ReadWriteWeb

Best known for its movie stars, sun and surf, Los Angeles probably isn't the first place you'd think to breed technology. But when you consider the influence of investors like Jason Calacanis and Mark Suster, in addition to the fact that companies like Demand Media and Docstoc call Southern California home, it's not surprising that the community is emerging as one of the country's hottest startup hubs. ReadWriteWeb caught up with some defining characters of the LA Tech scene to find out why they've made their homes away from the traditional tech haunts of Silicon Valley.

In November of last year, more than 50 people came together for Startup Weekend Los Angeles. They pitched 45 different entrepreneurial ideas, eventually narrowing them into seven teams. They spent Saturday and Sunday working around the clock to create working prototypes of these ideas with help from an expert panel of mentors, speakers and even lawyers.

Then they voted, and the top vote-getter - Mingly - was born, and has since been invited to Twiistup, a showcase for hot upcoming startups in Los Angeles at the end of January.

Of twelve competing startups selected to present at Twiistup 6 in Los Angeles, only one would go home with the prestigious trophy, which was, to adhere to strictest journalistic standards of truth-telling and integrity, constructed entirely of Legos.

The victor in this contest was not the charming underdog, BakeSpace, nor was it the geek-chic rockstar, JamLegend. It was the sensible, freemium enterprise software, ExpenseBay. While talk of expense reports and business travel might strike technophiles as Office Space-esque unsexiness, the Twiistup judges saw a monetizable solution to a very real problem and rewarded its team accordingly. Watch the interview below to learn more about EnterpriseBay's experience and story.

LaunchBox startup JamLegend began in 2008 as an idea to take Rock Band and Guitar Hero online and make them infinitely more fun for more people with more songs.

While presenting at Twiistup in Los Angeles today, Andrew Lee took a few moments to chat with us about how the product was developed and how they've worked out great incentives for users while providing great value for brands, from major record labels to independent artists. Watch the interview below.

BakeSpace might not be the sexiest concept on the startup block. A recipe swap community, said founder Babette Pepaj, strikes many in the tech community as "touchy feely" or "a chick site."

Nevertheless, the site was named a 2009 Webby Award Nominee for Best Social Network and continues to drive traffic and ad revenue with strong content and a great roadmap for mobile and offline integration. Pepaj, a former reality TV producer, said that both her experience in creating fresh, compelling content on a consistent basis as well as being able to partner with Los Angeles' entertainment community to build great marketing partnerships has helped BakeSpace grow into a successful enterprise. Watch the rest of the interview below.

Twiistup, the explosive SoCal event that was recently bought by a secret investor, has announced its call for "Showoff" entries. Ten slots are available in the New Tech-esque startup presentation before a horde of tech investors, entrepreneurs, and media types - including L.A.'s monied entertainment set. The showcase will take place on Thursday and Friday, July 30 and 31 at the Universal Hilton in Universal City, California.

Part New Tech, part Tech Set, all Southern California, the Twiistup events are a product of the rampantly blossoming Los Angeles tech scene. They combine an admixture of micro- and mainstream celebrity with Hollywood production values in over-the-top glam settings for photo opportunities any tech hipster would die for.

Mike Macadaan started Twiistup two years ago when he was a UX/design creative executive at AOL. When he moved from NorCal to SoCal, he started the event to make friends and networking connections, not planning on growing the event beyond the initial two instances. Instead of just concocting another mixer, he added a few twists, and Twiistup gained popularity and a hundred or so attendees with each occurrence.