socaltech.com TechNews - Friday, November 14, 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --CheapAir.com: WSJ Article On Best Days To Buy Tickets Wrong --Samsung Looks To Hollywood For Mobile Revenues, Says Report --Universal Electronics Settles Patent Suit With Peel Technologies --Qualcomm Backs Ineda Systems' Chips For Wearables --Scopely Secures $35M --Report: Funny Or Die Seeking Buyer MARKETPLACE --SoCal IP Law Group LLP - Serving the IP Needs of Business --Stradling --UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) --Early Stage Commercial Insurance - Pacific Unified Insurance Agency -- Key Information Systems Announces Key Cloud --Safire Partners Executive Search RECENT JOB POSTINGS --User Experience (UX) Design Manager - Mobile, MINDBODY Inc. --Senior User Experience (UX) Designer, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. --Scrum Master - Mobile, Los Angeles, Fetch Recruiting, Inc. RECENT FUNDING EVENTS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CheapAir.com: WSJ Article On Best Days To Buy Tickets Wrong ---- Calabasas-based online travel site CheapAir.com is taking issue with a study and article published by the Wall Street Journal yesterday, looking to pinpoint the best days to purchase an airline ticket. CheapAir.com said it analyzed its data on 415 million airline fares, and found "no single day of the week" that is statistically better for booking cheap airline tickets. The WSJ had determined that Sundays were the best days for purchasing tickets. CheapAir.com says it believes the WSJ got it wrong, because corporate travelers tend to book last minute, higher fares during the workweek, skewing the data used in the study. CheapAir said it instead examined actual fares available, instead of those purchased. http://www.socaltech.com/cheapair_com_wsj_article_on_best_days_to_buy_tickets_wrong/s-0057845.html Samsung Looks To Hollywood For Mobile Revenues, Says Report ---- Samsung Electronics is kicking off an effort to make short form, mobile video the center of a new revenue model, according to report, in a new effort headed by John Pleasants. Pleasants--who has served at Walt Disney managing its mobile and gaming services, and also had been CEO of Ticketmaster--apparently joined Samsung in June as Executive Vice President of Media Solutions. Samsung has not yet announced details of the new, mobile video effort, but has apparently devoted "tens of millions of dollars" to the new video effort, codenamed "Volt". http://www.socaltech.com/samsung_looks_to_hollywood_for_mobile_revenues_says_report/s-0057843.html Universal Electronics Settles Patent Suit With Peel Technologies ---- Santa Ana-based wireless control technology developer Universal Electronics said this morning that it has settled a patent infringement lawsuit with Peel Technologies. Financial details of the settlement were not disclosed. According to Universal Electronics, Peel has agreed to modify and update its products to avoid its allegations of infringement. The two have now agreed to dismiss their respective patent infringement claims against each other. Qualcomm Backs Ineda Systems' Chips For Wearables ---- San Diego-based Qualcomm has made an investment into a company developing systems-on-a-chips and processors specifically for the wearables market, Ineda Systems. Ineda said that Qualcomm participated in a Series B funding, worth $19M, which was led by Cisco Investments, and also included Samsung Catalyst Fund and Imagination Technologies. Qualcomm apparently had also invested in the company's Series A funding. Ineda is based in Santa Clara. The company's flagship product is a "Wearable Processing Unit" which incorporates ultra low power processing functions for wearables--such as sensor connectivity, power management, and more. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=59558 Scopely Secures $35M ---- Los Angeles-based Scopely, which is led by Walter Driver, has raised a big, $35M funding round, the company said Thursday morning. The funding was led by Evolution Media Partners, the joint venture created by TPG Growth, Participant Media, and Evolution Media Capital and Highland Capital Partners, and also included Knoll Ventures, Greycroft, The Chernin Group, Sands Capital Ventures and Double M Capital. Scopely said it will use the funding to expand its entertainment network, its lineup of mobile games, and more. Rick Hess of EMC/Evolution and Andy Hunt of Highland Capital Partners/Warby Parker will join the company's board of directors. Scopely is run by a number of Silicon Beach startup veterans, including Driver, plus Applied Semantics co-founder Eytan Elbaz. Report: Funny Or Die Seeking Buyer ---- Los Angeles-based comedy website Funny or Die--started by Will Ferrell--is looking for a buyer, according to reports this week from Bloomberg. Funny or Die has hired financial advisor Moelis & Co. to help sell the company, according to the report, saying that the website is seeking $100 million to $300 million in the sale of the company. The move comes as there has been an increasing number of exits and deals in the content space, such as the acquisition last week of LA Youtube network StyleHaul for up to $205M; the acquisition of Fullscreen by AT&T and Chernin Group, worth between $200M and $300M; and the $500M acquisition of Maker Studios earlier this year. http://www.socaltech.com/report_funny_or_die_seeking_buyer/s-0057828.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARKETPLACE Reach 10000+ readers for 5 days for $250 Post your marketplace ad at: http://www.socaltech.com/postad.html ------------------------------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------------------------------- Stradling Stradling, Attorneys At Law (http://www.sycr.com) ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Part of the UK government’s commercial arm, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) helps American companies bring their high-quality investment to the UK's dynamic economy, acknowledged as Europe's best place from which to succeed in global business. We also help UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. UKTI offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world. We provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. Our team in the United States works to promote UK-US trade and investment through our offices at the British Embassy in Washington as well as the British Consulates General in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco. Learn more at: https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/uk-trade-investment-in-the-usa ------------------------------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------------------------------- Key Information Systems Announces Key Cloud Key Information Systems, a leading IT systems integrator and Premier IBM Business Partner based in Agoura Hills, CA, announced the availability of Key Cloud for users of cloud computing services. Key's new cloud services are offered in conjunction with colocation, managed services and Internet connectivity offerings. To learn more about the Key Cloud, visit the Key Info website or contact Pete Elliot at Key Information Systems, Inc., 30077 Agoura Court, First Floor, Agoura Hills, CA 91301, USA, email pell...@keyinfo.com or call 1.818.737.2804. http://www.keyinfo.com ------------------------------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------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 11/13/14 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 10/16/14 Wilshire Axon Sports $2.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=60686 10/15/14 H3 Financial Services $0.0M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=60681 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 14, Santa Barbara -- Startup Weekend Santa Barbara returns with our biggest event yet! Build a business in 54 hours and network with fellow entrepreneurs and amazing Central Coast Mentors. We are expecting 300+ at our opening night kickoff and celebration! Hope you can join us. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24368 November 15, Los Angeles -- So Cal Code Camp LA. Community run developer event. FREE for attendees, presenters. Sat-Sun Nov 15-16 2014 at USC. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24382 November 15, Santa Monica -- Women in LAVA Present: Building Your Financial Infrastructure. Attend this unique workshop and vendor fair and learn how to build the ideal financial infrastructure for your business at each development stage from startup to funding. Topics include: accounting, financial planning, fundraising, valuation, payroll, merchant processing, banking, taxes and insurance. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24388 November 15, Santa Barbara -- Startup Weekend Santa Barbara returns with our biggest event yet! Build a business in 54 hours and network with fellow entrepreneurs and amazing Central Coast Mentors. We are expecting 300+ at our opening night kickoff and celebration! Hope you can join us. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24369 November 15, Los Angeles -- Comcast NBCUniversal Hackathon. New Forms of Storytelling Driven by Technology. New media bring new opportunities, new ways to express the eternal human experience. Now, Comcast NBCUniversal throws down the challenge to create New Forms of Storytelling Driven by Technology.You are: designers, developers, entrepreneurs. We are: award-winning storytellers. Together, we will create next generation entertainment experiences that will change the way people think about media, foreverNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24399 November 16, Los Angeles -- So Cal Code Camp LA. Community run developer event. FREE for attendees, presenters. Sat-Sun Nov 15-16 2014 at USC. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24383 November 16, Santa Barbara -- Startup Weekend Santa Barbara returns with our biggest event yet! Build a business in 54 hours and network with fellow entrepreneurs and amazing Central Coast Mentors. We are expecting 300+ at our opening night kickoff and celebration! Hope you can join us. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24370 November 16, Santa Barbara -- Startup Weekend Santa Barbara returns with our biggest event yet! Build a business in 54 hours and network with fellow entrepreneurs and amazing Central Coast Mentors. We are expecting 300+ at our opening night kickoff and celebration! Hope you can join us. See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24371 November 16, Los Angeles -- Comcast NBCUniversal Hackathon. New Forms of Storytelling Driven by Technology. New media bring new opportunities, new ways to express the eternal human experience. Now, Comcast NBCUniversal throws down the challenge to create New Forms of Storytelling Driven by Technology.You are: designers, developers, entrepreneurs. We are: award-winning storytellers. Together, we will create next generation entertainment experiences that will change the way people think about media, foreverNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24400 November 17, Santa Monica -- Business & VC Pitch Coach, Laurelle Johnson will be teaching how to "Master A Perfect Pitch: How to Quickly Get From Conversation to Capital" as our first StartupMind seminar! This launches our partnership with General Assembly too! What’s standing between you and the funds to fuel your company’s growth? –The perfect pitch! CONTENT PLUS CONFIDENCE CREATES CAPITALNEW . See http://www.socaltech.com/calendar/eventid/24404 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 reformNEW . 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 AngelsNEW . 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 moreNEW . 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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