Ryan Foland, aka GingerMC, names his top startup event picks of where you can pitch
from Silicon Beach to the OC.
As the entrepreneur community continues to grow in Orange County and Santa Monica, you may feel overwhelmed with all of the events that you hear about. With a limited amount of time to invest, you want to make sure you are spending your time at the highest caliber events to maximize your startup schedule. Don’t you wish someone could help you choose which ones to go to and which ones to skip?
Enter Ryan Foland, communication expert known in the startup community as the GingerMC Ryan can be seen on stage as Master of Ceremonies at some of the largest startup events in Los Angeles including Expert Dojo Investor Festival, TechDay, IDEAS LA, Green Festival LA, Digital Hollywood, and more. He is a sought after host from the OC to LA, and as such has an ear to the ground for great events.
We sat down with Ryan recently and asked him to help our members choose some of the best startup events on the horizon. He shared three events that you can both attend, of which two are still accepting applications for a pitch competition.
In order of when they occur, check out these must attend startup events:
Investor Festival – Where Startups Meet Investors
Need to grow to the next level? Expert DOJO features 80 of the highest caliber investors at their popular Investor Festival. These investors are looking for seed, series A and series B funding opportunities. The program also offers the opportunity to pitch your business to these investors. This five day event caters to every great startup looking to grow with various startup themed days as part of the comprehensive schedule:
Day 1 – Investment training For Female founders
Day 2 – Pitching training for seed stage entrepreneurship
Day 3 – Early stage pitching to Investors
Day 4 – Later stage pitching (Expert DOJO Approved only – Series A plus)
Day 5 – One On One Meetings With Investors
DETAILS:
When: Tuesday, Mar 28 – Friday, Mar 31 @ 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Where: Expert DOJO space UNIT 308, 395 Santa Monica Place
Get your week long ticket here. (Your ticket includes entry into the Expert DOJO startup accelerator for 4 months at no additional cost.)
Enter to Pitch here.
Hashtag: #InvestorFestival, #expertdojo
Eureka FEST:
Eureka FEST celebrates the growth and successes of Orange County’s booming tech and startup scene on April 8 at the Eureka Building in Irvine. Eureka FEST powered by Microsoft celebrates being an entrepreneur in Orange County with music, pitches, and parties. After hosting some of the best tech, learning and networking events Orange County has to offer, Eureka decided to launch its own signature event called Eureka FEST in 2015. This event was created as a way to celebrate startups and entrepreneurship in Southern California with a day of awesome speakers, demos, pitches, connecting opportunities and a party to wrap it all up.
DETAILS:
When: Saturday, April 8th
Where: 1621 Alton Pkwy, Irvine Ca
Registration Link: www.EureakOn.com
*Ryan will be the Master of Ceremonies and has a discount code you can use to get 20% off the ticket by using code GINGERMC.
Hashtag: #EurekaFEST
Get Started OC
Get Started OC is a signature OC event featuring entrepreneurs who will pitch their business to a distinguished panel of experts for a chance to win $10,000 in prizes including a Cox Business technology package. If you don’t want to compete you can attend this free event for networking and learning opportunities from accomplished leaders in early stage investment, digital marketing, and business growth strategy. The evening will include a pitch competition with expert feedback from a distinguished panel of judges. There will also be a panel discussion, including audience Q&A, geared towards small business owners and start-ups. This event will include appetizers, desserts and complimentary Valet Parking .
When: Wednesday, April 26th, 2017
Where: [AV] – 16500 Scientific Way, Irvine CA 92618
[AV] is Orange County’s hottest meeting and event destination. Located in the heart of Orange County and near the world-renowned Irvine Spectrum.
RSVP for free here.
Enter to pitch here.
Hashtag: #GetStartedOC