Berkonomics

JANUARY 13, 2022

How might you view your successful exit from the company you have spent so much effort to build? You’ve worked hard for years to reach the payoff, and the money sure looks good as you contemplate the wire transfer to come, and then watch your bank account fill to a level you only dreamed of during those rough cash flow years. You might even allow yourself to admit that you almost lost it all several times during this long run, and that only you knew how close you came to the abyss.

Writing 156

Writing Entrepreneur .Net Sales 156

socalTECH

JANUARY 11, 2022

Los Angeles-based AmazeVR has raised $15M more in a new funding, from Partners Investment and Murex Partners, plus Smilegate Investment, Quantum Ventures Korea, ABC Partners, Everrich Group, GS Futures, We Ventures, Base Investment, Duname&Partners, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, Partners Investment and Timewise Investment. The company offers up a way for artists to hold concerts in augmented reality.

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Los Angeles Invest Capital Funding 182

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 8, 2022

With the cost of entry at an all-time low, and the odds of success equally low, more and more entrepreneurs are starting multiple companies concurrently. This “parallel entrepreneur” idea has been around since at least the days of Thomas Edison, and for the new generation of entrepreneurs, who have been multi-tasking since birth, it’s probably not even a stretch.

Entrepreneur 145

Entrepreneur Startup Resource Course 145

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2022

Los Angeles-based cloud storage provider IDrive said this week that it has added cloud backup support for Linux machines on its IDrive 360 product. The company said the support allows IT admins to schedule and automate backups for all of their organizational Linux data into a single account through a unified web console. The product is aimed at businesses, and starts at $29.50 per year per computer.

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Web Los Angeles Product Angel 140

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

JANUARY 12, 2022

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian, who lives in the Los Angeles area, has been sued--along with other celebrities like Floyd Mayweather and Paul Pierce, over her promotion of a cryptocurrency which has been billed as a "pump and dump" scheme. According to reports, Kardashian was paid to promote the cryptocurrency, which earned a large sum for the creators and promoters of the coin, but became worthless when it crashed.

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Class Los Angeles Report Angel 124

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2022

Most entrepreneurs who start a company alone soon come to the conclusion that two heads are better than one – someone to share the workload, the hard decisions, costs, and tasks you don’t like. In a moment of crisis, you may be tempted to take on the first person expressing interest as a co-founder. This would be a mistake, and could easily cost you your startup.

Startup 140

Startup Satisfaction Writing Entrepreneur 140

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2022

San Diego-based Insightful Science, a developer of scientific discovery software, said this week that it has acquired OMIQ, a provider of software-as-a-service for high dimensional flow cytometry. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. According to Insightful Science, the addition of OMIQ will expand its offerings in flow cytometry software solutions.

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San Diego Equity Acquisition Software 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2022

Mojave-based space launch provider Virgin Orbit successfully launched a new batch of satellites into space, using its unique rocket-launched-from-a-747 system. Virgin Orbit said it launched 7 customer satellites on its mission on Thursday, using its LauncherOne rocket. The launch was from off the Southern California coast, about 50 miles south of Channel Islands National Park.

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socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2022

Santa Monica-based March Capital is the lead investor in San Mateo-based Gr4vy, a developer of cloud-based payments orchestration software. According to Gr4y, it raised $15M in a Series A funding, which was led by March Capital, and also included Nyca Partners, Activant Capital and Plug and Play Ventures. March Capital's investment was led by Solomon Hailu.

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Capital Santa Monica Activity Funding 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 14, 2022

Irvine-based ICEYE, which develops synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, says it has launched two new satellites into orbit. According to ICEYE, the satellites were launched on the the recent SpaceX Transporter-3 smallsat rideshare mission. ICEYE said the two satellites are its fifteeth and sixteeth satellites it has launched into orbit. ICEYE's satellites are aimed at use in insurance, natural catastrophe response and recovery, national security, defense, humanitarian relief and climate ch

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SpaceX Develop Development 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 13, 2022

Torrance-based e-commerce auto parts marketplace CarParts.com said on Wednesday that it has appointed Ana Dutra to its board of directors. Dutra is currently the CEO of Mandala Global Advisors, Inc., and also had been CEO of Korn/Ferry Consulting between 2007 until 2013. Dutra also has served on the boards of First Internet Bancorp, CME Group Inc., and Health, Harvest & Recreation.

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Torrance Commerce 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 13, 2022

Los Angeles-based Zest AI, which develops artificial intelligence software for lending, said it has signed up a Florida credit union as a customer. The company said Addition Financial Credit Union has $2.6 billion in assets and 162,000 members across Florida. Financial details of the win were not announced. Zest AI is led by CEO Mike de Vere.

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Artificial Inteligence Los Angeles Software Customer 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 13, 2022

Los Angeles-based medical scrubs and clothing brand Jaanuu said this week that it has raised $75M in a private equity investment. The funding came from private equity firm Eurazeo. Jaanuu was founded by Shaan Sethi and Dr. Neela Sethi. According to the company, it has now raised $100M in total. As part of the new funding, the company says it has created a new board, consisting of Jill Granoff, Eurazeo managing partner and Brands CEO; Shaan Sethi, Jaanuu co-founder and CEO; John Kenney, Cult Capi

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Equity Los Angeles Capital Funding 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 13, 2022

Los Angeles-based Masters, a startup that lets users get coaching and training from famous athletes, has raised $2.7M in a seed funding round. The funding was led by Sweet Capital, and also included Mucker Capital, Goodwater Capital and Luxor Capital, in addition to angel investments from Shaun White, Bam Adebayo, Kai Lenny and A'ja Wilson, Anton Gauffin, Jakob Joenck, Henrik Kraft, Greg Tseng, Prerna Gupta, Hank Vigil, Janis Zech and Andreas Mihalovits.

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Coach Seed Funding Training Los Angeles 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 13, 2022

Los Angeles-based HeyRenee, the health concierge and health technology startup led by former Heal founders Renee Dua and Nick Desai, said today that it has raised $4.4M more in a seed funding. The company said the funding was led by Quiet Capital, and also included Fika Ventures and Mucker Capital. The company said the funding comes on top of earlier seed funding, bringing its total capital raised to $8.2M.

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Seed Funding Los Angeles Capital Funding 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 12, 2022

San Diego-based hybrid cloud provider NFINIT said it has named Bradley Craig as its new Director of Channel Sales. Craig previously has served at such cloud and managed service companies as Veeam and Insight. According to NFINIT, Craig has over 13 years of experience in the technology industry.

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Sales San Diego Services Technology 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 12, 2022

Los Angeles-based HyperDraft, which is developing artificial intelligence software to help legal professionals draft, edit, and analyze legal documents, says it has named Sean Greaney as its General Counsel. HyperDraft said that Greaney was most recently at Goodwin Procter LLP, and previously had also served at Stubbs, Alderton & Markiles. HyperDraft also said that Greaney had been an in-house counsel at Beats by Dr.

Artificial Inteligence 113

Artificial Inteligence Los Angeles Acquisition Software 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 12, 2022

Los Angeles-based Aspiration said this morning that it has acquired Carbon Insights, a climate technology developer which helps consumers translate what impact their spending behavior and transactions have on carbon and climate change. According to Aspiration, it will integrate the Carbon Insights technology into its existing offerings. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced.

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Acquisition Los Angeles Technology Help 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 11, 2022

Los Angeles-based ACELYRIN, a biopharma company focused on unspecified drug candidates, said today that it has named Melanie Gloria as the company's Chief Operating Officer (COO). The company said Gloria is a former oncology nurse, and previously worked at teams at Abbott, AbbVie, and Horizon Therapeutics, and most recently was Senior Vice President of Development Operations at Horizon.

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Los Angeles Angel Develop Development 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 11, 2022

Irvine-based Renovo Solutions announced this morning that it has raised a round of growth investment, from investor Water Street Healthcare Partners. Size of the investment was not announced. According to Renovo Solutions, it will use the new funding to expand offerings. As part of the funding, it has appointed Bill Newell as CEO. Newell previously served at Cardinal Health, Baxter and Dentsply Sirona.

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Invest Funding Technology Venture Capital 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 11, 2022

Hawthorne, California-based Hadrian, which is working on aerospace manufacturing technology, disclosed in a recent regulatory filing that it has raised $36.3M in an ongoing funding. Details of the funding have not yet been announced by the company. The filing says that so far, the firm has 28 investors in the round, with a target of $38.1M. Hadrian says on its website that it is building "the most advanced Space & Defense factories on the Planet.".

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Hawthorne Funding Technology Company 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 11, 2022

Thousand Oaks-based Amgen and share lab provider Biolabs LA said Monday that they have awarded Karma Biotechnologies one year of lab space at Biolabs, as well as other facility benefits and connections to Amgen's scientific and business leaders. According to the two, the "Amgen Golden Ticket" is the second awarded in Southern California, intended to help accelerate life science start-ups in Southern California.

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Thousand Oaks Southern California Startup Help 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 10, 2022

Santa Monica-based online employment market operator ZipRecruiter said on Friday that it is raising $550M in debt, via 5.000% Senior Notes due in 2030, up from an earlier announced $500M. The company--which is traded on the NYSE as ZIP--said it intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include capital expenditures, investments and working capital.

Santa Monica 113

Santa Monica .Net Capital Invest 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 10, 2022

Los Angeles-based Display Social announced this morning that it has acquired two other companies, Thunder Studios and Infinite Reality, and will seek to focus on entertainment in "the Metaverse". Display Social did not provide details on the financial aspects of the two acquisitions. The company said it will focus on "creative tools covering social, gaming, virtual and remote production, NFT minting, and metaverse creation.

Entertainment 113

Entertainment Los Angeles Tool Acquisition 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 10, 2022

Venice, California-based AI customer service software developer Thankful said today that it is expanding into the European market, via a partnership with Netherlands-based Dixa. According to the companies, Dixa wil leverage Thankful's AI agent. Thankful is led by founder and Ceo Ted Mico. The company said it is developing natural language processing software to help provide personalized service interactions for brands.

Miramar 113

Miramar Venice Software Development Customer 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 10, 2022

Los Angeles-based mPulse Mobile, which develops conversational AI software for the healthcare industry, says it has acquired HealthCrowd, a provider of healthcare communications services for the Medicaid market. Financial terms of the deal were not announced. As part of the acquisition, mPulse Mobile said it has received a growth investment from growth equity firm PSG, along with existing investors Optum Ventures, OCA Ventures, HLM Venture Partners, Echo Health Ventures, SJF Ventures and Bonfire

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Mobile Funding Equity Acquisition 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 10, 2022

Santa Barbara-based smart speaker maker Sonos has scored a major win in its patent efforts, winning a patent infringement case it had filed against Google. As a result of that win, Google has started stripping functionality from its speakers, rather than pay Sonos for licensing. The entire issue apparently stemmed from information provided by Sonos to Google back in 2013, when it was pitching Google for support of Google Play Music--which Sonos said that Google incorporated into its Google Home

Patents 113

Patents Google Santa Barbara 113

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 12, 2022

Many of you don’t like to think of it this way, but penetrating a target market with your startup is a lot like a military invasion. I’ve learned over the years that you need to start with specific goals, a focused strategy , and a motivated and prepared team in order to penetrate competitive defenses. Too many entrepreneurs I know charge into battle with only their passion, and hope for the best.

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Marketing Technical Review Startup Resource 125

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 10, 2022

As a long-time mentor and advisor to new business owners, I can attest to both the need for mentoring, and the satisfaction that comes from watching an aspiring but tentative entrepreneur grow into someone capable of changing the world. Business is not rocket science, and one-on-one guidance face-to-face, with a real project, trumps the classroom and mistakes every time.

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Mentor Entrepreneur Satisfaction Summary 154