Celebrities Love The Startup The World Has Been Waiting For: Hater App

Hater-Andrewbatey

There are haters everywhere, or at least that’s how the song goes. Lord knows I have a bunch.  That’s why Jake Banks created Los Angeles startup Hater. It’s the world’s first social network surrounded by things people hate.

The social network is alive and growing at a very quick rate. People are finding lots of commonalities over the things they hate. It can be anything from hating the New York Yankees to hating pickles on a Big Mac. It can even be hating your ex-girlfriend. But, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Batey says “It’s not about bullying”.

Hater App works on your mobile device. Download it from the app store and you can immediately start identifying the things you hate and identifying with the people who hate similar things.  If a person becomes the subject of too much hate, or things get inappropriate (to a degree) they will get filtered out.

To date there’s been nothing available like Hater, and it’s caught the eye of celebrities like Teyana Taylor, Wiz Khalifa and Fat Joe who will feature the app in his next show. “Fat Joe’s people found out about Hater and reached out to us” Batey explained to nibletz.com at TechCrunch Disrupt NY.

Hate isn’t always used as a bad thing though. Batey explains that there are celebrities that are getting together over issues like global warming and getting users to say why they hate global warming. “Users may say things like I hate global warming because I can’t breathe” Batey said. It’s a great awareness tool and it’s blowing up.

Hater launched at SXSW and since then Batey and Banks have been hard at work promoting their startup globally. They recently did New York Tech Day, TNW in Amsterdam and now TechCrunch Disrupt 2013.

“You don’t always have to like something, and the option to hate or dislike has been missing out there. Everyone has something they hate; now you can and it’s better than therapy.”  Banks said in a statement.

Mashable recently featured Hater in “8 standout apps from March” which is a particularly big honor considering how many apps were released at SXSW which fell during that month. They’ve also been featured on Wall Street Journal live.  People are quickly beginning to see that Hater app is a lot deeper than you may think.

Check out our interview with Batey below.

More from TechCrunch Disrupt here at nibletz.

DisruptVJ

Quick Concise Pitch From Realty Mogul, Eye Catching, And Prize Winning At SXSW [sxsw]

RealtyMogul,Los Angeles startup,startup,startup pitch,startup america,sxsw,sxswiRealty Mogul, a crowdfunded real estate platform and graduate of the TechStars Microsoft Azure accelerator wowed multiple audiences at last weeks SXSW Interactive festival.

We got the chance to see Realty Mogul pitch on the Startup America Live stage before the Hatch Competition. It was the intense coaching they received both in the accelerator and from their Hatch coach, that got their pitch down to almost perfect.

It also resulted in them winning the Hatch Pitch competition, and judges calling the startup “Histrionic”.

The Hatch competition was in it’s second year and narrowed down the field from over 100 applicants. It’s an intense pitch contest with startups selected getting one on one coaching from industry leaders and previous Hatch winners.

“A big piece of what pitches needs to happen is to make the audience relate. What made us successful last year was we told a story about the problem. A lot of the companies don’t engage the audience that well. When you tell a story in four minutes, it’s really hard to be concise with the message. You have to treat it like you have 30 seconds instead of four minutes. That forces you to get the message down.” Distil Inc CEO (and judge for this years Hatch competition) Rami Essaid said to SiliconHills.

When you watch the quick pitch video below you’ll understand how all this work has paid off and how it led to the Realty Mogul team winning the Hatch competition. You can find out more about Realty Mogul, here or here on their Angel List profile.

Funding Round Up Everywhere Else: batterii, Bluefields, Nomi, Club W 2/18/13

Funding news, startups, Nomi, Bluefields, Baterri, Club W, funding roundupbatterii, Cincinnati OH $2.5 Million

batteri is a “co-creation” social network software platform.  They recently raised $2.5 million dollars led by Cincinnati local private/public seed stage investor CincyTech. CincyTech contributed $500,000 to the round which included Los Angeles based investor Ken Salkin, batterii CEO Kevin Cummins and other unlisted individuals. The company reports that they have nearly a dozen clients. TechCrunch noticed that quotes from Nike, Crush Republic and ConAgra Foods were on their site. source TC

Bluefields, London England $1 Million

Bluefields is a social platform and management tool for recreational sports teams. The startup is originally from London and is an alumnus of both Seedcamp and 500 Startups. In addition to this latest one million dollar round, Bluefields just launched out of private beta.

During the private beta, TNW reports that there were over 60,000 sports teams players using the service.

Tony Hsieh’s VegasTechFund, Ballpark Ventures, Venrex, 500 startups and White Star Capital all participated in the round. Elliot Loh, Edward Wray, Christian Hernandez, Alicia Navarro, Chang Ng, Andy McLoughlin, Tim Fong, Richard Fearn, Andreas Koukorinis, Christian Lawless and Nathan Elstub all contributed as individuals.  source TNW

Nomi, New York, $3 Million

Nomi is a retail “Experience Economy” startup helping to drive engagement for loyal retail customers, rather than having to race to the bottom in price wars. The company was founded by Marc Ferrentino who was formerly the Chief Technical Architect at SalesForce.  Nomi takes relationship lessons borrowed from CRM and implements them in a real time environment that’s crucial to closing sales at retail cash registers.

Philadelphia’s First Round Capital led the $3 million dollar round with participation from Greycroft Partners, SV Angel, Forerunner Ventures, Ralph Mack, Dave Tisch, Andy Dunn (CEO, Bonobos), and Sam Decker (CEO, Mass Relevance and former CMO, Bazaarvoice).

Club W, Los Angeles $3.1M

Los Angeles based Club W claims that they are the “coolest wine club” . They are also the first company to offer a personalized and curated subscription model for wine. Their$3.1 million dollar round follows a $500,000 angel round closed this time last year. L.A’s Crosscut Ventures led the round.

“We look at wine and see a $34 billion annual market ripe for disruption,” says Adam Goldenberg, Venture Partner at Crosscut said in a statement.  “Club W has great traction and a solid model. We realize we’re taking a contrarian position on eCommerce given the prevailing attitudes among venture capitalists but we’ll continue to bet on the early movers leading great teams in markets with huge potential.” source: bizjournals.com

 

The Rise of Silicon Beach: The Disruptive LA Tech Scene

Silicon Beach, Los Angeles startups,startup,The Rise of Silicon Beach: The Disruptive LA Tech Scene

Silicon Valley is where the big boys play – a high-tech haven that attracts some of the best and brightest minds in the industry. It’s where many of the world’s largest start-ups like Google, Facebook, and Twitter all got their start. Well, what about the rest of us? We want to play, too!

There’s Silicon Alley in New York, Silicon Hills in Texas, and in Los Angeles, you’ve got Silicon Beach, a 3-mile strip stretching from Santa Monica to Venice Beach, that’s home to over 500 up and coming tech start-ups.

In 2012, the aptly named Silicon Beach ranked number two in top locations for tech start-ups, following – of course – Silicon Valley according to Bloomberg. Silicon Beach attracted $1.3 billion in venture capital funding, while Silicon Valley attracted $1.8 billion. That relatively tiny gap in numbers speaks volumes about Silicon Beach’s impact on the tech front. Eddie Park, co-founder and technical Janitor at Smilu said “Right now people still think Silicon Valley is the place to be for start-ups, when places like Los Angeles and Austin are making great strides in being relevant in the start-up world.”

There are already some noteworthy players in the mix that have made names for themselves; start-ups like Grubwithus, a social dining site that allows members to connect over dinner at a local restaurant based on their interests, which has already secured $6.6 million in funding. Docstoc has secured $4 million in funding to provide small businesses with access to free business and legal documents. Viddy, another impressive start-up, has $36 million to play with and lets people capture and share quality videos with the world. According to Scott Lee, who owns the very successful start-up, “There is no better place for a start-up than Silicon Beach”.

Additionally, there are some well-established names taking up beachfront property in this up and coming tech scene, including Hulu, Google, and eHarmony. This isn’t surprising since Silicon Beach has a unique culture that reflects the growing tech influence in the area. “Los Angeles will be a force to be reckoned with in a few years”, said Geoffrey Michener, who worked at LivingSocial in Washington, DC for several years, but, nevertheless, he was missing something. “I loved the startup mentality, but needed a real startup”, he concludes. Southern California and the Bay area are at two completely different ends of the spectrum. Joey Tamer sees the LA tech scene as an evolution. “LA is a creative hub…it is being taken seriously as a hub for technology and not just content,” says Tamer. “I think LA will become an innovation hub for content and tech”.

The climate is new and fresh here, and there’s a laid back atmosphere, making it a great place for start-ups to get in the game. “The start-up environment is getting friendlier” says Amy Smart, founder of SMARTY. Every start is difficult, so newborn companies need all the help and support they can get. Amy was aware of this fact all along. “Ideas can’t grow without feedback and critical thought…keeping it contained…wrong thing to do because your idea can’t be everything it should”.

Tonya Lafontaine, a software developer, has been in the business for 20 years and has seen an evolution among start-up companies, especially those in the IT world. “This industry is fantastic for moms and telecommuting in the IT world is huge, I’m home, my children are a mile away from me.” Modern business is based on mobile and tablet apps, while laptops are starting to become things of history. “If your business has an app for a smartphone or a tablet, that’s where everything is going… and that’s all you need”.

Like the Bay area, they also have the opportunity to recruit fresh talent from top schools like USC, UCLA, and Caltech. Each of these schools has top-notch programs, and their graduates are well prepared for start-up excellence. However, when experience is considered, we come to a complete stop. “USC and UCLA graduates just don’t have the hands on experience” says Daniel Tudo, a recruiter for technology, media and web startups, who has already worked with high growth start-ups, although he claims that Silicon Beach is “incredibly competitive marketing for technical talents”.

Speaking of talent, there are also quite a few celebrities who have endorsed tech start-ups. Kim Kardashian, for example, is the face of ShoeDazzle, which offers personal styling and a retail service that allows members to receive a pair of shoes selected by Hollywood stylists each month. There’s also Honest Company, started by Jessica Alba that gives parents access to high quality, inexpensive family products. And then, there’s BeachMint, cofounded by Josh Berman – also the co-founder of MySpace. The company uses a host of celebrities to endorse their products, including Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Justin Timberlake, and Jessica Simpson.

Besides all of the celebrity buzz, Silicon Beach also offers a chance to directly connect with the community, find mentors, and make a place in the burgeoning tech scene. Amy Smart stresses the importance of community when it comes to start-ups. “Ideas can’t grow without feedback and critical thought…share your ideas with enough people who have different ideas and experiences”.  To help facilitate connections, the Silicon Beach Festival, the first ever entertainment and tech start-up fest in LA, was held this past June.

In true start-up fest form, it included a Hackathon, Demo Day, Pitch Day, workshops, and panels. Students even had a chance to join in on the fun and pitch their ideas to win prizes. There were also big opportunities to hear from and connect with industry leaders who spoke at the event, including those from companies like Google, Ustream and Forbes. “As we transition from a manufacturing to a knowledge economy…universities are creators of knowledge and have a bigger role to play in that economy” said Fred, an engineer who has made a complete career change with his start-up. “I realized that I was more interested in the business side”, he concluded. Also, in true LA fashion, there was an entertainment panel that discussed topics like music discovery, hiring an entertainment developer, and broadcast media from those at the GRAMMYS, IMDb, and NBC.

Silicon Beach offers plenty of other methods of support and ways to get mentorship from those already successful in the industry. There are over 25 co-working spaces, like the newly started Hub in downtown Los Angeles, which covers the scene off the beach. CoLoft in Santa Monica, known as LA’s start-up hub, assists local start-ups in achieving their goals, bring them together, and even host their always sold-out Start-up Nights. “We also have numerous events, many of which are member only, and many which are not. Our most popular events are monthly meetups called Start-up Nights, and a quarterly event called Start-up Weekend LA” says Cameron Kashani Rasouli, co-founder of CoLoft, who’s been in the business since 2010. As far as the future is concerned, she is quite optimistic. “People are finally realizing that LA is a tech hotbed, and things are only looking up”. These events allow local entrepreneurs the opportunity to discuss their own projects and include an overnight mission to strategize and turn out cool new start-ups and ideas.

There are also over a dozen very popular Meetup groups for start-ups in the LA area. So support is everywhere – you just have to find it! When you think about the culture, LA certainly has its own distinct brand and value. “I love the city’s diversity and it’s youthfulness as a hub for start-ups. It’s not hard to get noticed here and founders are very friendly and collaborative” says Alex Benzer, who grew up in LA and has already built and sold his first company, before starting SocialEngine. “There’s already a strong ecosystem here in LA with basically everything you need to get your company started”. It’s all about glitz and glam and making things happen. What better place to create a start-up! There is no doubt that LA is great for hubs, entertainment start-ups, and media ventures. “It is easy to have an idea, but there’s a lot of sweat equity involved”, says Johnathan online program manager. Nevertheless, it offers a “big opportunity to market yourself in a social way”, he concludes. Silicon Beach is growing to show the other face of LA. “It has a sense of modesty, which is strange since LA is known for everything but that”, says Geoffrey Michener. Simply put, Silicon Beach is a sweet place to live life as an Internet start-up entrepreneur.

SocialNightlife, Customer Management, Engagement & Loyalty For Night Clubs

SocialNightlife,Los Angeles startup, CA startup,startup launchA Los Angeles startup a year in the making has finally launched a product that night club owners and other nightlife venues will get a lot out of. SocialNightlife is a complete platform designed to help nightclubs and other establishments keep track of their VIP’s and loyal customers.

Nightlife professionals will now have the ability to digitally check-in guest-list and VIP customers and track activity by team member, venue, event and client. Venues will also be able to setup custom promotions and reward their loyal guests as a result of the social media features built as a front-end to the professional business tool.

They already have a handful of popular night clubs on board like the famous Marquee nightclub in Las Vegas. Using the SocialNightlife platform VIPs, loyal customers and social media rockstars will be able to get into clubs quicker and their information will be utilized more efficiently providing a service to both the patron and the establishment.

“We’re breaking down physical barriers,” said Artin Nazarian, SocialNightlife’s co-founder and CEO. “Front door staff can finally put a face to the names on their list and send targeted event promotions to fans of a specific DJ or celebrity.”

Patrons have access to key features as well, that were originally released in a public beta at CES 2012 (last year)

·      Location based check ins to gain insight on frequent patrons

·      Ability to offer loyalty rewards like complimentary tickets, drinks and other VIP services

·      Instant reviews of the line queue, music quality, and venue energy level

·      Public photo gallery with advanced photo editing and hash-tagging functionality

·      Branded social media business pages

·      Performance reports for promoters and hosts such as reservations, guest check-in and sales

·      Event promotion and direct marketing tools

·      Gamification through virtual “bottle” badges  

·      Customer analytics and automated guest lists

The company has already partnered with strategic advisors and stakeholders in clubs in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Miami.

For more info visit SocialNightlife on the web here

You’ll find an amazing night life experience at the biggest startup conference in the U.S. everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference, limited tickets still available.

Styku Has Created An Online Virtual Fitting Room Using Microsoft Kinect VIDEO INTERVIEW

Styku, Los Angeles startup, startup interview, CES 2013, Eureka ParkLos Angeles startup Styku has done something rather innovative utilizing the Microsoft Kinect platform. Using four Kinect sensors, Styku has created a way to do a full body scan and create an online fitting room.

According to the company you can actually use just one Kinect at home but to get the most accurate measurements you can go to a retail partner that has their technology installed and have a body scan done. From there the magic happens.

On the back end Styku takes the body scan and matches it to a stores inventory to show you exactly what sizes they recommend for you. In shopping for clothes, size can actually be a mystery. Women and men can go into one clothing store and have one size selected and a different store which has clothing cut a little smaller or a little bigger and have a totally different size recommendation.

Styku combines the inventory and specifications from a stores entire inventory, with the exact measurements garnered from the body scan, to offer the exact fitting size.

Check out the video interview below and for more info you can visit styku.com the smart fitting room.

The grand slam of startup events continues next month in Memphis Tennessee for eveywhereelse.co The Startup Conference

Interview With LA Startup Mobile Roadie, Powering Thousands Of Apps

Mobile Roadie, Los Angeles startup,startup interviewLos Angeles startup Mobile Roadie is packed with talent and it shows. This mobile app development startup allows anyone to create a mobile app presence in just minutes. They already power over 5,000 apps and mobile websites across 40 countries. Huge brands like Harvard University, Red Bull, Cirque du Sleil, Wynn Las Vegas and even the Staples Center rely on Mobile Roadie to take them to the mobile screen, the hottest screen available in 2012.

Last May the company launched a native iPad creation platform and also a self service mobile website product. Their platform allows creators to integrate Youtube, Brightcove, Flickr, Ustream,Google News, Facebook, Twitter, RSS and more sources to bring content into apps.

The company has a presence in the US, UK, France, Spain, Australia, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Turkey, China and Japan.

We got a chance to interview Mobile Roadie, check out the interview below:

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Memphis Grizzlies Star Rudy Gay Featured In Los Angeles Startup MyStorey

Rudy Gay, Memphis Grizzlies, myStorey, LA Startup,California startup,startup

Memphis Grizzlies star forward Rudy Gay will be featured in myStorey (photo: nibletz LLC)

A new startup in Los Angeles called MyStorey is set to debut with some celebrity heavyweights in the mix, including Memphis Grizzlies star forward Rudy Gay.

myStorey is a we-commerce platform where users build online stores through the stories of their lives. They allow people the unique opportunity to tag the things in their personal photos from Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, or their blog and aggregate those tags into a shoppable store so that others can discover and shop them too. Celebrities, bloggers, brands, and even everyday people have found immense value in myStorey’s ability to transform their digital content into shopping opportunities.

myStorey worked with Rudy Gay’s social team to leverage his social media content and use it to highlight the products from his everyday life. myStorey will highlight some of the clothing and accessories that Gay wears in everyday life along with some of the luxury items that help bring his swag like his Audermars Piguet watch.

Anyone can use myStorey, whether you’re the average Joe or a trendsetter, myStorey lets you highlight the things you wear everyday and then helps people discover those items and purchase them.

Other celebrities participating at launch include:

  • US Open Surf Champion Lakey Peterson
  • Fitness guru Chalene Johnson
  • Jacksonville Jaguars Quarterback Jordan Palmer
  • Miami Marlin’s player Bryan Petersen
  • Miami Marlin’s player Logan Morrison
  • Beauty Biz CEO and expert Sumita Batra
  • HoneynSilk.com fashion blogger Stephanie Liu
  • Beachmint’s Social Media Coordinator Vaneza Pitynski

myStorey seems like a very innovative platform, and with the star power they’ve recruited in the beginning they should be in good shape for a successful launch. We got a chance to talk with the team behind myStorey, check out the interview below.

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Los Angeles Startup: Upperatus Is Making A Difference With T-Shirts INTERVIEW

Upperatus,Los Angeles startup,startups,social entrepreneurshipYesterday we brought you the story about Utah based startup HeadCase who is trying to make a social difference with their unique, premium headphones. Today we’re turning to Los Angeles and social entrepreneur Jeff Kudlishevich and his LA startup Upperatus.

Kudlishevich’s startup, with a really cool name, is taking uniquely designed t-shirts, pairing them up for social causes, injecting celebrity spokespeople and donating a portion to charity. We’re not talking about 50 cents or a dollar, no that’s all been done before. Upperatus builds in $11 of each t-shirt sold to the paired up non profit organization.

This month Upperatus has teamed up with classical singer Nathan Pacheco and artist Dan Mccauley to donate $11 per shirt sold to Save The Bay (The Santa Monica Bay for those of you keeping track).

The Upperatus site describes this month’s charity below:

The Santa Monica Bay is the centerpiece of Los Angeles’ beach culture, and the geographic center of the LA region. Stretching from Malibu to Palos Verdes, the bay is where millions of Angelenos relax and work. Because of their economic, ecological and recreational value, our waterways and the ocean are critical resources worth protecting.

  • Santa Monica Bay beaches average 45 million visits per year
  • The Bay generates more than $1 billion in visitor spending annually.
  • Tourism accounts for more than 500,000 jobs in the greater L.A. area

The population of Los Angeles has skyrocketed in the past 100 years and it’s putting a lot of pressure on our environment. In the mid 1980s, improperly treated sewage led to dead zones in the Bay and harmful water quality. Thanks to the efforts of Heal the Bay and its supporters, the EPA mandated stricter sewage treatment processes, resulting in greatly improved water quality.

Despite the amazing gains, your Bay faces ongoing challenges, from marine debris to overfishing. The good news is that you can help protect our beaches and oceans. And remember, watersheds connect you to ocean, no matter if you live on the coast or 60 miles inland.

If you haven’t noticed, with the holidays upon us we’re featuring more social entrepreneurs. Upperatus is another great way for the slacktivists to get involved, and you get a cool shirt in the process. What makes Upperatus even better is that they’re changing the shirts and the causes every month so you aren’t stuck with the same shirt and your money going to the same cause.

We got a chance to interview Kudishevich. Check out the interview below.

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Los Angeles Startup: Smarter Stand, Works For iPad Mini Too

smarterstand,ipad,iPad mini,iPad accessory,LA Startup,startups,startup newsDotan Saguy, the founder of Los Angeles startup Smarter Stand, has just written in to tell us that his unique device works for iPad Mini as well.

We reported about the Smarter Stand over the summer when it had surpassed 10x it’s funding goal on crowdfunding site Kickstarter. When all was said and done Smarter Stand received over 15x the original amount they had hoped for. The best  part, the Smarter Stand is one of the simplest little iPad accessories ever produced.

Essentially what Saguy has done, is created a clip that holds Apple’s optional smart covers in place at one of the creases. Without the Smarter Stand, the smart covers fold like an accordion of sorts. With the Smarter Stand in place, the material and hard material under the cover remains in place and the smart cover can be converted into a stand with many different angles.

When Saguy had heard about the release of the iPad Mini he couldn’t want to get his hands on one to see if the Smarter Stand would work on the smaller smart covers. He is happy to report that it does.

If you were lucky enough to get a Smarter Stand from the original Kickstarter campaign and have since bought an iPad Mini go ahead and try it out, it works great. If you just purchased an iPad Mini and a smart cover and want the Smarter Stand all you have to do is go to smarterstand.com

Linkage:

Get a Smarter Stand today at smarterstand.com

Here are more startup stories from “everywhere else”

We hope to see YOU here!

 

LA Startup FindHire Hopes To Be The Next Generation HR Software INTERVIEW

FindHire,Los Angeles startup,California startup,startup,startup interviewLos Angeles startup FindHire is hoping to be the next generation HR software. The startup, founded by Michael Dennis and Ryan Herman, blends contact management, project management and sourcing software for recruiters. Their web based solution makes it easy to access anywhere, across multiple locations or just one in home office location. The scalability and features give FindHire a serious advantage over other similar platforms.

Dennis and Herman were childhood friends. Dennis went on in recruiting and Herman got into development. They came back together as adults to create FindHire.

We asked Dennis how he came up with the idea for FindHire and he said:

“With my HR industry knowledge, I wanted to make an impact on HR technologies. With so much time-wasting software available, I realized I needed to fix this broken process and help people enjoy recruiting again. This intrigued Ryan who is a programming guru, and with this notion, we started building the next generation of HR software. Our hope is to alter the way companies hire and make the process fun and easier to manage.”

Check out the rest of our interview with Dennis below.

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Manage All Your Bookmarks, Logins & Passwords With LA Startup MySocialCloud

MySocialCloud,Los Angeles startup,LA startup,California startup,startup,startups,startup interviewOver the years browsers have become much more intuitive. All of the commercially used browsers have a keychain feature which allows you to save your logins and passwords, and even pre-populates them for you when you visit websites frequently. The problem with this current password storage method is it’s a cinch for anyone who gets access to your computer to view all of your passwords. In fact, one of the only real negatives I have with Mac’s is that they keep a similarly unsecure key chain on your hard drive as well.

There are a few startups out there that are tackling this problem with various password vaults. Most of these options keep your passwords in one spot and you need to remember the password to your vault and then look up the password by service.

Los Angeles startup MyScocialCloud is looking to streamline this process for you by storing your logins in the cloud. They make your passwords easily accessible by a browser plugin or bookmarklet. The best part is that they also keep your bookmarks organized as well. You don’t have to go searching through a password vault to find the password. MySocialCloud gives you the simplicity of a browser side or hard drive based keychain, but in the cloud, and more secure.

We got a chance to talk with Stacey Ferreira, the founder of MySocialCloud about her startup. Check out the interview below:

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L.A. Entrepreneur Launches Social Network Startup For Film Makers In Post Production

Blosmo,Los Angeles startup,California startup,startup,startups,startup interviewUnless you’re one of those award winning notorious film makers like say Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, or even Aaron Sorkin these days, it can be hard to find others to collaborate with, share feedback and share ideas.  As L.A. entrepreneur Cosmo Scharf discovered, it’s even tougher at the post production level. That’s why he created Blosmo.

Scharf, a student at the University of Southern California, decided he wanted to start a social network for film makers. As he tells us in the interview below, after collaborating with his buddy Corey, they narrowed down the social network to those in post production.

Blosmo is as much a collaboration tool as it is a social network. Right now, independent film makers don’t have many avenues for feedback, ideas and suggestions. YouTube comments, when they aren’t spam, are immature and not very helpful. Even though Vimeo has a more professional audience, the comments aren’t very useful either.

Blosmo gives their community members access to a higher level of feedback from likeminded, professional or semi professional film makers. Comments on Blosmo are incentivized through a point system where users can actually receive prizes and rewards sponsored by film companies. The points also give film makers access to discounts on gear and equipment.

Check out our complete interview with Scharf below.

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Santa Monica Startup: DocRun To Challenge Legal Zoom, And Do It Better?

If you were to hear a pitch from a legal startup that planned to offer do it yourself access to legal forms, you would immediately think of LegalZoom right? Who would enter into a space crowded by a giant like LegalZoom? That would be as asinine as pitching an online auction site for collectibles, clothing, accessories and every day junk right?

Well Santa Monica based startup DocRun is doing just that. Of course their position is that they’re going to do it better.

DocRun has positioned itself to become the site to go to when small companies, and even startups need legal documents that may otherwise cost them thousands of dollars.  When a user goes to the site they can create highly customizable, attorney level legal documents by answering a handful of relevant questions.

DocRun,Santa Monica startup,California startup,startup,startups,startup interview, legal zoom,legal startupDocRun isn’t your run of the mill startup though. The company’s founder is Jennifer Reuting a nationally known expert on small business and corporate structuring. She is the author of the book “Limited Liability Companies For Dummies”.

This is also not her first foray into web platforms for small businesses. Reuting created InCorp.com the third largest registered agent service provider in the country and MyLLC.com a business entity formation service.  Reuting has baked patent pending “artificial intelligence” into DocRun. This technology trumps LegalZoom’s one size fits all legal document service.

We got a chance to interview DocRun check out the interview below.

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