Global LA: Opening Up The World To LA's Brands & Workforce

Mayor’s Office of Long Beach

The Port of Long Beach

Long Beach Economic Development

California Centers for International Trade Development

National Governors Association

US-ASEAN Business Council

A woman co-founder who started a company in the food and beverage space here in Los Angeles found out about GetGlobal and joined our community. She had started her new company after her previous apparel company had failed due to the dissolution of the textile industry to foreign outsourcing, and was finally achieving the success with domestic sales with her fruit bar products she'd always wanted. Her major problem though was that she was getting requests from foreign purchasers and did not know how to strategically or safely fulfill them. She knew that if she could stably expand, she would be able to hire and train more staff and further increase sales and opportunities. But NAFTA uncertainties, issues with China, along with the standard learning curve of issues ranging from marketing and market intelligence to banking and taxes were all holding her back.

She joined our community and was able to access graduates of universities with international business focuses, banks specializing in trade finance, accounting firms to advise on tax changes, consultants focused on international trade, the many government resources that most companies are unaware of, as well as a range of social media influencers in key markets who in the near future will likely be helping her to develop authentic local appeal in their markets. On top of this, there are two major family conglomerates — one from Southeast Asia and another from the Middle East — who are interested in investing in her company to be able to strategically expand into their respective markets by utilizing their relationships and influence. In terms of confidence-building, our community and resources have given her an open pathway for expanding her company's opportunities in ways that would have taken her a very long time to create on her own.

It is too early to assess the total impact, but every participant in this relationship sees greater opportunity. The foreign investors are curious about what else they can access in the LA area, the universities are eager to provide more students and training, and the influencers see LA as a beacon of multidimensional activity for them.

We have other stories like this, and look forward to creating so many more.

Jobs per capita

Manufacturing activity

Measures of cultural and global economic influence (“soft power”)

EXECUTION PLAN

Execution of this program includes further developing two audiences: foreign audiences (to invest, collaborate, partner, contribute knowledge, make purchases) and domestic audiences with interesting products or services but who need key relationships, market intelligence and access, capital, and sales to drive growth and hiring. To attract more of both audiences — foreign and domestic — we will need to purchase marketing services and access to contact databases, as well as use the financial buffer that this grant will provide to be able to devote more time to developing both of these audiences rather than focus primarily on raising sponsorship. Since GetGlobal's first edition in 2016, we have developed a network of over 80 partner organizations. Leveraging them properly is mostly an issue of time and effort.

POPULATION SERVED

The population being served is primarily the domestic audience, and for this program our focus would be LA area companies that are capable of engaging in meaningful international activity — acting strategically and in sustained fashion in its marketing, sales, and general operation. Typically these are companies above $5 million in annual revenue, but there are exceptions below that threshold. The target persons within those companies are usually founders, chief executives, heads of marketing and sales, supply chain and logistics, CFOs, and anyone else with the word "international" in their title. Secondary beneficiaries of this program would be employees and prospective staff who would be hired either because of inbound foreign investment or expanded sales internationally.

TIMELINE

* Now -- June 30: Continue forming partnerships and confirming sponsors; developing the program for the event that increases its appeal.

* June 30 -- August 30: Aggressively develop the domestic audience through online awareness campaigns, personal outreach, meet-ups around LA and Long Beach; develop the foreign participants through leveraging our relationships in the US Commercial Service, National Governors Association, binational trade associations, and other groups.

* September 1 -- November 5: Keep energy high with continued announcements of new speakers and participants, bring together the most energetic members of the community intermittently for pre-summit activities.

MEASURABLE PROGRESS

1) Foreign investment deals within the Los Angeles area;

2) Impressions and mentions in media on issues as wide ranging as LA's superior infrastructure and workforce for global interaction, effect of LA area industries on the global economy, trends that begin in LA and spread around the world, changes in perception internationally about LA's social and economic appeal;

3) Survey data after the event regarding ability/intent to enter new markets, growth capital acquired, confidence about international expansion.

New companies from the LA area attending GetGlobal that are international-capable

Post-event survey data showing increased confidence in foreign market activity

Dollar value of investments made in companies attending GetGlobal

Dollar value of foreign direct investments into the LA area through GetGlobal