socaltech.com TechNews - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 Edited by Benjamin F. Kuo ISSN: 1524-6736 http://www.socaltech.com/News ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sponsored by:
Clearstone Ventures (www.clearstone.com). Venture capital for innovators. Safire Partners (http://www.safirepartners.com). Los Angeles-based executive search for emerging growth companies TriNet (http://www.socaltech.com/trinet) The preferred strategic HR partner for emerging tech companies. Deloitte LLP (http://www.deloitte.com/us/technology). Siemer & Associates (http://www.siemer.com) Global Technology Merchant Bankers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Interview with Edward Park, Insteegram --CoDa Therapeutics Lands $20M More --OpenX Opens Fifth Data Center --NantPharma Gets $125M From Blackstone --Amplify Adds Wine Recommendations Site Club W To Accelerator --LA's Technology Ecosystem Expands, As Silicon Valley Law Firm Sets Up Shop --Fisker Automotive Shifts Koehler To Business Development --WhoSay Finds $12M For Celebrity Media Management --iBN Sports Partners With YouTube For High School Sports --Kidworth Looks To Spawn Teen Startups --Chirpify Hires LA Music Executive For Twitter Commerce --StackSocial Gets Seed Round --Life Technologies Signs On As First Competitor In Genomics X PRIZE MARKETPLACE --Fetch Recruiting, Inc. --LAVA's Annual Venture Capital Panel - August 14th, Santa Monica --Ventura Ventures Technology Center (V2TC) - Business Incubator --PwC Emerging Company Zone --Pixelgate.net - Internet Access, Web Hosting, Network Services RECENT JOB POSTINGS RECENT FUNDING EVENTS ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Binary Pulse Technology Marketing We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies For more than ten years, dozens of Southern California's industry-leading tech firms have turned to Binary Pulse for their demand-generating strategies and programs. Our services include: -- Demand Generation Planning and Execution -- Channel Program Development -- Lead Capture and Management -- Web Site Development & Search Engine Marketing -- Corporate and Product Branding -- Online Integration Strategies -- Reseller Recruitment -- Multimedia Presentations -- Social Media Marketing Please visit us at http://www.binarypulse.com to learn more or give us a call at 949-336-7400. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview with Edward Park, Insteegram ---- Users of the Instagram mobile application--which runs on iPhone and Android--are familiar with how that app has become one of the key ways people socialize and share their life with others, all via the service's photo sharing and comments. That popularity helped drive Instagram's recent acquisition by Facebook for $1 billion. But, how do you bridge the digital world of Instagram with the real, physical world? One way is through Insteegram (www.insteegram.com) , a service recently launched by Los Angeles-based Rnddr Labs, which allows users to buy their own Instagram images printed onto a high quality T-shirt. Insteegram is soon going to allow those Instagram users to also sell their images on T-shirts to anyone who'd like to buy them. We spoke with founder Edward Park about how his new service allows Instagram users to buy and sell T-shirts from the service, and how he sees the service being a key piece of empowering creative users. What is Insteegram about? Edward Park: Our company, Rnddr Labs, is trying to create frictionless merch tools and products. Our first product is Insteegram, using Instagram's API, we (More...) http://bit.ly/QDlLm0 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CoDa Therapeutics Lands $20M More ---- San Diego-based CoDa Therapeutics, which develops biopharmaceuticals aimed at wound care, said today that it has added $20M to its Series B financing round. The new funding, a second close, came from RusnanoMedInvest. CoDa Therapeutics said the new funding brings its Series B to nearly $40M. Domain Associates, GBS Ventures, and BioPacificVentures also participated in the round. CoDa said the investment from RUSNANO came as part of a joint investment agreement between RUSNANO and Domain Associates, which those two firms entered in March of 2012. CoDa Therapeutics said the new funds will go to expand late stage clinical trials for its lead product candidate, being targeted at treating diabetic foot ulcers. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=44241 OpenX Opens Fifth Data Center ---- Los Angeles-based online advertising technology firm OpenX has opened up its fifth data center, the company announced this morning, to help support its online advertising marketplace. OpenX said the new data center will be located in Chicago, and comes on top of its existing data centers in LOs Angeles, Virginia, Amsterdam, and Tokyo. OpenX said the data center is the first new data center in a major expansion for the firm, and that it expects to open four, additional data centers by the end of 2013. OpenX provides online software used by content publishers to handle advertising serving and also for real-time bidding for ad placements on sites. The firm is venture backed by Accel Partners, Index Ventures and SAP Ventures. NantPharma Gets $125M From Blackstone ---- Los angeles-based NantWorks, the technology thinktank of Los Angeles billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, said Tuesday that one of its companies, NantPharma, has received $125M in an investment by private equity firm Blackstone. NantPharma is developing biologically derived pharmaceuticals, at a number of drug manufacturing and research facilities around the country. As part of the deal, Blackstone adds three people to NantPharma's board, including Chinh E. Chu, Anjan Mukherjee, and Arthur J. Higgins. NantWorks said it was advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, as well as Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in the deal. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=44240 Amplify Adds Wine Recommendations Site Club W To Accelerator ---- Venice-based startup accelerator Amplify LA has added a new startup to its portfolio, personalized wine recommendation site Club W. The two companies said that they are in a strategic partnership, which will provide Club W with the resources to keep up with stronger-than-anticipated consumer demand for its services. The addition of Club W is an interesting one for Amplify, which is headed by Paul Bricault and Richard Wolpert, in that Club W is already generating cash. The company said it is currently on track for $2M in annualized revenues, having tripled its revenues in the last three months. (More...) http://bit.ly/OxEWaT LA's Technology Ecosystem Expands, As Silicon Valley Law Firm Sets Up Shop ---- In a sign that the Los Angeles technology and startup world is starting to be taken more seriously by Silicon Valley, one of Silicon Valley's more prominent law firms has set up shop in Santa Monica. Cooley LLP said Tuesday that it has added four partners to a new, Los Angeles office, and also hired one of the most active and connected insiders in the region--Randy Churchill-- to head up business development efforts in Los Angeles. (More...) http://bit.ly/Oxz2GV Fisker Automotive Shifts Koehler To Business Development ---- Irvine-based electric auto maker Fisker Automotive said Tuesday afternoon that it has shifted co-founder Barny Koehler as its new Chief Business Development Officer, focused on strategic initiatives and new business opportunities. Koehler had formerly been co-founder and COO of the company. Fisker said the move moves Koehler from an operational role, to the strategic initiative and alliances area. WhoSay Finds $12M For Celebrity Media Management ---- WhoSay, which operates an online, media management platform used by agents, celebrities, and studios to manage celebrities, has raised $12M in a funding round, the company said Tuesday afternoon. The firm--which has offices in Los Angeles, but is based in New York--said the funding was led by Comcast Ventures, and also included Greylock Partners, Amazon.com, High Peaks Ventures, and Tencent. The company--which was co-founded by Los Angeles talent agency Creative Artist's Agency (CAA)--develops software that lets celebrities share their content via social networking sites, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=44237 iBN Sports Partners With YouTube For High School Sports ---- Lake Forest-based iBN Sports, which films and broadcasts high school football and other games online, said Tuesday morning that it has inked a deal to broadcast over 1,500 games over the next season on YouTube. The company--one of the premium content partners for Google-YouTube's new original content efforts--said that, last year, it broadcast over 500 high school football games via its YouTube channel, and expects to grow that to over 4,000 hours of content for the 2012-2013 season. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed. The company, headed by John Mudge, has a number of partnerships to take its content online, including deals with Yahoo, Gannett, and YouTube, in addition to deals with local broadcasters. iBN was founded by Mudge to specifically create content for the online market; according to Mudge, the firm's deal to serve as a Premium Content Partner for YouTube is now a "significant" part of its business. Kidworth Looks To Spawn Teen Startups ---- What's the best way to encourage entrepreneurship and business growth? For one Los Angeles startup, help kids and teenagers create their own businesses and companies. Kidworth said today that it is aiming at helping create over one million, young entrepeneurs, by providing a way for teens and kids to start simple businesses. The startup--headed by serial entrepreneur Rudy DeFelice--helps kids to start their company, figure out the goods or services they want to offer, collect payment, and arms them with social media and email tools, free business cards, and other resources. DeFelice, who heads up Kidworth, founded VC-backed, legal software firm Practice Technologies, and was formerly a corporate lawyer at McDermott, Will & Emery and Kelley Drye. Kidworth's site lets teens sign in using their Facebook account, and handles everything from setting up an online storefront, collecting payments, and even sell items online. Chirpify Hires LA Music Executive For Twitter Commerce ---- If you want to get into the music business, there's no better place than Los Angeles--including if you're a technology startup, apparently. Chirpify, a venture backed startup developing a way for users to transact and pay for merchandise over Twitter, said yesterday that it has turned to an LA native to head up its business development efforts in the music area. The Portland startup said it has hired Rory Felton as its new Vice President of Business Development-Music for the company. Felton has co-founded his own record company, served as an executive producer, created a joint publishing venture with BMG Music Publishing, and produced a long list of music videos, the firm said. Chirpify is venture backed by Voyager Capital, Andy Liu of BuddyTV, and angels, and raised its first round back in April of this year. The firm's service has been popular with musicians, who can sell MP3 tracks, concert tickets, and other items to users via Twitter. StackSocial Gets Seed Round ---- Los Angeles-based StackSocial, the e-commerce software developer out of the Amplify accelerator, has announced $800,000 in a seed funding round this morning, from 500 Startups, Siemer Ventures, EchoVC Partners, Amplify LA, as well as angels Paige Craig, Tim Draper, Penny Black, Jim Pallotta, Rick Merrill, Josh Resnick, Mark Schwartz, and Jeff Lapin. The firm, headed by Josh Payne, develops a way for web publishers to integrate e-commerce into their websites. Hints of the funding came out earlier this month when the firm showed up on Siemer Ventures' list of portfolio companies. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=43674 Life Technologies Signs On As First Competitor In Genomics X PRIZE ---- San Diego-based Life Technologies, the maker of life sciences equipment, has signed on as the first competitor in the Archon Genomics X PRIZE, the life sciences prize being administered by Marina Del Rey-based X Prize Foundation. The competition is dangling up to $10M for being the first to rapidly and accurately sequence 100 human genomes, at a cost of $1,000 or less each. Life Technologies is fielding the Ion Torrent X PRIZE team, headed by Dr. JOnathan Rothberg. The X PRIZE foundation is holding its team registration open until May 2013, and plans to run a 30-day competition for the prize in September of 2013. Competitors will be given the DNA of 100 centenarians to sequence, as part of an effort to understand the aging process. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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------------------------------- LAVA's Annual Venture Capital Panel - August 14th, Santa Monica LAVA Special Event LAVA's Annual Venture Capital Panel Tuesday August 14, 2012 6:00pm - 9:30pm Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows, 101 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401 Meet the top VCs who are investing in Southern California. Find out what they are looking to invest in. Find out what does it take to secure Venture Capital for your company. Learn about the hottest trends and the mistakes NOT to make. Moderator: Jon Funk, Founder, Ocean Road Partners Confirmed Panelists Jim Andelman, Managing Partner, Rincon Venture Partners David Caseras, Principal, Vicente Capital Partners See http://www.lava.org ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Ventura Ventures Technology Center (V2TC) - Business Incubator The Ventura Ventures Technology Center (V2TC) is a high-tech business incubator located in downtown Ventura, CA. V2TC offers a creative environment where high-tech start-ups and entrepreneurs can network, brainstorm, and grow their business. Work-spaces are affordable, flexible and scalable in order to allow companies the ability to manage their growth effectively and efficiently. Learn more at http://www.v2tc.com ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- PwC Emerging Company Zone Visit the Emerging Company Zone, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, for access to the latest MoneyTree venture capital report; thought leadership articles, information on IPOs and more. http://www.socaltech.com/pwc ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Pixelgate.net - Internet Access, Web Hosting, Network Services We put the "Service" back into Internet Service Provider. http://www.pixelgate.net ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RECENT JOB POSTINGS More jobs at http://www.socaltech.com/Jobs Members post jobs for free System Administrator, Chatsworth, DataDirect Networks http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5386 SalesForce.com Administrator, Sunnyvale, DataDirect Networks http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5385 Manufacturing System Test Technician, Chatsworth, DataDirect Networks http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5384 Oracle Sr Functional Analyst - Financials, Chatsworth, DataDirect Networks http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5383 RMA Manager, Chatsworth, DataDirect Networks http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5382 Production Test Engineer, Chatsworth, DataDirect Networks http://www.socaltech.com/showjob.php?id=5381 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RECENT FUNDING SUMMARY 07/25/12 CoDa Therapeutics $20.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=44241 07/25/12 NantPharma $125.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=44240 07/19/12 MOVIECLIPS, INC. $0.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=44139 07/18/12 Retention Science $1.3M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=44060 07/16/12 Tealium Inc. $10.5M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=44042 07/12/12 POPTENT INC $5.5M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43964 07/11/12 StackSocial $0.8M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43674 07/11/12 SteelHouse $8.3M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43670 07/11/12 ValCare $8.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43669 07/11/12 MiCardia $4.4M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43098 07/10/12 Zumbox $10.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43641 07/09/12 BIOSURPLUS, INC. $2.4M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43614 06/29/12 Sonendo, Inc. $9.2M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43467 06/28/12 DogVacay $0.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43459 06/28/12 Kuapay $4.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43466 06/27/12 Chill FKA Namesake $8.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43455 06/26/12 Rally.org $7.9M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43449 06/26/12 Big Frame $3.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=43450 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 July 25, Santa Monica Los Angeles -- LA Ad Tech Happy Hour. Come hang out with the Ad Tech community in Los Angeles for a no-host happy hour. If you geek out over the Ad Tech, OMMA & Digiday conferences, this is for you. If you print LUMA Partners' lumascapes to hang on your wall, this is for you. If you hang on Mary Meeker's every word, this is for you. If you quote eMarketer's estimates in your sleep, this is for you. If you just want to grab a drink with casual peeps in the middle of Summer, this is for you. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22619 July 25, Santa Clarita -- Rock Star Marketing. You have this epic product (or idea). It's like totally going to totally disrupt the universe. But the only people that know about it are you and your mom in your basement. Marketing is at the core of everything. You market to investors. You market to vendors. You market to your employees and you market to recruit the best employees. And of course you market to customers. If it's so important, why do we suck at it? I've asked a marketing expert...a ROCK STAR on marketing...to come and spend some time with us and teach us how to become Rock Star marketers in our space. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22602 July 26, Los Angeles -- Growth Capital Conference. Network with capital sources, advisors, dealmakers and 100 entrepreneurs seeking capital & counsel. DEAL DISPLAYtm showcases attractive firms needing growth capital. View products, videos, on-line demos. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22630 July 26, Los Angeles Westside -- Growth Capital Conference. Network with capital sources,advisors,dealmakers and 100 entrepreneurs seeking capital & counsel. DEAL DISPLAYtm showcases attractive firms needing growth capital. View products, videos, online demos. Hot Networking Breakfast at 7:00 AM sharp. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22492 July 26, Redondo Beach -- Social Media School - Beginners. It's time to learn about social media and how it can assist you in your personal and professional life. Email [email protected]. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22610 July 26, Santa Monica -- Silicon Beach Tech Crawl. Take a tour of some of the hottest Silicon Beach tech companies. Sponsored by TZ, ParkMe, GumGum, and others. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22624 July 26, Altadena -- Co-Founders Wanted of Los Angeles. The purpose of this inperson Meetup is to help you find a co-founder for your business or help you find a business to join as a co-founder. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22571 August 1, Santa Monica -- Santa Monica Media Leaders Networking Event. Mingle and chat about all things tech, marketing and advertisin. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22633 August 1, San Diego -- MIT Enterprise Forum, Wine Social. The MIT Enterprise Forum San Diego signature wine social, held annually, is widely recognized as the premier networking event for San Diego's technology and biotechnology community. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22597 August 1, Santa Monica -- Next MediaLeaders Networking Event. Hey there MediaLeaders. Summer is officially here and we’re hosting a Santa Monica networking event at the Sonoma Wine Garden to celebrate this great weather. This spacious venue has tons of outdoor seating and lots of areas to mingle and chat about all things tech, marketing and advertising. If you look close…you can see the Santa Monica beach from the balcony. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22590 August 2, Santa Monica -- LA CEOs presents: Scrum for CEOs - How to Manage Teams in a 2.0 World. Does your development team need “just two more weeks” to deliver their work? Was that the same answer they gave two months ago? How does the Scrum process change team collaboration and accelerate development? Learn from one of our very own LA CEOs, Bill Sewell, about his team’s experience with Scrum, which began with training from with Master Scrum Trainer Scott Downey. This event is restricted to CEOs only of product companies with a minimum of $2million in funding or revenue.. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22631 August 2, Calabasas -- 9th Annual Summer Social for the electronics industry at the World Famous Sagebrush Cantina. This event typically draws 150+ and is always a lot of fun reuniting old friends and making new ones~! All distributors, mfrs. reps, OEM's and anyone related to the electronics industry here in So. California. Email [email protected]. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22620 August 7, Westlake Village -- Los Angeles Clean Technology Council Conference. Our keynote speaker is Tom McGrath, Founder of LABS Renewable Energy. Tom will present "A Disruptive Technology-Converting Waste Into Energy With Fuel Cells.. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22629 August 9, Santa Monica -- Startups Uncensored #29 - Eventbrite Co-Founders Kevin and Julia Hartz. Eventbrite is an online service that people everywhere use to create, share, and join any event imaginable. Eventbrite enable's event creation, promotion and ticket sales. They help people discover events that match their passions. And they let everyone share the events they're creating or joining, bringing more people together around the worldNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22639 August 14, Santa Monica -- LAVA's Annual Venture Capital Panel. Meet the top VCs who are investing in Southern California. Find out what they are looking to invest in. Find out what does it take to secure Venture Capital for your company. Learn about the hottest trends and the mistakes NOT to make. Moderator: Jon Funk, Founder, Ocean Road Partners. Confirmed Panelists: Jim Andelman, Managing Partner, Rincon Venture Partners; David Casares, Principal, Vicente Capital Partners; Dana Settle, Partner, Greycroft Partners. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22627 August 18, Los Angeles -- TECHBREW Multi-Dimensional MEGA MIXER. The TECHBREW Multi-Dimensional MEGA MIXER will include a workshop, presentations by international speakers, Lielle Arad and Alan Tratner, and a celebratory and fun mini-concert entertainment by the unique pop innovators, B4Neptune. Alan and Lielle will be speaking about responsibility in a special presentation entitled, ‘The Sustainable Planet & the Total Vantage Point’NEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/22637 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsored by: Rustic Canyon Partners (www.rusticcanyon.com). Funding great entrepreneurs. Clearstone Ventures (www.clearstone.com). Venture capital for innovators. 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). Los Angeles-based executive search for emerging growth companies Binary Pulse Technology Marketing (http://www.binarypulse.com). We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies. Deloitte LLP (http://www.deloitte.com/us/technology). Siemer & Associates (http://www.siemer.com) Global Technology Merchant Bankers. TriNet (http://www.socaltech.com/trinet) The HR outsourcing partner for emerging tech companies. Fetch Recruiting, Inc. (www.fetchrecruiting.com) Technical Recruiting for LA based Startups and High-Growth Companies Email [email protected] 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 [email protected] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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) 2012 SOCALTECH LLC. 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