Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 10, 2021

Socially distant hiking in Sedona (we drove there) I recently wrote about my weight-loss journey over the past 18 months where I lost 65 pounds without a fad diet and returned to my college weight. If you want to get in better shape and haven’t read that you might start there. I separately wrote about some food plans I use. I started advice with the premise that no amount of exercise or food eating plan would help with long-term fitness or weight goals unless you first had a mental plan and a se

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Coach Startup Guide Journal 538

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 8, 2021

In a small industrial park located nearly halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, one company is claiming to have hit a milestone in the development of a new technology for generating power from nuclear fusion. The twenty year old fusion energy technology developer TAE Technologies said its reactors could be operating at commercial scale by the end of the decade, thanks to its newfound ability to produce stable plasma at temperatures over 50 million degrees (nearly twice as hot as the sun), T

Technology 354

Technology Artificial Inteligence Google Orange County 354

L.A. Business Journal

JANUARY 28, 2021

USC is partnering with Amazon.com Inc. to create a research center focused on privacy and security issues related to machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Artificial Inteligence 352

Artificial Inteligence USC Research 352

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 1, 2021

The best part of being an entrepreneur is having the independence to make your own decisions, the flexibility for a better work/life balance, and personal satisfaction from driving change. But nobody said it would be easy. The road to business success is filled with challenges and frustrations that most aspiring entrepreneurs never even imagined. In my role as advisor to many startups, I try to prepare them for the inevitable bumps in the road ahead, as well as to provide practical guidance on h

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Entrepreneur Search Engine Optimization Satisfaction Social Media 174

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

Both Sides of the Table

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

The world around us is being disrupted by the acceleration of technology into more industries and more consumer applications. Society is reorienting to a new post-pandemic norm?—?even before the pandemic itself has been fully tamed. And the loosening of federal monetary policies, particularly in the US, has pushed more dollars into the venture ecosystems at every stage of financing.

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Venture Capital Writing Invest Pricing 471

Both Sides of the Table

AUGUST 11, 2021

Photo by Vanna Phon on Unsplash Customer acquisition is the lifeblood of many startups from e-commerce to gaming to marketplace companies, among others. Most of these startups spend the lion’s share of their marketing budget in today’s social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Snap, TikTok and so on because?—?no surprise?—?that’s where the customers are.

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Product Platform Advertising Acquisition 424

L.A. Business Journal

JUNE 21, 2021

Century City-based TrillerNet, the owner of short-form video platform Triller, is preparing to file a confidential direct listing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in July that values the company at more than $5 billion, according to a source familiar with the plans.

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Century City Platform Company Companies 331

TechCrunch LA

JULY 15, 2021

The need for more affordable housing has never been more urgent as a shortage in the U.S. housing market persists. Startups attempting to help address the shortage in a variety of ways abound. One such startup, Abodu , has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Norwest Venture Partners. Previous backer Initialized Capital also participated in the financing, along with Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman, former Stockton, California Mayor Michael Tubbs, GGV investor Hans Tung and Paradox Capit

Los Angeles 322

Los Angeles Customer Custom Startup 322

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 10, 2021

Akash Nigam, founder and chief executive of Venice-based Genies Inc., said he wasn’t entirely sure what a nonfungible token was until last summer when he met with Dapper Labs Inc. Chief Executive Roham Gharegozlou.

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Geni Venice Company Companies 321

L.A. Business Journal

JULY 12, 2021

Santa Monica-based analytics company Retina AI Inc. has raised $8 million in Series A funding for its artificial intelligence platform for consumer insights.

Artificial Inteligence 340

Artificial Inteligence Santa Monica Platform Funding 340

L.A. Business Journal

JULY 5, 2021

Glendale-based ServiceTitan Inc., a developer of management software for home services contractors, has acquired St. Louis-based Aspire Software, a technology provider for commercial landscaping businesses.

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Glendale Software Services Technology 317

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 3, 2021

Grocery delivery startup Good Eggs is announcing that it has raised $100 million in new funding, and that it’s planning to launch in Southern California in either the summer or fall of this year. Parts of this story might sound familiar to readers familiar with Good Eggs — when the startup raised its most recent, $50 million funding round in 2018, CEO Bentley Hall also mentioned plans for geographic expansion.

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Southern California Orange County San Diego Commerce 318

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 2, 2021

Making money on livestreams has never been easier thanks to a suite of tools from the Los Angeles-based startup Maestro , which just nabbed $15 million in financing to grow its business. As video commerce becomes the norm and entertainers, brands, businesses, and franchises of all sizes and stripes look to cut out the middle man, the array of services on offer from Maestro may be the scissors these entities need to cut the cord.

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Tool Commerce .Net Entertainment 315

TechCrunch LA

JULY 14, 2021

As concerts and live events return to the physical world stateside, many in the tech industry have wondered whether some of the pandemic-era opportunities around virtualizing these events are lost for the time being. San Francisco-based FlyMachine is aiming to seek out the holy grail of the digital music industry, finding a way to capture some of the magic of live concerts and performances in a live-streamed setting.

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Platform Los Angeles Startup Venture Capital 310

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 9, 2021

Even as NFT sales dip below their most speculative highs, startups aiming to tap into their potential are still scoring big funding rounds from investors who believe there’s much more to crypto collectibles than the past few months of hype. Mythical Games , an NFT games startup based out of Los Angeles, has banked a $75 million raise from new and existing investors betting on the startup’s aim to expand the ambitions of their first title and locate a substantial platform opportunity

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Platform Framework Los Angeles Design 308

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

Archer Aviation, the electric aircraft startup that recently announced a deal to go public via a merger with a blank-check company, plans to launch a network of its urban air taxis in Los Angeles by 2024. The announcement comes two months after the formation of the Urban Air Mobility Partnership, a one-year initiative between Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation and Urban Movement Labs to develop a plan for how to integrate urban aircraft i

Los Angeles 309

Los Angeles Angel Networking Mobile 309

L.A. Business Journal

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Electric vehicles are touted as the future, especially in Los Angeles where the city’s climate goals call for 80% of vehicles sold to be electric by 2028 — seven years ahead of the state’s 2035 cutoff for gasoline-powered auto sales.

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Company Companies Los Angeles Sales 306

L.A. Business Journal

APRIL 12, 2021

El Segundo, which sits on the airport’s southern edge, last month sent in comments opposing LAWA’s proposal to add two new terminals as part of the Airfield and Terminal Modernization Project.

El Segundo 306

El Segundo 306

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 3, 2021

Lindsay McLean, founder and chief executive of Home-Lister Inc., said the idea for the company came to her after working with a real estate agent to sell her first home.

Company 312

Company Companies Ideas 312

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 21, 2021

Netflix employees staged a walkout yesterday in response to the company’s handling of a Dave Chappelle special that premiered on October 5. At the same time, Los Angeles-based trans activist Ashlee Marie Preston hosted a rally in solidarity with Netflix workers participating in the walkout. Netflix stars like Jonathan Van Ness of “Queer Eye” and Mason Alexander Park of “Cowboy Bebop” and “The Sandman” expressed their solidarity in a video made for the ra

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Netflix Demand Content Hollywood 300

L.A. Business Journal

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021

The gaming giant, which posted in $2.3 billion in quarterly revenue, also said it's working to upgrade its policies and training to prevent harassment.

Activision 325

Activision Training 325

TechCrunch LA

JUNE 22, 2021

This Thursday, Apple will mark the opening of a new store in downtown Los Angeles. The space occupies the newly renovated Tower Theatre, which opened in DTLA’s Broadway Theater District in 1927. Among other milestones, the 900-seat theater was the first in LA to be wired for the talkies, hosting a premier of “The Jazz Singer” that same year.

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Education Los Angeles Press Hollywood 299

L.A. Business Journal

JUNE 21, 2021

Pasadena-based energy technology company Heliogen Inc. has raised a total of $108 million in two funding rounds to help develop its industrial solar energy technology, the company announced June 15.

Technology 299

Technology Pasadena Funding Help 299

TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Women have made great inroads into the tech world in recent years, but there remains a long way to go before we reach a truly equitable state of affairs in workforce numbers, remuneration and product development. An edtech startup called Entity Academy — which provides women with training, in areas like data science and software development; mentoring; and ultimately job coaching — has raised $100 million on the heels of strong growth of its business, and an ambition to improve that

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Mentor Training Startup Course 297

TechCrunch LA

APRIL 21, 2021

Welcome Tech , which has built a digital platform aimed at immigrants and their families, has raised $35 million in a Series B funding round co-led by TTV Capital, Owl Ventures and SoftBank Group Corp.’s SB Opportunity Fund. Crosscut Ventures, Mubadala Capital, Next Play Capital and Owl Capital also participated in the financing, which brings the Los Angeles-based company’s total raised to $50 million since its 2010 inception.

Platform 299

Platform Resource Services Capital 299

TechCrunch LA

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Last year at this time, SpotOn was on the brink of announcing a $60 million Series C funding round at a $625 million valuation. Fast forward to almost exactly one year later, and a lot has changed for the payments and software startup. Today, SpotOn said it has closed on $300 million in Series E financing that values the company at $3.15 billion — more than 5x of its valuation at the time of its Series C round, and significantly higher than its $1.875 billion valuation in May (yes, just th

Technical Review 296

Technical Review Software Review Invest Acquisition 296

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 26, 2021

Britive Inc., a Glendale-based cloud cybersecurity company, has raised $10 million in Series A funding to continue to develop its security software.

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Glendale Software Funding Develop 327

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 27, 2021

Who knew building a vertical software as a service toolkit focused on home heating and cooling could be worth $8.3 billion? That’s how much Los Angeles-based ServiceTitan , a startup founded just eight years ago is worth now, thanks to some massive tailwinds around homebuilding and energy efficiency that are serving to boost the company’s bottom line and netting it an unprecedented valuation for a vertical software company, according to bankers.

SaaS 292

SaaS Glendale Statistics Los Angeles 292

L.A. Business Journal

JUNE 7, 2021

Elon Musk’s Boring Co. is about to get its first real-world test as its 4-mile, $52.5 million tunnel loop opens to the public this week underneath the huge Las Vegas Convention Center campus.

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L.A. Business Journal

MAY 3, 2021

Launching a startup is like jumping off a cliff and building a hang glider on your way down, according to Nicole Emrani Green, who co-founded ecommerce gifting startup Givingli Inc.

Startup 290

Startup 290

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 11, 2021

The link-in-bio business is heating up as more mobile website builders compete for a coveted slice of real estate on a creator’s TikTok, Instagram or Twitter. Linktree leads the space, securing a recent $45 million Series B raise to build out e-commerce features, but Beacons boasts competitive creator monetization tools with just a $6 million seed round in May.

Platform 286

Platform Commerce Startup Tool 286

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 29, 2021

The coming wave of electric vehicles will require more than thousands of charging stations. In addition to being installed, they also need to work — and today, that isn’t happening. If a station doesn’t send out an error or a driver doesn’t report it, network providers might never know there’s even a problem. Kameale C. Terry, who co-founded ChargerHelp!

Incubator 287

Incubator Outsource Development Los Angeles Startup 287

L.A. Business Journal

APRIL 12, 2021

Another legal challenge has been launched against a project by downtown-based water infrastructure company Cadiz Inc. to pump and transport water from its desert aquifer.

Company 288

Company Companies 288

L.A. Business Journal

NOVEMBER 1, 2021

After years of working with major companies and startups in the busy tech ecosystem of San Francisco, Raed Khawaja needed to take a deep breath.

Startup 304

Startup Company Companies 304

L.A. Business Journal

MAY 24, 2021

Going into 2020, the micromobility industry was already experiencing some growing pains. A year later, local micromobility companies are optimistic.

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Company Companies 299

L.A. Business Journal

NOVEMBER 15, 2021

Last summer, Cyan Robotics Inc., better known as Coco, was just Brad Squicciarini, Zach Rash and a robot on the streets of Santa Monica.

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Santa Monica 304