
Eric Garcetti Says L.A. in the Midst of a 'Once-in-a-Generation Moment'
Mayor Garcetti is a fourth generation Angeleno and the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles. His Agenda is focused on creating a safe, livable, and prosperous city.
Los Angeles is in the midst of a once-in-a-generation moment.
Last year, Schroders Global Cities Index ranked Los Angeles as the most economically vibrant city in the world and the best city for investment. Our metropolitan economy is the world's third largest in economic performance. And in six years we have cut the unemployment rate by more than half.
So much of that momentum is because Los Angeles is a global tech capital — a place where the world comes to innovate and create. We're the number-one digital city in America, and Los Angeles is also creating tech jobs faster than any city in the country, and — in 2019 alone — brought in $8.3 billion in venture funding for startups. The city of angels is home to incredible talent too at some of the world's top universities, from Caltech to USC and UCLA.
We used to talk about L.A.'s startup scene as fledgling, but that's no longer the case. In 2019, we saw L.A.'s largest startup acquisition yet with PayPal purchasing Honey for $4 billion. Venture capital investment in the region has boomed with funding growing over three times from 2013 to 2019, and today Los Angeles attracts the second highest investment capital of any city in the U.S.
The startup and tech industry is a jobs creator, with 7.5 percent of region's workforce employed in the tech field. All told, 53,000 tech careers added to the economy since 2010, and tech contributes just over 10 percent to our local economy — that's $91 billion annually.
In 2014, I formed my Technology and Innovation Council, with the aim of convening the top L.A. CEOs, founders, venture capitalists, and others to propose initiatives to help L.A. grow the tech industry, focusing on attraction and retention of tech companies, capital, and talent; developing civic innovation and smart city solutions; and helping bridge the digital divide.
Over that period, we have been able to assist some of the largest names in tech, including Google, Netflix, and Apple, establish and grow their footprint here. We have helped exciting new startups like Quibi navigate city departments to ensure they are able to get up and running. And we have worked with homegrown unicorns like Snap, and Dollar Shave Club which was acquired by Unilever in 2016 for $1 billion.
As mayor of Los Angeles, I have worked to ensure that as tech grows, it reflects the diverse face of our city. Some of the finest minds in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math live here, and it's on us to equip them with the tools they need to succeed in the industries and careers of tomorrow.
That's why three years ago I launched the L.A. Tech Talent Pipeline to create internship opportunities for low-income and minority youth in growing tech companies. These are internships that develop real skills and lead to real jobs, and last year we placed 216 interns — 40 percent of whom landed part- or full-time jobs with a tech company.
We haven't stopped there. Together with philanthropy, local venture capital firms as well as leading tech companies, we launched PledgeLA to ensure the conference rooms of start-ups and tech companies in this city are as diverse as our streets. PledgeLA members are also helping us find new ways of using technology to solve our toughest challenges — from traffic congestion to the need for more affordable housing.
And now, as we bravely and boldly begin into a new decade, we will have a media platform dedicated to covering tech's growth in Los Angeles — dot.LA. This next decade will be critical in so many ways — from our response to the global climate emergency to how this city comes together to confront the homelessness and housing crisis.
Tech is not at the margins of these moments — it's at the intersections. We are fortunate to have dot.LA chronicling how innovators and entrepreneurs in Los Angeles will make their mark on this city and world.
I look forward to the future Los Angeles and dot.LA will write together.
Eric Garcetti is mayor of the city of Los Angeles.
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Andrew Peterson
<p>Andrew Peterson is the co-founder and former chief executive of Signal Sciences, a web application security platform that he founded in 2014 and <a href="https://dot.la/signal-science-snapped-up-for-775m-in-big-l-a-saas-exit-2647256430.html" target="_self">was acquired in 2020 by Fastly in a $775 million deal</a>. Signal Sciences protects web applications from attacks and data breaches for clients like Duo Security, Under Armor and DoorDash.</p><p>Prior to starting Signal Sciences, Peterson worked at Etsy, helping the online marketplace with international growth as a group project manager. Etsy <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3056900/how-three-ex-etsy-employees-turned-their-old-employer-into-a-consumer" target="_blank">reportedly became </a>one of Signal Sciences's first customers. Peterson has also served stints as health information management officer at the Clinton Foundation and as a senior product specialist at Google.</p>Ara Mahdessian
<p>Ara Mahdessian is the co-founder of ServiceTitan, a SaaS product for managing a home services business.</p><p>The inspiration for ServiceTitan, Mahdessian's first company, came from watching his parents start their own businesses in building and plumbing, only to struggle with the logistics behind keeping them running, he <a href="https://www.inc.com/magazine/201906/emily-canal/servicetitan-immigrant-inclusion-diversity-best-workplaces-2019.html" target="_blank">told Inc in 2019</a>. Mahdessian and his co-founder Vahe Kuzoyan met while in college, and worked on several consulting projects before starting ServiceTitan, in hopes of aiding small business owners like their parents.</p>Evan Spiegel
<p>Evan Spiegel is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Snap Inc., the Venice-based company known for its app Snapchat. He's also one of the youngest billionaires in the world, launching Snapchat while still an undergraduate at Stanford. </p><p>SnapChat, the company's app, has recently been taking on rival TikTok <a href="https://dot.la/snap-spotlight-2649022645.html" data-linked-post="2649022645" target="_blank">with a new feature</a> and a program meant to attract creators to its platform. And it is been at the center of a larger national debate on the power of big tech. </p>Spencer Rascoff
<p>Spencer Rascoff is the founder of several companies, including dot.LA. He started his career as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, later leaving to co-found travel website Hotwire. After serving as vice president of lodging at Expedia, he went on to found Zillow, an online real estate marketplace that went public in 2011.</p><p>Rascoff's most recent project is Pacaso, a marketplace for buying, selling and co-owning a second home.</p>Tim Ellis
<p>Tim Ellis is the co-founder and chief executive of Relativity Space, an autonomous rocket factory and launch services leader for satellite constellations. He is the youngest member on the National Space Council Users Advisory Group and serves on the World Economic Forum as a "technology pioneer."</p><p>Before founding Relativity Space, Ellis studied aerospace engineering at the University of Southern California and interned at Masten Space Systems and Blue Origin, where he worked after graduation. He was a propulsion engineer and brought metal 3D printing in-house to the company.</p>Travis Schneider
<p>Travis Schneider is the co-founder and co-chief executive of PatientPop, a practice growth platform for healthcare providers. He founded the company with Luke Kervin in 2014. <br><br>The two have founded three companies together, including ShopNation, a fashion shopping engine that was later acquired by the Meredith Commerce Network.</p>Luke Kervin
<p>Luke Kervin is the other co-founder and co-chief of PatientPop. He is a serial entrepreneur — his first venture was Starbrand Media, which was acquired by Popsugar in May 2008. <br><br>Kervin and Schneider then founded ShopNation, and when it was acquired in 2012, Kervin served as the general manager and vice president at the Meredith Commerce Network for a few years before leaving to found PatientPop.</p><p>Kervin had the idea for PatientPop when he and his wife were expecting their first child, he told <a href="http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-luke-kervin-patientpop-santa-monica/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">VoyageLA</a>. They were frustrated with how the healthcare system wasn't focused on the consumers it was meant to serve. So in 2014, he and Schneider created PatientPop.</p>- The Angelenos in Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z's 'Entrepreneur' - dot.LA ›
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