The Alliance for Southern California Innovation partners with Riviera Partners to support early stage startups in the region

Connecting Great SoCal Entrepreneurs to Venture Capital

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alliance for SoCal Innovation ("The Alliance") is pleased to announce that they have entered into a multi-year strategic partnership with Riviera Partners ("Riviera").  The partnership leverages  Riviera's highly respected recruiting and talent management expertise to advance high impact Alliance programs.  As part of the partnership, Riviera will become the newest supporting sponsor of the SoCal Venture Pipeline program (SVP) which connects the most promising early stage startups with venture capital in order to improve access to institutional capital across the SoCal region. In Addition, Riviera will become a Corporate Supporting Partner with the Alliance, adding Eoin O' Toole its Managing Partner and head of VC-backed practice to the Alliance's high profile Advisory Council.

Entering its third year, the SVP program is completely free for the startups and investors who participate. The Alliance does not collect any fees or take equity thanks to lead underwriting from Banc of California as well as support from Wilson Sonsini, KPPB LLP, and HCVT. Increasing capital access for the most promising startups across the expansive SoCal region is core to the Alliance's mission and this particular program is foundational to that effort.

Andy Wilson, Executive Director of the Alliance, said "We are so fortunate in SoCal to have so many amazing founders building great startups across this massive and diverse region. However, access to critical early stage capital is not equally available to all. We rely on great partners like Riviera Partners who share our commitment to supporting the most promising entrepreneurs in their effort to build high growth startups. I know their talent management expertise will be particularly valuable to these efforts."

"We are very excited to partner with the Alliance on the important mission of the SoCal Venture Pipeline program," said O' Toole. "We are committed to supporting the venture community and entrepreneurs. The Alliance, with its deep SoCal network, has a proven track record of connecting venture-ready founders to relevant investors. As a firm, we are committed to community impact and believe the combination of improved access to capital and top talent  will propel the region's most talented entrepreneurs to higher levels of success."

Startups based in the SoCal region who apply to be in the SVP program undergo a rigorous screening process by a team of investment professionals before being accepted into the program. Once accepted they are further vetted before receiving highly targeted personal introductions to appropriate investors in the Alliance's extensive and growing network of 215 active venture capital partners.

Since its formal launch in June 2021, the SoCal Venture Pipeline, which serves both Seed and Series A-ready companies, has attracted 778 total applicants with 87 accepted companies of which 24 startups were funded for a total of $112M raised, plus 3 additional companies that were acquired. Since launching in June 2024, the Alliance's new SoCal Catalyst Fund has already co-invested in 4 SVP selected startups following leading investor City Rock Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, K Street Capital and GFT Ventures. 

For SoCal-based tech startups that are raising $1M+ of seed or $4M+ of Series A institutional capital and meet the guidelines outlined in the program FAQ, apply now to begin the process of getting connected to the right investors.

About The Alliance for Southern California Innovation

The Alliance for Southern California Innovation (the "Alliance") is a not for profit formed in 2017 that has successfully brought together the heft of Southern California's top research institutions, local business leaders, and world-class advisors to focus on bridging critical gaps in the SoCal innovation ecosystem. The goal of the Alliance is to engage and unify SoCal's compelling diversity of talent, ideas, and perspectives in order to optimize the conditions for the region's innovators to bring breakthroughs to the world.

About Riviera Partners

Riviera Partners is a global driver of innovation for today's most influential companies – expertly placing executive talent in the crucial areas of IT, software engineering, product management, security, AI/ML/Data, and design. Riviera combines over two decades of recruiting expertise with a proprietary platform that uses machine learning to score and predict the best candidate for a company's specific needs, driving successful outcomes. As a result, the company has become the go-to talent partner for leading private equity investors, venture capitalists, public companies and technology innovators. Learn more about Riviera Partners at www.rivierapartners.com, and follow us on  LinkedIn.

Media Contacts:
Eric Eide,
The Alliance for SoCal Innovation, 
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Alliance for SoCal Innovation