The Annual TechZulu Startup Forecast is one of our most anticipated events. It’s about as close as you can get to a macro-level crystal ball for the tech industry, expressed through a rapidfire string of insights from the minds of some of tech’s biggest investors, founders, and gamechangers.
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.
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.
Every day, 1000’s of new bright-eyed and bushy tailed companies sprout from depths of start-up soil. Some are formed in incubators, and some are the results of a few cocktails and some ink on a napkin. Others come from angry laid-off executives, and even some stem from the optimistic naiveté of college and high school students. Like a song on the radio, we never quite know how some blow up and become chart topping billion-dollar organizations while others – even crowd favorites – simply bang, pop and fizzle; never to be heard from again.
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*).
Your executive summary is essentially the cover letter to your business plan: its goal is to get the reader to check out your business plan and, hopefully, to set up a meeting. Think of your executive summary as the halfway point between your elevator pitch and your business plan—you have about 2 pages (give or take) to communicate your value proposition and get you to the next stop on your startup journey.
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.
Prior to joining Science, Monahan was co-founder and CEO AlphaBoost, a Facebook advertising reporting software builder. He also co-founded The Comotion Group, which was acquired by Sharethrough and was previously advisor to Wildfire, which Google acquired for $350M.
Digital Family Reunion is exactly what its name implies – a reunion of digital executives young and old who have helped shape Southern California into a leading hub for entrepreneurs. This year’s event returns to its original home at the Skirball Cultural Center on Wednesday, December 11 from 6-10pm. Register with TechZulu promo code DFR54 for a discount here.
