Sat.Mar 10, 2018 - Fri.Mar 16, 2018

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How about your board members’ time commitments?

Berkonomics

Expect a board member to give a meeting a month, emails and phone calls between. Urgent issues require more of all. Board members are usually busy people, often running other companies or serving on multiple boards. Early stage boards usually meet once a month for two to a maximum of four hours, enough to ruin the rest of a day for those who travel even short distances.

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Pray.com Finds $14M For Social Networking For Religious Communities

socalTECH

Westlake Village-based Pray.com , which develops social networking applications for religious communities, has raised $14M in a Series A funding, the company said this week. The funding was led by TPG Growth, and also included Science Inc. and Greylock Partners. The startup, led by CEO Steve Gatena, has been based at California Lutheran University's Hub101 Incubator, and received a stealth seed funding round last year from Science and Greylock, which had not previously been announced.

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Framework Benchmarks Hardware Update

TechEmpower

We have retired the hardware environment provided by Server Central for our Web Framework Benchmarks project. We want to sincerely thank Server Central for having provided servers from their lab environment to our project. Their contribution allowed us to continue testing on physical hardware with 10-gigabit Ethernet. Ten-gigabit Ethernet gives the highest-performing frameworks opportunity to shine.

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Silicon Beach Report March 14: Jam City Acquires Assets of Brainz

L.A. Business Journal

Jam City acquires assets of Brainz; SpaceX lands contract with DigitalGlobe; and Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital closes debut fund.

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Can You Ask for Office Rent Relief? How to Manage Your Lease During COVID-19

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.

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LA Fintech Demo Mix Mingle Network

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, March 22, 2018 -- LA Fintech Demo Mix Mingle Network. Come mix and mingle with other Financial Technologist's Thursday March 22nd. Learn about the newest and fastest changes going on in financial technology. Finance is undergoing a massive change some call the "financial paradigm" or "crypto wars". Laws from 1930-1940 (old right?) are getting broken down with technological innovation in finance.

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Nimble's Jon Ferrara On Retaining And Keeping Customers

socalTECH

This year, we're sponsoring the Recurring Revenue Conference (www.recurringrevenueconference.com), presented by Sutton Capital Partners. As part of our sponsor relationship with the conference, we're running a series of interviews with speakers from the conference about their experience in the area of recurring revenues, customer service, and similar topics.

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Silicon Beach Report March 16: Pray.com Raises $14 Million

L.A. Business Journal

Pray.com raises $14 million; Desilu Studios acquires Vonetize; and Clearlake Capital closes Fund V with $3.6 billion.

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Social Media, Influencer Marketing, and Millennials

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, March 22, 2018 --.

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Interview with Justine Lassoff and Katie Bogue Miller, Love Goodly

socalTECH

In recent years, Los Angeles has become the capital of subscription, consumer-focused "box" businesses, where consumers sign up for monthly deliveries based on a subscription. One of those companies is Los Angeles-based Love Goodly (www.lovegoodly.com) co-founders Justine Lassoff and Katie Bogue Miller , who sat down and told us about their company, focused on cruelty-free, non-toxic beauty and skincare products.

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No Self-Editing: Biohacker Josiah Zayner Can’t Stop Living Out Loud

Xconomy

Gene editing has arrived. Of the various forms of the technology, CRISPR-Cas9 is the easiest to use, and it’s already showing up in summer camps and school science labs near you. That would be middle schools. When everyone can edit an organism’s genes, how will the world change? Should we be worried? National security officials say yes. Should we also be hopeful?

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Stock Price Falls After Snapchat Posts Ad Referencing Domestic Violence

L.A. Business Journal

An ad for a Snapchat game asking Snapchat users whether they would rather “slap Rihanna” or “punch Chris Brown” drew criticism from Rihanna on another social media outlet and was soon followed by a 4 percent drop in the stock price for Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat.

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Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: Which Is A Hit/Miss?

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, March 22, 2018 -- Blockchain and Cryptocurrency: Which Is A Hit/Miss? Tech Coast Venture Network. Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, which is a hit and which is a miss? Find out which from the founder of SoCal Blockchain and ICOTGE, Sean Goodwin.

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Casa Verde Capital Raises $45M Investment Fund

socalTECH

West Hollywood-based Casa Verde Capital said this week that it has raised $45M in its debut, investment fund, which will specifically invest in the "ancillary cannabis" industry. The venture capital firm--whose founders include Calvin Broadus (aka Snoop Dogg)--said it will specifically invest in agtech, health & wellness, financial services, technology, media, compliance and laboratory technology related to the legal cannabis industry.

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Too Many Venture Capital Cooks in the Kitchen?

Xconomy

At Correlation Ventures, we spend a fair amount of time using our proprietary database to identify the telltale signs of successful startups. One question we asked recently is whether there are diminishing returns for adding VCs to the board of directors at venture-backed startups. Many of us have seen highly effective boards where experienced and engaged VCs work with management and independent directors, offering timely and valuable insights, guidance, and connections.

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Silicon Beach Report March 15: Snapchat Posts Ad Referencing Domestic Violence, Stock Drops 4 Percent

L.A. Business Journal

Snapchat posts ad referring to domestic violence, stock drops 4 percent; Newegg becomes retail partner of Red Bull Gaming Sphere; and SpaceX wins $290 million government contract.

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Highlight Networking Mixer at The Room In Santa Monica (Free Drinks)

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 -- Highlight Networking Mixer at The Room In Santa Monica. Wednesday, March 22nd Starting at 6pm! Drinks, Presentations and Networking! Meet new people and participate in lively discussions with outstanding names in the Silicon Beach community. Make sure to bring your business cards and be ready to make awesome connections with people across all industries.

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Quantm Real Estate Looks To Combine Blockchain, Real Estate

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based Quantm Real Estate , a new startup looking to combine real estate investing with blockchain, the cryptocurrency technology behind such things as Bitcoin, said this week that it has launched a new service whih will help the average person invest in real estate. According to Quantm Real Estate, the company is aiming to enable the primary issuance and secondary trading of "tokens" backed by fractional equity interests in single-family residences in the U.S.

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Ionis Sends Nerve Drug to Spinout Akcea as Battle with Alnylam Looms

Xconomy

Ionis Pharmaceuticals hasn’t gone far to find a new home for a therapy that could soon be one of two approved treatments for a rare neurodegenerative disease called transthyretin amyloidosis. It’s handing the drug, known as inotersen, to its own spinout, Akcea Therapeutics. In a deal being announced this morning, Cambridge, MA-based Akcea (NASDAQ: AKCA ) will pay Ionis (NASDAQ: IONS ) $150 million in Akcea shares to split the rights to inotersen and a follow-up drug, currently known as IONIS-TTR

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Aecom Unit's Contract for Unmanned Airforce Training Aircraft Could Reach $961M

L.A. Business Journal

Aecom’s URS Federal Technical Services unit was awarded a contract of up to $961 million by the U.S. Air Force for training services for three types of unmanned aircraft, the Defense Department announced on March 9.

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First Ever SouthBay LA AWS User Group event

SoCal Tech Calendar

Monday, March 19, 2018 -- First Ever SouthBay LA AWS User Group event. In this event, there will be drinks, food and a round table discussion, led by Jonathan LaCour (CTO at Reliam), where we'll all chime in about what topics should be presented for future events. This group will meet monthly so this is your chance to shape this AWS users group and have the content geared to what you think is valuable for you and the AWS community.

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Thrive Market's Founders Create The Alliance For Good With $12.7M

socalTECH

The founders of Los Angeles-based online grocery provider Thrive Market --Gunnar Lovelace, Nick Green and Sasha Siddhartha--announced this morning they have created a new, philanthropic effort called the Alliance for Good , which will provide philanthropic support to social enterprises, advocacy movements and organizations devoted to improving the environment of our world and health of its inhabitants.

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Despite Pharma Ties, Some Patient Groups Protest High Drug Prices

Xconomy

For 20 years, Deborah Long (pictured) has been relying on powerful drugs to keep her multiple sclerosis in check. Her out-of-pocket costs were pretty reasonable until two years ago, she says, when she had to switch insurance companies. Her new insurer made her switch to a different drug, Copaxone. When she tried to fill the prescription, the Walgreen’s pharmacist told her the monthly copay would be a whopping $2,500—well out of reach for Long, 65, a former administrative assistant in Chico

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OpenX Reports More Than $170 Million in 2017 Revenue

L.A. Business Journal

OpenX, a Pasadena-based programmatic advertising technology company, announced $172 million in 2017 revenue in a March 13 report. The company has grown for 10 consecutive years and has been profitable for four straight, according to a company statement. In addition, OpenX invested $50 million into research and development this past year.

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How I Got Funded

SoCal Tech Calendar

Thursday, March 15, 2018 -- Join us for an evening celebrating entrepreneurship at Expert Dojo, Santa Monica CA. Presented by the Pasadena Angels in partnership with LAVA and Expert Dojo Launching a successful start-up requires more than grit, caffeine and an innovative idea. A successful start-up requires funding, mentoring, and smart connections. Join us for a panel discussion with Pasadena Angels' portfolio companies and network with our angel investors, LAVA members and the Expert Dojo team.

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LiveEdu Raises $10M Via Crowdfunding, Sets Headquarters In LA

socalTECH

LiveEdu (aka Education Ecosystem), a new startup in the blockchain area which wants to enable the live streaming of educational content, said it has raised $10M in crowdfunding, and set up its headquarters in Los Angeles. According to the company, it will start offering up content on programming, game development, data science, crytocurrency, artificial intelligence, and other topics through a monthly subscription later this year.

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Smart Homes and Paying Off Debt Win at Startup Night SXSW 2018

Tech.Co

The spirit of optimism is alive and well at SXSW 2018. Between the art installations, film, entertainment, innovation, and Elon Musk, who crashed the HBO “Westworld” panel to talk about the future of space travel, it would be hard not to leave Austin inspired. “There needs to be things that inspire you, that make you glad to wake up in the morning and be part of humanity,” Musk said, according to USA Today.

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Silicon Beach Report March 13: OpenX Reports Over $170 Million in 2017 Revenue

L.A. Business Journal

OpenX reports over $170 Million in 2017 revenue; Wpromote lands investment from Shamrock Capital; and Allison Checchi named COO of Atom Tickets.

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MADIA Tech Launch Meet-up

SoCal Tech Calendar

Wednesday, March 14, 2018 --.

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Atom Tickets Sets COO

socalTECH

Santa Monica-based Atom Tickets has promoted Allison Checci to the post of Chief Operating Officer (COO), the company said late Tuesday. Checci was recently Chief Marketing Officer at YP, and also previously had been at Bain & Company, where she had been Principal in Bain's Technology, Media and Telecom practice, where the company said she spent nearly a dozen years.

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Dutch Biotech Raises $19M to Develop Psoriasis Drug Near San Diego

Xconomy

Escalier Biosciences BV, a biotech developing drugs for psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders, said it has raised $19 million in a Series B financing led by Forbion, a Dutch life sciences investor. Another Dutch investor, BioGeneration Ventures, and New York-based New Science Ventures joined the round, according to a statement from the company. While Escalier Biosciences BV is based in the Netherlands, the company is managed by its subsidiary, Escalier Biosciences, based near San Diego in coa

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Silicon Beach Report March 12: Lyft Grows Three Times Faster Than Uber

L.A. Business Journal

Lyft grows three times faster than Uber; Clearlake Capital acquires Provation Medical; and Snapchat to release nonfiction crime series produced by Conde Nast.

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5 Motivations That Bode Well For New Venture Success

Startup Professionals Musings

As a startup advisor, I see many aspiring entrepreneurs whose primary motivation seems to be to work part time, or get rich quick, or avoid anyone else telling them what to do. Let me assure you, from personal experience, and from helping many successful as well as struggling entrepreneurs, that starting a business is hard work, and doesn’t come with any of the benefits mentioned.

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Desilu Studios Acquires Israeli Digital Streaming Firm

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based content producer Desilu Studios announced this morning that it has acquired the controlling stake in an Israeli digital streaming technology startup, Vonetize , which provides content streaming, distribution, protection and monetization for major studios. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. Vonetize, which is traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, helps distribute content on the Internet for studios.

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Inclusion Gets Real: A New Level of Diversity Discourse at SXSW

Xconomy

Austin —There’s no question that humans have plenty of biases that carry on from generation to generation, from sexism to racism to homophobia. Those problems have carried over to machines, too—bias in the data fed to computer algorithms is an issue that comes up often. Former Stanford computer science professor Daphne Koller recalled an anecdote she once was told at a machine learning conference: If you run an Internet search for images related to the term “CEO,” Koller said, 24 of

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Elon Musk: Tesla Was Born In A Fish Restaurant In El Segundo

socalTECH

Tesla , the pioneering electric car maker founded by Elon Musk , was actually conceived over lunch at a fish restaurant in El Segundo, Musk said in an interview at SXSW this week. According to Musk, the company was created out of a conversation he had with J.B. Straubel (now CTO of Tesla) and Harold Rosen (founder of would-be electric car maker Rosen Motors, which was based in Woodland Hills, and also founder of Capstone Turbine), talking about electric vehicle technology, back in 2003.

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OpenX Revenues Rise To $172M

socalTECH

Los Angeles-based advertising exchange and technology developer OpenX said on Tuesday that its net revenues rose to $172M in 2017, as it saw 20 percent growth in its revenues for the fourth quarter. The privately held company said the results represented its tenth straight year of growth. The release of the firm's annual revenues are quite unusual, since OpenX is still private, and may indicate the company either is seeking to be acquired or is close to its long-rumored IPO.

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