He has a really interesting background as a product manager and now an entrepreneur. Tell me a bit about your background. Like many product managers, my background is fairly eclectic. That's where I learned I enjoyed interacting with customers and working with development teams to build and launch products. From there, I became the first non-founder employee at an e-commerce startup called BITSource, which was the first electronic software distributor delivering electronic volume software licenses to corporations. Visible networking is turning into a really great opportunity to get to know people better, get to meet new people, and have some interesting conversations.

The firm, which develops optical interconnects, is a Caltech spinoff. The firm's products currently include a optoelectronic cable which allows for data transmission of up to 40 Gbps; the firm also recently inked a contract with Sun Microsystems and DARPA to develop chip-to-chip optical interconnects, using CMOS processes. Tags: interconnect venture capital luxtera caltech optical semiconducto Carlsbad-based Luxtera appears to have raised $26.75M in another venture round, according to this week's PricewaterhouseCoopers/NVCA MoneyTree report. No details on the funding have

Azusa-based CFX Battery , the stealthy Caltech battery spinoff, said today that it has renamed itself Contour Energy , and emerged out of stealth mode. Contour Energy said it is developing advancements in fluorine-based battery chemistries, nanomaterials science, and manufacturing processes, and is targeted at portable power products. in funding from CMEA Capital, Harris & Harris, Schlumberger and US Venture Partners--said The firm--fresh off $14.2M As part of the announcement, the firm said it has also scored two technology transfer contracts with NASA.

Thursday, April 30, 2009 -- Caltech Executive Education: Accelerating New Product Development. See [link] (mor

Tuesday, May 12, 2009 -- Caltech Executive Education: Taking Technology Products to Market. See [link] (mor

Pasadena-based FastSoft , the Caltech spinout developing Internet acceleration devices, disclosed earlier this week that it has rolled out a new product. Pricing on the new product was not released. FastSoft is venture backed by Miramar Venture Partners, Caltech, and angel investors. The firm said its new E Series EX accelerator now supports 10Gbps throughput, and accelerates TCP traffic 2 to 5 times. The firm said it is targeting hosting, SaaS, social network, content distribution networks, and cloud computing companies with the hardware.

Monday, February 9, 2009 -- Caltech Executive Education: Strategic Marketing of Technology Products. Attend this 3-day course to learn how to gain market advantage and become better positioned to grow. See [link] (mor

Thursday, February 12, 2009 -- Caltech Executive Education: Taking Technology Products to Market. Attend this 2 day course to learn how to provide customers with crystal-clear product positioning, meaningful branding, and carefully timed launch strategies. Stand out in your competitive marketplace. See [link] (mor

Monday, February 23, 2009 -- Caltech Executive Education: Technology Strategy for RandD and Product Development. Attend this 2 day course and learn how to manage technology investments through technology roadmaps. See [link] (mor

Andrea Belz, a long-time member of the Pasadena Angels, a local consultant and one of the brightest people I know (a CalTech PhD–what more can you say).  Have you spoken with anyone that might be an end user of the product and lived in their world for a day? Tags: General Product/Technology Sales & Marketing Andrea Belz Technology Transfer University Commercializatio From time to time we have posts from local members of the startup community that provide some great advice from a different perspective. Today’s post is from Dr.