Today we bring you Plug.DJ Co-Founder & CEO, Alex Reinlieb. We discuss user acquisition, scaling issues, and get a great glimpse (and receive some invaluable lessons) into the challenges and inspiration behind Plug.DJ’s rocketship growth.
Author Archive: Tim Wut
Why do we date? To connect. To go beyond fleeting, ephemeral interactions and sharing of internet cat photos to find support, understanding, romance, etc. But what happens when we go beyond preferences to conditional? It’s an intriguing question – just what LA-based CupidRadar is hoping to answer. They operate under the premise of the chance encounter – the one run-in that could yield a deep, meaningful, long term connection.
Overall, great news for our fair city with a 25% increase in funds raised in 2013 over the year before. This last year, we saw a record high of over $1 billion raised with 200 launches and 25 successful exits which yielded $1.11 billion.
These figures, among others, indicate LA’s digital startups aren’t simply keeping pace with past years, but exceeding them.
How it works: Every time someone connects to your Karma hotspot, both you and the connecting individual get a free 100mb of data to use. You can add additional data online through your account and Wi-Fi connections are always open to encourage sharing.
It’s a compelling thought – especially when you consider the alternative: 2 year contracts, overage charges, hours of dealing with customer service reps. Ready SIM’s scenario instantly recalled memories of Inspector Gadget’s exploding messages (the cartoon of course, not the terrible live action rehash starring Matthew Broderick *shudders*).
The racy video shows a couple in an exchange of a passionate exchange – so absolutely enamored with each other that they couldn’t possibly control their actions. The video is premised by a simple statement “Where images and ads hook up.”
It’s a bit pricier ($30) compared to what I’d think is the next best competitor, the Camelback Groove, which is cheaper yes, but uses a filter that looks like a more traditional Brita (worth testing in a side-by-side I’m sure), but I’ll be completely candid when I say… I love products with a story. And you get stories when you have conversations.
Some big news for local startup Plug.DJ and their user-curated music sharing platform. By partnering with Javelin Venture Partners for their $1.25M seed round, they’ll be looking to support future product developments to grow and provide support for international growth.
We’re a long ways off from actualizing the future, but there’s definitely a lot of work being put into getting us there safely. It’s a huge eco-system of automotive, tech, and regulations; and with anything industry-concept in nature, we understand that it’s tough to give concrete examples of projects in the pipeline.
You hear the words connected car and your imagination runs wild. Unmanned vehicles, flying transporters, hyperloop capsules, and automated cars, delivered at the touch of a button. It’s the future. It’s what the Jetsons promised us. But let’s be real we’re a long ways away. Luckily though, we are taking notable steps forward.
