Happy (almost) Independence Day to our Startup Community! In honor of the Birth of our Nation, here’s a little founding father innovation trivia: In 1790, George Washington signed the Bill that laid the foundations of the American Patent System. Prior to that bill, an inventor would have to go from state to state to get patent protection for their idea. Today it’s a much bigger market and inventors struggle to get patent protection all over the world.

Here’s an inspirational quote from one of our founding fathers for all you hard-working founders out there:

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” – Thomas Jefferson

Things are a little slow in the startup scene over the next 7 days because of the holiday but it picks up next week. So no “Best Bets” for this week except my recommendation to watch the film Independence Day and feel proud to be an Earthling!

“We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it’s fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation…. Today we celebrate our Independence Day!” — President Thomas J. Whitmore, Independence Day

Plan Ahead

Just two more weeks until the annual Startup Summer Party! It’s on Tuesday, July 17 at The Urban Hive and is brought to you by Startup Grind, StartupSac and The Urban Hive. We’re expecting over 300 people to attend! Admission is free and if you’re an early-stage startup, you can purchase a spot in Startup Alley for $50. RSVP/buy a table here

We’re building community! The StartupSac Community Facebook group launched a few weeks ago and already has over 170 members. Now we need you! Request to join here.

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, check out the StartupSac Website.  Note: We include a lot of tech events that aren’t necessarily startup-focused on the StartupSac event calendar.  Check it out here.