Did you hear the big news?! Last week 500 Startups and the City of Sacramento announced a partnership “to develop the startup ecosystem in Sacramento, utilizing best practices from 500 Startups’ pioneering work in Silicon Valley and around the world. The partnership will drive economic growth by encouraging entrepreneurs and startups to develop in the Capital Region of California.” I’m super jazzed about this development! It significantly strengthens Sacramento’s position as a destination city for startup founders!
Now more than ever you should be EXCITED about starting your company in Sacramento! And — GOOD NEWS — we’ve already got some great resources in place to help you do just that!
The UC Davis Big Bang Competition just extended their application deadline to February 12th. This annual competition incorporates workshops and mentoring to help you develop your startup idea. $40,000 in prize money will be awarded with $10K of it going to the First Place winner. You don’t have to be a UC Davis student, alumnus, faculty or staff member to participate — there just needs to be one on your team who meets this criteria. Find out more about it here. Or head to the Big Bang Winter mixer this Thursday.
Not quite ready for Big Bang but ready to take it to the next level? Hacker Lab and Sierra College are accepting Startup Hustle applications through Feb 18th. The Startup Hustle is an 8-Week Lean Startup Incubator designed to help you launch a new startup. Stop flapping your lips and get ready to put some genuine elbow grease into your idea! The program begins February 24th. If your application is accepted, it’s $149 to participate (free to Hacker Lab members and Sierra College students).
For those of you who’ve already launched your startup and are now focusing on developing your sales engine, Startup Selling coach extraordinaire Scott Sambucci is offering half-day workshops in February and March. If you’re serious about growing your Top Line, he’s your man. The workshop is just $97 but if you tell him I sent you (by entering “startupdigest” in the promo code field) you’ll save $25. The first workshop is tomorrow at The Urban Hive or choose the Febrary 18th or March 2nd one. All the details are here.
I’ll wrap it up with InnoGrove’s new Women in Tech program. This series of monthly events will focus on building a supportive community for women in technology careers. It all kicks off this Wednesday (free) with guest speaker Venita Sivamani, one of the lead organizers for Million Women Mentors California. I hope to see you there!
