Trending...
- Essentially Amsterdam launches Amsterdam Job Radar, an AI job board for English speakers in Amsterdam
- New Finnish Affiliate Site Ilmaiskierrokset.com Puts Wager-Free Spins in the Spotlight
- Atlanta Company Launches Free, Ad-Free, Nonpartisan Voter Planning App for All 50 States Ahead of the Nov. 3 Election
Orange County's first tech week crowns its Startup World Cup regional champion, honors its founding committee with Golden Unicorn Awards, and announces its return Sept. 20-25, 2027.
IRVINE, Calif. - eTravelWire -- OC Tech Week hosted by Tech Coast Venture Network drew an estimated 3,000 attendees from 12 countries to 59 events across Orange County, organizers said, and produced a regional champion who will compete for a $1 million investment prize at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco.
The six-day event, organized by Tech Coast Venture Network (TCVN) under the theme "Innovation in Paradise," ran Oct. 19-24. Instead of a single conference, it was built as a radically inclusive, decentralized series of community driven events hosted by companies, universities, investor groups and community organizations across the county. Organizers said the goal is a single regional identity for Orange County's innovation economy. OC Tech Week will return Sept. 20-25, 2027.
"Orange County has all the ingredients to become one of the world's leading innovation economies: exceptional talent, investment capital, research institutions and entrepreneurial ambition," said Farrah N. Khan, former Mayor of Irvine, co-chair of OC Tech Week. "Our vision is to connect those strengths and make Orange County a place where the next generation of transformative companies can thrive."
"Founders don't succeed in isolation. They need relationships, resources, visibility and a community that believes in them…before there is traction," said Tony Crisp, president of Tech Coast Venture Network, co-chair of OC Tech Week, and Founder of CRISPx brand marketing. "Farrah had the vision, we created the spark, and the community turned it into a fire. You don't find your community, you build it."
Startup World Cup regional champion
Jim O'Connell, founder and CEO of Vytala, won the Startup World Cup Orange County Regional Qualifier on Oct. 21 at the sold-out Best of the Best Startup Pitch Showcase, organized by the Alliance for SoCal Innovation and TCA Venture Group. Thirteen startups pitched to a panel of five judges.
More on eTravel Wire
Vytala advances to the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco, Nov. 4-6, where regional winners from around the world will compete for a $1 million investment prize from Pegasus Tech Ventures. Pegasus also invited the other 12 competing startups to attend the Grand Finale.
"The million-dollar prize is exciting, but the real story is access," said Dave de Csepel, chairman of TCA Venture Group. "When founders get in front of experienced investors and build relationships beyond their own networks, that's how a strong regional ecosystem becomes globally competitive."
Global participation
The Oct. 20 Global Trade Summit, organized by International Impact Connections, featured perspectives from China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Romania, South Korea and Europe's technology sectors. Speakers included Marques McCammon, CEO of Karma Automotive; John Shen, founding partner of Sunstone Management; and Christopher K. Lee, venture partner at GoAhead Ventures.
Week highlights
The week opened Oct. 19 at the Sunstone Courtyard in Irvine with a keynote by Don DiCostanzo, founder of Pedego Electric Bikes and CEO of The Ticket 500, titled "Moonshots: The Future Isn't Predicted. It's Built." Irvine Mayor Larry Agran opened with a warm welcome.
Other events included:
"Ten million dollars in cars is impressive, but the real value is the community those cars bring together," said Adriana Gallardo, founder and CEO of Adriana's Insurance. "Gorilla Cars and Coffee give people a reason to connect beyond business cards and formal introductions."
More on eTravel Wire
The week closed Oct. 24 at the CU Center at Concordia University Irvine, in partnership with TiE Los Angeles and SoCal Celebrates Entrepreneurship.
Golden Unicorn Awards
OC Tech Week honored its founding committee with Golden Unicorn Awards, named for the event's orange unicorn mascot. In startup terms, a unicorn is a private company valued at more than $1 billion, and organizers said the award reflects a goal of building the ecosystem that produces them. The honorees are listed below.
All attendance and participation figures are preliminary organizer estimates.
2026 Golden Unicorn Award honorees
About OC Tech Week
OC Tech Week is Orange County's community-powered week of events on innovation, entrepreneurship and technology, organized by Tech Coast Venture Network. More information is at octechweek.com. Sponsorship and hosting inquiries go to OCtechweek.com.
About Tech Coast Venture Network
Founded in 1984, Tech Coast Venture Network is an Orange County entrepreneurial support organization that helps founders become fundable through pitch competitions, investor connections, education and community partnerships. Learn more at tcvn.org.
The six-day event, organized by Tech Coast Venture Network (TCVN) under the theme "Innovation in Paradise," ran Oct. 19-24. Instead of a single conference, it was built as a radically inclusive, decentralized series of community driven events hosted by companies, universities, investor groups and community organizations across the county. Organizers said the goal is a single regional identity for Orange County's innovation economy. OC Tech Week will return Sept. 20-25, 2027.
"Orange County has all the ingredients to become one of the world's leading innovation economies: exceptional talent, investment capital, research institutions and entrepreneurial ambition," said Farrah N. Khan, former Mayor of Irvine, co-chair of OC Tech Week. "Our vision is to connect those strengths and make Orange County a place where the next generation of transformative companies can thrive."
"Founders don't succeed in isolation. They need relationships, resources, visibility and a community that believes in them…before there is traction," said Tony Crisp, president of Tech Coast Venture Network, co-chair of OC Tech Week, and Founder of CRISPx brand marketing. "Farrah had the vision, we created the spark, and the community turned it into a fire. You don't find your community, you build it."
Startup World Cup regional champion
Jim O'Connell, founder and CEO of Vytala, won the Startup World Cup Orange County Regional Qualifier on Oct. 21 at the sold-out Best of the Best Startup Pitch Showcase, organized by the Alliance for SoCal Innovation and TCA Venture Group. Thirteen startups pitched to a panel of five judges.
More on eTravel Wire
- VINCE Lifestyle Magazine Expands Travel Collection With Eight Free Digital Guides for Adults
- Shelter Structures America backs MATRA Second Life Project to turn retired tent vinyl into homes for displaced families
- P-Wave Press Announces Becoming Dad: Reflections for New Fathers by L. A. Davenport
- Logicraft Launches FuelDeck™, AI That Turns Aviation Fuel Tickets Into One Traceable Ledger
- Award-Winning American Hotelier Opens Art-Filled Luxury Cottage in Norfolk, England
Vytala advances to the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in San Francisco, Nov. 4-6, where regional winners from around the world will compete for a $1 million investment prize from Pegasus Tech Ventures. Pegasus also invited the other 12 competing startups to attend the Grand Finale.
"The million-dollar prize is exciting, but the real story is access," said Dave de Csepel, chairman of TCA Venture Group. "When founders get in front of experienced investors and build relationships beyond their own networks, that's how a strong regional ecosystem becomes globally competitive."
Global participation
The Oct. 20 Global Trade Summit, organized by International Impact Connections, featured perspectives from China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Romania, South Korea and Europe's technology sectors. Speakers included Marques McCammon, CEO of Karma Automotive; John Shen, founding partner of Sunstone Management; and Christopher K. Lee, venture partner at GoAhead Ventures.
Week highlights
The week opened Oct. 19 at the Sunstone Courtyard in Irvine with a keynote by Don DiCostanzo, founder of Pedego Electric Bikes and CEO of The Ticket 500, titled "Moonshots: The Future Isn't Predicted. It's Built." Irvine Mayor Larry Agran opened with a warm welcome.
Other events included:
- FOX 11 Los Angeles covered The AI Lab's "The People vs. The AI Lab" debate and The AI Lab is now inviting NVIDIA, Meta, OpenAI, Google and Microsoft to adopt TIP
- Startup Pitch Fest, hosted by Startup Steroid, Sunstone and SGC Angels
- Quantum Security Day, at Microsoft's Innovation Hub with Quantum eMotion
- Gorilla Cars & Coffee, hosted by Adriana's Insurance, which organizers estimated brought together $10 million worth of vehicles, speakers OG Arabian Prince, founding member of Rock n Roll hall of fame rap group N.W.A., and founder of Rezvani Motors, Ferris Rezvani
- Pickleball with investors was a *hit*
"Ten million dollars in cars is impressive, but the real value is the community those cars bring together," said Adriana Gallardo, founder and CEO of Adriana's Insurance. "Gorilla Cars and Coffee give people a reason to connect beyond business cards and formal introductions."
More on eTravel Wire
- Best Time to Visit Paris at Christmas to Avoid Crowds: The First Three Weeks of December
- K2 Global / Ozi Amanat Named Among Top 100 AI Venture Capitalists in 2026
- Dr. Latorial Faison Appointed Poet Laureate of Virginia
- AdLeverage Brings Golf Simulator Contest and Home Services Marketing Expertise to Service World Expo 2026
- Cleveland Factory Worker Seeks Funding for AI-Readable Archive Exploring Advanced AI Restraint and Human Survival
The week closed Oct. 24 at the CU Center at Concordia University Irvine, in partnership with TiE Los Angeles and SoCal Celebrates Entrepreneurship.
Golden Unicorn Awards
OC Tech Week honored its founding committee with Golden Unicorn Awards, named for the event's orange unicorn mascot. In startup terms, a unicorn is a private company valued at more than $1 billion, and organizers said the award reflects a goal of building the ecosystem that produces them. The honorees are listed below.
All attendance and participation figures are preliminary organizer estimates.
2026 Golden Unicorn Award honorees
- Farrah N. Khan, co-chair, OC Tech Week; board member TCVN, former Mayor, Irvine
- Jennifer Huang, director of marketing, Sunstone Investment Group
- Karl Hoenecke, dean, School of Business and Economics, Concordia University Irvine
- Don DiCostanzo, CEO, The Ticket 500; founder, Pedego Electric Bikes
- Bob Genthert, managing director, EvoNexus Irvine; CEO, GlyTR Therapeutics
- Jerry Heikens, executive director, TiE Los Angeles
- Cynthia West, Ph.D., founder, Rezultant
- Vicente Sarmiento, Orange County supervisor, 2nd District
- Anshuman Sinha, board of trustee, TiE Global
- Dave de Csepel, chairman, TCA Venture Group
- Tedy Fugel, founder and CEO, KICKFLP
- Arabian Prince, founder, iNov8; board member TCVN; founding member, N.W.A.
- Aaron Klein, founder, LYNX Enterprise; executive director, TCVN
- Venkatesh Sankaran, president, TiE Los Angeles; board member, TCVN
- David Ochi, executive director at CSUDH Innovation Incubator
- Chris Weber, CEO, Only on the Rancho Productions
- Gia Ly, managing director, SoCal Celebrates Entrepreneurship
- Lillian Victoria, founder, Awesomeness Lifestyle; board member TCVN
- Tony Crisp, president, TCVN; co-chair, OC Tech Week; founder CRISPx
About OC Tech Week
OC Tech Week is Orange County's community-powered week of events on innovation, entrepreneurship and technology, organized by Tech Coast Venture Network. More information is at octechweek.com. Sponsorship and hosting inquiries go to OCtechweek.com.
About Tech Coast Venture Network
Founded in 1984, Tech Coast Venture Network is an Orange County entrepreneurial support organization that helps founders become fundable through pitch competitions, investor connections, education and community partnerships. Learn more at tcvn.org.
Source: Tech Coast Venture Network (TCVN)
0 Comments
Latest on eTravel Wire
- Heritage at Manalapan Announces New 3.875% First-Year Mortgage Rate Buydown (7.11 APR)
- AthleteMerch.com Surpasses 100,000 Custom Items Delivered to Fans Nationwide
- Steve Weclew is Appointed by STS Capital Partners as Managing Director
- New Finnish Affiliate Site Ilmaiskierrokset.com Puts Wager-Free Spins in the Spotlight
- Byways & Highways Music Launches "Come on Down to OKC"
- Sun Divers Roatan Launches Updated Discover Scuba Diving Page for First-Time Divers
- Sun Divers Roatan Launches Updated PADI Advanced Open Water Course Page
- Major FDA Victory; Preservative-Free Ketamine Approved Ahead of November 10 Goal Date as Commercial Launch Opportunity Comes Into Focus for NRx Pharma
- Immerse Yourself in the Historic Tochigi Autumn Festival, Celebrated Every Two Years Since 1874
- Sun Divers Roatan Launches Updated Nitrox Certification Page
- Scuba Diving Magazine's 2027 Readers Choice Awards
- Resident Inspect Expands Virtual Property Inspections With AppFolio and Rentvine Integrations
- Unlocking the Next Phase of Growth with New AI Innovations; Targeting 2027 as Breakeven; Revenue Momentum Accelerates: ZenaTech (N A S D A Q: ZENA)
- AeroNet Deploys netElastic vBNG and CGNAT with Tarana Wireless to Deliver Scalable, Fiber-Class Broadband Across Puerto Rico
- New Atlas Maps the 38 States Behind Every Conversation
- Atlanta Company Launches Free, Ad-Free, Nonpartisan Voter Planning App for All 50 States Ahead of the Nov. 3 Election
- NECP Promotes Chertova to Senior Business Analyst
- Security Industry Veteran Anthony Rumore Launches AegisLead to Help Security Companies Find Business and Manage Growth
- Strasbourg Christmas Market 2026: Half of the City's Photoshoots Take Place in December
- Charlie Shaw and Patrick Carragher win SEO Agency of the Year 2026