Schedule
Get the Silicon Beach Fest schedule grid here.
June 2015
Attend LA’s first Tech Theme Park party at the brand new 26,000 sq ft. CTRL Collective space in Playa Vista from 8p-midnight. We’re creating the first SBF Tech Theme Park, where you can meet dozens of startups at their tables on Startup Main Street, see 3D printing companies in 3D-Land, watch drones fly at the Drone Arena, visit food trucks, and get free balloons, popcorn and ice cream at the Beach Cream ice cream cart.
- Take fun costume pics in the Media Temple – Instantly photobooth, and print them instantly, or email to yourself
- Visit friends in the TeleSign table area
- Say hi to friends in the DIRECTV area
Download the TruckMe app to get an automatic $10 credit in food from four food theme-park theme trucks: Woody’s Grill, G’s Taco Spot on Wheels, Pho-King Awesome, and What The Funnel. The TruckMe app lets you place your order from your phone without having to wait in line, and get a text when your order is ready for you to pick it up.
VR has been huge this year, with VFX artists, storytellers, filmmakers, game makers, writers, developers and more doing VR. This panel will give an overview of VR, how VR can be used for new storytelling, social VR, access to VR via Oculus, Samsung Gear VR, cardboard, and what are resources for VR in LA and nationally.
Moderator: Savannah Peterson, Speck Design, Director of Innovation Strategy
Speakers:
- A.J. Campbell, RocketSail, Founder
- Morris May, Specular Theory, CEO and Founder
- Jarrell Pair, DIRECTV, Digital Ideation, Senior Manager
- Alex Rosenfeld, Vrideo, Founder and CEO @arosenfee
- Jonathan Hawkins, White Elk Studios, Founder and President @jonathanhawkins
- Ben Miller, WEVR, Director of Content Development @NourseMiller
Speaker Bios:
- A.J. Campbell, RocketSail, Founder. AJ was inspired to create 3D audio for 360-degree VR experiences. @texasgreentea
- Morris May, Specular Theory, CEO and Founder. Specular Theory is a VR content creation studio and technology lab based in Venice Beach, CA. His VR film, “Perspective; Chapter 1: The Party” recently premiered at Sundance and was one of the most talked about virtual reality experiences of the festival. Morris has been a Hollywood visual effects expert for more than 25 years, working on 30+ films including two Academy Award winners: Spiderman II and Happy Feet. @speculartheory
This panel will feature hardware startups discussing their path to success on developing a business, not just a product, with a singular aim of supporting hardware startups, versus makers or big business.
Moderator: Jeremy Goodwin, SyncFab.Com, Founder
Speakers:
- Stuart Karten, Karten Design, President
- Grant Delgatty, Pasadena Art Center College of Design, Instructor
- Nick Agid, Made in California Factory Tours, Fabrication Design & Materials Advising Director
- Chris Rico, Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), Director of Innovation
- Avidan Ross, Lion Wells Capital, Founder
Cornerstone OnDemand is bringing the food truck back to Silicon Beach Fest! The food truck was so popular last year, we’re bringing it back! Enjoy complimentary custom Silicon Beach Fest menu items when you show your SBF pass. One food item per person. Quantities limited, while supplies last.
Tweet @CornerstoneInc thanks and pics of your food!
Visual Effects startups and VFX companies are working on top Hollywood movies and films, including Oscar-winner Interstellar and other films. Join this panel where VFX experts will discuss working on top movies.
Speakers:
- Shannon Gans, New Deal Studios, CEO, Co-Founder. Shannon co-founded New Deal Studios, which did the VFX work on Interstellar, which recently won an Oscar in this year’s Academy Awards. She has worked on visual effects for over 150 of the biggest films, commercials, web content, virtual reality for theme parks, cinematic virtual reality shorts and live sporting events. @shannongans
- Steve Goldberg, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Visual Effects Supervisor. Steve did visual effects supervision on the animated blockbuster Frozen. He also worked on Tangled, Lion King, and Pocahontas.
3D printing startups are becoming LA’s next major startup boom. It’s only logical that LA is a mecca for 3D printing as it’s home to the aerospace, automotive, video games, visual effects, industrial design, and defense Industries. Join this panel featuring industry leaders about where 3D is going and how Southern California has played a role in their success.
Moderator: Leslie Oliver Karpas, Metamason, CEO
Speakers:
- Mark Mathews, Airwolf 3D, President
- Jens Windau, AIO Robotics, CEO
- Brian Arandez, Thingify, CEO
- Jonathan Schwartz, HexLab Makerspace, COO
- Sean Stevens, New Matter, Director of Product
- Igor Knevic, Feature Film Concept & Special Effects Designer, Founder – Alienology, Designer – Metamason
Speaker Bios
Mark Mathews, President – Airwolf 3D
Mr. Mathews is President of Airwolf 3D, a designer, manufacturer, and distributor of desktop 3D printers, supplies and technology to the 3D printing and additive manufacturing markets. Previously, Mr. Mathews served at Toshiba as the President and CEO of Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. Additionally he served as President, COO, as well as a number of other senior positions.
Jens Windau, CEO – AIO Robotics
Jens Windau is one of the co-founders of the next generation 3D printer company AIO Robotics. He and his co-founders built the world’s first All-in-One 3D Printer/Scanner ZEUS. Jens holds graduate degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Technology Management and has worked as an engineer at BMW and as a management consultant for many tech startups. A USC Viterbi alum, AIO Robotics won the Silicon Beach Fest – Startup Showcase in 2014.
Brian Arandez, CEO – Thingify
Thingify is a 3D printing service bureau which also offers design, modeling and concepting services. Brian founded Thingify in 2012 in Irvine. His background is in CS and IT, having worked for Mizuho Securities and NTT Data Corporation.
Jonathan Schwartz, COO – HexLab Makerspace
Jonathan Schwartz is a native born son of Southern California and COO of HexLab Makerspace. He graduated with a business degree from The A.J.U. in 2013.
Sean Stevens, Director of Product – New Matter
New Matter’s mission is to bring 3D printing to every home, school, and office with its flagship products, the MOD-t and New Matter Store. Sean is leading the development of the Store, which will integrate tightly with the printer to provide a seamless 3D printing experience. He previously worked as an engineer for various LA startups, and was co-founder and CTO of Periodical, which was part of LaunchpadLA’s Class 5.
Igor Knevic, Feature Film Concept & Special Effects Designer, Founder – Alienology, Designer – Metamason
Igor is a prolific 3D designer in the film and special effects industry, having created props and environments for Tomorrowland, Jupiter Ascending, Oblivion, X-Men First Class, and many others. He also is the principle designer of the 3D printed jewelry firm Alienology, as well as one of the design leads at Metamason, a scan-to-fit medical device startup here in LA.
Moderated by Leslie Oliver Karpas, CEO – Metamason
Metamason is a medical device startup developing on-demand custom CPAP masks via 3D scanning and a patent pending method for 3D printing silicone. Les’ background includes over 10 years of experience in holography, industrial design, architecture, and robotics. Most notably he spent years designing custom CNC robots and tooling to create art work for famous artists such as Anish Kapoor and Jeff Koons.
We’ve all been awed with the highly believable digital humans appearing in movies, games and online. As capture technologies, software and rendering advances continue, the ability to create digital doubles will become commonplace. As we live more online and in virtual reality, no doubt, we will want our digital doubles ready for Social VR. We’ll share a rapid fire survey of virtual human technologies and take a look at near future development for interactive virtual humans.
Moderator: Diane Piepol, Project Director & US Representative The Digital Doubles Agency
Speakers:
- Kay Arutyunyan, CounterPunch Studios, VP of Production
- Jacquelyn Ford Morie PhD, All These Worlds, Founder & Chief Scientist
- Graham Fyffe, USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), Computer Scientist
- Dan Platt, Facial & Character Modeling Supervisor (Virtual Tupac)
Join us for Friday night cocktails at the new WeWork Santa Monica. Silicon Beach Fest attendees get a sneak preview of the large new co-working space before its scheduled July 1 opening date. WeWork’s Santa Monica location is WeWork’s second location in LA, after its first location in Hollywood which has hosted several Silicon Beach Fests.
Introducing WeWork Santa Monica
WeWork and Silicon Beach Fest have come together to host an amazing pre-launch party to celebrate the newest LA location, WeWork Santa Monica, opening July 1st.
Join us this Friday, June 26th, at 6:00pm for a fun evening of drinks, food, prizes, a live DJ, and a sneak peek of the new space before it opens.
Please RSVP to attend, we look forward to seeing you there!
The WeWork Team
With our new location at the Marina del Rey Hotel, we embark upon a private yacht cruise aboard the FantaSea yacht, to add a little Cannes style yacht cruising to this year’s Silicon Beach Fest. VIP passes, select speakers and sponsors are invited to this three-hour FantaSea yacht cruise on Friday June 26, 6-9p. Step aboard the yacht from 6-7p while it is at the dock, and then the boat will depart at 7p for a two-hour sailing cruise around the Marina. 130 capacity.
A wristband will be required to board the yacht. Select sponsors, select speakers, and paid VIP tickets will be given wristbands to board the yacht.
To sponsor the yacht, email info@digitalla.net with YACHT as the subject.
Free parking at FantaSea Yacht, 4215 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
After the yacht returns to shore at 9p, you still have time to drive or Uber / Lyft to the Closing Party at Cross Campus from 8-11p in Santa Monica.
All Silicon Beach Fest attendees are invited to our big Closing Party with a nautical theme and views of boats in the marina. Enjoy complimentary passed appetizers. Our DJ will make sure you get to do some dancing on the dance floor. VIP guests are welcome to relax in the VIP lounge. You may sit down to order dinner at Killer Shrimp on your own, or after-party with your new SBF buddies in the adjacent Killer Cafe section which is open 24 hours and has free wifi for posting all your dancing tweets and Instagrams.
Killer Shrimp is located at 4211 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
Parking: Please park in the nearby public lot. Cost is $6 cash or credit card. Parking is not covered or validated. Do not park in the Killer Cafe lot which is reserved for dinner guests. Note: You may also take the Tesloop car shuttle in a Tesla from the Marina Del Rey Hotel.
Join us for our Silicon Beach Fest – VIP Cocktails with wine & cheese at the newly listed home at 25 S. Venice Blvd. on Saturday June 27. Relax with wine and good conversation, and touch base with friends and new contacts from the fest.
This event is open to Silicon Beach Fest VIP, speaker, and sponsors. Please bring your badge for entry.
Our venue is a newly listed $3.75M home steps from Venice Beach, with 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, Brazilian granite, and a multi-level roof deck with an impressive 360° view of the ocean, mountains, and city. The home has recently been featured in the LA Times, and First Comics News. Contact: Darren Winston, Luxury Property Speciality at John Aaroe Group, darren@darrenwinston.com
PARKING: Park on your own at $6 public parking lots a short walk away.
Join us for this panel with digital home and commercial real estate experts at a beachfront condo in North Malibu. Relax with cocktails, enjoy the balcony which overlooks the ocean, and chat at the panel. Thanks to Ethan Samuels for hosting this event.
Address is a private home at 11770 Pacific Coast Highway. Bring your SBF VIP badge for admission.
Speakers:
- Audie Chamberlain, Lion and Orb, Founder and CEO of full services real estate PR agency
- Ethan Samuels, Northwestern Mutual, Financial Advisor
- Sarah Kosasky, Partners Trust Real Estate Brokerage and Acquisitions – Malibu, Founding Partner, Manager
- Adrian Zaw, Zaw Studios, Executive Producer and CEO. Drone Specialist; uses drones for arial real estate photography
We just added this Disneyland meetup because so many international SBF attendees are in town, and wanted to go to Disneyland! International attendees to this year’s SBF include the 25-member delegation from our Silicon Sister city, Silicon Beach UK who spoke on 2 panels, as well as attendees who flew in from London, Scotland, Germany, Belgium, Mexico, and India. All SBF attendees invited to Disneyland for a photo opp at the Castle at 7p to catch sunset lighting. Look for Silicon Beach Fest – Festival Director @KevinWinston in the red SBF shirt (and tweet him to find him). We’ll bring SBF fans and shades for you for the pic! You can also check out the artwork of Frozen near Main St; Steve Goldberg of Disney Animation discussed the making of Frozen at our VFX of Hollywood Blockbusters panel on Friday.
This event is pay on your own, Disneyland admission is $99/day, no SBF pass discounts. Deluxe annual passports are valid today.