Silicon Beach

And you were here in Southern California just recently schmoozing with the biggest names in tech here.

And tell us about how what used to be called Silicon Beach has evolved and how AI now is such a big part of the tech scene here in the Los Angeles area.

Yeah, and it was so great seeing you as always, Frank.

look, I think what you're seeing and we're seeing it across the country, but, but especially, you know, in areas like Los Angeles, like you're seeing so much tech innovation, so many tech companies sprout out, you know, obviously you have space acts in terms of, you know, outside of LA, but, but what's really starting to happen now is that you're having these innovation hubs that are happening across the country.

There are over six hundred thousand people in health services and biomedical activities.

We're home to Silicon Beach with over three hundred new tech startups, uh, starting, uh, each year, or companies, yeah, per year.

We're the un- undisputed entertainment capital of the world, which, uh, employs a hundred and sixty thousand people.

The port system here makes up the largest complex in the Western Hemisphere.

There was just so much energy around LA.

You had Silicon Beach.

Silicon Beach was kind of expanding up into Culver City.

you had Amazon merging with MGM, there was just so much going on and so much momentum and then COVID hits.

And if we talk about pricing, let's talk about pricing for a second, because when there was kind of all that energy going around, deals were trading at 14 or 15 times gross rent.

Mostly I...

My, my blame is that we didn't move up to the Bay Area or let alone, like, Silicon Beach, the Venice, Santa Monica area, 'cause we were building it in San Diego.

There's not, at the time especially, there's not a lot of venture, let alone angel investors backing social media startups.

Okay.

I was hired as a temp, but it was the cushiest temp job I've ever had.

It was very work culture, very tech, very Silicon Beach.

So catered lunches.

They had a beer fridge and stuff.

I was hired as a temp, but it was the cushiest temp job I've ever had.

It was very work culture, very tech, very Silicon Beach.

So catered lunches.

They had a

That makes most people uncomfortable and deeply suspicious, as well they should be with this guy.

At one point, Anton is renting an apartment in Playa Vista, an upscale master-planned wealthy neighborhood on the west side of Los Angeles known as Silicon Beach for its heavy concentration of tech and media.

Well, Anton unilaterally decides to convert the apartment he's renting into a hair salon without permission from the landlord or the city.

He does major construction and adds new plumbing and carpeting and starts operating this hair salon.