socaltech.com TechNews - Tuesday, November 18, 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. Silicon Valley Bank (http://www.svb.com). Helping entrepreneurs succeed. Stubbs Alderton Markiles, LLP (http://www.stubbsalderton.com). Business. Technology. Law. Vision. PricewaterhouseCoopers (http://www.socaltech.com/pwc). Fetch Recruiting, Inc. (http://www.fetchrecruiting.com) Technical Recruiting for LA based Startups and High-Growth Companies ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Enrou: Combining Causes and Commerce To Help Improve The World --Edgecast Blocked By Chinese Censors --Renova Therapeutics Raises $7.52M --Disney Inks Digital Video Deal With Walmart's Vudu --Allylix Acquired By Evolva --Snapchat Launches Payment Service With Square --Break's Prank It Fwd Kicks Off Series Of Positive Pranks MARKETPLACE --Apply for the Stubbs Alderton & Markiles Precellerator! --SoCal IP Law Group LLP - Serving the IP Needs of Business --Reliam- Leaders of Internet Application Management --Safire Partners Executive Search --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------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enrou: Combining Causes and Commerce To Help Improve The World ---- How can you make your shopping during the holidays more than just a gift--but something that might actually improve lives around the world? Los Angeles-based Enrou (www.enrou.co) thinks it has a way--by connecting people with products that also help support international development and causes, via its own online marketplace. We spoke with Ann Wang, co-founder of Enrou, to learn more about how the company wants to help tie together the world of e-commerce and worthy causes to help improve the world. What is Enrou? Ann Wang: Enrou is an online, content driven marketplace for products in developing communities around the world. It's (More...) http://www.socaltech.com/enrou_combining_causes_and_commerce_to_help_improve_the_world/s-0057872.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edgecast Blocked By Chinese Censors ---- In a move which affects thousands of websites, EdgeCast, the Los Angeles content delivery network operator which is now a part of Verizon, has been blocked by the "great firewall of China" -- the Chinese government's Internet censorship effort. Edgecast said the yesterday that China has escalated its filtering of a number of popular web properties using its services. Greatfire, an organization that monitors the Great Firewall of China, said China has blocked the entire *edgecastcdn.net domain. Edgecast said it is working with its global ISP partners to address the issue. Edgecast was acquired by Verizon for $390M last year. http://www.socaltech.com/edgecast_blocked_by_chinese_censors/s-0057876.html Renova Therapeutics Raises $7.52M ---- San Diego-based Renova Therapeutics, a biopharmaceuticals company developing treatments for congestive heart failure and other diseases, has raised $7.52M in a Series C funding round. The company said the funding primarily came from high net worth individuals. As part of the funding, Daniel M. Bradbury has joined the company's board. Bradbury is a member of life sciences consulting and investment firm BioBrit LLC; he also served as President and CEO of Amylin Pharmaceuticals. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showco&id=42419 Disney Inks Digital Video Deal With Walmart's Vudu ---- Walt Disney Studios said Monday that it has inked a deal to distribute its movies via Walmart's Vudu digital video service, via its Disney Movies Anywhere effort. According to Disney, consumers who purcase Disney, Pixar, and Marvel titles in Walmart stores or on VUDU can now access those titles across connected entertainment devices and smart TVs. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Disney Movies Anywhere is Disney's digital movie service, giving access to around 400 Disney, Pixar, and Marvel titles. Allylix Acquired By Evolva ---- San Diego-based Alyllix, which produces flavors, fragrances, and other ingredients using yeast fermentation, has been acquired by Swiss company Evolva Holdings SA. Evolva said it will acquire Allylix in return for 46 million shares of the company. As part of the acquisition, Cargill will invest $4M in Evolva shares to support the transaction. Allylix was venture backed by Avrio Ventures, BASF Venture Capital GmbH, Blue Grass Angels, Cultivian Ventures, Life Science Angels, Midpoint Food & Ag Fund, Pasadena Angels, Tate & Lyle Ventures, and the Tech Coast Angels. Snapchat Launches Payment Service With Square ---- Venice-based Snapchat said Monday that it has launched a new feature, which lets users pay their friends using the company's mobile app. According to Snapchat, it partnered with payment firm Square, which lets you type a dollar sign and amount to send to a friend's bank account, using a user's debit card. Snapchat said the feature will be available to users in the United States who have a debit card and are 18 or older. Break's Prank It Fwd Kicks Off Series Of Positive Pranks ---- Los Angeles-based Break.com has kicked off a series of "positive pranks" with a new video--apparently, the first of many--revolving around life changing pranks on unsuspecting people. Break.com posted the first of the series this morning, showing a very surprised housekeeper and single mother in Cleveland, Ohio, who gets a very unusual day at work. Break.com said the series comes out of an earlier Prank It FWD video it posted back in April, where it showed a waitress getting suprised with an unusual number of tips--including a brand new car--which apparently hauled in 30 million views for Break.com. Break.com it has also tied with charitable partner DoSomething.org to donate one dollar for every 1,000 views of its Prank It FWD videos. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARKETPLACE Reach 10000+ readers for 5 days for $250 Post your marketplace ad at: http://www.socaltech.com/postad.html ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Apply for the Stubbs Alderton & Markiles Precellerator! Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP is one of the leading start-up law firms in Southern California. We pioneered a fixed fee start-up package making the formation and organization of your start-up as seamless as possible. Our Preccelerator Program is a new platform offered to select start-up companies out of our Santa Monica office that provides interim office space and sophisticated legal services, with the objective of helping you grow your idea from business concept to funded startup. The Preccelerator Program provides free co-working space and other perks for 5-6 promising young startups. We are now opening up applications for five new startups to join the program. Apply now! http://www.stubbsalderton.com/preccelerator ------------------------------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------------------------------- Reliam- Leaders of Internet Application Management Who's ensuring the performance of your application or website? Reliam's Internet Application Management extends beyond the services currently available from most managed hosting providers and covers the entire application stack including customer application code. Reliam is trusted by the world's most recognized brands, the top interactive agencies, and the largest internet events in the world. Our services include: - State-of-the-art Internet Application Management - All-inclusive Managed Services - On-demand Scalable Hybrid Architectures - 24x7x365 U.S. Phone-based Rapid Support - Complete Monitoring - Enterprise Quality Server Hardware - Premium Tier IV Data Centers Please visit us at http://www.reliam.com to learn more. ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Safire Partners Executive Search Safire Partners has completed 500+ retained executive searches since 2006 working with emerging businesses in Southern California. Please visit our website to see an updated list of our clients and searches completed at http://www.safirepartners.com/. We are always interested in meeting new candidates and potential clients, so feel free to email our Managing Partner, Todd Gitlin at t...@safire.la. ------------------------------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 11/18/14 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 18, Los Angeles -- John Cleese in conversation with Eric Idle. Live Talks LA. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24233 November 18, Beverly Hills -- The Music of Business. Amplify Roundtables. HOLIDAY EVENT! FEATURING: Freddie Ravel Internationally renowned musician, presents his Keynote Concert, The Music of Business. Join us for this very festive and uplifting evening. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24395 November 18, Santa Monica -- CoFoundersLab Matchup Santa Monica. CoFoundersLab Matchup Santa Monica is aimed at helping entrepreneurs find co-founders, advisers & interns and to build strong, core founding teams. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24309 November 18, West Los Angeles -- FWD.us Monthly Meetup: Implications of the Midterm Elections on Tech. Join the FWD.us Los Angeles Chapter to hear how the midterm elections impact the tech industry and participate in a mini-hackathon focused on gathering signatures for a petition to urge President Obama to take action on immigration reform. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24405 November 19, Thousand Oaks -- Future of Medical Telepresence. Buenaventura IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society chapter is holding a free lecture at California Lutheran University's Ahmanson Science Center. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24384 November 19, Beverly Hills -- Join ACGLA for a complimentary evening event for corporate executives! Wednesday, November 19, 5:00PM Montage Beverly Hills. This world class panel, consisting of the leaders in eCommerce, will discuss the latest trends, valuation parameters, and developments in eCommerce. Topics will include: - Middlemarket opportunities - Trends - Industry landscape - Opportunities in Los Angeles - Valuation trends and key paramters - M&A Outlook - Capital sources and uses. Panel includes: David Weissman, Dermastore; John Suh, LegalZoom; Rick Smith, Crosscut Ventures; Brad Meadow, Yandy; Mark Douglas, Steelhouse. Moderated by Ivan Nikhoo, Siemre & Associates. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24365 November 19, Irvine -- Gamification: How to Improve Businesses and Lives. Tech Biz Connection. A key goal of business is to attract and engage a group of people with a common passion or interest, and then activate them to purchase. Many marketers are looking to leverage online social networking for this purpose, but the results have been mixed. Adam Sarner, a Gartner analyst, has projected that over 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies will undertake some kind of online social-networking initiative for marketing or customer relations in 2014. Through gamification, organizations can take control of their brand experience by engaging users, encouraging them to join a community, drive active participation, share with friends outside the community, and even recruit friends. Gamification enables you to turn customers into fans, and fans into evangelists. Join our panel of experts to learn how to utilize gamification in your business. . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24393 November 19, Los Angeles -- TechSparks Pitchfest & Mixer. The Informal Pitchfest is a collaborative session for entrepreneurs and startups to practice and refine their pitch and create a positive first impression. We offer a supportive and friendly community environment with only the best of intentions - to help you make progress, share tips, feedback and receive help for your business idea. Don't have a business pitch? Come and network, learn or simply mingle with like minded friends! Winner of the Pitchfest gets a meeting with Chris Wadden, Investor at Pasadena Angels. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24402 November 20, San Diego -- CONNECT's FrameWorks Workshop: Business Aspects of Patents. Intellectual property plays a seminal role in the success of many companies. While adequately protecting innovation is a major economic driver, as with any valuable asset, if it is not properly managed its full potential will not be realized and the company will fail. This program will focus on the role key business factors play in capturing, managing, and exploiting the intellectual property of the company.. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24377 November 20, Los Angeles -- Leading CTOs discuss Key Technology Trends and Impacts . At this popular annual event, a distinguished panel will share trends envisioned and strategies for leveraging those technologies to maintain competitiveness in our fast-changing landscape. The emphasis is on major technology trends such as Big Data, Agile development, Mobile-centric development, user-centric design, DevOps/ continuous delivery, talent-driven marketplace and others. Panelists include: • Tony Karrer, moderator, CTO of Aggregage and CEO of TechEmpower • Mark Goldin, CTO of Cornerstone on Demand • Randall McKillop, Executive at Creative Artist Agency • Travlin McCormack, CTO Evolve Media. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24381 November 20, Irvine -- How Do I Build A Rock Star Team? TCVN. Raising capital and building a killer team are the two biggest challenges to startups. Our expert panel will share valuable lessons learned in acquiring top talent. We all have heard “Hire for attitude, train for skills” but what does that really mean. And, how do you even find great people? This panel discussion by people who have cracked the code will answer those questions and more. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24401 November 20, San Diego -- The IT Summit San Diego. The IT Summit is the executive technology conference series returning to San Diego for our third annual event on November 20th, 2014. The purpose of the summit is to provide educational and networking resources for the IT leaders in the Southern California area. The conference is driven by an Executive Board of regional IT professionals that directs the content of the educational sessions and sponsor participation. The IT Summit is designed to address the real-world opportunities and challenges faced by today's executives, by facilitating face-to-face interaction and networking among information technology peers. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24126 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). 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