Report: LA Startups Raised Over $1B in 2013

See the full story and an enlarged version of the info graphic here: http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2014/01/16/report-la-startups-raised-over-1b-in-2013

As The LA Tech Scene Heats Up, Accelerator Amplify Raises $8 Million

[Philip Lelyveld comment; congratulations to Paul, Oded, and the team.]

The accelerator, which is the brainchild of Greycroft venture partner and former William Morris exec Paul Bricault, Oded Noy, Richard Wolpert and Jeff Solomon, has backed 26 companies with its first fund, resulting in 3 exits and more than $30 million in additional seed and Series A funds raised. Bricault tells me that Amplify has aimed to differentiate itself from the growing sea of accelerators in a number of ways.

First, Amplify doesn’t have set classes/semesters. The accelerator accepts applications from founders and startups on a rolling basis. This is beneficial to startups for a number of reasons, he explains. First, because development process for startups differs (i.e. enterprise vs. gaming), having a set three-month-long program doesn’t necessarily work for all companies. Another benefit to not having classes is that not every startup is fundraising at the same time, and this creates a more collegial atmosphere among founders because most of them are not competing for investors. In fact, Bricault has observed that founders tend to share information and contacts more freely when it comes to investors.

The second differentiating aspect of Amplify is not having set terms/financing for all startups joining the program. Not each startup gets the same amount of cash for the same amount of equity (i.e. $50,000 for 6 percent of the company). “Not all companies are created equally,” Bricault says. Bricault and Solomon will take into account how far along the startup is, the quality of the team, customers and more when accepting and financing a startup. And he adds that, increasingly, companies come to the program having already developed and/or launched a product, so the traditional accelerator terms don’t necessarily fit. Amplify has also brought on a CTO, a director of investments and a business development exec to help startups with raising money, marketing and more.

Bricault says this approach has paid off for the founders themselves. Out of the first 26 companies, 24 raised seed rounds over the past two years, including Stack Social, Bitium, and Battlefy. Many are raising their Series A rounds at the moment, he adds. The three exits mentioned above include Look.io to LivePerson, Shipmate to Cruiseline.com, and Kingmaker to Joyus.

See the full story here: http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/15/as-the-la-tech-scene-heats-up-accelerator-amplify-raises-8-million/

Hate Parking Tickets? Fixed Fights Them In Court For You

[Philip Lelyveld comment: this exploits an inefficiency in the manual parking ticket appeals process.  In a sense it is making money through statistical analysis - the Moneyball technique.  What other mass-market fines could be subject to this approach?]

Here’s how it works:

1. Sign-up for Fixed (currently in a small beta trial in San Francisco) and enter your credit card details.
2. Come back to your car, find a parking ticket you think was unfairly issued, take a photo of it with Fixed, and type in the violation number.
3. Fixed looks up the violation type, tells you the probability of getting that type dismissed, and prompts you to take photos as evidence.
4. If the ticket is for street cleaning, you might be prompted to take a photo of a missing street cleaning times sign. If it’s a “red curb” violation, you might be asked to photograph the faded curb paint. Fixed supplements the evidence with data like when the curb was supposed to be repainted, or whether the street was actually steep enough to warrant a “wheels not curbed” ticket.
5. Fixed prepares a “contest letter” to fight the ticket, has you digitally sign it, mails it on your behalf, and takes care of all correspondence with the court.
6. If Fixed gets your ticket dismissed, you pay it 25 percent of what the ticket would have cost. If it loses, you pay the ticket like normal but pay Fixed nothing.

Read the full story here: http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/15/fight-parking-ticket-fixed/?ncid=tcdaily

THE VERGE AWARDS: THE BEST OF CES 2014

[Philip Lelyveld comment: here's another perspective of what was hot and what was not at CES 2014.]

BEST PRESS EVENT: KAZ HIRAI AND SONY

Kaz Hirai’s CES keynote wasn’t just a list of products or an embarrassing, surreal spectacle – it was an ode to weird, ambitious technology that covered everything from cars that can see in the dark to a “Life space UX” that would replace TVs and monitors with projectors realistic enough to be windows. His speech also heralded the release of Sony’s long-awaited streaming games service and a new cloud-based blend of live TV, video on demand, and DVR service. Sony still has a lot of promises to deliver on, but Kaz made us believe, at least for an hour, that something really exciting might be coming down the line.

– Adi Robertson

BEST TV: VIZIO’S $999 4K TV

Vizio’s first consumer 4K TVs will start at just $999.99 when they ship later this year, marking a major milestone as the technology finds its way into more living rooms in 2014. We’ve seen plenty of off-brand 4K sets fall below the $1,000 mark, but Vizio’s cutthroat pricing delivered an unexpected gut punch to major competitors like Sony and Samsung. Those companies have come nowhere close to matching it, though they may rethink strategy now that the most popular TV manufacturer in the US has undercut them. The cheap 4K TV has officially arrived.

– Chris Welch

BEST PROTOTYPE: OCULUS RIFT,
CRYSTAL COVE

We loved the Oculus Rift back when it was a low-resolution prototype with virtually nothing to do but walk around a castle and spaceship. A year later, it’s still a prototype, but the Crystal Cove version announced at CES amplifies its best features and mutes its worst ones. The headset’s all-encompassing virtual reality is clearer and more detailed than ever, its head-tracking system now capable of letting you lean over ledges or peer around corners. And best of all, developers have started creating the first generation of VR worlds, including a dizzying, fast-paced space-fighting game that we’re waiting for almost as eagerly as we are the final, finished version of the Rift.

– Adi Robertson

See the full story here: http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/10/5277618/the-verge-awards-the-best-of-ces-2014?curator=MediaREDEF

What Does Big Data Look Like? Visualization Is Key for Humans

One of the most valuable means through which to make sense of big data, and thus make it more approachable to most people, is through data visualization. Data visualization is wayfinding, both literally, like the street signs that direct you to a highway, and figuratively, where colors, size, or position of abstract elements convey information. In either sense, the visual, when correctly aligned, can offer a shorter route to help guide decision making and become a tool to convey information critical in all data analysis. However, to be truly actionable, data visualizations should contain the right amount of interactivity. They have to be well designed, easy to use, understandable, meaningful, and approachable.

Author David Hoffer is Head of User Experience at Declara.

Read the full story here: http://www.wired.com/insights/2014/01/big-data-look-like-visualization-key-humans/#!

Data is Beautiful

[Phil Lelyveld comment: this is a nice short piece on basic visualization concepts.]

“Yet designers often fail to achieve a balance between form and function, creating gorgeous data visualisations which fail to serve their main purpose — to communicate information” -Friedman

See the full article here: https://medium.com/data-and-analysis/57043a7c778b?curator=MediaREDEF

NSA’s Preference for Metadata

[Phil Lelyveld comment: Although this article is about the NSA, it explains how Google and other companies can know everything about you.]

Metadata collection can answer all but one of the five “W’s” of journalism: the Who, What, Where and When. Given time, it can even respond to “Why” someone interfaces with digital information systems the way they do. It can do this because it is possible to discern patterns of behavior in metadata.

See the full story here:

Fox Bypassing Pilot Season, Says It’s a Relic

He said networks sometimes perpetuate the myth that there is only quality programming from September to May, but that that is no longer the case. ”There are advertisers that want and have money to spend in those summer months,” he said.

See the full story here: http://www.thewrap.com/fox-bypassing-pilot-season/

TROY CARTER: FIRED BY LADY GAGA AND LOVING IT

This helps explain why, as Gaga rose to fame, Carter methodically prepared to live without her. He doesn't put it that way; he speaks of diversification, of curiosity, of building a stronger business. But that's what it is. He's an investor in more than 50 startups, from Uber to Dropbox, and has elevated himself to a fixture in the tech scene, now one of the best human bridges between the complicated frenemies of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. He's ­acquired heady titles like Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow and UN Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council member. He earned a reputation as a branding genius for his work with Gaga, but like any megasuccessful ­manager, he was bolstered by her once-in-a-lifetime talent. Now that he isn't known as Gaga's manager, he's ready to be known for something else--but right now that "something else" is a patchwork of things, each promising in its own right, but not yet a revival.

Read the full story here: http://www.fastcompany.com/3024171/step-up-troy-carter?curator=MediaREDEF

More Movies at Sundance Are Sidestepping the Big Screen

The very concept of a “sale” — the old Sundance measuring stick — has shrunk along with a diminishing theatrical audience. Companies that once paid millions of dollars for the right to distribute a film will now often acquire a picture for no money down. Instead they promise to put it in front of viewers, and give the filmmaker a cut of the proceeds, if there are any.

See the full story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/13/business/media/more-movies-at-sundance-sidestepping-big-screen.html?curator=MediaREDEF