SMNT Testimonials Part 7

Gary Livingston is a UX designer who is also co-organizer of 805 Startups Meetup that helps build startup ecosystems in Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and Los Angeles County.

• SMNT was one of the first startup groups I joined where I felt a sense of purpose associated with the events. Marina has done a fantastic job harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit and sharing it with many in the community that would have otherwise felt lost or alone while working on their ideas/dreams.

• Over time SMNT has found more focus and expanded on the amount of activity created. This activity has bred more activity in the area and has attracted the interest and participation of investors, city officials, and traditional businesses as well. Silicon Beach, while a horrible moniker, has grown to be a truly viable alternative to Silicon Vallley for those looking to launch and grow a startup to success. Marina is one of the key leaders in this community to thank for the success of this startup ecosystem achieving that level. Many owe her for her efforts and contributions, either directly or indirectly, to their success.

  Check out his upcoming Social, Dating and Lifestyle Expo on Feb 28, 3-7PM at HUB101 in Westlake Village, CA.

  Apply to exhibit: https://angel.co/805startups-february-28-social-dating-and-lifestyle-expo-westlake-village-ca/apply
  RSVP to attend: https://www.meetup.com/805startups/events/236929881/

SMNT Testimonials Part 6

Wes Boudville, Inventor

I have gotten 2 big things from the SMNT monthly meetings.

The first is getting a pulse on the Los Angeles startup scene. By volunteering at many meetings, it gives me an overall sense of what is trending.

The second advantage is chatting with the audience before and after the talks. I have met numerous local entrepreneurs who are highly motivated and talented. Far better than scanning LinkedIn. The interpersonal bandwidth of the meetings is more valuable and fulfilling.

Levi Appleton, Designer and Founder of Lost and Found app Deedsofficial

Hello,

Meetups are a great place to get out of the comfort zone, become a social mixer with well like minded people. My experience with SMNT starting out as an attendee on a personal quest for more information, I gained insight on how to build a pitching deck attending 5 demo and pitch events then showcasing my project my 6th time attending. The community aspect is well diverse and people come from all kinds of backgrounds, not just in programming in particular but from accounting,  law, and PR firms. I’ve gotten feedback and resources in all areas of my business attending social mixers such as my favorite Santa Monica New Tech. Thank you so much, Marina.

Deeds 🙂

SMNT Testimonials Part 5

Michael Lebow  is a recent Berkeley graduate and the founder of CursusPublicus. Michael will present his startup at our next Pitch/Demo event #SMNT54 on Feb 7 at Cross Campus.

I’ve been attending Santa Monica New Tech meetups since August 2015.  I started my startup at UC Berkeley during the summers with two of my friends.  When I moved back home to LA after graduation I wanted to get connected into the LA tech scene.  Santa Monica New Tech and the Open Coffee Club was on of the first groups I found and I’ve been attending almost every week since.  I found the meetup group through a Google search without any referral and I think it serves an important role in the LA ecosystem.

There are many startup networks out there – schools, alumni groups, accelerator networks, VC networks.  SMNT provides an environment with no prerequisites – anyone is welcome.  I think there is value in all the above groups, but an open grass roots group is essential to a vibrant startup ecosystem to provide motivation and support at the earliest stages.  I regularly attend mostly to keep myself in check and to have a consistent venue where outsiders ask me for updates.  During the first few months, repeatedly explaining my startup to new groups of strangers drastically improved my ability to articulate both the problem I’m addressing and solution I hope will solve it.

SMNT Testimonials Part 4

Sam McArdle shares his experience after taking Silicon Beach Startup 101 Course in Aug 2015 and launching his own company.

What stuck with me the most were the lunches. Marina cleverly brought in current entrepreneurs who were actively working at their startups. And they just sat and chatted with us. The conversational level of learning was something I never experienced before.

And it was during these sessions that I became truly inspired. I entered Marina’s Startup 101 Course with an inkling of an idea – and hearing these people speak about their experiences and what they’re building excited me. When you ask someone about something they are truly passionate about, look at their eyes – they light up. Zeal spills out from within. And I wanted that! It was the desire to find that intensity and excitement that set me on my course to building Elegy.

http://elegyapp.com

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/elegy-keepsake/id1077723872?mt=8

Watch the video about the Startup Course.

SMNT Testimonials Part 3

Next story is by our Open Coffee Club LA regular Ken Scott.

I have regularly attended Santa Monica New Tech Meetups for the better of the last year.

There are 3 main factors that motivate my active participation.

1) Engaging Meetup topic: As an entrepreneurial small-business owner-living in Silicon Beach, with a limited tech network-this group has been fantastic for someone like myself who is seeking greater exposure + participation to this expanding community.

2) Quality attendees: From the first coffee club I attended to the one held earlier today, each meeting has been well-stocked with knowledgeable and interesting regulars along with a consistent body of newcomers. Over the past year, I cannot recall a single meeting with less than 10 participants and at least 1 new attendee.

3) Well-managed: Marina does a truly excellent job of creating a rich line-up of programming (monthly pitch meetings, group travel…), regularly informing SMNT members of upcoming meetings/events, attending these events and moderating while keeping costs at virtually zero.  Furthermore, If she is not able to attend there has always been a regular able to fill-in.

When combined, SMNT has exposed me to numerous interesting new businesses and business persons, expanded my contacts (esp. of individuals that could be potential collaborators) and provided a  friendly and “safe” environment that both challenges me to speak publicly as well as ideate with a diverse crowd of like-minded strangers.

SMNT Testimonials Part 2

The second story is submitted by Terence Lem, the Founder of Products into Retail SoCal Meetup. Enjoy!

With mobile technology including text messaging, social media, online content and video and the trend towards telecommuting – a person can literally work and go about their daily life for days or weeks without ever making real human contact. I personally believe this is one of the adverse byproducts and unmeasured destructive outcomes of technology.  People lose their interpersonal skills, opportunities to interact with others, and we may see future generations growing up with little or no contact with the outside world.

Meetup groups like Santa Monica New Tech help to restore that lost element of human contact by drawing people together through a common purpose and interest.  This is valuable for entrepreneurs or startups who probably skew higher than average as a group.  To maintain a healthy work-life balance I think meetups play an increasingly important role for people in the workforce, and who work solo or for a small company – where personal interaction is low or limited.

I think I’ve witnessed Santa Monica New Tech accomplish these things in the 18+ months that I have been involved with this group.  I’ve met programmers who work remotely and never speak to a real person during their day job.  I meet hard working entrepreneurs who attend SMNT events to escape a lonely day at work. I meet people who are happy and fully employed who attend SMNT regularly as a way to help build their dream idea or be inspired or motivated by others.   Some don’t have coworkers to share things affecting their personal life or job but they meet friendly people who are like minded they can bind with.

And I’ve met a vast number of people who are new to Los Angeles and want to make new friends and tap into the knowledge and resources SMNT provides for them.  They are able to quickly get grounded in a new city like Los Angeles. People need personal interaction with others to stay strong, stay connected in the real world.  The shared linkage is the energy and sense of hope and encouragement that people experience by going to SMNT meetup events.  Seeing what their entrepreneur peers are doing and making new friends.  So while there are business objectives that are fulfilled, I think there are personal needs that are met at the same time.

Although I am not creating or selling my own tech solution, I think attending the events regularly has helped me create clarity and focus for my own ideas. Observing the results and outcomes of this meetup group inspired me to form my own meetup group for product entrepreneurs.  Since consumer products is my domain expertise I decided to launch a meetup group for product entrepreneurs to help inspire them in similar ways.  I launched my own meetup Jan 02 and it is called Products Into Retail.

https://www.meetup.com/Products-Into-Retail-SoCal/

SMNT Testimonials

As I was approached by the UCLA Professor to share stories about our group for his upcoming book in the chapter on community, I reached out to some of our members asking for their feedback. Please read their stories and spread the word. Story #1 is by Felix Bustos III.

It takes a community to raise a startup.

I’ve always been a dreamer and doer.  I grew up having a profound fascination with technology, so it made perfect sense to spend more than a decade working on high-technology projects at Fortune 500 and tech startup companies.  Life was good until one fateful spring evening, at a Marina del Rey coffee shop, I met up with a long time friend.  We talked about the startup company he recently founded, and as he gushed over his entrepreneurial vision.  I thought to myself, what if I started my own company?  So I asked for some advice, and I vividly remember him saying, “You just have to do it!”  There I was, fueled by a burning desire to do something positive for the world.  So, I took the leap of faith and started working on a side project.  I quickly realized the even with more than a decade of technology and business experience, turning a project into a full-fledged company was really hard.  It was during this challenging period, an African proverb came to mind, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

I reached out to the nearby tech startup community in Silicon Beach, and learned about Santa Monica New Tech (SMNT) at a pitch event.  I was immediately blown away by its strong sense of community.  Everyone was more than willing to spend time talking about the “growing pains” involved in a startup, and share practical advice on how to solve them.  I also signed up for a SMNT Startup 101 course that covered the key steps involved in turning an idea or project into a startup company.  In fact, it was during the course that I realized that it was really possible to turn my entrepreneurial dream into a reality.  Most importantly, I walked away with friends who have been there during my entrepreneurial journey.

Today, the pet project has grown into Zappbuddy Technologies, Inc.  We’ve launched Zappbuddy FIT and we’re actively growing our health & fitness community as well!  I feel more than confident that with the SMNT and Silicon Beach tech startup community’s unwavering support, together we can keep growing.  After all, it really does take a community to raise a startup!

Best, Felix

Zappbuddy Technologies, Inc.

www.zappbuddy.com

Achieve the impossible

What is New? ..2017!

 

Dear Friends of SMNT,   We have not been updating this blog for more than one year?! Yes, but we are happy to report that although the blog was idling we were not! First of all, we have organized hundreds of Meetups, 285 to be exact! As of today, we showcased 300 startups in Silicon Beach, hosted 5 Silicon Beach Startup Courses and 117 Open Coffee Club Events! In less than 5 years we grew to 9,000 members!   We still hold monthly Pitch/demo events, next one is #SMNT53 on Jan 11, 2017. In addition we offer many other events for entrepreneurs, aspiring or seasoned, and people who are interested in everything new and innovative, tech or not.   The main reason we still exist as a group is our community and people who help keep it together! Thank you to many volunteers and especially to   Jorn Teutloff (Open Coffee Club event host) Dane Flanigan (Pitch/Demo event host) Wes Boudville (Pitch/Demo event registration) Nicola Green (Pitch/Demo event registration) Terence Lem (Marketing support)   Thank you to our main sponsor this year Bryan Lemster of Halcyon Innovation, and to the attorney Julia Cheng of Cyber Law Studio for helping us incorporate as a 501c3 non-profit organization!   We are grateful to our partners Cross Campus, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, Another Reality LA, General Assembly, WeWork, ROC, Control Collective, Philosophie, USC, UCLA, and many other wonderful people and organizations.   We are blessed to have great mentors and Silicon Beach Course instructors! Read Testimonials from members of the group. Thank you for being part of it! Upcoming Events: Open Coffee Club #118 Jan 8 VR Arcade #7 Jan 10 Pitch Demo Event #53 Jan 11   If you travel to Europe, check out our sister groups: London New Tech with 10,900 members Paris New Tech with 5,300 members   Wishing you a bright and beautiful Holiday Season! Happy New Year 2017!  Marina 🙂 in7sparks.com https://www.meetup.com/Santa-Monica-New-Tech/

#SMNT36

On Wed, July 15, we all drove to Playa Vista for our July pitch/demo event #SMNT36 at CTRL Collective @ctrlcollective:

“The Collective is a shared working space in Silicon Beach that’s bringing together the best startups, entrepreneurs, hackers, makers, students, and creatives in Los Angeles”.

We were very excited to invite our members to this new location to showcase how much Silicon Beach has to offer. The venue boasts 24 private offices and about 300 co-working spaces.

This mansion style building of about 26,000 sq. ft, formerly an oil company abode, offers covered outdoor space and a garage to be converted into a makerspace and sound proof recording studio. The property (with 60 parking spaces on premises and private valet) is so big, that we had to create multiple signs with arrows so that our attendees didn’t get lost in its vast labyrinths. See more pics: http://ctrlcollective.com/photos

Read more about CTRL Collective: http://latechdigest.com/take-a-peek-inside-ctrl-collective/

We are grateful to our sponsor Sri Pulakanam from NeurLabs @neurLABS that also presented their app MigoAmigos.

7 startups came to CTRL Collective to show their creations:

MigoAmigos @migoamigo_

P2start @P2Start

Finask #finask

Postwaves @post_waves

Yougee @yougeeme

Plume @theplumeapp

Sense360 @thesense36

Plume with erotic text images
was the most provocative presenter!

Playa Vista is definitely booming with more offices and co-working spaces popping up all over! And it is becoming cheaper than Santa Monica.

Please find more pics from this event on Meetup or FB and videos on our Youtube Channel. See you in August at #SMNT37!

#SMNT35

#SMNT35 pitch/demo event took place on June 10 at Cross Campus in Santa Monica.

Pizza and drinks were provided courtesy of our sponsor Bryan Lemster from Halcyon Innovation.

All attendees got a sneak peek of what our tech startup counterparts are working on across the pond!

We heard from the following startups:

Miler.me

Prefound

RCO

Momunt

Please find below A Silicon Beach Update from Halcyon Innovation:

Silicon Beach Fest Is Back!

The annual summer celebration of startups in So Cal, Silicon Beach Fest, is back for another year bringing parties, pitches and panels to Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica and the surrounding community. Professionals with an interest in technology from many different professional spheres will be speaking, networking and building during this 3-day event jam-packed with activities. You can find all the info about the event here & find special discounts here. Happy Networking!

Santa Monica New Tech Pushing Startup Scene. Santa Monica New Tech (SMNT) is continuing to drive the startup community in the area by showcasing new and exciting local ideas. Halcyon Innovation was happy to be fortunate enough to sponsor the most recent event SMNT#35 where six new startups showcased their fresh concepts. You can check out some of these great projects here. After 3 years of helping to grow startup communities in Los Angeles as well as London & Paris, SMNT is also offering a course to help startups begin on the right foot. More info about the course is available here. Follow SMNT on social media here.

Thank you, Bryan, for your support! 🙂

See more pics from the event on Meetup and videos on our Youtube channel.