Viral Video Firm’s Focus Limits Options on Office

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A year ago, Culver City viral video licensor and distributor Jukin Media employed fewer than 40 people and made do in its 6,500-square-foot headquarters on Jefferson Boulevard.

Today, the company’s full-time roster totals 90 employees after launching a Fox television show based on its popular FailArmy YouTube channel and a news-feed product for online publishers in the first quarter. That rapid growth prompted founder and Chief Executive Jonathan Skogmo to start looking for new office options about three months ago.

Though he’d like to stay in Culver City because of its close proximity to other online video companies, Skogmo said it’s been tough to find a location that suits Jukin’s needs in the area.

“Because we’re trying to frame ourselves as a media company, we require more than just office space,” he said of the company’s need for production space.

Additionally, Skogmo said rental rates have gone up between 40 cents to 70 cents a square foot since Jukin was last in the market.

A scan of online listings shows that rent at creative office space in the Culver City Arts District starts at about $3 a square foot a month.

Those challenges have prompted Jukin to secure two temporary options – a 1,600-square-foot space on Hayden Avenue near its current office as well as a short-term production facility in the San Fernando Valley.

“We’re putting a Band-Aid over a wound,” Skogmo said.

Jukin’s growth and desire to remain in a bustling tech hub is reflective of a larger trend.

According to a report last month from real estate services firm CBRE Group Inc., the clustering of tech labor forces is a growing driver of demand for office space in both large and small markets across the country.

As of 2013, there were 120,000 tech workers in Los Angeles, a 13.6 percent increase from three years earlier, according to the report. That places Los Angeles ninth on CBRE’s list of large markets based on its ability to attract tech workers.

Funding Frenzy

The influencer marketing space continues to pick up steam as two local companies secured funding rounds last month.

Two-year-old InstaBrand of Los Angeles raised a $2.5 million Series A round led by West L.A. investment firm T.I. Capital. The company connects Vine, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter celebrities with brands such as Levi Strauss & Co., American Apparel and L’Oréal Group.

Its competitor, Influential Network of West Hollywood, closed $1.5 million in outside funding led by Europlay Capital Advisors in Sherman Oaks. Also founded in 2013, Influential Network raised the money online using Santa Monica equity crowdfunding platform FlashFunders Inc., which solicits accredited investors to take up stakes in companies for as little as $1,000.

Elsewhere, Marina del Rey’s Twigtale raised a $1 million seed round late last month, becoming the third member of Walt Disney Co.’s inaugural accelerator class to secure funding since the studio’s demo day in October. The startup sells personalized children’s books, scripted by child development experts, that are meant to help kids up to age 5 through major emotional or family changes.

The other Disney accelerator graduates to receive funding are San Francisco’s Snowshoe and Santa Monica’s Naritiv, another influencer marketing company.

Twigtale’s round was led by Irvine’s Tech Coast Angels as well as an angel investment group comprising Harvard Business School alumni.

In addition to the funding, Twigtale hired Dr. Harvey Karp, a pediatrician and child development specialist, as its editor-in-chief.

Carrie Southworth, Twigtale’s co-founder and chief content officer, said raising the money was difficult at first because the company didn’t have any in-house developers, which made potential funders wary. After securing the first one-third of its round in February, Twigtale moved quickly to hire a lead engineer.

“That really gave investors confidence,” she said.

Southworth said a second developer came aboard last week, bringing Twigtale’s employee tally to six. In addition to new staff, the funding will be used to launch a marketing push.

“Our marketing is going to be around Dr. Karp talking about the value of storytelling for young children,” she said.

Rebooting

Fuhu Inc., a kid’s tablet maker in El Segundo, has named Rob Palmer chief creative officer. Palmer most recently worked at the L.A. office of ad agency Doner. … Culver City online publisher Woven Digital has hired Joe Leavitt as vice president of sales for the west region. Leavitt joins the company from Twitter Inc., where he oversaw automotive ad sales.

Staff reporter Omar Shamout can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 263.

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