StartUp Beat

9/28/07 – CircleUp, the Newport Beach-based provider of a service that helps users organize email and instant messages, has launched an application on Facebook.  The company says its service can now be added to any Facebook user’s profile.

CircleUp is a free messaging service that lets clubs, associations, groups and teams ask questions and gather information, decisions, links, photos and feedback to get back a single, aggregated, visual result.  The company says the CircleUp application for Facebook is designed specifically to enhance Facebook groups and groups of friends, and it allows users to organize both offline and online activities.

CircleUp was part of the DEMO 07 class earlier this year, and has garnered series A financing from Sid R. Bass Associates.

The CircleUp Facebook application is available at: apps.facebook.com/circleup.

CircleUp - www.circleup.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/28/07 – The Walt Disney Internet Group announced yesterday that it is closing its Disney-branded mobile virtual network operator service, or MVNO.  The move could have a big impact on Los Angeles-based MVNO startup Helio, as the closing of Disney Mobile leaves Helio as the only large stand-alone data-focused MVNO.

Disney says it will shift its mobile focus to a new business model that might include offering its Family Center services through a partnership with a major U.S. carrier. The Family Center suite allows users the ability to display the location of a child’s handset on a map, to limit when and how the child’s phone is used, and to set limits on expenditures in terms of voice and data.  Disney ultimately made the same shift to a carrier partnership a few years ago with its ESPN Mobile MVNO.

Attempting from the start to establish a profitable business in a difficult market, Helio has been under intense scrutiny since the bankruptcy and shutdown of fellow Los Angeles-based MVNO Amp’d Mobile.  And the news hasn’t been positive for Helio lately, as the company recently let go an undisclosed number of employees, and co-investor EarthLink recently pulled out of further investment in the company.

Helio was founded in 2005 by EarthLink founder Sky Dayton and has been backed to this point by EarthLink and South Korea’s SK Telecom.

Helio – www.helio.com

The Walt Disney Internet Group – corporate.disney.go.com/wdig

Posted by startupbeat at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/28/07 – Tarzana-based DigiContractor, maker of the iPhotoMeasure photo-measuring software, announced this week that it has raised a total of $400K in funding over the past two years, including an undisclosed amount recently that CEO and founder Paul Minor says will allow it to launch a new version of the software.

The new release will include multiple depth capability for 3-D dimensioning, according to the company.  iPhotoMeasure uses a digital camera and a target marker to allow measurements to be taken of rooms and objects from photographs.  The company says that with a click of the mouse, any distance within a picture can be measured to within 99.5 percent accuracy.

DigiContractor was founded in 2004 by Minor, a contractor and entrepreneur.

DigiContractor/iPhotoMeasure – www.iphotomeasure.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

-VentureNet happening next week – VentureNet, a one-day forum that brings together investment professionals and entrepreneurs in the Southern California area is happening next Friday.  The conference is sponsored by the Technology Council of Southern California.  More information can be found on the event’s web site: www.venturenet.org

Posted by startupbeat at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/27/07 – Santa Monica-based Zag, an online auto sales company, has raised $13.5 million in funding, led by Capricorn Investment Group.  The company says that since launching in 2005, it has now raised over $46 million in equity capital and additional acquisition debt of $21 million, for a combined total of $67 million.

The company works with brands and affinity groups, and private labels its Internet research and shopping technology that includes an exclusive nationwide network of auto dealers.  Zag says it currently serves 60 million members, primarily though deals with Capital One, USAA and thirteen AAA clubs across the U.S. 

Zag was founded by Scott Painter, founder and former CEO of CarsDirect.com.  Other investors include Global Research Partners, Capital One and Anthem Ventures.

Zag – www.zag.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/27/07 – LeisureLink, the Pasadena-based online travel marketing firm, has announced the hiring of John Hoang as vice president of finance.  The announcement follows the closing of an $8 million round of funding for the company from Clearstone Venture Partners, Group RCI and Mission Ventures.

Hoang comes to LeisureLink from DC New Media, an operator of travel web sites, and a company he founded.  Prior to that, Hoang was senior director of accounting at Overture Services, which was eventually acquired by Yahoo.

LeisureLink offers distribution, property marketing and pricing assistance services to property managers of vacation rentals, timeshares, condos and hotels.  It also offers services that connect travel agents with vacation lodging and timeshares.

The company was founded in 2002.

LeisureLink – www.leisurelink.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/27/07 – Westlake Village-based Xirrus, the provider of high-performance, long-range wi-fi products, continued its string of rollouts this week with the announcement that Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia, has deployed Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays throughout its classroom areas to support the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.  The Church has been serving as a remote campus for the Seminary for over a year.

Xirrus says the network will provide church members, seminary students and staff with a reliable, high-performing wi-fi network that is replacing a legacy wi-fi architecture at the location that could not scale to meet the increased performance and density demands the church needed for its classroom areas.

The company was founded in 2004 and is backed by U.S. Venture Partners and August Capital.

Xirrus – www.xirrus.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

-LogicalApps CEO joins Aspyra board – Aspyra, a Calabasas-based provider of clinical and diagnostic information solutions for the healthcare industry, this week announced the appointment of LogicalApps CEO Jim Zierick to its board of directors.  Irvine-based LogicalApps provides embedded governance software for enterprises.  More about the appointment: Aspyra Appoints James Zierick to Board of Directors
 

-Oversee.net and DomainSponsor plan second DOMAINfest show – Los Angeles-based Oversee.net’s DomainSponsor subsidiary has announced that it will host the second annual DOMAINfest Global event, in late January at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood.  DOMAINfest is a show for buyers, sellers and marketers of domain names, commonly know as “domainers.”  More about the event can be found at: Oversee.net’s DomainSponsor Presents Second Annual DOMAINfest Global

Posted by startupbeat at 08:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/26/07 – Various sources are reporting that Demand Media, the Santa Monica-based social media and domain holding company, has raised a whopping $100 million in series C funding led by Goldman Sachs.

This funding round brings Demand Media’s total funding to around $320 million.  Demand Media was founded in May 2006 by former MySpace.com chairman Richard Rosenblatt.  Demand and its fully-owned subsidiary eNom recently released its ME.tv domain and online video product.

The company also owns a number of web content properties, including Answerbag.com and eHow.

Demand Media – www.demandmedia.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/26/07 – Los Angeles-based PeopleJam has announced the beta launch of its new “purposeful living” video and social networking site at the DEMO07 conference in San Diego.

PeopleJam says the online destination is a vertical social media site that includes integrated tools and technology for connecting people with common values and interests.  Features include blogging tools, professional life coaches that serve as site moderators, “inspirational” video, and audio.

The company says it has signed a number of strategic content partnerships for the site, including deals with Let’s Dance Media,  Nightingale-Conant Corporation and Stream4Media.

PeopleJam was founded by CEO Matt Edelman and president Robert Tercek, whose combined experience includes stints at Hands-On Mobile, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

PeopleJam – www.peoplejam.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/25/07 – ClipBlast!, the Agoura Hills-based web video search and navigation platform, unveiled its new ClipBlast! Video Widget at the DEMOfall show yesterday.

ClipBlast! says the widget is a video search and navigation tool that resides on the desktop, enabling search, navigation, browsing and viewing of web video without having to launch a browser or visit a specific web site.  ClipBlast! says it is working with video-content providers—including MySpace, Showtime, Fox, CBS and independent producers—to create customized and branded versions of the widget.

At DEMO, taking place this week in San Diego, ClipBlast! says it is showcasing the widget on the PC and the Mac, as well as a branded video widget from a major content provider.  The company says the widget will be available for download at its web site during Q4 this year.

ClipBlast! was founded in 2004.

ClipBlast – www.clipblast.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/25/07 – Hollywood-based FastCall411 has unveiled its local search product at DEMOfall07 in San Diego.  The company says it has reinvented the consumer directory using patent-pending technology that includes artificial intelligence, voice-over-IP, open source Asterisk and parallel dialing.

FastCall411 says it is taking a radically different approach to local search, using different criteria and a different data set than the traditional search engine approach of licensing old data from the Yellow Pages and ranking merchants based on proximity.

Consumers can access FastCall411 via the web or mobile device by selecting a category and entering their zip code and call-back number.  Within seconds, the FastCall411 automated dialing application contacts as many merchants in the searched category as is necessary to connect the consumer to a relevant merchant who is both available and interested in providing the service, according to the company.

FastCall411 says the consumer also has the option of selecting a specific merchant in the category.  If the call to that merchant doesn’t result in immediate satisfaction, the user can instruct FastCall411 to “Try Another.”  The company says the application will automatically dial recommended merchants until the one available merchant is on the phone and ready to satisfy the user’s need.

The service is free for users and is underwritten by participating merchants.

FastCall411 – www.fastcall411.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/25/07 – El Segundo-based Siderean Software, a provider of relational navigation solutions, today announced the appointment of Reza M. Kazemipour as chief revenue officer.

Kazemipour brings more than 16 years of experience in corporate strategy and business development, strategic alliance relationship management and sales to Siderean.  He has held executive management positions at Fast Search & Transfer, Cerebra and IBM.

Most recently, Kazemipour served as Fast Search & Transfer’s regional vice president of sales, serving the Western region.  While at Fast, Kazemipour was tasked with growing the west coast sales organization.

Siderean’s information access platform, Seamark Navigator, uses patented relational navigation technology that allows customers to keep pace with information access requirements.

Siderean was founded in 2001, and its backers include Clearstone Venture Partners, InnoCal Venture Capital, Red Rock Ventures and BlueCrest Capital Finance, L.P.  The company raised $2.5 million in additional financing in late May.

Siderean Software – www.siderean.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/24/07 – Network World Events and Executive Forums has officially revealed the participants for its DEMOfall 07 show, the second of the bi-annual conferences based around startups debuting their new products and services.

Three companies were selected from the greater Los Angeles area—ClipBlast!, an Agoura Hills-based online video index, search and navigation platform; FastCall411, the Hollywood-based local pay-per-call listing and search company; and PeopleJam, a Los Angeles-based social networking community based on personal development.

The show, which is taking place in San Diego, begins today and lasts until Wednesday.  Conference organizers say 69 new products and services will be introduced, all carefully vetted in advance by the DEMO team.  The DEMO conferences feature a mix of technologies—everything from enterprise-class business tools for small businesses to innovations in consumer gaming consoles.

DEMOfall 07 – www.demo.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/24/07 – Los Angeles-based Stickam.com, a video streaming web site, has announced the establishment of cross-promotional ties with several major radio stations.  The company says the stations include 97.1 Free FM and 95.5 KLOS FM in Los Angeles; KMEL 106 FM, STAR 101.3 and Channel 104.9 in San Francisco; KUBE 93 and The Monkey 104.9 in Seattle; and Power 105.1 in New York, enabling each to stream a number of their exclusive events, performances and interviews on Stickam.com.

Stickam says that its “video chat” has been particularly popular with the stations.  The technology allows on-air personalities to simultaneously interact with thousands of viewers, according to the company.

Within the next few weeks, Free FM is gearing up to stream a special 4-hour event called, “The 97.1 Free FM Think Tank,” featuring radio celebrities Adam Carolla, Tom Leykis and others through Stickam; and The Monkey and KUBE are gearing up to launch their regular shows and events to an online audience through Stickam, the company says.

Stickam was founded in 2006.

Stickam – www.stickam.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/21/07 – Westwood-based Helio, the mobile virtual network operator backed by Atlanta-based EarthLink and South Korea’s SK Telecom, will get further investment up to $270 million from the Korean firm.

The investment answers significant questions about Helio’s viability in the short term, as the company recently laid off about 100 employees, and EarthLink cut almost half its staff and indicted it was cutting costs and investments.

Helio says it ended August with 130,000 subscribers, and expects to end the year with between 200,000 and 250,000 subscribers and revenue of $140-to-$170 million.  The company says it expects a full-year net loss of $340-to-$360 million.

Helio was founded in 2005 and is headed by EarthLink founder Sky Dayton. 

Helio – www.helio.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/21/07 – FastCall411, a Hollywood-based local pay-per-call listing and search company, announced this week it has appointed Gordon Henry, Milton Olin and Mark Canon to its advisory board.  The company will unveil its local search product next week at the DEMOfall 07 show in San Diego.

Henry is the chief marketing officer for Yellow Book USA, and brings 24 years of directory industry expertise to the company, while Olin, founding partner of the Los Angeles law firm Altschul & Olin, contributes nearly three decades of experience.  Canon, senior vice president and chief product officer of Autobytel, is the founder of one of largest and most influential directory sites, Switchboard.com.

The three new appointments will join the two current members of the advisory board—Briggs Ferguson, former CEO of Citysearch, and Stuart MacFarlane, managing director of Momentum Venture Management.

FastCall411 was founded earlier this year.

FastCall411 – www.fastcall411.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/20/07 – Los Angeles-based Ripe Digital Entertainment has announced that it will bring programming from its three unique online networks, RipeTV, OctaneTV, and FlowTV, to Joost, the UK-based Internet television service.

RipeTV, which advertises itself as the “premier men's network in the on-demand, broadband and mobile world” offers short-form programs on its three primary channels.  Ripe’s OctaneTV and FlowTV channels are focused on motor sports and hip-hop music.

Joost provides a full-screen audiovisual service that it claims is the first online, global TV distribution platform that brings together advertisers, content owners and viewers in an interactive environment.

Ripe Digital Entertainment – www.ripedigital.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/20/07 – Fonality, the CulverCity-based open-source IP telephony company, has announced that more than 2,500 customers with 53,000 phones in 50 countries have adopted its award winning business phone system, PBXtra, using it to place more than 130 million voice-over-IP and traditional calls.  PBXtra is Fonality’s professional phone system offering that is designed to be purchased, installed and managed by non-technical professionals.

Fonality uses a hybrid-hosted technology based on the open-source Asterisk telephony software.  The PBXtra product has the ability to support branch offices, as well as mobile and home-based workers.  The offering recently won the PC Magazine Editors’ Choice award in a recent roundup of phone systems, beating out competitors like Huntsville, Ala.-based Digium, and Ottawa, Canada-based TalkSwitch.

Out of the box, Fonality says the three flavors of PBXtra—Standard, PBXtra Professional and PBXtra Call Center support voice-over-IP calling, advanced auto-attendant features, telecommuters, branch offices, drag-and-drop call control, conferencing and intra-office intercom.

The company also offers trixbox, an open-platform phone system targeted at resellers and advanced users.

Fonality - www.fonality.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/19/07 – Westlake Village-based Row 44 and Alaska Airlines have announced plans to launch inflight wireless Internet service.  Row 44’s satellite-based broadband connectivity will be tested by the airline on a Boeing 737 aircraft in spring 2008 and, contingent upon a positive outcome of the trial, Alaska Airlines says it plans to eventually equip its entire 114-aircraft fleet.

Row 44 says its technology will provide an entertainment and business network in the air for Alaska passengers with wi-fi-enabled devices, such as laptops, PDAs, smartphones and portable gaming systems.  The company says its air-to-ground, satellite-based system is designed to function over land, water and across international borders, enabling service throughout the airline's route system in Alaska, the lower 48 states, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico.

Customers connect to the system through wireless hotspots installed inside the aircraft cabin, enabled by a light-weight radome mounted on top of the aircraft that houses an antenna, which receives and transmits signals, according to Row 44.

Alaska and Row 44 say they’ve been working together for two years to bring a successful and cost-efficient inflight broadband solution to the fleet.

Row 44 has been privately funded to this point.

Row 44 – www.row44.com

More on Row 44:  Row44 Hopes to Bring ‘True’ Broadband to Air Travel

Posted by startupbeat at 07:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/19/07 – Los Angeles-based security software developer CyberDefender has partnered with Quatrro, an India-based business process outsourcing solution provider.  The companies say the partnership will enable CyberDefender to ensure a high level of support for customers experiencing technical issues with their security software.

CyberDefender says its customers will be able to connect to Quatrro’s technical support services, called Qresolve, 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week.  Through the partnership, the company will be offering support for customers’ tech problems, no matter where the customer is and no matter what make of PC or product the consumer has.  In addition, Cyberdefender says that it will offer subscription-based complete PC technical support and anti-malware PC protection, in addition to support for CyberDefender’s service.

The company was founded in 2003.  Investors include ARC Investment Partners, ITU Ventures, Oceana Partners and Centrecourt Asset Management.

CyberDefender - www.cyberdefender.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

9/19/07 – Xirrus, the Westlake Village-based provider of high-performance, long-range wi-fi products, has announced that Connexus, an online marketing firm, has selected the wi-fi provider for its company-wide wi-fi deployment.  Xirrus says the initial deployment at Connexus’ offices in Mountain View, Calif. is complete, with the wi-fi rollout continuing at its El Segundo and New York locations.  The companies say the Xirrus solution is replacing a thin access point and controller set up that provided limited performance and connectivity for Connexus’ mobile workers throughout their office areas and conference rooms.

Xirrus was founded in 2004 by former Xircom executives and is backed by U.S. Venture Partners and August Capital.

Xirrus – www.xirrus.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/18/07 – Bid4Spots, the Encino-based online auction of radio ad time, says it held its first auction in the United Kingdom last Thursday, marking the official launch of the company’s international business.

Bid4Spots is run in the UK by Auction Media, an event auction service provider.  Paul Mitchard, previously the head of commercial scheduling for broadcaster GCap Media, manages operations, according to the company.

The Bid4Spots site employs “reverse” auctions that allow radio stations to compete for advertisers and bid ad rates down.  It launched in 2005 for terrestrial radio stations and advertisers in the US, and has since expanded to cover Internet radio as well.  In June, the company announced a partnership with eBay to offer radio ad auctions through eBay’s Media Marketplace.  

Bid4Spots was founded by radio ad veteran Dave Newmark, CEO of Newmark Advertising, also based in Encino.

Bid4Spots – www.bid4spots.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/18/07 – The team at Santa Monica-based TagWorld has announced that the company will now be called Social Project, and has partnered with Viacom and MTV to power a new, yet-to-be launched social media project, called Flux.

According to the company’s blog, Flux will be an open platform that will allow web sites and bloggers to add “community tools” to sites—sort of a MySpace on the open Internet. 

The team also says that the impetus behind creating Social Project and moving away from TagWorld’s traditional social networking approach was a desire to explore a “disaggregated model.”

MTV Networks already has a stake in TagWorld/Social Project through an investment in the company made back in January. 

Social Project – www.socialproject.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/18/07 – WiSpry, the Irvine-based fabless semiconductor company that develops low-cost, high-performance radio frequency micro-electro-mechanical systems for the wireless industry, has announced the appointment of Mark Becker as CFO.  Becker brings over 20 years experience in the semiconductor industry to the company.

Becker previously served as interim CFO for both Telasic Communications in El Segundo and u-Nav Microelectronics in Irvine.  He has also served as vice president and CFO for Transdimension, Inc., in Irvine, and Jazz Semiconductor, based in Newport Beach.

WiSpry designs and markets radio frequency silicon-integrated circuits, components, and modules to RF system manufacturers of mobile phones, laptops and mobile data communications products.  Investors in the company include American River Ventures, Blueprint Ventures, Hotung Capital Management, L Capital Partners, Shepherd Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Sid R. Bass Associates and The Tech Coast Angels.

WiSpry – www.wispry.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/17/07 – Passenger, the Los Angeles-based provider of on-demand software that creates private brand communities for company collaboration with customers, today named Steve Howe, former executive at Atlanta-based Internet service provider EarthLink, as chief operating officer.  Passenger says Howe will oversee strategic planning, business development, sales and finance, day-to-day operations, and will spearhead the company’s New York expansion while evaluating additional growth opportunities.

Howe served as senior vice president of EarthLink’s voice business and managed the national rollout of EarthLink’s voice products.  Before joining EarthLink, Howe was an associate principal at McKinsey & Company, where he was a leader in the North American growth practice and North American service operations practice.

Passenger develops software-as-a-service that enables brands and customers to collaborate within the social context of a private online community. 

Passenger – www.thinkpassenger.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/14/07 – The X PRIZE Foundation, based in Santa Monica, announced yesterday the formation of the Google Lunar X PRIZE, a joint project with Google that is, in essence, a robotic race to the Moon with a $30 million prize purse for the winner.  XPRIZE and Google say that private companies from around the world will compete to land a privately-funded robotic rover on the Moon that must be capable of completing several mission objectives, including roaming the lunar surface for at least 500 meters and sending video, images and data back to Earth.

The announcement, which was made at the WIRED NextFest conference at the L.A. Convention Center, certainly lived up to its lead-up, which hinted that the prize would be the largest ever offered for an international competition. 

XPRIZE says the $30 million prize purse is segmented into a $20 million grand prize, a $5 million second prize and $5 million in bonus prizes.  To win the grand prize, a team must successfully soft land a privately-funded spacecraft on the Moon, rove on the lunar surface for a minimum of 500 meters, and transmit a specific set of video, images and data back to Earth.

The grand prize is $20 million until December 31, 2012, and thereafter will drop to $15 million until December 31, 2014, at which point the competition will be terminated unless extended by Google and X PRIZE.  To win the second prize, a team must land its spacecraft on the Moon, rove and transmit data back to Earth, according to XPRIZE.  Second place will be available until December 31, 2014.

XPRIZE will also award bonus prizes for successful completion of additional mission tasks such as roving longer distances, imaging man made artifacts, discovering water ice and surviving through a frigid lunar night.  The competing spacecraft will be equipped with high-definition video and still cameras, and will send images and data to Earth, which XPRIZE says the public will be able to view on the Google Lunar X PRIZE web site.

XPRIZE creates and manages prizes focused on using technology to solve challenges in areas like space, travel and genomics.  It was probably best known to this point for its $10 million Ansari XPRIZE, which resulted in the world’s first private vehicle to fly into space twice within two weeks.

Google Lunar X PRIZE – www.googlelunarxprize.org

XPRIZE – www.xprize.com

Google – www.google.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/14/07 – Pasadena-based Desktop Factory, an IdeaLab startup that develops lower-cost desktop 3D printers, today announced that the company will begin accepting reservations for its forthcoming printer, the Desktop Factory 125ci.

The company is now taking a 10 percent deposit of $495 for the first 1,000 reservation orders placed via the company’s web site.  With the introduction of the Desktop Factory 3D printer, priced at $4,995, Desktop Factory says its intention is to bring 3D printing to the masses.

In addition to the price, Desktop Factory is touting the printer’s user-friendliness.  The company says it can be plugged into standard wall outlets, is fully network compatible, requires no special ventilation and uses an inexpensive halogen light source and drum printing technology to build its robust parts layer by layer using low-cost composite plastic powder.

Desktop Factory was founded in 2004. 

Desktop Factory – www.desktopfactory.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/13/07 – Los Angeles-based online video web site Revver, one of the first video sharing services that included advertising for content creators and sharers, has  announced that it has paid out more than a million dollars in advertising revenue. 

Revver says most video creators use the site as an outlet to support their work or to bring in extra money.  The company matches every video uploaded, whether professional or amateur, with an advertisement, then splits the ad revenue 50/50 with the video’s creator and shares twenty percent off the top with the video’s distributor.

The company launched the “1.0” version of its site in September, 2006 and says that by screening submissions and not accepting copyright-infringing content, Revver has been able to create a performance-based advertising system and an open and effective marketplace for online video.

Revver was founded in 2004.

Revver – www.revver.com

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9/13/07 – LogicalApps, the Irvine-based provider of embedded governance software for enterprises, has appointed three new executives in product management and sales to its management team.

Michele Shannon, who previously headed-up product management and technical sales at Websense, has been appointed vice president of product management; Max Hill, who brings sales management experience at Oracle Corporation to the company, assumes the duties of vice president of sales in the Western Region; and Peter MacPherson, who formerly ran SAP’s insurance vertical for the U.S. market, has been named vice president of sales for the Eastern Region.

The company was founded in 2000 and its investors include Sequoia Capital and Mission Ventures.

LogicalApps - www.logicalapps.com

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9/13/07 – Foothill Ranch-based Aristos Logic, which produces RAID storage solutions, has announced the appointment of Young K. Sohn as the non-executive chairman of its board of directors.  Sohn, current CEO of Westlake Village-based Inphi, brings more than 25 years of industry experience to Aristos Logic’s board.

Besides serving as CEO of Inphi, Sohn serves on the boards of several private companies.  He is also a senior advisor to Panorama Capital.

Aristos Logic supplies RAID building blocks to the data storage industry.  The company pioneered multi-protocol RAID Storage Processor technology and has delivered software and silicon solutions based on the RSP technology.  It is backed by Panorama Capital, TPG Ventures, Woodside Fund, Quicksilver Ventures and Infineon Technologies AG.

Inphi designs and develops integrated circuits for processing high-speed digital data in computing and communications systems.

Aristos Logic – www.aristoslogic.com

Inphi – www.inphi-corp.com

Posted by startupbeat at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/12/07 – Oversee.net, the Los Angeles-based online marketing and domain name solutions company, today announced that Stacey M. Peterson has been hired as CFO.  The company says she will report directly to co-founder and CEO Lawrence Ng.

Peterson brings more than 20 years of experience in financial and operations management to Oversee, coming to the company from Internet Brands, where she was CFO.

Peterson also previously served as CFO, secretary and senior vice president at TTM Technologies, a publicly traded high-tech manufacturing company. 

Earlier this year, Oversee.net was ranked as the third fastest growing private business in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal, and received the 2007 “Internet and New Media Company of the Year” award from the Technology Council of Southern California.  In addition, CEO and co-founder Ng was named a winner of the 2007 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Greater Los Angeles program in the technology category.

Oversee offers marketing services in vertical markets, including mortgages and travel through its sites Low.com and Lowfares.com.  In the domain management sector, the company owns DomainSponsor, which enables the monetization of Internet domains, and SnapNames, which makes expired and deleting domain names available for purchase.

The company was founded in 2000 and now counts more than 200 employees working out of its downtown L.A. headquarters and offices in Portland, Oregon, and San Mateo, Calif. 

Oversee.net – www.oversee.net

Posted by startupbeat at 07:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/12/07 – Pathmark Stores has announced that it will work with Pasadena-based Evolution Robotics Retail, a division of robotic technology company Evolution Robotics, and IBM to deploy the LaneHawk Visual Scanning Solution in 10 stores to combat “bottom-of-basket” loss.  Evolution Robotics Retail’s LaneHawk uses a patented visual pattern recognition technology to detect, identify and present bottom-of-basket items directly to the point of sale, enabling cashiers to add those items directly to the transaction.

Pathmark, which runs 142 stores located primarily in the New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, says its locations will begin implementation of LaneHawk this month.

The companies say that IBM Global Technology Services, an Evolution Robotics Retail partner, helped Pathmark integrate LaneHawk into its current IT environment. 

In addition to LaneHawk, Evolution Robotics says it is also working on projects like ViPR, a vision solution that gives electronic devices the ability to detect and recognize complex visual patterns; NorthStar, a low cost localization solution that enables mobile robots to intelligently navigate within indoor settings using a proprietary micro-GPS system; vSLAM, a vision-based navigation solution that lets robots autonomously build a map of their location and keep track of where they are based on what they see; and ERSP, a software development platform for robotics that includes tools for ViPR, vSLAM and the Evolution Robotics software architecture.

The company is an IdeaLab startup.

Evolution Robotics Retail – www.evoretail.com

Evolution Robotics – www.evolution.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/12/07 – Westlake Village-based Xirrus, the provider of high-performance, long-range wi-fi products, added to its steady stream of wi-fi network deployment announcements yesterday.  This time the company says that the International Telecommunication Union has purchased Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays, Management System and Security Modules for deployment throughout the International Conference Centre Geneva to support a worldwide conference expected to attract more than 2,000 participants next month.

Xirrus says the network was designed by Wireless LAN Source, Xirrus’ European reseller partner.  Preparation and installation of the network is currently being carried out in preparation for the conference, according to Xirrus.

The company was founded in 2004 and is backed by U.S. Venture Partners and August Capital.

Xirrus – www.xirrus.com

Posted by startupbeat at 07:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/11/07 – The XPRIZE Foundation, based in Santa Monica, will announce a new innovation competition this week that it says will include the largest international prize ever offered.  The Foundation is probably best known for its $10 million Ansari X PRIZE which resulted in the world’s first private vehicle to fly into space twice within two weeks.  XPRIZE creates and manages prizes focused on using technology to solve challenges in areas like space, travel and genomics.

The announcement, scheduled to happen on Thursday at the WIRED NextFest at the L.A. Convention Center, will be made by the new prize’s sponsor, a well-known Fortune 500 company, according to XPRIZE.

More to come about this later in the week.

XPRIZE – www.xprize.org

Posted by startupbeat at 08:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/11/07 – Following on the heels of its agreement with Blinkx.com, Beverly Hills-based Vuguru has announced the signing of a number of distribution deals with new media destinations including digital media platforms like MySpace and YouTube for Prom Queen: Summer Heat, the spin-off of the Emmy-nominated broadband series Prom Queen.  Vuguru, founded by Michael Eisner, is owned by Eisner’s Tornante Company.

Vuguru says it has reached deals for the Prom Queen sequel with Bebo, MySpace, YouTube, Veoh, Verizon Wireless V CAST Video, Imeem and Revver.  The company says it also has a deal in place with VideoEgg, which uses video overlay technology that is used as a content distribution method, as well as with Starstyle.com, an e-commerce site for TV shows and other entertainment properties. 

New episodes of Prom Queen: Summer Heat are being delivered in 15 two-minute episodes throughout August and September on the various different platforms.

Tornante also holds ownership stakes in Veoh and Team Baby Entertainment.

Vuguru – www.vuguru.com

The Tornante Company – www.tornante.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/11/07 – Twistbox Entertainment, a mobile entertainment company based in Sherman Oaks, has closed a $19.5 million round of funding led by an affiliate of ValueAct Capital.

Twistbox CEO Ian Aaron says the funds will be used to drive the launch of new products and for expansion of its direct-to-consumer marketing efforts.

The company also announced that Graeme Ferguson has joined its board of directors.  Ferguson is a mobile industry veteran who formerly headed up programming for Vodafone Global.

Twistbox says it has distribution agreements with more than 100 mobile operators in 40 countries, and provides its entertainment to more than 1.1 billion subscribers worldwide through games, WAP sites and mobile TV channels.  The company was formed last year by the combination of WAAT Media and Charismatix, and raised $12.75 million in funding at that time, led by Spark Capital.

Twistbox Entertainment – www.twistbox.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/10/07 – Los Angeles-based LeadPoint, an online leads exchange marketplace, today launched a credit card debt voice leads exchange, what it calls a first for the lead generation industry.  The voice leads exchange allows buyers to purchase leads generated from sources like television, radio, print and verified call center hot transfers.

The company says that for existing credit card debt counseling and management firms who already generate inbound calls, the exchange enables better monetization of consumers from states they do not service and from their advertising spend during times of excess call supply by routing calls to LeadPoint.  For publishers and advertisers, the voice exchange enables those with media buying experience across TV, radio, and print to rapidly enter the growing debt counseling and management industry, according to LeadPoint.

LeadPoint currently operates in numerous verticals including consumer lending, consumer credit, education, automotive lending and business services.  Founded in 2004, the company now claims to have traded more than 2 million leads.  Its investors include Redpoint Ventures and European Founders Fund.

LeadPoint – www.leadpoint.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/10/07 – Fonality, the CulverCity-based open-source IP telephony company, has announced that it will soon begin shipping its trixbox Pro telephony appliance with its trixbox Pro commercial software.  The appliance previously only shipped with the company’s trixbox Community Edition software.

Fonality says that the new product configuration will allow for simpler, faster deployments in the small-and-medium sized business market for trixbox and Asterisk resellers, as well as IT professionals.

The trixbox Pro software has been deployed more than 2,100 times in 70 countries since its launch in August, according to the company.

The Appliance, priced at $999, delivers 80 times the storage and 10 times the capacity of similarly-priced solid-state appliances on the market today, according to Fonality.  Trixbox serves as Fonality’s version of the open source Asterisk telephony platform.  The trixbox appliance is targeted primarily to the technology reseller community.

Fonality – www.fonality.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/7/07 – VantageILM, the Pasadena-based provider of lender and leasing management solutions, today announced the addition of Shawn Keller to its management team as director of product management.

Prior to joining the company, Keller was director of product development at AMC Mortgage Services.  VantageILM says that in this new role, Keller will oversee overall quality assurance and integration processes with strategic partners.

As part of the announcement, VantageILM founder and CEO Robert Yuan said the company plans to more than double in size in the coming year.  VantageILM, which raised its first round of outside financing in June, has built an on-demand, integrated load and lease management software platform for finance firms, banks, leasing companies and credit unions. 

The company is backed by Giant Step Angel Network, the Pasadena Angels and Stonnington Capital Partners LP.

VantageILM – www.vantageilm.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/7/07 – Echo Park-based MusicPlusTV.com, a web-based video broadcast and production company, has announced the debut of a new interactive sports betting talk show, called “Tony T’s Sports Bets.”  The show will star Tony T, a professional sports handicapping professional, who will provide analysis of the college and NFL football season, according to MusicPlusTV.

The show debuts today at 2 p.m. Pacific time, on MusicPlusTV.com’s flagship content channel, found on its web site.  The show will also repeat as a stream the following Saturdays and Sundays at 9 a.m. Pacific time, or on-demand off of Tony T’s MusicPlusTV profile: MusicPlusTV.com/TonyT.

MusicPlusTV, founded in 2003 by entrepreneurs Marc Cubas and Dennis Tzeng, created what is in essence an online television network—complete with studios the company built for original content production.  The company offers a live 24-hour programming stream, on-demand programming and social networking features in the form of customizable profile pages that include free space for 100 files each of videos, photos and audio.

MusicPlusTV – www.musicplustv.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/6/07 – Santa Monica-based Jacked, an online publishing platform designed to operate simultaneously with TV programming, has closed a $6.5 million initial round of funding from Provenance Ventures, Core Capital Partners and Gabriel Venture Partners.  The company also inked a deal with NBC to power NBCSports.com Play Action, which is an online in-game application that will accompany the network’s broadcasts of the 2007 Notre Dame football season.

The company was founded by former American Greetings Mobile chief Bryan Biniak.  Its platform is a mixture of online applications with a library of information, media, game, commerce and advertising spots, which allows users to interact with shows through information like statistics, photos, player information, play-by-play, chat and news.

Jacked – www.jacked.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/6/07 – Irvine-based Integrien, the provider of integrity management solutions for businesses, has announced that it has seen a 360 percent year-over-year revenue increase in the first half of 2007.  Integrien’s flagship Alive product enables the predictable operation of mission critical applications by providing the intelligence needed to prevent problems from affecting business services.

In addition to its revenue growth, Integrien expanded its executive team, customer base and partnerships this year.  The company also released Alive 5.6 in May, a new version of the software that the company says benefits from current investments in IBM Tivoli and provides users with insight into how the performance of IT systems impact business services.

Integrien was founded in 2001, and is backed by Clearstone Venture Partners and Acartha Group.

Integrien – www.integrien.com

*Editor's Note: Integrien is a StartUp Beat sponsor.  Site sponsors support StartUp Beat through advertising, and have no input into or influence on StartUp Beat’s editorial content.  More about StartUp Beat’s sponsorship program: www.startupbeat.com/aboutsponsors.

Posted by startupbeat at 08:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/6/07 – Zag, a Santa Monica-based online auto sales company, has raised $13.5 million in funding, according to VentureWire and other sources.  Investors included Capricorn Management, Anthem Venture Partners, Arcturus Capital, Capital One Financial Corp. and GRP Partners.

Zag was founded by Scott Painter, founder and former CEO of CarsDirect.com.

Zag – www.zag.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/6/07 – Central Desktop, the Pasadena-based developer of a web-based collaborative platform for small-to-medium sized businesses, has passed the 60,000 users mark and says it expects 800 percent growth by years end.

Central Desktop says its service levels the playing field for small and mid-size companies that do business with enterprise partners and customers. Its web-based collaboration tools, all accessible from a single workspace, allow teams to connect, share and collaborate on business activities seamlessly and inexpensively, according to Central Desktop.

The company was founded in 2005 by CEO Isaac Garcia and CTO Arnulf Hsu.  

Central Desktop – www.centraldesktop.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/5/07 – El Segundo-based Ripple, which delivers hyper-local content on flat screen panels in public locations, has launched a new interactive feature that allows people to post public messages on digital screens located in stores throughout their neighborhood.  Called “ShoutOuts,” Ripple says the service will debut in Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Tully’s Coffee on the West Coast and across the Southwest.

Ripple says ShoutOuts, which cost one dollar per message, will launch in additional locations across the Ripple network later this year.  The service is available to consumers through a special web site (http://shoutouts.rippletv.com), where messages can be scheduled.  After creating a message, and choosing when and where they want it to appear, users can customize it by choosing a background and font.  The service also allows users to send the intended message recipient a “heads-up” email.

Ripple has built a network of television screens in public locations throughout Washington, California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii, which the company says now consists of more than 500 locations.  Distribution partners include Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Tully’s Coffee, Jack in the Box, Jiffy Lube, CBS Outdoor, Arden Realty, Kilroy Realty and G&L Realty.  Media partners include ESPN, Reuters, E! Entertainment, Yahoo!, CBS and Clear Channel. 

In July, Ripple closed a $10 million series B round of funding led by investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Trinity Ventures.  The company was founded in 2004.

Ripple – www.rippletv.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/5/07 – MusicIP, the Monrovia-based digital music discovery and recommendations web site, today announced that Andrew Stess has been named CEO, replacing Matthew Dunn, who has served in the position since May of 2005.  The company says Stess will also serve on its board of directors.  MusicIP has developed music matching technology that defines relationships between sets of music based on acoustic traits and characteristics.

Stess comes to MusicIP after a four year stint with All Media Guide as vice president, consumer electronics.  Prior to AMG, Stess served as director of sales and business development for online music and technology company Liquid Audio.  Stess also currently serves on the board of directors for LyricFind, a search engine for full text lyrics.

Founded in 2000, MusicIP is backed by J. L. Albright Venture Partners.

MusicIP – www.musicip.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/5/07 – Westlake Village-based Xirrus continues to broaden its range of wi-fi network deployments, this time at the Amelia Island Plantation Resort in Florida.  Xirrus, which has recently deployed its Wi-Fi Array networks at a spate of school sites, says its latest network will allow the resort to offer high-performance wireless connectivity to guests and hotel staff throughout the property’s conference facility, spa and cafe areas.

Amelia Island Plantation is a AAA-Four Diamond resort located on Amelia Island, Florida, 29 miles north of Jacksonville International Airport.

Earlier this month, the company made news by deploying a wi-fi network in a temporary school facility in tornado-ravaged Greensburg, Kansas.  Xirrus was founded in 2004 and is backed by investors that include U.S. Venture Partners and August Capital.

Xirrus – www.xirrus.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/4/07 – Westlake Village-based Inphi, which designs and develops integrated circuits for processing high-speed digital data in computing and communications systems, is now offering a company-produced podcast.  Inphi says the initial podcast, the first of several the company plans for the remainder of the year, is immediately available for download at its web site and iTunes, and features information on Inphi's GigaTrack family of commercial “track-and-hold” devices for ultra-wideband applications.

Inphi was founded in late 2000 and is backed by investors that include Tallwood Venture Capital, Mayfield Fund and Walden International. 

Inphi Corporation – www.inphi-corp.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

9/4/07 – The mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, business quickly became one of the biggest stories in the Southern California startup community back in 2005 with the launch of perhaps the two most prominent MVNOs, both based in Los Angeles—Helio and Amp’d Mobile.  In terms of significance, consider that before its bankruptcy, Amp’d Mobile had raised approximately $360 million dollars in venture capital investment, rivaling any other recent startup.  And Helio, the MVNO entry backed by EarthLink and SK Telecom, has raised a ton of money from its investors in order to establish a strong foothold in the U.S. mobile market.  Add to the mix Disney Mobile, not exactly a startup, but run out of Disney headquarters in Burbank, and MVNOs, with their mobile entertainment focus, clearly adopted the Los Angeles area as the place to make a go at the yet-unproven business.

In a nutshell, MVNOs lease the basic phone and data capacity from network operators like Verizon Wireless, adding content, specialized devices and other value-added features to the basic service as a package.  The model has claimed some high profile entrants, including ESPN’s mobile service and most recently, Amp’d, which filed for bankruptcy and subsequently shut down. 

Amp’d Mobile’s bankruptcy has added even more fuel to the argument that the model is too difficult to sustain.  On top of that, the news last week that Helio has laid off up to 100 employees has not helped to diminish the negative prognostications.  Helio, like Amp’d Mobile, is focused on a young demographic.  But unlike Amp’d, which offered service through pre-existing phones, Helio has had some success with unique devices like its Ocean and Fin phones.  It also became clear soon after its chapter 11 filing that Amp’d was ultimately doomed by bad collections practices and perhaps just overspending in general.  Helio, on the surface at least, seems to be on more solid footing, even though financial reports from investors EarthLink and SK Telecom indicate the company is losing considerable cash.

Avi Greengart, a mobile phone industry expert and analyst at Current Analysis, has written a piece about the MVNO business for RCR Wireless News that may help bring some perspective to the situation: Analyst Angle: MVNO Handset Strategy.  He gives Helio points for building its business around a handset strategy, but also emphasizes that it needs to establish a stronger brand identity.

Whether or not Helio can not only survive but thrive is yet to be seen, but its handset-centric strategy, experienced management and big backers may just be the formula for success that has eluded others to this point.  On the other hand, many were saying the same about Amp’d before its implosion.

Helio – www.helio.com

Current Analysis – www.currentanalysis.com

Posted by startupbeat at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)