Author Archive: Efren Toscano

Exciting times in the Southern California tech community. K5Launch announced a new accelerator program that provides promising technology startups with a three-month intensive accelerator program for entrepreneurs in Southern California. K5 aims to create a network of support and mentorship along with access to capital where people can build on creative ideas with the help of successful business people, and connect with investors to get their concepts off the ground.

Can you feel it folks? Cause I can. Excited to announce MuckerLab, a new startup accelerator and member of the TechStars Network, launched today in L.A. It’s a three-month program providing its selected startups with $21,000 in seed funding, plus the typical incubator benefits like shared office space, legal assistance, infrastructure and hosting, and mentorship from a network of advisors.

After months of submissions and the amazing help from our judges, the Spotlight is shinning down on awesome companies that were born right out of Southern California. For those who still might be wondering what Spotlight: LA Tech is all about, It’s a screening room for new technology homegrown in our region. It’s a gallery of great entrepreneurship. It’s a toast to those who build and innovate. It’s a gathering of friends and tech enthusiasts of all stripes.

CapLinked, the online platform for private investment funded by members of the “PayPal Mafia”—announced that it is launching a worldwide pitch competition for entrepreneurs to present their business ideas to a panel of all-star judges from Idealab, Rincon, Rapidfire, and Actarus. Company founders and aspiring entrepreneurs of all-stripes are welcome to submit their plans for a chance at fame and glory, as well as international exposure for their company.

3D Movies, 3D Printing, 3D Televisions, 3DS, our entire screen world is turning 3D and now its time for your mobile screen to get in on the fun. LG 4G Thrill is one of the first mobile devices in the United States to have 3D viewing capabilities without the glasses.  It was first introduced earlier this year at CTIA where LG announced that the 4G Thrill was going to be available on AT&T for $99.99.  Over the past few weeks I’ve been carrying the LG Thrill 4G around everywhere.

That’s right folks Idealab is hosting a job fair at their offices for 10 of their startups companies. They are looking for coders, roboticist, marketing managers, and community managers, to fill the areas of their Green Tech, Social Media, Big Data, and Enterprise companies. If you are a super star your pretty much guaranteed to find a job here ;)

That’s right Startup Angelinos! If you thought that the startup community here was starting picking up, well its about to get a boost from The Startup Foundation. Startup Weekend, a global grassroots network of entrepreneurs and leaders, announced an initiative in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation that will lead to the creation of vibrant startup communities in cities across the nation. Called the Startup Foundation, the program is a grassroots initiative that helps cities build and establish ecosystems that will support more high-growth entrepreneurs, startups, and ultimately, jobs.

The Spotlight: LA Tech Fall is garnering some excellent companies being submitted and most of which I wish could all be part of this amazing night. To help curate and show off the best that LA has to offer we called in a few friends. So with out further ado I present the Spotlight: LA Tech Fall 2011 Judges!

Busy taking classes and studying all night? Have an idea for a startup but afraid you don’t have time to work on it? Well tuff, these fine young folks currently attending the University of Southern California surely didn’t think so. Not only did they start a company but they have taken as far as attending and pitching at one of the most prestigious conferences known in the startup world, DEMO.

How would like to edit your videos from any device or browser?  Better yet, how would you like to have multiple contributors and all be able to collaborate on a video editing project in the cloud?  I know I would and now can with recently launched cloud video editor WeVideo. WeVideo offers up a powerful Flash-based video…continue reading.