socalTECH

FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Snapchat , the Venice Beach-based startup which has been taking the mobile world by storm with its "self destructing" mobile photos, has just officially launched video into its Android app, just days after announcing a Series A funding round. SnapChat announced $13.5M

Snapchat 153

Snapchat Venice Mobile Funding 153

socalTECH

OCTOBER 28, 2013

How much is Los Angeles-based Snapchat really worth? The report last week that Snapchat is raising a new funding round at $3.5 snapchat valuation venture capital mobile social teenager startup' READ MORE>>.

Snapchat 147

Snapchat Venture Capital Los Angeles Mobile 147

Both Sides of the Table

MARCH 11, 2014

A few years ago I started calling the local tech ecosystem down here #LATech. In fact, many people know I grew up in NorCal and still have a 650 area code on my mobile phone. Startup Lessons' I had an agenda. We graduate more engineers in our greater region than anywhere else in the US. LA has a serious technology scene.

Startup 318

Startup Santa Monica Snapchat Yahoo 318

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 29, 2014

I hope to publish that deck and a full write up in the next 10 days in partnership with Dan Primack at Fortune (if my write up doesn’t suck, I guess ;-)). Think DropBox, Airbnb, Pinterest, Maker Studios, SnapChat, Tinder). Startup Lessons' But I’ll save this data and analysis for the next post.

Venture Capital 362

Venture Capital Capital Startup Writing 362

TechCrunch LA

FEBRUARY 19, 2020

The new batch of startups coming from across the U.S. SketchAR — this Lithuanian company is developing an AI-based mobile app for teaching drawing using augmented reality. — hailing from Mexico City, this startup makes mini games in augmented reality for brands and advertisers. Wabisabi Design, Inc.

Artificial Inteligence 331

Artificial Inteligence Social Network Los Angeles Snapchat 331

Both Sides of the Table

OCTOBER 8, 2014

Let me start with the obvious baseline that most people probably know instinctively: Los Angeles is the 3rd largest technology startup ecosystem in the US. Given how efficient markets are when a large market like LA starts to blossom it attracts capital pretty quickly. LA By The Numbers. But even this is changing.

Entrepreneur 376

Entrepreneur Snapchat Startup Google 376

socalTECH

OCTOBER 15, 2014

The Disney Accelerator , the startup accelerator sponsored by Walt Disney and being run by TechStars, had its demo day Tuesday, showing off the nine companies to emerge out of the accelerator. Disney offered up up to $120K in investment capital, access to entrepreneurs and executives at Disney, and other resources to its startups.

Class 185

Class Startup Seed Funding Entertainment 185

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 30, 2016

By now if you follow me on Twitter you probably know that I do near daily “Snapstorms” or a collection of short videos (usually < 5 mins in total) with entrepreneur advice on Snapchat. You can follow me on Snapchat at msuster. Snapchat for my “original run” and I’ll also store each video to be watched later.

Snapchat 150

Snapchat Course Media Venture Capital 150

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 12, 2014

If you’re a technology startup you need to excel at product, of course. The starting point of product IS marketing, which is what a lot of young entrepreneurs that never studied business don’t realize. The start of marketing is figuring out a market need and a way to solve that need better than anybody else.

Marketing 379

Marketing Startup SEM SEO 379

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 2, 2017

the parent firm behind Snapchat , has joined up with R/GA Marketing --which helps run the Dodgers Accelerator in Los Angeles--to launched a new startup accelerator, the R/GA Marketing Tech Venture Studio with IPG. Venice, California-based Snap Inc. , READ MORE>>.

Snapchat 100

Snapchat Startup Venice Advertising 100

Both Sides of the Table

MAY 19, 2013

If you live in LA please turn up to vote on Tuesday. Consider the case of LegalZoom, one of our cities great startups. In 2010 the City of Los Angeles started trying to crack down on tax receipts of Internet startups allocating them to the least favorable gross-receipts tax bracket taking up their city tax by 500%.

Los Angeles 325

Los Angeles Legalzoom Angel Cornerstone OnDemand 325

TechCrunch LA

MAY 12, 2020

This morning, Snap joined a host of startup accelerators shifting its demo day online amid the COVID-19 quarantine. With its third class of startups, Yellow, Snap’s in-house startup accelerator that launched in 2018, brought investors and founders together in private slack channels after a live-streamed presentation.

Invest 237

Invest Startup Artificial Inteligence Class 237

socalTECH

APRIL 15, 2020

Los Angeles-based mobile streaming video startup Quibi will not be launching a series about Venice, Californi-based Snapchat , according to a report from Variety. Quibi had said last year at SXSW that it would film a series based on the script "Frat Boy Genius" by Elissa Karasik.

Snapchat 113

Snapchat Report Venice Los Angeles 113

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 6, 2014

When you first start your company and raise initial venture capital your board probably consists of 1-3 founders and 1-2 VCs. Most experienced VCs won’t push you to give up founder control at this stage of the business nor should they. As You Start to Mature. In the Early Days. You’ll get empathy. Experience.

Startup 325

Startup Sales Technical Review Software Review 325

TechCrunch LA

AUGUST 30, 2022

Digital avatar startup Genies , known its for high-profile partnerships with celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Migos and Cardi B, has just released its long-anticipated NFT storefront, “The Warehouse.” ” He views Facebook and Snapchat primarily as messaging apps and said Instagram is having an “identity crisis.”

Geni 219

Geni Silver Lake Startup Platform 219

socalTECH

JANUARY 29, 2016

Los Angeles-based Naritiv , a new startup developing a network of content creators for Snapchat, has raised $3M in a funding round, the company said Thursday. The startup--founded by Dan Altmann and Eric Posen--says it is enabling the creation of mobile-first content for Snapchat and other social network platforms.

Snapchat 100

Snapchat Content Social Network Class 100

socalTECH

AUGUST 16, 2016

Venice-based Snapchat is reportedly near a $110M acquisition of mobile search startup Vurb , according to reports. Neither Snapchat nor Vurb have yet confirmed the deal, which apparently has yet to be signed. The original report cited a "person famliar with the deal". READ MORE>>.

Snapchat 100

Snapchat Acquisition Report Venice 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 14, 2016

Venice, California-based Snapchat said on Tuesday that it has launched a new group chat feature , called Groups , which lets up to 16 people communicate through the service. The new feature also includes ways to quickly start 1:1 chats with members of the group. READ MORE>>.

Snapchat 100

Snapchat Venice Startup Services 100

socalTECH

JUNE 10, 2014

Think your startup has got the perks? Fast growing, mobile advertising startup Airpush , which has quietly grown to nearly $100M in revenues, has something probably no other startup has in the office: a hot tub. airpush venice advertising mobile expansion jobs perks' READ MORE>>. The company is led by Asher Delug.

Venice 178

Venice Advertising Snapchat Mobile 178

socalTECH

MARCH 21, 2017

The Snapchat analytics software developed by Los Angeles-based Naritiv , a startup producing online content for brands, has been acquired by social media management firm Hootsuite. Hootsuite said the acquisition specifically was geared towards the Snapchat analytics solutions created by Naritiv. and Allen DeBevoise.

Snapchat 100

Snapchat Software Social Media Los Angeles 100

socalTECH

JULY 23, 2013

What''s one of the hottest, fastest growing mobile apps out there out of a Southern California startup? No, not Snapchat--it''s Tinder --a mobile app and service which lets users rate people nearby them, and if the feeling is mutual, connect them. There are a lot of mobile dating apps out there, and lots of competition.

Mobile 245

Mobile Southern California News Snapchat 245

L.A. Business Journal

JUNE 28, 2017

Mobile game hardware startup Wonder raises $14 million, SpaceX to launch final Falcon 9 upgrade this year and Snapchat users can create custom filters in the app.

Mobile 100

Mobile Snapchat SpaceX Develop 100

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 16, 2013

Today’s startup innovators come from about six hours south of Silicon Valley. Fun Fact: One of the most prominent figures from their firm, Mark Suster t, runs a blog startups follow religiously. By bringing startup companies together with modern facilities and tools, Amplify LA is the engine that powers the cutting edge.

Startup 111

Startup Snapchat Venice Social Media 111

socalTECH

MAY 23, 2018

Venice, California-based Snap , the parent company of Snapchat, is launching a new startup accelerator, named "Yellow", the company disclosed on Wednesday afternoon. The accelerator said it will invest $150,000 into ten different "creators" and startups focused in the media area.

Media 100

Media Startup Venice Snapchat 100

socalTECH

MARCH 20, 2019

Loop Now Technologies , a startup founded by former LinkedIn and Snapchat employees--which has offices in Los Angeles--says it has launched a brand new, short-form video and social media app called Firework. The company's Chief Revenue Officer is Cory Grenier, who previously was Director of Sales & Marketing at Snapchat.

Social Media 113

Social Media Snapchat Media Content 113

L.A. Business Journal

DECEMBER 27, 2016

parent company of mobile messaging app Snapchat, acquired Israeli augmented reality startup Cimagine Media for an estimated $30-$40 million, according to the Calcalist financial daily.

Media 113

Media Snapchat Mobile Startup 113

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 28, 2014

billion active mobile users monthly as of March 31, 2014, while Twitter has 255 million active users. And this gives way for mobile messaging apps. There’s Snapchat that uses photos and then instantly disappears after 10 seconds, and then there’s the up-comer, Emojli , that uses tiny cartoonish icons for engagement.

Snapchat 82

Snapchat Social Media Social Network Media 82

Both Sides of the Table

JANUARY 22, 2014

In the end it will be up to you to figure out what to do. Think of web vs. mobile. The other problem with extreme success is that for some VCs it makes them disinterested in middling outcomes, things that take a long time to incubate or solving thorny problems when a company doesn’t immediately move up and to the right.

Venture Capital 364

Venture Capital Coach Writing SaaS 364

TechCrunch LA

JANUARY 14, 2019

Betaworks is betting on the content studio aspect through companies like SuperPlastic , a new startup launched by Paul Budnitz, the founder of the alternative social network ello and Budnitz Bicycles. “We saw the impact that the rise of mobile was having on linear. Lil Miquela and fellow brud avatar Blawko22.

Social Media 261

Social Media Content Media Artificial Inteligence 261

socalTECH

MAY 24, 2016

Los Angeles-based mobile app startup Chatter said today that it is about to launch an app, which will let fans hold one-on-one, five minute chats with their favorite stars--and, at the same time, help raise money for charities. The app runs on iOS and Android.

Seed Funding 113

Seed Funding Snapchat Mobile Los Angeles 113

Tech Zulu Event

DECEMBER 13, 2013

Our mobile phones are capable of doing almost anything these days. People can buy anything, look up news, watch videos, and the list goes on and on. App developers are coming up with new ideas daily to make our lives easier. TechZulu reaches out to Matt Lucido , founder of Porter, and discuss Porter, LA, and startups.

Technical Review 87

Technical Review Mobile Startup Los Angeles 87

socalTECH

FEBRUARY 5, 2019

We started March Capital in late 2013. We did our first close in the summer of 2014, and over the first nine months we raised our fund and started investing. That can be good or bad, because that means you end up having to explain everything twice to your investors. There, you end up having big winners but a lot of losers.

Funding 160

Funding Capital Artificial Inteligence Startup 160

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 12, 2016

Part I, Team) Tact was founded by Chuck Ganapathi , who was formerly the SVP of Products at Salesforce.com having led initiatives like their chat product, CRM and mobile. Here’s how they did it … Mobile First —  It is now well understood that “mobile first” dominated the consumer Internet and we take this for granted.

Software 105

Software Mobile Artificial Inteligence Oracle 105

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 17, 2019

Should Jeff Bezos be required to address every written complaint that shows up in Seattle or Satya Nadella at Microsoft? I try to speak at universities, high schools, startup accelerators?—?as It’s why the only rude or unexpected mobile phone calls I get are from telemarketers. He has a startup you’re going to love.

Email 250

Email Writing Conference Mobile 250

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 13, 2015

Los Angeles-based Tumbleweed , a new startup founded by Shaun Neff and Cisco Adler, said Thursday that it has launched a brand new news app, specifically aimed at Milllennials. In a nod to Snapchat, the company says stories will also disappear from its news feed in 24 hours, to make way for more current news.

News 100

News Snapchat Los Angeles Startup 100

socalTECH

MARCH 2, 2016

We caught up with co-founder and CEO Vic Belonogoff to learn more about Render Media, whose flagship site is Opposing Views. The people who we our content and videos in are essentially connected, mobile, have their phone with them all the time. We started focused on small, niche health sites, and Oppoing Views fell into our lap.

Media 100

Media Content News SEO 100

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 22, 2015

If a company wanted to distribute software on a mobile device it need to sell via a “portal” (US term) or a “deck” (UK term) of a mobile carrier. Although the carriers made a lot of money initially by selling dial-up Internet services, customers never took their software because, well, it sucked.

Outsource Development 150

Outsource Development Startup Custom Customer 150