China, venBio Partners, Samsara BioCapital and Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners.

San Diego 113

San Diego Capital Invest Funding 113

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Virgin Galactic has selected the winner for an almost-free trip to space, saying last week that it has selected a winner in a sweepstakes for a trip to space. The winner was part of a sweepstakes with charity donation site Omaze. According to Virgin Galactic, Keisha S. of Antigua and Barbuda won two seats on a Virgin Galactic commercial space flight as part of the sweepstakes.

Organization 113

Organization Sites 113

socalTECH

DECEMBER 3, 2021

Los Angeles-based Games & Esports Experience Acquisition Corp., a newly formed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), says it is raising $175M in an intial public offering (IPO). The company is offering up 17,500,000 units of its stock at $10.00 per unit. The company began trading on Thursday on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol GEEXU.

Acquisition 100

Acquisition Social Media Entertainment Media 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 3, 2021

Long Beach-based rocket developer Rocket Lab showed off details of its new Neutron Rocket on Thursday, saying its new, larger is designed to put up as much as 15,000 kilograms to low earth orbit. The company said that, in reusable mode, the rocket will carry up to 8,000 kilograms to low earth orbit. Rocket Lab is looking to move up in the world, launching larger payloads to space then the company's current ability to put smaller cubesats to space.

Long Beach 100

Long Beach Design Develop Development 100