Can L.A.’s tech industry stand another networking group? First Tuesday is apparently going to find out.
First Tuesday, a London-based group seeking to help Internet and new-media startups, is launching its L.A. chapter with a discussion on April 4 on the impact and aftermath of Napster, a site allowing users to swap music downloads for free that has the music industry up in arms over potential piracy and copyright issues.
With so many networking events and groups already in place like the Venice Interactive Community, Digital Coast Roundtable, Lawnmower, etc. it may be a challenge for First Tuesday to distinguish itself.
Dahn Tamir, a local entrepreneur and leader of the L.A. chapter, said the group is unique because it focuses on educational events, combined with “matchmaking” events that place like-minded entrepreneurs and investors on a blind date of sorts in hopes that a deal will be made.
“We’ve contacted (the other local networking groups) about sharing information and cooperative marketing. I think there’s a lot of common interests, there certainly is overlap,” Tamir said. “There’s a value in networking and getting people together and seeing what happens. But we have education programs, high-end panels to talk on important issues of technology or business strategy, and structured interaction beyond the informal milling around a room.”
The company also plans to use the Web as a venue to link entrepreneurs and investors.
GlobalEuroNet Group is the leading sponsor of L.A.’s First Tuesday (so named because it meets on the first Tuesday of every month), spending more than $100,000 to help the group get off the ground. Local First Tuesday board members will measure the group’s success based on entrepreneur membership (which is free), fees collected from matchmaking events, fees paid by service providers such as attorneys and accountants, and a finder’s fee for any deals sealed through First Tuesday events.
The first First Tuesday event in L.A. will be held at the Electric Lodge at 1416 Electric Ave. in Venice at 7 p.m. on April 4. Pre-registration is available at www.firsttuesday.com. The event is free and open to the public.
No Jerks, Please
Hot young tech companies are known for eschewing traditional company culture such as suits and ties, corner offices and strict formalities in favor of comfy jeans, open workspaces and a playful environment.
When it comes to hiring, a new rule is applicable as well: Jerks need not apply.
At a Venice Interactive Community breakfast last week, Lisa Crane, CEO and president of online radio site Soundbreak.com, explained her company’s philosophy for hiring in the form of a simple chart.
“You have two axes. Vertical is ability, horizontal is (jerk). You hire people based on where they are on that graph,” Crane explained. (Crane actually used another word to describe a disagreeable employee, but we’ll just use “jerk.”)
“The ideal person is someone low on (jerk) and high on ability,” she said. “The person on the far right corner, that’s the tough one because they’re high on ability and high on (jerk). Every company has to make a corporate decision: Is it worth it for the company to have that high ability and accept the (jerk), the arrogant person, into its culture?”
“Culture is drastically important,” agreed Kristi Schneider, a local recruitment consultant working at a large Hollywood studio. “Companies will come to me and say, ‘Please only present candidates that are of this personality factor.'”
Startups are most likely to be concerned about culture issues, due to the tight quarters and long hours.
“You’re working in a bullpen type of environment. There are no walls, maybe just a couple of conference rooms. What that does is puts everybody physically in contact throughout the entire day,” Schneider said. “I typically tell people going into a dot-com, it’s an average of 12 hours a day and it can easily be 16 hours a day.”
Soundbreak’s hiring process usually weeds out people who don’t fit in. Instead of a one-on-one interview, a job candidate may spend several hours at the company, so that person can be evaluated by employees at all levels.
The West Hollywood-based company employs about 60 workers and claims to be jerk-free. (“We did get one, and very quickly realized we made a mistake,” Crane said of one employee who no longer works at the company.)
Soundbreak officially launched in February and last month received a $19 million round of funding, primarily from Pasadena-based incubator Acacia Research Corp. That funding came in addition to $7.5 million the company received last October.
Staff reporter Laura Dunphy can be reached at [email protected].
Site of The Week
That gigantic stone structure you drive past every morning might be much more than a building blocking the early morning sun. It might be a historical gem.
The Los Angeles Conservancy just launched its site, www.laconservancy.org, touting L.A.’s architectural and historical treasures. Developers, preservationists, tourists, even party planners looking for a unique place for a launch party (if they’re tired of hearing, “Skybar again?”) can find detailed information on important buildings.
While information on the group and upcoming events is most useful for those engrossed in historic preservation, the site’s most compelling feature is the “Preservation Alert,” a detailed description of the history of a local building that the Conservancy is working to save from demolition or other significant changes.
The Conservancy’s current Alert chronicles the life of the Ambassador Hotel. A plan would divide the hotel in half, with one part going to the L.A. Unified School District and the other likely going to a retail developer. The Conservancy suggests other mixed-use options that would preserve the hotel.
