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Jennifer McLain, Principal Economic Development Officer

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Glendale Capitalizes on Southern California’s Growing Tech Cluster

Glendale, CA – As Southern California’s stronghold in tech continues, one Los Angeles County city looks to build on this momentum by drawing attention to the more than 40,000 tech jobs and 1,049 tech companies located in the city.

The week of October 9, 2017, the City of Glendale will be hosting the second annual Glendale Tech Week. This event is part of the Glendale Tech Strategy, which was adopted by the Glendale City Council earlier this year as a way to develop the ecosystem of technology and innovation in Glendale.

“I envisioned the Glendale Tech Strategy as a way to strengthen and diversify our economy,” Councilmember Zareh Sinanyan said. “As a component of the strategy, this event allows us to provide services that will propel our tech companies to the next level of success, and to enrich not just Glendale, but the entire region.  I am excited for our city and our future.”

There has been a county-wide initiative to attract tech companies, and Glendale Tech Week precedes several weeks’ worth of festivities. Pasadena’s Connect Week is October 13 to 22, and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation’s Innovate Week begins in November.

Currently, Glendale offers a blend of well-known corporate offices for companies such as ABC-7, the Walt Disney Company, DreamWorks, LegalZoom, and Avery Dennison alongside developing start-up companies such as Age of Learning, Service Titan, and Beyond Limits. With a focus now that matches the regional efforts of attracting more start-ups and necessary amenities to support them, events such as Glendale Tech Week shine the light on emerging firms and the educational, business, and governmental resources available to support them.

Some of the Glendale-based companies that will be highlighted include:

• Taron Lizagub, CEO of Glendale-based Knoxlabs, which creates 20 percent of the world’s cardboard Google virtual glasses.
• Marineh Tchakerian, CEO and Co-Founder of Harsanik. Launched in 2007, Harsanik is the premier destination for Armenian wedding planning needs and inspiration.
• Rachel Hollis, founder of Los Angeles-based Chic Media, the parent company of her popular lifestyle website, The Chic Site. At 27, Rachel was named by Inc. Magazine as one of the “Top 30 Entrepreneurs under 30” and she has built off that momentum ever since. 
• Ara Mahdessian, CEO and Co-Founder of ServiceTitan, a Glendale-based provider of business software for home service businesses.

Capitalizing on the ecosystem of technology throughout Southern California, other local speakers will include: Los Angeles-based Scott Painter, founder of TruCar and Fair; Pasadena-based Harrison Tang, founder of Spokeo; Long Beach-based Lisa Mae Brunson, founder of Wonder Women Tech; and Santa Monica based Brian MacMahon, CEO and founder of the Expert Dojo.

Other events will include a pitchfest, which will feature 10 companies competing for a prize package of $20,000, a “Meet the Funders” event featuring funders representing Black Diamond Ventures, LiftOff and Pasadena Angels, and a free Tech Job Fair hosted by the Verdugo Job Center.

Glendale Tech Week is part of a larger effort championed by Councilmember Zareh Sinanyan and supported by the Glendale City Council to diversify the local economy. On Jan. 31, 2017, the Glendale City Council unanimously approved the Glendale Tech Strategy, which called for specific recommendations including creating an accelerator, improving marketing efforts, and encouraging greater collaboration between the companies in Glendale.

“It is a priority of the Glendale City Council to support initiatives that create economic vibrancy and fiscal sustainability,” said Mayor Vartan Gharpetian. “Glendale’s tech strategy helps us accomplish both.”

A detailed scheduled can be found on www.glendaletechweek.com. General admission passes are $75 and $35 for student and senior citizen admission.  

A special thank you to Glendale Tech Week’s Platinum Sponsors Downtown Glendale Association and USA Link System; Sunset Cocktail Sponsor Glendale Arts; Gold Sponsor Kroll Cyber Security, Glendale Water and Power, Applied Earth Sciences, Lanair Group, ServiceTitan, Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Glendale Parks & Open Space Foundation, Glendale Community Services & Parks, Black Diamond Ventures, Community Bank, and Sadd, Velasques, Higashi, Shammaa; Silver Sponsors Professional Development Center, Tentek, Bruno Group Inc., Collab and Play, Oceanview Capital Partners, and Juniper Networks; and Bronze Sponsors Reevert, Inverselogic, dot818, Hyatt Place, RidePul, CityNabz, AUGmentecture, cowork100, and Huitt Zollars.

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Glendale, known as the “Jewel City,” is one of the largest cities in Los Angeles County. With a population of over 200,000, Glendale is a thriving cosmopolitan city that is rich in history, culturally diverse, and offers limitless opportunities. It is the home to a vibrant business community, with major companies in healthcare, entertainment, manufacturing, retail, and banking.