Science Inc., one of the largest venture capital accelerators in Los Angeles, has its first new general partner since its founding. Priscilla Guevara was promoted from head of investor relations to the partner level, the firm announced on March 19. “As general partner and a member of the Science Venture Investment Committee, she will make investment decisions unanimously across the general partnership,” the accelerator said. “She will also continue to unlock new partnerships across investor bases, corporates and capital markets, as well as oversee marketing and communications.” Guevara joined ..read more

Beverly Hills-based venture capital firm Group 11 has sold a portion of its second investment fund to the New York-based private markets firm Stepstone Group and Palo Alto-based secondary markets firm Industry Ventures.  In a deal announced on Dec. 7, the firms acquired a 12% stake in the fund for $20 million, which values the portfolio at approximately $167 million or more, as secondary-market transactions often close at a premium compared to the net asset value. Group 11’s second fund includes several of the venture firm’s unicorns, companies now valued at over $1 billion, such as the p ..read more

The Los Angeles venture capital ecosystem leads the country for the amount of capital funded to entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, but a new report analyzing the region’s venture capital data hints Silicon Beach’s progress is stagnating. On Aug. 14 the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, in partnership with the Annenberg Foundation’s coalition of Los Angeles-based tech and venture capital firms, PledgeLA, published a report tracking investments to diverse founders throughout last year.  While almost a third of investments went to companies led by women, Black or Latino founders, th ..read more

In a bid to address the funding disparity faced by Black entrepreneurs in the beauty and wellness industry, Los Angeles-based BrainTrust Founders Studio LLC announced the BrainTrust Fund, a planned $25 million venture fund focused on early-stage companies with at least one Black-identifying founder at the helm. The fund closed its first investment round in the fourth quarter of last year. After the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank interrupted fundraising across the venture capital sector earlier this year, BrainTrust is now raising the remainder of the fund. To be eligib ..read more

Will Ward, the founder of Fourward Inc., a music and production house, has launched Fourward Ventures, a $50 million venture capital fund.  The Beverly Hills-based fund has successfully closed half of its amount and is currently on track to close the balance by mid-September.  It is an early growth-stage company investing in health and wellness, sustainability and consumer packaged goods companies. “With my amazing team including Michael Mizrahi and Mallory Shickora, I am proud to say we have so far vetted 407 companies and have invested in nine of them, all of which have shown signi ..read more

Valley Bank — named after New Jersey’s Passaic River valley near where the bank was founded, not Silicon Valley — has made serious strides to expand its West Coast presence in recent years, most notably through the acquisition of Stephen Flynn. Flynn, formerly the executive vice president in charge of the Los Angeles market for PNC/BBVA, now serves as Valley Bank’s first senior vice president and West Division head. Since joining the bank, Flynn has worked to significantly grow the bank’s presence by adding a team of experienced bankers and growing the portfolio of commercial banking clients ..read more

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. has been building its business in L.A. for several decades, according to Regional Vice President Todd Wilson. He said the company has significantly expanded its presence in the market over the last two years. PNC’s acquisition of the U.S. subsidiary of the multi-billion financial services company BBVA has created a number of opportunities throughout California, Wilson said, leading to staff growth and the expansion of most lines of business. The bank has increased investments in three key areas: women’s business advocacy, early childhood education and communit ..read more

Much has changed in the last three decades, but downtown-based Greif & Co. has been a constant for savvy start-ups in need of equity. Lloyd Greif founded his namesake firm in 1992 following a decade-long stint as vice chairman at Sutro & Co. Inc, intent on making his new venture “the entrepreneur’s bank,” the firm’s tagline.  Greif & Co. is focused on merger and acquisition dealmaking, and Greif says that aspect of the business is booming despite murky economic forecasts. You just celebrated your 40th year in investment banking and the 30th  anniversary of Greif & Co ..read more

As U.S. Bank’s Small Business and Branch Banking market leader in Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, Hamed Tavajohi has played a vital role in the integration of MUFG Union Bank, which U.S. Bank acquired in December 2022.  The process has been something of a homecoming experience for Tavajohi, who began his industry career at Union Bank as a bank teller in 1998. As the leader of the integration process for Union Bank locations and services throughout Greater Los Angeles, Tavajohi says U.S. Bank has committed to retaining all frontline branch employees during ..read more

Proptech venture capital firm Fifth Wall was announced as the lead investor of a $9 million series B funding round for New York-based company and leasing platform Vero, which comes nearly four months after the firm closed a multi hundred-million-dollar real estate technology fund. The $9 million in capital brings Vero’s total funds raised to-date to $26.7 million and will help to deepen the company’s technology stack. Liu According to Vero’s website, the company’s platform eliminates application fraud and streamlines leasing workflows to benefit owners, operators and renters. The pla ..read more