Funding
Silicon Valley may still be the capital of technology with a mix of new (Google, Facebook) and old (Apple, HP) sprinkling the landscape. However, Silicon Valley isn’t the only place to grow technology innovators from the ground up. Los Angeles has seen its own startup scene develop with Silicon Beach, which stretches between Santa Monica and Playa Vista.
Clean, safe and reliable natural gas company Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) has established $1 million innovation fund in partnership with Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), to speed the development of clean technologies to meet current global energy needs and become a sustainable energy source.
El Segundo, CA based JumpStarter Inc., a crowd-powered platform that gives accredited investors access to exclusive deal flow and technology transfer opportunities has launched in beta its crowd-powered portal for startups, JumpStartFund. Helping solicit new business ideas and patents from individuals, federal research labs, universities and other R&D organizations countrywide.
“How can I connect with investors?” is one of the most common questions I hear from early-stage entrepreneurs. “Connect” is a good word to use. If you’re looking for funding, you don’t just want to “meet” investors, shake their hands and give them your quick pitch. You want to “connect” with them, to really make a deeper connection.