An article we liked from Visible.vc: Seed Funding for Startups: A 101 Guide This seed funding guide for startups will help you get started with this funding round. Learn when and how to raise seed funding. What Is seed funding? Seed funding is generally the earliest form of capital a startup will raise. In our post, Startup Funding Stages, we... Read more →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Matt Preuss of Visible.vc: What Should be in an Investor Data Room? An investor data room is a powerful tool to better your odds of a quick and efficient fundraising process. When setting out to raise capital for your business investors will often ask to see past financials and historical metrics. Having an... Read more →

Next free MasterMinds Startup Fundraising Office Hours livestream is Wednesday, July 28 at 12 Noon PT. Join us LIVE and bring questions about raising money for your startup! Register FREE here now on EventBrite: https://mastermindsofficehours.eventbrite.com Want to know how to find investors? Or practice your investor pitch to get some friendly feedback? Or maybe you have questions about venture strategy,... Read more →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Yin Wu of Pulley: We’ve built cap tables for 1000+ companies and 200+ YC companies. Here are the top questions we get asked about equity👇 Pulley has built cap tables for 1000+ companies and 200+ YC companies, and have worked with everyone from seed stage startups to unicorns such as Clubhouse and Fast.... Read more →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Bryan Starr of Greater Irvine Chamber: Irvine: California’s Best City to Start A Business Irvine has always been a great place to start a business. A study by WalletHub, a national financial resource website, just confirmed it’s the best place in California to launch an entrepreneurial dream. It makes sense. The survey found... Read more →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Steven Fitzsimmons of Freshpaint: Anatomy of a Seed Round During COVID-19 We raised our seed during the height of the pandemic. In addition to the $150k in funding we received from Y Combinator, we set out to raise $1m after YC W20 Demo Day. It was a grind. COVID-19 hit the United States... Read more →

Fred Thiel is currently the CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA), a digital asset technology company that mines cryptocurrencies with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets. He is a respected expert and frequent speaker on FinTech, digital assets, Blockchain, bitcoin, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, venture capital and private equity and digital transformations... Read more →

Thanks to Vitalistic Healing Arts Center for renewing as a Supporting Member of the OC Startup Council. Vitalistic Healing Arts Center: Their center provides services, technologies and an environment to support and enhance people in order to create a healthy, joyful, fulfilling, integrated long life. They offer Network Spinal Care sessions, Bemer Vascular Therapy, Infrared Sauna, ZYTO Evox (Reframing Perception... Read more →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Mirela Mohan on STORAGECafé: Best Cities for Active Lifestyles Ranking Led By CA’s Irvine With Seattle Shaping Up To Be The Most Physically Active City Key takeaways: CA’s Irvine and Long Beach emerge as the best cities for active lifestyles, based on a combination of 18 metrics, followed by Chandler, AZ Breaking down... Read more →

Thanks to The Savvy Founder's Philip Topham for interviewing our CEO Scott Fox for startup founder advice. Ep 11: Scott Fox on Building a Diverse Startup Community in Orange County In this episode we discuss what it was like to raise money just before the dot bomb and what it’s like today; how to get more entrepreneurs capable to launch,... Read more →

A Thought Leader Guest Post from Joe Procopio: Stop Selling Your Technology If you want to make money with tech, you need to start selling benefits, not features Take a few minutes to think about what you’re selling. The tech behind your product is probably pretty slick. But you’re probably selling that technology, and that needs to change. Understanding tech... Read more →

A thought leader article from Pegasus One, a Supporting Member of the OC Startup Council: Data-led digital innovation: What you need to know Building a modern data estate isn’t easy. In many cases, modernization requires a complete overhaul of data and business strategy. Due to the huge workload involved, more and more companies are turning to expert partners for guidance... Read more →

SoCal Venture Pipeline Partners with Silicon Valley Bank to Bridge Funding Gap for Entrepreneurs Launch event slated for June 22nd Los Angeles, CA, June 15, 2021 - The SoCal Venture Pipeline is bridging a key funding gap for Southern California (SoCal) entrepreneurs by connecting high-potential startups to venture capital, enabling growth for companies and for the region. The program, a... Read more →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Sophia Bendz: You raised seed — and now you want to raise a Series A I have been angel investing since 2012 while at and after spending eight years at Spotify. Since then, I have backed 45+ companies and I’m regularly asked one particular question: “How do I raise a Series A and... Read more →

MasterMinds Startup Fundraising Video Office Hours help early stage company founders raise money for their startups. The fun, friendly live video Q&A sessions answer financing and strategy questions from entrepreneurs from all over the world with FREE expert startup advice. Startup Founder Discussion Questions This month Startup Council CEO Scott Fox took questions from startup founders live on camera and... Read more →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Joanna Glasner on Crunchbase News: What This Year’s Seed Funding Tells Us About The Startup Future Every so often at Crunchbase News, we take it upon ourselves to read through every sizable recent seed funding round. It’s an exercise that leads to both information overload and a vague sense of where the startup... Read more →

Sloane Keane is currently the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and Inland Empire, a role she’s had for nearly 3 years, and after several years with the organization in senior development roles. Big Brothers Big Sisters is one of the highest impact non-profits in the area, and country, providing mentoring and support to thousands of children... 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 →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Andrew Chen: There’s only a few ways to scale user growth, and here’s the list Scaling growth is hard – there’s only a few ways to do it When you study the most successful mobile/web products, you start to see a pattern on how they grow. Turns out, there’s not too many ways... Read more →

A thought leader article from Pegasus One, a Supporting Member of the OC Startup Council: Infusing data culture into an organization One of the biggest mistakes companies can make today is leaving the business value of their data on the table. According to the NewVantage Partners’ 2019 Big Data and AI Executive Survey of C-level executives, most corporate data is... Read more →

Next free MasterMinds Startup Fundraising Office Hours livestream is Tuesday, June 22 at 12 Noon PT. Join us LIVE and bring questions about raising money for your startup! Register FREE here now on EventBrite: https://mastermindsofficehours.eventbrite.com Want to know how to find investors? Or practice your investor pitch to get some friendly feedback? Or maybe you have questions about venture strategy,... Read more →

A Thought Leader Guest Post from Judd Hollas on EquityNet: 11 Business Pitch Tips from Fundraising Experts There are many reasons to pitch your business — investment, sales, customer acquisition, recruiting, and more. In this article, we will focus on strategies to pitch when raising early-stage angel or venture capital. We cover some of the high-level considerations and tips for... Read more →

An article we liked from Thought Leader Michelle Fox of CNBC: 'Huge’ opportunities await women entrepreneurs, venture capitalist says. Here’s what to do: Women entrepreneurs have long gotten a small slice of the venture-capital funding pie. Female VC leaders are trying to change that. In fact, opportunities abound for “wontrepreneurs,” said Julie Sandler, managing director at startup studio and venture... Read more →

Thank you to K&L Gates, a renewing Silver Sponsor of the OC Startup Council! K&L Gates attorneys represent leading global corporations in every major industry, capital markets participants and ambitious middle-market and emerging growth companies. Their lawyers also serve public sector entities, educational institutions, philanthropic organizations, and individuals. They are leaders in legal issues related to industries critical to the... Read more →

MasterMinds Startup Fundraising Video Free Office Hours help early stage company founders raise money for their startups. The fun, friendly live video Q&A sessions answer financing and strategy questions from entrepreneurs from all over the world with FREE expert startup advice. Startup Founder Discussion Questions This month Startup Council CEO Scott Fox took questions from startup founders live on camera... Read more →