When Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled the Los Angeles Mayor’s Council on Innovation and Industry (LAMCII) Wednesday, he emphasized that it had practical goals and was not just another talking shop. Paul Bricault, who among many other things is managing director of accelerator Amplify.la and one of the council’s members, spoke to Digital Media Wire to share some insights about what that means in practice.
“There’s a perfect synergy between what LAMCII is doing and what we’re doing at Amplify.la,” Bricault said. “I’m passionate about trying to shine a spotlight on L.A. companies and trying to build up a more robust infrastructure here, so it was an easy yes for me to get involved.”
There are three core goals that the council has identified and will tackle, he said. One is to garner more attention, since Los Angeles’ successes, talents and achievements deserve more notice and respect than they receive. Second is to increase the investment activity in the area, and third is to nurture local talent while making it attractive for others to join them.
“We can steer the Mayor’s focus to where he can have the most impact,” Bricault said. “He’s the one who’s looking out for this community, he has an abiding interest in seeing it thrive, and he’s got the megaphone.”
Asked to name the ten biggest companies that have emerged from the Los Angeles tech community, Bricault rattled off at least two dozen without hesitation, including Activision, the Rubicon Project, RealD, Shopzilla, eHarmony, Stamps.com StubHub, Riot Games, Overture, JAMDAT Mobile, LowerMyBills and Yammer in its early days.
He thinks much longer when asked to identify LAMCII’s biggest stumbling block, before answering, “It can be a challenge to keep people engaged on an ongoing basis,” Bricault said. “Especially the entrepreneurial mind. But through the Council’s activities we can brand this community and make everyone feel that they’re part of something bigger.”
Related links:
Los Angeles Mayor’s Council on Innovation and Industry – http://www.lamcii.org
DMW News – L.A.’s “innovation economy” spotlighted by Mayor’s new council
