Business

Since landing in LA five years ago I’ve had countless conversations around what it takes to build a tech scene. It’s not often that one gets to see a community emerge from the ground up, but it’s happening more and more in smaller cities across the U.S. and around the world.

Groupon today launched its high-end restaurant service dubbed Groupon Reserve,aimed at helping users find finest things to eat, see, do and buy.

New York based SeedInvest, an the equity-based crowdfunding platform founded in 2012 by former professional investors Ryan Feit and James Han Friday closed $1 million in funding led by the Jumpstart New Jersey Angel Network in a move that will see them accelerate the growth of the platform and to develop new features that assist both investors and companies seeking capital.

Google challenged several global brands last year to take their most famous commercials and re-create them as digital campaigns. Execs at Google had imagined that interactive technology would open up new possibilities in advertising, so they decided to prime the pump with Project Re:Brief. The project urged advertisers to come up with ads that weren’t even thinkable, much less possible, in pre-Internet days.

Since its inception into the mainstream fabric of people’s lives, social media and the concept of social networking has gone through a rather peculiar evolutionary transition. Originally intended as an experiment in personal connections, Facebook has turned into a powerhouse platform that can be leveraged by just about any industry you can think of. From gaming, to advertising, to branding and marketing, there’s no online business plan that Facebook can’t be used for at this point.

The concept was simple; rent out an old boy scout campsite deep in the redwood forest of Northern California and give adults the chance to play and connect like kids again, sans technology. It was catchy and immediately went viral complete with a tweet from Arianna Huffington herself, coverage from CNN and Canada’s national news service. Tech bloggers spread the story with glee, and the website was tweeted and shared so much that camp sold out minutes after tickets were released. In this over-stimulated multi-screen world, a summer camp for adults to get grounded hit a collective nerve.

TechZulu is excited to invite you on July 18, 2013 at 7pm, to a fireside chat with Krishna Gupta, Partner/CEO of Sortfolio, which he recently acquired from 37Signals. Krishna will be interviewed by our very own Espree Devora, known as “the Girl who Gets it Done” and creator of SaveBusinessTime. Krishna will share his experience on “What Makes a Startup Attractive for Acquisition”

With the E3 Expo wrapping up, SGN announced early this morning the acquisition of Mob Science further expanding its game portfolio and development team. SGN is the priemere cross-platform mobile game developer founded by MySpace Co-Founder Chris DeWolfe, delivering highly entertaining and engaging titles to millions of users around the world. Mob Science will join in the ranks of prior acquisitions including Hallpass Media and Mindjolt all under the strong and successful SGN umbrella.

In an effort to foster innovation, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the Small Business Administration to launch Bixel Exchange — a technology center focused on growing L.A.’s emerging tech ecosystem — on Thursday, June 13th.

Dwolla, a payment network that allows users, either business or individuals to person to send, request and accept money to email addresses, phone numbers, Facebook friends, LinkedIn connections, Twitter followers has today announced it has integrated with Mint.com, a move that will allow users to easily track their expenses and financial accounts easily.