Why I Left SF for LA
Background: I recently moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles to become the Head of Engineering for a startup called Mobcrush. Before Mobcrush, I lived in San Francisco for almost six years and worked at Twitter the entire time.
“Why LA?” is the number one question people like to ask when they find out I recently moved from San Francisco. When asked the question in SF, the curiosity is usually underscored with a touch of stigma as to why someone like me, who works in tech, would want to move to LA. I usually hear “What about the traffic?” and “People in LA only care about themselves.”
When I’m in LA, the “industry” I’m in is not the industry most people talk about. “We have startups in LA?” or “Does being in tech mean you’re a TV repairman?” Sadly, the latter question was actually asked on a date. Yes, she was an actress. Now I’m not insinuating that person was unintelligent, but most people here just don’t understand the tech industry. If a person does know the LA tech scene, they’re usually interested in how to recruit people from SF.
I’ve written this post to help share my experiences and the best advice I received when making my decision to move from SF to LA. My hope is that you’ll find something in here that helps you in making a big, life changing decision, assists companies who are trying to recruit talent from SF, and maybe even helps LA and SF understand each other a little better.
Note that this is my own point of view and, while I’ve only been in LA a few months, I felt it was important to capture early impressions and not lose context of how I felt when I was going through the process. I plan to share updates and reflections as I continue to settle in.
The Best Advice I Received
When I made the decision to start looking outside of Twitter, I sought out advice from a friend and colleague of mine, Peter Morelli (Vice President of Engineering at Lyft). His advice was simple: literally write down everything I wanted in my next job before I started my search including: role, responsibilities, company size, industry, funding stage, location, equity, risk comfort level, culture — basically, anything important to me.
After a few hours (alright, and maybe a beer or three), here are my actual notes:
- Responsibility: After leading teams at Twitter, I want to expand my scope of responsibility. Specifically, I’d like to be a key leader helping grow an organization. From a role/company standpoint:
- I am interested in a VP of Engineering or strong #2 at a smaller company being formed or fewer than 100 employees.
- I am not interested in working for a large company such as Google, Facebook, etc. - Industry: I have experience in the Consumer space, but am open to other industries as well.
- Location: I’m open to relocating and don’t want to limit opportunities, but… it’d have to be an amazing opportunity to leave SF.
- Personal Growth: The most important aspect is the responsibility. I want to be able to learn, lead engineers, and be a critical part of an organization. I want to have a mentor, have access to true decision makers, interact with investors, and be setup for success from the beginning.
- Risk: I’m comfortable with a fair amount of risk. I would join a smaller company with a lot of potential and/or backing from a bigger tech VC in Series A or B rounds.
- Compensation: I’m comfortable with a mix of higher equity and lower base salary for a company with great potential.
Hands down, this was the best advice I received during the process. If you’re starting your search, start by getting clear on what you do — and don’t want — in your next role. You may discover, as I did, a few “aha’s”…
- Aha #1: I actually had a bias to stay in SF. You may have caught it in my notes “It’d have to be an amazing opportunity to leave SF…” I was trying so hard to be open so I wouldn’t miss out on opportunities. I was really more closed than I realized.
- Aha #2: I had many friends and colleagues who started new companies, joined up-and-coming companies, and became partners at Venture Capitalist firms. In short, the cards were stacked in my favor, I had many resources to help me, and most of my network was based in SF. I had to really push myself if I was going to actually open up to moving for a really amazing opportunity.
So if everything was pointing to San Francisco, how did I end up in Los Angeles?
Why I Chose Mobcrush
I will forever remember the first time I was pitched Mobcrush. My friend and colleague, Jackie Xu of Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers (KPCB), reached out to me. She said “Based on what you told me you want, I have the perfect company for you. The only thing is that they’re based in LA.” I almost immediately declined.
Subconsciously, my personal SF biases were at play. After investing so much time building my network with brilliant people in SF, why would I leave this vibrant community now? If I fail in my next startup, there are thousands of other startups to try in San Francisco. Why would I want to leave the central tech hub? Additionally, I was already further along with other companies based in San Francisco.
Fortunately, Jackie persuaded me to have a conversation with the CEO/Founder of Mobcrush, Royce Disini.
After a discussion and quick trip to LA, my perspective started to shift and my reservations started to fade. In the end, here’s why I chose Mobcrush:
- I stayed true to myself. I reread my list of important things: Series A company? Check. Up-and-coming space? Check. Expanded role? Grow an organization? Backed by a big VC? Check! Check! Check!
- Mobcrush pitched me from LA like a SF company. They flew up several times to meet with me, used their investors to help recruit, and connected me with others who had made the move from SF to LA (some were at the company itself).
- To help keep my SF network intact, I negotiated a travel budget with Mobcrush to attend networking and tech events. This has been mutually beneficial for me and for Mobcrush for recruitment purposes.
- I did my homework. I talked to as many people as I could. This included investors who competed for funding rounds, employees who had left the company, current investors of the company, and friends who had lived in LA. I asked many questions about the company, the city, challenges, why I would/wouldn’t fit, and their opinions. I learned about how Los Angeles was different and what it would take to be successful there.
- I realized I could explain Mobcrush easily to friends, family, and colleagues. It wasn’t some startup solving Silicon Valley only problems, but real consumer needs.
- Mobcrush felt just like any SF tech company. In fact, if it were located up in SF, I’m confident it would fit in just fine. With that said, LA gives it unique advantages and culture due to the gaming and entertainment influence here.
Overall, the process of finding a company that fits what you want can be difficult but it pays off to be patient. What I learned quickly is that every company has flaws, and this was even more difficult for me as I was leaving a company that successfully IPO’d. I felt a lot of pressure to make the absolute perfect decision, but that was impossible to know as I cannot predict the future. The only way I worked through it was to realize what was truly important to me, and the right opportunity was more important than the location. Mobcrush was the best company that fit what I now knew I clearly wanted.
What I’ve Learned in LA (So Far)
Los Angeles has been a massive surprise and I’m happy here so far for a number of reasons.
- The tech community is smaller but there are big opportunities to have an impact. Also, I’m seeing momentum in my network moving to LA for tech jobs, as well as big SF companies opening LA campuses.
- LA has something for everyone: natural mix of industries (entertainment, fashion, design, gaming, etc.), gorgeous outdoor scenery, neighborhoods with different flavors, and lots of diverse companies — all which I find really exciting. I’ve heard tales of going to the beach, snow skiing, and hiking in the desert all in the same day, and it’s also refreshing not to have to talk about tech all the time. LA gets bonus points for the weather as well. All of this fuels interesting, mainstream focused products, which brings together people from many different disciplines in new ways.
- As for the question “Aren’t people in LA just into themselves?” I’ve found the people here nothing but amazing and supportive, and the networks (and airports!) between the two cities are closer than I could have imagined. I’m able to go back and forth all the time, and I constantly see all my SF friends and colleagues. I still very much feel a part of the entire tech scene.
- Los Angeles is actually more affordable to live in than San Francisco. I’m able to live in Santa Monica, close to the beach, in a much larger, nicer place for the same amount of money. While I never prioritized this before, I’ve noticed that these extra amenities have given me a better quality of life which I appreciate.
- The other day I was about a half block from my new place and passed Kate Hudson in the crosswalk. That won’t get old for a while.
What’s on your most important things list? I challenge you to grab a pen and write them down. What you find may surprise you. If you need help, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter.
Join the team!
Interested in joining the Mobcrush team? Check out our job openings here, or contact Mobcrush recruiting at jobs@mobcrush.com.
