BEVERLY HILLS DEER VALLEY KAPALUA BAY LAGUNA BEACH PALMETTO BLUFF LIFE, WELL LIVED Exclusive EXPERIENCES CONCIERGES CURATE VIP VISITS JESSICA ALBA THE ACTRESS-TURNED-ENTREPRENEUR TALKS BUSINESS WINTER 2015 MILE-HIGH MEALS CELEBRITY CHEFS ELEVATE AIRLINE FOOD SKIING GOES HIGH-TECH THE LATEST GEAR FOR THE SLOPES WORTH THE JOURNEY HARD-TO-REACH DESTINATIONS AROUND THE WORLD
SILICON VALLEY MOVES SOUTH Startups find a new home in LA s distinct marketplace. BY TIFFANIE WEN Ivka Adam, the founder and CEO of Iconery, has a career many in the startup world would admire. Raised in California s Orange County, she studied economics at University of California, Los Angeles, before getting her master s degree in business administration at the University of Southern California. She then moved to the Bay Area to work for ebay Inc. In a move that may seem surprising because of her Silicon Valley success, last year, she decided to create Iconery, a startup business that produces customized jewelry with 3-D printing in Los Angeles. To Adam, LA was the obvious choice for its abundance of e-commerce expertise, proximity to manufacturing and production resources, and tightknit startup community. She s not alone. The City of Angels has been tapped as one of the best startup ecosystems in the world, particularly when it comes to technology. The industry s leading companies (Google, Microsoft, YouTube and Facebook, to name a few) now have offices in the area, and successful names, like SpaceX, began in LA County. As the City of Angels is increasingly recognized for its startup community, more entrepreneurs from other hubs like Boston, Seattle and Silicon Valley are moving in. Many of these businesspeople are combining tech with the fields for which LA is known to create something truly unique. In Adam s case, Iconery blended e-commerce and 3-D printing with coveted, made-to-order fashion. Boasting an estimated 5,500 to 8,300 active tech startups and around 200,000 engineers with more coming down the pike as they graduate from top universities like UCLA, USC and the California Institute of Technology the greater Los Angeles area is now the thirdstrongest startup ecosystem in the world, according to Compass Global Startup Ecosystem Rating. Culture Cultivating Business You have a confluence of all the things that you need for a really vibrant startup community in LA, says Robert Lambert, founder of Silicon Beach LA, an organization that connects members of the local startup community. You have a ton of funding, a lot of entertainment capital and a ton of talented, hustle-type people here. The organization hosts several events every month and even accepts applications to be in a subgroup of professionals who, in true Southern California fashion, regularly get together to surf. It s called Silicon Beach Surfers, and the more than 200 members gain access to not only networking events but also to an exclusive beach house in a prime surfing location. 78 WINTER 2015/16 MONTAGE
In LA, you can make cash last a lot longer. Our teammates get to have a better quality of living, Nanxi Liu (pictured with her Enplug co-founders, from left, Navdeep Reddy, Zach Spitulski and Alex Ross) MONTAGE WINTER 2015/16 79
SnackNation, a delivery service for healthy foods There s still an incredibly supportive community of startups. The majority still has the mentality that a rising tide lifts all boats. Sean Kelly (pictured left, with Andy Mackensen) To Ivka Adam, LA was the obvious choice for its abundance of e-commerce expertise, proximity to manufacturing and production resources, and tightknit startup community. The pervasive Southern California culture also beckoned Sean Kelly to create HUMAN, short for Helping Unite Mankind and Nutrition, a business focused on making healthy foods and drinks more accessible through outlets like SnackNation (a delivery service), vending machines and micromarkets for corporate settings. Although Kelly conceived the idea while working as a personal trainer in New York City, he decided to launch from LA. As inspiring and cosmopolitan as New York is, it s not the best place to launch a health and nutrition company, he says. Los Angeles just has a greater emphasis on well-being. It s more ingrained in the lifestyle out here. The example I always give is that LA has juice bars; New York has hot dog stands. A Supportive Network Though LA is a relatively new startup scene, there s no lack of experienced founders and mentors for entrepreneurs. Almost half of the new businesses employees have worked at a startup before, and 18 percent of founders have prior experience at a company that experienced hypergrowth. That familiarity with the startup process is a strength for the city and hints at a growing grid of professionals bolstering each other. Kelly says the spirit of collaboration in LA is one of its greatest assets. There s still an incredibly supportive community of startups, he says. The majority still has the mentality that a rising tide lifts all boats. We find this environment suits us well, and we make it a point to do things like joint happy hours with neighboring companies. Nanxi Liu, co-founder and CEO of Enplug Inc., agrees that there is something special about LA. The company that she founded just three years TOP PHOTOS COURTESY OF HUMAN 80 WINTER 2015/16 MONTAGE
STARTUP STATISTICS Compass Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking names Los Angeles the third-best startup region in the world, but each city in the top five has something unique to offer new businesses and their employees. Southern California business executives network through surfing groups. GOOGLE EXTERIOR PHOTO BY MAGLARA/SHUTTERSTOCK ago is modernizing signage with smart, interactive displays, and has already landed her on Fortune s list of most promising women entrepreneurs and Inc. s top 30 entrepreneurs under the age of 30. Though she initially moved to the city to be with her co-founders, Liu says she s stayed because of the advantages of growing the company there. LA is a growing startup hub so everyone is highly supportive of one another, she says. It s been an incredibly rewarding environment for Enplug. It s not just people in the tech community that share Enplug with their friends, but also many in totally unrelated industries. It s helped get our product out to many more people. Liu says she s also proud of the community support surrounding female entrepreneurs in LA, a topic that has garnered attention in recent years as high-profile cases of discrimination make headlines. There s a strong emphasis to promote women entrepreneurs and give them recognition, she adds. Whether it s women-focused panels or groups, I ve been impressed with the city s forward-thinking approach on gender issues. Diverse Markets The focus on women in the city s startup labor force is just one positive effect that the diverse demographic has on local businesses. In LA, the startup community is a fresh development, and everyone in the city is excited about its growth, Liu says. I ve met a greater variety of people here in LA than I have anywhere else in the world. Enplug s investors alone range from people who started the largest game company in the world to the head of a major entertainment company. Second only to New York, Los Angeles has a local market for startups that is 61 percent larger than Silicon Valley s. Enplug s customers are hotels, real estate companies, restaurants, shopping malls, media companies and stadiums, says Liu. There are so many ideal customers for us in LA. The entertainment capital of the world that is drenched in sunshine for the majority of the year also boasts a lower cost of living than its tech hub cousin up north. It s much more affordable than San Francisco. In LA, you can make cash last a lot longer. Our teammates get to have a better quality of living, Liu attests. Lambert agrees that the City of Angels is the perfect atmosphere for entrepreneurs. LA has a lot of compelling value in addition to one of the top startup communities, he says. The weather s perfect, you ve got art, fashion, film and music, and arguably the best city brand in the world. M You have a ton of funding, a lot of entertainment capital and a ton of talented, hustle-type people here. Robert Lambert 1. SILICON VALLEY, CALIF. Still considered the heart of the startup field, Silicon Valley has undoubtedly played a role in modernizing the world. The valley has more than 14,000 active startups and has born behemoths like Google Inc., ebay Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Yahoo Inc. 2. NEW YORK CITY New York and LA have competed for the No. 2 spot in recent years, but the East Coast city has earned the ranking after showing 40 percent growth in tech startups since 2008. New York is home to more than 7,000 of them, including Etsy and Shutterstock. 3. LOS ANGELES Home to more than 5,000 active tech startups, LA businesses have paved the way in space exploration, changed how people communicate and introduced technology into the fashion industry. LA also boasts an expansive market reach. 4. BOSTON The high density of top-rated universities has been a player in Boston s startup scene, comprising more than 3,700 active tech businesses. The city is a leader in the science and biotech industries, and it pays to be an engineer there: The average salary is 16 percent higher than the North American average. 5. TEL AVIV, ISRAEL The only international city in the top five, the Israeli metropolis is home to more than 3,000 new tech companies, the highest startup density in Europe. The seaside city has found success attracting investors from around the world, making it the No. 1 municipality for global market reach. MONTAGE WINTER 2015/16 81