Welcome to Withum a new Gold Sponsor of the OC Startup Council! Withum is a forward-thinking, technology-driven advisory and accounting firm, helping clients to Be in a Position of Strength in the new reality of doing business today. A top 25 public accounting and advisory firm, Withum offers audit, tax, consulting and advisory services to startup companies. OC Startup Ecosystem... Read more →

An article we liked from the Founder Institute: 5 Fundraising Lessons from Mighty Capital GP Jennifer Vancini Mighty Capital General Partner Jennifer Vancini joined Founder Institute live for an interactive online AMA (‘Ask Me Anything’) event, where she answered founders’ questions about the fundraising process, shedding light on the perspective of the venture-stage investor. Mighty Capital invests in ‘early growth’... Read more →

Nick Bradley is Co-founder and Director at Fielding Group, a growth accelerator and investing company. He's been a business owner & investor who has built, bought, & sold multiple businesses over the last decade. He also spent 15+ years with corporate organizations - as a CEO, Board Director, & senior commercial leader - working in both large & small companies... Read more →

Education & Edtech Startups: Orange County is home to vibrant education and edtech startup companies. OC entrepreneurs are using cutting-edge technology and software to improve educational outcomes for learners worldwide. These local startup companies are busy solving problems, developing new products, and creating jobs right here in Orange County. General Startup Council Members Academy For International Culture and Professional Education... Read more →

A Thought Leader guest post we liked from attorney Chris Harvey: New Rules for Equity Crowdfunding Equity Crowdfunding is Not Competing with Venture Capital, But It May Fundamentally Change the Investing Landscape for 87%+ of Americans While the aftermath of the U.S. Presidential election may have taken our undivided attention last week, there were some big announcements on equity crowdfunding... Read more →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Dave Bailey: The Anatomy of a Startup Organisation The journey of growing a small group of founders to a company of hundreds or thousands of people is not as different as you might think. Ask someone at an early-stage company what they do and you’ll probably get the answer: ‘A little bit of... Read more →

Startup Incubators & Accelerators Members: New software and technology startups have many incubators and startup accelerator programs to choose from in Orange County. These local companies serve as valuable resources for our Orange County startup community. Their services and expertise are helping our ecosystem grow. Premium Members Tech Coast Angels - Orange County Supporting Members OCTANe General Members EvoNexus MasterMinds... Read more →

John Dearie joined Carey to discuss the critical need for more entrepreneurs in our country, to drive forward more economic growth, innovation and jobs in our country. He is currently the President at the Center for American Entrepreneurship in Washington, DC. John founded this organization in 2017 as a nonpartisan research, policy, and advocacy organization. CAE’s mission is to engage... Read more →

A Thought Leader Guest Post from Republic: Huge news: SEC to raise Regulation Crowdfunding limit to $5M from $1.07M Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (also known as the SEC) made an important announcement that stands to unquestionably improve regulated startup and private investing. Most significantly, the SEC will increase the maximum amount that can be raised through a Regulation... Read more →

Applications now open: VC Cohorts for Principals (US-wide) and Associates (Southern California) How do you navigate being the only woman at your venture capital firm? Who do you go to for support, mentorship, and sponsorship in a notoriously relationship-driven, male-dominated business? Female checkwriters in VC make up just 12% of all checkwriters in the US. All Raise recognized that to... Read more →

Welcome to McCarter & English, LLP a new Silver Sponsor of the OC Startup Council! McCarter & English, LLP: Expert Legal Counsel to Startups and Investors Nationwide on Formation, Financing, Growth and Exit. The McCarter & English law firm is globally renowned for its high quality, responsive, pragmatic representation of entrepreneurial tech, life sciences and consumer enterprises and the investors... Read more →

E-commerce and Marketplace Startups: Startups offering e-commerce solutions and innovative marketplace platform software services are growing rapidly in Orange County. These local startup companies are busy solving problems, developing new products, and creating jobs right here in Orange County. Premium Startup Members 1-800-Battery Supporting Startup Members VYRL General Startup Council Members Chore Buddy Piper SlingStir, LLC SnapMedia Urban Tykes Thanks... Read more →

An article we liked from Itay Sagie of Crunchbase: Don’t Raise VC Money Before You Understand Unit Economics Over the past couple of years, VCs have become more conservative, expecting significant commercial traction and a stellar team to get funding. The coronavirus has not loosened these criteria. Commercial traction is not a magic phrase that gets you money. The quality... 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. We’ve recently expanded... Read more →

If you're reading this, can you help...? If you're active in the Orange County startups ecosystem, hopefully our twice-weekly free local startup newsletters are helping your business. We’re a volunteer organization dedicated to supporting startup formation, investment, and deal flow for everyone in the community. Orange County startup founders, investors, community groups, and service providers of all kinds benefit from... Read more →

Ian Hathaway has been a founder, an investor, an author, a professor and an advisor, just to name a few roles he’s played. He’s currently an executive at Techstars, a fellow at Brookings Institution, a board member at the Center for American Entrepreneurship and recently co-authored a book, The Startup Community Way, with his friend, Brad Feld. Ian is the... Read more →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Geoff Roberts of Outseta: The Unspoken Hard Bits of Bootstrapping The challenges that I’ve faced as a bootstrapped founder simply aren’t the ones that are commonly talked about. The internet is littered with horror stories detailing the many challenges of entrepreneurship. We’ve all read the tales of founders wrestling for years to find... Read more →

An article we liked by Marc McCabe offering practical advice for navigating the fundraising process – courtesy of Lenny Rachitsky’s blog: A Playbook for Fundraising For an early stage founder, fundraising is one of the most nerve-racking parts of the job. It’s incredibly opaque, asymmetrical, and is often the difference between having a company and not. Even the most experienced... Read more →

Human Resources Firms Members: Directory of human resources services providers, benefits, recruiting, payroll, and workplace consultants helping new OC software and technology startups grow. Review the list below to find local HR professional services partners to help your new startup idea or early stage company get to the next level. These local companies serve as valuable resources for our Orange... Read more →

Andy Wilson is currently the Executive Director of the Alliance for Southern California Innovation, a group formed to pull together the talent and ideas in all of SoCal to help more innovators to emerge and succeed in bringing their breakthroughs to the world. They talked a lot about the mission and activities of the Alliance on the show. Andy has... Read more →

B2C Consumer Software and Services Startups: B2C software services targeting the needs and trends of consumer customers, often with SAAS business models, are popular offerings from Orange County startup companies. These local startup companies are busy solving problems, developing new products, and creating jobs right here in Orange County. Premium Startup Members Float Supporting Startup Members CloutHub General Startup Council... Read more →

Welcome to the Toronto Stock Exchange a new Bronze Sponsor of the OC Startup Council! Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) are a unique funding and listing platform for high growth US companies looking to raise Series B+ capital. Companies with early revenue, a strong management team, and a growth strategy to eventually list on a US... Read more →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Fred Destin via LinkedIn: Your startup valuation, explained simply. Here is a quick tutorial on how valuations and investment rounds work, as simple as I could make it. The jargon may sound off-putting but the concepts are simple. Understand the definitions and build the cap table. Ask the investor for their cap table... Read more →

Kate Buckley joined Carey Ransom on the Accelerate Show to discuss premium domains, a topic not discussed nearly enough around startup and brand conversations. She is the CEO of Buckley Media where she specializes in Premium Domain Sales & Acquisitions, Domain Strategy Consulting, Naming and Branding. They had a super engaging and exploratory conversation about why premium domains are so... Read more →

Neal Hansch is CEO and Managing Partner at Silicon Foundry, a membership-based innovation platform for corporations, enabling them to connect, learn and invest in the innovation ecosystem, such as in startups and with each other. He and his team have helped advise and drive forward many corporate venture capital, venture studio and other innovation activities. He’s been very active in... Read more →