Olmstead Williams Communications, Inc.

Tech accelerators taking off in “Silicon Beach”

Ashton Uytengsu — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:25:42 +0000

A growing number of tech accelerators (a.k.a. boot camps for tech startups) are taking root in the Los Angeles area – already coined by some, “Silicon Beach” – according to an LA Times article today. Unlike tech incubators, which originate ideas in-house, these accelerators help entrepreneurs with established visions, typically for a six-to-10 percent stake in the company and providing roughly $20,000 to $50,000 in seed funding to cover salary and other expenses, explains writer Andrea Chang. Some of the recent accelerators to emerge in L.A. include MuckerLab, Amplify, Launchpad LA and K5. They’re usually run by former tech executives and investors who use their connections and clout to prop up budding companies. Successful graduates of tech accelerators in Silicon Valley include Dropbox, Airbnb and Reddit.

Ernst & Young announces Entrepreneur of the Year finalists for Orange County

Ashton Uytengsu — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:28:54 +0000

Sixteen Orange County entrepreneurs are finalists in the local Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards for 2012. Now in its 26th year, the award program honors entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success for innovation and financial performance in their companies. More than 70 people were nominated this year, according to the OC Register.

Orange County finalists are:

Charles Dunlop, chief executive, Ambry Genetics, Irvine
Mike Morhaime, chief executive, president and co-founder, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., Irvine
Alessandro Pirozzi, owner and chef, Cucina Alessa, Newport Beach
Heidi Golledge, chief executive and president, CyberCoders, Irvine
Jonathan Ord, chief executive, DealerSocket, Inc., San Clemente
Jim McCluney, chief executive, Emulex, Costa Mesa
Bill Duehring, president, Felt Racing, LLC, Irvine
Andy Fathollahi, chief executive, Incipio, Irvine
John Raymont, founder, chief executive and president, Kurion, Inc., Irvine
Michael Manclark, chief executive, Leading Edge Aviation, Costa Mesa
Dan Merkle, chairman and chief executive, Lexipol, LLC, Aliso Viejo
Joe Kiani, chairman and chief executive, Masimo Corp., Irvine
Gary Jabara, chief executive and president,- Mobilitie, LLC, Newport Beach
Jeff Walker, president, Super D, Irvine
David Kim and Jerome Fink, co-founders and managing partners, The Bascom Group, Irvine

Market for interpreters booms in the Bay Area

Ashton Uytengsu — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:28:06 +0000

The demand for interpreting services is booming due to the increase in immigration and international business transactions, according to Monterey-based language interpretation services company Language Line Services. Language Line Services is the go-to interpretation provider for many banks, hospitals and emergency responders in the United States, where many clients do not speak English proficiently. The company currently employs more than 6,000 and plans to hire 2,000 more employees in order to staff a new one-touch mobile service, reports KCBS. The new service will allow anyone to access interpretation services with their cell phones, eliminating the need for a middle man.

Rick Caruso to Receive the 2012 Master Entrepreneur Of The Year Award for Greater Los Angeles

Ashton Uytengsu — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:30:11 +0000

Ernst & Young recently announced that Los Angeles developer and businessman Rick J. Caruso will receive the 2012 Master Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Greater Los Angeles. With this award, Caruso joins the ranks of past Master Entrepreneur of the Year winners Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Alfred E. Mann, James Power and John E. Anderson. Caruso will receive this prestigious award during the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards gala in at the Beverly Hills Hilton on June 19, 2012.

Now in its 26th year, the Entrepreneur of the Year program celebrates entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. In 2011 alone, the EOY nominees from Los Angeles employed 28,000 people and generated more than $10 billion in annual revenue.

Patient advocacy crucial in 2012

Ashton Uytengsu — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:16:48 +0000

Doctors and medical caregivers are often faced with explaining challenging diagnoses to patients, a problem that is exacerbated when patients do not speak the same language as doctors. With more than one in five U.S. citizens speaking a language other than English at home, addressing and meeting the needs to limited-English proficient patients is reaching a critical point, says Louis F. Provenzano Jr., President and CEO of Language Line Services.

A recent article by Western Pennsylvania Hospital News stated that the percentage of non-English speakers has more than doubled, expanding by 140 percent, since 1980. As a result, patients and their families continue to confront language barriers that threaten their health. The healthcare industry is currently undergoing parid change, with expanded communication for patients and families in their native languages. Thanks to companies like Language Line Services that provide instant over-the-phone interpretation services, healthcare providers are able to reach their goals more quickly.

EY announces EOY finalists in Pacific Northwest

Ashton Uytengsu — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:23:42 +0000

Ernst & Young LLP today announced the finalists for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2012 Award in the Pacific Northwest. The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Award winners will be announced at a gala on June 15 at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, Wash.

The finalists are:

Chris Ulum, Agilx Corporation, Oregon
Kamyar Moinzadeh, Airbiquity, Washington
Sunny Gupta, Apptio, Washington
Brandon Dawson, Audigy Group, Washington
Amy Tyksen, BendBroadband, Oregon
Craig Bramscher, Brammo, Oregon
Donald Howard, MD, PhD, CellNetix Pathology, Washington
Jay Haladay, Coaxis, Oregon
Marc Barros, Contour, Washington
Dave Shaffer, DePaul Industries, Oregon
Greg Enell, Double Down Interactive, Washington
Christina Lethean, Gesa Credit Union, Washington
Ocean Yuan, Grape Solar, Oregon
Josh Neblett, GreenCupboards, Washington
Sandra Green, n-Link Corporation, Oregon
Clay Siegall, PhD, Seattle Genetics, Washington
Paul Fichter, Taphandles, Washington
Darryl Rawlings, Trupanion, Washington

Report shows top languages in U.S. after Spanish

Ashton Uytengsu — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:43:53 +0000

Arabic, Mandarin and Vietnamese were the top spoken languages in the United States after Spanish between the first quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, reports standardspeaker.com.

The article, which pulled data from Language Line Services’ quarterly Interpreter Demand Index, stated that businesses, local governments, court systems, emergency services and health care agencies are increasingly relying on over-the-phone interpretation services companies such as Language Line Services to help them connect with their customers.

The trend is also reflected in local schools, where more and more nontraditional languages are being offered to students.

Demand for interpretations grows exponentially

Ashton Uytengsu — Mon, 07 May 2012 18:00:34 +0000

More than 200 languages are spoken in Southern California, and the demand for companies that offer over-the-phone interpretations is growing exponentially, reports the Los Angeles Times. Language Line Services, a Monterey, Calif.-based company with annual revenue of $300 million, is the global industry leader and the company that banks, hospitals and other industries rely on to help communicate with their customers.

According to the article, demand has surged partly due to growth of U.S. immigration over the last few decades and the recent boom in international business transactions. Language Line Services currently offers interpretation services in 170 languages and is looking to grow the company by 2,000 translators in the coming year.

CEO of Weplay speaks at Digital Hollywood Summit

Trent Freeman — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:58:02 +0000

Lane Soelberg, CEO of Weplay, speaks at the Digital Hollywood Spring Summit.

Lane Soelberg, CEO of Weplay, spoke today at the Digital Hollywood Spring Summit at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Marina del Rey, Calif. His panel session, “Twitter, Facebook & Social Media – Transforming Marketing, Transforming the World,” focused on ways social media – along with social media tracking and analytics tools – is changing the way marketers and businesses not only reach, but engage with, their target audiences.

Weplay is a fast-growing, social media platform used by 1.5 million families and over 50,000 youth sports teams nationwide to help coaches, teams, parents and their kids share information, photos and videos. Major organizations, athletes and brands have sponsored and partnered with Weplay, including CAA, Major League Baseball, Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, LeBron James, Microsoft, Gatorade, American Family Insurance, the Cartoon Network and Benadryl.

Pictured from left to right, Holly Brown, publisher and video blogger at TheBrownLounge.com; Johnny Miller, founder of Manumatix.com/Bamboo; Soelberg; and Richard Maraschi, associate partner in digital media at IBM Global Business Services.

For more photos from the event, visit our Facebook page.

Tracy Williams of OWC among ‘Women CEOs of LA’s Hottest Emerging Companies’

Trent Freeman — Thu, 03 May 2012 22:12:38 +0000

From the “Women CEOs of LA’s Hottest Emerging Companies” event hosted by Broads Circle — which brings together women in a variety of industries who share the same career and personal drivers to generate revenue and assume leadership positions — recently at the Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif.:

Pictured from left to right, Catalina Vergara, partner at O’Melveny & Myers LLP; Tracy Williams, president and CEO of Olmstead Williams Communications; Katherine Goodman, educator at High Tech-LA and co-owner of LA Sparks; Claudia Hollingsworth, CEO of i2CEO; Jennifer Sargent, CEO and co-founder of HitFix; Alli Webb, co-founder and president of Drybar; Darya Allen-Attar, founder of Broads Circle and financial advisor at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney; and Donna Gates, founder of Body Ecology.

For more photos from the event, visit our Facebook page.