Santa Monica is at the center of a tech revolution. Hundreds of startups are based in the city, part of the Westside of L.A. County that has been dubbed “Silicon Beach.”
Our new weekly Tech Tuesday feature will introduce you to some of the cutting-edge tech startups cropping up in our back yard. This week, we chatted with Hawke Media.
What does your company do?
Hawke Media (www.hawkemedia.com) is an outsourced CMO and marketing team, month to month, a la carte, no contracts and cheaper than hiring an in house team.
How did you come up with the idea?
After running 3 ecommerce companies and then consulting for many more, there was a consistent problem with a lack of bandwidth and expertise to execute digitally. I wanted to create a company that could help companies with their online component with no artificial commitments, cheaper than doing it in house, and better than anyone else out there.
Why did your company locate to Santa Monica?
Because there is no better environment to start a business. Unlike silicon valley or New York City, Santa Monica has a culture of rising together and everyone is there to help each other. My business wouldn’t exist without this culture.
What’s the biggest challenge your company is facing?
To be frank, we aren’t really facing any major challenges, we are growing at the rate we want, finding great people to work with and continue to actually do exactly what we want to do.
What could the city of Santa Monica do to help your company thrive?
Find ways to engage the start up community more. Santa Monica has definitely fallen short on involving themselves with the thriving tech scene in their backyard.
Where do you see your company in a year?
Twice the size, continuing to grow, coming out with new products, and it would surprise me if that wasn’t achieve.
