Do you feel the beat? There’s a rhythm to our startup community. Many events recur weekly, monthly and quarterly and should be on your radar. For example, the Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers a 5-week program called the Entrepreneurship Toolkit Series every quarter. The next one starts next week on Wednesday, January 26. It’s free to enroll and offered online. You can even pick and choose which session you want to attend although you will get the most value out of attending each of the 5 workshops.
Startup Happy Hour is a monthly event. A key component of success for many startup founders is having access and the ability to connect with mentors who have been there and done it – to ask their questions and get feedback from experienced startup veterans. Helping to fill that need is the goal of Startup Happy Hour, an ‘Ask Me Anything’ Q&A event. This month, on January 25, the featured speaker is Brandon Brown, cofounder and CEO of Sacramento-based Grin, an influencer marketing management company. Every month on the 4th Tuesday, you have an opportunity to meet a successful, and usually local, founder and learn from their journeys.
There are also weekly events that not only give you access to valuable information, but also help build and connect our startup community. 1 Million Cups Sacramento meets every Wednesday morning and features presentations from two early stage entrepreneurs followed by feedback from other attendees. Evolution Accelerator has free weekly office hours with investors and mentors every Tuesday. Startup Shop Talk, an interactive livestream show entirely about startups & innovation — from idea to product-market fit happen every Friday/ On this week’s live show they’ll discuss everything you need to know to craft a perfect startup pitch.
Tune In
I hope you’ll get into the rhythm of our startup community with me! I’ve highlighted some of the Best Bets below and be sure to check out this week’s Startup Digest for a full listing (plus you can sign up to get the digest weekly in your inbox while you’re there!).
This Week’s Best Bets
Premier Talks: Women in Tech, Wed Jan 19 at Noon: Sacramento women leaders from diverse backgrounds will discuss their careers, their journeys, the struggles of recruiting women, and the importance of having senior women leaders. Men and women alike are welcome and encouraged to join! Online
Startup Shop Talk, Fri, Jan 21 at 11 AM: Startup Shop Talk is a weekly, interactive livestream show entirely about startups & innovation. This week they will talk entirely about what you need to know to pitch your startup to potential investors, potential co-founders, and potential customers. Online
Plan Ahead
Startup Happy Hour with Grin Cofounder and CEO Brandon Brown, Tue Jan 25, 5 PM: Meet Grin CEO Brandon Brown. Brandon launched Grin, an influencer marketing management company, in 2017 and has built an incredible team, now exceeding 300, on a mission to reinvent the way brands reach consumers through influencer marketing. In the last 13 months Grin has closed a $110 million funding round, seen ~200% ARR growth, 320% headcount growth, hit $1B valuation, and more. Online
Entrepreneurship Toolkit Series, Weds at 6 PM, 1/26-2/23: The Carlsen Center’s 5-part series guides participants through hands-on activities to build an understanding of proven startup tools and apply them to their own businesses. Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur, or an established business owner wanting to brush up on your skills, the Toolkit Series is for you. Online
Mentor Sacramento is a great place to connect with an experienced advisor who through their experience, can help you advance your business. It’s free to participate. Check it out here.
Have you joined the StartupSac Community Facebook Group yet? Startup founders and those who support the growth of our startup community connect and exchange ideas in this private moderated group.
