Meet the creative forces behind the WE Labs community: 
TED SIEVING, COO

Theodore Christian Sieving is a California licensed attorney and Chief Operating Officer of WE Labs, Inc. After graduating from Michigan State University with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology, he earned his Juris Doctorate from Emory University School of Law. After working with a handful of startups and entrepreneurs, his practical experience as an attorney and business consultant—combined with an irrepressible belief in the collaborative process and empowering creative individuals to monetize their talents—prepared him uniquely for his current role as Chief Operating Officer with WE Labs, Inc.

WE: How did you first get involved with WE Labs?

TS: When close personal friend and Founder of WE Labs Markus Manley passed away suddenly at the age of 39, Markus’ mother Mary Charles along with co-founder Robbie Brown asked me to help carry on the WE Labs vision and join in the formation process of WE Labs, Inc. Without hesitation, I accepted, taking on the awesome responsibility of continuing to make Markus’ dream a reality.

WE: What are you most excited about for the future of WE Labs?

TS: I'm most excited to see WE Labs achieving the dream that Markus told me about when I first met him. I see members collaborating and our community growing and I know how happy Markus would be. We're working towards a partnership with the City of Long Beach, LBCC, the SBDC, and already have synergistic relationships with local businesses for event sponsorship and member discounts. (For example, WE Labs members get 10% off at Beachwood BBQ & Brewing!) As we go forward and look to open a new and complementary location in San Pedro, I'm excited to see WE Labs reach new heights and be able to better serve our members and community.

There are literally thousands of reasons why Long Beach is an amazing place to start or relocate a business. But we had to pick five (time constraints, you see).* Let’s get to it: 

Number 5 (yes, its a count down)
Long beach is walkable, bikeable, and generally just easy to get around. We are the 11th most walkable city and the 3rd most bikeable city in the US. In California, that ranking translates to 2nd and 2nd, right behind San Francisco in both cases. What makes for a better start to your work day than a non-traffic traumatised team? 

Number 4
Being part of a major metropolitan area is important to any business looking to grow and attract talent. In Long Beach, we are in LA County, but not in L.A. Don’t get us wrong, we love our big neighbor to the north, but as many metro residents will tell you, there is a big difference between living in L.A. and visiting L.A. In our opinion, we’ve got it just right. We live right next to the beach, have everything a big city has to offer and we have another big city just a train ride or short drive away. Did we mention its usually about 10-15 degrees cooler in Long Beach than it is in L.A.?

Number 3
Every good business leader knows that innovation, creativity and business outlook only improve in a diverse environment with a diverse team and LA Metro is one of the most diverse places on earth. In the United States, it is THE most diverse major metropolitan area. Awhile back, USA Today did a comparative study which broke down the stats and it turns out, Long Beach is a big reason why LA metro is number one on the diversity charts: Long Beach just happens to be the most diverse city in the US, contributing significantly to LA Metro’s ranking as the most diverse metro area. 

Number 2
Long Beach is probably the easiest city in the United States to get involved in civic and community affairs. We have a robust nonprofit community and our our community leaders, elected or not, are easier to talk to than a neighbor of ten years. Its like having a nearly 500k-person support network. We call it community. For startups and entrepreneurs, just about everywhere you turn there is someone, some organization or some institution, just waiting to help you get off the ground. For more information, see our previous post: Five Local Startup Resources You Might Not Know About.

Number 1
The number one reason Long Beach is such a great city to start or relocate your business is definitely WE Labs (forgive us for self-aggrandizing, but it's our blog and we can do what we want). WE are connected, innovative, supportive and hard working. WE are basically the best business thing to come along since the abacus. We are your ultimate resource and we like to share, just like this list you are currently reading. And this list.

Don’t want to take our word for it? Then drop us a line or, better, just swing by and check us out. You won’t be sorry.

*subject to change on whim, fancy, sound argument or for any other reason.

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Article by Lincoln Bauer, edited by Victoria McCoy

Join Us Now! If you're interested in the full-time membership promotion please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to schedule a visit or call 562-264-5883 with any questions.

Prune - iOS Mobile App

Prune is a beautifully designed fun new iPhone application built to enrich your life. It's the ultimate habit breaker. With 30 seconds of your time you can set up your objectives and prune them out of your life. Done. It's that easy.
 
Prune was developed and launched within WE Labs by Principal.LA. It received over 30,000 downloads on iTunes within its first two weeks of release and at one time was ranked as the #8 most downloaded app in the iTunes app store.

Get the app here: 
https://itunes.apple.com/US/app/id650980702

Hitchcock Lost - new book

Check out book release ‘HItchcock Lost’ by Dan Auiler. It’s available digitally for the Kindle and on the Kindle app for iOS and Android.

Get the book here:
http://www.amazon.com/Hitchcock-Lost-Dan-Auiler-ebook/dp/B00G0MIM02/ref=la_B000APEYIO_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386088089&sr=1-8

Chicks Can Code - education workshops


Labmate Alexa Fleur along with a few other friends (Kelsey Grace and Tiffany Ryder) launched this group in the Lab and are planning some awesome things to happen in 2014. Take the time and visit the ‘Chicks Can Code’ Facebook page and please ‘like’ it.

Learn more:
https://www.facebook.com/ChicksCanCode

The BBQ - internet radio show

New members Q & JOE SAV host an internet radio show showcasing & promoting the various lifestyles of Pacific Islanders worldwide. Their show airs every Thursday 7pm PST and you can catch it at https://betelnutradio.com/the-bbq/
 
Also check their page and give them a ‘like’ the show at
https://www.facebook.com/TheBBQshoW?directed_target_id=0

Localism! - community building

Localism™ connects and empowers locally owned merchants, organizations and schools. Learn about their mission, initiatives, platform and insights by visiting their webpage at https://www.localism.co and check their video. Then visit their Facebook page and give them a ‘like’ too.

Learn more:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Localism/192215720825073