Tuesday, October 4, 2011


Insights and Opinions: Managing Disgruntled Employees
For today's Insights and Opinions section, we have an article from Jack K.N. Tsai, an investor and serial entrepreneur, who talks about one of the dreaded facts of life running a company: managing disgruntled employees. Tsai is also a guest lecturer at California State University Fullerton Mihaylo School of Business, where he teaches business finance as well as strategies for launching a business. Disgruntled employees are something that us entrepreneurs have to deal with, more than we l (More info...)
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BetterWorks Enhances Discovery Features
Santa Monica-based BetterWorks, the operator of technology- and software-based employee perks and benefit programs, said Tuesday that it has bolstered a number of features on its service, including a number related to discovery of programs. The company said it has added a new search box for users logging into the site, which will allow them to search for perks, restaurants, cities, and other information on the site, and also added new ways to browse and search for perks by category. In addition (More info...)
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Nimble Ties With TeamAutomation
Santa Monica-based Nimble, the online, customer relationship management (CRM) tool developer, has tied with Simi Valley-based TeamAutomation, a business and IT consulting firm focused on customer relationship management tools. According to TeamAutomation, it will offer up Nimble's software to its customers, allowing them to manage their email, calendar, and social networking connections with contacts. Financial details and business arrangement between the two companies was not announced. Nimble (More info...)
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Predixion Software Gets $6M More
Aliso Viejo-based Predixion Software, the developer of predictive analytics software which is headed by Simon Arkell, announced today that it has raised $6M in a Series B funding round. The new, strategic investment came from an un-named investor, and also included prior investors DFJ Frontier, Miramar Venture Partners and Palomar Ventures. Predixion said the funding will go towards further product development, plus serviec, sales and marketing. Predixion last raised a round of funding last Octo (More info...)
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eHow Launches New Women's Channel
Santa Monica-based eHow, the question and answer site of Demand Media, is announcing today that it has launched a new women-focused channel called Shift. eHow said the new channel is aimed at helping "inspire women who want to make changes in their lives" and "positively impact others around them." eHow said that the move will include such content as the "eHow 100" list of women who are making changes to their lives, selected by the site's editorial team and advisory board. That list includes su (More info...)
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Newport Corporation Closes Ophir Optronics Buy
Irvine-based Newport Corporation announced this morning that it has completed its acquisition of Ophir Optronics, a developer of infrared optics, photonics instruments, and other measurement equipment. The deal was worth $230M, and had originally been announced in July. Ophir Optronics is based in Israel.
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Venlabs Rolls DimSong For iPhone
Venice-based VenLabs, a developer of mobile applications focused on music, said Monday that it has launched a new iPhone and iPod Touch app called DimSong, which allows users to remix instrumental music based on their movements and surroundings. The startup--headed by Daniel Lehrich--said the free app uses touch, motion, and light to change music tracks. The app includes three free tracks; the firm also said it will offer up additional music for in-app purchase. Lehrich was previously at Activis (More info...)
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ReShape Medical Names CEO
San Clemente-based ReShape Medical, a developer of a non-surgical weight loss device, said today that it has named Richard Thompson as the firm's president and CEO. Thompson was previously founder, president, and CEO of Luminous Medical, and also has served at Aradigm Corporation and LifeScan. Thompson also sits on the boards of Intuity Medical and Asante Medical. ReSchape said that Interim CEO Ken Charhut returns to his role as Chairman of the company's board.
posted on Tuesday, October 4, 2011(Full story)