Thursday, August 16, 2012CODA Automotive Video: Converting A Gas Station To GrassSanta Monica-based CODA Automotive, the developer of electric cars, looks like it has been ramping up its marketing efforts with a series of YouTube videos; the latest being a stunt where the firm converted a gas station in Culver City into a "grass station"--complete with sod and potted plants, petting zoo, and pony, plus a cameo of a DJ wearing a Break Media t-shirt. The video, shot as a promotion for the firm's sedans, looks like it's one of several the firm started posting in the last month. (More info...)
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Sonos Elevates Studio With Alanis Morissette PerformanceSanta Barbara-based Sonos, the maker of whole-home, user friendly, Internet connected music systems, has scored a big name as a performer for next week at its Sonos Studio: Alanis Morissette. Sonos launched its Los Angeles music-and-art gallery, called Sonos Studio, earlier this year. The firm said Thursday that it would run a giveaway of tickets to a debut of Alanis Morissette's new album, Havoc and Brights, at the Sonos Studio as part of a listening party and acoustic performance. The debut by (More info...)
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Little Black Bag Unwraps $8M MoreLittle Black Bag, the women's merchandise and online commerce site that is a take on the Japanese concept of a "lucky bag sale", has raised $8M in a Series B round, just six months after its Series A funding. The firm, which is based in Los Angeles, offers up personalized, "mystery bags" delivered to users, similar to a popular Japanese retail tradition where fukabukuro--lucky bags--are sold at special occasions to customers, usually containing a selection of merchandise worth more than what con (More info...)
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Hello Music's Dollar String Club Launches For GuitaristsLos Angeles-based e-commerce marketplace Hello Music is launching a new service today, the Dollar String Club, which will deliver electric guitar strings to musicians, for as little as $1 a month on a subscription service. The new service also includes a number of premium string options which range up to $9 a month for "HM platinum" strings. It appears that Hello Music is jumping on the one-dollar-a-month-for-something subscription bandwagon, which leapt into prominence in June when Los Angeles- (More info...)
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AnyMeeting Rolls YouTube Feature, Hits 200K UsersHuntington Beach-based AnyMeeting, which develops free web conferencing and online meeting software, reported this morning that it has released a new feature which lets users share any YouTube video into their meeting, and has also hit a milestone of 200,000 registered users. The site--which uses advertising to offset providing web conferencing services at no charge--said the new YouTube video feature lets users copy and paste the URL of any YouTube video into a conference, including allowing fo (More info...)
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Sibling Capital Announces New Fund In Southern CaliforniaSibling Capital, a brand new venture capital based in Rancho Santa Fe, said this week that it has formed to invest in the areas of
chemistry, medicine and material sciences. The new fund said it made its first investment, part of an $80M investment in biopharmaceuticals firm Relypsa. Size of the new fund was not announced. Sibling Capital said its fund comes from a variety of high net worth individual investors, including Jim Givan. Sibling's co-founders are Dr. Sandra Coufal and Brian Isern. (More info...)
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ViSalus, Headed by LA Tech Entrepreneur, Files For $175M IPOViSalus, a nutritional supplements maker co-founded by Los Angeles-based, technology entrepreneur Ryan Blair, has filed for an IPO, saying that it is looking to raise up to $175M in an IPO. Exchange and other details of the IPO have not yet been set for the company, whose corporate name is FVA Ventures. ViSalus was co-founded by Ryan Blair, who also founded PathConnect, a Los Angeles social networking site; SkyPipeline, a broadband fixed wireless company in Los Angeles; and 24x7 Tech, a technolo (More info...)
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Contour Energy Systems Names New CEOAzusa-based battery technology firm Contour Energy Systems announced this morning that it has named Louis E. Lupo as the company's new President and CEO. Lupo joins from T3 Technology, and also has served at EaglePicher Technologies, Honeywell International, and BE Aerospace. The firm said that Lupo, a 25-year vet of the industry, will drive strategic growth in aerospace, defense, medical and other niche primary-battery markets. Contour Energy is developing Flourine-based battery technology orig (More info...)
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GumGum Names Winders Marketing VPLos Angeles-based GumGum, the provider of in-image advertising technology, said this morning that it has named Tony Winders as its Senior Vice President of Marketing. Winders was most recently running his own consulting practice, serving such clients as Rocket Fuel, Fraser Communications, Causecast, Fanzila, Momentfeed and LuxeYard. Winders also served at ValueClick Media, and was a pioneer in the interactive agency world, having founded iAgency back in 1995. GumGum is venture backed by
GRP Pa (More info...)
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