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Santa Monica embraces Silicon Beach — don’t call it Tech Coast
posted by Technology @ 3:17 PM
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Silicon Beach, the burgeoning tech start-up scene that’s taken root in Santa Monica and the surrounding area, continues to gain traction.
On Thursday, the city devoted much of its annual State of the City address to promoting the tech community, with Mayor Richard Bloom declaring: "Today we are not just Santa Monica, but Silicon Beach and the Tech Coast." (In an unofficial vote later, hundreds in attendance overwhelmingly threw their support to the Silicon Beach name.)
"Our technology-qualified workforce, creative workplaces and leading broadband infrastructure will keep our economy well-positioned for future growth," Bloom said.
After the mayor's address and a short video touting the rise of tech companies in Santa Monica, Jason Nazar, who is chief executive and co-founder of local start-up Docstoc.com and has become one of the main boosters of Silicon Beach, moderated a panel of people connected to the tech scene.
The group — Paige Craig, CEO of start-up BetterWorks; David Travers of venture capital firm Rustic Canyon Partners; Chui Tsang, president of Santa Monica College and Keith Klein of law firm Bryan Cave -– discussed the region's success so far and what needs to happen here in order for the tech community to thrive, such as partnerships with local schools, financial resources and other incentives.
Travers said the "critical issue" was getting a future tech powerhouse to stay put in Santa Monica and “be the tent pole around which many other companies will blossom."
"The next Facebook or Amazon or Google or what have you — the next multibillion-dollar great company needs to not only come out of here but needs to be able to stay here," he said. "Once a company starts getting big it needs a larger campus, you have a lot of MBAs sitting around thinking about how to optimize tax policy…. Santa Monica needs to be ready for when one of these companies takes off."
Tsang said he hoped tech employers would be "a little more active, a little more pushy with us in letting us know what it is they’re looking for" so the college can make sure its curriculum is relevant.
And despite the Silicon Beach name, the region needs to develop its own tech identity, Travers said.
"We compare ourselves a lot to Silicon Valley. I think we have to stop obsessively benchmarking ourselves against that," he said. "We need to stop acting like the little brother who’s always comparing themselves and just be ourselves."
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Photo: (Left to right) David Travers, Paige Craig, Chui Tsang, Keith Klein and Jason Nazar discuss Santa Monica's tech start-up scene during a panel discussion. Credit: Andrea Chang / Los Angeles Times
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Start-up spotlight: LuxeYard brings social aspect to flash sales
posted by Technology @ 8:10 AM
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
LuxeYard, a luxury home furnishings and decor flash sale site, officially launched on Tuesday with the aim of making e-commerce more social.
The Marina del Rey start-up (which will soon move to Culver City) is the latest newcomer to the rapidly growing flash sale marketplace, which includes One Kings Lane, Fab.com, Gilt and Rue La La. The site offers two new approaches to the usual for-members-only, limited-time sales: concierge buying and group buying.
With concierge buying, LuxeYard members can request items they'd like to purchase at a discounted price. The most popular product will be voted up and LuxeYard will then source either the exact product "or one known to be comparable or even higher quality," the company said.
Group Buy allows members to push prices down on certain items by using social media and networks to encourage others to purchase that product. The price is driven down if the product receives enough buzz. Everyone who purchases the Group Buy item will pay the final lowest price.
Chief Executive Braden Richter said the company was evolving the concept of flash sales by putting the sourcing and pricing of goods in the hands of consumers.
Flash sales were "originally designed to liquidate inventory; it was sort of born out of 2009," he said at a launch party Tuesday night at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. "I think a lot of the current flash sale companies are now trying to figure out what to do. We've come into it at a perfect time to create this next generation."
Like other flash sale sites, LuxeYard features a community of design professionals and stylists, dubbed trendsetters, who offer product recommendations and other advice. Trendsetters include Nicky Hilton; Daniella Clarke, founder of Frankie B Jeans; and designer Faye Resnick.
The site is free to join and launched with $3.5 million in financing from private investors; about 185,000 people had already signed up during the site's pre-launch beta phase. On Tuesday, LuxeYard averaged about five new members a minute, Richter said.
The company has about 30 employees and offers luxury home furnishings — including furniture, textiles, cookware and lamps — at 70% off retail. LuxeYard doesn't hold inventory or operate warehouses; instead, manufacturers ship products directly to consumers.
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– Andrea Chang
Image: Screen shot of LuxeYard's home page. Credit: LuxeYard
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