Tuesday, October 2, 2012Tubular Labs Gets $650K For YouTube AnalyticsTubular Labs, a stealth mode starting which is developing a marketing and analytics platform for YouTube channels, has raised $650,000 in a funding round, according to a regulatory filing from the firm today. The Silicon Valley firm is backed by Matt Coffin of LowerMyBills and Allen DeBevoise of Machinima. Tubular Labs is headed by Robert Gabel, the former SVP of Marketing for LowerMyBills. Both Coffin and DeBevoise are listed as board members of the company, which raised around $330,000 of that (More info...)
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ShoeDazzle Raises $6.0M In New FundingSanta Monica-based ShoeDazzle, the online e-commerce and celebrity site that is back in the hands of Brian Lee, and whose co-founders include Kim Kardashian, has raised $6.0M in a combination of equity and debt, according to a regulatory filing from the firm Tuesday. Details on the funding have not been announced by the company, and it's unclear from the filing on the exact structure of the investment. ShoeDazzle's prior investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Crosscut Ventures, Lightspeed Ventur (More info...)
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LeisureLink Upgrades Vacation Rental Management SoftwareLeisureLink, the developer of vacation rental management software which is backed by Clearstone Venture partners, Mission Ventures, and Wyndham Worldwide, said Tuesday afternoon that it has upgraded its MarketSpan Guest Generation product. The product is used by small and independent vacation properties to market their properties online. LeisureLink said its latest upgrade includes new algorithms for suggesting room rates based on real-time marketplace data; faster processing and page loading; a (More info...)
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NewAer Gets Funding From IntelLos Angeles-based NewAer, a startup developing software which enables phones, tablets, and computers to automatically perform actions based on the proximity on who or what is nearby, has scored funding from Intel Capital, according to Intel today. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed. NewAer's apps--which currently run on Android--allow users to tag people, places, or things based on their wireless presence, and do things like automtaically forward phone calls when a user leave (More info...)
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Insights and Opinions: Forget Politics, Just Shut Up And Sell
It's election season, so we thought that for today's Insights and Opinions section, we thought we'd share the advice of John Greathouse, of Rincon Venture Partners, with his piece, Shutup and Sell: Entrepreneurs Shouldn't Discuss Religion, Politics Or Sex(ual Orientation).
In 2003, the lead singer of the country music group, The Dixie Chicks, criticized then-current President George Bush during a concert in London. The reaction among the group's American fans, who were largely political (More info...)
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Calacanis Invests In DNS Provider DynAngel investor Jason Calacanis has made another angel investment and scored another board seat this morning -- this time, all the way out in Manchester, New Hampshire. Calacanis, who lives in Santa Monica where he runs Mahalo, apparently has invested in Dyn, which operates a managed DNS and email delivery service, used by such clients as Twitter, Zappos, CNBC and Pandora. The investment came as part of a $38M, Series A fund which has been led by North Bridge, as well as Borealis Ventures. Dyn sa (More info...)
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TCVN Dangles $25,000 Cash in Survivor Pitch ContestIt looks like the annual TCVN Survivor event is heating up this year, as the group said it will be offering up a new $25,000 cash investment for startups looking to pitch their company in front of an audience. TCVN has been running its Survivor events for a number of years, with the last event being held in 2010. This year's event looks to have slightly changed the format of the event, requiring prospective entrepreneurs to fill out an application to present, and send a quick pitch video to the (More info...)
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Nimble Updates Social CRM ToolNimble, the customer relationship management software developer headed by Jon Ferrara, has updated its online, social CRM tool today, saying that it has added new features such as ways to filter and cut through the noise of online social activity, plus new task management tools to link tasks with contacts and deals. The firm also said it will be soon offering up a feature to help remind people of the last communications with a contact, and when a contact is slipping away. Nimble's new update is (More info...)
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Gravity Gets $10.6M More For Real Time PersonalizationSanta Monica startup, Gravity--headed by former MySpace COO Amit Kapur--announced this morning that it has raised $10.6M in a Series B financing round for its personalization technology. The funding was led by GRP Partners, and also included Redpoint Ventures and August Capital. Gravity develops real-time, personalized web pages based on what consumers are most interested in, serving up personalized content on everything from iPad apps to web pages. Gravity said the new funds will help it expand (More info...)
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Fandango Launches Original Video EffortIn a move into creating its own video content, Los Angeles-based Fandango, the movie ticketing and movie information site, said this morning that it plans its first ever, original video development slate. The company said its original video series will be made for Fandango, spearheaded by new Fandango Chief Correspondent Dave Karger. The company said those videos will include Fanticipation, focused on weekend box office contenders; Honored, focused on awards season; and Unsung, featuring the uns (More info...)
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Givit Gets $2.5M For Social Video AppSan Diego-based Givit, which develops social video sharing applications and services, announced this morning that it has raised $2.5M in a funding round. The new round came from ATA Ventures and JK&B Capital. According to Givit, the funding comes along with a new, free app which allows users to create and share personal videos from the iPhone. The new app includes such features as live highlighting of critical moments in live events; support for combining multiple clips; no length restrictions; (More info...)
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How TVC Aims At Acquisitions, Not IPOs, with Jeb SpencerSouthern California's technology community--despite all of the recent excitement around Silicon Beach--continues to be underserved in terms of capital, with a lack of venture capital funds (with money), and other private technology investors. One issue has been a difficulty by indigenous funds to raise their own capital from their limited partners. One of the few local funds to recently raise a fund is TVC Capital (www.tvccapital.com), which just closed TVC Capital II, a $75 million growth equit (More info...)
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The Search Agency Unveils New OfferingLos angeles-based online search marketing provider The Search Agency said it has released a new offering today, which it is calling h(SEO) (www.hseo.com). The firm said the new offering helps brands improve their brand visibility, and addresses both traditional search sites as well as social media, review sites, mobile, and niche publishers. The Search Agency called its new product a "new holistic approach to search engine optimization (SEO)".
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BeyondTrust Launches Updated Security SoftwareCarlsbad-based security software developer BeyondTrust said today that it has launched a new version of Retina Community, the free vulnerability assessment tool it acquired when it bought eEye in May. BeyondTrust said the new edition of Retina Community supports up to 256 assets, and includes such features as live feeds of vulnerability information, simplified wizards, automation support, and more. The company said that the software is being used by over 10,000 organizations worldwide. Retina Co (More info...)
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DTS Ships Products For Tensilica CoresCalabasas-based audio processing technology developer DST said today that it has started shipping two new products aimed at Tensilica's HiFi DSP cores. The firm said its audio enhancement products for the TV and PC market, Studio Sound and Premium Sound, can now be used in products using those DSP cores for audio processing. The two products were recently acquired by DTS when it acquired SRS Labs. DTS is a provider of technology used for surround sound and other audio enhancement.
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