Can you believe that Vator Splash LA is just two days away? Have you bought your tickets yet? If not, then make sure to buy your tickets here! They go up on Thursday.
We have an exciting list of speakers and panelist this time around, including Jessica Alba and Brian Lee, the co-founders of The Honest Company; Scott Painter, the founder and CEO of TrueCar; Aaron Hischhorn, the founder and CEO of DogVacay, winner of Vator Splash 2012.
But the LA tech scene has really been shaped by pre-seed and seed investors. Among the most iconic in LA is Bill Gross, who founded Idealab, one of the first, if not the first startup incubator, well before Y Combinator and TechStars stormed into existence. Idealab was formed in 1996. Its model is incubator-esque in that it also creates its own companies within. One of the first success stories out of Idealab was Overture, which was bought by Yahoo, and was the company that introduced paid search, the business model that Google has dominated.
The Pasadena-based incubator has created more than 75 companies, 30 of which have exited. Some of Idealab’s other notable alumni include Tickets.com, Picasa, Internet Brands, Answers.com, Jobs.com, and PETsMART.com.
Prior to the founding of Idealab in 1996, Gross also founded a series of companies, including audio equipment manufacturer GNP Loudspeakers; GNP Development, which was acquired by Lotus Software; and Knowledge Adventure, which was acquired by Cendant.
We’re super stoked to have Gross kick off the event with advice on how to build sustainable companies.
Then there’s Mike Jones, the founder of Science. If Gross pioneered the incubator/studio model early on, Jones has re-created it with his own style. After a stint as CEO of MySpace, Jones founded Science shortly after he left the company in November 2011. Science is based in Santa Monica and is the only incubator model, save Idealab.
Science is a new kind of accelerator model, as it is a mix of both incubator and accelerator. It helps create, as well as develop, its own business ideas in-house, as well as acquiring other Internet startups with the aim of scaling them. But it has no set timeline regarding exits or releases.
Science has received funding from Rustic Canyon, White Star Capital, The Social+Capital Partnership, Tomorrow Ventures, Siemer Ventures, Philippe Camus, Jean-Marie Messier, Jonathan Miller and Dennis Phelps, who put $10 million into it collectively.
Some of its alumni include EverySignal, HelloSociety and Marigold Media.
Jones will join Bambi Francisco, Founder & CEO of Vator, on stage right after the first round of five startup pitches. He’ll be on hand to share his advice on how to present and how to fundraise. Get ready for your questions!
Be sure to catch them, as well as other VC founders, from Erik Rannala, founder of Mucker Capital, rated by CB Insights as the No. 2 most prolific early-stage VC in LA, Paul Bricault, founder of a digital media accelerator Amplify.la; Dana Settle, who co-founded Greycroft about a decade ago. Settle is also an early investor in Maker Studios, which was bought by Disney, for about $1 billion earlier this year; Eric Manlunas (Founding Partner, Wavemaker Partners, formerly Siemer Ventures – one of the most active early-stage VCs in LA); Bill Woodward, founder of Anthem Venture Partners, a longstanding LA-based VC firm, which is counted as one of the most active late-stage VCs in La.
Here’s a list of investor firms registered to attend: Anthem Venture Partners,Amplify, Baroda Capital
Bullpen Capital, CAA Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Core Innovation Capital, Crosscut Ventures,
Greycroft, Idealab, Javelin Venture Partners, Structure VC, Wavemaker Partners, Plus Capital, Science,
Mucker Capital, Warner Bros., Disney TechStars, The Pritzker Group, Upfront Ventures, Tech Coast Angels, HBS Angels, UTA, White Star Capital, Shasta Ventures, Susa Ventures, Rustic Canyon,
WME Ventures, Venture51,Epic Ventures and many more including active angels.
Don’t forget to REGISTER before prices jump at the door!
