Heather Arranie 
Longtime Snap exec Ben Schwerin recently joined Coatue Management as the new Managing Director of their Los Angeles office. This move marks a major change for Ben, who was Snap’s Vice President of Partnerships for the past 5 years.
Schwerin states that he is excited to join Coatue, as he believes there is huge potential for the investor’s Los Angeles office. In this article, we will be looking at Schwerin’s vision for Coatue’s LA office and the impact it could have on the market.
Ben Schwerin’s Background
Ben Schwerin is one of the founding partners at Coatue, a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley. With extensive experience in investing and developing start-ups from the ground up, Ben has quickly become a leader in the tech investment space.
Before joining Coatue, Ben was an early investor in both Spotify and Dropbox and a partner at GV (formerly Google Ventures). Before that he was founding CTO of SocialCam which had an exit to Autodesk for about 60 million dollars in 2012. As part of his venture capital career Ben co-founded LAUNCH which connects startups to investors globally.
Throughout his career, Ben has become renowned for his deep technical skillset: he graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA/MS focused on computer science and robotics engineering; worked as the VP of Engineering & Data Science at Twitch earning several patents related to video technology; led product management & engineering teams at Yahoo!; and earned two master’s degrees from Stanford University.
Ben was recently named partner of Coatue’s Los Angeles office and will now lead investments in Los Angeles specifically. With this appointment, Ben brings a wealth of experience and understanding to potential investments and startup companies within the city’s tech ecosystem.
Coatue’s History
Coatue is a technology-focused and growth capital investment firm, founded in 1999 by Philippe Laffont. Corporate headquarters are located in New York City; the firm has expanded to include 7 offices worldwide, including Los Angeles. Coatue seeks to actively partner with entrepreneurs and provide the expertise and resources needed to scale disruptive & technology-enabled businesses.
Coatue maintains investments across various sectors, including e-commerce & online services; bill payment & fintech related efforts; infrastructure software companies; content production, streaming, distribution & subscription services. Sectors of focus for Coatue have also included media, communications, healthcare/life sciences, and energy & industrial manufacturing companies. In addition, the team emphasizes long-term holding strategies that enable their portfolio companies to succeed over time.
Ben Schwerin’s vision for their Los Angeles office expansion is building on the firm’s conviction in its core thesis that adds significant support for entrepreneurs scaling high growth businesses within an institutional framework. With plans underway to establish its foothold on the West Coast.
Ben Schwerin’s Vision for Coatue’s LA Office
Ben Schwerin, a longtime tech exec who was a part of Snap Inc., has taken on the new role of Head of West Coast at Coatue Management, a technology and venture capital firm.
Schwerin’s vision for Coatue’s Los Angeles office is to open up new opportunities for the firm to continue investing in innovative companies, from start-ups to later-stage growth companies.
Let’s look at the steps Schwerin has taken to make this happen.
Expansion of Coatue’s Presence in Los Angeles
Ben Schwerin, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Tech-focused Hedge Fund Coatue, plans to significantly expand the company’s presence in Los Angeles, making it a hub of innovation. With a focus on supporting the fast-growing entertainment technology start-ups in the city, Coatue will invest substantially in its development.
Schwerin has long considered Los Angeles a key investment market, and the city’s well-established tech scene has made it an ideal place to grow Coatue’s investments. The firm intends to bring innovation, investment capital and creative energy from Silicon Valley to Los Angeles and implement its own “Silicon Beach” projects; one example being creating more SaaS opportunities for start-up companies in the city.
Schwerin sees this as an opportunity for communities within Los Angeles to utilize their resources better. He hopes this expansion will lift disadvantaged communities within L.A., both physically and financially by providing jobs, resources and grants that promote entrepreneurship within these areas.
In addition to investing in local companies, Schwerin plans to develop new real estate projects that are technology-focused — including incubator spaces for entrepreneurs — with images of smart cities comprising public transit infrastructure being floated as potential ideas being investigated under his guidance.
With growing investor confidence across industries such as healthcare/diagnostics, entertainment technology and mobility/transportation, Ben Schwerin is confident that this move will bring renewed attention — nationally and internationally — into the L.A tech scene when perfected.
Investing in Early-Stage Startups
Ben Schwerin is the managing partner at Coatue’s Los Angeles office. Schwerin has dedicated his professional career to investing in early-stage startups, and his vision for Coatue’s LA office is to bring those same investments to this area.
Schwerin has identified four key areas of focus for investments in the Los Angeles market: technology, media and entertainment, commerce, and real estate. His team will be targeting startups that have potential to scale quickly with these main priorities in mind. In addition, the team is looking to work with companies that are well-capitalized but open to partnering with new investment partners.
They will also seek out companies that exhibit long-term potential based on an innovative business model or product offering. In addition, a key tenet of their strategy is to invest early on in startups while they are still at an early stage so the company can build their roadmap before going public or being acquired by another entity. Finally, Schwerin believes it’s important for Coatue’s LA office to focus on identifying up-and-coming founders who have a unique vision and are driven by a mission beyond ROI alone.
Focus on Media and Technology
For Ben Schwerin, managing partner of Coatue’s Los Angeles office, the focus is on media and technology. Schwerin and his team believe these industries have the potential to drive major growth in their portfolio companies.
Regarding media and technology, Coatue is interested in companies across the ecosystem: from digital video content to information services to software platforms. In addition, they are interested in startups that drive the advancement of content creation, distribution and monetization capabilities to reach a new generation of viewers looking for unique experiences on their devices.
Coatue recognizes that media and tech are intertwined; something shared on social networks can be used by data scientists to better inform how consumers interact with products or services. Therefore, Coatue seeks startups that apply artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to extract meaning from company’s customer data or consumer activity for improved marketing campaigns performance or overall customer experience.
The venture firm also looks for innovative startups that leverage the power of cloud computing to reduce the cost associated with data storage and analysis while enabling faster access capabilities from virtually any device connected online or off-line creating new opportunities for business growth through higher engagement levels with prospective clients or consumers in general.
Finally, they seek companies creating interactive educational platforms designed with mobile-friendly approach boosting immersive learning capabilities as well as providing students/customers anytime access – thus improving educational outcomes while enhancing career development opportunities through life-long learning process – all aiming at bringing true transformation within traditional academic practices while still providing a glimpse into what modern digital education could look like decades down the line.
Longtime Snap Exec Ben Schwerin Joins Coatue To Launch Investor’s Los Angeles Office
Earlier this month, Los Angeles-based Coatue Management appointed Ben Schwerin, a longtime executive at Snap, as Partner and Head of the Silicon Valley office. Schwerin’s extensive background in venture capital and prior experience at Snap Inc. make him an ideal candidate to launch the investor’s Los Angeles office.
This appointment signals the beginning of an exciting new era for Coatue and its LA presence, and Schwerin brings a set of unique experiences, skills, and vision that can benefit the firm.
Increased Access to the LA Tech Scene
As President of Coatue’s Los Angeles office, Ben Schwerin is helping to create a dynamic work environment that can contribute to the growth and success of the venture and technology scene in Los Angeles. His experience as a tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist has equipped him with the knowledge, experience, and network necessary to foster an open environment for collaboration and innovation. In addition, Schwerin’s well-connected reputation in LA is helping to usher in new partnerships with tech companies, encouraging efficient collaboration among industry leaders. As a result, Coatue’s presence in LA provides an invaluable source of expertise on how venture capital works, while also adding access to talent and unrivaled insights into Silicon Valley’s workings.
The establishment of Coatue’s LA office gives entrepreneurs access that they may have difficulty obtaining on their own: access to capital, access to talent, and networking opportunities for finding customers or partners. This increased access allows entrepreneurs to more easily tap into resources that can help them grow their businesses faster. Furthermore, by connecting industry titans with emerging startups, Schwerin has created more robust innovation pipelines for existing companies such as Dropbox or Airbnb. Together with investors like Coatue Management LLC., these collaborations are driving innovative upcoming technologies that can serve as game changers—ultimately contributing greatly toward shaping the future of tech.
Greater Opportunities for Startups
The appointment of Ben Schwerin as a Managing Director of Coatue’s Los Angeles office provides greater opportunities for startups and venture capitalists in the city. Through his role, Schwerin will continue to foster innovative ideas and form new business relationships with entrepreneurs in various industries.
Schwerin brings over two decades of experience, most recently as the Senior Vice President of Applications & Platform at Hulu LLC. At Hulu, Schwerin was instrumental in launching the company’s subscription video-on-demand service, which changed how audiences consume content. In addition, he was a leader in developing opportunities to leverage data and build personalized experiences for users across platforms. His expertise extends beyond digital media companies; Schwerim has extensive experience working with technology startups in LA.
Schwerin’s appointment represents an exciting opportunity for LA-based innovators; Coatue’s presence will increase capital access from venture capitalists who follow its lead investments. Already active investors in companies such as Instacart and Bird, the firm looks forward to partnering with promising startups from the region’s highly diverse economy. By tapping into his network and leveraging his industry knowledge and insights, Schwerin intends to create an environment open to disruptive initiatives and encourages entrepreneurs to take risks without fear of failure.
With Ben’s leadership at Coatue’s LA office, there will surely be an expansive growth opportunity for newly founded ventures and Silicon Beach stalwarts alike.
Strengthened Network of Investors
Ben Schwerin brings to Coatue’s Los Angeles office significant experience and connections in the venture capital community. He has built a strong and extensive network of investors who he believes can come together to identify and execute ground-breaking deals across the venture cycle, from early-stage to go public. He is particularly passionate about identifying opportunities to contribute to growth for companies within industries traditionally seen disparities in access to capital.
Given Ben Schwerin’s passion for and focus on closing these funding gaps, Coatue has every reason to believe that his appointment will yield both diversity of deal flow and an opportunity for investors of color to do well by doing good – an investment philosophy that they believe aligns with Coatue’s mission. This vision has already proven itself true with Ben Schwerin bringing a number of deal flow opportunities to the marketplace via his new appointment at Coatue — all within a matter of weeks since joining their team!
Conclusion
In conclusion, Ben Schwerin has a passionate vision for Coatue’s Los Angeles office. His experience at Snapchat and strong background in venture capital gives him the perfect blend of skills and knowledge to lead the way. He has the potential to make a huge impact in the investment world and we look forward to seeing what he has in store for Coatue.
