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ZestFinance grabs $150M in debt financing
The LA-based online lender raised $150 million in debt financing this week, led by Fortress Investment Group. The funding will reportedly go towards the company's Bastix loan service, which provides loans to people who normally would not be able to qualify with traditional banks. [ZestFinance Lands $150 Million from Fortress Investment Group: LA Business Journal]
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Skurt rolls out at LAX, announces seed round
The new Los Angeles on-demand rental service announced a $1.3 million seed round this week. The company unveiled their rental car pickup service at LAX where they will deliver the requested car directly to the traveler. [Skurt Raises $1.3M For On-Demand Car Rentals, Starting With LAX: SoCal Tech]
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Vrse appoints new executive, closes seed round
The LA-based virtual reality content creator and distributor named former Rdio CEO Drew Larner as the company's COO. The company also finished an undisclosed seed round led by venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, talent agency William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, Live Nation, Vice Media Inc. and Legendary Pictures. [Virtual Reality Startup Vrse Lands New Executive, Seed Funding: LA Business Journal]
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Burner upgrades service, syncs with Dropbox, Slack, Evernote, and Soundcloud
The temporary phone number generator announced this week that they have linked their service with Dropbox, Slack, Evernote, and Soundcloud to make "the phone number smarter." The direct integration allows for users to create their own auto-reply bot, and share photos, information, voicemails, etc. The company also unveiled their new Burner Premium service that allows users to renew their numbers for longer. [Built In LA]
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Appetize lands nation-wide deal with Live Nation
Live Nation announced a partnership with Appetize this week, installing their POS systems in 32 of their national venues, which includes over 4,000 units. Appetize is part of The Dodger's Accelerator and is backed by Guggenheim, the Jacksonville Jaguars and San Francisco 49ers family offices, Marc Geiger of William Morris, and Roar Entertainment. [Appetize Signs Live Nation For Mobile Payments: SoCal Tech]
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Spokeo appoints new SVP & General Counsel
Spokeo, the LA-based people search engine, announced that Jason Matthes, formerly Vice President and General Counsel at Appriss, will assume the same position for their company. Matthes has over 10 years of experience providing strategic counsel for both public and privately-held software and data companies.
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FlashFunders moves past $12 million in crowd-funding
