Silicon Beach businesses

Tech start-ups are flocking to the Santa Monica/venice area of Los Angeles to do business, citing cheaper rent than in Northern California and better weather.

Shoedazzle Location: Santa Monica What it does: Shoe subscription e-commerce site with Kim Kardashian as investor and celebrity spokeswoman. CEO: Bill Strauss Founders: Brian Lee, Robert Shapiro, MJ Eng and Kim Kardashian. Employees: 150 Funding: $60 million

JibJab

Location: Venice What it does: Market e-cards. Founders: Gregg and Evan Spiridellis Employees: 45 Funding: $17.9 million

Viddy

Location: Venice What it does: App to make short videos with a celeb focus. Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Britney Spears all use it. Founders: Brett O’brien and J.J. Aguhob Employees: 20 Funding: $30 million

Mogreet

Location: Venice What it does: Mobile marketing firm helps companies send videos by text. Clients include Bloomingdale’s and 20th Century Fox. Founder: James Citron Employees: 40 Funding: $14 million

HitFix

Location: Santa Monica What it does: Entertainment news site seen on the Web and at check-out stands for Walmart, Albertsons, Taco Bell and other retailers. Founder: Jennifer Sargent Employees: 20 Funding: $5 million