LAUNCH
Newport Beach-based Beeya, a search engine that aggregates job postings from other sites, has released a match score that uses artificial intelligence to pair prospective employees with the best opportunities based on their skillset and work history.
Chief Executive Ladan Davia said the matching feature has been in development for over three years, and makes Beeya the only job platform that uses AI to intelligently recommend jobs.
She added, “Your résumé is screened, and instantly matched to jobs.”
Since its launch, the platform has generated 87% organic growth. Sign-ups have gone up 30% since the matching feature went live a few weeks ago. The company also plans to ramp up marketing efforts in the near future.
Beeya is paid by other job posting websites for generating traffic and engaged users—members who are actively applying for jobs through the platform. The company is also testing another means of monetization by leasing its algorithm to an undisclosed global hospitality company based in Orange County.
Beeya has raised over $400,000 in seed funding. The company has six employees, and will seek office space in Irvine in the near future.
Davia is a Chapman University graduate, and was a nominee this year for the Business Journal’s Women in Business Awards. Her uncle is Masimo Chief Executive Joe Kiani.
Irvine’s CloutHub has launched the first phase of its social media app on Apple and Android devices. The social network includes a public forum and newsroom. The company plans to add streaming and a video gallery next month.
CloutHub will also introduce groups and hubs for businesses and civic services, including a function that will allow members to write to their representatives at the local and national level.
Founder Jeff Brain, who has an extensive background in civic leadership, said the platform was designed as a healthy alternative to sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, with the aim to promote meaningful engagement and serving people in the digital world.
The platform prioritizes privacy—meaning it does not collect user data—and free speech. It serves individual users, content creators and groups. The app has organic growth, and the company expects more with the launch of its desktop platform later this month.
CloutHub is based at the EvoNexus Orange County incubator, and has six employees. The team also works with Senior Tech Consultant Unni Krishnan and Ravi Narasimhan, an adviser and director of product management at Google.
The company is currently seeking funds from angel investors and venture capital firms.
PARTNERSHIPS
Event ticketing and insurance upstart Protecht Inc. in Newport Beach teamed up with Charlotte, N.C.-based TicketReturn to provide consumer ticket insurance.
Along with insurance services for consumers who can’t attend an event, Protecht’s FanShield product gives event organizers insight into their ticket inventory, and effectiveness of their customer service and marketing messages through real-time data and analytics.
“The diverse array of client venues that TicketReturn serves allows us to interact with new fans across a vast footprint and bring peace of mind and the option to protect their ticket purchases and experiences,” said Casey Callinsky, president and chief business officer of Protecht.
TicketReturn’s client base includes sports and entertainment venues.
The partnership is one of several that Protecht established this year; others include Irvine-based Paciolan and Philadelphia-based Spectra. It’s estimated that about 160 million tickets are sold each year through these partners.
Protecht launched in 2016, and has about 30 employees.
Newport Beach-based NuEyes Technologies Inc. has partnered with GreenSky Patient Solutions LLC, a subsidiary of GreenSky Inc., to offer flexible payment plans and loans to NuEyes customers.
NuEyes’ products assist those suffering from visual impairments such as macular degeneration, glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa. The NuEyes e2 features an HD camera, contrast and brightness settings, 18-times magnification and text-to-speech functionality—and retails for about $3,000.
The new partnership will give patients the ability to seek alternative payment options, opposed to paying out of pocket.
“One of our missions at NuEyes is to make our products affordable for everyone,” Mark Greget, chief executive and founder of NyEyes said in a statement. “We had been approached by multiple companies with different financing programs, but GreenSky offered what we believe to be ‘best in class’ financing programs.”
NuEyes’ products went to market last year, after the company closed a seed round in excess of a million dollars in 2017. The funding was provided by strategic partners, as well as early-stage venture capital firm Arab Angel, with offices in Abu Dhabi, New York, and Washington, D.C.
NEW HIRES
Aliso Viejo-based ThinkIQ, a supply chain management technology firm, recently brought on Dhruba Kalita as chief technology officer.
Prior to joining the team, Kalita served as chief information officer and senior vice president of products and engineering at Gehry Technologies, a project collaboration and delivery platform for architects and engineers created by famed designer Frank Gehry, which was acquired in 2014 by Trimble.
At ThinkIQ, he will focus on developing supply chain technology to help manufacturers better operate their businesses.
“I’m very excited to join the incredibly talented team at ThinkIQ, and to have the opportunity to make an impact pursuing its mission and massive business opportunity in the manufacturing and industrial industries,” Kalita said.
Kalita has extensive experience in software development and management, and has led five startups through successful exits.
Aliso Viejo-based business accelerator OCTANe last week named Paul Tobin as president of its new affiliated company Octane Enterprise Solutions.
The Business Journal reported on the kickoff of OES in July; OCTANe Chief Executive Bill Carpou alluded to the forthcoming new hire at the time, saying the exec was a “rock star.”
Tobin is the founder of Newport Beach-based Terrapin Ventures, which assists international companies looking to enter the U.S. market. His career includes roles in corporate law, entrepreneurship, fund management, and consulting.
Tobin said that OES will “help connect companies with everything they need, from end to end.” The organization will provide early-stage and mid-stage companies access to strategic and institutional capital, and revenue generated from consulting fees will contribute to OCTANe’s overall growth.
OES will work with startups through OCTANe’s technology and lifesciences accelerator LaunchPad SBDC, as well as its newly announced fintech incubator.
The incubator is scheduled to open as soon as OCTANe completes its relocation to Irvine’s Great Park Neighborhoods, which is expected to happen early next year.
