The Westside neighborhoods of Los Angeles, known as Silicon Beach, have become the tech center of Southern California. According to CCTV America, there are about 500 startups there, as well as branches for big tech companies like Google, Snapchat, and Yahoo.
One of the communities in Silicon Beach, Santa Monica, is home to not only a booming tech scene, but also the amenities that come along with it. There are tech-focused festivals, hackathons, and frequent networking events, along with dark fiber leasing for businesses with high bandwidth needs.
Not to mention, the area houses trendy restaurants and shops, as well as beautiful scenery and nearly perfect weather. All of these factors makes it an extremely desirable and in-demand location for businesses and residents alike. However, rents are pricey and space is increasingly hard to find.
“There is such a short supply relative to what demand is,” says Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce’s Director of Government Affairs Carl Hansen. “There is a general reluctance to growth that Santa Monica has had. We need to provide space for the kind of businesses that are starting here so that they can expand, because we’d like them to stay in Santa Monica.”
For entrepreneurs just opening up shop, it may seem hard to break into the scene in the first place.
“There is not affordable office space in Santa Monica,” said Ryan Cramer, CEO at Neuron Syndicate, which has been based in the neighborhood for 14 years. “My lease was up in the current space that we were in, and I had the opportunity to purchase the building, so I did. I couldn’t imagine getting another rent hike.”
Though office rent has skyrocketed, coworking spaces have popped up in Silicon Beach, making it easier for entrepreneurs to launch and expand their businesses on an as-needed basis.
“Coworking spaces are awesome innovations, and they address the issue of the high cost of land and space here,” says Hansen. “It’s been neat to see the kinds of ideas they generate, and [I like how they] bring all these entrepreneurs together and give them an opportunity to interact with one another.”
WeWork, which also has an outpost in Hollywood, opened its first building in Santa Monica earlier this month. It’s located at 520 Broadway, steps from the bustling Third Street Promenade. Its two floors can accommodate more than 600 people.
According to Adam Wacenske, expansion lead at the company, the space is already 70 percent full.
“We wanted to expand our presence in Los Angeles and service all the creatives and entrepreneurs that are here,” he says. “Santa Monica really fits our vibe. When you walk around, you can feel the creative energy. Plus, there is a beach five blocks away.”
Cramer said that having a Santa Monica address is prestigious and carries clout with it. By signing up for coworking offices, startups that can’t afford thousands of dollars in rent can benefit from having a Santa Monica zip code.
“It shows prestige by having the Santa Monica address,” Cramer says.
Although Santa Monica is known for tech startups, that’s not the only kind of company drawn to WeWork and other co-working spaces.
“There is a bunch of tech here, but WeWork attracts a wide variety of companies,” says Wacenske. “A tech company can work alongside public relations professionals and form relationships that they never would have had the opportunity to previously. That’s the greatest advantage of coworking in general.”
According to Hansen, it’s coworking companies that are leading the tech scene in Santa Monica and Silicon Beach by holding events and bringing people together.
“It seems like almost every night there are things happening that people can go to in coworking spaces,” he says. “They are driving tech and the entrepreneurial culture that makes up Silicon Beach.”
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