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Atlas Obscura, L.A. Tourism Dept. Partner on Explorer’s Guide to LA
Samson Amore
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.
The Los Angeles Tourism Department partnered with curiosities and travel website Atlas Obscura for a first of its kind digital interactive map of L.A. County’s top attractions, just in time for the summer influx of tourists.
Visitors to L.A. – or locals looking for a fun reason to leave their apartments – can scroll the interactive map on a browser or download the app.
Image courtesy of the L.A. Tourism Dept.
The “Discover Los Angeles” map can be broken down by neighborhood or by a series of “guides,” which all feature as part of the larger promotional campaign roll-out known as the Explorer’s Guide to L.A
Atlas Obscura and the Tourism Department also published a hardcover edition of the Explorer’s Guide, along with several other speciality breakout guides, including the Meeting Planners Guide, artistic Visitor’s Map and, for those with more expensive tastes, the L.A. Luxury Guide to the city’s pricier pursuits. The paper versions of the guides have QR codes for travelers to scan and take information with them on the go.
This year’s collaboration with Atlas Obscura gives the Tourism Department’s previous guide a much-needed update – it was previously a whopping 136-page PDF document created in 2020.
The Explorer’s Guide includes a mix of places you’d expect to see on the map, like Griffith Park and the museum at the La Brea Tar Pits. It also has some unlikely spots sourced from Atlas Obscura’s network of local explorers who recommended their favorite places to visit: the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Venice Canals or the Watts Towers, a stunning, monumental public art exhibit of mosaic steel towers that was built by one Italian immigrant over a 34-year period.
30 neighborhoods are discussed in the guide, from classic tourist destinations like Hollywood and beach cities like Santa Monica and Venice to lesser-known but still exciting enclaves like Leimert Park, Frogtown and Little Ethiopia. There’s also several maps for specific interests – taqueria lovers will find new spots to nosh with the taco map, and there’s also a map of the Downtown Arts District, spots to stargaze and sports venues.
“For myself and the writers and editors on this project, many of them L.A. natives, getting to write and curate the official visitors guide to the city of L.A. was an absolute dream,” Atlas Obscura co-founder Dylan Thuras said in a statement. “We hope that these guides will inspire all the curious travelers arriving in L.A., to try new things, as well as providing new adventures for longtime L.A. residents. There is really no limit to what L.A. has to offer.”
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Samson Amore
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.
https://twitter.com/samsonamore
samsonamore@dot.la
Los Angeles’ Top Startup Incubators and Accelerators
06:00 AM | December 30, 2021
Snap Yellow accelerator program heads\u00a0Alexandra Levitt (left) and\u00a0Mike Su.
Whether you are making medical devices or movies, if you have a promising startup chances are there’s someone out there to help.
Southern California is home to an armada of accelerators, incubators, startup studios and other programs designed to help new business owners develop their vision and launch the next billion-dollar business.
Some of these programs are run by investors, who often go on to back the companies they incubate in later rounds. Others were created as a way for existing companies like the Walt Disney Co. or the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team to mine talent in their backyard for future revenue opportunities. Programs like the LA Cleantech Incubator target companies from across the globe that are developing tech to mitigate the climate crisis.
While some accelerators opt to provide funding outright in exchange for an equity stake, some prefer to not financially invest, and instead offer founders a place to work, access to mentors, and a full calendar of networking opportunities to help them connect to investors who might look to cut a check.
Local companies that grew from accelerators include Dollar Shave Club, which began at Mike Jones’ Science Inc. in Santa Monica and was sold to Unilever for $1 billion in 2016. Bill Gross’ Pasadena-based IdeaLab has also led several startups to big exits, including crypto exchange Coinbase which was valued at $80 billion when it completed an IPO this April.
Most of these accelerators accept applicants from both in and outside LA County, and some offer virtual workshops. Here’s a list of the top programs in LA that are helping new startups get off the ground.
GENERAL TECH ACCELERATORS
AmplifyLA’s accelerator backs early-stage companies that are local to L.A. County. Besides funding them through its accelerator, it works with startups in all industries to connect them to a network of L.A.-based startup founders and investors to raise additional funding once they leave the program. Notable past companies that used AmplifyLA include wine subscription firm Winc and on-demand moving and storage company Clutter.
Location: Venice Beach
Type of Funding: Pre-seed, early stage
Focus: Software, emerging technology companies, D2C brands
Serial entrepreneur Bill Gross founded IdeaLab in 1996, and it’s since backed over 150 companies and seen 45 of those either go public or be sold. IdeaLab backs companies regardless of their growth stage or industry but has a history of backing tech companies focused on environmental or social change. Success stories include robotics firm Elementary, crypto exchange Coinbase and GIF database Tenor.
Location: Pasadena
Type of Funding: All stages, focus on seed and early stage
Focus: Agnostic, focused on any tech company
Techstars is a global outfit with a chapter in Los Angeles that opened in 2017. It prioritizes local companies but will fund some firms based outside of L.A. Director Matt Kozlov said Techstars L.A. looks to fund a wide range of companies but does try to target ones working in industries that are strong in L.A., like healthcare, artificial intelligence, e-commerce, retail, property tech, software as a service, and consumer tech.
Location: Downtown Los Angeles
Type of Funding: Pre-seed, seed rounds
Focus: Aerospace, energy, robotics, wellness, entertainment, mobility/logistics, education
Notable Companies: Sanity Desk, Lightbox
Grid110 offers founders two programs: a 12-week residency program for early-stage startups in L.A. that haven’t launched yet, and another 12-week ‘friends and family’ program run in partnership with L.A.-based venture firm Slauson & Co. that offers a $20,000 grant and course aimed at “demystifying funding” and guiding founders. Unlike some accelerators on this list, Grid110 doesn’t require an equity stake in a company in exchange for participating.
Location: Downtown Los Angeles
Type of Funding: Early stage, seed
Focus: Agnostic, focused on any tech company
Notable Companies: Rent a Romper, Struct Club
Michael Jones’ Science is a venture capital firm focused on funding early stage startups, and it also runs a venture accelerator that’s incubated some big direct-to-consumer brands, including Dollar Shave Club and PlayVS. Founders work out of Science’s campus in downtown Santa Monica where they collaborate with Jones and other entrepreneurial mentors as well as a staff of marketing, tech, and business development professionals to get their idea off the ground. Usually, Science contributes these services in exchange for a board seat and/or equity in a startup.
Location: Santa Monica
Type of Funding: Early stage VC, seed rounds
Focus: Mobile companies, direct-to-consumer, marketplace and e-commerce
Notable Companies: Dollar Shave Club, Liquid Death, PlayVS, Arrive
Santa Monica-based VC Mucker Capital also runs Mucker Lab, its accelerator for startups that are either in their earliest stages of development or looking to grow by spinning off a business unit or revamping their strategy. It invests in an array of tech companies but prefers direct-to-consumer businesses. There’s no set duration for its program, but most founders work with Mucker for at least a year. Mucker invests between $100,000 and $175,000 in companies in exchange for an 8% to 15% equity stake.
Location: Santa Monica
Type of Funding: Pre-seed, or spin-off
Focus: Agnostic, focused on any tech or direct-to-consumer company
Notable Companies: ServiceTitan, Trunk Club, Honey
Law firm Stubbs Alderton & Markiles founded its six month preccelerator program to provide startups with access to other valuable resources besides funding -- including workshops, mentorship and a package of legal services and perks it estimates is worth $500,000. Notable alumni include location-based marketing startup Rally.
Location: Santa Monica
Type of Funding: Doesn’t contribute funding, provides networking, mentorship and legal services
Focus: Agnostic, focused on any tech company
MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT
One of the world’s largest entertainment companies, Disney is always on the hunt for new investments that can enhance its growing streaming, parks and entertainment businesses. It accepts growth-stage startups that are looking to use tech to change the entertainment industry and runs a three-month summer program that culminates in a demo day in October. Disney will invest in these startups in addition to co-working space in L.A. and mentorship from Disney executives. Though Disney often plans to strike deals to use some startups’ tech in its business, companies that develop IP during the accelerator retain full ownership of it.
Location: Burbank
Type of Funding: Growth stage, venture-backed startups encouraged
Focus: Media/entertainment, streaming, social media, kids’ entertainment
Notable Companies: Epic Games, Holler, Caffeine
Snap Inc.’s Yellow accelerator is a 13-week program for startups developing anything that could enhance digital entertainment, including direct-to-consumer brands, new social apps, creative tools or augmented reality experiences. Snap invests up to $150,000 in each startup and provides a network of creative industry executives as mentors. It invests with the aim of using startup tech in future Snapchat or Snap Inc. projects.
Location: Santa Monica
Type of Funding: Stage agnostic
Focus: Companies at the “intersection of creativity and technology”
AEROSPACE
Starbust Aerospace Accelerator
The Starburst Aerospace Accelerator connects aerospace and defense startups with a network of mentors that help them fundraise and hire. It’s also a way for startups to gain inroads to potentially valuable contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense, which is always looking for the next SpaceX. The company also partners with UCLA's school of engineering to offer a 13 week Scale accelerator program, aimed at seed and pre-seed startups.
Location: Los Angeles
Type of Funding: Doesn’t contribute funding, provides networking, mentorship, fundraising help
Focus: Aerospace, defense
Notable Companies: SeaSatellites, Pierce Aerospace
SPORTS
Los Angeles Dodgers Accelerator
Founded in 2015 as a partnership between R/GA Ventures’ Global Sports Venture Studio and the L.A. Dodgers, this program provides up to $120,000 to local sports-focused startups in exchange for up to 6% equity. Originally for a limited time, the outfit expanded to be a year-round program in 2018.
Location: Los Angeles
Type of Funding: pre-seed, seed
Focus: Sports tech, food and beverage, sports entertainment
Notable Companies: Appetize, ShotTracker
FOCUSED ON STARTUPS BY PEOPLE OF COLOR
Movember is a men’s health charity that encourages people to grow mustaches in November to raise awareness of suicide prevention, testicular and prostate cancer, but it recently launched the Rooted & Rising division to invest in creators. Rooted & Rising backs young Black creators who are creating culture-shifting art and provides them with a network of like-minded mentors and in exchange for creating up to three pieces of content during the three-month program.
Location: Los Angeles
Type of Funding: Individual funds, up to $5,000 each
Focus: Creatives of color
The Starfish Accelerator was created this year to give creative people of color funds and mentorship to create projects. Backed by the Doris Duke Foundation, participants are given a $50,000 grant and access to several mentors for six months to produce their work.
Location: Los Angeles
Type of Funding: Individual funds, up to $50,000 each
Focus: Creative IP, creatives of color
Expert Dojo is an international group with a cohort in Santa Monica. It prioritizes backing women-led startups and companies run by people of color. It invests an initial sum of $25,000 to $100,000 in participating pre-seed and seeded startups, and often invests in follow-on rounds up to $1 million. Local success stories include travel app Elude and influencer booking site Mavens List.
Location: Santa Monica
Type of Funding: Pre-seed, seed
Focus: Tech companies led by women and/or people of color
CLIMATE & CLEAN TECH
LACI’s goal is to fund startups that are both local and global that will create technologies to mitigate the effects of climate change and create greener, smarter cities. It runs several programs including a two year-long incubator where companies work out of its Downtown LA office, and invests in up to 50 startups each year.
Location: Arts District
Type of Funding: Pre-seed, seed, Series A and B
Focus: Clean energy, renewables/sustainability, solar, smart cities
COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY-RUN PROGRAMS
UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator
UCLA’s venture accelerator is a four-month program that has incubated over 70 companies, which have raised $144 million in funding. Led in part by entrepreneur in residence Rod Kurtz, it helps student and faculty entrepreneurs bring their ideas and research to market.
Location: Westwood
Type of Funding: Doesn’t contribute funding, provides networking and mentorship opportunities
Focus: Agnostic, focused on any tech company. Student, faculty and alumni startups preferred.
Notable Companies: UNest, KPOP Foods
USC’s startup accelerator’s next cohort begins in Spring 2022. It doesn’t take equity, but also doesn’t offer funding -- instead connecting founders with potential investors snad giving them hands-on guidance and access to coworking space.
Location: Marina del Rey
Type of Funding: Doesn’t contribute funding, provides networking and mentorship opportunities
Focus: Deep Technology, Machine Learning and AI. Student, faculty and alumni startups preferred.
HEALTH, WELLNESS & BIOTECH
Founded in 2015, Cedars-Sinai Hospital’s three-month program gives companies up to $100,000 in funding and access to mentors both on the executive and medical sides of the business. It prioritizes startups looking to innovate in patient care, cybersecurity, genetics, machine learning and medical devices.
Location: West Hollywood
Type of Funding: Early/growth stage, seed, Series A.
Focus: Healthcare, Information management, Medical technology
Notable Companies: AppliedVR, CancerAid
CITY & COUNTY-RUN PROGRAMS
Created by Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2016, this program is a nonprofit that supports local businesses with mentorship and networking for funding. Applicants must be based in L.A. County, and all areas of tech are accepted.
Location: Greater Los Angeles
Type of Funding: Doesn’t contribute funding, provides networking and mentorship opportunities
Focus: Hardware, food and agriculture, healthcare/biotech, mobility, aerospace, manufacturing
Founded and fully supported by the City of Long Beach, this accelerator provides seed funding and mentorship and also helps companies plan exit and acquisition strategies. Run by managing director Andrea White-Kjoss, the four-month program gives founders access to $75,000 to $100,000 in exchange for 6-7% equity. The accelerator launched as digital only, but is planning an in-person component soon, pending COVID regulations.
Location: Long Beach
Type of Funding: seed
Focus: Tech startups located in Long Beach
An earlier version of this post also listed the Techstars Aerospace Accelerator, which is no longer in operation.
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Samson Amore
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.
https://twitter.com/samsonamore
samsonamore@dot.la
Here's How To Get a Digital License Plate In California
03:49 PM | October 14, 2022
Photo by Clayton Cardinalli on Unsplash
Thanks to a new bill passed on October 5, California drivers now have the choice to chuck their traditional metal license plates and replace them with digital ones.
The plates are referred to as “Rplate” and were developed by Sacramento-based Reviver. A news release on Reviver’s website that accompanied the bill’s passage states that there are “two device options enabling vehicle owners to connect their vehicle with a suite of services including in-app registration renewal, visual personalization, vehicle location services and security features such as easily reporting a vehicle as stolen.”
Reviver Auto Current and Future CapabilitiesFrom Youtube
There are wired (connected to and powered by a vehicle’s electrical system) and battery-powered options, and drivers can choose to pay for their plates monthly or annually. Four-year agreements for battery-powered plates begin at $19.95 a month or $215.40 yearly. Commercial vehicles will pay $275.40 each year for wired plates. A two-year agreement for wired plates costs $24.95 per month. Drivers can choose to install their plates, but on its website, Reviver offers professional installation for $150.
A pilot digital plate program was launched in 2018, and according to the Los Angeles Times, there were 175,000 participants. The new bill ensures all 27 million California drivers can elect to get a digital plate of their own.
California is the third state after Arizona and Michigan to offer digital plates to all drivers, while Texas currently only provides the digital option for commercial vehicles. In July 2022, Deseret News reported that Colorado might also offer the option. They have several advantages over the classic metal plates as well—as the L.A. Times notes, digital plates will streamline registration renewals and reduce time spent at the DMV. They also have light and dark modes, according to Reviver’s website. Thanks to an accompanying app, they act as additional vehicle security, alerting drivers to unexpected vehicle movements and providing a method to report stolen vehicles.
As part of the new digital plate program, Reviver touts its products’ connectivity, stating that in addition to Bluetooth capabilities, digital plates have “national 5G network connectivity and stability.” But don’t worry—the same plates purportedly protect owner privacy with cloud support and encrypted software updates.
5 Reasons to avoid the digital license plate | Ride TechFrom Youtube
After the Rplate pilot program was announced four years ago, some raised questions about just how good an idea digital plates might be. Reviver and others who support switching to digital emphasize personalization, efficient DMV operations and connectivity. However, a 2018 post published by Sophos’s Naked Security blog pointed out that “the plates could be as susceptible to hacking as other wireless and IoT technologies,” noting that everyday “objects – things like kettles, TVs, and baby monitors – are getting connected to the internet with elementary security flaws still in place.”
To that end, a May 2018 syndicated New York Times news service article about digital plates quoted the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which warned that such a device could be a “‘honeypot of data,’ recording the drivers’ trips to the grocery store, or to a protest, or to an abortion clinic.”
For now, Rplates are another option in addition to old-fashioned metal, and many are likely to opt out due to cost alone. If you decide to go the digital route, however, it helps if you know what you could be getting yourself into.
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Steve Huff
Steve Huff is an Editor and Reporter at dot.LA. Steve was previously managing editor for The Metaverse Post and before that deputy digital editor for Maxim magazine. He has written for Inside Hook, Observer and New York Mag. Steve is the author of two official tie-ins books for AMC’s hit “Breaking Bad” prequel, “Better Call Saul.” He’s also a classically-trained tenor and has performed with opera companies and orchestras all over the Eastern U.S. He lives in the greater Boston metro area with his wife, educator Dr. Dana Huff.
steve@dot.la
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