A new Fund for South L.A. Founders announced their first class of 20 Black and Latino entrepreneurs this week. The class represents a cross-section of tech-inspired entrepreneurs from bakers to social media purveyors. The cohort was selected from a pool of about 200 applicants, many of whom struggled during the pandemic era downturn.
The fund was created by PledgeLA to address racial inequity and the economic decimation among communities of color. The monies were awarded to rising, innovative entrepreneurs of color. Also, unlike some accelerators, the fund does not take equity in exchange.
<p>"We want to hear the narrative of how they are building their communities," said Austin Clements, a partner at Slauson & Co., an early-stage venture capital firm "driven by its mission of intentional inclusion." </p><p>The program is a 12-week accelerator that begins in January with virtual weekly gatherings, including meetings, lectures and conversations with mentors as a way to help them define the direction of their business goals. Participants get a $25,000 grant. </p><p>The businesses involved will be tracked past the initial meetings to measure how many jobs were created and how much money was raised after their initial participation.</p><p>"The financing is great," said Craig Bowers, who — along with Samuel Chawinga — grew up in the area and whose South L.A. Beverage Company was picked to be part of the 20 businesses. "But bringing viable businesses to communities such as South Los Angeles is also a way to uplift people who live there. Seventy-five percent of our employees will be from our immediate local neighborhood and we want to provide livable wage jobs." </p><p>Bowers and Chawinga's company will ultimately house a craft beverage incubator, a production and packaging structure in South Los Angeles in a 24,000-foot-square facility. Sales from their first beer will go to purchasing Chromebooks for students in South Central, Bowers said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">PledgeLA's Fund for South LA Founders</small>
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</p><p>PledgeLA's new <span></span>Fund for South L.A. Founders is a project of AnnenbergTech, the L.A. Latino Chamber of Commerce, SLATE-Z and other community partners with startup capital funding Black and Latino founders based in South Los Angeles who have promise and have not raised much outside capital, according to Clements.<br/></p><p>The first cohort of 20 businesses include 24 entrepreneurs, all of whom identify as either a person of color or a woman, according to a spokesperson with the Annenberg Foundation. Nearly 60% of businesses were founded by a woman, and all have connections to South Los Angeles.</p><p>The mentors of the program include CEOs of companies like Everytable, FabFitFun, Tala, and The Bouqs — they will provide feedback to support the entrepreneurs achieve their goals. The AnnenbergTech initiative is also funding the 12-week training program with Grid110, a nonprofit accelerator known for serving female entrepreneurs and people of color.</p><p>A panel of judges from L.A.'s tech, venture capital, and social impact sectors interviewed the finalists. The 20 businesses receiving the grants and final cohort include: </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>Coffee Del Mundo</strong>: Founded by Jonathan Kinnard, Coffee Del Mundo is a Black & Afro-Latino owned, vertically integrated specialty coffee company based in South Los Angeles.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>ComplYant</strong>: Founded by Shiloh Johnson, ComplYant is software that helps entrepreneurs manage all of their tax requirements from one dashboard.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>Esqapes Immersive</strong>: Founded by Micah Jackson, Esqapes allows people to reap the benefits of a mini-vacation by utilizing virtual reality, automation and traditional wellness practices.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>Everlaunch</strong>: Founded by Michelle Heng and Alma Cook, Everlaunch is an interactive web app helping first-time entrepreneurs overcome fundamental challenges when starting their business.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>Fun-Diggity Funnel-Cakes</strong>: Founded by Cheyenne Brown and Bernard Nicholson Jr., Fun-Diggity specializes in gourmet funnel-cakes made affordable and accessible all year round.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>Guardian Lane</strong>: Founded by Kristina Jones, Guardian Lane is the world's first video-sharing platform for children's grief counseling with tele-counseling services for additional support.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>GTLA Apparel Development Inc</strong>.: Founded by Guadalupe Tlatenchi, GTLA Apparel Development Inc. is an all-phase apparel manufacturer, capable of taking fashion designs from concept to completion.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>Guided Compass</strong>: Founded by Creighton Taylor, Guided Compass is a comprehensive project and work-based technology platform for education providers and workforce development organizations, helping them onboard career-seekers to fulfilling careers.<strong></strong></p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>JUMPWatts Inc.</strong>: Founded by Bryan Ovalle and Arun Gunasekaran, JUMPWatts has developed easy-to-install remote repositioning and parking compliance technology kits for shared micro-mobility vehicles.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>La Create Space</strong>: Founded by Terell Johnson and Marisa Johnson, La Create Space is a creative co-working, production and meeting space located in the heart of Inglewood, CA.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>On The Go LA</strong>: Founded by Gabriel Gamez and Enrique Loyola, On The Go LA is a full-service food truck rental company that offers daily rentals, access to high-traffic stops and operational support through an easy-to-use online platform.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>Own</strong>ors<strong> Technologies Inc</strong>: Founded by James Jones Jr., Ownors Technologies Inc is an AI-powered analytics marketplace matching top entertainment industry executives with creatives for 1:1 live sessions and managed micro-advances.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>Reparations Club LLC</strong>: Founded by Jazzi McGilbert, Reparations Club LLC is a retail and community space curated by Blackness, POC and a few good allies in L.A. - radicalizing retail through community and creativity.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>Ride FRSH</strong>: Founded by Trey Brown and Garrick Mitchell, Ride FRSH is a subscription and retail-based air freshener brand that weaves iconic song lyrics about driving into their designs.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>SKNMUSE</strong>: Founded by Ezinne Adeoye, SKNMUSE is a premium skincare brand that elevates the beauty experience for Black women.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>Snojo</strong>: Founded by Nadiyah Ward, Snojo is an on-demand lesson management platform for skiers, snowboarders and mountain resorts.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>South Los Angeles Beverage Company</strong>: Founded by Craig Bowers and Samuel Chawinga, South Los Angeles Beverage Company is a craft beverage incubator, production and packaging facility.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>SÜPRMARKT</strong>: Founded by Olympia Auset, SÜPRMARKT is a low-cost organic grocery, making it easy and affordable to eat well in South L.A.'s food deserts.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>Tea Botanics</strong>: Founded by Denise Pines and Dr. Pei Vuong, Tea Botanics creates premium high-performance life-stage specific, medicinal tea-based beverages and supplements that address what the body and brain needs, focusing on men and women's key concerns associated with aging.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;"><strong>The Honey Bloc</strong>k: Founded by Branché Foston, The Honey Block is an online wellness education platform and community for and by Black, indigenous and people of color.</p>
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coffee del mundo
complyant
esqapes immersive
everlaunch
fun-diggity funnel-cakes
guardian lane
gtla apparel development
guided compass
jumpwatts
la create space
on the go la
ownors technologies inc
reparations club
skmuse
smpkp
south los angeles beverage company
suprmarkt
tea botanics
the honey block
austin clements
pledgela
grid110
slauson & co
annenberg
diversity in tech
Lots happened in the L.A. tech and startup community this week. dot.LA chief host and correspondent Kelly O'Grady takes you through the key stories:
- Sports: Women's Soccer Team Angel City Comes to L.A., Dodger Stadium Gets a Tech Makeover
- Biotech: Curative Seeks to Expand Testing Beyond Drive-Thrus, Quantgene Aims to Cure Cancer with Data
- Media: Snap Outperforms Investor Expectations, TikTok Makes Goodwill Gesture Towards Music Publishers and Creators
<ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Weekly Recap:</small>
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</p><p><br></p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p><em>Watch to stay smart on what is happening, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dotla/?hl=en" target="_blank">follow us on Instagram</a> for daily video content.</em><br></p>
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Here are the latest updates on news affecting Los Angeles' startup and tech communities. Sign up for our newsletter and follow dot.LA on Twitter for more.
Today:
- Peacock Launches 24-Hour 'Road to Tokyo' Olympics Stream
- Could Twitter's QAnon Crackdown Be Followed by Others?
- 'The Interchange' Launches to Connect L.A. Startups to Potential Recruits
- LA-Based CreatorIQ Marketing Platform Picks up $24M
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Peacock Launches 24-Hour 'Road to Tokyo' Olympics Stream
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUwNTY1NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MjQ3MTgzMn0.NFt3LuCTrHqE2cH9nvKonUoz_DbozoAO5liNYPjl1C4/img.jpg?width=980" id="e745b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="696cd780a21970cb2358d4e9a7b6af8f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="4032" data-height="3024" />multicolored signagePhoto by Kyle Dias on Unsplash<p>As NBCUniversal prepared for its entry into the streaming wars, it looked to the 2020 Summer Olympics as a valuable tool to build interest and win over viewers. Because the company owns the rights to broadcast the games, it planned to use them to give what would ultimately be called Peacock some wind beneath its wings.</p><p>The coronavirus pandemic took the air out of those plans, but with the Tokyo Olympics having moved to the summer of 2021, the streaming service has adjusted. Peacock has launched a new 24/7 stream devoted to the games, which the service announced in a statement on Wednesday.<br></p><p>With the new "Road to Tokyo" channel, Peacock viewers will have access to continuous content "dedicated to Olympic and Paralympic classic moments, documentaries and studio programming," the statement said. This "pop-up channel" is one of Peacock's so-called linear feeds, where users tune into the channel but don't choose what they watch. Other channels include feeds centered around Saturday Night Live, The Office and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.</p><p>Peacock also announced it will feature a collection of NBC Olympics documentaries on its app, and produce three exclusive new specials "to prepare fans for what could be the most meaningful Olympics ever."</p><p>The games are now scheduled to begin on June 23, 2021. Although their delay has hindered NBCU's ability to market Peacock, the company is still turning to them as a tool to attract subscribers and goose excitement for its prized assets. </p>Could Twitter's QAnon Crackdown Be Followed by Others?
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUwNTc1NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MjM1NjYwOX0.Zyq0NJ8uWjMAe6C2tSSVjHS2kyGCciANAC0V6BRy1UI/img.jpg?width=980" id="59f49" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cafcc10c1b76c02f11477fa327eef04b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1024" data-height="1024" />QAnon protesters
<p>Twitter announced Tuesday evening that it began cracking down on accounts related to QAnon, the conspiracy theory that has gained traction across social media platforms. And there's a good chance other companies will follow suit, USC professor Nenad Medvidovic told dot.LA.</p> <p><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/jIXp-izYNFu6mI-mGsbJWy8IeS7FkJSMhpqmfDAXLnfHzXKWV0O_VKQYFUNeNiS6vJhmscsCte8oPGjcRXE7lUvCBHZFUk1W3l8ZcKRIUcTBksUeXEQjUIfeatOwktZLCKutfKA4"></p> <p>The company pledged to suspend accounts tweeting about "these topics that we know are engaged in violations of our multi-account policy, coordinating abuse around individual victims, or are attempting to evade a previous suspicion." </p><p>"What Twitter did is not entirely unilateral," Medvidovic, a computer science professor, told dot.LA. "There's actually a concerted effort in connection with other media platforms. The pressure definitely does build."</p> <p>Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat are independent companies that make their own decisions related to First Amendment issues, Medvidovic said. Still, it seems many of them are working off the same playbook when it comes to addressing and managing misinformation. </p> <p>QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory that revolves around unfounded claims of a "deep state" attack against President Trump. An individual going by the name "Q" first posted his theories back in 2017. The group has since falsely accused actors and politicians of running a child sex trafficking ring. Recently, attacks fell on celebrity Chrissy Teigen after she <a href="https://twitter.com/chrissyteigen/status/1285743767945752577" target="_blank">spoke out</a> against Twitter critics who claimed the company was wrongfully censoring users. </p> <p>Medviovic says that while QAnon is considered mostly a fringe movement, its messaging and actions are reaching the mainstream. Once it begins to incite violence, First Amendment protections are no longer guaranteed, Medviovic said. </p> <p>Plus, Twitter is a private platform that can set its own rules and restrictions. </p> <p>"I think the issue here is that it was bleeding into the real world and potentially encroaching on people's safety," Medviovic said. "I can definitely see something like QAnon being checked more consistently across the board." </p> <p>Twitter says it no longer highlights QAnon posts in search and trending topics and will block URLs associated with the conspiracy theory from being shared on its site.</p> <p>"As we work at scale to protect the public conversation in the face of evolving threats, we'll continue to lead with transparency and offer more context on our efforts," Twitter wrote. </p>
'The Interchange' Launches to Connect L.A. Startups to Potential Recruits
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUwNTg0Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxOTI1NzMzOX0.30m8Kzl01kgDtJxLbqUdUha_kpPEXr3nDpuwAvzt6iM/img.png?width=980" id="98b5f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5ead9a4844f7366f20d40e65c06fb5f0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1734" data-height="1144" /><p>VC firm Crosscut announced Wednesday the launch of a new, free platform for L.A.-based jobseekers, built in partnership with PledgeLA and the Annenberg Foundation.</p><p>The listings of L.A. startup jobs is called the "<a href="https://interchange.la/" target="_blank">Interchange</a>." It aggregates startup jobs across the city in an effort to make early-stage tech opportunities more open and accessible.<br></p><p><a href="https://pledgela.org/" target="_blank">PledgeLA</a> is an initiative sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation and the mayor of Los Angeles to promote civic engagement and diversity within the tech community. Its 222 signatories span L.A.'s venture capital and tech community, all of whom have pledged to work toward improving equity and transparent reporting on their diversity efforts.</p><p>The Interchange uses the Monday.vc platform, which is now called Getro, to aggregate regional startup jobs rather than relying on companies to post opportunities on job boards or LinkedIn, said Calvin Selth, AnnenbergTech's program lead. The platform automatically scrapes each company's career page daily to make sure its listings are up to date.</p><p><a href="https://dot.la/pledgelas-2nd-annual-survey-finds-women-non-whites-still-lack-equity-representation-2646415502.html" target="_blank">One result from PledgeLA's 2nd annual survey</a> found that underrepresented minorities were less likely to get their jobs through referrals. Interchange is an attempt to offer "a place to direct local underrepresented jobseekers to startup opportunities here in LA," Selth said. "We felt like this was a way to increase transparency about available roles while also helping startups that need build more diverse talent pipelines."<br></p><p>The platform focuses on startups that have fewer than 1,000 employees, is primarily a tech company, headquartered or has a technical team in L.A., makes more than $1 million in annual revenue or raises more than $1 million in venture capital, was founded after 2010 and is privately held, Selth said.</p><p>Crosscut head of platform, Nick Kim, said that early-stage tech startups are often cash constrained so post jobs on their own boards or use their networks to fill the top of hiring funnels.</p><p>"For marginalized or underrepresented people looking for high growth opportunities in tech, this means they might never see the best jobs before they're filled," Kim said. "Our goal is for all communities in LA, especially those who are not well represented in tech, to have access to the opportunities tech startups are hiring for. We hope that Interchange becomes a starting point for the promising talent that might have previously had less access to opportunity."<br></p>LA-Based CreatorIQ Marketing Platform Picks up $24M
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUwNTg4My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTM5NTk0NX0.d9h2-8Rc2j9-fOg2CTOMA1FD6LXW4eY0HRcExYZ--pk/img.jpg?width=980" id="a5906" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="661f98f9a85f00ad7d2a07765812beac" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="890" data-height="500" /><p>CreatorIQ is expanding their cloud after announcing today that they raised $24 million in a series C round.</p><p>The investment was led by Kayne Partners Fund with contributions from Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P., TVC Capital and Unilever Ventures.</p><p>The Los Angeles-based marketing software company was founded in 2014 and recently named a leader in the "Forrester New Wave: Influencer Marketing Solutions Report." It's now among Forrester's list of rapidly growing software programs.</p> <p>CVS, Disney, H&M, Mattel, Salesforce, Sephora and Unilever are some of the many well-known companies that already use CreatorIQ's platform to collect and analyze their marketing data for discovery, workflow and privacy.</p><p>The $24 million raised will allow the company to enter new partnerships with Collectively, Digital Brand Architects, Everywhere Agency, ShopStyle Collective and Sway Group. The funds will also allow CreatorIQ to expand its current data offerings and further develop elements of their system's user experience, data science and paid media components.</p><p>"As Marketing leaders accelerate their transformation strategies to close their in-house gaps across their marketing capabilities, they are uniting best-in-class technologies with leading data providers," said Igor Vaks, CreatorIQ's founder and CEO in a press release.</p><p>The company will also soon introduce a new learning machine it said will use analytics to power visual insights and, in turn, increase brand safety, content prediction, and recommendations. Called One60, the program will allow CreatorIQ's companies to host their own technology and data in one place.</p>From Your Site Articles
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