It’s tough growing in the shadow of a startup oasis, even if you find yourself living in the Southern California sun.
Los Angeles may sit a few hundred miles south of Silicon Valley, the San Francisco Metro, and it’s fertile land of tech culture and entrepreneurship, but The City of Angels is actually, in it’s own right, a hub for up-and-coming tech startups.
Two years ago, investors bought into LA’s digital technology sector — literally.
In 2014, more than 250 startups were funded and another 80 were purchased. According to Built in LA’s 2014 Annual Report, local tech companies raised $3.04 billion in investments — a 188 percent increase over the previous year — and exits were at a high of $5.9 billion — 430 percent higher than 2013.
Also, according to Built in LA, Los Angeles experienced even more positive growth in the tech startup industry with recent advancements in virtual reality technology.
Oculus VR , a virtual-reality company, was acquired by Facebook for $2 billion, and Disney spent nearly $1 billion buying Maker Studios, an online video network. This isn’t even taking into account how many LA tech firms have turned their attention toward real estate tech and property investment innovation.
And the future shows no signs of letting up — incubators and accelerators, such as Mucker Labs and Science, are thriving in LA. Here’s a list of the top Los Angeles-based startups you need to know about.
Innovative LA Startups
Soylent: This meal replacement powder-to-shake concoction was pioneered by 26-year-old Rob Rhinehart to combat wasteful food production and distribution methods. And it’s healthy too — Soylent contains almost all of the nutrients that a person needs daily.
According to CNBC, investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Lerer Ventures and Index Ventures, have put almost $25 million combined into the company.
Enplug: Founded in 2012, Enplug aims to create an operating system and app marketplace for every digital billboard in the world. Working with today’s smartphone driven society, a mobile device running the Enplug app allows users to connect to and manage whatever content they displayed on digital billboards, including Facebook photos, Yelp reviews or service wait times.
Enplug has received the attention and money of David Cohen of Interscope Records and Howard Marks of Start Engine, and has more than 500 customers, including Gap, BMW, Marriott and Porsche.
Tastemade: Founded in 2012, this online video network produces food and travel shows built for viewing on web-ready devices, while a separate video-editing app also lets users create their own food and restaurant reviews and add them to Tastemade’s city guides.
According to CNBC, Tastemade has raised more than $40 million from Scripps Networks Interactive, Comcast Ventures, Redpoint Ventures and other investors.
attn: This content-producing web startup focuses on delivering societal content to young people in a way that is engaging and relatable.
The company received a $4.1 million Series A in December 2014 from a handful of investors including Ryan Seacrest and Troy Carter.
FameBit: FameBit operates as a matchmaking service, finding the most suitable social media personality to relay a client’s message in order to increase brand exposure. FameBit is one of many Los Angeles companies feeding on the suddenly profitable world of influencer-driven marketing.
The company was acquired in 2015 and received a $1.5 million round of funding.
The Black Tux: Founded in 2012 as the first online-only tux rental service, The Black Tux offers suit design services, production and rental logistics. Your measurements are sent to the company and used to tailor your rental, which arrives in the mail one week before your event. Total rental cost averages around $150.
The startup has received $15 million from The Raine Group, Menlo Ventures, First Round, BoxGroup, RRE Ventures, Crosscut Ventures, Founder Collective, and Lerer Hippeau Ventures
Burner: Created by Ad Hoc Labs, Burner is a free app that allows users to create temporary phone numbers and then dispose of them when you no longer want to be contacted on them. The company launched in 2013 as online dating and contract jobs rose to prominence.
The startup has received $2 million from Miramar Venture Partners, David Frankel, 500 Startups, Venrock, Haystack, and TenOneTen Ventures
Mobcrush: Mobcrush, a mobile game live-streaming platform and community, launched their public beta in July 2015, just two months after their $4.9 million seed round.
The site has been acclaimed as competitor to Twitch and received $11 million in Series A.
Open Listings: 2015 saw an uptick in the number of real estate startups, and Open Listings is one of them. They are an online home buying marketplace that replaces the need for a real estate agent and their costly commission. Once a home is purchased on the site, Open Listings takes 50 percent of the commission fee and sends the rest of the commission back to the buyer, netting the buyer an average of $12,500.
The company also recently launched a branch of their site called Shitty Listings to help potential buyers find fixer-upper homes.
RealtyMogul.com: Another up-and-coming real estate startup, Realty Mogul is a crowdfunded marketplace for investors to pool money online in order to buy shares of pre-vetted real estate investments.
The company received more than $10 million in funding in 2014, and an additional $35 million in July 2015 while simultaneously announcing they had passed $500 million in transactions on their site. Sound exciting? The company is currently hiring.
If you want to learn more about how to leverage your MBA to land Los Angeles startup jobs then make sure to check out our article How MBA Grads Can Land Startup Jobs.