At one point, more than 100 investors in Los Angeles passed on Michael Whitmire's big idea: a cloud-based software that tackles the niche market of corporate accounting departments. Now, Whitmire has a unicorn on his hands.
Sherman Oaks-based SaaS company FloQast recently closed a Series D round of $110 million led by Meritech Capital, bringing the company's valuation to $1.2 billion.
📚 L.A.-based Sketchy has hired Nike's former director of product, and it added Facebook and Hasbro executives to its advisory board.
🥊 LiveXLive's first-of-its-kind boxing event "Battle of the Platforms" flopped and lost $10 million.
⚠️ A bill in Congress seeks to require critical infrastructure operators to report cyber attacks within 24 hours.
💻 About 12.6% of new job postings in Los Angeles are remote-friendly, according to Telstra Ventures.
🎶 Two-thirds of TikTok users are discovering music on the platform, according to one survey.
🌿 AltaSea and a USC professor are opening a 6,000-square-foot seaweed lab at the Port of Los Angeles.
🗳 The California recall election has drawn big money donors but Netflix CEO Reed Hastings still leads with his $3 million donation.Is There An IPO On The Horizon For FloQast?
Accounting software company FloQast has now reached a valuation to $1.2 billion, but its co-founder and CEO says a bigger play may be at hand.
Michael Whitmire says he is particularly excited to have Meritech Capital leading their Series D, as the VC firm has invested in many companies that have gone public, something that has been a goal of his for a long time.
Famous Birthdays Wants To Turn Its Data Into Dollars
Primarily financed by ads on its site, Famous Birthdays is now turning its data into dollars by opening up its beta subscription service for a wider launch this week.
Founders Who've 'Been Through the Ringer' Apply
Moonshots Capital just closed its second fund; totaling at $36 million, the seed-stage firm is aiming at early-stage tech companies. Investments average from $1.5 million to $2 million, 50% larger than Fund I.
What The Fund LA's Raina Kumra Looks For In Entrepreneurs
On this week's episode of the L.A. Venture podcast, The Fund L.A.'s new partner Raina Kumra shares some projects she's currently working on, thoughts on the future of ethical tech and some questions she likes to ask entrepreneurs.