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

We are now offering new ways to show your support for 805 Startups.  Starting at only $2 a month you can help fund our free events and programs that we provide to our shared communities.

It means a great deal to us to be as inclusive as possible.  This is why we do not charge an entry fee to almost all of our events. It is also why we insist on having the lowest registration fees for exhibitors at our flagship event, the quarterly Innovation & Growth Fair, compared to other startup, entrepreneur, and business events produced across the region.

We do not want anyone to have an excuse to not attend.  The more attendance we have, the more connected we make your community. The more connected it is, the more resources and support you have to pursue your growth and success–personally or professionally.

It takes a lot of work and it is not free to produce our events and programs for you.  This is why we need your support.

The more support we have, the more events we can bring you. Not only that, the overall quality of the events and the experience you have will greatly improve when we have more resources.

We deeply appreciate all the support we get.  To show that appreciation, official Supporters will get some extra benefits from 805 Startups.

These benefits range include access to exclusive content in our upcoming Digital Magazine, physical buttons sporting 805 Startups designs, 50% off the VIP Lunch ticket, promotion in the Digital Magazine, and more.  

See all the offered benefits and sign up by clicking here.

Beginning in 2019, we are expanding our Pitch To Your Peers event to more cities across Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties. 

We have had great success with Pharos Center for Innovation hosting us in Camarillo.  The event has been rewarding for the presenters, audience, and 805 Startups.  Everyone leaves the event with more knowledge and more confidence as a result of the supportive environment and academic approach to providing constructive criticism.  This also leads to new bonds be developed between those in attendance.  It is a wonderful thing the community needs more of.

This success has driven us to bring this platform to many others in our shared communities.  We are very excited to be in the process of finalizing a monthly events in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Westlake Village, San Fernando Valley, and Los Angeles.  A full year’s worth of events should be announced the first week of the new year.

Ideally, we would be hosting this event in many more cities across the region.  If you would like to help that be reality, please join us as a Supporter or Full Member.

Late in 2017 an amazing group of our women members worked with 805 Startups to launch a new event designed to highlight inspirational women in the region.

The Female Entrepreneurship Meetup saw a successful start in its first two events with a combined attendance of over 100 people, largely made up of women.

It is no secret that there is a lack of diversity and representation of women in the worlds of entrepreneurship, technology, and startups.  That is why all of us were so excited to see a couple events that flipped the usual balance of genders in attendance.

We want to build on that momentum and have officially launched this event as a monthly series.  You can view the entire schedule on our meetup page.

Our goals are to help women connect with each other for support and motivation, to highlight exceptional women that less experienced women can look up to for inspiration, to provide a platform that encourages women to speak honestly about the unique hardships they face in growing a business or career, and to help move the needle closer to the middle in regards to a more diverse and balanced melting pot of persons represented at our events, in tech, in entrepreneurship, and in startups.

Please help us achieve these goals by attending this series of events and do all you can to invite the women in your life to attend with you. This series of events, like almost all of our events, is free. So, no excuses to stay home!

Now that you understand how important this is to us, I am extremely excited to announce our first Female Entrepreneurship Meet Up of the year is this coming Monday!

February 5th from 6pm to 8pm at Hub101 in Westlake Village.

Our first speaker is Nikki Jahanforouz, the Executive Producer and Director Of Content Development at Golden Voice.

For those of you that might not recognize the name, Golden Voice, they are behind festivals like Coachella, Firefly, Stagecoach, FYF, and the recent one-off Desert Trip.  Oh, they also produce about a million concerts and tours around the world.

Nikki is an incredible person that has led an amazing life. She has worked very hard to achieve her success. That success has been a struggle at times due to the well known “boys club” that exists in the film, television, and music industries she has been a part of.

We have no doubt that you will enjoy hearing from her and speaking with her about all things entrepreneurship, career development, film, television, and music.

We look forward to see you all on Monday! Remember, we need your support to make this series a success.

RSVP Here:

https://www.meetup.com/805startups/events/246724812/