City of Los Angeles and Goren Holm Ventures Partner to Host BlockTankLA at CIS and Issue $25K Pilot and $25K Minimum Investment to Blockchain Startup

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#bitcoin–The Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Budget & Innovation (MOBI) and Information Technology Agency (ITALA) have partnered with Goren Holm Ventures (GHV) to host a “Shark Tank” style pitch contest for blockchain startups called Block Tank. The event will take place in front of a panel of celebrity judges at CIS, the biggest investment-focused blockchain conference in the world, on October 15th at the Los Angeles Convention Center in front of over 4,000 attendees.

The winning team will receive a $25,000 minimum investment offer from GHV and a $25,000 pilot project with the City of L.A. to use blockchain technology to address one or more important initiatives.

Ted Ross, the City of Los Angeles’ Chief Information Officer, will also be speaking at CIS. The event seeks to concretize Los Angeles as one of the first cities to leverage blockchain as an innovative solution for public benefit.

“Utilizing cutting-edge technologies to improve the lives of Los Angelenos has always been a priority for ITALA,” said Ross. “We’re excited for our partnership with GHV to explore and source blockchain solutions at CIS.”

The eligible pilot project areas include:

Environmental Sustainability
Online Voting Platform
Secure Resident IDs

Who are the candidates?

Four blockchain startups will be chosen by the city to be judged in front of the celebrity panel.

Who are the judges?

Famous billionaire investor, Tim Draper, who is known as the father of viral marketing and is an early proponent of Bitcoin and blockchain technology is confirmed. Other A-listers have been invited to speak and will be announced in the coming weeks leading up to the event.

How to Apply

Interested entrepreneurs should submit the application form to apply for Block Tank.

About GHV:

Goren Holm Ventures (GHV), led by Josef Holm and Alon Goren, is a Los Angeles based venture firm that also produces CIS. Sponsors for GHV events have included American Airlines, tZero, and eToro, and prior keynote speakers include Steve Wozniak of Apple, Robert Herjavec from Shark Tank, Marcus Lemonis from CNBC’s “The Profit,” Anthony Pompliano of Off the Chain Podcast, and Shruthi Rao of Amazon Web Services. More information can be found at: https://gorenholm.com

Contacts

Drew Mailen

drew@gorenholm.com