Tuesday, December 4, 2012Insights and Opinions: 5 "Don'ts" for Raising Startup Funds
What are some of the things you ought to avoid when raising money for your startup? David Ehrenberg or Early Growth Financial Services shares some in this article for our Insights and Opinions section this afternoon.
Of course there are a lot of things you need to do when you're trying to raise money for your startup. But there are also a lot of things you want to avoid. If you’ve landed a meeting with a potential investor, you don't want to blow it! Avoid the following 5 “don'ts� (More info...)
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Cleantech Investor SAIL Capital Adds EPA ExpertIrvine-based clean technology investor SAIL Capital has added a former US Environmental Protection Agency expert to its advisory board. SAIL said it has added Paul Anastas, Ph.D., the former
Assistant Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency for Research and Development, to its advisory board, which helps advise the firm on investments. Anastas served in both the Clinton and G.W. Bush Administrations, serving in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and is now on the fac (More info...)
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Venture Backed Restaurant,The Melt, Expands Into LAHow often do you run into a top tier, Silicon Valley-backed grilled cheese sandwich shop in LA? Well, visitors to Hollywood's Sunset and Vine are about to see just that, with the expansion of The Melt, a Silicon Valley, venture-backed grilled cheese shop founded by Flip video CEO Jonathan Kaplan. The Melt apparently is opening up a new location in Hollywood, as it expands beyond its roots in San Francisco. The Melt is venture backed by top tier Silicon Valley firm Sequoia Capital, which is quite (More info...)
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ServiceNow's Slootman Backs ScaleIOFrank Slootman, the CEO of San Diego's ServiceNow, has made an investment in a developer of data storage products. According to ScaleIO, a Palo Alto developer of software-defined storage products, it raised $12M in a funding round, which came from Greylock IL Partners, Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), and private investors, including Slootman. ServiceNow named Slootman as its CEO in 2011, as it began ramping up for its IPO, which happened in June of 2012. Slootman also had served at Greylock, EM (More info...)
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Shopatron Gets $4M In Venture Debt FundingShopatron, the San Luis Obispo-based e-commerce software and services firm headed by Ed Stevens, has just scored $4M in a venture debt financing, according to venture debt fund Multiplier Capital. According to Multiplier, the funding will go toward's Shopatron's domestic market expansion. Shopatron is a provider of service which lets manufacturers and multi-channel retailers accept online orders. The firm's software differs from most e-commerce products in that fulfillment of those products come (More info...)
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Ebyline Launches New Service For PublishersLos Angeles-based Ebyline, the online marketplace which connects publishers with freelance journalists, has rolled out a new offering today, which it says can help publishers produce their own, custom news feeds. The service, called Ebyline News Desk, allows publishers to create their own, custom feeds of original content. Pricing on the new product was not disclosed. Ebyline, which is headed by Bill Momary, said the new service looks to fill the game that traditional wire services have been una (More info...)
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Report: Fisker Automotive Seeks Strategic PartnerAnaheim-based electric vehicle developer Fisker Automotive is seeking a strategic partner, as it looks to work its way out of its recent troubles, according to a report this week. In an interview with TheDetroitBureau, which covers the automotive industry, CEO Henrik Fisker said that Fisker is "actively engaged in conversations with potential strategic partners." Fisker Automotive had has a far-from-smooth launch, with battery recalls and issues, less-than-stellar reviews on its Fisker Karma, an (More info...)
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Sonos Adds Chinese Music ServiceSanta Barbara-based Sonos, the developer of whole-home, Internet-connected music systems, has inked a partnership deal with one of the largest digital music providers in China. Sonos said that the partnership with QQ Music, a subsidiary of Tencent, will bring cloud music from QQ Music to Sonos devices. Sonos said QQ Music users can log into the service from the Sonos Controller app, letting them listen to favorite songs and playlists from Sonos systems. Financial details of the link were not dis (More info...)
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Supperking Launches To Bring Together People Around Home Cooked MealsHave you ever been in a new city, and wish you could get to know your neighbors and the locals better? A new startup, launching today, called SupperKing, is looking to help with that, by bringing together friends and neighbors over home cooked meals, via a new, peer-to-peer marketplace. The Los Angeles startup--founded by Kai Stubble--said this morning that it has launched its i Phone app, which lets people host other people at their homes to share food. The app allows people to host their own m (More info...)
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ThisNext's Glossi Launches Public BetaGlossi, an online magazine publishing tool being developed by Santa Monica-based ThisNext, has its debut today, aimed at letting users built and publish their own visual magazines. The new service lets users organize and lay out heavily visual, online magazines. The new magazines includes content from Lucky Magazine, Liv Magazine, BeachMint, as well as individuals.
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Younity Launches Mobile Storage Service Into BetaDo you wish you could share all of your music, videos, photos, and other files across your iPad, iPhone, laptop, and desktop? A new service, Younity, launched this morning to do just that. The startup, which is launching out of the MuckerLab accelerator, said its service lets users have a single file system across all of their devices, providing free access across iOS devices, Mac OS X, and Windows, with Linux and Android support coming soon. The service comes out of Entangled Media, which is he (More info...)
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Warner Launches Multiplayer GameBurbank-based Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today that it has launched a new multiplayer online battle game, Guardians of Middle-earth, in conjunction with film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The firm said the game runs on Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360, and lets user pit teams of characters from The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings films against each other in multiplayer battle. Warner said it developed the title at Monolith Products, a game studio it runs in Kirkland, (More info...)
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Websense Debuts New Cloud-based Security ToolSan Diego-based Websense, the developer of cyber security tools, said today that it has debuted a new, cloud-based cybersecurity product called ACE in the Cloud. The firm said the new tool provides cloud-based security, providing real-time threat analysis and security, and integrates with traditional proxy gateways and firewalls. Websense said the cloud-based tool checks for web page content, active scripts, exploit code, obfuscated commands, web redirects, files, PDFs and executables. Pricing o (More info...)
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Broadcom Aims Designs At 3G SmartphonesIrvine-based Broadcom said this morning that it has released a portfolio of turnkey designs, aimed at developing 3G smartphones. The new designs include single-, dual-, and new quad-core platforms tied to cellular baseband, RFIC, and PMUs. The new designs are designed to allow OEMs to create new entry level smartphones, and include designs specifically aimed at creating Android phones, and optimized for Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Broadcom said the platforms are sampling to its early access partners (More info...)
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PeriOptix Acquired By DenMatEscondido-based PeriOptix, a provider of magnification and illumination devices for the dental and medical industry, has been acquired by Santa Maria-based DenMat, the firms said today. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. PeriOptix develops illuminated loups, headlights, and other products used in the medical industry.
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