socaltech.com TechNews - Friday, November 21, 2014 Edited by Benjamin F. Kuo ISSN: 1524-6736 http://www.socaltech.com/News ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sponsored by:
TVC Capital LLC (www.tvccapital.com) Investments and acquisitions of growing software companies. Safire Partners (http://www.safirepartners.com). Los Angeles-based executive search for emerging growth companies Shimokaji IP (http://www.shimokaji.com) Bettering Life Through Creative Ideas Key info (http://www.keyinfo.com) infrastructure ~ connectivity ~ co-location ~ cloud Binary Pulse Technology Marketing (http://www.binarypulse.com). We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --How A Pivot Turned Vantage Media Into A $100M Plus Business --Pluto.TV Raises $13M --DTS Powers New App From Deepak Chopra --Kwikset Upgrades Kevo Smart Door Lock --Slacker Radio Links Into Toyota, Lexus --eHarmony Completes IT Infrastructure Refresh --Milk Takes Grocery Coupons Mobile --Flywheel Picks Up $12M, And A New CEO --FastPay Finds $15M --Burner Rolls Out MMS Support, New App MARKETPLACE --Fetch Recruiting, Inc. --New Q3 Money Tree Results! --SoCal IP Law Group LLP - Serving the IP Needs of Business --Early Stage Commercial Insurance - Pacific Unified Insurance Agency RECENT JOB POSTINGS --User Experience (UX) Design Manager - Mobile, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. --User Experience (UX) Design Manager - Mobile, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. --Senior User Experience (UX) Designer, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. --Mid + Sr. Software Engineer, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. --Senior Front End Engineer, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. --Scrum Master - Mobile, Los Angeles, Fetch Recruiting, Inc. RECENT FUNDING EVENTS ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Honor the socalTECH 50 On December 10th! Join us on December 10th to help honor this year's socalTECH 50--and also join the technology and digital industry's best holiday party of the year, the Digital Family Reunion! The SoCal tech scene continues to expand at an unprecedented rate. This year, LA-based start-ups focused on branded content, apps, and big data, and together raised more capital than any other city in the world after Silicon Valley. The demand for human capital continues to grow with more educational, job force development and industry events supporting the expansion. There’s plenty of reasons to celebrate the SoCal region. Please join us at the Skirball Cultural Center on Wednesday, December 10! Tickets are now available: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/digital-family-reunion-and-socaltech-50-tickets-13192911353 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- How A Pivot Turned Vantage Media Into A $100M Plus Business ---- How do you take what has been a healthy business--but which has stalled out in growth--and put it back onto the growth curve? Patrick Quigley, the CEO of Los Angeles-based Vantage Media (www.vantagemedia.com), tells the story of how he pivoted the company from what had been an online advertising agency, into an online advertising technology provider--and in the process, helped move the company past the $100M in revenues mark (More...) http://www.socaltech.com/how_a_pivot_turned_vantage_media_into_a____m_plus_business/s-0057940.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pluto.TV Raises $13M ---- Los Angeles-based Pluto TV, an online video streaming and channel guide, said Thursday that it has raised $13M in a Series A funding round. The funding came from U.S. Venture Partners, United Talent Agency, Sky plc, Chicago Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Luminari Capital, along with Ross Levinsohn, Ken Parks (Spotify), and Stephane Kurgan (King Digital). Pluto TV offers up access to a curated set of online video channels. Rick Lewis of USVP joins the company's board as part of the funding. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=61126 DTS Powers New App From Deepak Chopra ---- Calabasas-based audio and sound processing technology developer DTS said this morning that it has helped roll out a new iOS app from Deepak Chopra http://www.socaltech.com/dts_powers_new_app_from_deepak_chopra/s-0057938.html Kwikset Upgrades Kevo Smart Door Lock ---- Lake Forest-based lock maker Kwikset has upgraded the company's smartphone-enabled Kevo door lock, saying this week that it has improved the user experience with the device, started offering up the product internationally, and also launched a new private beta on Android. Among the enhancements are the ability to create "Guest Keys" to allow others access to a home for 24 hours at a time, key scheduling which have day and time constraints, new calibration features to adjust the distance from a lock that a person needs to be before opening the door, and a beta program for Android Lollipop users. Kwikset also said it has started offering up Kevo in Australia, and will launch the product in Southeast Asia and New Zealand next year. Slacker Radio Links Into Toyota, Lexus ---- San Diego-based Slacker Radio, which operates a streaming radio service, has scored a big win with Toyota and Lexus. Slacker said Thursday that it will offer up a new Slacker Radio app on select Lexus models, and soon on select Toyota model years from 2011 to 2015. The app will be featured on Toyota's Entune in-dash multimedia systems and the Lexus Enform App Suite. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Slacker said the apps will give Toyota and Lexus owners the ability to create personalized, custom radio stations featuring news, comedy, and music. eHarmony Completes IT Infrastructure Refresh ---- Santa Monica-based eHarmony--which has been in the midst of a major refresh of its externally facing design, apps, and business to cater to the new, mobile user base--said this week that it has also completed a major, IT infrastructure refresh on the back of its services. (More...) http://www.socaltech.com/eharmony_completes_it_infrastructure_refresh/s-0057935.html Milk Takes Grocery Coupons Mobile ---- Wish you could use your mobile phone to get some savings on your grocery shopping? Milk, a new app developed by Los Angeles-based Honey, is looking to help in that quest, by helping users more easily tap into grocery coupons using their mobile phone. According to Honey, it launched its free Milk grocery coupon app in the App Store Thursday, with the intent to take the hassle out of using grocery coupons. Honey said that Milk supports coupons from Safeway, Kroger, Ralph's, Vons and 15 other major grocery chains, and that it is in the midst of adding support for Walgreen's, dollar General, Publix, and Food Lion within a month. Honey says that it hopes to remove the friction from the current grocery coupon market for grocery stores and consumers. http://www.socaltech.com/milk_takes_grocery_coupons_mobile/s-0057934.html Flywheel Picks Up $12M, And A New CEO ---- Mobile on-demand taxi app developer Flywheel, which has been attempting to leverage the existing taxi and transportation infrastructure in Los Angeles to go head-to-head against Uber, said Thursday that it has raised $12.0M in a Series C funding, and installed a new CEO and executive team. The new funding came from TCW, Rockport Capital, and Shasta Ventures. With the new funding, Flywheel also installed a new CEO and executive team--including both a new CTO and CFO--led by former Amazon VP Rakesh Mathur. Los Angeles has been one of the first three markets for Flywheel, which also serves San Francisco and Seattle. http://www.socaltech.com/flywheel_picks_up___m_and_a_new_ceo/s-0057933.html FastPay Finds $15M ---- Los Angeles-based FastPay, which offers up financial products specifically aimed at advertising driven businesses, said this morning that it has raised $15M in a funding round. The company, which is led by Jed Simon, said the funding came from Oak HC/FT. FastPay offers up invoice financing and other related finance products, which helps web publishers, online game develops, mobile app develops and others better manage their cash flow. The company's financial products are useful to many media businesses who typically see long delays between ad impressions and actual payments from advertisers. FastPay said it was advised by Financial Technology Partners LP and FTP Securities LLC (FT Partners) in the financing. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=61047 Burner Rolls Out MMS Support, New App ---- Los Angeles-based Burner, which develops an anonymous phone number app, has rolled out new MMS capabilities and a new, iOS application this morning, saying that users can now send and receive picture messages with anyone in the US and Canada. (More...) http://www.socaltech.com/burner_rolls_out_mms_support_new_app/s-0057922.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARKETPLACE Reach 10000+ readers for 5 days for $250 Post your marketplace ad at: http://www.socaltech.com/postad.html ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Fetch Recruiting, Inc. Fetch Recruiting, Inc. (http://www.fetchrecruiting.com) Technical Recruiting for LA based Startups and High-Growth Companies ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- New Q3 Money Tree Results! Get the latest Q3 2014 PwC SoCal MoneyTree Report NEW Q3 2014 Results! Are you interested in understanding the latest trends in venture capital investments in Southern California? Want to know how the region did in terms of venture capital? PwC has just posted the results of the Q3 2014 Southern California venture deals, in its Shaking The MoneyTree presentation and update from HJ Paik, Director, Emerging Company Services Download it today for free! http://www.socaltech.com/pwc/PwC%20Shaking%20the%20MoneyTree%20Q3%202014.pdf http://www.socaltech.com/pwc ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- SoCal IP Law Group LLP - Serving the IP Needs of Business IP Litigation . IP Transactions . Patent & Trademark Prosecution . IP Strategy . Westlake Village . Santa Barbara . Irvine. i...@socalip.com 805-230-1350 www.socalip.com ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Early Stage Commercial Insurance - Pacific Unified Insurance Agency We are a commercial insurance broker working with startup and early stage technology and E-Commerce companies to implement cost effective strategies for their insurance and risk management programs. We provide guidance and strategic planning during various phases and also advise regarding employee benefit structures to assist in employee recruiting and retention. Coverage placements include D&O, Property, Liability, Workers Comp, E&O, Cyber/Network Security and Employee Benefit Programs. Contact: John Huttinger, CIC, CRM Vice President Ph#310-370-5000 Ext 3025 w Fx 310-370-5454 johnhuttin...@pacificunified.com ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RECENT JOB POSTINGS More jobs at http://www.socaltech.com/Jobs Members post jobs for free User Experience (UX) Design Manager - Mobile, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5604 User Experience (UX) Design Manager - Mobile, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5603 Senior User Experience (UX) Designer, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5602 Mid + Sr. Software Engineer, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5601 Senior Front End Engineer, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5600 Scrum Master - Mobile, Los Angeles, Fetch Recruiting, Inc. http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5599 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RECENT FUNDING SUMMARY 11/21/14 PlutoTV $13.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61126 11/20/14 FastPay $15.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61047 11/20/14 BioNano Genomics, Inc $53.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61045 11/19/14 Honk $1.8M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61038 11/19/14 Carbonics $5.5M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61037 11/18/14 Renova Therapeutics $7.5M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61033 11/17/14 Metal Networks $5.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61032 11/13/14 Scopely $35.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61027 11/10/14 DogVacay $25.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61021 11/06/14 FloQast $1.3M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61017 11/05/14 Filmtrack $10.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61015 11/05/14 Aggregage $1.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61011 10/30/14 UBEAM INC. $10.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=60959 10/29/14 Seedling $7.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=60915 10/28/14 Tinder $0.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=60906 10/28/14 Scorebig, Inc. $18.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=60850 10/23/14 Tipalti $13.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=60823 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Events This Month http://www.socaltech.com/Calendar socaltech.com Calendar of Southern California High Tech Events Submit your events at least two weeks in advance to: http://www.socaltech.com/submitevent.html November 21, Los Angeles -- Startup Weekend @ Loyola Marymount University. Join LMU Entrepreneurship and Global Startup Battle for our first ever Startup Weekend from Friday, November 21 to Sunday, November 23. In just 54 hours you will have the opportunity to pitch ideas, form teams, build and launch businesses to compete for cash prizes. Students and professionals from across Silicon Beach and beyond are welcome to register at the link provided. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24391 November 22, Los Angeles -- Startup Weekend @ Loyola Marymount University. Join LMU Entrepreneurship and Global Startup Battle for our first ever Startup Weekend from Friday, November 21 to Sunday, November 23. In just 54 hours you will have the opportunity to pitch ideas, form teams, build and launch businesses to compete for cash prizes. Students and professionals from across Silicon Beach and beyond are welcome to register at the link provided. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24392 December 4, San Diego -- CONNECT's Most Innovative New Product Awards. The Most Innovative New Product (MIP) Awards is where CONNECT continues its annual tradition in honoring San Diego’s celebrities of innovation along with groundbreaking new products launched within the last year. The MIP Awards is to San Diego’s innovation industry what the Academy Awards™ is to the movie industry. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24333 December 10, Los Angeles -- socalTECH50 and the Digital Family Reunion 2014. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24237 December 14, Santa Monica -- Career Counseling for Designers. General Assembly. Feeling fuzzy on your career options? Need some guidance? Come to GA on Saturday to chat with top designers on how they got to where they are today. We'll have plenty of drinks and snacks to go around while representatives from the following companies/organizations will be in attendance to provide you with one on one advice on the various career paths available to designers in Los Angeles. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/23845 December 16, Irvine -- OC Tech Alliance Holiday Reception. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24389 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsored by: TVC Capital LLC (www.tvccapital.com) Investments in and Acquisitions of Growing Software Companies Silicon Valley Bank (http://www.svb.com). Helping entrepreneurs succeed. Stubbs Alderton Markiles, LLP (http://www.stubbsalderton.com). Business. Technology. Law. Vision. Safire Partners (http://www.safirepartners.com). SoCal-based executive search for emerging growth companies Binary Pulse Technology Marketing (http://www.binarypulse.com). We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies. Fetch Recruiting, Inc. (www.fetchrecruiting.com) Technical Recruiting for LA based Startups and High-Growth Companies Key info (http://www.keyinfo.com) infrastructure ~ connectivity ~ co-location ~ cloud PricewaterhouseCoopers (http://www.socaltech.com/pwc). Shimokaji IP (http://www.shimokaji.com) Bettering Life Through Creative Ideas Email sa...@socaltech.com for more information about sponsoring this newsletter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the socalTECH.com TechNews from our web site, or otherwise requested a subscription. If you do not want to receive this newsletter go to: http://www.socaltech.com/unsubscribe.php or email us at customerserv...@socaltech.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Legal Notices ---- While SOCALTECH LLC has used its best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein, SOCALTECH LLC does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident or other causes. All contents Copyright (c) 2014 SOCALTECH LLC. All rights reserved. socalTECH.com - Dedicated to High Tech in Southern California http://www.socaltech.com/ SOCALTECH LLC 4607 Lakeview Canyon Road, Suite 290, Westlake Village, CA 91361 _______________________________________________ Socaltech mailing list Socaltech@listserv.socaltech.com http://listserv.socaltech.com/mailman/listinfo/socaltech
