know that this will sound like a random post topic for startup advice but I promise it’s relevant.  You When I started blogging I had an idea.  I I would take all of the one-on-one conversations that I have with entrepreneurs from the things I’ve learned and just write them up for anybody to read.  This File this under entrepreneurial advice I

But, in running it now for the second half of January, the keyword that popped to the top was: Layoffs And this is definitely a sign of the times. When I drill down on that term, you can see why with posts like: Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Lops A Third Of Company THQ Lays Off 100 Employees, Closes San Diego Office Citrix Cuts 10 Percent; Santa Barbara Hit And it's also interesting to see what geographies are being associated with "Layoffs" more often than others: Layoffs Woodland Hills Layoffs San Diego Layoffs Santa Monica Layoffs Los Angeles I guess

For our Insights & Opinions section today, Cathy Ashbaugh, President of Pacific Shore Resources, a local recruiting firm, gives some well timed advice on how to handle a layoff: As The stock market is showing progress these past few weeks, local start-ups are beginning to see an increase in VC funding and SoCal technology firms are hiring. Chances are that someone you know--friend, As we enter into the second quarter of 2009 we are beginning to see small signs of hope and improvement in the economy.

This is part of my series on How to Raise VC but could equally be filed under Startup Advice more generally. He started the call by telling me he had exciting news.  He had 2 weeks’ cash left in the bank and was facing massive layoffs or potentially bankruptcy. Handling PR with VCs I

Van Natta said that MySpace's size had become "unsustainable," and instead, the firm needs to operate "as a nimble and entrepreneurial company with the adaptive mentality of a start-up." READ MORE>> ...Tags: Tags: myspace employee jobs layoff employmen Los Angeles-based MySpace has chopped 30 percent of the firm's staff, saying Tuesday that the company is laying of 30 percent of its employees, or 400 people. According to a widely released memo from CEO Owen Van Natta, the moves were made "for the long-term health" of the company, and will cut the number of employees

By the way, I would never tell a CEO to do everything they can to avoid layoffs.  Layoffs can hurt a culture, or it can help it – it depends on how they’re handled, and the unique situation of the company.  In fact, I’m often suggesting CEOs consider layoffs before they’re ready to accept the necessity themselves, because lots of companies, especially startups, tend to overhire and have too many people anyway.  Alexander Kjerulf is a great writer, and I recommend you check out his blog .  I’ve included a sample here of his last post (“The

By the way, I would never tell a CEO to do everything they can to avoid layoffs.  Layoffs can hurt a culture, or it can help it – it depends on how they’re handled, and the unique situation of the company.  In fact, I’m often suggesting CEOs consider layoffs before they’re ready to accept the necessity themselves, because lots of companies, especially startups, tend to overhire and have too many people anyway.  Alexander Kjerulf is a great writer, and I recommend you check out his blog .  I’ve included a sample here of his last post (”The

By the way, I would never tell a CEO to do everything they can to avoid layoffs.  Layoffs can hurt a culture, or it can help it – it depends on how they’re handled, and the unique situation of the company.  In fact, I’m often suggesting CEOs consider layoffs before they’re ready to accept the necessity themselves, because lots of companies, especially startups, tend to overhire and have too many people anyway.  Alexander Kjerulf is a great writer, and I recommend you check out his blog .  I’ve included a sample here of his last post (”The

By the way, I would never tell a CEO to do everything they can to avoid layoffs.  Layoffs can hurt a culture, or it can help it - it depends on how they’re handled, and the unique situation of the company.  In fact, I’m often suggesting CEOs consider layoffs before they’re ready to accept the necessity themselves, because lots of companies, especially startups, tend to overhire and have too many people anyway.  Alexander Kjerulf is a great writer, and I recommend you check out his blog .  I’ve included a sample here of his last post (”The

That doesn't mean they're not working, however: mining the PricewaterhouseCoopers/NVCA MoneyTree report, we find that Luxtera has scored $26.75M in funding, Kaai , a stealth LED startup from LED experts Shuji Nakamura and Stephen DenBaars has pulled in another $5M , Siimpel raises $8.78M for its MEMS camera technology , and Aquea Scientific has quietly raised $10.95M for UVA/UVB sunscreen that you can just wash on in the shower. In In our Friday Southern California technology news roundup: The The economy continues to be in the news this week, as Broadcom is cutting 200