Office Hours Podcast: Health Ade Kombucha Was Born of a Surprise Pivot
On today's episode of Office Hours, hear from Daina Trout, co-founder and CEO of Health-Ade, maker of the sweet, bubbly fermented tea, kombucha.
If there's one thing to be learned from CEO and co-founder of Health-Ade, Daina Trout, it's to pay attention to the opportunity in front of you and be prepared to pivot. Hear how Health-Ade Kombucha evolved from a hair-loss remedy to a huge brand of healthy drinks, learn about Daina and Spencer's philosophy around hiring and gain insightful learnings around fundraising.
"You think as a CEO of the business...that your job is to run the business, the strategy of the business and execute on a strategy. But you don't quite realize in the beginning, or at least I didn't, how much time needed to go into managing...investors, managing the board and managing a fund raise and that it can be 75% of your time at times." — Daina Trout
Want to hear more episodes? Subscribe to Office Hours on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.
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LA Tech Updates: Sweetgreen to Go Carbon Neutral by 2027; Santa Monica Opens Zero-Emission Zone
Feb 25 2021
Sweetgreen has pledged to be carbon neutral in six years by cutting its carbon output in half. Santa Monica and the L.A. Cleantech Incubator launched the nation's first zero-emissions delivery zone, a project meant to encourage companies to embrace EV transportation. Sign up for our newsletter and follow dot.LA on Twitter for more updates.
Today:
- Sweet Green wants to get greener
- Santa Monica opens emission-free delivery zone in downtown
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Sweetgreen Promises Carbon Neutrality by 2027
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzEzODQ3MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTc4NjQxNn0.sad0ogJEI_n5zonFpimBFFqqkA6NSvjXVhk3ckIyeUo/img.jpg?width=980" id="e77aa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0997ff2630815ab1b3505090cfdb38ca" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />LA Tech Updates: Sweetgreen to Go Carbon Neutral by 2027; Santa Monica Opens Zero-Emission Zone<p>Sweetgreen wants to be greener. </p> <p>The Culver City-based fast casual unicorn has pledged to be carbon neutral in six years by cutting its carbon output in half.</p> <p>"We believe that climate change is the defining challenge of our generation, posing a real and systemic threat to the health of people and the planet," Sweetgreen's founders <a href="https://medium.com/@sweetgreen/our-commitment-to-be-carbon-neutral-by-2027-875a29698252" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wrote in a blog post.</a> "As restaurant leaders in an industry that drives 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is our responsibility to use our platform and resources to confront this crisis head on."</p> <hr><p>The company says it started measuring its carbon output in 2019, which helped it identify areas where it could save energy. It was already well ahead of most other restaurants because of its heavy use of low impact fruits and vegetables rather than beef, but it wanted to do more.</p> <p>Sweetgreen will now use carbon output as a metric for deciding what to put on its menu. It will also work with suppliers to be more environmentally friendly.</p> <p>"To truly future proof our company, we must evolve our supply network and fix our relationship to the soil — and cultivate an environment that benefits the entire agricultural ecosystem: our food partners, customers, team members, and the planet," the founders wrote. </p>Santa Monica Opens Nation's First Zero-Emissions Delivery Zone
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY5MDU3OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NTI1NTIxOH0.T3W4XNFrl3_7TZ-fPB9kBRheOBEh-WeZY3LdoouwhdU/img.jpg?width=980" id="7afd5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d0d1afe8b6f9d941da5b2c303f975ba3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="kiwibot Santa Monica" data-width="1080" data-height="1080" /><p>Ikea, Shopify and the yerba mate brand Guayaki are just a few of the companies that vow to cut pollution in Santa Monica by using electric vans and delivery robots to fulfill orders.</p><p>The seaside city and the L.A. Cleantech Incubator launched the nation's first zero-emissions delivery zone on Thursday, a project meant to encourage companies to embrace EV transportation by giving drivers access to 20 reserved parking and loading spots. The one-square mile radius will span Downtown Santa Monica and Main Street. </p><hr><p>City officials will be watching for changes in traffic and pollution with an eye towards introducing permanent zones down the line.</p><p>To do that, <a href="https://dot.la/automotus-2650510029.html" target="_self">they've hired Automotus</a>, a venture-backed software startup that monitors curbside traffic. The company will install 20 small video cameras on street lamps lining the parking spots to collect data on factors like congestion and safety. Plus, the technology will alert drivers to open parking spots through an app. </p><p>Automotus' CEO says the cameras will not pick up personally identifiable information. In other cities, however, the software has been used to automate parking violations and issue tickets. </p><p>Santa Monica Mayor Sue Himmelrich said in a statement that the pilot comes at a "critical moment" in the city's recovery. </p><p>"Beyond reducing carbon and congestion, the added bonus is that restaurants can keep higher margins of sales on delivered food items," Himmelrich added. </p><p>To encourage use of the space, local businesses will be given access to two Nissan electric vans and ecommerce software company Shopify will equip merchants in the area with <a href="https://dot.la/kiwibot-delivery-robot-2649919954.html" target="_self">Kiwibot delivery robots</a> to help drop off orders.</p>From Your Site Articles
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My, how times have changed.
Five years ago, Eric Yuan, chief executive officer and founder of video conferencing company Zoom, was asked to deliver an insider's look at his business at the influential tech-savvy conference Montgomery Summit in Santa Monica.
But there was a catch: He wanted to show up online, not on the dais.
Yuan wound up giving his presentation at the Summit backed by Jamie Montgomery, who runs March Capital Partners, the Santa Monica-based venture capital firm that invests in breakthrough technology companies in person.
<p>At the time, Montgomery said, remembers his reaction, "What the hell is Zoom?"</p><p>Fast forward to today's world.</p><p>For The Montgomery Summit scheduled on March 3-4, billionaire Yuan will finally get his way – attributed largely because of a surging worldwide pandemic that has taken the lives of more than half-a-million people nationwide.</p><p>He'll dial in to registered attendees of the Summit via Zoom, and deliver the keynote address at The Montgomery Summit's first all-virtual conference. "It is hilarious," said Montgomery of his own ironic about-face on the adoption of Zoom, the lifesaver video conferencing tool tossed to society to keep business and everyday activities afloat.</p><p>The influential Summit, which since 2004 has been held every year at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, will go largely behind paywalls next week because of the coronavirus. In Los Angeles County, coronavirus has caused 20,000 deaths and infected 1.1 million, according to public health officials. </p><p>In recent weeks the officials have seen a sustained decline in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths, suggesting the county may be turning the corner from a vicious autumn and winter surge that killed about 12,000 people.</p><p>Still, Montgomery is taking no chances, and began planning for the virtual conference almost as soon as the last annual event wrapped up a year ago. The format is essentially the same, with over 100 hand-selected private companies pitching at an event attended by 1000s of registered founders, top-flight investors, entrepreneurs, and executives.</p><p>Broadcasts will happen on YouTube, LinkedIn or through the Montgomery Summit's website. Private breakout rooms with tech leaders in one-on-one meetings also can be arranged where the suits can talk money, pre-IPO strategies or exit plans.</p><p>The Montgomery Summit is an invitation-only gathering of entrepreneurs, senior-level investors and top executives from private growth technology companies and venture capital firms. The event features presentations from keynotes, panels and salons, and facilitates important conversations and meetings between attendees.</p><p>Founded by March Capital founder Jamie Montgomery, the event was previously known as The Montgomery Technology Conference, and has for 18 years provided unparalleled opportunities to meet a diverse blend of technological visionaries and innovators from all over the world. </p><p>Some of the major themes up for discussion at this year's Summit include:</p><p>· The rise of the female entrepreneur. "There's a new era where women define their own career," Montgomery observed. "It's fantastic." Fireside chats are planned with Alexa von Tobel, founder and managing partner with Inspired Capital, a New York City-based early-stage technology venture fund focused on supporting the next wave of entrepreneurs, and Ruzwana Bashir, founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Peek.com, a one-stop shop for travelers and locals looking for new experiences, ranging from surfing lessons to Hollywood celebrity home tours.</p><p>· The innovation economy. "You really need to think about where the opportunities are in society and what government can do more of to help provide access to these opportunities," Montgomery observed. "It has the highest returns."</p><p>· Future of software. "Corporations can help address a number of real issues in America," said Montgomery, citing how software can help the "unbanked," design job training programs and help in education. </p><p>· Intersection of cloud computing and genomics. Montgomery sees growing investment appetite in the application of cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data sciences to genomics that target therapies and vaccines. "What is the next Amgen?" queried Montgomery of this emerging area of a booming economy focused in Southern California and Boston.</p><p>The conference also includes major keynote speakers from a Who's Who list in the tech world.</p><p>Among the mover and shakers are Darius Adamczyk, chairman and CEO of Charlotte, N.C.-based Honeywell International Inc.; John Chambers, founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures and former long-time head executive of Cisco Systems Inc., a San Jose-based network systems maker; Bill McDermott, president and CEO of Santa Clara-based cloud firm ServiceNow Inc.; Bernard Kim, president of the San Francisco-based interactive entertainment firm Zynga Inc.; Alex Taylor, president and CEO of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises Inc., a private communications and automotive services business; and, Francis deSouza, president and CEO of San Diego-based life science tool manufacturer Illumina Inc.</p><p><a href="https://cvent.me/mqWNGX" target="_blank">Register for the 2021 Summit here</a>. If you have any questions, contact <a href="mailto:info@montgomerysummit.com">info@montgomerysummit.com</a>.</p>
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Ceres Group Holdings is becoming corporate America's biggest cannabis dealmaker out of its Century City offices.
The venture and private equity firm this week announced that its special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, would take Atlanta-based cannabis producer Parallel public in a merger that will value the Canadian-listed company at $1.88 billion.
Parallel has about 42 retail stores outside of California, but has big plans for a big expansion into L.A. sometime in the next year or two.
<p>The Parallel deal comes just as Ceres is trying to ink a separate deal to raise $100 million in a private fund to make cannabis investments throughout America, with particular focus on L.A. and California-based companies generally, according to Joe Crouthers, CEO of Ceres and head executive of the SPAC that bought Parallel. </p><p>"Parallel realizes that California, especially L.A., is the center of the cannabis universe," Crouthers said. "There's no presence in Southern California, but you will see one in the near future."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY4OTgxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2OTg0NjIzNX0.YyMgyJlFAg7lVSRpbYdv7k-74h5QCuIl1kcqlQFj-bw/img.jpg?width=980" id="15831" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="47e79fac1223f581ee42eac6fa97b76f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="984" data-height="1250" />
Joe Crouthers is the CEO of Ceres and head executive of the SPAC that bought Parallel.
<p>The new private fund is called Ceres Harvest II, and follows a prior fund that raised roughly $35 million to make investments in privately held cannabis companies — including Los Angeles-based pre-roll maker <a href="https://www.palmspremium.com/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Palms</a>, San Francisco-based edible company <a href="https://roselosangeles.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rose Los Angeles</a>, and Culver City-based dispensary <a href="https://www.medmen.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">MedMen</a> Enterprises Inc. -- before it went public in May 2018.</p><p>Crouthers declined to disclose potential targets for the second fund.</p><p>The Ceres SPAC, officially known as Ceres Acquisition Corp., began trading last April, joining a wave of publicly traded companies that have moved to Canadian stock exchanges in recent years while they await the easing of U.S. rules on the cannabis sector. "That's the ultimate goal: to move to a U.S. exchange," Crouthers said.</p>
<p>The combined Ceres Acquisition Corp. and Parallel, which expects to generate $450 million in revenue in 2021 and report $100 million in earnings before taxes, will bag $430 million in cash when the deal closes in the next 60 to 90 days, Crouthers said.<br/></p><p>Parallel has also received commitments from a group of investors led by Ceres for a $225 million private investment in a public equity – called PIPEs -- transaction when the deal closes.</p><p>The PIPE investment was over-subscribed, and attracted more than a dozen investments from athletes and celebrities, Crouthers said in the interview Tuesday. </p><p>The company, which also named record industry executive Scott "Scooter" Braun as a special adviser, said it currently has license applications pending in Georgia, New Jersey and Virginia. Braun, who is a co-founder of Ceres, is the talent manager for artists Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Kayne West.</p><p>Beau Wrigley Jr. who previously led his family's chewing gum business before selling it in 2008 for $23 billion, is Parallel's chairman and CEO.</p><p>Sturges Karban, chief executive officer of Irvine-based ManifestSeven Holdings Corp., noted that the Parallel deal is further confirmation of what looks to be an emerging trend of big deals getting done with cannabis-related SPACs – all being traded on Canadian exchanges.<br/></p><p>U.S. firms that grow or sell cannabis cannot list their shares on the major U.S. stock exchanges as marijuana remains illegal at the federal level.</p><p><span></span>He pointed to completion of last month's deal by Jay-Z backed Californian pot producer TPCO Holding Corp. also known as The Parent Company, which is expected to generate $334 million in revenue in 2021.</p><p>"It [The Parent Company] kind of lit the fuse on what everybody expects to be a catalyst in California," Karban observed. "It's been inevitable that in a state this big and fragmented, that it would consolidate."</p><p>Like Jay-Z's company, Ceres Acquisition Corp. also trades on the Aequitas NEO Exchange Inc., or NEO. ManifestSeven, MedMen and cannabis review site Weedmaps — all based in Irvine — trade on the rival Canadian Stock Exchange, in Vancouver.</p><p><em>Editor's note: This story has been updated to properly reflect the artists Braun represents. </em></p>From Your Site Articles
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