Diversity in Harvey Mudd's computer science programs flourish
84 percent of undergraduates in the United States studying computer science are men, but one local college is bucking that trend. At Harvey Mudd College in Claremont (where the acceptance rate is 12.9 percent), more than half — 55 percent — of the latest class of computer science graduates were women. According to the LA Times, the shift started to happen when department officials began to understand how intimidating the subject can be — regardless of a student's gender — and began marketing the program more effectively by making classes more fun. [LA Times]
Several Angelenos named to Forbes 30 under 30
A handfull of LA's brightest tech minds were represented on the annual Forbes 30 under 30 list. In categories like marketing and advertising, e-commerce and education, Los Angeles placed nine representatives on the list. [Built In LA]
Bambino expands services to new parts of LA
Bambino, the app that connects parents with babysitters, announced this week the company would be expanding operations to Calabasas and its surrounding areas, including Woodland Hills, Agoura Hills, Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village. Founded in June 2015, the Santa Monica-based company has quickly established itself one of the premier on-demand babysitting apps available. [Bambino]
GoodMigrations releases debuts City Guides feature
GoodMigrations, an LA-based startup that helps connect users with international movers to take the pain out of moving, announced the release of the company's newest feature: City Guides. Focusing on helping international citizens find the right place to settle down in their soon-to-be city, the guides are an interesting take on the traditional travel guide. Additionally, the company also built a Neighborhood Explorer tool that features more than 100 different neighborhoods in LA with relevant information we all wish was available when we moved here. [GoodMigrations]
UK-based Boohoo on the verge of acquiring Nasty Gal
Boohoo, a Great Britain-based fashion retailer, is closing in on acquiring Nasty Gal's assets for $20 million. Nasty Gal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November, and Boohoo is bidding for the Nasty Girl brand name and the retailer's customer database. Founded in 2006, Nasty Gal raised $65 million over its 10-year run. [Tech Crunch]
Los Angeles reports its best year for tourism ever
The City of Los Angeles has roughly three million residents. Los Angeles County has around 10 million residents. Over the course of 2016, a reported 47.3 million residents came to Los Angeles, according to Mayor Eric Garcetti, surpassing 2015's of 45.5 million. Additionally, Los Angeles the first ever U.S. city to welcome more than 1 million visitors from China in one year. [Press Release]
Fundings of the Week
MobileCause, $15 million
Investors: Level Equity
Calabasas-based MobileCause closed a $15 million Series B this week, and the company is ready to make a move. With the most recent financing, the startup plans to expand its sales, customer success and marketing departments, as well as explore international expansion. [Built In LA]
Investors: Existing investors.
SnapMD, which develops a cloud-based telemedicine platform, announced the addition of $3.25 million this week, bringing the company's total amount raised to $9.15 million. The company plans to use the funds to continue to develop its Virtual Care Management telemedicine platform and build out its sales and marketing departments. [Press Release]
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