ABOUT THE LA TECH AGENDA (PUBLISHED IN 2014):

A Report with Action Items for Shifting the Tech Economy in Santa Monica and Los Angeles into High Gear

It is a time of great opportunity for the tech community in the Los Angeles region. As a recent Built In LA year-in-review shows, LA is stronger than ever. LA’s biggest exit in years–Maker Studio’s 2013 acquisition for as much as $900 million–represented a tipping point for the region, echoed and amplified by Facebook’s $2 billion acquisition of Irvine’s Oculus VR. But we must collectively take greater steps to coordinate and strategize on capitalizing on the opportunity to take things to the next level.

That’s where this report on the L.A. Tech Agenda comes in – with specific action plans for 2014 and beyond on the challenges and opportunities facing the tech community in the greater Los Angeles region. The report recommends ways for Los Angeles’ tech- friendly Mayor, Eric Garcetti, to apply lessons from Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s successes on behalf of New York’s tech economy, and Mayor Ed Lee’s efforts in San Francisco, and the report also focuses on lessons from the tech ecosystems themselves in those cities, as well as the work of leaders like Ron Conway. We outline specific steps that Mayor Garcetti and tech leaders themselves can take on big picture issues, and also will dive into recommendations specific to the City of Santa Monica, and issues relevant to Venice and Playa Vista, and the largely untapped potential of Marina del Rey.

The current challenges and limitations facing our startup ecosystem are well known and therefore not detailed in depth here. This report is focused on solutions for issues like:

• funding shortages, and holes in LA’s tech ecosystem 
• difficulty retaining engineering talent from universities 
• lack of community/civic/political involvement & the need to strengthen
  community ties & giving back 
• housing & transportation challenges, and the resultant fractured community

The report was spearheaded and edited by David C. Murphy, whose experience spans the tech startup, public policy, and social entrepreneurial worlds, and is based on extensive conversations in 2013 & 2014 with leaders in the community. There's no hidden policy agenda -- except a desire to see the LA tech community thrive even more.

The report would not be possible without the generous support of our advertisers and sponsors: