Silicon Valley may still be the capital of technology with a mix of new (Google, Facebook) and old (Apple, HP) sprinkling the landscape. However, Silicon Valley isn’t the only place to grow technology innovators from the ground up. Los Angeles has seen its own startup scene develop with Silicon Beach, which stretches between Santa Monica and Playa Vista.
TechZulu & Gadget Review present REACH. A quarterly event series seeking to dive deep into what comes next in technology, and giving you the opportunity to experience it first hand with the gadgets on site. Experience gadgets from the big brands with million dollar budgets to the startups bootstrapping and raising via IndieGoGo.
Let’s face it, while the last couple of decades have produced amazing growth in the fields of technology, the economy however has been in a bit of a slump. Luckily, the LA Tech scene is helping to establish a new post-recession era, evidenced by SGN’s (Social Gaming Network) acquisition of San Diego-based developer Mob Science and their current projection of $50 Million for the year of 2013.
Today attention spans flicker in and out of focus every other second, so to maintain a captive audience is a huge feat. Video creators who take their YouTube business seriously have millions of viewers who tune in every week to engage with a new 3ish minute webisode. Doesn’t matter if a content creator can barely afford to pay rent, most will choose not to “sell out” in order to stay loyal to their fans. They understand without their fans, they are nothing. “People are doing it for the love, not to make money,” Larry Shapiro, Head of Talent at Full Screen.
CoinMKT has launched in public beta to make buying and selling Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies convenient. The startup aims to take advantage of the increasing use of digital, peer-to-peer currencies that let users buy or sell online instantly. CoinMKT works simply. Open an account, deposits USD or cryptocurrency into the account. The CoinMKT then becomes their trading account so that they can begin trading cryptocurrencies.
SnapMyAd is an iOS app that allows Instagram users to monetize their smartphone photos if they let brands use them in their promotional campaigns. The free iOS app connects consumers with their favorite brands on Instagram and rewards them for their best Instagram photos. Consumers have complete control over which brands they interact with, for what perk or reward and which photos they are willing to exchange for those brand perks.
El Segundo, CA based JumpStarter Inc., a crowd-powered platform that gives accredited investors access to exclusive deal flow and technology transfer opportunities has launched in beta its crowd-powered portal for startups, JumpStartFund. Helping solicit new business ideas and patents from individuals, federal research labs, universities and other R&D organizations countrywide.
On Sept. 17, entrepreneurs, investors, civic leaders and other key players in the tech industry will gather at the historic Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Calif. Their mission: to support a charity, savor the hot SoCal nightlife, and transform Los Angeles into the startup capital of the world. It’s the premiere launch of Be Great Fest (www.begreatfest.com) and TechZulu is hooking you up with 20% off the ticket price with promo code “TechZulu”.
IndieGoGo and other crowdfunding sites have been on the rise on becoming the new medium to gain capital for businesses and projects. Many new startups and small businesses are shooting to crowdfund their campaign. But some larger companies, such as Canonical, came to the crowdfunding community to help them fund projects like the Ubuntu Edge. Even if Canonical did not reach its goal, the campaign has given other larger companies to look into crowdfunding other future projects. Kate Drane, hardware category lead at IndieGoGo joins us and talks about IndieGoGo and crowdfunding.
Silicon Valley-based an entrepreneur and VC, Karl Mehta has launched Code For India (CFI) to empower the country’s citizens to actively participate in improving their communities. Themed “Think Local, Hack Global”, Code For India based in Mountain View, CA and Bangalore, India and wants to inspire millions of techies to volunteer their time and talent to give back to their communities and to the developing world.
