Los Angeles Business Council

What Los Angeles Business Council does

The Los Angeles Business Council (LABC) is a non-profit business advocacy and membership organization headquartered in Los Angeles, California, representing a coalition of more than 500 businesses across the greater Los Angeles region. Note: firmographic metadata lists the founding year as 1936, while the company's detailed history block and its announced 20th Anniversary Sustainability Summit in 2026 indicate a 2006 founding; the more specific primary source (2006) is used here. The organization convenes members around policy advocacy, applied research through its affiliated LABC Institute, and signature events such as the annual Sustainability Summit, with issue focus spanning infrastructure, housing, energy, sustainability, transportation, and economic development.

LABC's core product surface is a tiered membership program — Founder's Circle ($7,500/year), Chairman's Circle ($5,000/year), and Government/Nonprofit ($1,000/year) — combined with event sponsorships, policy advocacy campaigns (including the Measure A passage tied to an estimated $3.1B in local economic impact), and applied-research initiatives. Notable program lines include the Compete4LA initiative developed with the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy to prepare small businesses for the 2028 LA Olympics, the Green Together Collaborative (backed by a $23M grant), and the UCLA Anderson Forecast partnership on electric vehicle adoption research. The organization does not sell a software product or operate a technology platform; its "technology" is its convening architecture, member network, and policy-influence capability.

The revenue model is recurring membership dues across multiple tiers, supplemented by event sponsorship income and program-specific grant funding. Membership acquisition is anchored by the LABC brand and the value of policy access and convening rather than a transactional sales motion. The organization is led by President Mary Leslie. Customer concentration is structurally low, reflecting a diversified long tail of 500+ business members across multiple industries and an absence of anchor enterprise contracts.

Name

Los Angeles Business Council

Legal name

Los Angeles Business Council

Website

https://labusinesscouncil.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Los Angeles Business Council (LABC) is a non-profit business advocacy organization representing 500+ businesses across greater Los Angeles, delivering policy advocacy, applied research through the LABC Institute, and convening initiatives spanning infrastructure, sustainability, transportation, and economic development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Advocacy Services

NAICS

Business Associations (81391), Business Associations (813910), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Customer/User Conferences & Client Advisory Boards (THAHAMAD), Sponsorship, Exhibitor & Partnership Management Services (THAHACAK)

Keywords

• Business advocacy
• Policy advocacy
• Trade association
• Membership organization
• Business council

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from three tiers: Founder's Circle ($7,500/year), Chairman's Circle ($5,000/year), and Government/Nonprofit ($1,000/year for qualifying organizations). Membership provides access to events, advocacy representation, and networking opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Los Angeles Business Council is a nonprofit business advocacy organization that sells tiered annual memberships providing Los Angeles-area businesses with policy advocacy representation, networking access, and participation in annual events. Core offerings include three membership tiers (Founder's Circle, Chairman's Circle, Government/Nonprofit), flagship summits, an architectural awards program, the LABC Institute research arm, and the Advocacy Action Center tracking state and local legislation on housing, transportation, sustainability, and economic development.

Product overview

The Los Angeles Business Council is a membership-based business advocacy and educational organization, not a technology product company. Its offerings consist of tiered membership programs (Founder's Circle, Chairman's Circle, Government/Nonprofit), annual events (Sustainability Summit, Housing Summit, Architectural Awards), research through the LABC Institute, an advocacy action center tracking legislation, the Compete4LA small business database initiative, and committee participation opportunities. These are organizational and advocacy services, not technology products or platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LABC Institute: Research and education arm of the Los Angeles Business Council that conducts policy studies and surveys, including housing affordability research.

Products and services

• Membership Programs
• Sustainability Summit

Quantifiable outcome

• Measure A projected to generate $3.1 billion economic impact annually and create 25,800 local jobs annually

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• USCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 July 2022Partnership with USC to launch Compete4LA initiative, LA's most ambitious small business database. Combines LABC's business advocacy with USC's research capabilities to identify and connect small, local, and diverse businesses to contracting opportunities, particularly supporting major sports and entertainment events including 2028 Olympics.
• UCLAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 May 2021Collaboration with UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation to develop strategy for equitable electric vehicle adoption. Partnership prioritizes conversion of publicly owned fleets to electrics deployed in underserved communities suffering from poor air quality. Joint research and policy recommendations to ensure EV access aligns with state goals.
• Green Together CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 August 2020Multi-organization partnership including Community Partners, Pacoima Beautiful, Grid Alternatives Greater Los Angeles, The Trust for Public Land, LA DOT, LA Conservation Corps, and UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. Awarded $23 million grant from California Strategic Growth Council's Transformative Climate Communities Program for climate projects in Pacoima-Sun Valley area. LABC serves as partner helping design and implement greenhouse gas reduction, economic strengthening, and public health improvement projects.
• UCLA Luskin Center for InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2019Research partner through LABC Institute (LABCi). Released 6+ reports on environmental, economic, and equity benefits of FiT program. Collaborated on analysis showing program generated over $500 million in investments and 3,400-4,500 local jobs from initial 150MW program.
• USC Program for Environmental and Regional EquitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2019Research partner through LABC Institute for studies on distributed energy resources and equity considerations in clean energy programs.
• LADWP (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Long-term partnership with LADWP on solar Feed-in Tariff (FiT) program since 2013. LABC advocated for and helped develop the nation's largest urban rooftop solar FiT program. Partnership includes educational workshops connecting building owners with solar developers, interconnection events, and ongoing stakeholder briefings. Program expanded from 150MW to 450MW capacity.
• CLEAN LA Solar CoalitionmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Coalition partner in proposing and supporting the solar Feed-in Tariff program. Collaborative advocacy that led to implementation of nation's largest rooftop solar FiT program in Los Angeles.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce: The LA Chamber is the most direct local peer—a LA-based business membership organization that advocates on the same policy areas (housing, transportation, sustainability, economic development), recruits the same enterprise member base, and convenes large annual events for the LA business community. It competes head-to-head for founder-tier dues and policy influence in City Hall.
• Orange County Business Council: Orange County Business Council is a Southern California business advocacy and research organization with tiered memberships and policy focus on housing, transportation, and economic competitiveness. Same advocacy and convening model, overlapping enterprise member pool, but immediately adjacent geography rather than overlapping.
• Bay Area Council: Bay Area Council is a premier regional business advocacy organization in Northern California built on tiered enterprise membership, policy research, and signature events. It is the closest comparable in operating model even though geography differs, providing a structural peer for tier pricing, event formats, and policy leverage approaches.
• BizFed (Los Angeles County Business Federation): BizFed is an umbrella federation of LA County business organizations that conducts policy advocacy on housing, transportation, energy, and economic issues, operating with a similar member-driven model in the same LA geography. It directly competes for enterprise advocacy dollars and policy wins on issues like Measure A and sustainability.

Regional players

• Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce: Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber is a sub-regional LA business chamber focused on economic development and policy in the Valley area. Comparable membership model and advocacy function, but addresses a single sub-region of LA rather than the broader county/city membership of LABC.
• San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce: San Diego Regional Chamber is a California business advocacy organization with tiered enterprise membership and policy engagement on regional issues. Comparable in structure and scale, but operates in a separate Southern California geography rather than competing directly with LABC in LA.
• Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce: Sacramento Metro Chamber is a Northern California business advocacy organization with similar tiered membership and policy engagement on housing, transit, and economic development. Same operating model, different California region with no geographic overlap with LABC.
• Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA): VICA is a San Fernando Valley-based business advocacy organization with a similar tiered membership model focused on policy, housing, transportation, and sustainability. Directly comparable in operating approach though more Valley-focused than LABC's LA-county-wide footprint.

Broad incumbents

• California Chamber of Commerce: CalChamber is the largest and most established statewide business advocacy organization representing tens of thousands of California employers on legislative and regulatory issues. It is a broader incumbent with overlapping policy priorities (energy, housing, transportation) rather than LABC's LA-hyperlocal focus, and competes at the state policy level in Sacramento.

Emerging players

• US Green Building Council - LA Chapter: USGBC-LA is a nonprofit dedicated to sustainability advocacy and education (LEED, building decarbonization) in the LA region. It overlaps with LABC on sustainability advocacy and Architectural Awards (which celebrate green design), and competes for sustainability-focused enterprise membership and policy influence.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/labctweets
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Los-Angeles-Business-Council/91836614925
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/los-angeles-business-council
• Instagraminstagram.com/labusinesscouncil

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Los Angeles Business Council