News
Rise of the Los Angeles Tech Hub: Move Over, Silicon Valley!
April 18, 2017 by Antonio Hicks
We’re usually all about San Francisco and Silicon Valley in these Spark Talks podcasts but this time we’re putting the spotlight on Los Angeles, an exploding tech hub with tons of startups getting founded and big companies moving in. Antonio Hicks, Senior Account Manager, who works on a lot of LA-based accounts and Rachel Kahn, Director at Spark in LA, explain why the Los Angeles tech hub is getting attention now and predict how LA will compare to Silicon Valley and New York in the future.
Join in on the conversation by tweeting us at @sparkpr.
2:51 Los Angeles tech history
3:56 What’s happening in Los Angeles tech now
7:11 LA’s reaction to Snap’s IPO
8:23 Why LA? Differences between LA, Silicon Valley, and New York
10:19 Challenges to LA’s tech scene: Venture Capital and Transportation
14:53 Future predictions
18:03 Tech conferences in LA
Throughout the podcast, we reference the following:
A Very Short History of LA Tech – Nellie Bowles, Recode
Represent.LA map of startups, coworking spaces, investors, & more
Betts Opens L.A. Office – Silicon Beach, Here We Come
6 Entrepreneurs on What It’s Like to be a Startup In Los Angeles – Jacob Faber, Tech.Co
What Snapchat maker’s IPO means for the LA tech scene – Paresh Dave, Los Angeles Times.
About Antonio
As Senior Account Manager in Spark’s Technology Practice Group, Antonio Hicks works with Silicon Valley startups ranging from B2C, B2B, corporate communications, and emerging tech. His 10 + years of in-house and agency experience in public relations, brand marketing, and media strategy spans multiple verticals including: technology, consumer lifestyle, health & wellness, aviation, and ecommerce.
About Rachel
Rachel Kahn drives high-impact communications programs for emerging market leaders as Director at Spark. She determines long and short-term strategic plans, ensuring communications strategies and tactics map to business goals, for clients like Walmart Global eCommerce, One Medical Group, SERVIZ, Bizo, Swrve, HubSpot, Spredfast, EatWith, Payvment, Topsy, BlueKai, Wildfire, Specific Media and others.
About Vanessa
Vanessa Zucker is Spark’s in-house marketing manager. She has done in-house marketing for small startups, tech giants, and non-profits. She merges creativity with analytical thinking and organization in order to create unique, quality content.
