Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Insights and Opinions: What's Ahead for SoCal Startups?
For today's Insights and Opinions Section, Rob Freelen, Los Angeles Marketing Manager for Silicon Valley Bank, talks about the startup outlook for 2019.
Predicting what 2019 will hold for the SoCal innovation economy is risky. Market swings, geopolitical tensions and shifting trends always have the potential to throw us off course.
A decade ago, Silicon Valley Bank launched Startup Outlook, capturing what US tech and healthcare entrepreneurs think about business conditions, hiring, fundraising, exits and the public policy issues that affect them most.
Having been in the industry for a while, I’d say that for the most part, startups have remained optimistic, even amid uncertainty. And that holds true today. After all, where would we be if entrepreneurs weren’t positive about their next idea for positive disruption?
One thing that has certainly changed on my watch? Our SoCal startup ecosystem – which is barely recognizable from 10 years ago when we debuted the first US Startup Outlook. But entrepreneurs are just as passionate about wreaking havoc on the status quo. Dollar Shave Club, The Honest Company, Ring, Snap, Tinder, Service Titan and ZipRecruiter are examples of SoCal startups that have made a major mark in the past decade, some in less than half that time.
Some color around the findings: Continued...
Read What's Ahead for SoCal Startups?.