Membership-free, AAA alternative HONK launches with $1.8 million in funding. According to Built in LA, the Santa Monica based company “was conceived after founder Corey Brundage’s fiancée’s car broke down on the road. He arrived to help her via an Uber ride and searched for roadside service options. But, without an AAA membership or his own car to return home, Brundage grew…
LA area developers and entrepreneurs — submissions are now open for the Apple-produced show PLANET OF THE APPS, featuring judges Will.i.am, Gary Vaynerchuk, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jessica Alba. Lightspeed Venture Partners is partnering with Planet of the Apps by committing to invest a minimum of $10M into apps that are discovered on the show. Says Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed, “Planet of the…
LA Times reports today that Viacom is moving into a $400+ million, 180,000 square foot space at the corner of Sunset & Gower. The building is expected to open in 2016, and will consolidate MTV, VH1, BET, Nickelodeon, SpikeTV, and Comedy Central, which are all currently spread out from Santa Monica to Burbank. This also brings Viacom closer to their sister companies…
On Thursday December 18, Nir Eyal dropped by Cross Campus to discuss his book ‘HOOKED: How to Form Habit-Forming Products’ (buy now at Amazon) Eyal started out with a lively 15 minute preso that perfectly applies clinical psychology, in a plainspoken manner, into the buildout of a product. Technology is the cigarette of the 21st century, it’s up to us to apply…
Ahhhh, sweet juicy dataporn at its finest — 64 Pixels has been kind enough to compile a list of the top 100 celebrities who have lost the most followers since the Great Instapurge of 2014 (okay, last week). Granted, there’s no way to tell which followers leeched on like barnacles (most losses hover around the 7% range, typical), or were paid for…
Here’s a roundup of headlines from LA’s tech & entertainment scene — we’ll be posting a few actual articles during the holidays, but this gives you an idea of the diverse landscapes that uniquely intersect in the sleepy little town of Los Angeles: DOG VACAY Adds Video Clips to App (SoCalTech) 21st Century Fox Buys AdCo TRUE[X] (Tech Crunch) Celebrities Hit Hard…
The LA Dodgers And R/GA Announce Second Sports Accelerator Program Companies Focus is on Growth-Stage Companies and Strategic Business Development The Los Angeles Dodgers and R/GA Ventures are pleased to announce the five companies chosen for the second LA Dodgers Sports Accelerator. The program launches today in R/GA’s LA office. The companies include new platforms for creating real-time data, video, and highlights…
For the second year in a row, an LA-area company has graced the cover of Forbes magazine’s annual 30 Under 30 issue. Congratulations to Irvine-based OCULUS founder Palmer Luckey, whose virtual reality gear company was purchased last year by Facebook for $2 billion — not too shabby for a TWENTY-TWO YEAR OLD. In a short span of five years, Luckey went from…