Over the past five years, the city of Long Beach has evolved into a destination for tech entrepreneurs who are looking for a strong community to help accelerate the growth of their companies.
To build upon this, a coalition has formed to establish a public-private-nonprofit partnership with the intent of bringing 100 new diverse, early-stage startups to the city.
The coalition answered the call of Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, who suggested the 100 Startups Campaign as part of his “Grow Long Beach” initiative, a plan for comprehensive economic development that he made public in his recent State of the City speech.
Campaign goals
The campaign's goals are to attract new business, increase the number of jobs available to residents, fill available real estate and generate new revenue for the city.
Long Beach already has a strong support system for startups in the form of the Long Beach Accelerator, which operates in partnership with CSULB’s Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, the City of Long Beach and Sunstone Management, an early-stage VC firm founded in the city in 2015, which has since moved its headquarters to Irvine. All three entities are part of the coalition.
More than 40 tech startups have already graduated from the accelerator, including Bump, one of the featured companies in L.A. Inno’s recent Startups to Watch list.
Coalition partners
Others in the coalition include the Long Beach Economic Partnership, the Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion and Imprint Venture Labs.
Imprint Venture Labs was founded in 2009 with the goal of investing in "cultural industries and creative economies to drive economic and community impact," founder Julia Huang said. "Through such specific focus, we are excited to join Launch Beach Coalition to bring innovative change to our city."
All the coalition partners will provide access to capital, technical assistance and community support.
More specifically, access to capital opportunities will focus on local residents, women and people of color.
This includes initial VC investments of $150,000 and working capital loans, as well as some grant funding.
The grants will come from the Sunstone Community Fund, donors and other philanthropic partners. Sunstone Management has committed to providing $100,000 per year throughout the five-year time period in charitable grants. This includes funding already committed, as well as matching funds that will be identified by the city and other non-governmental partners.
Assistance at all stages
Technical assistance at all stages of the startup journey will be provided, including legal, financing, product development and marketing.
The campaign is looking for startups that are working within five major economic clusters — based on total employment — driving the Long Beach economy:
- Health care
- Transportation & Logistics
- Entertainment, Leisure & Hospitality
- Space & Technology
- Education
The coalition plans to attract and support 20 startups each year, starting this year and continuing through 2027.
Two cohorts — of approximately 10 companies each year — are expected to participate in the program. The coalition plans to announce the first cohort this spring.
Selection process
Cohort members will be selected by the Long Beach Accelerator via a "competitive" process, John Keisler, the CEO and managing partner of Sunstone Management, told L.A. Inno.
Many of those accepted will then be expected to establish residence in Long Beach as a result of their participation in the program, "with the hope that they will find office space and grow in the city over time," Keisler said.
Interested startups can find more information about the application process here.
Incubating new companies
Although many of the companies participating may come from outside the city, the goal of the campaign is to build support services to eventually generate new companies from within, Keisler said.
"This is expected to be a long-term process that will involve outreach, education, financial and technical support that will involve the specialized resources from each of the partners," he added.
