Be Great Fest | Celebrating Los Angeles’ Startup Ecosystem
Meet the next generation of startup success stories at Be Great Fest in Los Angeles
On Sept. 17, entrepreneurs, investors, civic leaders and other key players in the tech industry will gather at the historic Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, Calif. Their mission: to support a charity, savor the hot SoCal nightlife, and transform Los Angeles into the startup capital of the world. It’s the premiere launch of Be Great Fest (www.begreatfest.com) and TechZulu is hooking you up with 20% off the ticket price with promo code “TechZulu“.
Be Great Fest is addressing a unique, unprecedented challenge. Although the Startup Genome Project named Los Angeles the No. 3 startup ecosystem in the world, with L.A. startups attracting over $847 million in investment funds in 2012 alone, the city’s diverse resources are often too separated. Be Great Fest is intended to unite them.
It’s the first of several exclusive events planned for L.A.’s tech scene by the city’s own incubator-accelerator Be Great Partners. The firm hopes to formally integrate the startup community with key investors, representatives from local government, and members of the entertainment industry.
“Even outside of our own endeavors, there’s tremendous momentum building around LA startups in general. We want to channel that energy and keep it here,” said Be Great Partners CEO Lin Miao.
Be Great Partners said they’ve made it their mission to incubate Los Angeles itself even as they continue to build local, disruptive consumer and enterprise startups.
“Between factors like lower cost of living and access to the entertainment industry, LA has the perfect resources to become the world’s next hub of startup success,” Miao went on. “Someone just needs to step up and bring all these diverse assets together. That’s why we created Be Great Fest.”
With this push from Be Great Partners, L.A. will have the opportunity to fulfill its potential as a startup mecca.
Los Angeles is ripe with high wealthy individuals, world-class universities graduating over 2,900 engineers each year, talented programmers and designers, and entrepreneurs nurturing the next Snapchat or Instagram.
The City of Angels also offers exclusive access to one elite resource startups won’t find anywhere else in such abundance: celebrities.
For consumer-facing applications, celebrities can offer huge benefits such as public endorsements or financing. Ashton Kutcher is just one of the A-list notables investing generously in startups. The star of the upcoming Jobs biopic has funded numerous tech companies through his venture firm, A- Grade Investments. Other actors, producers, and industry leaders are seeking similar opportunities to diversify their investments.
L.A.’s new mayor, Eric Garcetti, also presents a valuable asset to startups and investors. Garcetti has a long record as an ally to the startup community and successfully campaigned on L.A.’s potential to become a thriving, innovative tech industry. Be Great Partners shares Garcetti’s vision.
Be Great Partners will unite these celebrities, civic leaders, talent, entrepreneurs and investors for one night only at Be Great Fest at the Pacific Design Center on Sept. 17.
With a portion of the proceeds benefiting charity Pencils of Promise, Be Great Fest represents the first step towards L.A.’s next era of job growth, urban renewal and tech industry dominance.
Attend Be Great Fest: Where Innovators Meet Investors. Enter the coupon code “TechZulu” to get 20 percent off your admission. http://begreatfest.eventbrite.com/?discount=techzulu
