Make Los Angeles the Innovation Capital of the World
LAMCII is focused on six specific areas of concern and interest. They are: Education, Policy, Capital, Comparative, Narrative, and Network. We are developing concrete projects aimed at making a real impact on not just the technology and innovation sectors of Los Angeles, but on how the citizens of Los Angeles interact with the city, businesses and each other. All projects are geared towards attracting, and retaining: diverse talent, entrepreneurs, businesses and capital to Los Angeles. In the last year we have begun: The Texpo Innovation Hubs LAMCII is working in a public/private partnership with the City of Los Angeles, local universities, and recognized environmentally conscious developers to transform city-owned properties along the Expo line transit corridor into ‘innovation hubs’. Innovation happens with diversity: different businesses and organizations bumping up against one another on a daily basis will bring about new and interesting ideas, projects and solutions. These hubs will provide world-class physical space for startups and new economy businesses as well as community space that serves the dual purpose of providing a resource to local groups, organizations, and citizens and exposing our friends and neighbors to the opportunities inherent within the tech sector. Phase one is underway at the Jefferson Transfer Yard, a 220,000 square foot facility slated to become the first Texpo Innovation Hub. LAMCII has identified four other sites along the Expo line that are earmarked for development in phase two of the project. Following the line to USC and Downtown LA, this will quickly enhance the flow-through of information and innovation. There will be bike rentals available at all of the Texpo Innovation Hubs, a small but powerful catalyst for green commuting, better relationships with the community, and better health for employees and residents. EdgeLA Fellowship Program We interviewed LAMCII members, many of whom own businesses in Los Angeles, and asked how many open positions are available at their companies. In August of 2012, from 25 members surveyed, there were over 550 open positions at local companies. Los Angeles County produces more graduates and has more residents holding PhDs than any other in America, but from our survey of Los Angeles universities, we know that at least 50% of engineering graduates leave Los Angeles. There is a huge opportunity for a stronger relationship between the nearly 1.1 million college students and businesses in the greater LA area, fulfilling the talent needs of LA’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. LAMCII seeks to bridge this gap by working with businesses, universities and city colleges to create the EdgeLA Fellowship program. The program will be a one-stop-shop to connect businesses looking for bright, well-educated talent with students looking for longevity and meaningful experiences. We are working with Internships.com, a local business, to build a platform that makes it easy for students and businesses to connect with and navigate the myriad of opportunities available in LA’s innovation and tech communities. Launching in 2013, the EdgeLA Fellowship Program creates an unprecedented citywide conduit for students and businesses and paves the way for the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The EdgeLA Awards The EdgeLA Award is not a recognition of achievement. It is an award to help an idea or product that needs significant support to get to market. It is an “X-Prize” styled venture meant to attract world-changing ideas, innovation and creativity from all over the world to Los Angeles by offering a significant financial award, mentorship, and legal and marketing support from LAMCII’s partners. We will administer the contest in conjunction with Skild, an LA based company that creates platforms and provides services for competitions. The award will be presented at LA’s Leading Edge Awards, an annual showcase of the world’s most innovative ideas after 3 rounds. Entrants are accepted online from anywhere around the world. In round one, the top 20 ideas are selected through crowd voting and executive panel. Round 2 will consist of a 2 minute video pitch that will be featured on the EdgeLA website and again, voted on by the public for originality, realization and credibility. The top 5 teams will move on to the finals. There will be one winner, but all finalists will receive prizes and support from LAMCII. The goal of the Leading Edge Awards is to incentivize and attract brilliant entrepreneurs and fledgling companies to Los Angeles, offering them a home and network from which to launch their success.
What are some of your organization’s most important achievements to date?
-LAMCII has been able to attract some of the country’s brightest minds and biggest companies to lead the council and is continuously approached by business leaders and tech pioneers in the city looking for ways to become involved. Members of the council have given their time and resources freely and willingly to ensure the success of LAMCII. To date, we have expended 2,000+ hours of research, extracted 4,000+ pages of reports and engaged over 75 people and organizations not previously involved in the council. Council members, who already have significant commitments and responsibilities, have spent 300+ hours in committee meetings in 2012 and many more hours working independently towards Council goals.
-LAMCII has developed two engaging and robust websites – lamcii.org and edge.la. Both sites are quickly becoming hubs for information directed to those who want to understand how the future of LA is being navigated. The purpose of our websites is to be the gateway or aggregator of information about Los Angeles - involving the innovation and tech community, events and activities, real estate opportunities and contact lists. These sites act as an uber-connector for anyone wanting to become involved in this community. They help others realize the potential of the city and its members.
-As described above, the following initiatives are scoped and underway for 2013:
-Texpo Innovation Hubs
-EdgeLA Fellowship Program
-The EdgeLA Awards
Beyond those three major initiatives, the Council has identified the following action items for scoping and next steps in 2013:
-Better publicize LA-based capital sources
-Attract Tier-1 capital sources to Los Angeles
-Support existing LA-based venture capital
-Cultivate and expand the angel community
-Improve access to city/county information
-Encourage mayor to more closely align and promote LA’s innovation economy
-Build an entrepreneurial ambassador program with City Hall
-Upon completion of the first year of the council LAMCII produced The Leading Edge Report – a 44 page report outlining the council’s motives, initiatives and vision.
The report is available here: http://lamcii.org/resources.html
-LAMCII has captured the interest of both the leaders within the city and the media who have followed the journey and endorsed the vision. Key publications and media outlets include: NBC, Los Angeles Times,LA Business Journal,Yahoo!,Wall Street Journal
Bloomberg Businessweek, SoCal Tech, VentureBeat, US Politics Today, KPCC, I4U News
Watch the interview of founding members Zack Zalon and Brendon Cassidy here:
http://youtu.be/uq-ohGG5avM
Please identify any partners or collaborators who will work with you on this project.
The Mayor and staff, City Council Members, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, PwC Innovation Team, Karen Kerr, USC, Ignited, Matt McCall, New WorldVentures, Jade Smith, LMU. LAMCII Members: Frank Addante, Rubicon Project,Mitra Best, PwC,Paul Bricault, AmplifyLA, Brendon Cassidy, Wilshire Axon, Randy Churchill, Cooley, Gil Elbaz, Factual, Brian Garrett, Crosscut Ventures, Todd Gitlin, Safire Partners, David Hernand, Cooley, Krisztina ‘Z’ Holly, formerly, Stevens Institute, USC, Scott Lahman, TextPlus, Howard Marks, StartEngine, Jim McDermott, US Renewables, Jim O’Mahony, James Pitaro, Disney Interactive, Kamran Pourzanjani, Bestcovery,Robin Richards, Internships.com, Zack Zalon, Wilshire Axon
Please explain how you will evaluate your project. How will you measure success?
The Council is successful when Los Angeles is successful in our areas of focus.
When we started LAMCII one year ago, we took a ‘snapshot’ of key areas that we consider important to the success of this project. As part of our mission, we will annually gauge our success by measuring growth in the following metrics in Los Angeles:
-Number and types of sources of capital available to startups
-Total amount of capital available
-Number of new start-ups
-Number of headquartered businesses
-Retention of talent from local universities
Another key metric is moving the perception of people outside of Los Angeles ever closer to reality. We will continue to measure these perceptions through independent and commissioned surveys as well as reports from independent sources and management consulting firms. The objective is ensure that the perception becomes the same as the truth.
Perception: We are 35th out of 35 for Public Transportation.
Truth: We are the #1 City in the US for Public Transportation Access.
Perception: We are 34th out of 34 for Safety.
Truth: We are the #2 Safest Big City in the US
Perception: We are 34th out of 35 for Intelligent people.
Truth: We are the #1 County in the US with people holding PhDs
Perception: We are 12th out of 25 for Big Cities for the Arts.
Truth: We have the #2 largest population of artists.
Perception: We are the 61st best city in the US for business.
Truth: We are the #6 best US city for business.
How will your project benefit Los Angeles?
LAMCII is focused on six specific areas of concern and interest. They are: Education, Policy, Capital, Comparative, Narrative, and Network.
We are developing concrete projects aimed at making a real impact on not just the technology and innovation sectors of Los Angeles, but on how the citizens of Los Angeles interact with the city, businesses and each other. All projects are geared towards attracting, and retaining: diverse talent, entrepreneurs, businesses and capital to Los Angeles.
In the last year we have begun:
The Texpo Innovation Hubs: LAMCII is working in a public/private partnership with the City of Los Angeles, local universities, and recognized environmentally conscious developers to transform city-owned properties along the Expo line transit corridor into ‘innovation hubs’. Innovation happens with diversity: different businesses and organizations bumping up against one another on a daily basis will bring about new and interesting ideas, projects and solutions.
These hubs will provide world-class physical space for startups and new economy businesses as well as community space that serves the dual purpose of providing a resource to local groups, organizations, and citizens and exposing our friends and neighbors to the opportunities inherent within the tech sector.
Phase one is underway at the Jefferson Transfer Yard, a 220,000 square foot facility slated to become the first Texpo Innovation Hub. LAMCII has identified four other sites along the Expo line that are earmarked for development in phase two of the project. Following the line to USC and Downtown LA, this will quickly enhance the flow-through of information and innovation. There will be bike rentals available at all of the Texpo Innovation Hubs, a small but powerful catalyst for green commuting, better relationships with the community, and better health for employees and residents.
EdgeLA Fellowship Program: We interviewed LAMCII members, many of whom own businesses in Los Angeles, and asked how many open positions are available at their companies. In August of 2012, from 25 members surveyed, there were over 550 open positions at local companies. Los Angeles County produces more graduates and has more residents holding PhDs than any other in America, but from our survey of Los Angeles universities, we know that at least 50% of engineering graduates leave Los Angeles. There is a huge opportunity for a stronger relationship between the nearly 1.1 million college students and businesses in the greater LA area, fulfilling the talent needs of LA’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. LAMCII seeks to bridge this gap by working with businesses, universities and city colleges to create the EdgeLA Fellowship program. The program will be a one-stop-shop to connect businesses looking for bright, well-educated talent with students looking for longevity and meaningful experiences. We are working with Internships.com, a local business, to build a platform that makes it easy to navigat
What would success look like in the year 2050 regarding your indicator?
Education: LA is an incredibly stimulating, diverse, modern work environment that makes students from tertiary schools want to study and live here. This inspiration trickles down to high schools and improves graduation rates. Students graduating from our universities choose to stay in Los Angeles and begin careers with local businesses or are able to capitalize on their energy and brilliance and start their own businesses.
Policy: Los Angeles has a business environment that is simple and rewarding to navigate, with a unified set of regulations that attracts entrepreneurs, investors, and small and large businesses alike. Our city is connected by a robust public transportation system through which people can access work, education centers, commercial centers, and leisure activities. More business and more jobs create a broader tax base which the city uses to build and improve infrastructure, creating a virtuous circle that benefits all communities.
Capital: The flow of investment capital into Los Angeles is no less than 50% of all investment capital coming into the State of California.
Comparative and Narrative: In all key measures, in both perception and reality, Los Angeles is among the top three cities in the world to live, work, and innovate. Every business must consider starting or headquartering their operations here. The misperceptions about Los Angeles’s crime, pollution, congestion, lack of talent and business unfriendliness have not only been addressed, but are no longer associated with the city.
Network: Los Angeles is the city where an entrepreneur or innovator can expect to be easily connected to sources of capital, top and most diverse talent, and supportive governmental resources. Improved public transportation and infrastructure creates a physical network that connects people and communities to jobs, universities, and all the beautiful and brilliant aspects of LA’s amazingly diverse geographies.