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

805 startups was a great platform for Klickly to find early investors – from one pitch alone, we got 2 fantastic angels!

Just as its name indicates, #805Startups is the hub of entrepreneurship in the 805 area. If you're starting a business or looking to engage with them as either an investor or service provider; you need to participate. No one can fill a room with exciting firms like Gary and Alon

I met an entrepreneur who attends the events and have created a new company partnership in the sustainability space which has the potential for significant revenue, job creation, and real estate needs. That new company is also working on a large potential factory project that could require the lease of significant space in the County (e.g. >500k sq. ft.) and significant job creation, revenue, and reputation for the County as a nationwide center for sustainability.

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.

Although 805 Startups is centered in the Valley, the IBA credits Gary and co. for many fertile relationships throughout LA and Ventura counties. It's invigorating to be involved with an ecosystem based on selfless support, authenticity and tangible success in helping startups flourish.

I moved to Ventura from the SF Bay Area about 2 years ago. After a year of heads down development on ModVans, I needed some fresh air and to meet some fellow entrepreneurs in person. I also needed to work on my pitch. I found the 805 Startups "pitch your peers" event on meetup.com. Gary personally responded to my pitch request application and was there at event. I got to practice my pitch, great feedback and my first introduction to my peers in the 805 Startups community. Since then, Gary and his team at 805 Startups have personally invited me to various events and meetups where I continue to make new friends and connections. When ModVans was looking to hire, at Gary's invitation, we took an exhibitor table at the Innovation & Growth Fair. We again got great feedback and made contact with several prospective employees. One of those prospects, Hunter, became an intern and now is a full time ModVans employee - welcome Hunter! Hunter referred us to his buddy, Chad, and so now we have 2 great employees as a result of our relationship with 805 Startups. More recently, again at Gary's suggestion, we exhibited at the "Made in VC" event. The purpose of this event is to introduce Ventura students and community to Ventura area manufacturers. We enjoyed showing our camper van to the many attendees, got introduced to VC area school counselors, and, hopefully, got to play a small part in encouraging students to pursue a passion. Whenever I need a connection or referral, Gary and his team are always quick to respond. Working with the 805 Startups community and attending various meetups and events has, indeed, been a breath of fresh air. I highly recommend anyone in Ventura interested in startups, as employee, entrepreneur or investor, to get involved with 805 Startups.

As an entrepreneur, it can feel isolating at times to create a company without a structured environment. I began attending the 805 startups events while starting my business and I found my home where everyone is included. They pull together inventors, business creators, investors and resources from the community from all walks of life to support entrepreneurs with a mission that there is space for everyone to win and we are all here to help each other. I have made authentic connections through attending their events and it has assisted me and my business. I am deeply grateful for the work that Alon and Gary are doing to support the community of entrepreneurs!

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 moved here from Miami, FL in  October 2017 for a job. In Miami I had created an idea to help athletes avoid financial crisis and change the current culture that handicaps their personal development. I knew my idea was great, and after talking and meeting with a bunch of people in Miami my idea went nowhere and I ended up wasting my time and thousands of dollars on 'services' that left me with nothing. I started to question my self as capable to execute the idea and became very insecure. I was fortunate enough to recently feel compelled to start meeting people in the area and was very surprise to find a 'female entrepreneurship' meetup happening very soon not far from where I lived. I attended, spoke my idea out loud to a few people with a timid spirit. At that event, a sweet women stopped me as she could hear the insecurity in my voice and told me 'I need you to reject the idea that because you're a women you are not capable of solving this problem'. Hearing that out loud inspired me to dive into my passion project. A few months later of networking within 805 Startups and beyond, I have become the founder of Athent, an incorporated tech start up. I have organized a team and raised $35k towards my first seed funding round. I will have a beta launch in early 2019 and be ready to generate revenue by fall 2019. I have been able to get valuable insights from 805 Startups that has significantly shaped my startup strategy. As a early stage start up the resources in this area have meant everything to me. I am so appreciative of all the work 805 Startups puts in to the start up ecosystem. I truly do not believe I would be where I am without their efforts.

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.

805 Startups has been an absolutely amazing resource. I have attended several events and each time I have met incredible new people with a wide diversity of experience and professional background. It has been a very enriching experience to immerse into dynamic conversations. Quite refreshing to mingle, connect and build relationships. I have been looking for a group like this for a long time, and I am very excited to attend each event.

There are very few organizations that have done as much for the local startup community as 805 Startups has done. Every event and program created by 805 Startups is always of extreme high quality. Through attendance in the different startup programs and events, Gary and his team helped me make many connections to further my career and entrepreneurship endeavors in addition to the vast general knowledge obtained by meeting the other high-quality attendees. Having facilitated Startup Weekends across the world, I can confidently say there are few organizations doing what 805 Startups has provided for our local startup and tech ecosystem.

When we created Soundwave Tattoos and suddenly had worldwide viral launch 805 Startups provided a community of business leaders and events that really helped me get grounded and focused on building a successful company.

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!

805 Startups has connected me with like-minded entrepreneurs, introduced me to new ways of thinking, and opened up a wealth of networking opportunities. I love this community!

805 start ups brings together an impressive and talented group of individuals: VC's, attorneys, entrepreneurs and vendors mingle in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The events range from power lunches to business fairs to expos. Altogether a masterful and brilliant combination run by Gary and Alon. I have been a member of at least two dozen networking groups in my career. This is probably the 3 best on my list!

805Startups, an initiative founded by Alon Goren & Gary Livingston, helps Entrepreneurs navigate the very difficult early stages in the journey of startups. They provide a great platform for networking by organizing, Events, Mixers, Exhibitions and fireside chats. Additionally, we have benefited tremendously by their guidance, mentorship and introductions to various partners, services providers and investors.

If you are active in the 805 business community, joining 805 Startups is a no brainer. This entrepreneurial organization brings together government, NGOs, traditional business and renaissance type visionaries to strengthen our local community. After facing two of the most devastating events in the Greater Thousand Oaks area’s history, I can think of no better braintrust to rebuild. This tech savvy group can work together in making “805” in to the next Silicon Valley. I’m a fairly new member and as a seasoned CEO and visionary, I can feel the potential. A handful of talented 805 startup members have joined forces with the local wellness oriented nonprofit organization I founded just over 4 years ago. Fit 4 The Cause and 805 Startups are perfect together-the right partnership at the right time.

Lunches! Company lunches are really important to build morale and team unity. If you juxtapose my current work environment with my past jobs, they are on different ends of the spectrum. I currently work for a small technology firm that has automated “settlements and reconciliations” for the energy industry. This small technology firm competes with other companies that are over 150 times its size in terms of the number of employees because of automation. This company is about as exciting as a server farm that needs 24 hour security. Compare that to my past job where my old boss would take out his employees to extravagant 2 hour lunches everyday, where it was common for our company to rent out banquet rooms, and endless wine and alcohol kept flowing. Personal service from the owner of the restaurant usually made the events spectacular. With 805Startups, I feel like I have co-workers again, attending extravagant lunches, discussing the latest and greatest in tech innovation, and connecting with experienced entrepreneurs and investors. This is the place where you’d want to go if you had the next unicorn to develop. With Tech Startups come innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth that helps the entire community.

Your professional network matters. There is no greater advocate of that idea around entrepreneurship than 805 Startups, https://www.805startups.com/. My personal 805 Startups experience can attest to their wide and deep connections throughout 805 local economies and other entrepreneurship-minded organizations from Ventura to Calabasas. Our own blockchain startup has benefited from the many available community resources such as frequent, local startup conferences, investor connections, accerlerator/startup workshops, hackathons, and access to many wonderful mentors, experts, and volunteers. In short, our network has become better for it and to that extent so has our market potential, capitalization, and success. Power your network with 805 Startups.

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.

I came to 805 Startups through a coffee meeting with Gary. During our initial conversation, I knew that our philosophies on business and entrepreneurship were in sync, and that I might have found a group of my kind of people. I attended one of the Innovation and Growth Expos, and I was hooked. So many different, amazing, and talented people in one room sharing their causes, their passions, and their businesses! The best part was that there was REAL support from the community. I spend time with many different groups of business owners, and 805 Startups is special, in that each person wants to help the next! They are all there to get stuff done! It isn’t a bunch of talk and no action. Through this group, I was recently introduced to 5 people at one lunch, who are interested in my services! That is an amazing opportunity for my business! I will continue to attend the 805 Startup events with enthusiasm, and if you are a business owner, an investor, or you have a really good idea that you would like to flesh out, I recommend that you do the same!

The 805 Startups team provides a valuable service that is making a huge impact to the startup community. I was honored to serve the group as a speaker and panelist to share my journey from employee to entrepreneur. The decision to start a business is easy. It's the implementation that can get rocky, which is why being part of 805 Startups is so important. Entrepreneurs should not work in silos. I saw firsthand how everyone supports each other. Might be with advice, might be an introduction, or might be just a sounding board. If you are an entrepreneur, being part of the 805 Startups community is a game changer.

I have been a part of and supporter of 805 startups since its launch. Alon and his team have brought so much value to me through this meetup group. Their events are top notch and the caliber of person that attends is amazing! Keep up the great work.

High praise to Gary and Alon for founding 805 Startups. Because of 805 Startups, I've met a co-founder, blockchain experts, capital providers, and professionals I now work with in helping my clients achieve their goals. I do a ton of networking, but one thing I always attend is the monthly VIP lunch. It's invaluable for meeting and sharing with the most talented, giving, smart and most importantly nice people in the 805 who support our startup community!

805 Startups is truly a thought leader and innovator for those looking to be part of something much bigger than they could ever imagine. They have built a reputation and a business model that will help bring new talent and great innovation out to the marketplace. Every new idea needs a place to begin their journey and 805 Startups is that place along the 101 Corridor. They are there to be part of that journey. I love the entrepreneurial space and have truly enjoyed my involvement with the 805 Startups team. The key to success for every entrepreneur is centered around networking and building relationships. 805 Startups is building a presence in this area that is delivering on this and many other fronts.

805 Startups has introduced our firm to many entrepreneurs, investors, and others involved in the space and has given us the opportunity to actively take part in the community many times. We have made connections, developed clients, and helped entrepreneurs on the way. We enjoy being a part of the startup community and hope to encourage it grow even stronger in the future.

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.