We’ve all heard of or participated in weekend hackathon events, like Startup Weekend or #Hackfest. They’re always an absolute blast and never disappoint. If you have yet to engage in one I must highly recommend that you do. You’ll get to network and meet new people, learn new skills, and build rocking products in a weekends’ time.
I am a raving fan of AppSumo.com. NOT just because they have the best deals on web based business tools. NOT because the founder of the company has an established credibility working for both Facebook and MINT when those companies were in infancy.
Brandon Hance, Founder and CEO of Los Angeles based GoodThreads, went through college as a student athlete playing football for USC while studying business. Soon into college realized that he didn’t want a career as a professional athlete and instead quickly caught the entrepreneur/startup bug. That little bug took Brandon for an exciting ride in the world of business.
Mike Jones may be known for his most recent role as CEO of MySpace, but this Internet entrepreneur is no stranger to the startup world. He’s had multiple exits (his company Userplane sold to AOL for nearly $40 million and Tsavo Media drew a cool $75 million from Cyberplex) and also advises private startups
So you have a startup idea, perhaps some level of execution or traction, but you or your co-founders are doing it blind; you trudge along with a little advice or knowledge you’ve picked up in torrented audio books after finally having made that decision to quit the 9-5. You continue to build your venture as lean as possible and hit a personal make it or break it point with a couple of unsuccessful investor meetings and very little guidance. So what’s the next step? You have faith in your idea and your company but the littlest things are occupying the biggest blocks of your time and you feel like you’re getting tunnel vision.
Today marks another great day for the Los Angeles startup scene as Hello Music, a portfolio company of the Elevator Labs, has reached a major membership milestone – 100,000 active members. This is a monumental milestone for the musician-focused marketplace. The company was founded in 2010 and has since been on the rise offering a digital marketplace full of opportunities for musicians all around the world. In 2011 Hello Music became the fastest growing musician-focused company in the U.S thanks the to 42% month-over-month growth.
Today marks another great day for the LA startup community as one of the city’s prominent mentoring programs, Launchpad LA, received VC funding – for each startup. Every startup selected and entering into the program will be awarded $50,000 in VC funding, mentoring, and free office space in Santa Monica area within walking distance of the Third Street Promenade.
Everyday we take notes in someway or form. You may make a mental note of what you need to pick up from the store. When you’re sitting in class or meetings, you’re taking notes to further absorb and reference later. Or maybe you have an amazing idea for the next big thing. We use notes as a way of reminding ourselves of things. Granted paper and pencil work, but if you’re anything like myself or most people I know, you’ve got those kinds of notes everywhere. Fetchnotes looks to solve that problem. And their right on track to do so.
Thinking about applying to or ever wondered what its like taking part of an accelerator or incubation program? Well now is your chance to find out thanks to upStart.LA. The Santa Monica based startup accelerator, is inviting Los Angeles tech entrepreneurs for an evening of discussion highlighted by a panel of startup founders that have received funding from leading accelerators and incubators on Thursday, Nov. 10th from 7pm to 9pm at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (SMCA). The event will feature a panel of some of SoCal’s brightest entrepreneurs who have received funding from TechStars, Y Combinator, 500 Startups, and Idealab and will be moderated by upStart.LA’s Co-Founder, Dan Dato.
Many thanks to everyone who participated in last night’s Spotlight: LA Tech at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. In addition to the 330+ students, entrepreneurs and investors in attendance, the event also achieved over 45,000 views on the TechZulu live stream. If you missed it, or simply want to relive the moment, check out the rebroadcast above.
