Vinny in VR; Serial CEOs; What Tops Louisiana Purchase?

Count Vinny Smith in the class of investors who see some virtue in virtual reality. Our Chris Casacchia hears that Newport Beach-based Toba Capital—the VC firm founded by Smith shortly after the $2.8 billion sale of his Quest Software to Dell in 2012—has taken a stake in virtual reality content producer Next VR in Laguna Beach. Toba also has a piece of an outfit in L.A. that’s believed to be crafting virtual-reality movie trailers, which seem like a logical place to start … Smith is a serial entrepreneur—Quest wasn’t his first hit, and Toba’s portfolio could hold several more. This week’s issue has a couple of examples of serial CEOs. See Jane Yu’s front-page piece on the challenges Ed Thomas has taken on in his second stint as chief executive of the Wet Seal retail brand. Paul Hughes provides an early report on Yogurtland founder Phillip Chang’s second act as CEO of the restaurant chain (this page) … Reports on the recent death of Alfred Taubman included the Detroit-based real estate tycoon’s oft-stated view that his investment in the group that beat out Mobil Oil with a $337.4 million bid for the Irvine Company in 1977—a move that made him $100 million when it sold for $1 billion six years later—was the best deal since the Louisiana Purchase. Don’t know what point of reference to use for Donald Bren’s role—he was with Taubman in the group that first bought the 77,000 acres, remained a buyer after Taubman decided to cash out, and ended up the wealthiest real estate developer in the U.S. … Want to see a fine example of how to establish a sense of place and purpose for a college? Go to 17th & Bristol and look to the southwest corner, where a sizeable digital sign announces the Santa Ana College campus that looms large in its background. The same sign provides excellent connections to both the student body and the larger community, with messages on everything from programs for transfers to four-year schools to community-service classes on cart vending. More than one four-year university could take a lesson from SAC on how a simple sign can connect a campus culture with the larger community … Speaking of big imagery: Laguna Beach-based movie producer MacGillivray Freeman’s made-for-Imax “Dolphins” passed the $100 million mark at the box office last week—a rarity for any documentary. “Dolphins,” which garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Short Subject when it first came out back in 2001, has been seen by nearly 20 million people in more than 200 IMAX and other theaters since then … More kudos, starting with Marian Bergeson, who will celebrate her 90th birthday with another turn at skydiving … Then there’s public charter school Oxford Academy in Cypress, which ranked No. 32 out of the 2,300 or so public and private institutions on the Washington Post’s recent list of “America’s Most Challenging High Schools.” Sage Hill School in Newport Coast was No. 60 among all schools and the No. 3 private school … Also Mark Aldrich and the law firm of Aldrich & Bonnefin, which will get the J. F. Shea Therapeutic Riding Center’s 2015 Michael Lewis Friends of the Disabled Award … And Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation, also in line for the award, which is named for the first rider at the San Juan Capistrano center and will be presented at the “Shea La Vie—Shea Magnifique!” gala at Montage Laguna Beach on May 16.