socalTECH
MAY 25, 2018
One of Southern California's promising startup entrepreneurs, Jason G. Crilly --the co-founder of RYSE UP and co-founder of NearWoo--has passed away, according to friends and families. Crilly passed away last weekend. According to posts on his now-memorialized Facebook page, Crilly took his own life, which some attributed to the stress of startup life, along with other factors.
socalTECH
MAY 25, 2018
Grail , the spinout of San Diego-based life sciences equipment maker Illumina , has raised $300M more in funding, the company said this week. The startup is developing blood testing technology which uses DNA analysis to help in early detection of cancer. The funding came from Ally Bridge Group, Hillhouse Capital, 6 Dimensions Capital, Blue Pool Capital, China Merchant Securities International, CRF Investment, HuangPu River Capital, ICBC International, Sequoia Capital China and WuXi NextCODE.
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L.A. Business Journal
MAY 25, 2018
Proterra raises $100 million for electric buses; new european data privacy regs wreak havoc on U.S. sites; L.A.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 19, 2018
Why you should never have a data room?—?the most counter-intuitive fund-raising advice you’ll ever get I’m about to offer you some fund-raising advice that flies directly in the face of what most conventional wisdom will tell you. If you stick through to the end I’m guessing I can persuade most of you. Let me start out with my premise: “Data rooms are where fund-raising processes go to die.
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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.
TechCrunch LA
MAY 19, 2018
W hen young adults leave the parental nest, they often follow a predictable pattern. First, move in with roommates. Then graduate to a single or couple’s pad. After that comes the big purchase of a single-family home. A lawnmower might be next. Looking at the new home construction industry, one would have good reason to presume those norms were holding steady.
Berkonomics
MAY 24, 2018
Here’s yet another story that you may identify with – or have yet to experience in your business life. It’s one of those that define your leadership for all to see, sometimes based upon decisions made in the moment – such as this one. A story of a CEO’s snap judgment call. Years ago, when I was CEO of my record manufacturing company in Hollywood, I happened to walk around the plant into the press room just as Bobby, one of the employees’ favorite coworkers, was offering stolen merchandise to his
Southern California Tech Central brings together the best content for technical professionals in Southern California from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 24, 2018
If you’ve read any of my ongoing series on fund raising from venture capitalist (episode 1?— ?controlling your psychology ) you no doubt have heard me say that raising capital is a sales & marketing process. You company is the product and you’re selling an equity ownership in your company but much more broadly you’re selling trust & confidence that you’re going to build something enormously valuable and that you’re going to be enjoyable to work hand-in-hand with over the coming decade of
Tech.Co
MAY 25, 2018
If you’re an early-stage entrepreneur, technology has served you well. The barriers to entry when it comes to launching a company require less tension and a lot less capital. In fact, for the most part, all you need is a laptop and Wi-Fi connection. Still though, when founders are seeking funding, “ 75 percent of the venture capital goes to three states: Massachusetts, New York, and California,” said Steve Case in an interview with Recode.
L.A. Business Journal
MAY 22, 2018
Culver City-based office security tech firm Openpath launched May 22, helped by a $7 million funding round and helped by local funds.
socalTECH
MAY 22, 2018
Los Angeles-based Heal , which operates a service that schedules in-home house calls from doctors via an app or its website, has raised $20M in a new funding round, the company announced this morning. The funding came from Bascom Ventures, Inflection Capital, IRA Capital, RLJ Equity Partners, Trans-Pacific Technology Fund, and others, in addition to existing investors Fidelity Contrafund, Jim Breyer, Lionel Richie, and Dr.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 21, 2018
I was recently with an entrepreneur and talking with him about his fund raising process. He was in a later-stage financing round and was talking with many investors. Some started asking him for very specific analyses to be completed on his data and wanted his company to crunch the numbers. I told him he shouldn’t bother and that it was likely a junior person at the firm whose job is was to find holes in the data / narrative.
SoCal Tech Calendar
MAY 24, 2018
Wednesday, May 30, 2018 -- Silicon Beach Networking Mixer at The Room in Santa Monica (Complimentary Drinks). Wednesday, May 30th Starting at 6pm! Complimentary 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.
L.A. Business Journal
MAY 24, 2018
Justice Department investigates cryptocurrency and price manipulation; PeerStreet passes $1 billion mark in real estate loans; UCLA Magnify looks for tech and life science startups.
socalTECH
MAY 22, 2018
Hawthorne-based SpaceX is getting set to launch another set of satellites into space for Iridium, as well as a mission for NASA. The launch--scheduled for a little over 10 minutes, at 12:47 pm PDT--will use the same Falcon 9 as used by the Zuma mission. SpaceX said in pre-launch broadcast that it will attempt to again catch the fairing off the rocket, but will not attempt to recover the Falcon 9's first stage.
Both Sides of the Table
MAY 20, 2018
Every entrepreneur wants to hear “yes” during the fund-raising process but I would argue that being too risk averse and not pushing hard enough and be willing to hear a “no” is what holds back many people from “yes.” I believe people generally hate making decisions and especially so when they involve commitments and risks. This is true of any buying process where a customer has to make a large investment decision on your software or when an investor must decide whether to give you $5 million.
Tech.Co
MAY 22, 2018
When it comes to pitching investors, rejection is a lot more common than success. Truth be told, your only path to some serious funding is perseverance and diligence in getting meetings and being prepared. But with the right pitch tactics, you could turn those that pesky “no” into glorious “yes.” “[Founders underestimate] how difficult it is to get a deal done, and how few deals get funded out of how many deals that are pitched,” said Thomas Flake , Founder and Chief Mark
L.A. Business Journal
MAY 23, 2018
South Bay-based cloud computing service provider Reliam announced May 23 the acquisition of Boston-based G2 Tech Group for an undisclosed sum.
socalTECH
MAY 24, 2018
Magnify , the startup incubator which is part of UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI), says it has opened up its incubator to the greater Los Angeles area, and is now inviting startups in the early stage technology and life sciences areas to join its program. According to Magnify, it is looking for companies working on technology in the life science, medtech, IT, and advanced materials area for its program, which is based at UCLA.
Xconomy
MAY 24, 2018
Bloom Science , a biotech founded to advance a new class of microbe-based therapeutics for neurological disorders, is making its debut today with the publication of research that suggests certain bacteria in the gut could be used to manage epileptic seizures. The research, published in the journal Cell , indicate that several specific strains of bacteria work together in mice to provide neuroprotective effects against epileptic seizures.
socalTECH
MAY 23, 2018
Redland-based geographical information system (GIS) provider Esri announced on Tuesday that it has opened up a new office, in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it will operate business development efforts and and East Coast call center. Esri did not say how many employees it will hire in the new location, which it says will be available to customers interested in learning about the company's products and which will also help it contribute to Charlotte's growing tech sector.
socalTECH
MAY 25, 2018
Proterra , the electric bus manufacturer which has its West Coast manufacturing operations in the City of Industry, has reportedly raised $100M in new funding, based on regulatory filings by the company. Names of the investors in the new round were not announced, however, Proterra previously has raised funding from Tao Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins, GM Ventures, Constellation Technology Ventures, 88 Green Ventures, and Edison Energy.
socalTECH
MAY 25, 2018
Converge Technology Partners , the IT technology provider which acquired Agoura Hills-based Key Information Systems in April, said this week that it has acquired another company-- BlueChipTek , a technology solutions provider based in Silicon Valley. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. BlueChipTek focuses on data center infrastructure integration.
socalTECH
MAY 24, 2018
Irvine-based AutoGravity , which provides smartphone-driven car financing tools, has named Jason Bonifay as its new Vice President of Engineering, the company said this morning. Bonifay was previously VP of Development for Product and Engineering at CDK Global, and also served as VP of Software Engineering at Bankruptcy Management Solutions (BMS), and Chief Technology Officer at Propero Software.
socalTECH
MAY 24, 2018
Los Angeles-based TaskUs , which provides outsource customer support and back-end support services for many startups and other technology companies, has named Joe Buggy as its new Chief Operating Officer, the first for the company. TaskUs said that Buggy has more than 30 years of experience. Buggy previously was at Sutherland Global Services, where he most recently served as Chief Strategist; he had been at Sutherland since 2000.
socalTECH
MAY 23, 2018
Los Angeles-based game streaming provider GameFly and Electronic Arts said Tuesday that Electronic Arts has acquired GameFly's cloud-streaming technology, but that GameFly will continue to operate its games-by-mail subscription service. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. According to the two, Electronic Arts also acquired the Israeli team which had developed GameFly's streaming service for games, which had allowed videogame users to rent videogames via the Internet, much li
socalTECH
MAY 21, 2018
Marina Del Rey-based CREXi , which is developing a technology platform aimed at the commercial real estate industry, has raised $11M in a Series A funding, the company said on Monday. The funding was led by Jackson Square Ventures, and also included Manifest Investment Partners, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Freestyle Capital, and TenOneTen Ventures. CREXi operates an online marketplace for commercial real estate, connecting buyers, sellers, and brokers.
socalTECH
MAY 21, 2018
Los Angeles-based Two Bit Circus Foundation , the nonprofit education arm of LA's Two Bit Circus , is running two of its STEAM Carnival events at Los Angeles area schools. According to Two Bit Circus Foundation, it ran one event over the weekend in Hawthorne at the Prairie Vista Middle School, and will run one in Compton at Dollarhide Community Center on Thursday.
socalTECH
MAY 21, 2018
San Diego-based Qualcomm and Facebook announced this morning that the two are teaming together to provide high speed Internet connectivity in urban areas, using 60Ghz technology from Qualcomm. According to the two, they are using Terragraph technology from Facebook combined with the high speed 60Ghz wireless technology from Qualcomm to develop high speed broadband service in urban areas.
socalTECH
MAY 21, 2018
Vista-based Sound United , the parent firm of audio brands Denon, Marantz, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, HEOS, Boston Acoustics and ClasseAudio, says it has settled all of the patent infringement litigation between the company and Santa Barbara-based Sonos. Sound United--the audio division of DEI Holdings--said the settlement includes an upcoming case filed against Sonos by Denon.
socalTECH
MAY 25, 2018
Carlsbad-based FMT Consultants announced on Thursday that it has acquired an Orange County IT services provider, Red Sky Solutions. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Red Sky Solutions was founded in 2003 by Daryl Garcia and Dave Stone, and specifically focused on Salesforce implementation. FMT Consultants is led by CEO Eric Casazza.
socalTECH
MAY 25, 2018
Santa Monica-based dockless scooter startup Bird , which is backed by Valor Equity Partners, Index Ventures, Craft Ventures, Goldcrest Capital, Tusk Ventures and Upfront Ventures, is facing a temporary pullback in San Francisco, after San Francisco issued new rules to obtain a permit in the city. Bird, along with competitors Lime and Spin, has already peppered San Francisco with its "last mile" transportation scooters, which users can unlock and use using their smartphone.
socalTECH
MAY 24, 2018
Santa Monica-based electric scooter rental service Bird relaunched its services in Austin, Texas this week, after receiving a permit for its scooters in the city. The company had attempted to launch in Austin last month, but had to pull its scooters from operation after the Austin City Council passed an emergency ordinance prohibiting the scooters, and allowing cit workers to impound any scooters left on sidewalks.
socalTECH
MAY 24, 2018
Los Angeles-based real estate loan marketplace PeerStreet the startup founded by Brew Johnson, Brett Crosby and Alex Perelman, said on Wednesday that it has just topped one billion in total loans on its platform. The company is venture backed by World Innovation Lab, Andreessen Horowitz, Thomvest, Colchis Capital, Felicis Ventures, Solon Mack and Navitas Capital, and just raised a $29.5M funding in April.
socalTECH
MAY 23, 2018
Los Angeles-based TruStory , a stealth-mode startup led by Preethi Kasireddy, has raised $3M in a seed funding round to help vet information on cryptocurrency and other areas, the company disclosed on Wednesday. The seed funding was led by True Ventures, and also included Pantera Capital, Kindred Ventures, Homebrew, Coinbase Ventures, Wonder Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Dream Machine, along with angels.
socalTECH
MAY 23, 2018
Los Angeles-based dating service Tinder launched a new feature on Wednesday to a number of test markets, which uses a user's favorite restaurants, bars, hangouts, and other locations to help make matches with others. According to Tinder, the new Places feature helps you "discover new people who hang where you hang". Tinder says that users can opt into the feature, and start seeing potential matches who have also visited the same spots.
socalTECH
MAY 23, 2018
On-demand ride provider Uber is abandoning its efforts to test its self driving cars in Arizona, as the company continues to try to recover from the death of a pedestrian in the state in March. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Uber has reportedly laid off around 300 of its "test drivers" in Arizona. Uber's self driving testing had already been suspended in the aftermath of the death.
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