Sidebar Summit Brings Venture Capital Luminaries to the City of El Segundo

Silicon Valley Start-Up Community Members & State Treasurer Visit the South Bay

(L-R: El Segundo Mayor Pro Tem Chris Pimentel; El Segundo Mayor Drew Boyles; California State Treasurer Fiona Ma; Councilmember Carol Pirsztuk; Daphna Ziman, President of Cinemoi TV; Vishal Verma of Sidebar Summit)

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – (December 4, 2023) The City of El Segundo and El Segundo Mayor Drew Boyles and City Council hosted the “Rise of the Innovation Economy” Sidebar Summit held Thursday in El Segundo’s Smoky Hollow district, the genesis of SpaceX and the hotbed for hyper-growth companies. This marks the first time Sidebar Summit has held an event outside Silicon Valley. The high-profile summit focused on the vibrant startup ecosystem in El Segundo and ideas and opportunities to drive more venture capital investment to El Segundo while also bolstering local economic growth.

At the summit, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma and former California State Treasurer John Chiang spoke about the importance of the Bay Area and El Segundo entrepreneurial community to the long-term health of the fourth largest economy in the world, California. Mayor Boyles moderated a panel that included Daphna Ziman, President of Cinemoi TV, Rick Smith, Co-Founder of Crosscut Ventures, Ben Marcus, Co-Founder of UP Partners, and Faraz Fatemi, Partner at Lightspeed.  The panel shared their perspective on the uniqueness of El Segundo relative to other parts of the world, namely that El Segundo is the birthplace of GPS, SpaceX, LA Space Force Base, dozens of Fortune 500 companies, the home of global space and defense, as well as an incubator for the most innovative companies in Southern California.  The panel also discussed and shared best practices around private and public partnerships, business community collaboration, and greater government efficiency. 

“El Segundo is the most important five square miles economically in Southern California.  We are the preferred place for the most important companies in the world, from well-established global corporations to early-stage start-ups, from Radiant developing portable nuclear power, Varda Space Industries manufacturing in space, Mapped creating streamlining access to real-world data, Skyryse eliminating general aviation accidents, ABL Space Systems building rockets, Mattel providing play and education globally, and Chevron changing the carbon footprint of transportation, the common denominator is an incredible density of intellectual capital. The City of El Segundo has more PhDs, a highly skilled workforce, and more venture and private equity investments per square mile. It has the highest salary of all 88 cities in L.A. County and is located right next to Los Angeles International Airport. El Segundo is the premier place for doing business," said El Segundo Mayor Drew Boyles.

"El Segundo has a thriving cluster of rapidly growing startups with cutting-edge entrepreneurs fueling innovation and fostering growth across key industries. We are where big ideas take off, and we are the perfect place to welcome and nurture insightful discussions with some of the VC world's top minds,” El Segundo Mayor Pro Tem Chris Pimentel shared.

“Sidebar Summit brings together promising startups to seasoned industry leaders, professional athletes, and government officials. Our events attract a diverse group of professionals passionate about their communities and the future of technology. El Segundo stands as a global innovation leader, with a rich tapestry of visionary entrepreneurs full of creativity and ingenuity, and was a natural partner to expand our footprint in Southern California,” shared Vishal Verma of Sidebar Summit.

“The City’s strategic partnership with Sidebar Summit signals a forward-looking vision to catalyze a growing, vibrant startup community conducive to the next generation of entrepreneurs in El Segundo,” shared El Segundo Deputy City Manager Barbara Voss. “This meaningful public-private collaboration further exemplifies our commitment to make El Segundo a premier location for high-growth startups, innovators, and venture capital investors. We look forward to cultivating the ideas and relationships established at this summit.”

Attendees included 60 registered guests, including executives in venture capital, thought leaders, and founders of highly successful tech startups.

About the City of El Segundo
The City of El Segundo is a thriving coastal community in southwestern Los Angeles County. The City’s vibrant economy includes leaders in aerospace and defense, bioscience, information technology, energy, real estate, and creative media. The City has seen tremendous growth and evolution over the past several years and is home to the Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Lakers, the LA Kings, the Los Angeles Times, and Los Angeles Space Force Base.  In 2022, the City of El Segundo was named “Most Business Friendly City in LA County” by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and celebrated 105 years of innovation, leadership, and growth. El Segundo’s business environment offers modern creative office developments, low tax rates, a highly-skilled workforce, and a range of corporate office and manufacturing space in a well-planned business community.  For more information, please visit www.elsegundo.org

About Sidebar Summit
Sidebar Summit brings together the brightest minds in technology, entrepreneurship, venture capital, academia, and government to foster learning, collaboration, and networking while exchanging ideas, inspiring each other, and pushing the boundaries of innovation. For more information, please visit www.sidebarsummit.com.

For additional event photos and questions, please contact Communications Manager Diane Chaaban at dchaaban@elsegundo.org or 310-524-2727. 

(L-R: Rick Smit, Co-Founder of Crosscut Ventures; Daphna Ziman, President of Cinemoi TV; Faraz Fatemi, Partner at Lightspeed; Ben Marcus, Co-Founder of UP Partners; El Segundo Mayor Drew Boyles)