Upfront Summit: Steve Ballmer, Meg Whitman, and Even Paris Hilton

Rachel Uranga

Rachel Uranga is dot.LA's Managing Editor, News. She is a former Mexico-based market correspondent at Reuters and has worked for several Southern California news outlets, including the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Los Angeles Daily News. She has covered everything from IPOs to immigration. Uranga is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and California State University Northridge. A Los Angeles native, she lives with her husband, son and their felines.

Upfront Summit: Steve Ballmer, Meg Whitman, and Even Paris Hilton
Upfront Ventures
  • Upfront Summit will bring together top names in media, tech and finance from singer John Legend to Quibi CEO Meg Whitman
  • Sustainability, climate change, white privilege and streaming are on the agenda
  • The Takeaway: Upfront set to attract investors backed with billions in capital

Upfront Ventures kicks off its technology and startup conference on Wednesday, and this year's lineup includes everyone from Clippers chairman Steve Ballmer to Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos. And, given the event is in Hollywood's back yard, musician John Legend, Ice Cube, and even Paris Hilton are set to speak.


The Upfront Summit, now in its eighth year, is expected to attract more than 1,200 attendees flocking to the Rose Bowl Jan. 29-30. The invite-only event brings together a diverse mix of entrepreneurs networking with venture players armed with billions of dollars in capital, and headlined by presentations from business leaders including Quibi Chief Executive Meg Whitman, Union Square Ventures' Fred Wilson, and Idealab founder Bill Gross.

And this year's conference is expected to take on a theme of sustainability, with panelists like Gross, addressing climate change. The topic takes on more significance this week after Amazon workers threatened to protest about their company's environmental stance, despite threats of termination if they do.

"If the world doesn't solve its sustainability problem, there is no world," said Upfront Managing Partner Mark Suster. "As a result we are not only solving society's biggest problems, but that's where a lot of the money goes."

The event will also tackle issues of diversity and white privilege, along with panels on venture capital, entrepreneurship and the changing media landscape. The summit, which will be live-streamed for the first time, was originally started as a way to counter what Suster believes was a perception that investors were reluctant to sink money into Los Angeles because "it's an entertainment town."

Indeed, today's Los Angeles economy thrives from a cross-pollination of companies where SpaceX sits alongside the scientific community, and tech titans like Snap or Riot Games co-exist with retail ventures like Dollar Shave Club and Sweetgreen.

The convergence of Hollywood and technology are certainly going to be front-and-center at this year's conference. The meteoric rise of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu launched a streaming war that lured in competitors from Apple to Quibi. NBCUniversal got into the action on Jan. 16 when it announced the launch of its Peacock streamer.

Celebrities, whose eye-catching names add a bit of glitz to the Upfront Summit, can't be counted out. After all, this is the town where Ashton Kutcher jumped into the venture capital game, Gwyneth Paltrow launched Goop, and Jessica Alba unveiled Honest Co.

That's certainly a boon to Southern California, where the entertainment industry pumped $115.7 billion into the Los Angeles and Orange County economies (including consumer and other ancillary spending). Los Angeles county is also the nation's top manufacturing base.

For Suster, the conference has the added bonus of giving Upfront a better view about potential investments. The Santa Monica-based firm is one of the region's largest and oldest venture capital players known for its early and seed investment in companies like TrueCar, Maker Studios and Ring. And there's some money to spend. Last year it filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $250 million in an Upfront Growth III fund for later stage companies. "We are proudly long L.A.," Suster said.

Links to the conference agenda and the livestream can be found here.

Upfront Ventures holds a non-controlling, minority interest in dot.LA.

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🌐Decentralizing Data & Vacations: Sony's Web3 Leap and Sensible Weather's KOA Partnership

🔦 Spotlight

Happy Long Weekend Los Angeles!

Sony Group is making a significant push into the blockchain and Web3 space, leveraging its Sony Pictures and Sony Music divisions along with a new global incubator. The company has developed the Soneium blockchain through Sony Block Solutions Labs, a joint venture aimed at accelerating Web3 innovation. Sony is launching the "Soneium Minato" public testnet and a developer incubation program called "Soneium Spark" to foster ecosystem growth and adoption. The initiative includes strategic partnerships with Web3 companies such as Astar Network, Circle, and Optimism. Sony aims to create a fan community centered on creators and connect diverse values through Soneium, with the ultimate goal of integrating Web3 services into people's daily lives. While the company acknowledges the challenges faced by Web3, including limited user adoption and the need for mainstream use cases, it remains committed to decentralizing the concentrated power of the current internet landscape.

In completely unrelated and more digestible news Sensible Weather, a leading weather protection provider that we’ve featured many times, has partnered with Kampgrounds of America (KOA) to offer Weather Guarantees at over 450 KOA Campgrounds across the United States. This collaboration allows campers to purchase weather protection for their outdoor experiences, providing peace of mind and potential reimbursements of up to 100% of their nightly rate if weather conditions exceed predefined parameters. The partnership comes at an opportune time, as camping has seen a significant increase in popularity, with active campers growing by 68% over the past decade. If you are looking to do some camping this fall make sure you look into Sensible Weather protections to ensure that unpredictable weather won't dampen (nailed it) your camping experience.


🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Space and Time, a blockchain data warehouse developer, raised a $20M Series A led by Framework Ventures. - learn more
  • Miris, a provider of spatial content streaming solutions, raised a $26M Seed Round led by IAG Capital Partners. - learn more

LA Venture Funds

  • Fika Ventures led a $4.55M Seed Round for Revenew, a San Francisco startup that aims to help digital platforms and marketplaces manage their payments and optimize financial operations. - learn more
  • Bonfire Ventures participated in a $25M Series A for Supio, an AI platform for personal injury law firms. - learn more
  • Amplify LA participated in a $2M Seed Round for Pryzm, a startup that provides tools and data to help businesses navigate government contracting more efficiently. - learn more

    ✨ Featured Event ✨

    LA TECH CEO SUMMIT

    LA’s tech leadership is set to reunite after a long break! This two day summit will focus on building strong connections, sharing insights, and fortifying the local tech community.

    Learn More Here

    Register Here


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    Personality Assessments Improving Workplace Dynamics

    Misunderstandings can have significant and sometimes severe impacts, far beyond the hilarious cake pictured above. Many organizations are increasingly using personality assessments to improve team dynamics and productivity. Tests like the Enneagram, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), and DISC assessment are valuable tools for developing existing teams in addition to hiring new employees. These assessments provide insights into team members' motivations, communication styles, and work preferences, helping colleagues understand each other better. By highlighting the different personalities within a team, these tests can enhance communication, resolve conflicts, and optimize task assignments based on individual strengths. As companies aim for greater efficiency and collaboration, the Enneagram, MBTI, and DISC assessments are becoming essential for transforming established teams into more effective and cohesive units.


    Image Source: iEQ9

    Enneagram

    The Enneagram test is a sophisticated personality assessment that categorizes individuals into nine distinct personality types, each defined by unique motivations, fears,and behavioral patterns. This holistic approach enhances team dynamics in a business setting by fostering self-awareness, improving communication, and facilitating conflict resolution among team members. By understanding different personality types, teams can optimize their composition, tailor professional development, and create a more empathetic and collaborative environment. This framework not only helps leaders adapt their styles to better support diverse team members but also promotes inclusivity and effective collaboration, ultimately leading to improved team performance, productivity, and retention.

    Resources:iEQ9. We recommend getting an Enneagram coach to get the most out of the results.

    Key Features: Focus on core motivations. Accounts for personality shifts under stress or growth. Offers practical, actionable guidance for personal growth. Uses a dynamic, adaptive questioning approach. Claims 95% accuracy rate through advanced techniques.


    Image Source: DiSC Profile

    DiSC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness)

    The DiSC assessment is a widely used behavioral analysis tool that categorizes individuals into four primary personality types: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. For businesses, DiSC provides valuable insights into employees' communication styles, work preferences, and motivations. By understanding these behavioral tendencies, teams can improve collaboration, reduce conflicts, and enhance overall productivity. Implementing DiSC in a business setting can lead to more effective leadership, tailored communication strategies, and optimized task allocation based on individual strengths.

    Resources:DiSC Profile.

    Key Features: Designed specifically for workplace applications. Focuses on observable behaviors rather than psychological traits. Widely researched and validated over 40+ years. Provides practical strategies for improving interactions.


    Image Source: The Myers-Briggs Company

    The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

    The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a widely used personality assessment tool that categorizes individuals into 16 distinct personality types based on four dichotomies: Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving. For businesses, the MBTI provides valuable insights into employees' communication styles, decision-making processes, and work preferences.This helps promote a more productive workplace, and enables employees to become involved in more meaningful ways, all while leveraging everyone’s unique strengths.

    Resources:The Myers-Briggs Company.

    Key Features: Focuses on preferences rather than traits. Focuses on how people perceive and judge information. Widely used in business and career counseling


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    🥊📱Startups Battling Election Deepfakes and LA’s First Tech CEO Summit

    🔦 Spotlight

    Happy Friday Los Angeles!

    YouMail, based in Irvine, and Pindrop have partnered to create the Election Communication Defense Grid (ECDG), a platform designed to combat AI-generated and deepfake calls that could interfere with US elections. This collaboration leverages YouMail's extensive sensor network, which analyzes over 20 million phone numbers monthly, and Pindrop's Pulse™ Inspect technology to detect AI-generated speech. The system actively monitors and analyzes potentially problematic political robocalls, having already examined calls from numerous Congress members and political candidates in 2024. When AI-generated calls are identified, YouMail Protective Services swiftly notifies carriers and enforcement agencies to shut down these campaigns, minimizing potential harm. This partnership represents a significant step forward in protecting the public from malicious communication tactics during critical election periods.


    ✨ Featured Event ✨

    LA TECH CEO SUMMIT

    WHEN: Thursday, September 26 -- Friday, September 27, 2024

    LOCATION: Terranea Resort: 100 Terranea Way, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

    LA’s tech leadership is set to reunite after a long break! Join us for the highly anticipated LA Tech CEO Summit, taking place September 26-27 at the stunning Terranea Resort. This exclusive event offers a unique chance to connect with top tech founders and CEOs, including industry key figures like Adam Miller (Founding CEO of Cornerstone), Ian Siegel (CEO of ZipRecruiter), Shivani Siroya (CEO of Tala), Eddy Lu (CEO of GOAT), and other influential leaders. This two day summit will focus on building strong connections, sharing insights, and fortifying the local tech community. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with the best minds in LA tech!

    Learn More Here

    Register Here


    🤝 Venture Deals

    LA Companies

    • Starpath, a developer of robotic propellant production factories raised a $12M Seed Round co-led by 8VC and Fusion Fund, and joined by Day One Ventures, Balerion Space, and Indicator Ventures. - learn more

    LA Venture Funds

    • Anthos Capital led a $4M Funding Round for Mudstack, a startup whose software helps game developers organize and share game assets like graphics and code. - learn more

    Download the dot.LA App

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