At a stop today in Santa Monica, President Obama was offered a job at a start-up. From the pool report:
The last person to ask a question offered POTUS a job at his start-up. POTUS said that he would have to look at what the company had to offer, like sushi lunches. "While being in sweatpants and a baseball cap sounds pretty attractive, but I’d have to check out your perks," he said.
Obama hosted a town hall style event, according to the pool report:
After receiving a short tour here at Cross Campus in Santa Monica, POTUS spoke for several minutes about the strength of the economy and the importance of millennials to future growth. (See previous pool report for background on Cross Campus.) The crowd applauded after POTUS talked about the need to raise the minimum wage. "Despite some of the gridlock in Washington, we are making progress, and when I come to places like this, it inspires me and reminds me why I'm chronically optimistic about America," he said. He then took questions for an hour from the crowd of roughly 100. He was asked about healthcare, transportation and net neutrality. POTUS reaffirmed his commitment to net neutrality, saying he was "unequivocally committed" to it. "It has unleashed the power of the Internet and we don’t want to lose that," he said. In regards to immigration, he said that the Republicans would be committing "suicide" long term if they didn't act. The last person to ask a question offered POTUS a job at his start-up. POTUS said that he would have to look at what the company had to offer, like sushi lunches. "While being in sweatpants and a baseball cap sounds pretty attractive, but I’d have to check out your perks," he said. The Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti and the mayor of Santa Monica Pam O'Connor were in attendance. As of 4:10 p.m., the pool is holding at the back of Cross Campus as we prepare to leave for our next event. For color, Cross Campus is in a warehouse like building that has a high ceiling. There are many large flat screen monitors, and the exposed brick on the walls is painted light blue. There are several bookcases, but there aren't many books in them.
Here's more on the event from the White House:
The President is visiting Cross Campus, a collaborative workspace and business event venue that brings together a diverse community of freelancers, creative professionals, entrepreneurs, and Venture Capitalist-funded startup teams. Before delivering remarks and answering questions in a town hall, the President will tour the co-working space and interact with the employees and founders of three startups working out of the Cross Campus facilities, including: · *newzcard, a startup that hosts a 24/7 continually-updated photo stream featuring professional news, entertainment, sports and fashion photojournalism from more than 25,000 photographers around the globe. · Enervee, the first energy efficiency data and marketing platform. · thrdPlace, an online platform for urban planning, design and development by stimulating energy and investment for community development. Introducer The President will be introduced at the town hall by DeKoven Ashley, the co-founder and COO of thrdPlace, an online platform for community planning and development. Prior to founding thrdPlace, DeKoven worked in federal and municipal policy, built environment design and community organization. He was a first-responder on the ground in post-Katrina New Orleans where he witnessed the difficulty of the city to bring diverse community stakeholders together to build their shared communities. He brings those insights to thrdPlace. DeKoven, a serial entrepreneur, is a graduate of Tulane University and received his master’s degree in urban planning from University of California, Los Angeles. Town Hall Audience The crowd at today’s town hall is made up primarily of members of the Cross Campus community as well as innovators from local tech incubators like Science Inc. and other local startups.