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DogVacay, the fast-growing dog sitting online marketplace, has just raised $25 million in Series B1 funding. DogVacay operates in the United States and Canada and will be using this latest investment to expand to Europe. In total, the company has now raised $47 million. The round was led by OMERS Ventures, and the startup will use that firms international offices to begin their expansion. Started less than two-years ago, DogVacay has over 65 employees and just in the last six months has doubled its total bookings from 500,000 to over 1 million. The company also indicated interest in branching out from dog sitting to other pet services like day care, walking, boarding, training and grooming. [DogVacay fuels its European expansion with a $25M investment: Built In LA]
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Will Ferrell’s Funny or Die website is exploring a possible sale for between $100 million to $300 million, after receiving several unsolicited sales offers. The site, which launched in 2007, got its start with “The Landlord,” a video showing behind-on-rent Will Ferrell being verbally and physically abused by a rent seeking baby. Today that video has almost 82 million views, and Funny or Die has expanded to include other acts like Zach Galifianakis’ “Between Two Ferns” interview series. In a memo to employees CEO Dick Glover said: “We are NOT trying to sell Funny or Die, but we thought it wise to engage some experts to help us evaluate the situation. In the meantime, if any of you mistakenly receive a briefcase full of cash, please bring it to my office immediately.” [Will Ferrell’s Funny Or Die Seeks Serious Money in Sale: Bloomberg]
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Pasadena-based Central Desktop, maker of project management and collaboration software, was bought by PGi, a web conferencing and collaboration software company. The acquisition amount was undisclosed. Central Desktop said it has more than 500,000 users and projected annual revenue run rate of approximately $9 million. By buying Central Desktop, PGi believes it will be able to offer a more comprehensive suite of collaboration software. PGi said it provides its current collaborative software to over 75 percent of Fortune 500 companies. [PGi acquisition of Central Desktop signals industry shift to unified collaboration: Press Release]
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Fullscreen expanded its video empire with the purchase of Austin-based Rooster Teeth. The amount of the sale was undisclosed. Rooster Teeth is known for 'Red vs. Blue,' an online show crafted around characters from the Halo video game series. Its YouTube MCN has nearly 8 million subscribers and its website RoosterTeeth.com boasts about 1.75 million members. In addition to getting Rooster Teeth’s audience, Fullscreen will get the brand’s other revenue streams, including music sales, merchandise, video games and live events like RTX (Rooster Teeth Expo), which attracted more than 30,000 people in its 3rd year. [LA MCN Fullscreen buys Rooster Teeth to expand its YouTube empire: Built In LA]
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Amplify LA graduate FloQast raised $1.3 million in seed funding to make closing the books at the end of the month easier. Funding was closed in June, but only recently made public. FloQast merges independent parts of the accounting process into one spot and automates the reconciliation process. The SaaS platform currently plugs into several accounting software programs including QuickBooks, NetSuite, and Intaact. The software is ideal for departments with three accountants and up. CEO Mike Whitmire said the company has plans to expand beyond month-end book closing to other parts of the accounting process. [Amplify LA graduate FloQast raises $1.3M to make month-end book closing easier: Built In LA]
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Elon Musk must be getting bored as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX because he is now working to launch a fleet of about 700 Internet providing satellites. The venture, which Musk said in a Tweet is “Early Stage,” is being pursued with former Google executive and WorldVu Satellites founder Greg Wyler. The satellites will each weigh less than 250 pounds, making them lighter than any commercial satellite in current use. WorldVu owns and plans to use certain parts of the radio spectrum to provide Internet access. Wyler was until September part of Google’s efforts to provide Internet access via satellites. Google is also trying to provide Internet via high altitude weather balloons. Meanwhile, Facebook is trying to increase Internet access through large and high altitude solar powered drones. [Is Elon Musk building a fleet of communications satellites: Built In LA]
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FilmTrack, whose software simplifies the complex process of managing and making money from intellectual property, has just received a $10 million Series B round, and has bought music licensing software company Dashbox for an undisclosed amount. The Dashbox acquisition will expand FilmTrack’s footprint into the digital music rights business. FilmTrack’s core prodcuts help Hollywood studios with large libraries of content keep straight complex royalties and contract rules. More than 200 companies use FilmTrack’s software to manage their intellectual property. The Dashbox database includes titles from over 130 distributors of production music and sound effects and represents over four million compositions and sound recordings. [FilmTrack raises $10M & buys Dashbox to manage Hollywood's content libraries: Built In LA]
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