VC Places

The beauty of pitching a startup to VCs in Palo Alto is that you don’t have to travel very far to see most of them in one day. The Stanford Mall is a very short drive from Sand Hill Road and contains a small French bakery called La Baguette. I recommend a quick ham and cheese sandwich with a chocolate croissant – enough carbs to get you through 10 afternoon pitches.  The food is fast and excellent, and you can eat outside. 

La Baguette
3 3 170 Stanford Shopping Ctr, Palo Alto

I just spent the last week in Los Angeles at the Digital Hollywood conference. Much of the conference took place at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. It’s a beautiful setting for a conference. The rooms are a pain, and the wifi is spotty, but can’t beat the view. Doesn’t make you feel like working.

However, when it comes to closing a deal, if you need a great restaurant in the area, I recommend The Lobster:

The Lobster
1 1 1602 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica

As the name suggests, the lobster is fantastic, the setting is laid back, but not too casual, and you can hear others at the table speaking without having to yell. Plus, it’s just minutes away from the Loews Hotel.