Monday, November 1, 2010MRV Adds Singh to BoardChatsworth-based MRV Communications reports that CEO Dilip Singh has joined the company's board of directors. Singh has been CEO of the firm since July, and previously has served at Telia-Sonera Spice Nepal and Telenity. MRV is a provider of optica communications and networking equipment.
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Ranker Hits 1M UniquesHollywood-based Ranker, the online startup headed by Clark Benson, said today that it is now seeing over 1 million unique monthly visitors to its web site. The site, which allows users to create their own ranked lists of products, movies, video games, and anything else users want to, said it now has over 6 million items that can be dragged and dropped into its lists. Benson was the founder of eCrush, which he sold to Hearst in 2006; Ranker is backed by Benson, Siemer Venture Capital, and the Tec (More info...)
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Newegg Gets An Early Start On Holiday SalesLooking to convince shoppers to start their holiday shopping early, City of Industry-based NewEgg said today that it will begin offerings it Black Friday deals as of November 1st. According to NewEgg, it will offer up deals on items from November 1st to November 30th, claiming it will offer the equivalent of Black Friday deals all month through daily promotions and savings. The firm is calling its promotion "Black November." A quick glance of the NewEgg site on Monday found lots of sales, but fe (More info...)
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dailyD Becomes FamilyFindsLos Angeles-based dailyD, the online local deals site run by former LowerMyBills founder Matt Coffin, has renamed itself FamilyFinds.com, the firm told its users over the weekend. According to the service, the name change comes because it's "not just about deals" and is also about "finding the best stuff to do all over town for you and your family." DailyD's backers include Split Rock, the venture firm which backed LowerMyBills.
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AudioMicro Selling Audioo On EBayLos Angeles-based AudioMicro, the online marketplace for royalty free music and sound effects run by Ryan Born, is cutting its losses on Audioo, the firm's website for sharing funny and prank voicemails and phone messages. According to AudioMicro, it is now selling off Audioo--which it just bought in May--on eBay and Flippa. Born said in an email that "Audioo was never really able to attract a solid contributor base or find a sustainable revenue model." Audioo had been created by Ben Padnos, who (More info...)
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ShopNation Raises $800K, Launches Fashion Discovery SiteSanta Monica-based ShopNation has raised $800,000 in a seed funding, and launched a new fashion discovery site today. The firm, co-founded by Travis Schneider and Luke Kervin, said it aggregates and normalizes product data from fashion retailers, and allows users to find fashion products from their favorite stores.
The company--one of the companies in the LaunchpadLA effort--is the second startup for Schneider and Kervin, who founded StarBrand Media, a celebrity shopping startup acquired by S (More info...)
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Rubicon Project Raises $18M, Buys Fox Audience NetworkSanta Monica-based Rubicon Project said this morning that it has raised $18M in additional funding, and acquired the Fox Audience Network (FAN) from New Corporation. Rubicon said that the new funding round came from News Corporation, Clearstone Venture Partners, IDG Ventures Asia, Mayfield Fund, NBC Universal's Peacock Equity Fund and Jarl Mohn. The new funding brings Rubicon's total funding to $60M. In announcing the deal, CEO Frank Addante said the firm has achieved profitability "significantl (More info...)
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Inphi Sets IPO Pricing RangeInphi Corp., the developer of high speed analog semiconductors, which has major operations in Westlake Village, said late Friday that it has set its anticipated pricing range in its IPO. The firm said it anticipates its initial public offering price will be between $10.00 and $12.00 per share. Inphi, which is based in Santa Clara, said it is offering up 6.8 million shares of its common stock in the offering. The firm is looking to debut on the New York Stock Exchange as IPHI. Inphi filed for an (More info...)
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GameSalad Revisits Game Publishing EffortsLos Angeles- and Austin-based GameSalad, the developer of iPhone game creation software, told its users late last week that it has revisited its plans to launch GameSalad Direct, a new game publishing effort by the firm. GameSalad Direct would have allowed users to publish games under a single, GameSalad title, in exchange for revenue share on games. According to GameSalad, in a note to its users, it will be launching a new subscription and membership program which would allow developers to cont (More info...)
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KnotPic Takes On Online Wedding Photo AlbumsLos Angeles-based KnotPic, a new online web site, said today that it has launched a new service to allow users to share their wedding photo albums. The site--developed by Maximilian & Co.--said it provides a way for couples to create an online wedding album, including accepting photos from guests via email or text messages. The firm says it offers up features such as instantly showing what new pictures show up in the album in a "slideshow mode," and ability to share those photos via email or tex (More info...)
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LiveOffice Claims Another Quarter Of GrowthTorrance-based LiveOffice, which provides hosted email archiving, email compliance, and backup services, reports today that it has what it says was another great quarter for growth. The privately held company did not release actual financials, however, only saying it saw a growth rate of 141 percent in terms of mailboxes sold on its LiveOffice Personal Archive product. The firm has annual revenues somewhere north of $26M, according to numbers released through recent growth awards awarded to the (More info...)
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Mogreet Lands Fashion Firm Steve MaddenLos Angeles-based mobile marketing firm Mogreet, which is headed by James Citron, announced this morning that it has inked a deal with Steve Madden, where it will provide rich media mobile marketing as part of Steve Madden's marketing efforts. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The two said that Mogreet will power Steve Madden's efforts to reach consumers directly on their mobile devices, including information about news, sales promotions, exclusive content, and more. Steve Madden (More info...)
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THQ, WWE Expand Marketing EffortsAgoura Hills-based videogame maker THQ, and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), said this morning they are in a new marketing agreement. The two companies said that WWE-branded video games developed by THQ will be integrated into events, pay-per view and television sponsorships, magazines, and other WWE properties. According to the firms, the deal also includes the addition of interactive gaming kiosks at 40 WWE live events. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, however, the firms s (More info...)
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ResumeBucket Targets HR ManagersLos Angeles-based ResumeBucket.com, the online resume listing service, said today that it has rolled out a new suite of services geared at human resources managers. The firm said that it has added new search tools, ability to add personal comments on candidat resumes, and new widgets for employer websites. ResumeBucket offers up a web site which allows users to create and track their own, online resumes, and which also allows HR managers to find job candidates. The firm was co-founded by Josh St (More info...)
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