New Southern California Growth Stage Venture Firm Ankona Capital Raises $66M for its First Fund The Orange County-based venture firm, founded by experienced software founders and investors, is funding high-growth B2B SaaS companies NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., June 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ankona Capital (“Ankona”), a new southern California-based growth-stage venture firm, officially closed its first fund at over $66... Read more →

Tech Coast Angels Posts Record Highs in 2020 for Investment, Membership, and Number of Companies Funded Angel network fueled startup ecosystem with $19.4 million for 64 companies including $7.9 million through annual chapter funds, realized four successful exits, and expanded its geographic reach. IRVINE, Calif. – June 15, 2021 – Setting records for the second consecutive year, Tech Coast Angels... Read more →

Shoonya CEO Rashi Bahri Chitnis Named Winner at Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards Founder of language & cultural learning app receives honor from Women’s Economic Ventures (Santa Barbara - May 28, 2021) Shoonya Kids announced today that Founder and CEO Rashi Bahri Chitnis has been named a winner in the 11th Annual Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards. Presented by the nonprofit Women’s... Read more →

Tech Coast Angels OC Invests in SST Wireless to Bridge Industrial IoT Gap VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA, May 13, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Tech Coast Angels Orange County is pleased to announce an investment in SST Wireless, a leading provider of wireless, industrial condition-monitoring sensors, gateways, and cloud-based equipment monitoring & analytic services. Based in British Columbia, Canada, SST Wireless helps customers... Read more →

Thank you to Next Level Management, a renewing Member of the OC Startup Council! Next Level Management: We are a family office with over 25 years of experience in early stage/start up investing. In addition to providing growth capital, we are active investors and leverage our business experience to help companies achieve success. We generally focus on companies that are... Read more →

Kajabi Raises $550 Million and Garners Valuation Over $2 Billion with Growth Financing Led by Tiger Global Investment comes as the all-in-one e-commerce platform is now powering more than $1.5 billion in annual customer GMV and experiencing explosive growth, solidifying Kajabi as the market leader in the knowledge economy IRVINE, Calif., May 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kajabi, an industry-leading e-commerce... Read more →

$2.3 Million Seed Deal: Awkward Essentials Rounds Second Base With Unorthodox Ventures After-Sex-Brand's Seed Round Will Support Brand Innovation And Expansion COSTA MESA, Calif., March 31, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Awkward Essentials, a personal hygiene company with the first after-sex clean up product of its kind, the dripstick, announced the close of a $2.3 million seed round by capital partner Unorthodox... Read more →

Tech Coast Angels Orange County Reports Successful 2020 Even in Uncertain Economic Climate; Looks Ahead to its 2021 Fund with Optimism One OC Fund 20 company has already generated a 3.5x return and 250% IRR to investors Tech Coast Angels Orange County (TCA OC) today announced that its inaugural annual fund, TCA OC Fund 20, exceeded expectations even in the... Read more →

Join JJ Richa in a fireside chat with Joe Gatto, Managing Director of SoCal's newest Seed-Stage VC Fund on Monday, April 19 from 11:00AM to 12:00PM online. Learn about Joe's journey from entrepreneur to investor and how SeedFolio evaluates early-stage companies. GET MORE EVENT INFO HERE… Want more events? Please see the full OC Startup Events Calendar here. Read more →

Welcome to Surlamer, a new startup investor recently added to the OC Startup Council Ecosystem Directory Surlamer - A seed venture firm that invests in innovative med tech and consumer companies based in Southern California. They partner with local entrepreneurs and leverage their extensive network to grow innovative companies. Visit the Investors category in the OCSC Directory to learn more... Read more →

Stradling is pleased to announce it has once again been ranked in the top 20 venture capital law firms in the PitchBook Data 2020 Global League Tables. Highlights of the category rankings are listed below and you can find the full rankings here: https://lnkd.in/dsKZzNB #12 in West Coast Region #18 in US Deals (overall) #18 in US Representing Companies #20... Read more →

Welcome Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs of Southern California - Orange County, a new startup investor recently added to the OC Startup Council Ecosystem Directory: Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs of Southern California - Orange County is a Stanford Alumni Association group that seeks to unify and enrich the startup ecosystem by facilitating investment, education and mentorship opportunities for entrepreneurs and alumni... Read more →

Welcome Operate, a new startup investor recently added to the OC Startup Council Ecosystem Directory: Operate: A better way to build game-changing software companies with capital & hands-on operators. Operate's experienced entrepreneurs and operators not only have been in the trenches, they’ve built a large network of people in technology and studied hundreds of startups over the years. What they’ve... Read more →

Jeff Lapin Appointed Chairman of Tech Coast Angels’ Board of Governors in 2021 Tech Coast Angels (TCA), recently named the most active angel network in the world, today announced the appointment of current member and former TCA-Los Angeles chapter president, Jeff Lapin, to chairman of the angel network’s board of governors for 2021. David Friedman joins the board as vice-chairman.... Read more →

Stanford alumni are invited to the organizing meeting for Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs in Orange County. If you are an OC-based Stanford grad who’s either an entrepreneur or an investor in early stage ventures, please sign up to attend on Wednesday, February 10 from 500-600pm online via Zoom. Together we’ll get acquainted, talk about startups, and determine what this new... Read more →

Tech Coast Angels OC Announces New Investment in Shoonya Tech Coast Angels (TCA) Orange County is pleased to announce its investment in EdTech startup Shoonya, which is pioneering the digital language learning industry for children. Appealing to a younger audience, Shoonya focuses on a child’s formative learning years to improve brain development and cognitive function. Whether a child wants to... Read more →

Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, an official Stanford Alumni Association group, is looking for new members in Orange County. If you or a friend are a Stanford alum based in Orange County with interests or experience in entrepreneurship or early stage venture investing, come join us! SAE organizes startup pitch competitions, industry panel discussions, networking events, and more. They have recently... Read more →

Longève Brands Raises $5M Seed Round Led by Wavemaker Partners and Springboard, to Expand Their Plant-Based Protein Product Line IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 13, 2021: Longève Brands raises a $5M seed round led by Wavemaker Partners and Springboard, with participation from RezVen Partners and Alumni Ventures Group Longève Brands is the first to create shelf-stable, pea protein-based products for people who... Read more →

UCI Beall Applied Innovation’s first VC Speaker Series of 2021 Join them Friday, January 15 from 11:00AM to 12:00PM via Zoom. Their first VC Speaker Series of 2021 is a conversation with Anderee Berengian, co-founder and CEO of CIE Digital Labs (an innovation lab for prominent global brands) and RezVen Partners (a seed and early stage venture capital firm). GET... Read more →

Tech Coast Angels Receives Prestigious TiE Global Award Named Most Active Angel Network in the World A panel of esteemed judges and eminent global personalities recently selected Tech Coast Angels (TCA) as the Most Active Angel Network in the World Award for 2020 at the TiE Global Awards, held during TiE’s Global Summit 2020. TiE Global is a not-for-profit, global... Read more →

Happy New Year to you and yours! Let's start the new year off right! 2020 was crazy... But the OC Startup Council is still publishing to help show the world that Orange County entrepreneurs have a LOT going on – more than most people give our community credit for, in fact… And you? You’ve been a subscriber for a while... Read more →

Cybersecurity Startup Kapalya Closes Seed Funding Round Led by Irvine’s Caltrop Holdings LLC Kapalya, an enterprise grade cybersecurity startup, has closed seed funding round led by Caltrop Holdings LLC, a global holdings company, headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. Funds from this round will be used to further enhance Kapalya's existing Encryption Management Platform (EMP) and to step up its efforts... Read more →

Venture Capital and Angel Investor Members: Below is our list of startup investors, venture capital firms, angel investing groups, and family offices that invest in high tech startups in Orange County, California. Review the list to find local early stage technology venture investors who can help your new startup idea or early stage company get to the next level. These... Read more →

Are you listed in the OC Startups Directory yet? Where's your startup? Or is your accounting firm, design agency, software development team, law firm, or venture capital fund listed in the OC Startup Ecosystem Directory? How about the school, incubator, non-profit, or community group you work with that helps early stage founders? WHAT? Not listed yet? Why not?? The OCSC... Read more →

Cie’s Orange County venture studio leads another portfolio company to an accelerated exit as Titan School Solutions is acquired by LINQ to bolster its educational SaaS business. IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 10, 2020 – LINQ, a K-12 school management software provider, acquired Titan School Solutions (TITAN) for $75 million. TITAN has been a part of Cie’s venture studio for the past... Read more →