Make In LA, an early-stage accelerator and fund created to support technology enabled hardware companies, hosted a demo day for its second ever cohort yesterday. The group of four startups includes industry veterans and newcomers alike, but together they are creating wearable technology that very well could change the way we see things in the future.
For three of the four startups, attending the accelerator involved moving to Los Angeles. While they hailed from tech hubs like San Francisco and New York, the move — however brief it may have been — offered a look into a market experience experiencing explosive growth, which readers are well aware of.
Emerge, a VR company creating a consumer product that re-creates touch in mid-air discovered that LA is exactly what they were looking for. Mauricio Teran, a business designer with the startup, found living in Los Angeles to be as beneficial for the company's development as the accelerator was.
“When we just arrived to LA, our plans were to go back to SF and Silicon Valley after the accelerator, but this city is on fire,” said Teran. “From the talent pools of large hardware manufacturers, USC and Caltech, to the VR startup scene, it seems we'll be calling LA our home!”
For Luma Legacy, a company that creates connected jewelry, the opportunity to come to LA was something that appealed from the outset.
“As a company that wants to help people tell their story, what better place to come to than LA? We have also met a lot of brilliant creative people in the tech industry not just interested in how our product is made, but in our own personal story,” said Co-Founder Karol Munoz.
For Canviz, a company based in LA and San Francisco, LA’s tech community — and their appreciation for the how much hard work goes into starting up — was something that really resonated. Led by co-Founder and CEO Matt Waters, the startup is building a digital canvas for displaying art, as well as a platform for collecting, discovering and sharing great content.
“The Canviz team is spread between Los Angeles and the Bay Area, where the proliferation of tech startups and the tech community means that people appreciate the risk we are taking and have a deeper understanding of how to build a product from the ground up,” said Waters. “While we were at Make In LA, we were constantly exposed to members of LA’s tech community who were more than happy to share their knowledge and experience with us. Our startup could not have existed without the presence of the local tech ecosystems.”
Unlike the other three startups in the cohort, LA-based Rufus Labs didn’t have to move anywhere. As the biggest company of the bunch, however, CEO Gabe Grifoni found the logistics of managing the biggest company in the cohort to be challenging, but ultimately more rewarding than he could have imagined.
“We love being part of the burgeoning LA tech scene,” said Grifoni. “Having a quickly growing community of engineers and designers is great on a few levels, and finding talent is easier than ever. Having like-minded tech enthusiasts to share ideas with or spark some healthy competition can help light a strong fire under someone.”
Images via Facebook
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