august 29, 2016 Silicon Beach - CBJonline.com · 8/29/2016 · There are a few things to keep in mind. First, the three-year time limit runs with the student employee, and not with

Silicon Beach:A Look into LA’s Tech Hub

august 29, 2016

a n a d v e r t i s i n g s u p p l e m e n t t o t h e l o s a n g e l e s b u s i n e s s j o u r n a l

this special advertising supplement did not involve the reporting or editing staff of the los angeles business journal.

By CHAD BLOCKER and EMILY ALLEN

It’s no secret that Silicon Beach is among the most thriving start-up communities in the US. It’s also no secret that the US labor market is in short supply of

candidates with the technical and engineering skills needed to drive the success of many Silicon Beach companies. Hiring a foreign worker may seem like a convoluted and expensive process, but it doesn’t have to be. This article explains how employers can hire recent international graduates of US universities at no expense and with relatively little investment of time. It also sum-marizes the process of making a longer-term commitment to the employee by sponsoring the individual for an H-1B visa, the most common work visa.

A recent study by the National Science Foundation found that 76% of US graduate programs in Computer Science are comprised mainly of international students. The Brookings Institute reports that two-thirds of for-eign students in the US are pursuing a degree in a tech-nical field (science, technology, engineering or math) or a business, management or marketing field. Only 48% of US students are doing the same. Finally, and most notable for the Silicon Beach community, the Institute of International Education reports that California is the state with the largest percentage of foreign students overall at 13.9%. All of these statistics testify to one fact: much of the tech talent graduating from US universities is foreign-born.

WANT TO HIRE AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT?

Many employers don’t realize that visa sponsorship is not required to hire a recent foreign graduate of a US university. On the contrary, most foreign students are eligible to work for 12 months after graduation under something known as Optional Practical Training (OPT). In addition, for international students who graduate with a degree in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM), the government allows them to work in the US for three years after graduation – formerly 29 months, but extended to 36 months under a new rule that took effect on May 10, 2016. There are a few requirements to qualify for 36 months of STEM OPT:

• The position must relate to their field of study;• The employer must be enrolled in the government’s

E-Verify program;• The employer must provide the student employee

with training objectives; and,• The student employee must work at least 20 hours

per week. At the outset, students typically work with their

prospective employer and their school’s international student office to ensure that eligibility requirements are met. On an ongoing basis, there are a few minor reporting requirements designed to ensure that the recent graduate has an opportunity to develop his or her skills and fulfil learning objectives. Also, STEM OPT may be available even to individuals who are part of a small startup, as long as they can demonstrate a genuine employee relationship to the business.

As an employer, there are some attestations that you will need to make, but none of them should cause any heartburn. For example, the employer must attest that it will notify the employee’s school if there are any mate-rial changes to the job or the learning objectives, and must state that the company has sufficient resources to provide the training outlined in the training plan. The employer must also notify the employee’s school within five days should the employment be terminated for any reason. Of note is the requirement that the student

employee “will not replace a full- or part-time, tempo-rary or permanent U.S. worker” and that “the terms and conditions of the STEM practical training opportuni-ty—including duties, hours, and compensation—are commensurate with the terms and conditions applicable to the employer’s similarly situated US workers.” At present, that component may reasonably be read to pro-hibit a direct one-to-one replacement of a US worker by a STEM OPT employee and to require that the STEM OPT employee be treated like everyone else with respect to compensation, work schedule, and other conditions of employment.

There are a few things to keep in mind. First, the three-year time limit runs with the student employee, and not with the job. So if your candidate has been working for another employer on STEM OPT for 10 months, there are only 26 months left for your company. Second, you need to have a plan for what you’ll do after the 36 months ends, so it is generally recommended that you put your student employees in the H-1B lottery as early as possible to increase the likelihood that they will be selected for a longer term work visa option before the three years are up. New H-1B visa petitions must be submitted within the first five business days of April each year. Third, if you are not already participating in the E-Verify program, you must enroll. E-Verify is a free and simple-to-use govern-ment database that checks your new hires’ employment eligibility against Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security databases. While the program is currently optional for employers, it is a prereq-uisite for hiring a STEM OPT employee.

STEM OPT is a relatively straightforward, medi-um-term work authorization that will allow you to tap the talent pool of international students coming out of almost every technology undergraduate and graduate program in the country. While it is not a forever solu-tion, it will likely provide you the time needed to tran-sition the employee to a longer-term work visa category, should that be the objective.

Chad Blocker is a Partner at Fragomen and may be reached at (310) 979-6818 and [email protected]. Emily Allen is an Associate Attorney at the firm and may be reached at (310) 979-6883 and [email protected].

Finding Tech Talent: Hiring International Students from US Universities

The Brookings Institute reports that two-thirds of foreign students in the US are pursuing a degree in a technical field (science, technology, engineering or math) or a business,

management or marketing field. Only 48% of US

students are doing the same.

23-28_silicon_beach_report.indd 23 8/25/2016 4:46:16 PM

By ANANT PATEL

E veryone has heard the stories about high returns from technology-oriented startups, but some may have thought those days were

over. Not true — the innovation happening in “Silicon Beach,” coupled with the ready access to capital, is creating a modern-day Gold Rush. There are more than 500 technology startups in an area that has become known as Silicon Beach on the west side of Los Angeles. Many are in the media and entertainment industry like Snapchat, Hulu, Fullscreen and Frequency. And it isn’t just startups — well-known names like Facebook, Google, Yahoo! and YouTube make this area one of their homes, as well.

There are often misconceptions about what it takes to succeed in the entrepreneurial world of media and technology startups. Many Silicon Beach entrepreneurs think they need to invent a completely new channel or technology, but there are two main ways for these companies to suc-ceed utilizing the tools currently at their disposal.

First, there are a lot of innovative concepts out there, but it’s not all about new technology per se; it’s about new ideas and processes that disrupt existing businesses.

Second, there is a significant convergence of media and technology companies and a drive for new content and different forms of distribution. It’s a huge growth platform for producing and dis-tributing content that consumers want to watch.

What is important, however, is that a start-up’s “big idea” or concept must be scalable from a business perspective. Sometimes the initial product or service can be compelling, but the entrepreneur hasn’t built a case for how it can be

scaled from a profitability perspective. The truth is that some companies with great ideas don’t go anywhere without this solid foundation and a strategic plan.

Another looming issue is the ability to mon-etize all the new content that is being produced for smaller and smaller niches. Brands are still putting the majority of their dollars into tradi-tional channels, but the growth is in digital con-tent. Companies are trying to figure it out, and this may keep Silicon Beach companies from growing as fast as their investors expect.

What can often contribute to that is that Silicon Beach companies don’t always have the time or resources to set up the kind of business infrastructure they will need as they grow. But startups should be concerned about making sure they build a solid structure, and pull in the experts they need to make sure they can meet investors’ expectations. At Green Hasson Janks, we advise companies in this area on financial statements, tax consulting and creating strategic business plans, along with connecting them with experts to raise capital and other consulting services, to help our clients reach their growth goals. The real fun for us is in riding the wave of their initial growth and taking the pressure of thinking about their finances off of them when accounting is probably their last thought. We help with systems, processes and procedures to get them where they need to be. We also work with startups on data transparency so they can use that data to make operational decisions.

Overall, we are enthusiastic about the future, and Silicon Beach is an exciting place to be. There is innovation everywhere — it’s not just about bringing a new technology product to the

marketplace; it’s about looking at existing busi-nesses in a completely different way.

Anant Patel is a partner at Green Hasson Janks. He has more than 19 years of public accounting experience providing audit and accounting, tax, and general business consulting services. His industry

experience includes closely held companies in enter-tainment, media and technology and also includes companies backed by venture capital and private equity. Founded in 1953, Green Hasson Janks works as a business advocate for its clients — pro-viding personalized service and building long-term relationships to help position its clients for the future.

Silicon Beach: a Hub for Media and Entertainment

HOT TECH COMPANIES LINE UP TO LEVERAGE LOCALLY-DEVELOPED TRUCKING APP

Today’s smartest startups demand efficiency, transparency, service and speed when delivering their products to market. That is why so many now use Cargomatic for their local trucking needs.

The Cargomatic app instantly connects businesses who need to ship goods locally with nearby truckers who have available capacity. The innovative Cargomatic platform is rolling back decades’ worth of bureaucracy and bringing the ‘sharing economy’ to the $82 billion local U.S. trucking industry.

Cargomatic startup customers include Instacart, Washio, Flexport, MeUndies, Boxed, and FabFitFun. The Cargomatic app allows these companies to quickly book a trusted carrier and then GPS monitor their freight’s movements on their smartphone or desktop. All documentation and payment is processed digitally, eliminating time-consuming paperwork.

With capacity in and around Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, Cargomatic is poised to serve a growing number of today’s top tech companies with short haul and container services in three of the country’s largest transportation hubs.

“From Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach in California, to Silicon Alley in New York City, Cargomatic is proud to be helping so many tech companies on both coasts improve their supply chain logistics. Trucking is a hugely important facet

of daily commerce, and Cargomatic empowers shippers and truckers alike to operate more profitably. Everyone wins,” said Cargomatic CEO Jonathan Kessler.

“Cargomatic has been a great partner for Flexport,” said Sanne Manders, Flexport’s COO. “Its innovative trucking product makes our lives easier and our operations run more smoothly.”

“If you’ve ever used a traditional trucking service, you know the entire experience leaves much to be desired,” said Noah Taubman, Marketing/Operations Lead for MeUndies. “With Cargomatic, there is complete transparency and customization, so instead of worrying about when a driver will arrive, Cargomatic allows the MeUndies team to focus on other important stuff.”

Cargomatic is improving the local trucking industry for both shippers and small-fleet trucking companies by modernizing the way B2B transportation logistics are handled. Cargomatic’s desktop and mobile app streamlines the $82 billion dollar local U.S. trucking industry by giving shippers access to available truck capacity and trusted, affordable drivers. Since launching in early 2014, Cargomatic has aided the expedition of tens of thousands of deliveries throughout Southern California and metropolitan New York.

Learn more at www.cargomatic.com

24 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL AUGUST 29, 2016

SILICON BEACH & CREATIVE SPACES


AUGUST 29, 2016 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL 25

13-60_la_full_pages_082916.indd 25 8/25/2016 5:51:43 PM

The world’s leading immigration law firm, right here in Los Angeles

Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP 444 South Flower Street, Suite 500 Los Angeles, CA 90071T +1 310 820 3322www.fragomen.com/losangeles

Mitch Wexler, [email protected]

Chad Blocker, [email protected]

Michael Boshnaick, [email protected]

A world of difference in immigration. From visas and work permits, to advisory services and corporate compliance, we work with each client to understand their business and immigration priorities. As the industry leader in immigration law, we’re here in Los Angeles working with individuals, investors (EB-5), families, small start-ups, mid-size local companies and large corporations in the state’s most prominent industries.

Nomination Deadline Friday, September 2, 2016To nominate someone for this event, please visit www.labusinessjournal.com/bizevents.

Awards will be presented in the following categories• Trendsetter• Social Responsibility• Supplier of the Year• Rising Brand• Philanthropy of the Year• Technology Innovation• Direct to Consumer• Made in California• Professional Service Provider

PRESENTING SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORGreenberg Glusker



By TIMOTHY J. TOOHEY

For technology companies there are few sub-jects as perplexing as privacy. A few years ago some prominent technologists held

the view that “privacy is dead so you should best get over it.” Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg remarked that privacy is no longer a “social norm.” More infamously, Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn proclaimed that “all these concerns about privacy tend to be old people issues.” Jeff Jarvis, who believed private and public spheres were merging through technology, wrote in Public Parts that privacy is “a con-fused web of worries, changing norms, varying cultural mores, complicated relationships, conflicting motives, vague feelings of danger with sporadic specific evidence of harm, and unclear laws and regulations made all the more complex by context.”

Edward Snowden’s 2013 revelations of wide-scale government surveillance fundamen-tally changed privacy discourse. Privacy was no longer a quaint artifact, but a fundamental constitutional value. For example, U.S. Sena-tor Ron Wyden wrote that Snowden revealed an “omnipresent, ever-expanding surveillance state” destroying civil liberties. Snowden him-self claimed that today’s surveillance methods are worse than those in George Orwell’s 1984, because we have “sensors in our pockets that track us everywhere we go.”

The Snowden revelations also led many—particularly in Europe—to suspect U.S.

technology companies of providing personal information of European users to the U.S. government, because it was feared that the U.S. government could access personal data through NSA’s “PRISM” program. That pro-gram was also cited in 2015 by the EU Court of Justice as a ground for invalidating the EU/U.S. Safe Harbor, which was the principle mechanism for transfer of personal data from the EU to the U.S. Moreover, Snowden gave the EU privacy hawks powerful ammunition to insist that the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will come into effect in 2018, will provide increased privacy protections for EU residents and would apply to all companies doing business in the EU.

Snowden’s revelations coincided with a steady drumbeat of negative publicity regard-ing data breach incidents that exposed per-sonal data, including those involving Target, Home Depot and Anthem. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has emerged as the nation’s privacy and security enforcer, has also taken numerous actions in recent years against companies under its broad consumer protec-tion authority. For example, the FTC charged a company selling home security cameras with software defects which exposed footage of sleeping babies on the Internet. Similarly, the FTC also went after a router manufacturer that provided hackers with easy access to users’ security settings and prosecuted a large mobile ad network that allegedly tracked users’ loca-tions without their permission.

Security and privacy breaches produce significant adverse publicity, lead to loss of customers, and can lead to imposition of oner-ous regulatory consequences. For example, the FTC required the aforementioned companies to undertake third party audits of their privacy and security practices for 20 years. Further-more, companies can face significant financial losses and make themselves vulnerable to attorneys who are increasingly targeting com-panies with allegedly poor privacy and security practices and slapping them with class action lawsuits. Litigation is not only expensive to defend, but can potentially cripple a technol-ogy company along with the further loss of business and adverse publicity.

Given that privacy concerns are not going away any time soon, technology companies

can either put their heads into the sand and hope for the best, or embrace privacy as a competitive differentiator. There is consider-able evidence to support adopting the latter approach. Consumers are also becoming more privacy aware, as shown in a 2015 Pew Research Center Study that found that 93% of American adults say that being in control of who can get information about them and 90% what information is collected are either important or very important. The market for privacy friendly applications has increased sub-stantially in recent years with a recent study showing that almost half of consumers would pay more for such applications.

Building privacy into the design of products and applications may also help differentiate companies not only with consumers, but with potential venture capitalists and strategic part-ners. In choosing future investment targets or partners, it makes sense that investors would be attracted to companies whose products are built on a stable and lasting foundation.

The bottom line is that privacy is alive and well. In the coming years, technology compa-nies should expect to see greater attention paid to privacy as innovations promote further use of personal data for predictive and advertising purposes. As the use of personal data grows, so will pressures from regulatory authorities—particularly in privacy-friendly jurisdiction, such as the EU—to place conditions, such as consent, on collecting and processing of such data. Technology companies should prepare themselves for these developments by taking action to build privacy into their products and applications now.

Timothy J. Toohey is a Partner, Cyber-Security Practice, with Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP. Learn more about the firm by visiting GreenbergGlusker.com.

Ahead of the Competition: Privacy as a Competitive Differentiator

Building privacy into the design of products and applications may also help differentiate

companies not only with consumers,

but with potential venture capitalists and

strategic partners.


THE UNIVERSITY OFSILICON BEACH™

WE’VE BEEN ON THIS BLUFF FOR A CENTURYWe’ve had neighbors come and go. We cheered when Howard Hughes launched the Spruce Goose, waved to the first boats sailing into the Marina harbor, and supervised construction of the 405 and 90 freeways. We brought over a pie when LAX showed up. Now, the cool kids have moved in across the street and the neighborhood is jumping. Friends and collaborators abound, there’s chatter on every corner with big ideas taking shape in the open streets. Together, we are cementing L.A.’s reputation as the world’s capital of creativity and tech innovation. The epicenter of diverse thought, culture, religion, and language interconnect here. Welcome to the block, Silicon Beach. We’ve been waiting for a partner just like you.

23-60_la_full_pages_082916.indd 27 8/25/2016 12:15:44 PM

Loyola Marymount University is the only university located in the heart of Silicon Beach and promotes itself as “The Univer-

sity of Silicon Beach.” While the real estate adage “location, location, location” applies, the relation-ship between LMU

and Silicon Beach is much deeper than their shared geography: they are programmatically

and strategically symbiotic and they are inter-woven into the fabric of Los Angeles. LMU’s internationally ranked film, television, market-ing, business, and engineering programs have developed industry partnerships and internship opportunities. Silicon Beach is where tech innovation thrives, and it is the launching pad for “global imagination,” a vision LMU’s presi-dent, Timothy Law Snyder, thematically artic-ulated during his inaugural address in October 2015. LMU is an incubator of entrepreneurial-

ism, where world-changing ideas are imagined and formed. Those ideas are then brought to life with LMU’s Silicon Beach neighbors.

LMU is ranked No. 3 in the West while its entrepreneurship program is ranked No. 7 by U.S. News & World Report. LMU’s entre-preneurship program, one of the largest in the country, has about 300 undergraduate students. Its graduates work as founders or early employees of many Silicon Beach companies, including: The Honest Company, Allscreen.tv, OneStop

Internet, and many others. LMU is Silicon Beach’s talent pool where companies such as Activision Blizzard, Method Studios, Belkin, Snapchat, Rubicon Project, Atom Factory, Chow Now, FuHu Inc., Tesla, Sony, LionsGate, IMAX, Universal Music are hiring LMU stu-dents as interns and employees at record rates. The university highlights the success of its stu-dents by tracking and reporting the career path-ways of its students in Silicon Beach and beyond at http://outcomes.lmu.edu.

The local, regional and national reach of LMU and Silicon Beach is better understood by considering the university’s Los Angeles roots. LMU and L.A. share the same DNA: L.A. is the world’s capital of creativity and the diversity of cultures, religions, races, and languages all interconnect at LMU. The university’s students come from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 100 countries. LMU’s symbiosis with the City of Angels goes back to its founding in 1911 and is present throughout its history. LMU’s economic impact measures one aspect of this relationship as the university adds nearly $1 billion annually to California’s economy, of which $808 million and over 5,300 jobs are concentrated in Los Angeles County.

Silicon Beach is ranked the second- or third-largest tech and startup ecosystems in the world according to USA Today, Tech-Crunch and other sources. The university’s curriculum is evolving, adapting, and engaging Silicon Beach as its students, faculty, and alumni study, live, work, explore, and engage within this hub of activity.

“Silicon Beach is our game-changer,” stated LMU President Timothy Law Snyder in an interview about Silicon Beach with Bloomberg News. “While Silicon Valley has a lot of chip-level nerdy activity, Silicon Beach is bursting with digital media, creativity, and content creation.”

For example, LMU’s mSchool, a progressive center for marketing education and practice, actively partners with leading Silicon Beach marketing firms to create immersive learning experiences and mentorship projects where students apply real-world digital marketing strategies in a fast-changing marketplace. LMU mSchool students collaborate with executives and teams with Silicon Beach com-panies like Deutsch LA, TBWA\Chiat\Day, Electronic Arts, Google, Facebook, Ignited, Team One, 72 and Sunny, RPA, RadicalMe-dia and many others. Outside the classroom, the university is working with Silicon Beach partners to share the LMU story more broadly. Partnering with Google and YouTube Studios L.A. in Playa Vista, LMU is a “content pio-neer” of Google Expeditions, a virtual reality platform that is reshaping how students experi-ence college campuses through captivating 3D, 360-degree encounters.

LMU hosts the annual Silicon Beach Expo, the community’s largest event that brings together companies and organizations of all sizes to meet, share ideas, and spur innovation. The packed event draws crowds of attendees and exhibitors, a reminder that the ever-ex-panding business enterprises of Silicon Beach are eager to capitalize on the unique students LMU produces: global citizens, thought lead-ers, professionals, and women and men for others. The university differentiates itself from other nearby universities because of its Jesuit education, more than 500 years in the making.

LMU’s President Snyder sums it up by say-ing, “Our Jesuit education challenges intellec-tuals and citizens to live lives of meaning and purpose. Our home is L.A. Our neighborhood is Silicon Beach. You can learn at many places, but only LMU brings you all of the above. Many want a degree. We want those who seek to create a difference.”

For more facts about LMU, visit http://www.lmu.edu/facts.

Loyola Marymount University – Higher Learning on Silicon Beach

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august 29, 2016 Silicon Beach - CBJonline.com · 8/29/2016 · There are a few things to keep in mind. First, the three-year time limit runs with the student employee, and not with