TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 15, 2018

Daniel Kim and Jay Lee, the two founders of AuditBoard , a Los Angeles-based provider of a risk and compliance software service for large businesses, grew up middle school friends in Cerritos, Calif. It was from their hometown Los Angeles exurb, that Kim and Lee first began plotting how they would turn their experience working for PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young (respectively) into the software business that just managed to rake in $40 million in financing led by one of venture capi

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Startup Cerritos Los Angeles IBM 155

socalTECH

AUGUST 17, 2018

Long Beach-based Cargomatic , which develops technology to connect shippers and carriers, said this week that it has raised $35M in a Series B funding round. The funding was led by Warburg Pincus, and also included Canaan, Genesee & Wyoming, Xplorer Capital and Muse Family Enterprises. According to Cargomatic, the new funding will go towards geographic expansion efforts and hiring key employees.

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Long Beach Mobile Email Funding 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 16, 2018

Los Angeles-based VERSES , a new startup using blockchain and appling it to the virtual and augmented reality world, has raised $6M in a seed fudning, the company said Wednesday. The funding came from Blockchain Industries, Inc., Decentra Fund, and others. The company also says it is raising additional capital via a private token sale. According to VERSES, it is developing a virtual and augmented reality protocol to power ownership, monetization, geolocation and tradability of digital goods, hol

Los Angeles 113

Los Angeles Ideas Sales Capital 113

L.A. Business Journal

AUGUST 15, 2018

Marina del Rey advertising blockchain firm Lucidity (an affiliate of KR8OS Inc.) announced Aug. 15 it completed a funding round of $5 million in total, comprised of investments from six venture capital firms.

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Marina Del Rey Funding Venture Capital Advertising 113

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

Berkonomics

AUGUST 16, 2018

Markets and competitors change. Are you being left behind? Over the years, I have often heard the complaint from CEO friends that they have become so swamped by the demands of their growing businesses that they feel themselves further and further from the center of their industry, no longer at the forefront of information and competitive development.

Marketing 120

Marketing Demand Media Entrepreneur 120

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 13, 2018

If Azealia Banks’ Instagram account is to be believed , Elon Musk’s tweets about Tesla’s take-private deal can be chalked up to some good ole acid and a whole lot of post-tweet frantic scrambling. Over a series of Instagram stories from the weekend, Banks (whose account should be taken with an entire salt shaker — more on that later) reported from the belly of the beast (which in this case is one of Elon Musk’s Los Angeles homes).

Stirrers and Shakers 125

Stirrers and Shakers Los Angeles SpaceX Journal 125

L.A. Business Journal

AUGUST 16, 2018

Cryptocurrency investor Michael Terpin sues AT&T over “SIM swap” scam; Cargomatic raises $35M in series B round; Boeing acquires El Segundo-based satellite and flight-plan maker.

El Segundo 113

El Segundo Report 113

SoCal Tech Calendar

AUGUST 16, 2018

Monday, August 20, 2018 -- South Bay Monday Club. Monday Club helps Southern California companies improve their business plan presentations and meet experts who can help them achieve their objectives. Email fredvmc@earthlink.net for more information.

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Southern California Email Help Company 100

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 12, 2018

You can’t survive as an entrepreneur without resilience, because you are going to fail at least once, maybe multiple times. That’s the nature of trying something that’s never been done before. Resilience means not giving up, and being energized by what you have learned. As Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I have just found ten thousand ways that won't work.

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Startup Guide Activity Entrepreneur 98

socalTECH

AUGUST 17, 2018

Walmart Labs , the technology arm of retail giant Walmart , is planning a major expansion in San Diego--hoping to tap into the area's deep depth of technology talent. According to Walmart, it is planning to triple its headcount in San Diego, as it expands into a new office which is triple the size of its existing operation in the city. According to Walmart Labs, it plans to triple its San Diego headcount to over 180, and expand into a new building which is around 30,000 square feet.

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San Diego Technology Organization Sites 113

L.A. Business Journal

AUGUST 15, 2018

Match Group dating app subsidiary Tinder Inc. has filed a lawsuit against parent company InterActiveCorp., alleging IAC purposefully undervalued the company to avoid proper payouts to executives.

Company 113

Company Companies 113

Xconomy

AUGUST 14, 2018

Ford—one of the automakers competing in China’s huge car market—is now making a bid to provide China’s leading software infrastructure hub dedicated to streamlining transportation by connecting cars and riders with mobility services. Ford’s recently acquired unit Autonomic , which co-created the automaker’s Transportation Mobility Cloud (TMC), inked a deal Tuesday to partner with Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing division of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Mobile 75

Mobile Cloud Computing Commerce Entertainment 75

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 15, 2018

When I heard a friend and business mentor say, “Your startup won’t fail if you don’t quit,” I realized that every entrepreneur should adopt “never give up” as their mantra. Rather than quitting, there are always alternatives, like pivoting the business model or merging with new partners for support. Either could improve the statistic that half of startups fail within the first five years.

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Startup Entrepreneur Statistics Course 56

socalTECH

AUGUST 16, 2018

How, exactly, did Santa Barbara-based Sonos get to where it is today? In an in-depth look, Wired just posted a long article charting the path of Nick Millington, the Chief Product Officer at Sonos , and the evolution of the company's whole home sound systems. Sonos just became the latest Central Coast company to have an IPO, one of a long string of successful technology startups to come out of the region.

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Santa Barbara Startup Technology Product 113

L.A. Business Journal

AUGUST 14, 2018

Snapchat enlists Nicki Minaj to show how AR tools let users shop in RL; SpaceX invites guests into the Dragon X; Treyarch testing Battle Royale mode.

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Snapchat SpaceX Report Tool 113

Xconomy

AUGUST 15, 2018

Full Harvest, an online market for imperfect produce that previously would have been thrown out, announced it has raised $8.5 million in a Series A round of funding. The funding was led by Spark Capital and includes investors such as Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, Rent the Runway co-founder Jenny Fleiss, and John Scherr, head of strategic partnerships at CircleUp.

Seed Funding 71

Seed Funding Help Funding Capital 71

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 13, 2018

According to the entrepreneurs I advise, the biggest challenge they typically face in starting a new business is funding. It consistently takes a huge amount of time and effort to find an investor you can trust, and that constrains your efforts in developing the solution you envision. People always expect that it should be easy to find investors, given their passion and excitement for the solution.

Startup 56

Startup Equity Funding Slides 56

socalTECH

AUGUST 16, 2018

In our Insights and Opinions section, we regularly feature contributions from the local community about the local technology ecosystem. Today, we have an opinion piece from Ed Guerrero of Silicon Valley Bank, on the mobile gaming industry. One of the best things about working at Silicon Valley Bank in Los Angeles is the access to amazing founders and companies.

Mobile 113

Mobile Los Angeles Blogging Venture Capital 113

L.A. Business Journal

AUGUST 15, 2018

Risk and compliance software company AuditBoard raises $40 million; Bird, Lime lead e-scooter protest in Santa Monica; Tinder sues parent company

.Net 113

.Net Santa Monica Report Software 113

Xconomy

AUGUST 15, 2018

Best Buy is paying $800 million in cash for GreatCall, a San Diego-based healthtech company which private equity firm GTCR bought early last year. GreatCall operates a virtual mobile telecommunications network for a customers base of more than 900,000 elderly consumers. The company also sells gadgets, such as mobile devices with large screens and big buttons, wearables that can work with those devices, and emergency alert products.

San Diego 68

San Diego Screening Equity Mobile 68

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 17, 2018

Contrary to popular opinion, viral marketing has not eliminated the need for old-fashioned lead generation to bring customers to a startup. Indeed, while the rules and technologies for lead generation have changed, Forrester and other experts still see it as the most effective way for businesses with limited budgets to maximize their return on marketing investment (ROMI).

Social Media 55

Social Media SEM Startup Advertising 55

socalTECH

AUGUST 15, 2018

Michael Terpin , a well known serial entrepreneur who is very active in the Los Angeles technology industry--and has since made a name for himself as an early cryptocurrency investor and pioneer--is suing AT&T over the loss of $23.8 million due to a "SIM swap" scam. Terpin is seeking $223.8M in his lawsuit, including $200M in punitive damages, for AT&T's role in allowing an AT&T agent to transfer Terpin's cellphone account to an international criminal gang.

Technical Review 113

Technical Review Los Angeles Activity Angel 113

L.A. Business Journal

AUGUST 17, 2018

SpaceX approved for “load-and-go” procedure; Netflix testing new ads; NTS heading to Anaheim;

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SpaceX Netflix Report 124

Xconomy

AUGUST 17, 2018

In its early years, Uber was a headstrong force knocking down preconceived ideas about transportation and, along with Lyft, sparking the imaginations of countless entrepreneurs who are now building a new industry called “mobility.” As it closes in on its first decade, Uber is a conundrum: A Silicon Valley unicorn with $7.3 billion in cash, investors who recently agreed on a $62 billion valuation , short-term IPO plans, and a financial track record that on Wednesday led a Bloomberg reporter to wo

Mobile 63

Mobile Ideas Report Entrepreneur 63

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 11, 2018

The reigning theory in business has long been that “alpha” leaders make the best entrepreneurs. These are aggressive, results-driven achievers who assert control, and insist on a hierarchical organizational model. Yet I am seeing more and more success from “beta” startup cultures, like Zappos and Amazon, where the emphasis is on collaboration, curation, and communication.

Organization 51

Organization Competition Entrepreneur Writing 51

socalTECH

AUGUST 15, 2018

Camarillo-based semiconductor maker Semtech reported a design win today for its LoRa wireless technology. According to Semtech, its LoRa technology is being us to help monitor cattle health in real-time, via a design win with company Quantified Ag. Semtech said Quantified Ag is using its LoRa devices and wireless radio technology into its "smart" cattle tags, which collect body temperature and activity in cows continuously, 24 hours a day, on cattle feedlots.

Design 113

Design Activity Report Technology 113

L.A. Business Journal

AUGUST 13, 2018

Chrome River picks up ExxonMobil; Wells leaving Netflix; Bird scooters face vandalism.

Netflix 113

Netflix Report 113

Xconomy

AUGUST 16, 2018

DoorDash has upped its valuation to $4 billion with a new $250 million financing round, five months after it raised $535 million to gain its “unicorn” status. The new $250 million funding round was co-led by Coatue Management and DST Global. CEO Tony Xu told Axios’ Dan Primack that the company hadn’t been actively seeking new financing. Instead, the company is characterizing the new money as a growth round—DoorDash said it has had 250 percent year-over-year growth and expects to oper

Funding 59

Funding Activity Company Companies 59

Inverted Software

AUGUST 14, 2018

At Inverted Software we craft dozens of apps and APIs per year for our customers. One of the many challenges every client / server system face is the synchronization of time. Apps might be using multiple micro services and databases in different clouds and mobile apps might be running on different devices anywhere in the world. How can all those systems coordinate times and subsequently show the correct time to the user regardless of the time zone they currently reside in?

JavaScript 48

JavaScript Web Mobile Email 48

socalTECH

AUGUST 14, 2018

Santa Barbara-based AxiaMed , which is developing healthcare payments technology, said late Tuesday afternoon that it has raised $12.4M in a funding round. The funding was led by Health Enterprise Partners (HEP), and also included Nashville Capital Network and other existing investors. AxiaMed is a developer of payment software, used b y hospitals and others for managing payments from patients.

Santa Barbara 113

Santa Barbara Enterprise Partners Networking Capital 113

Startup San Diego

AUGUST 15, 2018

SAN DIEGO — Aug 16, 2018 — Startup San Diego, is a nonprofit organization which fosters collaboration amongst entrepreneurs, mentors, and investors to accelerate and grow the greater San Diego startup community. After 6 years of consistent growth. with the help of passionate volunteers, the organization is thrilled to announce it has hit an important […].

San Diego 41

San Diego Press Startup Mentor 41

Xconomy

AUGUST 14, 2018

When news breaks about sexual harassment at a company like Uber, the public is likely to believe that the entire business has a cultural problem. In contrast, the same isn’t true for other issues, such as financial misconduct, which the public tends to see as a “bad apple” situation. That’s according to a study released in June by Harvard Business Review, which surveyed 1,500 people in the U.S.

Company 45

Company Companies Technical Review Study 45

socalTECH

AUGUST 14, 2018

Carlsbad-based Airspace Technologies , which is developing technology for the logistics market, says it has raised $8M in a Series A funding round. The funding was led by Defy, and also included Qualcomm Ventures (the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated), Cross Culture Ventures, and Schematic Ventures. According to Airspace, it is providing "time definite" delivery and supply chain services to the healthcare, technology, and aerospace sectors.

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Technology Funding Invest Customer 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 13, 2018

Santa Monica-based GumGum Sports , which helps advertising agencies measure the media value of sponsorships of sporting events using computer vision technology, has agreed to provide media valuation for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, being held later this year. According to GumGum Sports, the deal--made with marketing, events and public relations agency KemperLesnik--will apply its computer-vision capabilities to measure media value for that tournament's sponsors, across television, streaming,

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Santa Monica Social Media Media Advertising 113

socalTECH

AUGUST 17, 2018

Hawthorne-based SpaceX is targeting its next rocket launch for sometime next week, from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SpaceX has targeted the launch of the Telstar 18 VANTAGE communications satellite for a launch window starting at 11:33pm EDT on the 23rd, according to multiple sources. The rocket is geared to launch off the SLC-40 launch pad at Canaveral, carrying a communications satellite which will provide service to India, China, Mongolia, Southeast Asia, an

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SpaceX Hawthorne Services 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 16, 2018

El Segundo-based Millenium Space Systems , a developer of small satellite systems, has been acquired by Boeing , Boeing said on Thursday. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Boeing said that Millennium Space Systems has approximately 260 employees. Millennium was founded in 2001, and was led by CEO Stan Dubyn. According to Boeing, Millennium Space Systems will become a subsidiary of the company, and will report to the company's Phantom Works division.

El Segundo 100

El Segundo Acquisition Report Develop 100