Last week Jeff and I participated in a meeting where the new plan for economic growth for our region was unveiled. Led by Valley Vision, the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, the Sacramento Metro Chamber and the Sacramento Area Council for Governments (SACOG), it’s been in the works for over two years. “Our Path Forward: The Prosperity Strategy is a strategic framework and bridge to action for the six-county Sacramento Region that prioritizes our core economic initiatives and will result in a more prosperous, equitable and resilient region.” Three of the initiatives are heavily focused on entrepreneurship and innovation in tech sectors where we already have strengths: life science, food & ag tech, and future mobility. For a summary, check out this StartupSac blog post, or for a deep dive, go here.

Does your startup need help with a data science or analytics project? Women in Data just launched a Residency Program. Companies participating in the program benefit by gaining access to a diverse talent pool and data science consulting services. While the program is not limited to startups, Women in Data founder, Sadie St. Lawrence, advised me that a grant from the City of Sacramento allows them to do three of these residency programs for free for Sacramento-based startups. Ideal participants have a Health IT, Internet of Things, or Mobility focus. Learn more

Featured Events
StartupSac Office Hours with Josh David Miller, CEO of Mindbox, Thu, Jun 4 at 11 AM
Josh David Miller will cover business model innovation and how businesses can shift due to disruptive change drivers. He’ll discuss how the mantra of survive and thrive speaks to the quick application of a process in which we should always be engaging. He will talk about what innovation is, and how you can think about your business as a model that can be tweaked to create many interesting hypotheses of things to try.

1 Million Cups Sacramento with Nytch and Sacramento Splash, Wed, Jun 3 at 8:45 AM
1MC is a weekly, coffee-fueled event where founders present their startups to their peers for advice and feedback. 1MC is designed to educate, engage, and connect entrepreneurs. Presenters: Nytch connects local, offline businesses to local, online shoppers.  Sacramento Splash is an environmental education nonprofit who helps children understand and value our natural world. Online meetup.

StartupSac & Carlsen Center Happy Hour with FourthWave & Janine Yancey Emtrain CEO, Tue, Jun 16, 4:30 PMStartupSac Happy Hour will feature FourthWave, a female-led tech company accelerator, and Janine Yancey, Founder of Emtrain, who just raised $10 Million.

Missing in person startup events? Join the StartupSac Community Facebook Group. It’s where startup founders and those who support the growth of our startup ecosystem can connect and exchange ideas.

In spite of a lack of in-person opportunities to meet, there is lots of great stuff going on virtually in the 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.  Submit an event for consideration with this link. And for even more startup information, happenings and resources, browse  the  StartupSac website.