Driving LA's Venture Narrative
Insights from a Venture Presentation
I delivered a presentation to a group of investors on the Embarcadero in San Francisco, championing Los Angeles, and was pleasantly surprised by the feedback I received.
The event highlighted graduates of the Coolwater VC accelerator program, which aids emerging managers in refining their messaging for clarity and conciseness, improving portfolio construction, and refining their processes to align with industry best practices.
Here's my buddy Arian, who spoke immediately following me and whom I previously highlighted as the guest of honor at the inaugural dinner of the Economic Club of Los Angeles a few months ago. He impressed tonight just as much as he did the group of institutional investors I gathered in LA.
Here's the comments I received from potential investors who approached me after the event.
Have you noticed that many of the major partners of the largest Silicon Valley venture capital firms own homes in LA? (Yes, mostly in Malibu or the Silicon Beach i.e. Venice, Santa Monica, Hermosa Bech, etc.)
LA is already the go-to market for gaming. LA may soon become the go-to market for a variety of other venture areas, shifting deals and investments to the city. (Let’s go #LongLA)
Stanford has been oversaturated for years. Are you noticing a similar trend at UCLA, or what competition are you observing for deal flow among graduate schools? (Still very little)
Here are the slides specific to Los Angeles from the presentation I gave to an audience of approximately 150 venture capitalists.
Here's the pitch that LA is being underserved, particularly regarding Ultra High Net Worth individuals, who typically form the core investors in funds like mine or companies seeking funding but aren't among the privileged few who receive a VC term sheet.
The angle I noticed the most people nodding their head was around that top VCs are already making their way to LA to participate in the premier venture conferences, leaving behind a remarkable and highly beneficial venture footprint.
I've actively worked to broaden that footprint by arranging institutional dinner series, moderating panels for the UCLA Law Venture Society, mentoring at the UCLA Anderson Accelerator, and hosting pop-up venture workshops. These endeavors strive to educate investors keen on local opportunities and founders aspiring to raise their families in the lovely Southern California while they build their decacorn (with me on the board, if you please 🙏😁).
What simplifies matters for me is that I offer guidance and funding to founders who graduated from prestigious schools prior to attending UCLA's graduate programs, which are highly esteemed by top Silicon Valley VCs. This facilitates deals from LA to swiftly secure downstream funding rounds.
As the most applied to university in America (170,047 last year), each graduating class consistently exceeds its predecessor in both academic prowess and the accomplishments that accompany this excellence.
As a small fund, UCLA's graduate schools alone offer ample opportunities to fill a fund and then some. Therefore, I've directed my focus here, convinent given that I already work here teaching the Blockchain Fundamentals class and other courses within the Blockchain Technology Management Certificate Program.
Top universities are fertile grounds for talented student founders, particularly as they near graduation and opt for entrepreneurship over traditional employment. However, meaningful support from funds appears to be exceedingly rare from my observations. VCs genuinely interested in making an impact should engage in mentoring at campus accelerators, speaking at clubs, hosting events, treating potential founders to lunch, and organizing workshops to effectively identify and nurture talent.
Feel free to reach out or send me a message if you're interested in hearing about the best of what I’m seeing in LA or would be willing to provide feedback on how to effectively communicate the strength of this regional market to investors looking to seize opportunities in a city where the convergence of media and tech presents limitless potential.