Welcome to the Tech.LA Fellows Program.

Tech.LA Fellows
Jul 30, 2017 · 4 min read

My name is Ankur Rastogi, and I’m a rising junior at the University of Southern California. On campus, I’m part of Spark SC, the student-run entrepreneurial hub at USC that runs programs and initiatives every semester on campus and across the LA area. I’ve spent the last 8 months working in a team of 7 students to build the Tech.LA Fellows Program: a new initiative launching this summer that partners a handful of exceptional college students with internships in engineering, design, and business at budding startups in Los Angeles. Here’s why we did it.

The Problem We Saw

LA’s technology scene is booming. From well-known up-and-comers like Snap to the out-of-the-garage founders who are just starting their businesses, the entrepreneurial scene across the city is experiencing an explosion that would have seemed unlikely just 10 years ago. But despite all that growth, Los Angeles often times gets the short end of the stick. If someone asked you about the location you think about when you hear the word “technology,” your mind would likely go directly to Silicon Valley or potentially New York, or maybe even Chicago. And despite all its growth and unique professional and cultural location, LA would likely not be on that list. We wanted to do something about that.

What We Did

My cofounder, William Wang, and I first started realizing this as a real issue last year, when interacting with other students at USC and those studying computer science. A lot of this problem has to do with general perception, and I understand that is something that always changes slowly. With that said, we wanted to create something that would connect a handful of talented students from across the nation with fast-growing startups in the LA area. With help from our friends at Bruin Entrepreneurs, we spent the last semester and a half building the Tech.LA Fellows Program: a new initiative that partners a handful of exceptional college students with internships in engineering, design, and business at budding startups in Los Angeles.

Our Goals

  • Bring incredibly talented students to spend a summer interning at budding startups in the LA area.
  • Expose students to the incredibly opportunities that exist at those startups across business, engineering, and design.
  • Create an experience that leaves students and company partners excited about Los Angeles and its massive technological potential.

Our Partners

After many emails, calls, and conversations, we found 6 incredible startups that have become our Summer 2017 Company Partners:

  • Fae Map connects people and communities on a real-time social map.
  • Flux Ventures builds brands and businesses through high quality graphic design, creative digital marketing, and incredible user experiences.
  • LA Visual is a digital agency specializing in brand development, user experience design and digital marketing strategy to help launch your brand.
  • Omaze is building a community that leverages the power of story and technology to transform lives.
  • PlayFull is an app where you can play games and win food. We’re expanding rapidly with Chipotle, Coffee Bean, and the best food brands in the world.
  • Thor Trucks is developing electric freight-grade semi-trucks for use in business and enterprise with a focus on being environmentally, socially, and financially responsible throughout the process.

Our Fellows

Our Fellows.

We received over 240 applications for our first summer session, and pared that number down to 7 incredible Fellows that have been spending the past few weeks building products with our partner startups. They’ve been attending professional, social, and networking events, and been gaining exposure to the incredible opportunities across the startup ecosystem in Southern California. Here’s a quick snapshot of our class!

  • Olivia Brown is an incoming freshman at Stanford University with a knack for technology and app development.
  • Grant Fong is a rising junior at Brown University studying Computer Science and History with a focus on hackathon organization, mental health awareness, and cycling.
  • Stormy Jackson is a rising sophomore at the University of Southern California studying Graphic Design with a focus on UI/UX development.
  • Justin He is a rising sophomore at the University of Southern California studying Computer Science with a passion for computer science.
  • Josh Miller is a rising junior at Rochester Institute of Technology studying Computer Science who’s excited about music, machine learning, and cryptocurrencies.
  • Sam Resendez is a rising sophomore at the University of Southern California who’s done everything from play guitar to compete in gymnastics and recently taken a deep dive in computer science.
  • Robert Tseng is a rising senior at the University of Southern California who’s spent the past two years studying in Milan and Hong Kong as part of the World Bachelor in Business Program; he’s returned ready to make an impact in the LA technology ecosystem.

Going Forward

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of updates, recaps, and student spotlights to give you a look into the program we built. I hope that as you read these, you become just as excited about Los Angeles and the companies growing here as I am.

- Ankur Rastogi, Co-Founder of the Tech.LA Fellows Program

Tech.LA Fellows

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Tech.LA Fellows pairs top college students with internship opportunities at up-and-coming start-ups in the Los Angeles Tech Sphere.

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