2023 LA First Look Retreat Recap
Fika hosted its 8th annual LA First Look Retreat on May 4th after a sad three-year hiatus. It was incredible to be back in-person at the historic Ebell for what turned out to be perhaps the best First Look yet, as many proclaimed this to be one of the top tech events in Los Angeles.
We chose the Ebell this year because of its history as the longest-running women’s club in Los Angeles, a non-profit built by women for women since 1894. It was created to bring education and arts to women at a time when education was not accessible to most. Our hope was to unite tech and community leaders at this cultural centerpiece, and to give our guests a taste of old Hollywood glamor and grace and create a warm and inviting space for creativity and collaboration to thrive. We even partnered with Wags & Walks, a fantastic local adoption center, and our puppy petting station was a hit and drove major donations to the organization.
Overall, the retreat was a huge success and featured some of the nation’s top investors and entrepreneurs in a day of highly interactive, curated, and unique content and activities.
Main Event — Stand-Up, Panels & Roundtables
As guests poured in for the main event, Alexis Gay, a comedian and podcaster who has been making waves with her cunning and insightful content about startup culture and life in the digital age, kicked things off with a hilarious set that offered witty observations about the differences between life in San Francisco and Los Angeles and the ever-changing tech landscape.
After Alexis loosened up the crowd, our panel discussions began with esteemed industry leaders touching on a wide range of hot-button topics.
These included:
Forging the Next Frontier of Space & Beyond
- Panelists: Tom Mueller, Co-Founder of SpaceX and CEO of Impulse Space & Shahin Farshchi, General Partner at Lux Capital
- Moderator: Eva Ho, General Partner at Fika
Finance for All: Unlocking Accessible Fintech Solutions
- Panelists: Sallie Krawcheck, Co-Founder & CEO of Ellevest & Dileep Thazhmon, Founder & CEO of Jeeves
- Moderator: Luke Voiles, CEO of Pipe
Being Superhuman in the Age of AI
- Speaker: Rahul Vohra, Founder & CEO of Superhuman
- Moderator: John Chen, Partner at Fika
The Evolution of Care Delivery
- Panelists: Carolyn Witte, Co-Founder and CEO of Tia & Yury Yakubchyk, Founder & CEO of Elemy
- Moderator: Kia Kokalitcheva, Tech Reporter at Axios
When Soles Hit the Road “Tenacity in Entrepreneurship”
- Speaker: Eddy Lu, Co-Founder & CEO of GOAT
- Moderator: TX Zhuo, General Partner at Fika
In conjunction with these incredibly engaging conversations, attendees of the event were broken out into eight interactive roundtable discussions led by investors, founders, operators, and civic leaders. The topics covered were:
Tackling Homelessness in LA
- Moderators: Carla Hall, Editorial Writer at LA Times & Mike Bonin, former LA City Councilman (District 11)
Lessons from the Trenches: Selling Through a Downturn
- Moderators: Alex Patman, VP of Sales at Okta & Allison Yazdian, SVP of Creator Growth and Success at LTK
The Emerging Capabilities of Generative AI
- Moderators: James Cham, Partner at Bloomberg Beta & Margaret Jennings, VP of Product at Usable Machines
Equity by Design: Building Inclusive & Diverse Organization
- Moderators: Lisa Cawley, Managing Director at Screendoor & Paige Hendrix Buckner, CEO of All Raise
Rethinking the Traditional Education Model
- Moderators: Rebecca Kaden, Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures & Zac Katz, Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer at Age of Learning
The Next Fairchild: How SpaceX is Shaping a New Generation of Founders
- Moderators: John Couluris, VP of Lunar Permanence at Blue Origin & Karthik Gollapudi, CEO of Azimuth
Will the Downturn Scare Away LPs?
- Moderators: Hunter Somerville, Partner at StepStone Group & Samir Kaji, Co-Founder & CEO of Allocate
Crypto, Web3, and Creator Economy: Beyond the Hype
- Moderators: Michael Ma, Founder of CreatorDAO & Shiva Rajaraman, VP of Product at OpenSea
The dynamic and thought-provoking dialogue that these roundtables elicited were a highlight for many attendees of the retreat who remarked that the raw, unfiltered nature of these discussions elevated the event and allowed for deeper connections to be made. Here’s an intimate glimpse of each roundtable discussion. We are so grateful to the amazing panelists and moderators who made the retreat such a memorable experience for all those who participated.
To cap off the retreat, the Lucky Devils Band serenaded attendees with classics from the 80s to today’s top hits as everyone mingled in the Ebell courtyard on a picturesque California afternoon.
Thank You to Our Attendees & Sponsors
Our team could not be more grateful to all those who attended, many flying in from around the country and coming from as far as Italy and Hong Kong. It is your spirit, energy and camaraderie that make First Look so special. Last but not least, this event would not have been possible without our super generous sponsors: FRB, WSGR, Prospera Law, Safire Partners, CBRE, UBS, Burkland, Carta, and Avidbank.
We are already starting to plan next year’s First Look and we can’t wait to share what’s in store for 2024!
