How Mark Suster became a go-to guy for tech start-ups. The gig: Mark Suster is an entrepreneur, angel investor and managing partner at Century City venture capital firm Upfront Ventures, formerly known as GRP Partners.
A vocal proponent of L.A.'s growing tech scene, Suster has become known as the go-to guy for early-stage technology companies looking for funding. His current investments include Adly, Maker Studios, Moonfrye and Pose. Suster also founded tech accelerator program Launchpad LA and writes a blog, Both Sides of the Table, in which he shares his views on tech trends and offers advice to start-up founders. Education: Bachelor's degree in economics from UC San Diego and MBA from the University of Chicago. Personal: Suster, 45, and his wife, Tania, live in Pacific Palisades with their two sons, 10-year-old Jake and 7-year-old Andy.
Starting young: Suster caught the entrepreneurial bug early. "Everyone wanted the T-shirts. Why L.A.'s Start-up Scene Beats All Others. Los Angeles is the capital of small business in the United States, according to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa, at a reception earlier this month for Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalists.
L.A., dubbed "Silicon Beach," has become a breeding ground for successful Internet and advertising companies. I have a theory about why. I moved to L.A. (from Chicago) 13 years ago, in the midst of the dot-com boom, to build an online advertising company, L90/adMonitor. In addition to warm weather and beautiful beaches, I found a very creative, innovative talent pool of agile thinkers. A huge contributor to the company's success was the wealth of creative and innovative talent in L.A. For my next start-up, I tried Northern California. 6 Reasons Los Angeles Is Suddenly Booming With Startups. Intro to the LA Startup Scene. Guest article by Eva Hibnick with General Assembly LA Article after article points out that Los Angeles is on its way to becoming one of the most robust startup communities in the United States. We have seen this growth first hand, and are always impressed by the community’s appetite for learning new age technical skills.
A class we produce here at General Assembly called “Intro to the LA Startup Community” , has turned into a series, each time presented by a different prominent person in the startup ecosystem providing a unique perspective on the tech scene in LA. The presentation is meant to give an unbiased overview of how to get involved in the tech community; what blogs to read, who to follow on Twitter, who the angel investors are, what areas in LA are home to the most startups and what resources there are to further educate yourself.
The event is meant to provide attendees with actionable steps to take to transition into the LA tech scene. About General Assembly: Espree Devora. Why the Los Angeles startup scene will keep growing. You’ve probably heard that my home town of Los Angeles has startup fever.
There is no doubt that the LA tech scene is heating up. But is high-tech a trend, or can “Silicon Beach” really make a dent in the culture of a town where “the industry” refers to entertainment and not technology? Silicon Beach has a culture all its own PandoDaily recently described the scene in a way that I found both appealingly familiar (as a native Los Angelean beach kid), and suspiciously self-conscious. “Hip, edgy Silicon Beach offices scream the work-all-day-surf-for-lunch entrepreneurial lifestyle the LA scene is trying to hard to prove its ecosystem can support. Wow, sounds like where I grew up. But can a town that has this much fun really compete with the Bay Area’s awesomely inspiring nerdy vibe? LA has talent and space Big players like Google are making big bets, driven by a need for more talent and real estate than the Bay Area can affordably supply.
Well that’s true. The LA startup scene: how is it shaping up? Los Angeles and Silicon Valley.
The two areas share a state, and a common trait of creativity. In other ways, however, they couldn't be more different from each other. Los Angeles is, of course, the area that people automatically asssociate with Hollywood, and the making of television shows and movies. It's, perhaps unfairly, known as a place where superficiality reigns and people are celebrated for looking good rather than being smart.
Silicon Valley, on the other hand, is closely associated with technology and, let's be honest, more brains than beauty. Represent.la - map of the Los Angeles startup community. Introduction to the Los Angeles Startup Community. Nasty Gal - New & Vintage Clothing. Free shipping on int'l orders USD$150+ Hit The Beach Shop Your one-stop-shop for beachy stuff – new Minimale Animale swim and more.
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