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🔦 Spotlight

Plug In South LA, a Los Angeles accelerator program, hosted their 2023 Founder Showcase at Blackbird House in Culver City on Thursday night. Founders made their pitches and then participated in a short Q&A session with Plug In South LA’s founder Derek Smith. 🎬🚀🌟

Half of Plug In’s first national cohort, consisting of ten companies, are based in Los Angeles with the rest dispersed across the country from Washington D.C. to San Francisco. Diversity is the name of the game for this group of companies. Not only is Plug In South LA designed for under-represented founders the companies themselves span the gambit when it comes to sector with healthcare, social networking, marketplace startups and more.

Plug In South LA was founded by LA-native Derek Smith in 2014 because he noticed a significant lack of representation and opportunities for Black and Latinx communities in the growing tech industry in Los Angeles, particularly in South Los Angeles neighborhoods like Crenshaw, Leimert Park, and Inglewood. He wanted to bridge this gap and create a platform to empower underrepresented talent by providing networking, exposure, and support within the tech sector. According to its website, Plug In South LA’s accelerator is “designed for Black and LatinX founders who are focused on solving big problems in Healthcare, Fintech, Digital Media, Climate Control and Sustainability Efforts in historically marginalized communities.”

Scroll down to see more information and the full list of companies! 💻🌴🌇

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🤝 Venture Deals

LA Startups

LA Funds

• M13 led a $5M Seed Round for Carenostics, a revolutionary AI platform for identifying chronic disease patients and prompting treatment. - learn more

• Mucker Capital participated in a $12M Series A for Optera, a Boulder, CO-based company providing ESG and carbon management software. - learn more

• Alpha Edison participated in a $33M Series D extension for Kin Insurance, the direct-to-consumer home insurance company. - learn more

📅 LA Tech Calendar

Saturday, September 16th

• Y3K Innovation Summit USC - A day filled with workshops, competitions, and opportunities to connect with industry leaders and fellow tech enthusiasts of all levels. The event is designed for anyone interested in exploring the future or entrepreneurship, social impact, and career development within the emerging tech industries including digital content creation, virtual and augmented reality, blockchain application, artificial intelligence, and e-gaming.

Wednesday, September 20th

• Startup Cafe 🗽 - Meet and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs, investors, and industry professionals while enjoying a nice cup of coffee or going on a hike or both Wednesday morning in Venice.

• The LA Business Show - Day 1 🗽 - Join hundreds of business experts and leaders for the first day of this business expo in Downtown Los Angeles built to equip, educate and encourage the small businesses and entrepreneurs with 300 exhibitors, 150 seminars and unmissable masterclasses.

Thursday, September 21st

• The LA Business Show - Day 2 🗽 - Join hundreds of business experts and leaders for the second day of this business expo in Downtown Los Angeles built to equip, educate and encourage the small businesses and entrepreneurs with 300 exhibitors, 150 seminars and unmissable masterclasses.

Friday, September 22nd

• LA Tech Wind-Down 🗽 - Join Startup Coil and The KINN Friday evening in Venice for an alternative to the mid-week happy hour for networking, chill vibes, and functional non-alcoholic libations.

Other events to add to the calendar

🗽 - Free

Have an awesome event coming up? Reach out to be featured on next week’s Newsletter!

📙 What We’re Reading

• Disney’s recent deal with Charter Communications signals the growing challenges of transitioning from traditional TV to streaming. - read more

• SpaceX's satellite internet division, Starlink, falls short of Elon Musk's ambitious 2015 projection and faces challenges expanding its subscriber base, especially in urban areas. - read more

• 5 things to know about a potential strike against video game companies. - read more

🚀 Plug In South LA’s 2023 Cohort

See below for all 10 companies featured at Plug In South LA’s 2023 Demo Day.

🩺 At Their Side, LLC

🪴 MyVoluntier

🍽️ Nutrible

💼 Peadbo

💐 Postal Petals®

💸 Prosperety Technologies Inc.

🏀 Subler 

📳 SwayBrand

👟The Crease Beast 

🚗 Upward

Want to reach 16,000+ Southern California founders, investors, and operators? Reach out to learn more about sponsoring or hosting an event with dot.LA

Last Week’s Poll

Do you still pay for cable?

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 📺 Yes (36%)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🖥️ Nope - Streaming services all the way! (55%)

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 📚 Nope - N/A (I don't watch TV) (9%)