Competition is fierce, but fledgling companies that succeed in impressing the organisation’s resident venture capitalists (VCs) will get $50,000 worth of financial support as well as high-quality LA offices to work from rent-free.
Launchpad LA’s founder, Mark Suster, explained that the idea for the initiative was borne of his frustration at seeing small businesses having to relocate their teams at crucial points in their development.
Suster said he hopes that offering office space and significant investment funds will prove enough for Los Angeles to retain its best tech-based start-up companies and entrepreneurial talent.
He added that the case for having start-up businesses operating out of a single area of office space helps encourage worthwhile networking and collaboration.
The office space being made available by the organisation is located in the Santa Monica area of Los Angeles and within walking distance of the Third Street Promenade, one of the city’s main shopping and entertainment districts, according to a report from TechCrunch.
Asked whether the offer of free office space meant Launchpad LA had effectively become an ‘incubator’, Suster said: “We always wanted to be seen as a “mentorship organisation” where people are asked to give back to their community.
“But having an office space would allow us to spend more time together and also allow others when they’re visiting from out of town to have a place to hang out and to get to know some of LA’s most promising companies.”
Meanwhile, one of California’s best-known start-up success stories, Twitter, recently opened a new office space in Manhattan as part of its fast-paced expansion efforts on the American East Coast.
Editor’s notes: Launchpad LA evolved into an accelerator. However, it closed in 2014 when one of its key people, Sam Teller, left to become Elon Musk’s Chief of Staff.
In 2023, the average cost to lease best-in-class office space in LA was approximately $41 per square foot per year.