It’s a new year and if your calendar is like mine, you still have some time yet unscheduled for 2019. This week, I’ve rounded up the BIG events happening in the Northern California Megaregion* that are of interest to Startup Founders. I’ve also included a few events that cross state borders as well (CES and SXSW). I hope you can make all of the Sacramento events! Jeff and I will be at them!

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — January 8-11 in Las Vegas, NV. For over 50 years, CES has been the world’s gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. It has served as the proving ground for innovators and breakthrough technologies and is the global stage where next-generation innovations are introduced to the marketplace.It’s pricey to attend but many of the talks are livestreamed. Here’s a link to the Livestream Schedule.

Startup Grind Global — February 12-13 in Redwood City, CA. This Conference provides an environment where our community of startups, partners, investors, thought leaders, and worldwide directors come together for 2+ days of invaluable education, connection, and inspiration. With 6 stages of educational content provided by a roster of world-class speakers, thousands of entrepreneurs and innovators looking to build relationships, hours of impactful networking and partner opportunities, and of course – parties.

Kings Capitalize — February-March at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. This regional startup pitch competition began in 2016. Last year, applications opened in early February and the competition was in March. I’ve reached out to the Kings to see if they are planning to hold the competition this year but haven’t heard back yet.

South by Southwest (SXSW) — March 8-17, Austin, TX. The SXSW Conference Interactive Track takes an in-depth look at a number of topics as seen through the lens of tech and culture while the Interactive Festival, comprised of parties, awards shows, and more, provides networking opportunities well into the evening.

TechEdge Conference — April 24 at the Sheraton Grand in Sacramento. New for 2019, George Foreman Jr.’s IYC Capital has signed a three-year agreement with the Sacramento Business Journal to present the annual TechEdge Conference. “We want to make this the Super Bowl, the ‘it’ technology conference in Northern California at this time of year,” said Foreman in an interview. Read more here. YOU WILL WANT TO BE AT THIS EVENT!

Sacramento Region Innovation Awards — November in Sacramento. This annual program typically opens up the submission process in late spring/early summer and the Awards Celebration Luncheon is held in November.

TechCrunch’s Disrupt SF — October 2-4 in San Francisco, CA. From their website: “If you’re serious about startups, we’re still keeping it as real as ever. At Disrupt, everyone is a startupper – no matter if you’re a founder, investor, hacker or tech leader. So much more than just on-stage interviews, Disrupt is where you’ll find the renowned Startup Battlefield competition, a virtual Hackathon, hundreds of startups in Startup Alley, Workshops and legendary networking at our After Parties… and we’re in San Francisco, right where startup dreams began.”

Did I miss anything?

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There’s lots of great stuff going on in the tech startup community–check out the details in this week’s Startup Digest. If you’d like to receive the digest in your inbox every Monday morning, sign up for free here. If you’ve organized (or know about) an event we have not included, please submit it here for consideration. And for even more startup information, happenings and resources, browse  the  StartupSac Website.

*Yes — the Northern California Megaregion is really a thing. It includes the Bay Area, Sacramento and more. It boasts over 12 million people.