Darren Eng: Why Los Angeles Venture Association is #LongLA

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DARREN ENG:
Why Los Angeles Venture Association is #LongLA

Summary:
Brought in to reboot the Los Angeles Venture Association as LAVA’s new Executive Director, Eng now sees a mesh-network of communities ready to explode. But this time the explosion won’t come from newcomers or transplants as has happened in past bubbles; many of whom scamper back to their home state when their respective bubble bursts. This time Eng sees the growth building on the increasingly aligning synergies between the numerous nodes of the network as LA’s venture ecosystem matures.

Across the LA region, across the mesh-network, there are thousands who agree and hundreds working in the same direction. Groups like the LAEDC, SoCalTech Alliance, Valley EDC, City Hall, LA Cleantech Incubator, folks from the major and minor universities including USC, UCLA, CalTech, ASU, Pepperdine, UC Riverside, UCI and CalState LA and Northridge), Biocom LA, LA Bio, and the American Investment Council (AIC), just to name a few. LAVA is aligning with all of them to grow the ecosystem.

Bio:
Darren Eng has over 20 years of experience in executive leadership roles and entrepreneurial endeavors. As Executive Director of the Los Angeles Venture Association, Darren is transforming and coalescing the extensive mesh network of communities that make up the Los Angeles venture ecosystem. Through the work of investor Advisory Boards and over a dozen community committees, LAVA is methodically growing the ecosystem by strengthening the network. Prior to LAVA, Mr. Eng was CEO, Investor and Board Director of Greenbelt Resources Corporation traded on the OTC. Prior to that he was Executive Director of two other LA based associations, Founder/President of The Sponsorship Group with clients that included Billboard Magazine and Hollywood Reporter, and SVP of Digital Evolution Center. A scientist alumni of Yale, Darren had a seven year career as an environmental scientist/expert witness in New Jersey before moving to LA in '98. Fun fact: He has also been honored twice as the Santa Monica YMCA Coach of the Year (2011/12 and 2019/20 seasons).

Darren Eng
Twitter @LAVA310