Decerry Donato is dot.LA’s Editorial Fellow. Prior to that, she was an editorial intern at the company. Decerry received her bachelor’s degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
Los Angeles continues to beat San Francisco in terms of the number of tech jobs that employers are looking to fill—with L.A. ranking fourth in the entire country last month in open job postings.
There were 13,437 tech job postings in the L.A. metro area in January, according to data from IT trade association CompTIA. While that number was 791 fewer than in December, Los Angeles maintained its advantage over San Francisco, which ranked fifth in the U.S. with 12,147 tech positions available. Only New York City (19,265), Washington D.C. (17,499) and Dallas (14,916) had more tech jobs on offer than L.A.
That doesn’t mean Los Angeles outpaces all of Silicon Valley as far as new tech jobs, however. San Jose ranked 10th on the list with 8,498 job postings; when combined with San Francisco, that would take the Bay Area’s total tech job postings to north of 20,000, without accounting for other Silicon Valley suburbs.
L.A.’s tech job openings were led by employers like health insurer Anthem Blue Cross (340 postings), consulting firm Deloitte (219), aerospace giant Boeing (206), defense contractor Raytheon (157) and ecommerce giant Amazon (154), per CompTIA data. Software developers and quality assurance testers accounted for the largest chunk of all postings, with 4,013 positions.
The region’s robust tech job market is part of a strong tech hiring economy nationally, and a resurgent U.S. job market overall. Tech companies added 24,300 workers in January—the 14th-consecutive month of tech industry employment growth—while IT occupations throughout the entire economy grew by 178,000, according to CompTIA. On Friday, the U.S Department of Labor reported that the U.S. economy added a total of 467,000 jobs last month, with the unemployment rate standing at 4%.
“By all accounts this was an exceptionally strong start to the year for tech employment,” CompTIA Chief Research Officer Tim Herbert said in a statement.
Decerry Donato is dot.LA’s Editorial Fellow. Prior to that, she was an editorial intern at the company. Decerry received her bachelor’s degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
A new year offers a fresh start, and as COVID concerns persist, staying healthy is at the top of everyone’s mind. But lots of people have trouble meeting their fitness goals; according to one study, 73% of people abandon their New Year’s exercise resolutions before hitting their target.
Masters, a new fitness app that launches today, is betting it has the formula to keep people committed to their workout regimens: training with pro athletes.
The Los Angeles-based startup offers anyone the opportunity to train with world-renowned athletes like former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick, WNBA All-Star A’ja Wilson, and Olympic snowboarding champion Shaun White. Now available on iOS and slated for Android release later this year, Masters allows users to chat with the pro athlete leading their fitness program—a feature that founder and ultrarunner Greg Drach believes will encourage lasting fitness routines.
“Pro athletes actually calculate this idea extremely well because they don’t train just to train—they train to be able to perform and succeed in their specific disciplines,” Drach told dot.LA. “There’s a lot of research to show that if you model your routine after somebody who’s been successful, then you’re more likely to establish healthy habits for yourself and remain engaged over a longer period of time.”
Drach is no stranger to fitness success. Together with Christian Dörffer, he created Midnight Runners in 2015, a group that hosts weekly running events in over a dozen cities around the world, including L.A. The inspiration for his new venture came from the social component of the urban running community that Midnight Runners helped foster.
“Many people have found their friends and loved ones from those communities that are now spanning five continents and 15 global cities,” he said. “We just derive so much joy from seeing all the benefits that people have when they’re actively engaging in training and fitness.”
Alongside its launch Wednesday, Masters announced that it closed a $2.7 million seed funding round led by Sweet Capital; the round also included participation by several of Masters’ athlete-instructors, including White and Wilson. Drach said any new money raised would focus on further enhancing the training experience for subscribers, adding more training programs in existing sports, bringing on new athletes in new sports categories, and building out the app’s personalization and community features.
Similar to fitness tracking apps like Strava, Masters offers a gamified interface that displays metrics such as total time trained, daily streaks, and milestone badges. Though the programs vary by athlete, user fitness level, and fitness goals—for example, some are focused on cardio, while others are centered around strength training—each is built around a training regimen of three-to four hours per week, with programs lasting between 28 to 30 days.
“There are lots of great training apps but they are all too specialized in my opinion,” according to Olympic skier and Masters instructor Gus Kenworthy. “My training doesn’t just involve lifting weights, riding a bike, or meditating—it’s so much more than that. Masters is really the first training app I’ve seen that gives people access to holistic programs.”
Masters subscriptions run monthly ($39.99), quarterly ($79.99) or semiannually ($99.99). The app’s athletes-slash-instructors dole out the week’s exercise routines every Sunday—a steady enough clip to encourage regular exercise, Drach believes. “There’s something to be said about committing to your training, and that’s really something that we’re also trying to communicate,” he said.
Decerry Donato is dot.LA’s Editorial Fellow. Prior to that, she was an editorial intern at the company. Decerry received her bachelor’s degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
In Los Angeles—like the startup environment at large—venture funding and valuations skyrocketed in 2021, even as the coronavirus pandemic continued to surge and supply chain issues rattled the economy. The result was a startup ecosystem that continued to build on its momentum, with no shortage of companies raising private capital at billion-dollar-plus unicorn valuations.
In order to gauge the local startup scene and who’s leading the proverbial pack, we asked more than 30 leading L.A.-based investors for their take on the hottest firms in the region. They responded with more than two dozen venture-backed companies; three startups, in particular, rose above the rest as repeat nominees, while we’ve organized the rest by their amount of capital raised as of January, according to data from PitchBook. (We also asked VCs not to pick any of their own portfolio companies, and vetted the list to ensure they stuck to that rule.)
Without further ado, here are the 26 L.A. startups that VCs have their eyes on in 2022.
Whatnot was the name most often on the minds of L.A. venture investors—understandably, given its prolific fundraising year. Whatnot raised some $220 million across three separate funding rounds in 2021, on the way to a $1.5 billion valuation.
The Marina del Rey-based livestream shopping platform was founded by former GOAT product manager Logan Head and ex-Googler Grant LaFontaine. The startup made its name by providing a live auction platform for buying and selling collectables like rare Pokémon cards, and has since expanded into sports memorabilia, sneakers and apparel.
Boulevard’s backers include Santa Monica-based early-stage VC firm Bonfire Ventures, which focuses on B2B software startups. The Downtown-based company fits nicely within that thesis; Boulevard builds booking and payment software for salons and spas. The firm has worked with prominent brands such as Toni & Guy and HeyDay.
GOAT launched in 2015 as a marketplace to help sneakerheads authenticate used Air Jordans and other collectible shoes. It has since grown at a prolific rate, expanding into apparel and accessories and exceeding $2 billion in merchandise sales in 2020. The startup sealed a $195 million funding round last summer that more than doubled its valuation, to $3.7 billion.
Nielsen competitor VideoAmp gathers data on who’s watching what across streaming services, traditional TV and social apps like YouTube. The company positions itself as an alternative to so-called “legacy” systems like Nielsen, which it says are “fragmented, riddled with complexity and inaccurate.” In addition to venture funding, its total funding figure includes more than $165 million in debt financing.
Seizing on the NFT craze, Mythical Games is building a platform that powers the growing realm of “play-to-earn games.” Backed by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Andreessen Horowitz, the Sherman Oaks-based startup’s partners include game publishers Abstraction, Creative Mobile and CCG Lab.
FloQast founder Michael Whitmire says he got a “no” from more than 100 investors in the process of raising a seed round. Today, the accounting software company is considered a unicorn.
Nacelle produces docuseries, books, comedy albums and podcasts. The media company’s efforts include the Netflix travel series “Down To Earth with Zac Efron.”
A platform for virtual concerts, Wave has hosted performances by artists including Justin Bieber, Tinashe and The Weeknd. The company says it has raised $66 million to date from the likes of Warner Music and Tencent.
Sherman Oaks-based Papaya looks to make it easier to pay “any” bill—from hospital bills to parking tickets—via its mobile app.
Based in Marina del Rey, LeaseLock says it’s on a mission to eliminate security deposits for apartment renters.
Emotive sells text message-focused marketing tools to ecommerce firms like underwear brand Parade and men’s grooming company Beardbrand.
Based in Long Beach, Dray says its mission is to “modernize the logistics and trucking industry.” Its partners include Danish shipping company Maersk and toy maker Mattel.
Coco makes small pink robots on wheels (you may have seen them around town) that deliver food via a remote pilot. Its investors include Y Combinator and Silicon Valley Bank.
HiveWatch develops physical security software. Its investors include former Twitter executive Dick Costollo and NBA star Steph Curry’s Penny Jar Capital.
Whatnot competitor Popshop is betting that live-shopping is the future of ecommerce. The West Hollywood-based firm focuses on collectables such as trading cards and anime merchandise.
Founded by former SpaceX engineer Karan Talati, First Resonance runs a software platform for makers of electric cars and aerospace technology. Its clients include Santa Cruz-based air taxi company Joby Aviation and Alameda-based rocket company Astra.
Founded by Crowdstrike and Microsoft alums, Open Raven aims to protect user data. The cybersecurity firm’s investors include Kleiner Perkins and Upfront Ventures.
When an actor faces the camera and speaks directly to the audience, it’s known as “breaking the fourth wall.” Named after the trope, Venice-based Fourthwall offers a website builder that’s designed for content creators.
The Non Fungible Token Company creates NFTs for musicians under the name Unblocked. Its investors include Jay Z’s Marcy Venture Partners and Shawn Mendez.
Backed by Mayo Clinic Ventures, Safe Health develops telehealth software and offers tools for enterprises to launch their own health care apps.
Intro’s app lets you book video calls with experts—from celebrity stylists, to astrologists, to investors.
With the tagline “Land the package, not the plane,” DASH Systems is a Hawthorne-based shipping company that builds hardware and software for automated airdrops.
With a focus on sustainability, Ettitude is a direct-to-consumer brand that sells bedding, bathroom textiles and sleepwear.
Along similar lines as Unblocked, Afterparty creates NFTs for artists and content creators such as Clay Perry and Tropix.
Heart to Heart is an audio-focused dating app that “lets you listen to the story behind the pictures in a profile.” Precursor Ventures led the pre-seed funding round.
Frigg makes hair and beauty products that contain cannabinoids such as CBD. The Valley Village-based company raised an undisclosed seed round in August.
Do you know something we should know about L.A. tech or venture capital? Reach out securely via Signal: +1 917 434 4978.
Harri is dot.LA’s senior finance reporter. She previously worked for Gizmodo, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Flipboard. Find her on Twitter and send tips on L.A. startups and venture capital to [email protected].
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