Our VIP Lunch Club is Back!

Every Third Friday of the Month

VIP Lunch Club is Back

We are finally back to running in-person events.

You can purchase a stand alone ticket for each month’s lunch event or you can subscribe to become a Full Member of 805 Startups/Startmada.

Full Members get discounts on all of our event ticket prices, access to our new online community, and extra perks.

We do our best to invite people that are relevant to each attendee to help everyone build the most rewarding relationships during the lunch.

The return of our monthly VIP Lunch Club event is just the beginning. Becoming a Full Member will help us add more events, improve them and our community, and allow us to bring in more support.

February 4, 2021August 9, 2023

We Are Seeking Mentors! Apply Now!

Help Your Community Thrive

Join the Startmada Mentorship Program

How You Can Help

Pick how you want to contribute. Participating in an activity earns a point. Consecutive participation earns bonus points.

Run Workshops

Schedule one 90 minute workshop per quarter to allow community members to learn from you

Run Group Office Hours

Schedule one 90 minute session per quarter to allow a group of community members to ask you questions

Peer Support Meetings

Participate in at least one of our monthly Peer Support meetings as a Mentor each quarter

Participate in Leadership Meetings

Join our Quarterly Leadership Meeting with our other Mentors and Advisors to help us plan future events, programs, and support services for our shared community

Rewards For Your Support

Become Renowned

We will highlight you in the community as a Mentor and celebrate your leadership across our various platforms and content network (videos, podcast, digital magazine)

Gain Access

We will provide you with discounts, free tickets, listings, ad space, and other marketing opportunities--as well as access to private discussions and channels to connect with other Mentors

Become Influential

We will design opportunities for you to join our events and content network as a speaker or reserve a seat for someone you recommend

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Isaac Newton

Apply Now

October 23, 2020October 23, 2020

Has 805 Startups Made An Impact In Your Life? Please Let CA Economic Summit Know!

Nominate Gary & Alon as Regional Stewards!

Greetings Friends!

The California Economic Summit is accepting nominations for Stewards from across the state for their upcoming annual event.

If 805 Startups has made an impact in your life it would be incredibly appreciated and beneficial for you to nominate our founders, Alon Goren and Gary Livingston, as Regional Stewards.

Doing so will help open the door to many more resources to 805 Startups. That could include grants, access to more prominent mentors, and bigger sponsorships. All of this and more would allow 805 Startups to do more for you and the rest of our shared communities!

Where to Nominate Alon & Gary

https://summit.caeconomy.org/steward

Their Contact Information

Gary
Livingston
Gary@805startups.com

Alon Goren
Alon@805startups.com

Our Impact at a Glance

300 +

Events

375 +

Mentors

285 +

Speaker Seats Filled

150 +

Investment Deals Fostered

1350 +

People Trained

1000 +

Careers Supported

2200 +

Businesses Supported

10200 +

New Friends Made

Since 2016 we have been working diligently to improve your quality of life and success rate through healthy communities

October 13, 2020October 13, 2020

Well…Covid sure did disrupt things

We had some big plans for 2020. Big expansion plans. Big sponsors. Big events. Big programs. Then, Covid happened and everything that was in the process of being finalized became null and void due to us not being able to bring people together in person.

It’s been a very frustrating and depressing experience. More so due to us finally being within grasp of achieving the next major milestone in the growth of 805 Startups. We have been making so many sacrifices while focusing almost entirely on proving ourselves to you and the rest of the community–that we live and die by putting the community first. That tactic has put monetization on the back burner. To say we were ecstatic to finally be moving forward with bringing on big sponsors and contracts is an understatement. Finally, we could begin amassing a team! Conversely, watching that all evaporate has been equally devastating.

I know. That’s not an uncommon experience for many founders or people in general throughout this pandemic. It’s been tough. Honestly, it’s been terrible. That’s before you even begin to account for those that have been directly affected by the virus in regards to their health or the health of their loved ones.

Community is important. Now more so than ever before. Especially, with such necessary precautions we must take to avoid the virus and thus avoid others.

Despite all the doom and gloom there is plenty to feel hopeful for. There are lots of wonderful innovations resulting from this ongoing tragedy. It is serving as a catalyst to push many people towards progress–towards making our future brighter.

For us, it’s pushing us to take steps forward with 805 Startups that we have been holding off on. We have to if we want to keep doing this. We must go fully virtual.

In the coming weeks expect a robust line up of events, just like the ones we were throwing in person. Expect a new website with full community features to connect with others and share resources, content, jobs, resumes, and business listings. Expect a lot more opportunities to leverage our shared communities as we all push forward through this terrible situation, together.

We could use any help you can spare. If you believe in our mission and the work we have done, please consider joining us as a Supporting Member

January 15, 2020July 31, 2023

Impact

805 startups' impact summarized

380+

Events since January 19, 2016

367

Mentors Activated

284

Speaking Seats Filled

519

Exhibitors

9,354

Attendance

155

Workshops Held

1,333

People Trained

3

Weekend Long Incubators

20+

New Businesses Incubated

1,971+

New Entrepreneurs and Intrepreneurs

4,932

Individual Participants*

From 805 startups, I have hired people, found new clients, made business referrals, connected people to financing sources, joined two non-profit boards, met city leadership which eventually led to participating in the Thousand Oaks General Plan Advisory Committee, and met people I am doing business with as partners on projects that could grow and create revenue and jobs in the city.

Studies have shown that people perform on a level similar to their peers. If everyone around you is coasting, you don't have an incentive to work hard. I feel like 805startups improves the area: By seeing others make companies, build businesses, etc, it encourages others to think of that as "normal" and encourages more of the same.

Gary and 805 Startups have been an invaluable resource for my work in the nonprofit sector in Ventura County. 805 Startups is the ideal resource for cultivating valuable, relevant relationships for both mission alignment and income development. The caliber of people I can be exposed to at any given time through the 805 Startups experience is second to none, and has yielded tangible results. I’m always excited to support 805 startups, and always excited to see what’s next as they contribute to the economic development of the county across all sectors.

Gary and his team over at 805 Startups have been a great asset to our company and community. Through the network developed by 805 Startups, our company has been able to meet and work with people that bring value to our overall brand. We have been attending 805 Startups since its inception and continue to be impressed by the show's growth and innovation.

Gary and Alon at 805 Startups are phenomenal--they have helped me immensely in growing connections with investors and potential users, and they're the key to the TO startup community.

Members [of 805 Startups] access a network of startups, investors, corporations, politicians, universities, and talent. [805 Startups] can help [Thousand Oaks] retain and attract new businesses and jobs and expand access between start-ups and local programs.

2,171

Received Support Growing Their Business*

428

Jobs Created*

288

Introductions to New Hire Candidates*

214

Received Support Choosing Where to Locate Their Business*

153

Received Support Fundraising*

$73,400,000

Capital Raised

789

Accredited Investors*

450

Active Investors*

$3B

Deployable Investment Capital*

117

Discovered New Investment Deals*

339

Learned Something New About Investing in Their Community*

I received funding from THREE DIFFERENT INVESTORS through attending a 805 Startups pitch competition. I don't need to highlight how unusual and valuable this is! It's almost unheard of to attend pitch competitions and receive any funding, much less checks from THREE different investors! I am so impressed.

We were asked to present at the pitch competition. We took the opportunity to completely overhaul our pitch deck. How we present it. It worked great! We won! It was really cool to see the several other start ups we were competing against. There were some great companies.

805 Startups has been crucial in helping us refine our pitch and business model. The relationships we’ve developed led us to one of our largest development partners and a $300,000 pre-order

Events from Gary and Alon like the Pitch to your Peers and CIS provide invaluable and immeasurable relationships that have taken our startup through its important phases

I signed up for 805 Startups hoping to network, but what I got was vastly more. I have been able to connect with C-Level thought leaders from the Finance, Marketing and Tech sectors - those leaders now make up our company team. 805’s impact on our business has been profound and I recommend it highly to anyone with the foresight to join.

I attended a small workshop on preparing for and attracting investors. The individualized attention was wonderful and helped me map out my plan to take my business from an idea through the market research phase and then preparing for funding pitches.

Gary and Alon’s enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and 805 community is infectious and down-right inspiring. Since coming to his events and speaking on a couple panels, I’ve made a bunch of new relationships in the Edu and SaaS platform space which all lead to positive opportunities in my business. The community they are building with 805 Startups is long overdue in that area, kudos!

986

Received Support Growing Their Career*

246

Discovered a Job*

543

Received Support Learning How to Seek a New Job*

1528

Received Support Connecting to a Mentor*

443

Received Support Making a Decision About Their Career*

Being a developer, I am constantly approached by people wanting me to 'build their app". The community at 805 Startups has helped me to better evaluate ideas I'm approached with as well as how to vet potential clients so that I'm always enjoying my work as well as who I'm working with.

With long time family roots to the Conejo Valley, 805 Startups was an answer to a community thriving with innovation. Through their networking events and public speaking opportunities it has opened up stronger connections with bringing new employees to companies I’m involved with and business relationships. Additionally, I’ve found some good friends from the strength of the network at 805 Startups.

One thing I constantly struggle with is staying motivated. Many things in life seem to diminish my motivation, but during every 805 Startups event I have only gained motivation. Seeing other peoples passion for what they do, their ambition, and drive to succeed only motivates me to keep pushing to achieve my goals. That is a priceless asset.

805 Startups has provided new ways for the business community to connect with each other whether through their meet-ups, co-working opportunities, introductions or myriad of other opportunities for people to work together. Whether you’re in a traditional business (whatever that looks like!) or a cutting edge start-up, early in your career or a seasoned entrepreneur with creativity and capital to burn, 805 Startups welcomes all comers. We, at the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber, know this is a model that works and look forward to working with 805 Startups for a long time to come.

3,798

Made New Friends*

2,051

Made More Than Five New Friends*

1,823

Discovered Something New About Their Community*

395

Received Support Deciding Where to Live*

246

Received Support Deciding What Car to Buy*

641

Received Support Deciding About Their Continued Education*

2,959

Decided to Help Support Their Community

325

New Donors in The Community*

325

New Civil Servants in The Community*

1,834

New Volunteers in The Community*

2,278

New Mentors in The Community*

100+

Other Comunity Organizations Supported*

Additional Ways we supported our cities and counties

Business Expansion, Attraction, and Retention

We connected with a variety of business owners from every industry, market, and level of success to identify their needs and aspirations and act as a liaison between businesses, Cities and Counties, and other organizations to create strong relationships, retain existing businesses, and support their decision making process regarding their location and expansion.

Real Estate & Community Development

With extremely limited resources we established the foundation for a system to identify and provide listings of key opportunity sites and priority development areas, streamline development processes, and create relationships with commercial property owners and businesses to facilitate tenant recruitment.

We conducted outreach to build strategic relationships with a diverse and balanced representation of stakeholders across our regional economy and acted as matchmakers between them in support of filling the overwhelming commercial real estate vacancies through attracting new businesses to the area and develop more home grown businesses.

Critical Infrastructure

We advocated for the improvement of infrastructure conditions that increase the speed and efficiency of utilities, and decrease travel time for workforce and business operations. Additionally, we advocated to increase a City’s or County’s stock of affordable homes.

We brought in strategic speakers and mentors that could further inspire and educate both the community and our government leaders in order to help us all make more informed decisions about policy and strategy liked to our critical infrastructure to support the needs of our shared communities to drive successful workforce development, economic development, and community development.

Placemaking & Quality of Life

Through our Culture First approach, we promoted the Cities and Counties in our region as a destination that features a high quality of life, signature events, historic locations, and thriving developments that support dining, shopping, recreation, relaxation, and tourism opportunities.

Our events and programs are designed around showcasing the community and culture that their residents and businesses represent.

Our outreach focused on key themes that further promoted these Cities and Counties.

Marketing

We marketed Cities and Counties as a desirable and supportive destination by highlighting the community and culture that the residents and businesses represent.

We created opportunities for the community and the governmental leaders to demonstrate these traits to others within their community and to outsiders visiting the area in order to participate in our events or programs.

These opportunities included utilizing key city owned venues; sharing promotional materials; and integrating the city, county, and their programs as exhibitors at our events.

We ran multiple advertising campaigns, in addition to our outreach, to market Cities and Counties both internally and externally built upon the above key themes.

3,000+

Email Conversations Held

2,000+

Phone Conversations Held

800+

Meetings Held

We supported these additional objectives through untold hours spent conducting community outreach focused on understanding the needs of our shared communities and our critical infrastructure deficiencies.

Then, we shared that information to our government leaders through our events and further outreach, and by serving as a conduit connecting the community to the appropriate government leaders.

We also focused a number of our efforts to promote innovation on exploring ways to modernize our cities and counties while strengthening the unique culture found in each area.

*Based on surveying 317 participants and extrapolating to account for an estimated 4,932 unique participants from a pool of 9,976 members across our 8 meetup groups within the region of LA County and Ventura County

We Want to Hear From You Too!

If you were impacted by our efforts to support your growth, click the link below to participate in our survey and share your story.

Share Your Story Now

Want to Help Us Do More?

We are gearing up for a big expansion beginning in Q2 2020.

This will allow us to expand our efforts from San Luis Obispo to Orange County–12 cities each month, workshops, pitch competitions, weekend incubators and more.

More than that, we want to do this properly with a full team to deliver the best experience yet for you and the rest of the community. That means helpful printed programs/documentation at every event, special VIP experiences, more hands on support, food & drinks at our events, and a digital platform to support our matchmaking and outreach efforts. All of which translates to more support for you.

We are looking to bring on new sponsors, contracts, paid members, and obtain grants.

If you are interested in playing a role in helping us do more to benefit you and the community, reach out to us!

Gary@805startups.com

+1 (818) 538-6373

December 12, 2019December 12, 2019

2020q1

Innovation & Growth Fair - Q1

BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER to support you

Date To Be Announced

3pm to 7pm

Agoura Hills Recreation Center

29900 Ladyface Court, Agoura Hills, CA 91301

-$25* ADMISSION-

*Ticket Prices Go Up On February 1st

A collaborative experience

Come meet and learn from a wide range of businesses, non-profits, and government agencies that are coming together to offer you more support than any one of us could provide alone. Your success and growth is a success for our shared community.

Great Opportunities To Get Involved

Be a Mentor

Volunteer one hour to share your experience in any personal or professional topic you wish. There is no easier way to demonstrate your expertise and value while building long lasting trust with the community.

Apply Now

Be an Exhibitor

Showcase your organization to over 400 attendees. Attract new hires, investors, customers, or strategic partners. For profits, non profits, and government agencies of all types are encouraged to participate. No fee for non profits.

Apply Now

Host a Workshop Station

Pick the topic you want your workshop to cover, e.g. “How to Run a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign” or “How to Run an Effective Content Marketing Campaigns” and we will work with you to assemble a panel of up to four people to teach the community practical skills related to your topic.

Sponsor Your Station Now

Speaker Panels

Join Us as an Exhibitor Now

-$25* ADMISSION-

*Ticket Prices Go Up On February 1st

Our Event Sponsors

SPONSOR THE INNOVATION & GROWTH FAIR

Explore a variety of packages to be placed in a leadership role, demonstrate your expertise, gain influence, and extend your reach across the regional community

Who Comes to the fair?

demographics

Home Owners

Over 30 Years Old

Women

Make Over $200k a Year

of Businesses are Seeking Talent

Bachelors or Higher Education

Want to Learn More?

September 19, 2019December 21, 2019

Innovation & Growth Fair Q4 – Agoura Hills – December 12th

Innovation & Growth Fair - Q4

BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER to support you

December 12th, 3PM TO 7PM

3pm to 7pm

Agoura Hills Recreation Center

29900 Ladyface Court, Agoura Hills, CA 91301

Take a Short Cut

-$25 ADMISSION-

Free Admission if you Registered for a Workshop or Speaker Panel

A collaborative experience

Great Opportunities To Get Involved

Be a Sponsor

Gain a variety of special benefits to build your brand, drive sales, and support other strategic objectives while giving back to your community by becoming a sponsor.

Learn More

Make a Donation

We are looking for some fun, big ticket items for our raffles and silent auctions

Share Now

Speaker Panels

Brought to you by Rise Up For You

805 Start-ups is proud to collaborate with Rise Up For You to bring you an expanded line up of panels, and more speakers from across the region.

Together we will bring you industry experts and executives who have a proven track record of success, experience, and education.

Through our interactive panel and engagement with the audience, you will gain strategy, empowerment, and tangible tools to instantly implement in your professional and personal life.

Bring your notebook, bring your business cards, and bring your questions because this panel series is a DO NOT MISS!

Secrets to Success

This panel will take a deep dive into recurring patterns for success.

Our speakers will share their journeys to be successful individuals and explore how they manage their time, their expectations, and overcome adversity.

You will have ample opportunity to ask the panel your own questions.

3:00pm to 4:00pm

Desi Dennis-Dylan

Born into a family of performers, actress/singer/drummer Desi Dennis-Dylan was bit by the bug at an early age.

She has traveled all over the globe as a performer, master teacher, and featured musician and has had the privilege of sharing the stage with such artists as Kelli O’Hara, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Susan Egan, the great Rosalind Cash and the legendary Dick Van Dyke to name a few.

She is an alumna of the CBS Diversity Sketch Comedy Showcase and her TV credits include: Superior Donuts, Modern Family, Henry Danger, Good Girls and Perfect Harmony.

Lisa Lopez

Lisa Lopez is an Executive Vice President for Fitness International, LLC DBA LA Fitness, where she has devoted 17 years to personal and team development in marketing, sales, management, and leadership.

Her experience began with LA Fitness in an entry-level Membership Director position, then Assistant General Manager, General Manager, District Vice President, Regional Vice President to Executive Vice President with LA Fitness. She has been a volunteer with Dress For Success to serve women in the Compton and Crenshaw communities as a speaker to prepare women for upcoming interviews and the ups and downs of such a journey. Lisa has collaborated with a team of VPs to create nationwide sales training for Fitness International, LLC. She has formed a Leading Ladies platform for women in her organization to discuss and overcome challenges, learn, grow and mentor others.

When Lisa gets the bug for serious competition, you’ll find her and her husband at the arcade.

Jake Konaszewski

Moderator

Jake Konaszewski is the Co-Founder of Next Generation Rise the Youth branch of Rise Up For You.

His passion is mentoring young adults on the soft skills necessary to succeed in today’s work environment. His passion stems from spending years traveling the world and inspiring confidence in youth through music.

Jake is qualified in managing small to medium size teams and has learned to develop his skills in leadership, management and public speaking. Additionally, Jake is well versed in the area of event production where he is still on the ground producing events with names such as Google, Nike, and Facebook.

Today, he has taken on the role of Business Development Manager, Youth Mentor, and speaker at Rise Up For. As an active member of the Greater Irvine Chamber and the Newport Chamber of Commerce he is constantly driving the Rise Up For You initiatives to help the local community.

Jake specializes in how to manage and work in high stress environments as well as youth confidence.

More Speakers To Be Announced

How to Start and Grow Your Business

Come learn how to start and grow a business from two incredibly experienced and successful guest speakers.

We will cover how to bring your idea to life, how to test it in the market, and how to generate traction that fuels your growth and success.

You will have ample opportunity to ask the panel your own questions.

4:00pm to 5:00pm

Davis Brimer

A Serial Entrepreneur, Founder, and C-Suite Executive.

Davis’s professional passion is to lead and work alongside visionary creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs to realize great ideas into commercial realities. I’m a seasoned executive who conceptualizes and creates new markets, builds strategic and operating plans, and leads passionate teams to execute and grow.

Davis has an abundance of experience starting and growing businesses to great success. He’s looking forward to sharing his experiences and insights with you.

Eric P. Rose, NPDP, MBA

Eric Paul Rose, NPDP, MBA is a product innovation and management consultant who provides entrepreneurs, and established companies with the expertise to move new products from opportunity into market reality.

Eric has more than 35 years’ experience in product innovation, product development, manufacturing, commercialization, and project management.

His work has been with companies ranging from startups through Fortune 500s in the consumer, medical, and industrial product industries

Dan Han

Dan Han is the founder of Agapay, a payment processing company established in 2012 with a
mission to give back to the community utilizing its own payment gateway to integrate into various Billing and Ecommerce Softwares in the card not present industries. He is also a partner with Cadenza Music Academy and a VA placement agency.

Dan is no stranger to small business, having owned a retail store, an importing company, and a
mortgage company prior to founding Agapay. Currently he has been in the Payment Processing industry for over 10 years and is Certified Payment Professional through the Electronic Transactions Association. These experiences have taught him the importance of persistence and patience in building business.

Dan is an advocate of building a strong network because it is vital for business development and
giving back to the community extending to future generations. Currently Dan is serving as Chair of the Board of Directors and various committees within the Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce, and a Council Member to the Hospice Advisory Council. Dan is the co-founder of Plant a Seed Institute, and serves and supports in over 10 non-profit organizations who are doing work to improve our communities and the world.

Dan believes in a creator with a grand plan and that everything happens for a reason.

Carlos Oregon

Carlos has over 25 years of experience in operations and technology with an emphasis in consulting and program/project management. While at Thinkbox Technology Group, Carlos has spent 10 years overseeing the growth of the company throughout the US and internationally. Mr. Oregon oversees the support of client’s globally with teams in the California, Washington, Florida, Texas and Europe.

Thinkbox Technology Group’s services involve enterprise wide initiatives; including Data Center migrations, VOIP upgrades, infrastructure, low-voltage and project recovery. He has also served as the interim CIO for the City of Plano in Texas for 18 months while Thinkbox’s team of Consultants supported the city’s key strategic initiatives.

Prior to joining Thinkbox Technology Group, he was a senior member of the engineering team at WET Design, where he was responsible for the project management and coordination of technology, production, and logistics for iconic water features, including the world’s largest water feature at the Burj, Dubai development in UAE prior to his time at WET Design.

Mr. Oregon is a U.S. Air Force (USAF) veteran who served in the US and overseas in various locations to include Afghanistan and South Korea. During his 16 years, he supported global operations for Aviation Maintenance, Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), Special Operations (AFSOC) and Space Operations.

Nada Lena Nasserdeen

Moderator

Nada Lena is the founder and CEO of Rise Up For You, a company that fosters personal and professional growth amongst individuals and companies. She is an Executive Leadership and Career Confidence Coach, Post-Secondary Educator, and Motivational Speaker.

With over 10 years experience as a college professor and former top executive for an education corporation, Nada understands the importance of fusing education, empowerment, and leadership together as she works with her clients and speaks to audiences worldwide. She has toured the world as a singer, has a Master’s degree in Administrative Leadership, and has coached and mentored close to 50,000 individuals around the world on self-empowerment, career strategy, and leadership.

Most recently Nada had the opportunity to share her expertise at Google’s largest conference of the year Cloud Next ‘19, where she worked with tech industry participants and C-Suite executives on Career Confidence, Leadership, and Career Strategy. In addition, she has presented and spoken for multiple platforms and conferences such as The California Human Resources Conference, UCLA Extended Learning, and Lead the Way Educators Conference. Nada was awarded the Chief’s Award from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for her work in 2018 and is a two-time finalist for The Emerging Woman-Owned Business Award from Connected Women of Influence.

Nada’s believes that in order to create change within our communities, companies, and households, we must first create change within ourselves. It’s a collective effort needed from all parties; no company, adult, or young adult can be left behind. The world needs us at our best!

Women in Business: insights into a woman's pursuit of a business or career

Learn from incredibly inspirational and successful women in your community. You’ll hear about their journeys to pursue a career or business venture and explore the unique perspective of being a woman.

5:00pm to 6:00pm

Kim M. Williams

Kim Williams is no stranger to the world of entertainment. She has worked over 20 years in the
television and film industry. After graduating from the University of North Texas with a degree in
Radio-TV-Film, she began her career in Post Production working on several TV projects before
transitioning to the creative side in TV Development for Viacom Productions and the WB Network.

With her extensive industry experience, Kim was invited by the 2017 Piton Independent Film
Festival in St. Lucia to teach a three-day Master Class in Producing. From there, she developed a
passion for teaching young Black filmmakers how to create and produce an industry-standard
project from beginning to end. She has facilitated workshops in Botswana, Kenya, and Rwanda. Her classes cover writing, production, and post production.

Kim is currently developing new series for inkSpot Entertainment and focusing on sharing her experience and knowledge in Production workshops across the world.

Leanne DiSanto

As a Life Strategy and Results Coach, Leanne helps individuals and companies move from auto-pilot and status quo to a deeper level of engagement and intentional action to foster sustainable grow and prosperity.

Leanne started her coaching career more than 25 years ago and is the former owner of Fitness Patrol, Private Training Studio. She has a Master’s in Physiology, a Bachelor of Science in Biology and multiple training and life coaching certifications.

As a speaker and seminar leader, she is passionate about having the conscious conversations that create real change. She brings her extensive expertise, as well as her special mix of life’s lessons, compassion and humor whether she is working one-on-one or speaking to a large audience.

Leanne is the Amazon #1 Bestselling co-author of “Faces of the New Feminine Leadership: Real Women, Real Conversations, Real Impact.” She served three years as Vice President on the Board of the Women’s Journey Foundation, a nonprofit organization that serves at-risk girls.

Now as Business Development Director for Rise Up For You, Leanne is growing the Speaker Network Series events in Southern California, facilitating speaking events, panels and pop-up lounges for Rise Up For You and various corporate events and conferences.

Kimberly Seltzer

With a vat of knowledge and experience as a therapist, certified style coach, dating coach, and matchmaker, Kim Seltzer has helped hundreds of people find lasting love and connection and build valuable relationships using her unique “confidence makeover” process.

Using an outside-in approach, Kim has changed hundreds of lives by changing their style, emotional and social intelligence using her signature formula, “The Charisma Quotient,” working on body language, first impressions, image and messaging and how it impacts attraction.

This Los Angeles-based expert travels the country helping people discover confidence, charisma and connection as a speaker at National Matchmaking Conferences, eHarmony, Neutrogena and iDate, as well as her own annual conference series for men and women, The Makeover Blueprint.

Kim is also a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, with appearances in Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Reader’s Digest, AskMen, Fox News Magazine, Yahoo Shine, Oprah Magazine and the Washington Examiner, among a myriad of other publications.

You can also find Kim as a frequent co-host on the traveling live dating show and podcast The Great Love Debate, and in her new cable reality dating show, The Romance.

You can also listen to her now on her own podcast, The Charisma Quotient.

Shannon Miller

Moderator

Strategic Life & Business Coach. Entrepreneurship & Online Business Expert.

Shannon offers executive clients custom life and business coaching as well as playful interactive team building programs for sales and start up teams. ” A Happy life begins when you live on purpose.”

She is a serial entrepreneur with experience in ecommerce, importing, and acting.

Shannon is a great connector and mentor within the community.

Fundraising & Exit Strategies, and Investment Strategies

Top investors will share advice and insights for founders to successfully fundraise and exit.

The panel will also help accredited investors learn how to become angel investors and invest in VC Funds in order to put capital back into our communities.

6:00pm to 7:00pm

Richard Wolpert

A pioneer in the fields of technology, consumer digital media and entertainment for more than 25 years. Extensive experience as an executive, entrepreneur and as an investor.

Responsible for many “firsts” throughout his career including: conceiving of and teaching the first Macintosh Programming Class at Stanford University (CS 193C), the first multi-user address book for the Macintosh (TouchBase), the first kids internet subscription service (Disney’s Daily Blast), the first Tivo-like product for the Internet Radio (BitBop Tuner), the first legitimate music subscription service for the Internet (MusicNet), and the first legitimate online movie subscription service (Starz! On Demand). Successfully negotiated ground breaking deals with several of the major media companies whose content became the basis for many of these products

As an investor, managed personal investment fund, Chance Technologies (1995 to Present), served as an advisor to Accel Partners (2006 to Present), served as a partner at the Yucaipa Companies (1998 to 2000), and served as the Managing Director or the Mail Room Fund (2008 to 2010). Invested in more than 30 companies, a large percentage of which have had successful exits or continue on as successful companies, including: AdECN, AMG, AndroMedia, AudioMill, Data Sage, GameFly, GameSpy, Kongregate, Mob.ly, People Support, Smilebox, Sometrics, Three Rings, Scopely, PlayDek, and Universal Audio.

Ryan Deslauriers

Ryan Deslauriers has been with StartEngine for two years and is currently StartEngine’s Director of Lead Generation. StartEngine is the leading equity crowdfunding platform that’s helped fund over 300 companies. Prior to StartEngine, Ryan received his BS in Economics from American University in Washington, D.C. and currently resides in Los Angeles.

Alon Goren

Alon Goren is the Founding Partner of Draper Goren Holm, Co-Founder of Ownera, CIS, Security Token Summit & LA Blockchain Week, AND 805 Startups.

Most recently, Alon’s Venture Capital fund was accepted into the Draper Venture Network and Tim Draper became a lead investor as well, leading to Draper becoming a named partner.

Alon has a long history within the startup world and experience on both sides of the equation–as an entrepreneur and now as an investor.

Dakota Rader

Moderator

Dakota Blaze Rader, co-founder of Next Generation Rise, was born and raised in Grand Island, Nebraska. He has an extensive background as a youth mentor, event coordinator, and public speaker – with an education and experience in the financial services sector.

Dakota is currently a Business Developer, Panel Facilitator, Trainer, and Youth Confidence Coach for Rise Up For You. As a passionate team member, he creates sustainable and transformation shifts in business’s company culture by first developing their employees through soft skills training. He is an active Business and Workforce Development and Economic Vitality committee member with The Greater Irvine Chamber, as well as a proud member of the Newport Chamber. He is a skilled Service/Hospitality and Restaurant trainer, as well as a nationally awarded Personal Builder for independent financial advisors.

Dakota is passionate about encouraging and empowering young adults to be present and to pursue their greatest potential. His focus in mentoring youth is to help them find their purpose and navigate their own personal and professional path.

Dakota acknowledges the societal trends behind change, growth, and idea of success – but brings light to the reality that change is not change unless it is transformational and sustainable. He believes that in order to create change in our communities, schools, business’s, and households we must first spark the change within.

Workshops

Join a mentor for 15 to 30 minute sessions designed to introduce you to new concepts, teach you processes, provide you with feedback, and develop skills.

Our goal is to give you more than inspiration and motivation to pursue your goals. We want you to get home and be able to act upon those great feelings. That is what our workshops are designed to do.

4pm to 7pm - Interactive Pop-Up Lounge Presented by Rise Up For You

Rise Up For You will be hosting an interactive Pop-Up Lounge where their trained team of experts will be facilitating free 10-minute 1-1 power coaching sessions on Leadership, Confidence, and Career Strategy.

Reserve Your Spot Now

3pm to 4pm - How to Start a Nonprofit, the Right Way in 90 Days or Less! with Amber Wynn

Learn how to start your nonprofit the right way & powerfully position your organization for long-term impact in your community. Get insider secrets so you can scale quickly and receive funding 3x faster.

Reserve Your Spot Now

3pm to 4pm - Growing a Physical Product Based Business with Paul Shrater

Learn how to develop, create, and launch physical products into the marketplace and how to turn those products into a viable, growing business.

Reserve Your Spot Now

3pm to 4pm - How to Turn Your Idea Into a Viable Business with Greg Monterrosa

Learn how to make your idea tangible and then validate it, build it, and launch it.

Reserve Your Spot Now

3pm to 4pm - Your 30 Second Elevator Pitch with Ray Caldwell

Learn how to effectively communicate your idea or existing company, product, or service to others in 30 seconds. You'll be able to get feedback on your existing pitch or craft one from scratch.

Reserve Your Spot Now

3pm to 4pm - Creating Calm From CHAOS: An Action Plan with Shannon Miller

Learn a six point approach to balanced goal setting. Say goodbye to stress inducing massive task lists and hello to sanity and effectiveness. You will be breaking your goals down into six vital categories, allowing you to take action as a whole person while getting more done with more satisfaction.

Reserve Your Spot Now

3pm to 4pm - How to Be An Effective Day Trader with Asher Leids

Learn the best practices to effective day trading, including what platforms to use, key strategies, and the legalities involved from former name partner at Donahue, Mesereau & Leids, LLP. and angel investor, Asher Leids.

Reserve Your Spot Now

3pm to 5pm - Introduction to Toastmasters with Eric Browning

Learn how to develop verbal communication and leadership skills, resulting in greater self-confidence and personal growth.

Reserve Your Spot Now

3pm to 5pm - The Marriage of Design & Technology: How Branding, UX and Development Work Together for Startup Success with Sonya Lee

How do you manage business, creative design and technology? More specifically, how do you address the digital innovation landscape including startups, app development, websites and more? Let's talk about the integration of functional requirement gathering, understanding business objectives, user/customer experience, visual branding and how to tie it all in together to develop a product and/or website that customers truly love and want.

Reserve Your Spot Now

3pm to 5pm - How to Properly Leverage Social Media to Grow Your Business with Julian Espinosa

Learn how to choose the right social media channels for your business, craft messages that captivate your customers, and builds your brand in an authentic manner.

Reserve Your Spot Now

4pm to 5pm - How to Improve Your Sales, Marketing, and Business Operations with Jon Robertson

Join this workshop for a very interactive forum for to get advice on your business, specifically with sales, marketing, and business operations.

Reserve Your Spot Now

4pm to 5pm - Introduction to Startup Pitch Decks and Positioning Statements with Donavon Urfalian

Donavon will lead you through an exploration of the ins and outs of coming up with a good pitch and how to distill it into a positioning statement. A good pitch can serve as an overview of your startup idea. A good positioning statement can serve as a summation of your startup idea. Learn the difference between bad, average, and great pitch decks and positioning statements.

Reserve Your Spot Now

4pm to 5pm - Starting a Business Without Quitting Your Day Job with Shannon Miller

Too often, entrepreneurs believe they need to go all in on their business venture on day one. This is dangerous and takes on far more risk than necessary. Learn how to make great strides on starting your own business while making the most of your current day job to mitigate your risk and open doors.

Reserve Your Spot Now

4pm to 5pm - How to Get Into Real Estate Sales with Hector G. Diaz

Are you thinking about getting into the real estate industry? Discover... California State requirements to getting your real estate license, the pros and cons of doing real estate sales,and how real estate has evolved over the years. Learn everything you need to know about getting into real estate sales.

Reserve Your Spot Now

4pm to 5pm - How to Leverage Your Content to Launch a Successful Podcast with Marc Honorof

Do you regularly create content through interviews, workshops, events, or other experiences? Are you capturing it properly? Are you maximizing its value by sharing it through the correct channels to the right audience? Learn how to make the most of the content you create by launching a podcast that resonates with your audience. This will include hosting, syndicating, and marketing.

Reserve Your Spot Now

4pm to 5pm - How to Transition From an Accredited Investor to a Successful Angel Investor with Asher Leids

Are you an accredited investor that is interested in fueling the growth of your local economy? Are you interested in learning how to discover and invest in the next unicorn startup? Are you unsure what investment structure to use? Former name partner at Donahue, Mesereau & Leids, LLP. and angel investor, Asher Leids, will walk you through the process and answer any other questions you have.

Reserve Your Spot Now

4pm to 5pm - Getting to Your Next Level with Paul Shrater

Come share your current hurdles and problems that are preventing you from reaching the next level in your career or business venture. Paul will be leading the group through an exercise to strategize a path to get you to your next level.

Reserve Your Spot Now

4pm to 6pm - Collecting Wine Experience, to Level Up Your Character

Winemaking is a fantastic blend of botany, chemistry, economics and dumb luck. It’s a practice where mistakes can turn into great success, carefully planned strategies can yield nothing, and an entire year of work, can be changed by a single day of unplanned rain. Come learn from Winemaker Teddy Thoren, what wine can teach us about our history, tradition and how this ancient craft is evolving in the modern world.

Reserve Your Spot Now

5pm to 6pm - The 10-step Process to Creating a Content Marketing Plan to Develop and Promote Your Brand with Andi Waibel

Learn a simple step-by-step process to craft a compelling marketing plan that introduces or strengthens your brand your brand to drive sales, press, and other positive opportunities.

Reserve Your Spot Now

5pm to 6pm - How to Create an Investor Relations Deck with Ina McGuinness

Join this workshop for a review of tips and feedback from a 20 year veteran of creating IR decks. You can also expect input from your fellow entrepreneurs who join us at our table.

Reserve Your Spot Now

5pm to 6pm - Introduction to Decentralized Applications(dApps) with Frederic Rough

This workshop will cover a variety of topics related to dApps: How the merkle web is going to bring balance back to the internet. Giving control back to the user instead of big corporations like Google and Facebook. How projects/protocols like IPFS,IPLD,libP2P, Filecoin are going to bring rise to the next phase of our internet. How Hedera Hashgraph is going to change the DLT marketplace. Web 3.0 related topics. How important these new technologies are in terms of securing data and bringing back privacy to the hands of individuals.

Reserve Your Spot Now

5pm to 6pm - Improving Mental Health for Musicians and Creatives with Mari Fong

Did you know that 7 out of 10 musicians suffer from a mood disorder at some time in their lives? In this workshop we'll discuss these conditions, their causes, and what you can do for someone who needs mental help. Free and low cost local and nationwide mental health resources will also be presented. Save A Musician!

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5pm to 6pm - Why Salespeople Fail and How You Can Fix It with Michael Gordon

Traditional sales creates a process where the buyer is in complete control and the sales professional is expected to jump through hoops. Learn a process that creates equal business stature between buyer and seller.

Reserve Your Spot Now

5pm to 6pm - How to Utilize Non-Dilutive Funding with Avi Dukler

What is a non-dilutive funding? What type of grants are available? Who is eligible? How much can be raised? If awarded, would I need to pay it back? I have only an idea can I apply? How long it takes to prepare and submit? What industries/topics are relevant? How can I find relevant solicitations? When are the next deadlines? Discover the answers to these questions and others, that you may have.

Reserve Your Spot Now

5pm to 6pm - How Game Design Can Improve Your Business with Nick deBoisblanc

There are many great frameworks that games utilize to build community, gamify interactions, create enjoyable repeatable processes, and establish strong brands. Nick will be sharing these best practices in game design that can be applied to other businesses to help them grow.

Reserve Your Spot Now

5pm to 6pm - How To Put Together Your Due Diligence Package with Rich Weir

Serial entrepreneur and angel investor, Rich Weir, will review the due diligence process and the required documentation with you.

Reserve Your Spot Now

6pm to 7pm - How To Determine Your Brand’s Purpose with Kevin J. Walker

Kevin will help you sleuth out the real purpose your market has for your product or service. Brand purpose is the underlying reason people will buy your product or service as opposed to someone else’s. It is the role you play in your customers’ lives. It is the very foundation of the brand – which is the shared relationship between a marketable asset and its market.

Reserve Your Spot Now

6pm to 7pm - How to be Authentic and Engaging with Your Target Audience with Andi Waibel

In today's digital landscape of non-stop social media activity and notifications, businesses live or die by how authentic they are viewed by their customers, donors, and others they rely on. Learn how to properly present yourself and communicate with others in a manner that resonates as true and drives engagement.

Reserve Your Spot Now

6pm to 7pm - How To Utilize Engagement Marketing with Ray Caldwell

Learn what engagement marketing is and how to leverage it to grow your business or personal brand by providing your customers experiences that leave them with lasting memories.

Reserve Your Spot Now

6pm to 7pm - How to Become a Leadership Influencer in Your Niche with Stephen Gorgey

Stephen will introduce you to new marketing techniques and best practices that you can use to become a sought after leader in your field of expertise

Reserve Your Spot Now

6pm to 7pm - Understanding the Process For Raising Capital with Rich Weir

Serial entrepreneur and angel investor, Rich Weir, will discuss the process to raising capital and various alternatives with you.

Reserve Your Spot Now

Mentors

Ray Caldwell

I’m excited to meet startup founders and those who are looking for funding.

I would love to help you with the following:

Communicating one UVP through a 30 second elevator pitch. Organizing and presenting a pitch deck. Engagement Marketing – how to talk with anyone about your dream.

Donavon Urfalian

I’m excited to meet Startup founders, advisors, and investors.

I’m Software Engineer with Data Science experience. From ideation to startup launch, I’ve years of experience helping startup founders go from ideation to team building to software app launch. I’ve hosted events where startup founders pitch to investors, and coffee shop meetings for the past two years here in Los Angeles.

Taylor Adnan

I’m excited to meet people who work in or are interested in hardware products (non SAS).

I can help with Manufacturing, Sourcing, Crowdfunding

Timothy Dir

I’m excited to meet startup founders with physical products and other manufacturers.

I can assist with Business Operations, Finance, Manufacturing.

Marc Honoroff

I’m excited to meet startup founders, corporations, and event producers interested in capturing and syndicating their content across podcasts.

I can help with learning how to launch and grow podcasts.

Neal Roche

I’m excited to meet Investors & start up founders in various markets IT Hardware/ software/ SAAS/ FinTech & Blockchain markets Energy Storage / Efficiency / Clean Transportation.

I can help with start up fundraising. I’ve done 4 start ups and raised money from multiple Angel groups. IT Hardware/ software/ SAAS/ FinTech & Blockchain markets Energy Storage / Efficiency / Clean Transportation I’ve been CEO at startups and Exec VP at public companies doing M&A.

Harriet Cohen

I’m excited to meet business owners that can benefit from my experience and expertise.

I enjoy consulting with businesses, start up to mature small to corporate assuring they have the key foundational tools to enable them to start maintain or grow; this includes strategic and marketing plans, SWOT, talent management, engagement, and other tools that are necessary at every stage.

Nick deBoisblanc

I’m excited to meet emerging game developers and those looking to create events.

I help people tell their story by creating worlds through game development, film, photos, or organizing events.

You’ll find me always living the agile lifestyle of a doer.

Matthew Bentley

I’m happy to meet with non-technical founders with technical questions or anyone interested in creating a web or mobile.

I’m also happy to help anyone unhappy with their current outsourced development team.

I have experience creating software specifications (Web and Mobile projects), building high quality, and cost efficient MVPs.

I enjoy agile software development, cyber security, and technical best practices.

Ajay Dugar

I’m excited to meet entrepreneurs and startup founders who are interested in AR/AR/Blockchain, Wellness, Meditation, and Yoga.

For two decades, I have been a business-development, strategic partnerships and product management professional at various organizations within the digital M&E as well as entertainment technology industries.

Rich Weir

I’m excited to meet entrepreneurs seeking support with understanding the process for raising capital.

I’m a serial entrepreneur with roots to the emergence of Silicon Valley and I’m an angel investor.

Asher Leids

I’m happy to meet with startup founders, accredited investors, and those interested in day trading.

I’m currently an active angel investor. I was formerly a SEC attorney.

When I worked, I specialized in practicing venture capital, securities, mergers & acquisitions and general corporate law. My clients ranged from start-ups, such as Scour.net (a company that was founded by, among others, Travis Kalanick-who went on to be the founder and CEO of Uber) and Ceiva, to Fortune 100 companies, such as IBM. I also worked on the initial public offering for Shopping.com (one of the first internet IPO’s) that was subsequently acquired by Compaq Computer Corp. within one year of it’s IPO for approximately $1 Billion.

Frederic Rough

I’m excited to meet people interested in Hedera Hashgraph, IBM Hyperledger, IPFS/IPNS, IPLD, Filecoin, and libp2p.

I have experience in Cybersecurity, Cryptocurrency Trading/Minting, and Distributed Ledger Technologies.

Jon Robertson

I’m happy to meet entrepreneurs and startup founders looking to grow and scale.

My focus is on sales, marketing, and operations but I specialize in creating simple and easy to manage foundations that are designed for what startups need now but are also able to scale as the business grows.

Paul Walmsley

I enjoy meeting small business owners and entrepreneurs.

I’m a Financial Advisor helping entrepreneurs create and manage their Financial Game Plan.

Menachem Fehler

I’d like to meet business developers and engineers.

I have experience with Startups, Robotics and Drones.

Pedro Almache

I’m excited to meet entrepreneurs interested in creating their own mobile apps and seeking technical support.

I’m a CTO with a passion for mobile applications.

Dan DeMaggio

I’m looking to meet anyone considering trying to manage a software development effort.

I have built embedded systems used by thousands of people and cloud systems used by tens of millions of people. I like to use my knowledge to help startups manage software like the big tech companies.

Julian Espinosa

I’d like to meet anyone interested in growing their business on social media.

I run a digital marketing agency with a specialization on social media marketing.

Amber Wynn

I’m excited to meet individuals interested in starting nonprofits (Founders), Founders who just received their 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, Nonprofit Executive Directors struggling to fund their organizations.

I have 27 years experience with nonprofit management, funding, and strategic development experience. Largest award secured as a grant writer $3.2 million. Gave away $7 million annually as a funder.

Kenneth Fields

I have deep experience with Electronic Music, Digital Media Arts, Live Networked Music, Software Development, Academic Research, China, Audio, Internet, Media Theory, Higher Education, Blockchain.

Sonya Lee

I’m excited to meet motivated entrepreneurs, investors and VC’s.

I am an expert in UX/UI, Product and Branding with 20 years of experience. I am available as a startup advisor and for mentorship.

My style of work is very friendly, direct and collaborative. When working with my clients, I encourage them to step outside of their own personal needs to understand and validate what customers truly need and want. This is how we create great digital experiences that solve real life problems, that people will use over and over again.

Michael Gordon

I’m excited to meet business owners, business founders that are looking to aggressively grow their sales.

My expertise is in sales training, sales coaching, business development.

Ina McGuinness

I’m excited to meet entrepreneurs and investors.

I enjoy helping others with fundraising and understanding the various processes related to that.

Kevin Walker

I’m excited to meet those with businesses, startups or mature companies, in need of branding help.

My expertise is in Brand Strategy and Branding Tactics.

John Carnett

I’m excited to meet anyone interested in or seeking support with public relations, social media, digital media, and influence marketing.

Mari Fong

I’m excited to meet those interested in podcasting, event production, writing, mental health, and music.

I run a podcast focused around mental health for musicians, I organize events, I am a journalist, and I have a deep passion for non-profit work.

Andi Waibel

I’m excited to meet new or small businesses that need assistance getting started with marketing or brand awareness and/or improve company culture.

I’m also hoping to meet larger businesses that are looking for ways to reduce risks and/or improve the quality of their employee benefits and company culture.

I am a very experienced marketing expert with a specialization on improving company culture, profitability, and leveraging that to attract top recruits.

Suresh Mohan

I would like to meet people who have an idea, requirements or designs (even on the back of a napkin is ok) and need technical advice to prepare them for what it takes to develop their idea into a working product.

I have developed software and managed software development teams for the past 20 years. I would be happy to share my experiences of what it takes to develop a new software product for end users and what it takes to get them to actually use the product.

Avi Dukler

I’m excited to meet people interested in or working in life sciences and healthcare.

My primary interests are in the life sciences and healthcare services fields focusing on biomarkers, new applications for digital health, personalized medicine and molecular diagnostics.

Cynthia Ferngren

I’m excited to meet founders and VCs to share my insights on marketing and outsourcing CMOs.

I’m an award-winning marketer, strategist, startup thought leader, public speaker, entrepreneur, and founder of Your Modern CMO, Hype Creative Partners and PinkTank LA.

I’m one of the top launch experts and strategists in the business and has launched over 10 multi-million dollar brands to market. In addition, I am a serial entrepreneur and a mentor to young start up companies.

Greg Monterrosa

I would like to meet anyone that feels stuck or in need of support.

I’m a serial entrepreneur, community developer, and a problem solver. I love bringing ideas to life and scaling businesses.

Hector G. Diaz

I’m excited to meet people interested in learning more about real estate–students and business owners alike.

For over a decade, I have helped thousands of business professionals to grow and evolve their business with digital marketing and the latest disruptive technology.

I am now focused on innovation for the preeminent real estate company in the world, Realogy.

Stephen Gorgey

I’m excited to meet companies and/or individuals who are looking to grow their brands and who seek digital marketing strategic guidance.

In the last 20 years, I have developed over 1,000 digital marketing strategies for startups and going concerns alike. Some of them made my clients tens of millions of dollars.

My strong knowledge of the business landscape garnered from 20+ years of experience will enable me to analyze your services’ potential for monetizations and make sound strategic recommendations.

Teddy Thoren

I am excited to meet anyone interested in the wine industry, or anything related to the art and experience of wine. I’m happy to talk film too!

I am an experienced Winemaker with a demonstrated history of working in the wine and spirits industry. Skilled in Wineries, Food & Beverage, Alcoholic Beverages, Event Management, and Wine Tasting. Strong business development professional with a Bachelor’s degree focused in Film/Cinema/Video Studies from UC Santa Barbara.

Arash Yazdani, MS, MBA

I’m excited to meet people interested in learning how to start their own business, how to realize the potential of their academic achievements, and how to excel at business development.

I’m a Management Consultant with a focus on Business Strategy and completing an MBA at Pepperdine Business School. Past experience is in Teaching and Education Administration. A Master of Science graduate in the field of Biology with a concentration in Molecular and Cell Biology.

Exhibitors

Rise Up For You

Rise Up For You is an educational and motivational company that focuses on enhancing company culture and people development through infusing soft skills in the workplace and in our daily lives. Rise Up For You, provides various in-person corporate training, live events, coaching programs, and practical tools fostering continuous positive growth.

They most recently had the opportunity to share their expertise at Google’s largest conference of the year Cloud Next ‘19, where they worked with tech industry participants and C-Suite executives on Career Confidence, Leadership, and Career Strategy.

In addition to appearing at the Google Cloud Next ‘19 conference, Rise Up For You has also presented and spoken for multiple platforms and conferences such as The California Human Resources Conference, UCLA Extended Learning, and Lead the Way Educators Conference. They’ve been featured on CBS, Face The Truth with Vivica A. Fox, and Lebanon’s National Prime News Channel, LBC News.

GDM (Game Developers Meetup)

Game Developers Meetup Group. Based at Hub101 in Westlake Village, CA.

We will meet monthly for a dev night, with more events to be announced later.

If you bring your passion, and we’ll provide the community of fellow developers.

Come get to know us to discover the larger game development community in your own backyard.

HUAN

Huan lets your pet text you when they’re lost, so you can quickly find them and bring them home safely!

CVMAKE

CV Make is a Makerspace created to serve the Southern California, Conejo Valley area.

We support and embrace the resurgence of hands‐on Do‐It‐Yourself and maker culture through classes, meetups, membership, and community outreach where engineers, artists, students, and entrepreneurs can make ideas into real things.

We will be leading a think tank about “What a Makerspace can do for YOU and the Conejo Valley”.

Stop by to join us in the discussion and learn more about our passion for makerspaces.

SCORE

The Ventura County Chapter of SCORE was founded in 1971. It has been an active chapter since that time and currently has more than 60 volunteers.

The members of SCORE Ventura County are active and retired successful business owners and managers. Our members volunteer their experience and knowledge to help established business owners and potential business owners achieve success.

Our goal is to support businesses and careers flourish in the area–including you.

Come visit us to learn how we can help you succeed.

STREAM Educators

STREAM Educators empower K-20 inclusive educational innovation through pioneering research, professional development, curriculum development, hands on classes, CPT (computer programmed toys) and professional learning.

We also empower corporations of all sizes who want to encourage their employees to develop higher levels of critical thinking, problem solving, and team building.

We are excited to connect with area educators, C Level people, and those who are currently involved with STEM education.

Surya-Chandra Foundation

“Empowering women to eclipse poverty and inequality”

We ﬁrmly believe that man and woman, need to be treated equal. Unfortunately, there are many countries where women are treated less equal to men.

Our mission is to stop violence against women, and empower underprivileged women to rise above poverty and inequality through encouragement, basic education, and vocational skills.

Hacker Fund

We empower technologists to create social change. We work with schools and municipalities to expose community stakeholders to career pathways in S.T.E.A.M. and entrepreneurship.

We organize workshops, hackathons, and summits year-round where Hacker Fund members can access mentors and learn trade, technology, and business-development skills.

We also operate a technology incubator through which we provide our members with mentorship, funding frameworks, prototyping tools, and space they need to build projects that help the disadvantaged, educate the broader community, and protect the environment.

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Conejo Valley

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley is dedicated to providing safe spaces for the children in our communities to develop and grow as people, as citizens, and as leaders.

Our mission is to enhance the lives of young people and their families by providing a positive environment that cultivates academic success, healthy lifestyles, good character, and citizenship. And let’s be honest, to have a great time along the way!

Linked inGenious

Linked inGenious gives businesses the tools they need to build strong relationships with clients because every sale starts with a relationship.

LOYALTY VIDZ

Video testimonials made easy!

We make it easy for you to collect video testimonials from your customers, brand them, and share them across your website and social media.

It’s the best way to leverage the power of word of mouth in an organic way that resonates with the community around you.

*SBA’s participation or support is not an endorsement of any products, service, or entity.

SBA

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps Americans start, build, and grow businesses.

The SBA was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation

The U.S. Small Business Administration has delivered millions of loans, loan guarantees, contracts, counseling sessions and other forms of assistance to small businesses.

Come stop by to learn about all the wonderful resources we have available to you and how to gain access to them.

Young Investors Society

The Young Investors Society is dedicated to preparing the next generation of investors. Its mission is to inspire youth to be outstanding investors – investors in companies, investors in their communities, and investors in themselves.

Toastmasters

We are part of the worldwide Toastmasters organization, and meet each week to empower our members by helping them improve their speaking, communication and leadership skills.

How do we do this? Come visit us to learn all about it.

However, the best way to find out is to experience it. Be sure to take part in our workshop to do exactly that!

The Little Angels Project

The Little Angeles Project is a non profit rescue program, adoption center and veterinary clinic focused on animals in Southern California.

Our mission is:

To reduce euthanasia rates of domestic and exotic animals with advanced medical needs, throughout Los Angeles County and surrounding areas, by providing surgical and medical treatment.
To aid both domestic and exotic animals from rescue facilities and sanctuaries.
Lead education efforts while encouraging other veterinary facilities to follow suit in their communities.
Continue efforts to partner with other animal welfare organizations who are working toward the same goals.

Mowie Media

Mowie Media is a Boutique Creative and UX/UI Design Agency.

Design isn’t just our calling, we like solving real-life business problems by developing websites, apps, platforms and digital experiences.

We help organizations and startups build upon their strengths and create brands, websites as well as engaging & interactive products. We combine a unique lean approach with the knowledge of human behavior using research and the principles of user-centered design.

Fuegorita

Fuegorita is the hotter, better crushed red pepper!

Created from a blend of some of the world’s hottest dried peppers, our secret formula presents the optimal heat and flavor profile to spice up every meal.

Use Fuegorita Fine to add heat and flavor when cooking, everything from vegetables to soups and sauces; or sprinkle Fuegorita Flake on top of prepared foods like pizza, pasta, popcorn and more to give any dish that needed extra spicy kick!

AFA HUB

AFA HUB is a program by Actors for Autism, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization since 2005 that is dedicated to the advancement, education, and training of people on the autistic spectrum.

We provide vocational training programs for adults 18 years of age and older in Animation, Film, Video Game Design, Visual Effects, 360VR, and Micro-Enterprise.

Our unique educational programs are vendored with the state of California Regional Center System.

We were voted Ventura County Autism Society’s 2018 Adult Services Provider of the Year!

For more info please visit our website at www.afahub.com or www.actorsforautism.org

Or visit us on the expo floor!

Start Engine

StartEngine is one of the largest equity crowdfunding platforms in the US. We have raised over $100M for over 300 businesses to date, and we have helped more companies raise capital than any other platform. Our goal is to help every entrepreneur get the funding they need.

Mesingers Wine

Most wine geeks eventually understand that the best wines are not the most expensive or the rarest, but the wines that successfully pair with place and time.
Sometimes rarity and price are factors that pair with the occasion, but usually, we’re looking for something easy to share with the people that inspire us most.
Come discover our flag ship Pinot Noir at the event!
We will be pouring wine for charity–bring cash!

Join Us as an Exhibitor Now

-$25 ADMISSION-

Free Admission if you Registered for a Workshop or Speaker Panel

Our Event Sponsors

SPONSOR THE INNOVATION & GROWTH FAIR

Explore a variety of packages to be placed in a leadership role, demonstrate your expertise, gain influence, and extend your reach across the regional community

Who Comes to the fair?

demographics

Home Owners

Over 30 Years Old

Women

Make Over $200k a Year

of Businesses are Seeking Talent

Bachelors or Higher Education

Want to Learn More?

August 22, 2019October 17, 2019

Hub101 Hacks: Gaming – Westlake Village – September 6 to 8

Your Game in 54 Hours

Form a Team

Learn From Experts

Build Your Game

We have created an ideal environment where you can collaborate with like-minded individuals to learn how to develop and launch a successful business around any game you can dream up. Video and table top game ideas are both welcome!

September 6th to 8th

Hub101

31416 AGOURA ROAD #105, WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, 91361, UNITED STATES

Let’s Develop Games Together

Come pitch your own game idea to the group or join a team to work on your favorite idea that someone else pitches.

We will be bringing in industry mentors and experts to offer you workshops and personal guidance throughout the weekend. You’ll have support with every step of development.

Everyone will have plenty of opportunities to find inspiration, be educated, and foster long lasting relationships with others sharing a passion for game development.

The community and a panel of judges will conclude the weekend by celebrating their favorite games and results from the event.

Meet Your Judges

James Chan

Chief Operating Officer at Yacht Club Games

James Chan

Veteran of game development as CTO and Software Engineering Manager of game studios using internal technology.

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Brian Etheridge

VP of Marketing at D3 Go (Bandai Namco)

Brian Etheridge

A creative, hard-working, team-oriented gamer with a strong Production and Quality Assurance background. Adept at guiding projects through every stage of development and emerging on time and on budget by adhering to and adapting strong project management skills.

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Justin Berenbaum

VP Strategic Planning at Xsolla

Justin Berenbaum

Justin Berenbaum has more than 25 years of strategic development experience in the video game industry, with an emphasis on emerging markets. His career spans through publishing, international business development, developer relations, sales, customer support, game development, strategy, and licensing for game developers and publishers, and related technology companies. Currently Vice President of Strategy at Xsolla, Berenbaum holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is currently a member of the Global Game Jam Board of Directors, and a former member of the Board of Directors of the IGDA (International Game Developers Association). Justin is also a former Music Director and Radio DJ.

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Call For Sponsors

Show your support and be highlighted as a community leader by sponsoring this event--we need your help in keeping our ticket prices as low and accessible as possible

Learn About Becoming a Sponsor Now

Meet Your Mentors

Jonathan Pearce

Intellectual Property Attorney at SoCal IP Law Group

Jonathan Pearce

Mr. Pearce counsels clients on intellectual property matters related to interactive entertainment, virtual reality, mobile gaming, social networking, digital video systems, satellite systems, multi-function printing devices and consumer products ranging from hand-held spray bottles to mobile phone cases. Mr. Pearce has counseled industry-leading interactive entertainment and virtual reality companies in addition to industry-disrupting startups in fields as diverse as Internet marketing and cosmetics. His experience includes litigation, patent prosecution, trademark prosecution, licensing, technology transactions and adversarial proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He received his computer science and business degree, master of business administration, and law degree from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

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David White

Adjunct Assistant Professor - Interactive Media & Games Division at USC (SCA) | Producer - WayForward Technologies

David White

Ten plus years of interactive entertainment production management and design experience. Shipped over 60 amazing projects on multiple platforms, from console to mobile. Strong record of accomplishment for developing and executing outstanding projects on time, on budget.

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Chase Bethea

Composer/Sound Designer/Technical Sound Designer at RVRSPLAY

Chase Bethea

I'm an audio professional who loves scoring music and creating sounds for video games. Audio and games are my biggest passion and I like to exhibit the eclectic, abstract, and addictive creations that are in my mind. My ambition to be the best at what I do grows stronger everyday until I have reached beyond my goals. I am dedicated to contribute my skill and talent to the next great generation for video games!

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Edward Moore

Founder of Amped-UX

Edward Moore

I'm a UX design specialist with a deep background in AAA/HD game development and VR/AR UX Design, and seeking intriguing and challenging UX nuts to crack. I enjoy defining the high-level UX architecture, interactive mockups, and flows for traditional mobile and web projects, heading up user-centered research protocols and data-gathering processes, and leveraging my gaming background to define gamified user engagement and retention strategies. Under the auspices of my UX consultancy, AMPED-UX.com, I've contributed to the following projects:

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Bertran Harden

Motion Graphics Artist at RPA | Owner of forensicDesign

Bertran Harden

I am an amazing animator and developer specializing in HTML banners and Motion Graphic Videos using After Effects. I am well versed in the latest plug-ins for After Effects such as: Particular Stardust Plexus 3 Shine Form 3

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Ray Caldwell

Principal at Caldwell Consulting

Ray Caldwell

PROFESSIONAL: Tech Background | Clear Communication | Engagement Marketing A Business Development Driver in fast-paced interpersonal environments. Nimble entrepreneurial background allows for the strategic analysis of Sales Opportunities, development of New Verticals, followed by Team Training and Deployment. Achieves exceptional results in sales, marketing, and business development though Consultative Sales and utilizing team member expertise. PERSONAL: Experienced leader building a strong team to achieve exceptional results in business to business and business to consumer sales, consultative planning, directive presentations, creative marketing, mindful mentoring, and sound financial growth.

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Tomas Jech

Instructional Design at Riot Games

Tomas Jech

Game developer; and long time artist, designer, and animator at Riot Games. Directed an educational web series called "So You Wanna Make Games??", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqRoXLLwJ8g&feature=youtu.be

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Catherine + Justin Ezor

Founders of Los Angeles Growth Labs

Catherine + Justin Ezor

Founded in 2016, LA Growth Labs is the brainchild of a SoCal-based husband and wife team on a mission to support people passionate about making the world a better place. After years of collaborating with dozens of entrepreneurs, start-ups, and established companies to develop sustainable marketing and sales plans, Catherine and Justin Ezor switched their attention to focus on the people, and began curating experiences that foster mindfulness, health, and community.

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Lisa Wong

CEO at PopBase

Lisa Wong

Co-Founder and fearless leader of the PopBase team, Lisa Wong has over 25 years of experience as an artist, art tech, researcher, and consultant for video games. She’s worked on multiple Star Wars titles (Lucas Film), NBA titles (2kSports) and Call of Duty (Activision), as well as worked in R&D for Sony Playstation (Playstation Move). Prior to putting together the PopBase team, Lisa acted as the president of Fabulae Obscurae, producing and directing “Heathcote”, Creative Director for Empty Clip Studios and has led her own consulting firm, Bringing the Chips, serving high profile clients like Apple, ZS Associates, and Google.

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Isaac Kikawa

Sound Designer at Riot Games

Isaac Kikawa

Audio Ninja, long time audio engineer and designer.

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Brian Feeney

Design Director at Riot Games

Brian Feeney

I've spent the last 9 years as a Game Designer at Riot Games and am currently the Design Director on one of Riot's new unannounced titles. While at Riot, I've led the design of champions, game balance, monetization & core game systems design. I'm crazy passionate about game design and have been designing games for as I could remember, building custom roleplaying systems, card games, and mods or maps for games like starcraft & warcraft

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Andrea Waibel

Marketing Consultant

Andrea Waibel

As a former Creative Services Manager and Media Buyer for the videogame industry, Andi spent several years perfecting how to nail down the right target audience including what they spend time doing, where to find them and how to deliver a successful campaign that they will actually pay attention to once you reach them. Gamers are a unique species. They are not your typical general audience and they require tailored marketing tactics to grab their attention. In this workshop, Andi will work with you to inspire original content, create a unique voice, and grow your brand in the gaming community.

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Morgan Heacock

Game Programmer - WhiteMoon Dreams

Morgan Heacock

Experienced game programmer, engineer, and instructor. Specialties: general code debugging, quick adaption to custom programing languages, rapid learning of new code base.

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Ralph Barbagallo

Founder of FLARB

Ralph Barbagallo

Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality, and Augmented Reality expert using Unity3D and Unreal. Snapchat Official Lens Creator and Lens Creative Partner. 2017 Auggie award winner for the Holographic Easter Egg Hunt built with Microsoft for HoloLens at VRLA 2017. Magic Leap early access dev partner. Built early titles for Gear VR. Currently developing and consulting on VR/AR/MR projects using HoloLens, Magic Leap, ARKit, ARCore, Snapchat Lens, Facebook Spark AR, PSVR, Oculus Rift, Vive, Daydream, and other platforms.

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David Doughty

Senior Software Engineer -WhiteMoon Dreams

David Doughty

Senior software engineer with over twenty years experience designing and implementing complex front-end and back-end applications, and overseeing all parts of the product development life cycle. Superior algorithm development, debugging practices, and ability to quickly pick up new technologies. Strong and effective leadership, mentoring, project management, and team-building skills in both small business and worldwide corporate environments.

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Veronica Flint

Creative Director at Quixotical

Veronica Flint

Veronica Flint is an immersive narrative creator based in Los Angeles, California. She has been working in the XR industry for several years in interactive games, virtual and augmented reality projects. Some have have been showcased at a variety of top festivals including Sundance and Tribeca. Recently showcased an immersive reality experience, The Chimerical Era at Infinity Film Festival which one won the award from the XR Alliance competition. Veronica got her start in the immersive field working with Nonny De La Pena as a VR Technical Director.

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Stay tuned for More mentors to be announced!

Call For Mentors

We are still seeking more mentors to run 30 minute workshops and be on site during the event to offer guidance and feedback

Become a Mentor Now

Weekend Schedule

High Level Overview of the Weekend

Day 1 – September 6

Pitch your idea
Favorite ideas are voted on
Teams are formed
Development work begins

Day 2 – September 7

Customer research
Validation testing
Prototyping
Design
Coding

Day 3 – September 8

Final touches on development
Demo exhibition
Presentations to the judges

Workshops Schedule

Day 1 – September 6

10 to 10:30p – Effective Project Management
10:30p to 11p – UX for Gaming

Day 2 – September 7

9:30a to 10a – Introduction to Game Development: Character Design, Story Design, and World Building
10a to 10:30a – Introduction to Unreal
10:30a to 11a – Introduction to Gamemaker
11a to 11:30a – Introduction to Unity
1:00 to 1:30p – How to Monetize and Validate Your Game
1:30 to 2p – Crowdfunding for Games
2p to 2:30p – Sound Design & Music Design for Games
2:30p to 3p – How to License Creative Assets and Utilize Open Source Assets
3:30p to 4p – Animation
4:30p to 5p -How to Build and Manage Your Community of Players
7:30p to 8p – How to Design an Effective Pitch Deck

Day 3 – September 8

10a to 10:30a – Business Strategy for Games
11a to 11:30a – How to Protect Your Intellectual Property
1:30p to 2p – Business Finance for Games

You’ll be provided with food and drink as part of your ticket purchase.

You’ll also have over night access to Hub101 so you can choose to work on your game as much as you wish.

Let's Develop Games Together

Hub101 Hacks helps you develop the skills and relationships to turn an idea into a successful business.

This event is organized by 805 Startups, Nick deBoisblanc, and Hub101.

If you have any questions about this event, please use the form below or email gary@805startups.com

July 16, 2019August 22, 2019

Pitch to Your Peers – Camarillo – July 17

Pitch to your Peers allows you to pitch your idea or company to our community with the purpose of getting invaluable feedback.

It is a great opportunity to prepare before you pitch to investors, potential co-founders, strategic business partners, clients, or any other audience.

You can even use this platform to practice pitching to your boss for a raise.

Everyone gets up to 5 minutes to pitch. We have access to a projector screen. Be sure to bring a HDMI cable if you want to use it.

We will try to give you advice and insight into what your intended audience may connect with or be concerned with. It is as much a practice in empathy as it is in pitching.

The event also allows for you to build relationships with potential mentors, investors, clients, users, and more.

After the event we will have time for informal networking.

THIS MONTH’S VENUE

This month’s Camarillo event will be taking place at the Camarillo Library in their Community Room

Want to Attend?

RSVP Here:

Want to Pitch?

• What to bring
HDMI cable if you want to connect your computer to the projector screen

• Important to know
We are actively scouting for investment opportunities for our Investor Network that includes angels, accelerators, and VCs. Pitching is a great way to get on our radar.

July 10, 2019August 22, 2019

Monthly VIP Lunch – Thousand Oaks – July 19

Each month we hold a special lunch designed around building authentic relationships in an intimate environment, complete with food and drinks.

Everyone in attendance has an opportunity to introduce themselves, share what they are working on, share what they could help others with, and request feedback from the group.

Additionally, attendees get to add themselves to the VIP Directory that is shared with other attendees.

This monthly event is an amazing opportunity to really get to know a variety of people looking to support you and our community.

Our past lunches have included investors, government officials, corporate executives, educational leaders, students, startups, service providers, and top talent from the area–a healthy variety of stakeholders from your economy.

If you are attending, you can request for us to invite special VIPs from the area to attend as our guest in order for you to be able to meet them.

Want to Attend?

‣ Tickets start at $75 (you can reduce the price substantially–keep reading)

You can get a ticket here:
https://www.805startups.com/product/vip-lunch-pass-conejo/

∙Supporting Members get 50% off the ticket price

∙Full Members get VIP status and can attend for free

◦You can sign up as a Supporter or Full Member here:
https://www.805startups.com/supporters/
https://www.805startups.com/paid-memberships/

If you show up without a ticket you will be charged $75 at the door

Every Third Friday of the Month

VIP Lunch Club is Back

Help Your Community Thrive

Join the Startmada Mentorship Program

How You Can Help

Run Workshops

Run Group Office Hours

Peer Support Meetings

Participate in Leadership Meetings

Rewards For Your Support

Become Renowned

Gain Access

Become Influential

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Isaac Newton

Apply Now

Has 805 Startups Made An Impact In Your Life? Please Let CA Economic Summit Know!

Nominate Gary & Alon as Regional Stewards!

Where to Nominate Alon & Gary

Their Contact Information

Our Impact at a Glance

805 startups' impact summarized

380+

Events since January 19, 2016

367

284

519

9,354

155

1,333

3

20+

1,971+

4,932

Economic Development Impact

2,171

428

288

214

153

$73,400,000

789

450

$3B

117

339

Workforce Development Impact

986

246

543

1528

443

Community Development Impact

3,798

2,051

1,823

395

246

641

2,959

Decided to Help Support Their Community

325

325

1,834

2,278

100+

Additional Ways we supported our cities and counties

Business Expansion, Attraction, and Retention

Real Estate & Community Development

Critical Infrastructure

Placemaking & Quality of Life

Marketing

3,000+

2,000+

800+

We Want to Hear From You Too!

Want to Help Us Do More?

Innovation & Growth Fair - Q1

BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER to support you

Date To Be Announced