If Dr. Koop could make a killing on the Internet, the odds are even better for Dr. Drew Pinsky.
The Pasadena internist is co-host and co-creator of the wildly popular “Loveline,” a national radio and television show on MTV that gives frank advice on sex, drugs and mental health issues to the Gen-X and Gen-Y crowd.
Now, Pinsky and childhood friend Curtis Giesen have created Drdrew.com, a Pasadena-based Internet firm that will run a comprehensive health Web site geared for 18- to 34-year-olds that’s guaranteed to be hip.
Scheduled to open its virtual doors in September, the site will feature daily e-chats with Pinsky, news from a variety of heath organizations, and contact information for local health services and professionals. Celebrities also will make virtual appearances to dole out advice.
“We’ve put a lot of thought into balancing the entertainment and information aspect of our site, and really believe the entertainment elements are what makes the educational side accessible,” Giesen said. “We hope to help a lot of people who otherwise would never feel comfortable calling in to a radio or television show to ask for help.”
The company does not have the look of your typical start-up. It is building offices in Old Pasadena that will feature a street-level, glass-fronted studio.
Drdrew.com attracted a modest $1 million in seed money from a pool of investors and is currently involved in raising a second round of funding. The company also has landed Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Greg Maffei and William Morris Agency President Arnold Rifkin as members of its advisory board.
E-mail is becoming either a panacea or evil incarnate, depending on how much someone wants to be in constant contact with the world.
Los Angeles-based JFAX.com is introducing a new technology that lets customers receive voice messages via their e-mail accounts. Under the system, an incoming voice message is converted to a digital audio file and sent over the Internet.
Coupled with JFAX.com’s original service, which converts and routes faxes to customer e-mail accounts, the service can make missing or ducking messages nearly impossible.
The four-year-old company is expected to hold its initial public offering later this summer.
The trickle of new venture capitalists moving into town continues apace.
Avalon Investments Inc., an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based venture capital firm, is opening an office in Santa Monica. William Woodward, who has a successful track record in founding Silicon Valley start-ups, is managing partner.
“I take the slightly unusual view of ‘the more, the merrier’ when it comes to VCs here,” Woodward said. “There are a lot of underutilized opportunities in L.A.”
Avalon hopes to fund five to 10 tech-related Southern California companies per year. Its local investments currently include Hermosa Beach-based software developer PeopleMover Inc.
Sara Fisher can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
