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 the WorkWell, a new listing in the OC Startup Council Startup Ecosystem Directory: Co-Working: WorkWell - Irvine WorkWell is a vibrant community offering modern facilities, private offices, meeting rooms, desks for rent, mail services, and other amenities. WorkWell's Leasing Coordinator seeks out small companies who are in need of office space. They are currently offering special leasing rates,... Read more →

Thank you to Startup Grind OC/Irvine, a renewing Member of the OC Startup Council! Startup Grind OC/Irvine: They help grow the startup community through Fireside Chats the 3rd Wed of every month. OC Startup Ecosystem Directory Category: Community Organizations Event Partners Visit these partners to learn how they can help your OC startup! (And get a free listing for your... Read more →

Orange County startups are hiring engineers! Check out these new local embedded systems engineer, full stack engineer, and azure data engineer consultant job opportunities: ICS - Embedded Systems Engineer - Irvine Developer of the most complete suite of color management products on the market. FightCamp (f.k.a Hykso) - Full Stack Engineer - Costa Mesa Connected at-home boxing workouts. Arbela Technologies... 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 →

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 →

'Tis the season to be hiring! Meet high-quality students at LearningFuze Demo Day! Join them Tuesday, November 17 from 12:00PM to 1:00PM via Zoom. Are you hiring but would rather meet the person behind the application instead? Are you just a huge fan of LearningFuze and want to support their students? Join them for LearningFuze's Demo Day! LearningFuze students who... 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 →

Business Start Up Marketing Tools & Strategies by Bob Godlasky Join them Friday, November 13 from 1:00PM to 2:00PM via Zoom. Tips to Know Before You Start How to Reach Your Target Customer They will discuss simple, affordable ways for you to create your marketing plan. They will give you 'no cost' resources to assist your research in identifying markets,... Read more →

Orange County startups are hiring engineers and designers! Check out these new local data intelligence, senior fullstack engineer, and graphic designer job opportunities: SoftPros, Incorporated - Data Intelligence - Costa Mesa Offers IT resources and solutions for fortune 500 customers and SMEs. Happy Money - Senior Fullstack Engineer - Tustin They’re not just a business, they’re a movement, providing financial... 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 →

Welcome to the Sunvera Software, a new listing in the OC Startup Council Startup Ecosystem Directory: Software Development: Sunvera Software - Irvine Low-Cost Mobile and Cloud Application Development for Startups & Small Businesses. Technology stack and capabilities developing software solutions faster for less than the usual market prices. Expertise working and guiding startups through their technology development. Service many verticals... 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 →

As Tech Giants Double Down On Censorship, New Social Media Platform That Protects Free Speech Launches Today CloutHub's all-in-one platform harnesses the power of social media to do good First-of-its-kind social media platform dedicated to civic and political engagement IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 20, 2020 -- In the wake of the most extraordinary examples of censorship and free speech suppression by... Read more →

ENTREPRENEURS: Bring your startup strategy questions and investor pitches to MasterMinds Accelerator Q&A #45 for fun info and networking! GET TICKETS NOW: http://masterminds45.eventbrite.com The Startup Council's virtual MasterMinds meetings offer tech entrepreneurs, startup employees, founders, service providers, and investors a friendly place to share growth company challenges, expertise, and experience. Together we discuss fundraising, strategy, marketing, IT, legal, angel investing,... Read more →

ThinkIQ, Digital Manufacturing Pioneer, Raises $11.6 Million Funding to Expand Company, Accelerating Growth of SaaS Manufacturing Platform, Delivering Material Traceability and Data Insights on Quality, Safety and Compliance ALISO VIEJO, Calif., -- ThinkIQ, a pioneer of digital manufacturing transformation SaaS, today announced that it has raised $11.6 million Series A round led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF). Participating investors include... Read more →

Welcome to World Class HR Solutions, a new Member of the OC Startup Council. World Class HR Solutions help founders and start up teams achieve breakthrough results. They have helped successfully launch 8 startups by providing executive coaching to founders and board members. World Class HR Solutions have also helped build the HR infrastructure to attract, develop and retain high... Read more →

Orange County startups are hiring developers and engineers! Check out these new local lead developer, visual designer, and senior software engineer job opportunities: OpenPath - Lead Developer - Orange Focused on creating the world’s best technology for processing transactions. ODK Media, Incorporated - Visual Designer - Fullerton Provides exposure through website content and serves as an influencer to users, advertisers... 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 →

InPlay Launches World's Smallest and Software-programming-free Bluetooth Low Energy SoC IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 26, 2020 -- InPlay Inc. has launched the world's smallest software-programming-free Bluetooth beacon product IN100 based on its NanoBeacon™ technology. The product is a software-programming-free SoC that will significantly lower the technical barriers, allowing any developer to easily build their own wireless applications without worrying about learning... Read more →

Learn how four D2C startups are successfully navigating the uncertainties of the COVID-19 crisis. Join them Thursday, October 29 from 3:00PM to 4:00PM online. In early 2020 these startups confronted the grim reality of business upheaval. Shipbob - a tech-enabled fulfillment company serving D2C brands, RSVLTS - a media and D2C apparel company, Bokksu - a D2C Japanese snack box... 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 →