“The word ‘hard’ can make cowards out of people. But where I’m from, it’s not hard. It’s Thursday — or any day of the week. So it’s an opportunity to accomplish something other people are scared to even attempt”
@icecube
, speaking to a full house at the
#upfrontsummit
"Once companies get to a certain size, they should add society as a customer" -
@reidhoffman
on how growth companies can use the blitzscaling model to create positive social impact
#upfrontsummit
"I think a lot of times we’re seen as invincible but it’s not the case.” -
@allysonfelix
, Olympian + entrepreneur sits down with fellow Olympian
@MJGold
to discuss the importance of
#mentalhealth
and rest.
Watch the full
#UpfrontSummit
video ➡️
“Look at a barrier in society and see if there is a way to take it down or look for an accelerant in society and find a way to make it faster” -
@melindagates
🙌🏽🙌🏽 to a standing room only full crowd at
#upfrontsummit
"The venture game is rigged for the rich. An easy way to democratize the venture process is to allow middle class citizens to participate in funding rounds."
@Jason
#UpfrontSummit
“The day before Simple Life aired, my mom told me, ‘Stay the same sweet person you are.’ People forget where they came from. We are all human, and it’s so important to stay true to yourself.”
#upfrontsummit
@ParisHilton
, interviewed by
@Courtney_Reum
of
@M13Company
“We have seen time to decision shrink from 90 days to 9. We now have partner meetings twice a week to make sure we can move quickly enough” —
@joshk
@firstround
#upfrontsummit
"Do or don't do, there is no try" -
@MellodyHobson
on corporate diversity. See the entire
#UpfrontSummit
conversation with
@JasonHirschhorn
on mentorship, the role of a board member, diversity in businesses, and the future of media here:
"Never in a million years will I let anyone see me do a perp walk because of something I did not do, and neither should you. Know your rights. Vote in every election."
@kathygriffin
#upfrontsummit
On being a founder: "I made so many mistakes, but I am so fulfilled in this job. It is the most difficult and exhilarating thing I have done in my life."
@GwynethPaltrow
of
@goop
, interviewed by
@fcourt
#upfrontsummit
“Storytelling is so important. I remember almost every word of the
@Airbnb
pitch. The cofounders were so different from each other but each was very good at telling the story.” —
@jeff_jordan
of
@a16z
#upfrontsummit
It would be an understatement to say that we're thrilled to share this news: today,
@karanortman
is officially a co-Managing Partner!
Read all about what this means from
@msuster
:
We couldn’t have been more honored to join
@eva_ho
in co-hosting today’s first LA Female Founder Office Hours. Today’s group of 100+ strong female founders and VCs truly inspired us! 💪🏻
#FFOH
It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s the economically smart thing to do. Diverse mgmt teams drive 19% more revenue.
@EvaLongoria
73% of Latinos are enrolling college at a higher rate than any non Latino populations.
@zoesaldana
#upfrontsummit
#FACTS
“Those of us that work at credible institutions need to be more engaged. At
@Stanford
, facts matter every day. The scientific method drives what we do, and we need to be more involved”
Michael
@McFaul
, former ambassador to Russia
#upfrontsummit
"If you want to have an impact on water consumption, you have to start with agriculture" - check out what
@msuster
has to say on investing in climate & sustainability and why companies like
@apeelsciences
and
@Ynsect
are so critical.
(from
@TWiStartups
)
The world's demand for protein is unsustainable, but
@Ynsect
has a solution.
We're thrilled to support
@Ant1_Hubert
& the team on this globally-critical mission (and to welcome
@Ynsect
to North America!)
(via
@TechCrunch
via
@jshieber
)
"It's corporate suicide when companies don't have diversity. The world has changed dramatically and if you keep living with this view, it will be dangerous. Diversity trumps intellect"
@MellodyHobson
, interviewed by
@JasonHirschhorn
#UpfrontSummit
Is VC still a thing? Yes, says
@msuster
Great returns are achievable by traditional early stage venture firms by capturing pro rata and also investing in growth. Platform shifts are inevitable and will create enormous new opportunities.
#UpfrontSummit
Big congrats to our newest portfolio company
@daytonaio
on their latest $5M seed round! Their open-source initiative is a game-changer for both enterprises & individual devs, making development environments more efficient. Excited to be a part of the journey:
We couldn't be more excited for the launch of
@ValenceInc
- connecting and amplifying the power of black professionals. Read all about it from partner (and co-founder!)
@kobiefuller
Principles for building a great company:
1. Timing
2. Iterate
3. Use Moore’s law
4. Persistence
The brilliant
@Bill_Gross
shifts
@Idealab
to fully focus on climate change, applying these four principles
#upfrontsummit
It's more important than ever to keep people safe in our public spaces - and
@densityio
is the solution. We've been proud to back this incredible company from the early days
- congrats to
@andrewfarah
and the team on today's milestone!
#UpfrontSummit
officially begins today 🎉 be sure to use our hashtag and tag us in your posts!
Livestream starting at 8:30 am PT - tell all of your friends:
Apeel 🥑 -- live in Costco/Harps and now scaling with a new investment! We've been proud to support the
@apeelsciences
journey from the beginning - don't miss this SoCal company changing the world!
Co-founder of Riot Games
@MarcMerrill
built one of LA's most successful companies - hear about his journey in this
#UpfrontSummit
conversation with Upfront partner
@kevinyzhang
“Farmers are the original environmentalists. We are investing in technology and partnering with companies to market biogas to power things like city buses.”
@BethFordLOL
of
@LandOLakesInc
#upfrontsummit
A) Hey guys! I’ve tweeted in the past about my desire to do public speaking engagements concerning the last two years of my life. Yesterday it happened at
#UpfrontSummit
! Just look at the bright and talented company I was surrounded by.
Every day
@kobiefuller
inspires us - and it's incredible to see how
@ValenceInc
has grown from an idea in his head 18 months ago to a 10K+ strong (and growing) community connecting Black professionals.
Thrilled that
@GGVCapital
&
@hanstung
have joined in the journey!
"We want to be able to have some type of algorithm for why people connect and not just, you know, the superficial reasons that most people connect."
#LongLA
“America’s Next Top Model is a Flintstone vitamin. It’s fun and tastes good, but also is good for you. We did laser focused casting to make sure people are represented”
@tyrabanks
at
#upfrontsummit
"In the last year, we have scaled to over 100 cities across the world. Our mission to reduce traffic and carbon emissions is aligned with cities' goals."
@travisv
of
@BirdRide
, interviewed by
@msuster
#UpfrontSummit
Congrats to the entire team
@GetRemento
! An incredibly exciting day with the launch of their iOS app that makes it easy to capture family stories.
Check out the
@TechCrunch
story below and download the app 📲
So excited to announce that
@skylarbody
and CEO Cat Chen are part of the family! Read why partner
@karanortman
is thrilled to support this company and founder:
#UpfrontSummit
: "This is the most homework you have ever done for any interview that we have done." -
@Benioff
of Salesforce tells
@karaswisher
on stage... Safe to say she didn't hold anything back 🎤
Watch the full fun interview now!
We're big believers in our longtime partner and friend
@hametwatt
and the entire team
@ShareVentures
who will no doubt build some of LA's next greatest companies.
(via
@jshieber
)
Information and enthusiasm are both equally distributed in collectible assets, but access is not.
@OnRallyRd
is building a platform so that people can invest in what they are passionate about, through fractional ownership.
#upfrontsummit
#UpfrontSummit
: How do civil wars start?
@bfwalter
(interviewed by
@bermanjeff
) shares the signs we should look out for, how to stop them, and the history of American democracy.
Watch the full video here ➡️
“The word ‘hard’ can make cowards out of people. But where I’m from, it’s not hard. It’s just Wednesday."
@icecube
brought down the house at the
#UpfrontSummit
- don't miss his conversation with
@hametwatt
about building
@thebig3
for long-term success.
Investing in entrepreneurs is like going to an art gallery and picking out the masterpiece from hundreds of pieces. You know it's the right one when your brain and your gut meet.
@MichaelOvitz
, interviewed by
@msuster
#UpfrontSummit