The Big Bang!, the largest annual business competition in the Sacramento region, kicks off this Thursday at UC Davis. Did you know that you don’t need to be a faculty member or student at UC Davis to participate? The competition is free and open to the general public. You also don’t need to have a brand new idea to compete — as long as you have not obtained $250,000 or more in equity funding or sales prior to the registration date, you can participate. Did I mention that more than $100,000 in prize money is up for grabs? If you’re serious about launching or growing your startup, YOU NEED TO CHECK THIS OUT! (if you can’t make the kickoff, it’s ok — team registration doesn’t start until 12/1). Get more Information here.

If you applied to present at StartupSac Warm-Up Pitch or Five Star Bank Tank and didn’t make the cut, quit feeling sorry for yourself and take some action toward making it next time. Of course your business model and stage play a big role in your eligibility but practice can also help. If you haven’t presented at 1 Million Cups yet, apply! You’ll also benefit from attending Founder Institute’s free Startup Pitch Bookcamp this Thursday. And there’s more to being pitch ready than your product and business model — you need to be savvy about your financials as well as knowledgeable about the investment process. Two upcoming workshops can help with that. On 10/30, What Every Startup Founder Needs to Know About Their Financials (use code ‘digest” for $5 off the $15 admission price), and on 11/7 Investment Essentials for Startup Founders (free).

This Week’s Best Bets
StartupSac Happy Hour is heading to Monk’s Cellar in Roseville on Tuesday and our AMA guest is Aaron Klein, cofounder and CEO of Auburn-based award-winning fintech startup Riskalyze. RSVP

It’s worth repeating, the Big Bang! Annual Business Plan Competition Launch is Thursday starting at 5:30 pm at UC Davis. RSVP

Plan Ahead
On November 1, the winners of the 2018 Sacramento Region Innovation Awards will be announced at a celebratory luncheon. Use “startupdigest” to get $25 off the general admission price! Get out and support innovation! Get tickets.

If you’re into fashion and/or retail technology, Levi Strauss is sponsoring a Future of Retail Startup Weekend in San Francisco November 2-4. Early bird tickets are just $50 (that includes admission and 7 meals!). This is going to be a truly epic Startup Weekend! Get tickets

We’re building community! The StartupSac Community Facebook Group launched about a month ago and already has over 240 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, browse  the  StartupSac Website.