
Fed up with Chest-Thumping Culture of Tech, Garrett Wants to Reengineer Himself and Crosscut
Ben Bergman is the newsroom's senior finance reporter. Previously he was a senior business reporter and host at KPCC, a senior producer at Gimlet Media, a producer at NPR's Morning Edition, and produced two investigative documentaries for KCET. He has been a frequent on-air contributor to business coverage on NPR and Marketplace and has written for The New York Times and Columbia Journalism Review. Ben was a 2017-2018 Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economic and Business Journalism at Columbia Business School. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, playing poker, and cheering on The Seattle Seahawks.
In 2018, Brian Garrett, burned out from a decade running Crosscut Ventures, embarked on a month-long summer road trip. He packed up his old minivan with nothing but a mattress, some golf clubs and a fly fishing pole. He had just turned 45 years old and felt he was halfway through life. This was his vision quest.
It was the first time Garrett had stopped to contemplate his own mortality and the seed fund's future, and he decided he needed to make drastic changes to improve himself and his company.
"The realization I had was what got me here may not serve me well in the next half of my life and what got Crosscut here may not serve us well as a firm, so let's re engineer everything," Garrett told dot.LA.
Today, as Garrett and his partners deploy $125 million in its fourth fund, the firm is taking on wellness. Crosscut will commit 1% or more of all capital invested in their portfolio companies toward programs for team and individual coaching and development.
Garrett realizes this gentler approach might seem too touchy feely for some founders, but he's ok with that.
"There will be a self selection," Garrett said. "The people who are interested in health and wellness will self select Crosscut."
Sitting in a sunny conference room in Crosscut's Main Street Santa Monica office, Garrett was candid about his new approach to life and business. He also opens up about his own wakeup call, and how his job has gotten much harder than when he first started Crosscut 12 years ago.
Why do you feel that this wellness initiative is something you wanted to do?
It was really watching the chest-thumping "I'm killing it" culture of tech, the way certain people were behaving in the venture industry, the way certain entrepreneurs were thinking that a round of financing was the success milestone, as opposed to just a chance to keep proving that their ideas were worthy. But what I was always blind to was my own frameworks and methodology. There's always something else to do. it was always late nights and there was always one more LP to communicate with and always one more deal to review. I wasn't able to see how that was impacting the way I was received by others in the ecosystem. So I came off a little too distracted or aloof. I came off a little too transactional walking into an event or meeting with entrepreneurs, and that's not good. That's not a positive for Crosscut's brand.
How did you realize that?
We do surveys across the ecosystem and we get feedback from entrepreneurs. When you hear that, and you know how you want to be experienced in the world, it's a wake-up call. The way I want to experience the world is to be open hearted, and to have deep connections with people. That's how I live my personal life or try to live my personal life, but I wasn't doing that in my work because I was so overwhelmed and there was so much to do. And I think it led to some flat experiences with me, which is my own fault.
It's interesting because it seems like this is very much about your own personal well being, but also the firm's performance. And you see this as very intertwined?
For sure. The realization I had is when we were here from 2008 to 2012 the market was so nascent that we could see everything that L.A. was doing. Because we were the only seed fund in the market (and) we had leverage. If you look at where the market has moved, there are 25 to 30 funds all chasing deals in L.A. now and there is a ton of Silicon Valley money down here hunting. To think that we could just sit in our office and still see everything is a foolish notion. So then how do we re-engineer our firm to be more competitive and to have a stronger brand and reputation to compete for the entrepreneurs that we think are worthy of backing?
It sounds like your job is a lot harder now than it was when you started?
For sure. It was much easier to generate multiples on a $5 million fund than it is to generate multiples on $100 million-plus fund. We have a pretty clear point of view around small checks, small ownership investing and what doesn't work. If you're managing institutional money it has to be high conviction, high ownership. And then you have to get lucky. You have to end up being in a Honey and own a material amount of that business to generate the types of returns that come from those exits. What I'm confident about is that L.A. is going to start producing more and more of those types of deals.
What percentage of your founders have wanted to go through the program?
We just rolled it out and we haven't closed a lot of deals in the last four months. We were sort of cautious at the end of the year, so we're working it into a deal that we're doing diligence on right now and using it as a differentiator of our capital. If you really look at the game of venture, we are salesmen of capital in a very competitive ecosystem with a lot of really good funds that are raising more capital and chasing opportunities. We have to go out there and use our brand and reputation and constantly defend that brand and reputation as ideally being better faster, etc. So we have to continue to look at different programmatic services and things that we can offer up to differentiate our capital from everybody else.
So this is part of your pitch to differentiate you?
Ideally, yeah. I think there are a set of entrepreneurs that gravitate towards big ego, capital sources and big-branded names that think give them gravitas. Our approach has always been to treat the entrepreneur fairly and support them in their journey and try to win with a nice set of partners that do the right thing and act the right way and really support you both personally and professionally.
But this is an industry where you hear about Elon Musk sleeping in his office every night and VCs wanting to squeeze out every last drop…
I don't believe that's healthy in the long term. I think there's a time and a place and I've certainly put in my nights. But I think what I've experienced is that a little bit of balance goes a long way towards actually working smarter and making better decisions. I used to work until two or three in the morning every night. There's always something to do when you're running a venture firm. But eventually you get to a place where you burn out and realize you have to work smarter, not harder. I want to bring that dialogue to the table right out of the gate. I want to arm the entrepreneurs that we back with the mindset and the tools that better enable them to realize there's a finite period of time that you're able to sustain that kind of effort, but it's not something that you can keep doing for the long term and it's never to the advantage of the business long term.
Do look back now and see instances where you rode your founders too hard?
We as a firm have never needed to ride our founders hard because they're self motivated. I just think what's happened in our industry is that there's almost a fear of speaking candidly and telling the truth to your investor set for fear of disappointment and fear of failure, and not wanting to let them see that you're struggling. I want to change that dynamic in our ecosystem here in L.A. because I don't think that's a healthy dynamic. You have to have real transparency at the inception of the relationship. We want to be your first text when good or bad happens to the business. We're patient and we'll help you navigate through the problems, we're not going to lose our shit, and we're here to help you build business. No one setback is going to make us waver in our commitment to helping you succeed.
It seems like this is easier for you to do as someone who's now on their fourth fund and been doing this a long time. It would be harder for someone who wasn't established because there's probably more pressure to show that you can work 24 hours and not admit your mistakes.
Yeah, I think that's the way our entrepreneurial culture has been trained but it doesn't mean it's right. I'm willing to stick my neck out there now and say it doesn't matter how experienced you are, it is not the right path to success – the burnout mindset. I wish I had known what I know now, and I'm happy to bring that framework into younger entrepreneurs that are enthusiastic and high energy and have been trained to believe that it's got to be 24/7. And by the way, there will be a set of entrepreneurs that believe that and they won't be interested in Crosscut. That's okay. I think as venture capitalists in this industry we have to act and behave in the way that we want to see our entrepreneurs to behave.
You said earlier you were making fewer deals at the end of last year. Is that because you're not able to find as many attractive deals at valuations that you find reasonable?
We have an ebb and flow to our business over any 12-18 month period. Whether you're distracted with things happening in your portfolio or whether you're fundraising, those are all things that impact a partnerships ability to move quickly and find things they have conviction around. I wouldn't read too much into anything that happened at the tail end of last year. We're writing checks now. We finished our LP meeting in January. The entire team is oriented towards finding the last four or five deals in this fund and making them meaningful ones. So I think we just happen to be slightly cautious about what's coming in 2020. For us, it's high conviction, high ownership, strong syndicates, and maybe over-capitalize a little bit to protect ourselves if there's a downturn and the next round capital is hard to find. That's the approach that we take when we're headed into uncertainty.
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Ben Bergman is the newsroom's senior finance reporter. Previously he was a senior business reporter and host at KPCC, a senior producer at Gimlet Media, a producer at NPR's Morning Edition, and produced two investigative documentaries for KCET. He has been a frequent on-air contributor to business coverage on NPR and Marketplace and has written for The New York Times and Columbia Journalism Review. Ben was a 2017-2018 Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economic and Business Journalism at Columbia Business School. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, playing poker, and cheering on The Seattle Seahawks.
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The Santa Monica-based movie-ticketing service Atom Tickets has pre-sold more tickets for "Godzilla vs. Kong" than any film since the start of lockdown.
Following a disastrous year for the box office, its performance could be a litmus test for Hollywood and the many theaters that teetered on the brink during the pandemic.
The Theatrical Release Window: Will the Changes Last?
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e7bb2683314ede849919cd30d57c4099"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZOlPoYDVYwk?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>- Warner Bros.' Films Will Be Released in Theaters, HBO Max - dot.LA ›
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Sam primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Previously he was Marjorie Deane Fellow at The Economist, where he wrote for the business and finance sections of the print edition. He has also worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, U.S. Government Accountability Office, KCRW, and MLB Advanced Media (now Disney Streaming Services). He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, an MPP from UCLA Luskin and a BA in History from University of Michigan. Email him at samblake@dot.LA and find him on Twitter @hisamblake
Despite — or in many cases because of — the raging pandemic, 2020 was a great year for many tech startups. It turned out to be an ideal time to be in the video game business, developing a streaming ecommerce platform for Gen Z, or helping restaurants with their online ordering.
But which companies in Southern California had the best year? That is highly subjective of course. But in an attempt to highlight who's hot, we asked dozens of the region's top VCs to weigh in.
We wanted to know what companies they wish they would have invested in if they could go back and do it all over again.
Hottest
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk5MzIyNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTQ3MjQ2OH0.JYCNMjYvosYa5SI7701CH_jMFbeFdMcRCChXt442cq0/image.png?width=980" id="3927d" width="686" height="128" data-rm-shortcode-id="5defd5b7e1983aa7681f36d6e1783a7b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="PopShop Live logo" />PopShop Live ($100 million)
<p>The live-streaming shopping channel created by Danielle Lin reportedly found itself in the middle of a <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/benchmark-wins-deal-for-live-shopping-app-popshop-at-100-million-valuation" target="_blank">venture capital bidding war this year</a>. Benchmark eventually won out leading a Series A round, vaulting the app at a $100 million valuation. The Los Angeles-based platform has been likened to QVC for Gen Z and <a href="https://dot.la/popshop-live-2646369816.html" target="_self">it's part of a new wave of ecommerce</a> that has found broader appeal during the pandemic. Google, Amazon and YouTube have launched live shopping features and other venture-backed startups like Los Angeles-based NTWRK have popped up.</p>Boiling
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk5MzIyOC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MzI5MjYwMn0.h7Nq7GiwXTcg_7Io5WEXblFX0rWQHxn69RzluTh7n_Q/image.png?width=980" id="4e424" width="361" height="93" data-rm-shortcode-id="b53f9030fdb96b08d7cfdb5383c97bfb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Scopely logo" />Scopely ($3.3 billion)
<p>One of the most valuable Southern California tech startups with <a href="https://dot.la/doubling-valuation-scopely-is-now-one-of-the-top-la-tech-startups-2648525465.html" target="_self">a $3.3 billion valuation</a>, the Culver City mobile game unicorn has benefitted from a booming gaming market that has flourished in this stay-at-home economy. Scopely offers free mobile games and its roster includes "Marvel Strike Force," "Star Trek Fleet Command" and "Yahtzee with Buddies." In October the company raised a $340 million Series E round backed by Wellington Management, NewView Capital and TSG Consumer Partners, among others fueling speculation that it was on its road to an IPO. Co-CEO Walter Driver <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-28/scopely-raises-340-million-in-push-to-be-a-mobile-gaming-giant?utm_source=google&utm_medium=bd&cmpId=google&sref=4Kf8RwDw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">has said</a> that he doesn't have immediate plans to go public. </p>Ordermark ($70 million)
<p>The coronavirus has forced the closure of many dining rooms, making Ordermark all the more sought after by restaurants needing a way to handle online orders. Co-founder and CEO Alex Canter started the business in 2017, which recently rang in more than <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciakelso/2020/12/09/how-ordermarks-latest-funding-haul-could-help-independent-restaurants-survive-the-pandemic/?sh=443a72644b7d" target="_blank">$1 billion in sales</a>. Ordermark secured $120 million in Series C funding by Softbank Vision Fund 2 in October that it will use to bring more restaurants online. The company's Nextbite, a virtual restaurant business that allows kitchens to add delivery-only brands such as HotBox from rapper Wiz Khalifa to their existing space through Ordermark, is also gaining traction. </p>Simmering
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk5MzMxNi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjM4MjQ5Mn0.XSHQfru9tTpdeBqd_ecb--8DiZg_vdyOtF9ZV9zAG78/image.png?width=980" id="839d0" width="455" height="111" data-rm-shortcode-id="79ffc10f23fc7ca1572d55df3f299f85" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Cameo ($300 million)
<p>Cameo, which launched three years ago, had its breakout year in 2020 as C-list celebrities like Brian Baumgartner <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/larryfitzmaurice/kevin-office-highest-earning-cameo" target="_blank">banked over a million dollars</a> from creating customized videos for fans. In the sincerest form of flattery, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-15/facebook-building-tool-to-let-fans-pay-celebrities-for-face-time" target="_blank">Facebook is reportedly launching a feature that sounds a lot like Cameo. </a> Even though the company is still technically headquartered in Chicago, we included Cameo because CEO Steven Galanis and much of the senior team moved to L.A. during the pandemic and say they plan to continue running the company from here for the foreseeable future.</p>Mothership ($64 million)
<p>Co-founded by CEO Aaron Peck, Mothership provides freight forwarding services intended to streamline the shipping experience. The company's tracking technologies connect shippers with nearby truck drivers to speed up the delivery process. It raised $16 million in Series A venture funding last year, driving the platform to a $48 million pre-money valuation.</p>Nacelle ($6.7 million)
<p>Founded in 2019, Nacelle's ecommerce platform helps retailers improve conversion rates and decrease loading speeds for their sites. The software integrates with Shopify and other services, offering payment platforms and analytics integration, among dozens of services. Nacelle raised about $4.8 million earlier this year with angel investors that included Shopify's Jamie Sutton, Klaviyo CEO Andrew Bialecki and Attentive CEO Brian Long. </p>Boulevard ($30 million)
<p>Matt Danna and Sean Stavropoulos <a href="https://dot.la/boulevard-app-2649021308.html#:~:text=Their%20four%2Dyear%20old%20salon,to%20digitize%20their%20appointment%20books." target="_self">came up with Boulevard when an impatient Stavropoulos was frustrated</a> wasting hours to book a hair appointment. Their four-year-old salon booking and payment service is now used by some of Los Angeles' best-known hairdressers. Last month, the two secured a $27 million Series B round co-led by Index Ventures and Toba Capital. Other investors include VMG Partners, Bonfire Ventures, Ludlow Ventures and BoxGroup.</p>CloudKitchens ($5.3 billion)
<p>Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick CloudKitchens rents out commissary space to prepare food for delivery. And as the pandemic has fueled at-home delivery, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/uber-founder-turns-real-estate-mogul-for-ghost-kitchen-startup-11603186200" target="_blank">the company has been gobbling up real estate</a>. The commissaries operate akin to WeWork for the culinary world and allow drivers to easily park and pick-up orders as the delivery market has soared during pandemic. Last year, it raised $400 million from Saudi Arabia's colossal sovereign wealth fund. </p>GOAT ($1.5 billion)
<p>Founded by college buddies five years ago, GOAT tapped into the massive sneaker resale market with a platform that "authenticates" shoes. The Culver City-based company has since <a href="https://dot.la/goat-group-la-2647074186/goat-uses-nba-playoffs-to-launch-brand-campaign" target="_self">expanded into apparel and accessories</a> and states that it has 20 million members. Last year, Foot Locker sunk a $100 million minority investment into 1661 Inc., better known as Goat. And this fall it landed another $<a href="https://dot.la/sneaker-reseller-goats-100m-raise-ptrendsetter-in-a-casual-era-of-ecommerce-2647774644.html" target="_self">100 million Series E</a> round bankrolled by Dan Sundeheim's D1 Capital Partners. </p>Savage X Fenty
<p>The lingerie company co-founded by pop singer Rihanna in 2018 is noted for its inclusivity of body shapes and sizes. It has raised over $70 million, but <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/14/business/dealbook/roblox-tech-ipos.html" target="_blank">The New York Times' DealBook newsletter recently reported</a> that it's been on the hunt for $100 million in funds to expand into active wear. The company generates about $150 million in revenue, but is not yet profitable, according to the report. It became <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rihanna-savage-x-fenty-accused-of-deceptive-marketing-2020-2" target="_blank">the focus of a consumer watchdog investigation</a> after being accused of "deceptive marketing" for a monthly membership program.</p>Warming Up
<img class="rm-lazyloadable-image rm-shortcode" lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk5MzYwOS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MzQ1MzE4OX0.fS5XtGx4M-tqWecrth6NCHawGSg2aSkb-yR-cY3wbtU/image.png?width=980" id="4fca7" width="600" height="600" data-rm-shortcode-id="6a5ba1810dd71af400ee8f61634cc56e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />FabFitFun ($930 million)
<p>The lifestyle company provides customized personal subscription box services every three months with full size products. Started in 2010 by Daniel Broukhim, Michael Broukhim, Sam Teller and Katie Rosen Kitchens, it now boasts more than one million members. Last year, the company raised $80 million in a Series A round led by Kleiner Perkins last year and <a href="https://labusinessjournal.com/news/2020/oct/05/fast-growing-etailer-fabfitfun-possible-ipo/" target="_blank">appears to be preparing for an eventual IPO</a> as it slims down costs and refocuses on its <a href="https://dot.la/fabfitfun-layoffs-refocus-2645321060.html" target="_self">high value </a>products.</p>Dave ($1 billion)
<p>Launched in 2016, the finance management tool helps consumers to avoid overdrafts, provides paycheck advances and assists in budgeting. Last year, it began to roll out a digital bank account that was so popular that two million users signed up for a spot on the waitlist. The company, run by co-founder Jason Wilk, has raised $186 million in venture capital and counts billionaire Mark Cuban as an early investor and board member. Other backers include Playa Vista-based Chernin Group.</p>Sure ($59 million)
<p>SURE offers multiple technology products to major insurance brands — its platform can host everything from renter's insurance to covering baggage, so customers never have to leave an agency's website. It also offers its platform to ecommerce marketplaces, embedding third-party insurance protections for customers to purchase all on the same webpage. Founded in 2014, the Santa Monica-based startup last raised an $8 million Series A round led by IA Capital in 2017.</p>Zest AI ($90 million)
<p>Founded in 2009 by former Google CIO Douglas Merrill and ex-Sears executive Shawn Budde, Zest AI provides AI-powered credit underwriting. It helps banks and other lenders identify borrowers looking beyond traditional credit scores. It claims to improve approval rates while decreasing chargeoffs. The company uses models that aim to make the lending more transparent and less biased. This fall the company raised $15 million from Insight Partners, MicroVentures and other undisclosed investors, putting its pre-money valuation at $75 million, according to PItchbook.</p>PlayVS
<p>Santa Monica-based PlayVS provides the technological and organizational <a href="https://dot.la/playvs-high-school-esports-2647048099.html" target="_self">infrastructure for high school esports leagues</a>. The pandemic has helped the company further raise its profile as traditional sports teams have been benched. Founded in early 2018, PlayVS employs 46 people and has raised over $100 million. In addition to partnering with key educational institutions, it also has partnerships with major game publishers such as Riot and Epic Games.</p>Tapcart ($40 million)
<p>A SaaS platform helps Shopify brands create mobile shopping apps. The marketing software saw shopping activity jump 50% <a href="https://dot.la/tapcart-mobile-retail-platform-2646056623.html" target="_self">over 90 days</a> as the pandemic walloped traditional retailers. Founded by Eric Netsch and Sina Mobasser, the company raised a $10 million Series A round led by SignalFire, bringing the total raise to $15 million.</p>Papaya ($31.8 million)
<p>Papaya lets customers pay any bill from their mobile devices just by taking a picture of it. The mobile app touts the app's ease-of-use as a way to cut down on inbound bill calls and increase customer payments. Founded by Patrick Kann and Jason Metzler, the company has raised $25 million, most recently a S10 million round of convertible debt financing from Fika Ventures, Idealab and F-Prime Capital Partners.</p>Floqast ($250 million)
<p>FloQast is a management software that integrates enterprise resource planning software with checklists and Excel to manage bookkeeping. The cloud-based software company claims its system helps close the books up to three days faster. It is used by accounting departments at Lyft, Twilio, Zoom and The Golden State Warriors. In January, it raised $40 million in Series C funding led by Norwest Venture Partners to bring the total raise to $92.8 million.</p>Brainbase ($26.5 million)
<p>The company's rights management platform expedites licensing payments and tracks partnership and sponsorship agreements. It counts BuzzFeed, the Vincent Van Gogh Museum and Sanrio (of Hello Kitty and friends fame) among its clients. In May <a href="https://dot.la/headspace-brainbase-2647426309/rights-management-platform-brainbase-beefs-up-c-suite-following-8m-raise" target="_self">it announced $8 million in Series A financing </a>led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Nosara Capital, bringing the total raised to $12 million.</p>OpenPath ($28 million)
<p>The Los Angeles-based company provides a touchless entry system that uses individuals cell phones to help with identification instead of a key card. The company offers a subscription for the cloud-enabled software that allows companies to help implement safety measures and it said demand has grown amid the pandemic. Founded by <a href="https://dot.la/alex-kazerani-james-segil-2646964770.html" target="_self">James Segil and Alex Kazerani</a> the company r<a href="https://dot.la/openpath-primed-for-covid-accelerated-growth-announces-36-million-raise-to-make-keycards-obsolete-2646416034/particle-2" target="_self">aised $36 million led by Greycroft </a>earlier this year, bringing its total funding to $63 million.</p>FightCamp ($2.5 million)
<p>FightCamp is an interactive home workout system that<a href="https://mashable.com/article/fightcamp-review/" target="_blank"> turns your space into a boxing ring</a> with a free standing bag, boxing gloves and punch trackers. The company is riding the wave of at-home fitness offerings including Peloton, Mirror and Zwift that have taken off during the pandemic as gyms closed. The company has raised $4.3 million to date.</p>Numerade
<p>The Santa Monica-based company provides video and interactive content for education in math, science, economics and standardized test prep. Founded in 2018 by Nhon Ma and Alex Lee, who previously founded Tutorcast, an online tutoring service, the company gathers post-graduate educated instructors to create video lessons for online learning.</p>Our Place ($32.5 million)
<p>The creator of a pan with a cult following on social media, this Los Angeles-based startup designs and retails cookware and dinnerware. Founded by Amir Tehrani, Zach Rosner and Shiza Shahid, the company completed its Series A funding earlier this year, bringing its total raised to date to $10 million.</p>Tala ($560 million)
<p>For customers that have no formal credit or banking history, this company's application promises more financial access, choice and control. It gathers data to create a credit score that can be used to instantly underwrite and disburse loans ranging from $10 to $500. Co-founded by Shivani Siroya and Jonathan Blackwell, Tala has raised $217.2 million to date. Its investors include PayPal Ventures, Lowercase Capital and Data Collective.</p>ServiceTitan ($2.25 billion)
<p>Founded in 2007 by chief executive Ara Mahdessian and president Vahe Kuzoyan, ServiceTitan operates software that helps residential home contractors grow their businesses. It provides businesses tools like customer relationship management and accounting integration to streamline operations. The company closed a $73.82 million Series E funding round from undisclosed investors earlier this year.</p>100 Thieves ($160 million)
<p>Founded in 2017 by former professional "Call of Duty" player Matthew Haag, 100 Thieves manages esports competitions in major titles including "Counter Strike Global Offensive" and "League of Legends." The company also produces apparel and merchandise, opening a physical store and training ground called the "Cash App Compound" in collaboration with Fortnite earlier this year. The company has raised $60 million to date, from investors including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Aubrey Graham, better known as the rapper Drake.</p>Emotive ($16.5 million)
<p>This AI-powered customer service platform automates text conversations between customers and businesses to increase sales. Emotive uses their sales team to verify questions, distinguishing it from other bot-driven marketing services, according to the company. The company was founded in 2018 by Brian Zatulove and Zachary Wise, who serve as the chief executive and the chief operating officer, respectively. It has raised $6.65 million to date, from Floodgate Fund and TenOneTen Ventures. </p>Everytable ($33 million)
<p>Created by former hedge fund trader Sam Polk, the Los Angeles-based startup wants to be a healthy fast food chain. It <a href="https://dot.la/everytable-2648958920.html" target="_self">prices its healthy pre-packaged meals around $5</a> in underserved communities while costing more in other neighborhoods with the goal of reducing so-called food deserts in low-income neighborhoods. It also offers a subscription delivery service. The company recently closed a $16 million Series B round led by Creadev along with Kaiser Permanente Ventures.</p>- Los Angeles' Tech and Startup Scene is Growing. - dot.LA ›
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Ben Bergman is the newsroom's senior finance reporter. Previously he was a senior business reporter and host at KPCC, a senior producer at Gimlet Media, a producer at NPR's Morning Edition, and produced two investigative documentaries for KCET. He has been a frequent on-air contributor to business coverage on NPR and Marketplace and has written for The New York Times and Columbia Journalism Review. Ben was a 2017-2018 Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economic and Business Journalism at Columbia Business School. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, playing poker, and cheering on The Seattle Seahawks.