A creative mecca with plenty of drawing power, Los Angeles endures as the entertainment capital of the world. Yet beyond that, the region’s culture – one of constant innovation – inspires a-ha moments faster than you can summon an Uber. This year’s NextGen 10 is teeming with a diverse crop of innovators in real estate, digital media, science, and more. True, you can still get a nice tan in LA, but if you want to flex your innovation muscle, come to Silicon Beach.
DULARI AMIN [36]
Co-Founder & President
Phenomenon
INDUSTRY Marketing
RESIDENCE Los Angeles
NOTABLE PARTNERS We work confidentially with clients who make up 40 of the world’s most credible and well-known brands. Aggregate sales for our client partners exceed $10 billion per year.
FUNDING RECEIVED Self-funded
2013/2014 REVENUE $22m
MENTORS Growing up in a small town in India, I always looked up to my parents, both of whom were entrepreneurs.
GREATEST LESSON LEARNED There is no one great lesson that mandates all my future decisions. I strive to learn constantly and build my war chest of experiences with which I lead my company and my life.
WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY UNIQUE We are a unicorn that tackles business strategy, creative ideation, and content creation with a best-in-class team focused on strategy, analytics, branding, marketing, architecture, technology, and design.
2015 GOALS Focus on top-line growth and profitably, win more clients, deliver great work, and retain the best talent.
GRACE CHANG [32]
CEO
Event Sorbet
INDUSTRY Event Planning
RESIDENCE Santa Monica
NOTABLE PARTNERS Companies such as Google, Apple, CBS, Deloitte, MontAGE Hotels & Resorts, USC, and more.
FUNDING RECEIVED $200,000
2013/2014 REVENUE <$5m
MENTORS In my opinion, there are four “mentors” in an early-stage business: the market, advisors, CEO groups, and your team.
GREATEST LESSON LEARNED Don’t bullshit yourself and stay honest to your true north.
WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY UNIQUE We feature restaurants, event spaces, and bar/lounge venues in Southern California, San Francisco, New York, and Austin. Miami, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, and Chicago along with a few other secret marquee launch cities are underway.
2015 GOALS Continue to keep it real. Learn to sail. Travel to Iceland. Take care of my parents. Host a few parties on EventSorbet, obviously.
JONATHAN EPPERS [32]
CEO
RadPad
INDUSTRY Real Estate
RESIDENCE Los Angeles
FUNDING RECEIVED $4m
2013/2014 REVENUE Not disclosed
MENTORS Paul Bricault, Amplify & Greycroft Partner; Bob Bellack, Former CEO of Apartments.com; Tim Komada, Partner Deep Fork Capital; Tom McInerney, Angel Investor
GREATEST LESSON LEARNED Do not take the people that you start a company with for granted.
WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY UNIQUE Our team, we’re the smallest team in our market
2015 GOALS Continue to be the most nimble, efficient and innovative brand in our industry, ultimately becoming the largest renter focused marketplace in the world.
JUSTIN FUISZ [30]
Founder & CEO
Fuisz Media
INDUSTRY Online Video
RESIDENCE West Hollywood, CA
NOTABLE PARTNERS Google, Wal-Mart, Target, BrightRoll (Yahoo), Microsoft
FUNDING RECEIVED $3m
2013/2014 REVENUE Not disclosed
MENTORS Michael Lazerow, Ken Lerer, Chris Albrecht, David Hirsch, Jason Rapp
KEY INVESTORS Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Metamorphic Ventures, Lazerow Ventures
KEY ADVICE Build the best product you possibly can and the revenue will follow.
2015 GOALS Build on the success we’ve had since launch just a few months ago and scale the company globally.
WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY UNIQUE We’re a technology-first company with a genuine opportunity to become a multibillion dollar business.
MITCHELL GUTTMAN [30]
Assistant Professor of Biology
CalTech
INDUSTRY Biomedical Research
RESIDENCE West Hollywood
EDUCATION BA/MS, University of Pennsylvania; Ph.D, MIT
MENTOR Eric Lander
GREATEST LESSON LEARNED Sometimes the greatest discoveries come from the most unexpected places.
WHAT MAKES YOUR RESEARCH UNIQUE I focus on a new class of human genes, lncRNAs (short for long non-coding RNAs, pronounced link RNA). We now know that the number of lncRNA genes in the human genome play important roles in development, and their disruption gives rise to various human diseases including cancer.
JILLIENE HELMAN [28]
CEO
Realty Mogul
INDUSTRY Real Estate
RESIDENCE Los Angeles
FUNDING RECEIVED $10m
NOTABLE PARTNERS $73m institutional investment from Direct Lending; $9m Series A from Canaan Partners
2013/2014 REVENUE Not disclosed
MENTORS Jeremy Roll, Roll Investment Group; My father, Barry Helman
GREATEST LESSON LEARNED It’s all about the execution
WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY UNIQUE We’re redefining real estate capital markets by raising money online and opening up investments to tens of thousands of investors.
2015 GOALS To be the preeminent brand in real estate crowdfunding.
KATIE WARNER JOHNON [30]
Co-Founder & CEO
Carbon38
INDUSTRY Activewear E-commerce
RESIDENCE Los Angeles
NOTABLE PARTNERS Montage Ventures, Winklevoss Capital, and Nightingale Partners
FUNDING RECEIVED $2m
2013 REVENUE Not Disclosed
MENTORS Deborah Benton, Sari Sloane, Christine Beauchamp, Alexandra Wilkis Wilson
GREATEST LESSON LEARNED Perception is reality.
WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY UNIQUE As the premier e-commerce destination for fashion-forward activewear, we source and curate products from brands like Michi and the Upside as well as bigger players like Under Armour and Reebok. Additionally, as an online-only business, we have the added advantage of lower overhead, larger global reach, and flexibility.
2015 GOALS Build a proprietary product line
carbon38.com
FERIAL MOLOO [37]
CEO
365HANGERS
INDUSTRY Fashion
RESIDENCE Santa Monica
NOTABLE PARTNERS Woodbury University, Chick Launcher, FIDM
FUNDING RECEIVED $250,000
2013/2014 REVENUE Not disclosed
MENTORS Wendy Bendoni, Chair, Fashion Marketing at Woodbury University
GREATEST LESSON LEARNED Appreciate people, they are your most valued assets.
WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY UNIQUE As the only fashion technology company connecting brands, influencers, and consumers through daily fashion challenges, we “gamify” fashion.
2015 GOALS Raise funds to expand team, product development, marketing, and for influencer retention.
LEO PETROSSIAN [33]
CEO
Neural Analytics
INDUSTRY Medical Technology
RESIDENCE Los Angeles
NOTABLE PARTNERS Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), UCLA Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine
FUNDING RECEIVED $2.5m
2013/2014 REVENUE Not disclosed
MENTORS Bill Cockrum, UCLA Professor; Kevin Scanlon. former president of Pasadena Angels); Robin Campbell, former Amgen Executive; Tim McCarthy, former president of Charles Schwab
GREATEST LESSON LEARNED Embrace criticism; some of the greatest ideas come from your biggest detractors.
WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY UNIQUE By commercializing academic research we are rapidly bridging the divide between data science and medical science
2015 Goals Secure Series A financing, build the world’s first fully-automated concussion detection system, deploy the tool to help save lives.
ANDY TU [33]
Executive Vice President
Defy Media
INDUSTRY Digital Media
RESIDENCE Los Angeles
NOTABLE PARTNERS Lionsgate, Viacom, Youtube, Xbox, Roku, Universal Pictures, Paramount, Coca Cola, Ubisoft.
FUNDING RECEIVED Not disclosed
2013/2014 REVENUE Not disclosed
MENTORS Doug Neil, Universal Pictures; Keith Richman, Defy Media; Matt Sterling, Time Inc.
GREATEST LESSON LEARNED As a new father, my son has taught me more about what to work hard for and the importance of balance.
WHAT MAKES YOUR COMPANY UNIQUE DEFY is the largest programmer in digital media for millennials.
2015 GOALS Content will cross 500 million video views per month in 2015.
