Launchpad LA

Last updated

Launchpad LA
Industry Startup accelerator
Founded2009;15 years ago (2009)
Founders Mark Suster, Adam Lilling
Defunct2014
Headquarters
Santa Monica, California
,
United States
Key people
Sam Teller
Mark Suster
Adam Lilling
Jamie Kantrowitz
Products Venture capital, investments
Website launchpad.la

Launchpad LA was a startup accelerator program located in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2009 by venture capitalists Mark Suster and Adam Lilling. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Inception and Early Years (2009-2011)

The program aimed to select ten startup companies to participate, offering them a unique opportunity to receive mentorship, guidance, and resources. Applicants were required to physically relocate to Los Angeles for the six-month program, reflecting Launchpad LA's commitment to creating a thriving local startup ecosystem. [3]

The inspiration for Launchpad LA came from a story shared by Matt Coffin, the founder of LowerMyBills, who had faced adversity during the dot-com crash but found success with the help of an experienced entrepreneur's guidance. [4] Suster then approached Lilling about joining the initiative. [5]

During its early years, Launchpad LA operated as a networking group without an official office space or equity requirements. Instead, it focused on organizing regular events and dinners to support the participating companies. By 2011, Launchpad LA had accepted 23 companies into its mentorship program, with an impressive 19 of them receiving outside funding, and nine being acquired. These companies collectively raised approximately $80 million in funding, with exits exceeding $60 million. [6]

Evolution into an Accelerator (2011-2014)

The year 2011 marked a significant shift for Launchpad LA as it transformed into a full-fledged accelerator program. Each participating company in the third class received $50,000 in funding. [7] The investment was made possible through contributions from various venture capital firms and individual investors, including Rincon Ventures, Idealab, Baroda Ventures, and others. Launchpad LA also provided free office space in Santa Monica, conveniently located near the Third Street Promenade. This amount grew to $100,000 in 2013. [8]

Participating local venture capitalists committed to spending at least one day a week at the facility, actively engaging with the accepted companies. The program benefited from an impressive group of VC and individual advisors, including prominent names such as Jason Calacanis, Howard Lindzon, and Eric Ries. [9]

Sam Teller, a well-regarded figure in the Los Angeles startup community, took the reins to lead Launchpad LA during its third class. [10] His experience included co-founding Charlie, a Los Angeles-based media company, and working on high-profile projects for notable figures and organizations. Jamie Kantrowitz, a former MySpace executive, would later join as a partner. [11]

Launchpad LA's impact on the Southern California startup landscape continued to grow, and it consistently ranked as one of the top accelerator programs in the United States. The program received over 1,000 applicants per class. [12]

Closure (2014)

The program wound down in 2014 as Sam Teller became Elon Musk's Chief of Staff. [13]

Notable Companies and Alumni

Launchpad LA has provided support and mentorship to numerous promising startups over the years. Some notable companies that have participated in the program include:

Related Research Articles

A business incubator is an organization that helps startup companies and individual entrepreneurs to develop their businesses by providing a fullscale range of services, starting with management training and office space, and ending with venture capital financing. The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) defines business incubators as a catalyst tool for either regional or national economic development. NBIA categorizes its members' incubators by the following five incubator types: academic institutions; non-profit development corporations; for-profit property development ventures; venture capital firms, and a combination of the above.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Y Combinator</span> American startup accelerator

Y Combinator Management, LLC (YC) is an American technology startup accelerator and venture capital firm launched in March 2005 which has been used to launch more than 4,000 companies. The accelerator program started in Boston and Mountain View, expanded to San Francisco in 2019, and was entirely online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies started via Y Combinator include Airbnb, Coinbase, Cruise, DoorDash, Dropbox, Instacart, Reddit, Stripe, and Twitch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Jones (entrepreneur)</span> American entrepreneur and investor (born 1975)

Michael Jones is an American entrepreneur, investor and CEO of Science Inc. In 2017, Jones was named one of Los Angeles's 500 most influential people by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Techstars is a pre-seed investor that provides access to capital, mentorship, and other support for early-stage entrepreneurs. It was founded in 2006 in Boulder, Colorado. As of January 2024, the company had accepted over 4,100 companies into its accelerator programs with a combined market capitalization of $106bn USD. Techstars operates accelerator programs in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">500 Global</span> U.S. startup accelerator

500 Global is an early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator founded in 2010 by Dave McClure and Christine Tsai. The fund admitted a first "class" of twelve startups to its incubator office in Mountain View, California in February 2011. They expanded to a second class of 21 in June 2011 and a third class of 34 in October 2011.

Startup accelerators, also known as seed accelerators, are fixed-term, cohort-based programs, that include mentorship and educational components, and culminate in a public pitch event or demo day. While traditional business incubators are often government-funded, generally take no equity, and rarely provide funding, accelerators can be either privately or publicly funded and cover a wide range of industries. Unlike business incubators, the application process for seed accelerators is open to anyone, but is highly competitive. There are specific accelerators, such as corporate accelerators, which are often subsidiaries or programs of larger corporations that act like seed accelerators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Suster</span>

Mark Suster is an American businessman and investor. He is a managing partner at Upfront Ventures, the largest venture capital firm in Los Angeles. Aside from his business career, Suster is also a prominent blogger in the American high-technology startup scene and venture capital world.

AngelPad is an American seed-stage startup incubator, launched in September 2010 by Thomas Korte and Carine Magescas with six other former Google employees as mentors. AngelPad provides mentorship, seed money, and networking at two 10-week courses per year.

InvestedIn is a crowd funding website for fund raising projects and charity events such as walkathons and celebrity cause-based campaigns. InvestedIn is also a technology provider offering a white label crowdfunding platform for commercial and non-profit use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AngelList</span> Website connecting startups, angel investors, and job-seekers

AngelList is an American software company for fundraising and connecting startups, angel investors, and limited partners. Founded in 2010, it started as an online introduction board for tech startups that needed seed funding. Since 2015, the site allows startups to raise money from angel investors free of charge. Created by serial entrepreneur Naval Ravikant and Babak Nivi in 2010, Avlok Kohli has been leading AngelList as its CEO since 2019.

Sandbox Industries is a venture capital firm located in Chicago. The firm focuses on connecting established corporations with disruptive startups via strategic corporate investment funds.

RidePal offers corporate luxury commute bus services for companies and individuals in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Incubator Experiment</span> Business incubator in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Portland Incubator Experiment, often abbreviated as PIE or PIE PDX or stylized as Pie, is a business incubator based in Portland, Oregon that provides mentorship and resources to select startup companies. Co-founded by Renny Gleeson and Rick Turoczy, PIE is run by the Portland-based advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy (W+K). The program was informally launched in 2009 before converting to a formal structure in 2011. PIE participants are chosen by a selection committee, following an application process. Startups receive seed money and spend three months developing their businesses with support from W+K and participating mentors. Companies that have provided financial assistance and mentorship include The Coca-Cola Company, Google, Intel, Nike, Inc. and Target Corporation.

Adam Lilling is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. The founder of Pentagon CDs and Tapes, an internet music retailer which launched in 1995, Lilling is recognized for his early role in the development of the online music business and e-commerce practices. He is the co-founder of Launchpad LA, a mentorship program which later became a startup accelerator, and the founder and managing partner of Plus Capital, a venture capital firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Startups</span>

Blue Startups is a Hawaii-based accelerator company co-founded by Henk Rogers, Maya Rogers and Chenoa Farnsworth in 2012. They created it to help startup companies, and help make Hawaii more identifiable as a technological business hub. The company has a network of over 120 mentors from the Hawaii, Silicon Valley, and Asia areas. The company's stated goal - according to former Program Manager Meli James - is to get companies started in Hawaii and make them want to keep working in the state.

Connectifier was an American company that developed machine learning-based searching and matching technology to help recruiters and hiring managers find talent. The company was acquired by LinkedIn in February 2016 and operated as a wholly owned subsidiary until April 2020. The company had roughly 50 employees at the time of acquisition and drew its bench of AI talent from prestigious institutions including Google, Amazon, Stanford, Microsoft Research, NASA, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, and Berkeley National Lab.

Upfront Ventures, formerly known as GRP Partners, is a Santa Monica-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology companies. It is one of the largest venture capital firms in Los Angeles, with $2 billion in total raised funds. Since its founding in 1996, Upfront Ventures has invested in more than 200 companies, with notable exits including Ulta, Overture, PayPal Credit, TrueCar, Disney Digital Network, Kyriba, and Ring.

York Entrepreneurship Development Institute (YEDI) is a venture fund, startup accelerator, incubator and entrepreneurial community located within York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. YEDI facilitates collaboration between students, alumni, and academic and business leaders. The organization was founded in 2013 by businessman Dr. Marat Ressin, a native of Russia with close ties to the Jewish community in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator</span> NYC technology startup seed accelerator

Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator is an American seed accelerator launched in January 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fusion LA</span> Israeli startup accelerator

Fusion LA is a venture capital firm and an accelerator for Israeli startups in the United States. It was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, United States.

References

  1. ↑ "L.A.-based GRP Partners closes new $200M fund, rebrands as Upfront". Reuters. June 28, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  2. ↑ Ward, Victoria. "Duke and Duchess of Sussex working with Hollywood investor who makes millions for celebrities". MSN. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  3. ↑ GigaOm, MATHEW INGRAM of. "Launchpad LA Picks 10 Startups for Mentorship - NYTimes.com". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  4. ↑ Suster, Mark (April 14, 2016). "Launchpad LA — More Details Revealed". Medium. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  5. ↑ Kozlowski, Lori. "The Power Of Social Capital". Forbes. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Launchpad LA | Do Good LA". www.dogoodla.org. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  7. ↑ Jarvey, Natalie (November 20, 2011). "Rushing In". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Pando: Launchpad LA doubles down on accelerator, now offering companies $100k". August 9, 2020. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  9. ↑ Suster, Mark (November 8, 2011). "Launchpad LA Receives VC Funding: $50,000 Per Startup". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  10. ↑ Kozlowski, Lori. "Launchpad: L.A. State Of Mind". Forbes. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  11. ↑ Zimmerman, Eilene (September 7, 2013). "From Myspace's Ashes, Silicon Start-Ups Rise". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  12. ↑ "How a Top 5 Startup Accelerator Uses Asana to Review 1,000+ Applicants". zapier.com. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  13. ↑ Shamout, Omar (April 5, 2015). "SPECIAL REPORT: Seeding the Future". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 "TechZulu • Meet Launchpad LA's Graduating Startups". TechZulu. February 9, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Prevoty: Winning the War Against Zero Day Attacks". Amazon Web Services. May 21, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  16. ↑ Suster, Mark. "How This Entrepreneur Raised $28,000 Using Airbnb to Fund Her Startup". Business Insider. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  17. ↑ Popescu, Adam (April 22, 2012). "Married To Retail Website". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  18. ↑ Stanger, Maya Kosoff, Melissa. "25 hot Los Angeles startups you need to watch". Business Insider. Retrieved October 3, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ↑ Rao, Leena (May 2, 2012). "ChowNow Launches As A Food Ordering Platform For Restaurants On Facebook And iOS". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  20. ↑ Jarvey, Natalie (May 6, 2013). "Launchpad Portfolio Company Cooks Up Funding Round". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  21. ↑ LaPorte, Nicole (January 19, 2013). "A Sister Act, Leaping Into E-Commerce". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Funding Daily: Social media bling". Reuters. January 23, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Office Hours with Spencer Rascoff: Thrive Market's Nick Green On Building Better Access to Low-Cost Health & Wellness Goods on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.