Wednesday, July 17, 2013Angel Group: New SEC Rules Could Kill Angel InvestingThe Angel Capital Association, a group which represents angel investors, says this week that the changes in the final rules banning "general solicitation" of companies seeking investments from accredited investors, could "kill most angel investment in the country." Those rules--which had been hailed as making it easier for companies to raise capital from investors--apparently include rules to verify the accredited status of investors in companies. Current rules only require angel investors to "s (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, July 17, 2013(Full story)
AeroVironment Gears Up For Fight With Activist Investor GroupMonrovia-based AeroVironment released a response Wednesday to activist investor Engaged Capital, which has taken a 5 percent stake in the maker of unmanned aerial vehicles and electric charging stations. According to the WSJ, Engaged Capital has been buying AeroVironment's stock, and has been engaging in discussions with AeroVironment's management, in an attempt to boost the company's stock price. Engaged Capital is an investor based in Newport Beach. AeroVironment said it will "continue to focu (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, July 17, 2013(Full story)
Beachmint, PandoDaily Battle Over StoryIt looks like the battle between Los Angeles e-commerce startup Beachmint and technology blog PandoDaily is flaring up into a major firestorm, over the accuracy of a story posted a couple of weeks ago by the tech blog. The blog had run a story a couple of weeks ago saying that Beachmint had returned money to its investors and ejected its founders, a story which was vehementaly denied by the company.
According to the LA Times, the two are now in a "bitter fued", with Beachmint demanding a for (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, July 17, 2013(Full story)
eHarmony's Waldorf Backs Online Education Firm Grovo.comGreg Waldorf, who was the founding investor in Los Angeles-based eHarmony, and was previously its CEO, is the lead investment in an online education firm's Series A. According to Grovo.com, a New York-based provider of Internet-based training videos, Waldorf led a $5.5M Series A funding for the company this morning. The funding also included Greg Sands of Costanoa Venture and Jeff Clavier of SoftTech VC, along with Lerer Ventures, Red Swan Ventures, David Tisch, David Honig (Vision Ventures), Ka (More info...)
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Interview with Bryan Burkhart, H.Bloom
Los Angeles has always been a major market for launching products, and in the era of e-commerce has become highly attractive for its large consumer population, a technology-savvy population, and affinity for new products and services. The latest company to expand into the market is H.Bloom, a venture backed luxury floral delivery and gifts company based out of New York. H.Bloom is one of the companies backed by Los Angeles technology entrepreneur and investor Brian Lee (Shoedazzle, Legalzoom) (More info...)
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HitFix Heads To The Big Screen With Theater News DealLos Angeles-based online entertainment site HitFix, which is headed by Jen Sargent, is in a new deal today which will bring the company's entertainment news to theaters. HitFix and NCM Media Networks, which provides integrated media to consumers in U.S. movie theaters, said they are in a strategic relationship to bring entertainment news to theater screens. The content will appear on NCM's FirstLook pre-show program, those 30-second, short films show ahead of a movie in theaters. The two said th (More info...)
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H.Bloom Expands Into Los Angeles
H.Bloom, the luxury, subscription floral and gift delivery service backed by Shoedazzle's Brian Lee, is expanding into Los Angeles today, saying that it will begin offering its services starting today. H.Bloom said it will provide its luxury floral arrangements, plants, and gifts to Los Angeles, both via its subscription service, as well as with its one-time gift delivery service. The company has linked with local LA vendors Sprinkles (cupcakes), Twelve-Centimeter Bakery (macarons) and John K (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, July 17, 2013(Full story)
Path.to Shuts DownOnline job matching service Path.to, which had just launched in Los Angeles in August, is shutting down. The company, which had billed itself as the "eHarmony of jobs", was based in Florida. The company, in a blog post, blamed the shutdown for lack of a monetization strategy, difficulty in creating a two-sided market, and over-expansion into markets such as Los Angeles, among other factors.
posted on Wednesday, July 17, 2013(Full story)
Business.com Taps Experts For Content ExpansionBusiness.com is back, and it's looking for experts to bolster its content. According to Business.com today, it is seeing market experts to provide it with daily, weekly, and monthly content to bolster the site. The company said it is looking to find market experts in finance, marketing, sales, human resources, technology, and entrepreneurial areas to bolster its library of content. The new push is part of a rebirth for Business.com--which is now based in Carlsbad--after its acquisition by San Di (More info...)
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PageWoo Targets Mobile Advertising For Small Businesses
PageWoo, the mobile advertising company headed by Jason Crilly and Holden Steinberg, has rolled out a brand new product aimed at small businesses. According to PageWoo, its new NearWoo product helps small businesses identify, target, and acquire new customers, using geofencing and big data for targeting ads to those customers.
According to PageWoo, its new product can target consumers based on interests, psychographics, and buying patterns. The company said its product price ranges from fre (More info...)
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Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. Launches Mobile AppsBusinesses interested in keeping tabs on their credit profile can now use their mobile phone to keep up on their credit file, thanks to two new apps released today from Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp.. According to D&B Credibility, it has launched a mobile app called CreditReporter, which lets business owners see their credit file anytime. The Los Angeles company said the app lets businesses know of score changes and other information on their business credit. The app is available both for iO (More info...)
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Shopzilla Expands In EuropeLos Angeles-based comparison shopping site Shopzilla announced this morning that it is expanding in Europe, and has launched a new division in Europe called Aisle A. Shopzilla said the new division will focus on new media and audience targeting, offering up marketers access to its shopping intent data. Shopzilla said Aisle A will offer up display advertising across both its own shopping site (Beso, Bizrate, Shopzilla) as well as from premium partners. Shopzilla is owned by private equity firm Sy (More info...)
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On-Ramp Wireless Finds $15M In Series CSan Diego-based On-Ramp Wireless, which develops wireless technology used in the energy automation and M2M communications markets, has raised $15M in a Series C funding. According to the company, the new funding came from Enbridge, along with Third Wave Ventures and Energy Technology Ventures. On-Ramp said the new funding will go towards further commercialization of its products. On-Ramp Wireless develops wireless equipment for low-power monitoring and control, and has been targeting the oil and (More info...)
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RFaxis Starts Volume Production On RF Switch ChipIrvine-based semiconductor developer RFaxis, which develops CMOS-based, RF semiconductors, says it has gone into volume production on a new product. RFaxis said its RFX333, a single-pole triple-throw (SP3T) switch optimized for 2.4GHz Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo chips used in smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices, has gone into volume production. The chip is an alternate to more expensive, Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) chips. RFaxis did not say if it has achieved any design wins with the new compone (More info...)
posted on Wednesday, July 17, 2013(Full story)