The BizBest Silicon Beach shortLIST

BizBest‘s Silicon Beach shortLIST™ is a vetted, hand-picked selection of key players, places, tech, events, organizations and other resources fueling L.A.’s Silicon Beach startup rocket ship. Los Angeles is leading the nation in entrepreneurial activity, and the BizBest® Silicon Beach shortLIST offers an exclusive, independent playbook of Silicon Beach essentials.

Keep in mind, this is a subjective list, not an all-inclusive directory. We welcome suggestions and shortLIST nominations (via Comments, tweets to @140Main or email: editor at BizBest dot com). Tweet, like and share BizBest’s Silicon Beach shortLIST on LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media. Here’s an easy, sharing-friendly URL: shortLIST.la

ShortLIST members are listed by category, often alphabetically (but not necessarily):

Best Accelerators & Incubators

Amplify.la is a hands-on startup accelerator and multi-faceted entrepreneurial campus in Los Angeles. Amplify helps startups grow in several ways, including seed funding of up to $50K, mentorship from a killer roster of specialists and connections to additional funding. The Amplify program is four intensive months of collaborative curriculum designed to build a business from the ground up, and includes free workspace. Members also get free or discounted services such as legal, banking and web hosting. Download their one-sheet (PDF) here. Located on Main Street in Venice, the Amplify community is super passionate about learning, growing and inspiring. Follow this link to see a complete list of the accelerator’s partners, portfolio, staff, mentors and investors.
Cal-X Stars Business Accelerator, based in Santa Monica, was formed in 2012 by Howard Leonhardt, an inventor and serial entrepreneur who holds some 20 patents for treating heart disease. Leonhardt Ventures www.leonhardtventures.com is the main backer of Cal-X Stars portfolio companies, the Cal-X Stars Business Accelerator, and its partnered company The California Stock Xchange www.calstockexchange.com of smaller firms in early SEC registration process. BizBest note: Cal-X Stars has a unique model with both a 12-month accelerator (invests $18K min.) and a 5-year plan.
Founder Institute is an early-stage startup accelerator and global launch network, with a new LA chapter. Through a part-time four month program, existing and prospective founders can launch their dream company with expert training, feedback, and support from experienced startup CEOs – while not being required to quit their day job. A unique Graduate Liquidity Pool also lets graduates and mentors share in the equity upside of each class.
Hub LA is a collaborative space for startups in downtown LA and caters to a more eclectic and artistic group than those on the Westside. The member mix at Hub LA includes social entrepreneurs, freelancers, artists, funders, students, mentors and community leaders. It offers members access to 4,000 square feet of creative industrial space to work, meet, learn, collaborate, and play. Offers ability to participate in social and cultural programming alongside business acceleration services, member-run events and workshops.
IdeaLab, based in Pasadena, is a bit of a hike from The Beach, but it’s one of LA’s entrepreneurial pioneers (founded in 1996) and continues to explore tech startup frontiers. Several IdeaLab startups are exploring new models for improving search and IdeaLab has also spawned companies with breakthrough technologies in robotics, renewable energy and automotive design. In addition to capital, IdeaLab provides a range of resources to help startups quickly introduce innovative products and services, including office space, technology, product and graphic design, marketing, financial advice, human resources, competitive research, legal, accounting and business development services.
k5 is a SoCal-based, tech-focused startup accelerator that was formed in 2011 by a group of successful investors and entrepreneurs with a passion for building startups. K5’s goal is to provide local entrepreneurs with a chance to work with SB investors, mentors and other professionals. Offers up to $25K in pre-seed funding, along with work space, mentors, legal services, web design/hosting, investor access and other goodies. Works with ~20-30 teams yearly.
Launchpad.LA — a startup accelerator in Santa Monica — was founded as a mentorship organization in ’09 by Mark Suster with the goal of helping local entrepreneurs build relationships, get funded, and grow while remaining in Southern Cal. Launchpad LA offers each accepted company a $50K investment, four months of free office space and (probably most important) access to awesome mentors and investors. Hint: Deal terms may be flexible for startups that have already raised some capital.
Los Angeles Small Business Development Centers — which tend to fly under the typical startup’s radar — are a great Silicon Beach resource for entrepreneurs who plan to self-fund/bootstrap their own businesses and aren’t seeking angel or VC money. One of the best parts about SBA-backed SBDCs is that they offer mostly FREE help for startups, available from 8 LA-area locations, often at a local community college campus (such as Santa Monica College).
MuckerLab, based in Santa Monica, calls itself a “mentorship-driven” accelerator focused on serving Internet software, services and media entrepreneurs in L.A. at the earliest stages of startup. It offers a 3- to 6-month program that includes up to $21k in funding office space, access to top mentors, plus hands-on product, marketing, legal and fundraising support. Check out their portfolio companies and press coverage.
Science, Inc., based in Santa Monica and founded by former MySpace CEO Mike Jones, is an incubator that creates, scales and/or acquires digital businesses by bringing together talent, resources and financing through a centralized platform with A-list VC connections. BizBest tip: A key difference of the Science model is that there’s no set timeline for exists or releases. Science launched with about $10M of VC cash from the likes of Rustic Canyon, White Star Capital, Tomorrow Ventures, and others.
StartEngineLA is a Westwood-based “rapid accelerator” (not that the others take the slow path) with a $15M investment fund focused on helping LA-based tech startups build a solid foundation for success in 90 days flat. Created by Howard Marks, co-founder of Activision, and Paul Kessler, a prolific investor, Start Engine offers local startups the essential resources and counsel they need to stand on their own, including up to $20K in seed money, introductions to top VCs and angels, along with office space, administrative and legal support. Here’s the process.
upStart.LA — which has joined forces with Santa Monica-based CrossCampus (see Best Co-Working/Startup Spaces, below) — is a mentorship-based startup accelerator for SoCal entrepreneurs (Dan Dato and Ronen Olshansky are co-founders of both entities).

Best Co-Working and other Startup Spaces

BlankSpaces, located in Mid-Wilshire, is a community of entrepreneurs, freelancers and startups, offering flexible office plans by the hour, day or month. Prides itself on being a place that fosters collaboration and camaraderie among members. Their short videos/commercials get our nod for humor (we especially like the one titled “Screwed!”.
Coloft is a member-based community and work space in Santa Monica for startups, entrepreneurs, freelancers and other independents. Has meeting rooms and spaces available by the hour.
CoWorks, on 2^nd Street in Santa Monica, offers open desks and private work spaces and is built around a concept of discovering inspiring companies and talented people with bright ideas. CoWorks welcome all industries and promotes networking via onsite events. Prices include access to all amenities such as meeting rooms, WiFi, network printer and events.
Cross Campus offers a variety of membership and startup space options at its 11,000 square foot facility in Santa Monica. Its self-described goal is “to inspire creative collisions through space design, learning platforms, and extraordinary events, fostering member-driven collaboration that ultimately leads to game changing ideas and enterprises.” Works in tandem with upStartLA (see Best Accelerators, above).
io/LA is a place where startup entrepreneurs can work, collaborate, and socialize. Offers entrepreneur-friendly month-to-month memberships and 24/7 entry to an expansive full-service work space. Based in Hollywood and heavily entertainment industry focused. There’s also a unique incubator program. Every three months, five startup companies are chosen by the founders via an online application process. These fledgling businesses move into the io/LA incubator for an intensive 90-day program culminating in a “demo day” presentation to VCs, studio execs and/or producers.
Culver City-based NextSpace (from Liquidspace), offers both physical spaces and virtual services to freelancers, startup entrepreneurs and what they call “creative class professionals.” BizBest note: The real-time calendar on their website is a nice feature for viewing available workspaces.
Real Office Centers (ROC), which snapped up the former Google space at 6th and Arizona in Santa Monica, has a killer location. ROC is looking to duplicate its success with startup spaces in San Diego, Newport Beach and La Jolla with a new, ummm, “beachhead” in the heart of SB. The first floor is open — and looks great — but second and third floors are under renovation (those Google guys sure left a mess; and enough with the primary color thing!). Great space; but prepare for sticker shock on rates.
WeWork cut its startup teeth in New York City with some eight locations before heading to Silicon Beach (well, Hollywood anyway) after hearing where the real action is. WeWork members include everything from startups to established businesses in social media, tech, gaming, mobile apps, art, design, leadership, consulting, staffing, legal, fashion, health, beauty and music. BizBest Note: WeWork also offers access to health Insurance, discounted credit card processing rates and in-house food services.
Working Village, in Santa Monica, caters to micro businesses, freelancers, home office workers, entrepreneurs, startups, tech workers, writers, designers and other professionals. The twist here is an emphasis on services that emulate boutique hotel hospitality.
Satellite Santa Monica (Satellite Telework Centers’ 4th California location), on Main Street, is specifically tailored to the flexible workspace needs of the Silicon Beach film, TV and digital media community. Has private offices, bungalows, meeting rooms, a screening room with 1080P HD projector, and editing bays with fiber connectivity.

Best Organizations, Support Groups, Events & Workshops

Angel Launch is a new brand created by iHollywood Forum which produces programs in Los Angeles and at trade shows such as NAB, CES, GDC, E3 EXPO, NATPE and CTIA. Sessions address key topics facing startup entrepreneurs and include a panel discussion and networking dinner. Startup Venture Summit is their newest conference, designed to connect entrepreneurs and investors across all sectors.
Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum sponsors ongoing events intended to encourage the growth and success of tech-based entrepreneurial ventures in SoCal. Through its monthly programs, the Forum provides advice, support, education and networking opportunities for Silicon Beach tech startups. Programs address financing, marketing, business plans, executive leadership and staffing. Popular case studies feature companies in emerging technology reviewing their business plans.
DigitalLA is a must-know Beach player. Founder Kevin Winston has built what’s arguably the largest and certainly most dynamic networking organization in LA’s digital entertainment community. In June 2012, DigitalLA launched the first Silicon Beach Fest (SBF) — a highly-successful festival and hackathon celebrating L.A.’s burgeoning Silicon Beach startup community. Winston followed up with an equally-successful Hollywood edition in November. The website is a goldmine of links and info — and lots of cool Silicon Beach Fest photos. Be sure to join the LinkedIn group!
General Assembly | Los Angeles — The new Santa Monica-based L.A. branch of General Assembly offer classes and events at the intersection of entrepreneurship, tech & design, including an introduction to Silicon Beach.
LA CEOs conducts regular meetings that bring together CEOs, founders, entrepreneurs, and mentors to help startups and growth companies accelerate their success. The group is hosted by Mark Landay, managing director of Dynamic Synergy Executive Recruitment (see below). BizBest note: Check the schedule on the site and sign up for the mailing list.
Lean Startup Machine | Lean LA is a three-day workshop where attendees use customer development and “lean startup” principles — basically the process Eric Ries defined as rapid, iterative prototyping and assumption testing to develop products and services that customers actually want. BizBest note: LSM conducts workshops worldwide; including Silicon Beach. Here’s a good description of how it works.
LAMCII (Los Angeles Mayor’s Council on Innovation and Industry) is backed by a broad range of Silicon Beach business leaders and was formed in 2012 to focus national and worldwide attention on LA’s thriving Silicon Beach “innovation economy” and to help facilitate community and government actions to drive entrepreneurship in LA.
Silicon Beach @ USC: USC’s vaunted Marshall School of Business held its first Silicon Beach @ USC event in September 2012, billed as “two days highlighting innovation, new ventures, partnerships and investment at the intersection of technology and digital content.” More to come.
SoCalBio Investor Conference is an annual event that showcases emerging LA-area biosciences firms and technologies looking for capital and seeking partnerships. Sponsored by the Southern California Biomedical Council.
Southern California Venture Network positions itself as an exclusive high-end business networking group that aims to increase the networking opportunities of startups and emerging growth companies by plugging them into SCVN’s professional and high-level business contacts. This is more of a “venture development” organization, helping companies between $1M and $25M with funding already in place to reach their next milestones through monthly events.
Startup Grind is a global group of “Grinders” with a 30-city event series that aims to educate, inspire and connect local startup entrepreneurs. While they’re rooted in that “other” Valley up north, there’s an LA chapter that holds monthly meet-ups (paid: $12-$22) where founders and investors tell their stories and hold chats.
Startups Uncensored — brainchild of entrepreneur-extraordinaire Jason Nazar — lays claim to being the longest running (since ’08) and most widely-attended SoCal tech gathering, regularly bringing together thousands of entrepreneurs, techies, investors and high-powered speakers. Topics have included online subscription businesses, startup success strategies, affiliate marketing, building great internet companies and working with investors. Get on their email list.
TCVN is tech business networking group, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and other resources via forums, pitch sessions, workshops and other networking events. Tech Coast Venture Network has been around since 1984. Check out their upcoming events.
Technology Council of Southern California is a forum for Silicon Beach tech leaders, offering events, connections, information and resources to help tech companies succeed. Tech Council programs encourage interactive discussions between presenters and attendees, including two flagship events — VentureNet™ and the annual Industry Awards.
UCLA 48hr Start-up is an event that brings together people with technical, design and business backgrounds to share ideas, form teams, build products and launch startups (all this in less time than it takes to renew a license at the DMV!).

Top Angels, VCs & Other Investors

AngelVision Investors was launched in 2010 by a group of current and former LA-area entrepreneurs who’ve successfully created, owned, led, managed, built and sold companies in the entertainment, marketing and new media industries.
DFJ Frontier invests in seed and early-stage tech companies in Silicon Beach (and other parts of the West Coast).
Digital Coast Ventures is an affiliated investment vehicle of Santa Monica-based Montgomery & Co.
Greycroft Partners, with offices in both Santa Monica and New York, was formed in 2006 and is focused primarily on digital media companies. Portfolio companies benefit from active, hands-on assistance in all phases of expansion, including marketing, finance, and management development.
Harvard Business School Angels of Southern California is a young but growing group formed in 2011 and made up of Harvard alumni (not just b-school) interested in investing in early stage Silicon Beach companies.
Invent.vc makes claim to being the only publicly traded venture firm (stock symbol IDEA) focused exclusively on building startup web and mobile tech companies. Bryce Knight, CEO, aims to be a leading conduit between Silicon Beach startups and retail investors. The Santa Monica-based firm was founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Syndicate of Technology by a team with decades of experience managing startups, and the company employs its proprietary “Cofoundry” process to building web and mobile tech companies. INVENT acts as an institutional cofounder and plays a key role in creating/developing each startup.
LAVA: The Los Angeles Venture Association, a paid membership organization, has cred (or is that Kred?) as L.A.’s premier forum for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors and professional startup advisors.
Maverick Angels, an angel investor group based in Agoura Hills, takes a decidedly hands-on approach to its investments, offering a range of coaching, training and relationship-building support to early-stage startups in its portfolio. Here’s where entrepreneurs can apply to present.
NALA Investments is an early stage media and technology fund based in Santa Monica founded by Emilio Diez Barroso to identify and manage investments for the Diez Barroso Azcarraga family. The Azcarraga family founded Televisa (NYSE: TV) and Univision, the two largest Spanish language media companies in the world. In addition to its media and entertainment ventures in Latin America, NALA invests in consumer internet companies at the seed and series A stage in Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
Originate is a software development firm that also invests in startups, albeit under a different kind of model. For early stage startups, Originate invests capital as well as talent from its elite team of software engineers, designers and strategists. Its goals, however, are not unusual: It invests in solid teams, high-potential markets, unique ideas and interesting IP.
Rustic Canyon, one of the largest VC firms in L.A., actively invests in early-stage Silicon Beach startups. RC likes themes that have a transformative impact across industries and sectors in digital media, ecommerce, consumer online services, SaaS and energy efficiency. Check out RC’s list of companies.
Siemer Ventures, based in Santa Monica, invests in both early-stage tech companies and consumer-facing businesses positioned for rapid growth. BizBest note: Siemer shies away from pre-launch businesses. Initial investment size is typically $150K-$350K.
Tech Coast Angels: This active angel group has been around for years, and was one of the pioneers in putting Silicon Beach on the map. With over 300 members and five regional networks across Southern California, TCA is also the largest angel investment group in the US. TCA typically gets about 600 funding applicants yearly, and invests in about 15-20 of them. In addition to money, TCA also supplies connections, knowledge, mentoring and help with operations. Check out TCA’s screening process.
The Brandt Organization, Inc. of California is a private investment vehicle that funds Silicon Beach startups.
Tomorrow Ventures has invested in several Silicon Beach startups and accelerators, including both Amplify.la and Science.
VioVoda (LA office in Glendale) is a tech acceleration fund focused on B2B startup companies. VioVoda has a worldwide focus, not just Silicon Beach. The firm works with five angel networks in California to help syndicate rounds between $250k to $1.5 million. Has another US office in San Francisco, and a European office in Sofia.

Best News & Information Sources

BizBest Media (hey, that’s us!) lays claims to being an early Silicon Beach startup itself – before the SB moniker existed. Nationally-recognized thought leaders in the startup, entrepreneurship and small business space. Published, syndicated and cited in major media nationwide, including The New York Times, MSNBC, Amex OPEN, MyVenturePad and many others.
Caypen Media publishes Caypen Magazine, a SoCal B2B publication that profiles startups, entrepreneurs and other innovators and carries articles by industry experts. Caypen’s monthly SoCal Business TIEs meetups bring together trendsetters, innovators, entrepreneurs and startups.
socalTECH.com is a news and information site covering high-tech companies in Southern Cal. It has a great calendar of local events and a database of tech firms in the region. BizBest Note: Read ’em, or weep.
StartupDigest – recently acquired by StartupWeekend – publishes top-notch enewsletters (which to us means useful, actionable info) and event calenders for startup communities in multiple cities, including Los Angeles. BizBest note: Signup, sign in and get the Los Angeles edition!
TechZulu is an independent, LA-based news group that specializes in showcasing tech industry people. A pioneer in live Web TV, TechZulu engages millions of viewers via real time reporting at conferences and its weekly news show, TechZulu Live. These hip folks also offer production services for conferences and events. Their excellent Spotlight Series highlighting promising new technologies is must viewing.
Ryan Born’s blog Entrepreneurial Ramblings offers insightful, well-written pieces on tech and entrepreneurship in general, as well as some great “insider” commentary on the Silicon Beach scene. In addition to being CEO at AudioMicro, Inc., Born is an angel investor and LAVA board member.
UCLA INVENTS is a monthly news bulletin highlighting innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology commercialization developments and opportunities at UCLA.

Best Startup Services

Dynamic Synergy Executive Recruitment, with outposts in both Santa Monica and Palo Alto, has long been a leader in sourcing talent for tech firms in LA, and has serious cred with the top VCs. Dynamic Synergy limits the number of searches it takes on so it can focus on delivering quality results. Here’s a partial client list.
Fetch Recruiting specializes in filing tech positions in a wide range of industries, and loves Silicon Beach startups (dogs, too, they say…hence the name).
Jim Jonassen & Associates / Venture Search (JJA Venture Search) is an A-list executive search and placement firm that cultivates a premier talent roster of leaders for West Coast tech and media companies, including many Silicon Beach firms. Based in the heart of Silicon Beach itself, JJA has more than 35 years in the industry and a track record of 98% successful completions for retained searches since 2001. Be sure to sign up for their “KillerOpps” e-mails with periodic updates on job searches, market intelligence and events.
talkTECH Communications is a technology-focused, marketing communications firm. They really know digital and social.

Best Backers of ‘Work-Hard/Play-Hard’ Thinking

Silicon Beach Fun is a brand-new and super-cool (not to mention free) app that helps you find places to play while working hard in and around Silicon Beach. We downloaded Silicon Beach Fun and were happy to see a robust and wide-ranging set of recommendations, including FUN bars, FUN hangouts, hotels, restaurants, places with Internet access, Silicon Beach Favorites and a Silicon Beach Index. Also has info on half-price tickets, Silicon Beach news and event listings.

Corporate Titans

Google Los Angeles: Sitting smack in the center of Silicon Beach (Venice) in its high-concept building and mini-campus, the company of primary colors hasn’t yet shown Beachers much green so far as we know, but says it aims to sponsor local events and perhaps strike partnerships with some SB tech startups.