Jeff Bocan, Partner at Okpai Venture Capital, will share his expertise as a Venture Capital professional. Jeff is an 18-year V.C. veteran, executive in the technology industry, and serves as the deal lead for Okapi on several accounts including: WhiteFox Defense Technologies, TrackStreet, CloudKeyz, Nimble for Good, CLI Studios, Daasity and Trellis Research. He has also been an active angel investor, with his most notable involvement as one of two angels in Duo Security (acquired by Cisco for over $2B). Jeff will share his knowledge on what VC’s seek in a startup, how to know when your business is ready for funding, and what to expect in the process. Register for FREE here!

Donica Forensich and Rolando Locci will join us this month to share their collective experience as legal and finance professionals. They will discuss stories of client success and failure, best practices and “do’s & don’ts” to help you make smart decisions early in the process and avoid common mistakes. This session is perfect for those starting their fundraising journey, either with investors or banks. Both new and existing businesses will benefit. Donica is the founding attorney at Vidya Law Group. Her impressive background includes 20 years of legal experience whose clients range from start-ups ready to incorporate and raise money, and established public companies that need assistance with commercial transactions. Rolando, a senior operations, strategy and financial planning consultant, offers a complete suite of CFO services to mid and small-sized companies through his firm, Rolando Locci Consultants. He has advised leaders at multi-billion-dollar corporations such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise, 3PAR, and Synopsys,as well as small businesses and startups. REGISTER HERE (Free)

Content Creation for SEO Come find out how Google works, on the inside. We will be taking a deep dive into the technical infrastructure that powers Google Search, Google Docs, Android, Google Cloud, and several other billion-user services. Digital Marketing expert, Steve Burnside, will be presenting material on an internal system called Borg, a predecessor to the Open Source Software: Kubernetes. This will show how Google Engineers get code into production efficiently, and scale it up to serve billions of customers. Click HERE to register.

Learn How to Set Up Your Company with QuickBooks Selling: invoices, sales receipts, payments, deposits, credit memos, and customer statements Buying: bills, bill payments, checks, bill payment stubs, and credit memos Inventory: purchase orders, receive items, adjust inventory Sales Taxes: set up, adjust, pay, and report sales taxes Damon Watkins is the Director of Finance & Operations for Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. He is a motivated, personable business professional with a 15+ year track record in multiple aspects of financial control, management and policies/procedures. He prides himself on having strong communication skills, and is accustomed to working with sensitive and confidential records, always protecting and maintaining confidentiality. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Grow Your Business with Google Adwords Google Adwords allows small businesses to leverage the power of Google to promote their companies, and one of the most powerful ad types is AdWords. Join Steve Burnside in our crash course and discover how you can use Google Adwords to grow your business. With an MBA in strategic management and years of online marketing experience, Steve will guide you through the steps to maximize your business’s digital presence.

Cal Poly’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will virtually host six brilliant tech-driven startups from Central California in a pitch competition to win up to $130,000 in equity-backed funding at the fourth annual AngelCon on Thursday, June 10th at 4 p.m. This annual event is propelled by a dedicated group of angel investors interested in investing in early-stage startups in exchange for ownership equity or convertible debt. These investors have strong involvement in the evaluation, due diligence, and selection process of AngelCon applicants leading up to the live event. The event will take place on YouTube Live. Registered attendees will receive the event link via email, one day before the event.  Register Here!

This session will focus on all aspects of marketing for any small businesses, with a focus on hospitality — restaurant, grocery, and retail products. In particular, we’ll cover marketing in a post-COVID world — how to get your business noticed on a small business budget, what marketing tools will be critical in the next few years, and how consumer expectations are changing in 2021 and beyond. Cyndi Darlington is an entrepreneur, marketer, and teacher, with particular expertise in the retail and restaurant industries. After 20+ years in corporate marketing for established brands like Amtrak, Prudential and Islands Restaurants, she founded Darlington Marketing Co. (DMC) 11 years ago, and the company has grown to be a leader in the Southern California marketing community. Register for free here.