Here are the most active LA-based investors in 2015

Steven Loeb · October 2, 2015 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/4078

Upfront Ventures leads with 18 investments, followed by Wavemaker Partners and Tech Coast Angels

(Vator Splash LA will be taking place on October 15. Speakers will include Adam Goldenberg Founder & CEO of JustFab; Brian Lee. Co-Founder & CEO of The Honest Company; Michael Dubin, Founder & CEO of Dollar Shave Club; and TJ Sassani, Founder & CEO of zozi. Get your tickets here!)

As we approach our upcoming event in LA (it's just two week away, people!) we are continuing our deeper drive into the ecosystem, seeing what makes it work.A

As we have already shown you, LA is home to the world's best rappers, it's home to some of today's most promising startups, such as SnapChat, Whisper, The Honest Company, DollarShaveClub and JustFab. In fact, recent fundings into SnapChat, DollarShaveClub and The Honest Company this year have driven LA VC investments up 5X in five years.

Now we want to look at who is on the other side of that equation: the investors, the ones who are supplying that funding and allowing those companies to flourish.

Here are the most active LA-based investors, based on number of investments, in the first half of 2015, according to data supplied to VatorNews from NVCA. And, we're proud to say we have partners from the top three firms joining us at Vator Splash LA on Oct. 2015. Have you registered yet? Join us by registering here. Use "vatormember" for a 20% discount. Register here.

Firm: Upfront Ventures

Number of deals: 18 in 17 companies

Total amount invested: $37.14 million

Average equity per deal: $2.06 million

Stage: Seed to late stage

Notable investments: GumGum, ChowNow, Shots Mobile, Kyriba, AlphaDraft

 

Firm: Wavemaker Partners

Number of deals: 16 in 15 companies

Total amount invested: $2.9 million

Average equity per deal: $0.18 million

Stage: Early stage

Notable investments: Clutter, Local Store Identity, Isomnio, Bridg, Sensay

 

Firm: Tech Coast Angels

Number of deals: 12 in 12 companies

Total amount invested: $3.63 million

Average equity per deal: $0.3 million

Stage: Seed/early stage

Notable investments: Beatshare, FloWater, Kitabu

 

Firm: Double M Partners

Number of deals: 9 in 9 companies

Total amount invested: $2.11 million

Average equity per deal: $0.23 million

Stage: Early stage

Notable investments: HONK, Quick.ly, Sense360, Orbitera, Local Store Identity

 

Firm: CrossCut Ventures

Number of deals: 8 in 7 companies

Total amount invested: $6.59 million

Average equity per deal: $0.82 million

Stage: Early stage

Notable investments: Mobcrush, Conversion Logic, Little Labs, Big Monday, Local Store Identity

 

Firm: Queensbridge Venture Partners

Number of deals: 7 in 7 companies

Amount invested: $4.82 million

Average equity per deal: $0.69 million

Stage: Seed/early stage

Top investments: Mobcrush, CoinTent, Shift Messenger, Draft, MightySignal, Fitmob

 

Firm: March Capital Partners

Number of deals: 5 in 5 companies

Total amount invested: $16.08

Average equity per deal: $3.22 million

Stage: Early stage

Notable investments: Quick.ly, Burrito Labs, E8 Security, CoHo Data, Heal

 

Firm: LAUNCH Fund

Number of deals: 5 in 5 companies

Total amount invested: $11.36 million

Average equity per deal: $2.27 million

Stage: Early stage

Notable investments: HomeHero, Signpost, R​Escour, ToutApp

 

Firm: Karlin Ventures

Number of deals: 4 in 4 companies

Total amount invested: $8.93 million

Average equity per deal: $2.23 million

Stage: Early stage

Notable investments: ChowNow, Laurel & Wolf, Prevoty

 

Firm: Core Innovation Capital

Number of deals: 4 in 4 companies

Total amount invested: $5.56 million

Average equity per deal: $1.41 million

Stage: Early stage

Notable investments: Mayvenn, Ripple Labs, Honest Dollar, CoverHound

 

Firm: Amplify.LA

Number of deals: 4 in 4 companies

Total amount invested: $2.21 million

Average equity per deal: $0.55 million

Stage: Early stage

Notable investments: AlphaDraft, Big Monday, Mapsense, Little Labs,

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Tech Coast Angels

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Who we are?

  • Largest angel investment organization in the U.S. founded in 1997
  • Over 300 members in 5 regional Networks covering all of Southern California
  • Our members have diverse backgrounds in almost every industry (not just tech)
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  • We have invested in over 200 companies
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What do we provide to entrepreneurs?

  • Critical business connections
  • Provide hands-on practical mentoring
  • Provide help in building out the management team
  • Help raising additional venture capital funding

 

Karlin Ventures

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Upfront Ventures

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Upfront Ventures, previously GRP Partners, is an LA based Venture Capital firm that focuses on early stage investments (mostly Seed & Series A).

GRP, rebranded as Upfront Ventures in June 2013, has been operating since 1996, making investments in tech companies like Overture, CitySearch, BillMeLater, Envestnet, DealerTrack, CyberSource, Qualys, and HDI in that time. For the firm, the rebrand represents its movement toward a new, 21st-century style of investing, emphasizing openness and transparency.

Crosscut Ventures

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We are looking for dedicated entrepreneurs who have the foresight and personal fortitude to take their ideas and make them happen. In a big way. Passion and conviction required, but also a grounded sense of the realities inherent in starting and building a world-class company. We like entrepreneurs who can cut against the grain.