socaltech.com TechNews - Wednesday, November 19, 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 Binary Pulse Technology Marketing (http://www.binarypulse.com). We Create Demand for California's Technology Companies. Key info (http://www.keyinfo.com) infrastructure ~ connectivity ~ co-location ~ cloud Shimokaji IP (http://www.shimokaji.com) Bettering Life Through Creative Ideas ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --Honk Launches On Demand Roadside Help Service, Raises $1.8M --ventureLab Takes On Startup Incubation --Carbonics Raises $5.5M For RF Materials --Tagg Rolls Out New Pet Wearable --Blossom Aims To Conquer Drought With Smart Irrigation Gadget --Seriously Adds $5M For Mobile Games Effort --Hush Scores $100K On Kickstarter For Smart Earplugs MARKETPLACE --Honor the socalTECH 50 On December 10th! --Fetch Recruiting, Inc. --SoCal IP Law Group LLP - Serving the IP Needs of Business --La Visual - A Branding, Product Strategy & Rapid Prototyping Accelerator --Ecommerce: Latest Trends and Dynamics, November 19th, Beverly Hills RECENT JOB POSTINGS --User Experience (UX) Design Manager - Mobile, MINDBODY Inc. --Senior Front End Engineer, San Luis Obispo,, MINDBODY Inc. --Scrum Master - Mobile, Los Angeles, Fetch Recruiting, Inc. RECENT FUNDING EVENTS ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- NewCo Festivals - Launches November 19th! Join me in welcoming NewCo Festivals to the neighborhood! On November 19th NewCo, the FREE “unconference” comes to Los Angeles after a successful run in eight other cities across the globe. NewCo is part studio-tour, part conference and turns the standard business conference format on its head by taking it out of the hotel ballroom and INSIDE the headquarters of LA’s most innovative companies. NewCo Los Angeles is an opportunity to get in the doors of companies such as EpoxyTV, ZEFR, Participant Media, Steelhouse, Science Inc, NOVICA, GumGum and others. This free business festival provides a unique experience and an intimate look at what these companies are up to, a peek at their innovative creations and insight into how they are positioned for success. If you participate, you'll meet and network with other like-minded individuals and be exposed to the new and different ways of thinking. Registration is free. Check out the full list of participating companies and register to attend here: http://la.newco.co/schedule-2014/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Honk Launches On Demand Roadside Help Service, Raises $1.8M ---- Have a flat tire, locked yourself out of your car, or need a tow--but not a member of a roadside assistance service? Santa Monica-based Honk has launched a service for you, specifically to let you summon roadside help using your smartphone--without a membership. (More...) http://www.socaltech.com/honk_launches_on_demand_roadside_help_service_raises___8m/s-0057893.html ventureLab Takes On Startup Incubation ---- Los Angeles-based ventureLab Growth Partners said Tuesday afternoon that it has launched a new "startup studio" to invest in and build early stage startups. The new startup studio is led by Mike Prasad. According to ventureLab, it will provide seed funding, along with product, marketing, and operational support to its companies. The company did not say how much funding it intends to provide to startups. ventureLab is currently targeting companies in the area of advertising technology, social/gaming media, content and community. The studio also said it will be expanding in the future to include digital health and app-driven commerce. Prasad is part of new media company the Collaborative, and is known for catapulting Kogi BBQ into the limelight via his Twitter social media campaign. http://www.socaltech.com/venturelab_takes_on_startup_incubation/s-0057895.html Carbonics Raises $5.5M For RF Materials ---- Marina Del Rey-based Carbonics, a developer of carbon nanomaterials aimed at improving the power consumption and performance of wireless semiconductors, has raised $5.5M in a funding round. The funding came from TAQNIA international. Carbonics says its technology is based on research conducted at UCLA and USC. Carbonics says it is working on incorporating its carbon nanomaterials into semiconductor radio frequency (RF) components. The company is led by Kos Galatsis. http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/index.php?action=showdeal&id=61037 Tagg Rolls Out New Pet Wearable ---- San Diego-based Tagg, a developer of wearables for pets, said Tuesday that it has launched a new device, which provides ambient temperature sensing for pets, in addition to providing reports on a pet's activity levels and location. Tagg's wearables for pets use GPS and cell phone networks to provide real time tracking of a pet. Tagg is led by Scott Neuberger. Blossom Aims To Conquer Drought With Smart Irrigation Gadget ---- Can a crowdsourced smart irrigation controller help us get a handle on California's record breaking drought? Irvine-based Blossom hopes so, and has just raised $31,000 in its Kickstarter campaign to help bring its product to market. Blossom was founded by Manrique Brenes , along with Matt McRae and Kaido Kert. McRae is Vizio's current CTO and Head of Marketing; Kert was previously a software developer at Skype. Blossom's smart water controller is entirely controlled by a smartphone app for either iOS or Android. http://www.socaltech.com/blossom_aims_to_conquer_drought_with_smart_irrigation_gadget/s-0057892.html Seriously Adds $5M For Mobile Games Effort ---- Santa Monica- and Helsinki-based Seriously, a developer of mobile games, has raised $5M in additional funding, according to the company. The funding came from Upfront Ventures, Sunstone Capital, and Daher Capital. Seriously has its business development and marketing arm in Santa Monica, with game development in Helsinki. The company said it has now raised its total funding to $10M. Seriously is led by Andrew Stalbow--the company's flagship game is "Best Fiends", which runs on iOS. http://www.socaltech.com/seriously_adds__m_for_mobile_games_effort/s-0057890.html Hush Scores $100K On Kickstarter For Smart Earplugs ---- San Diego-based Hush, a startup out of the EvoNexus incubator, has blown past its initial crowdfunding goals, raising more than $105,000 so far in the first five days of the company's crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Hush is developing "smart earplugs" that block out all sound--but are connected to your smartphone, so that important alarms and notifications can still be heard. The company says its product is fully controlled by a smartphone, and that users can pick and choose what notifications are important enough to let through its earplugs. The company is hoping to reach production in May of 2015. The company is led by Daniel Lee. http://www.socaltech.com/hush_scores____k_on_kickstarter_for_smart_earplugs/s-0057881.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MARKETPLACE Reach 10000+ readers for 5 days for $250 Post your marketplace ad at: http://www.socaltech.com/postad.html ------------------------------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 ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Fetch Recruiting, Inc. Fetch Recruiting, Inc. (http://www.fetchrecruiting.com) Technical Recruiting for LA based Startups and High-Growth Companies ------------------------------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------------------------------- La Visual - A Branding, Product Strategy & Rapid Prototyping Accelerator Local branding agency launches a new design-centric accelerator program. We help you streamline the launch of your startup by offering world-class branding, product strategy, user-experience design, rapid-prototyping technology, mentorship, and access to early stage investment all under one roof! Contact us to setup a meet and greet today. Contact: Braven Greenelsh CEO bra...@lavisual.com i...@lavisual.com Direct: 323-924-8847 | Studio: 818-824-6430 | Fax: 888-763-7412 Website: Lavisual.com Linkedin Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/braven ------------------------------ADVERTISEMENT------------------------------- Ecommerce: Latest Trends and Dynamics, November 19th, 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. Register today! http://www.acgla.org/events/event.aspx?F_d=11%2f19%2f2014&F_y=2014&F_m=11&EventId=8634&; ------------------------------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 11/19/14 Honk $1.8M http://www.socaltech.com/intelligence/?action=showdeal&id=61039 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 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). 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. 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