2023 Agenda

Tech Innovation Forum 2023 Agenda

Take a look at the presenting companies participating in Fast Pitch, part of OC Innovation Week! View the list here.

EXPERIENCE

Registration Opens

EXPERIENCE

Networking & Lunch

EXPERIENCE

Welcome to OC Innovation Week

Bill Carpou, CEO, Octane

Dave Beck, General Manager, Haystax

Natalie Harney, Certified Business Performance Advisor, Insperity (Fast-Pitch Emcee)

FAST PITCH

Fast Pitch Presentations (Round 1)

Each round will feature eight (8) companies. Each company will have
5 minutes for their presentation and 2 minutes of Q&A.

1. Aesthetics Card
2. Stirlingshire
3. Love My Delta
4. Stimcore Medical Devices
5. KYG Trade, Inc.
6. Hago Energetics
7. Poppy Life Care
8. Creator Business Solutions

Judges:

Kurt Dunteman, Venture Capitalist and Private Equity Investor

Payal Patel, Principal, Softeq

FAST PITCH – 5 Minute Break

Fast Pitch Presentations (Round 2)

Each round will feature eight (8) companies. Each company will have
5 minutes for their presentation and 2 minutes of Q&A.

1. AiTMed
2. FooodDude
3. RCAM Technologies
4. BuildEffective Inc.
5. Gryphon
6. RxPlace
7. CISGAM
8. Pretika Medical

Judges:

Kurt Dunteman, Venture Capitalist and Private Equity Investor

Payal Patel, Principal, Softeq

FAST PITCH – 5 Minute Break

Capital & Growth

Fast Pitch Presentations (Round 3)

Each round will feature eight (8) companies. Each company will have
5 minutes for their presentation and 2 minutes of Q&A.

1. SkinHappy
2. ReJoule
3. SquidTek
4. Drake Precision Optics
5. Cellyfill
6. Sayenza Biosciences
7. Meter Leader

Judges:

Kurt Dunteman, Venture Capitalist and Private Equity Investor

Payal Patel, Principal, Softeq

FAST PITCH – 5 Minute Break

Haystax

Fast Pitch Presentations (Round 4)

Each round will feature eight (8) companies. Each company will have
5 minutes for their presentation and 2 minutes of Q&A.

1. Hemorai
2. APSY
3. Performance Resource Management 
4. Cooper Platform
5. Sensoriis
6. Evolectric
7. Flick Power

Judges:

Kurt Dunteman, Venture Capitalist and Private Equity Investor

Payal Patel, Principal, Softeq

EXPERIENCE

Winner Announcement 

EXPERIENCE

Next Wave Reception

EXPERIENCE

Registration Opens

EXPERIENCE

Networking & Breakfast 

EXPERIENCE

Women Leaders of Octane Kick-Off Breakfast – Sponsored by Insperity

Finding the Innovator & Founder in YOU!

There is not a formula for how to discover and explore the innovator or company founder in you. But there are stories, experiences, inspirations and motivations that drive innovation. Women, and men, may experience this journey differently. Learn how the experiences, expertise and motivations of two exceptional innovators and founders, Dean Stoecker and Libby Adams, combined to launch and build one of the most successful tech companies in America, Alteryx. 

Lynn Jochim, Advisor and former President and Chief Operating Officer, FivePoint (Moderator)

Olivia Duane Adams, Chief Advocacy Officer & Co-Founder, Alteryx

Dean Stoecker, Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Alteryx

OPENING

Welcome Address

Bill Carpou, CEO, Octane

PANEL

Innovation in Orange County

A successful ecosystem is not a spectator sport.  A successful ecosystem relies on a few critical-ideas, capital, community support, infrastructure, growth resources, and a center of gravity. The panel features leaders from throughout Orange County representing different parts of our ecosystem. They will discuss what Orange County needs to do to continue to be a center of innovation. Hear from these leaders in the community to understand what they are doing and how you can participate.

Bill Carpou, CEO, Octane

Errol Arkilic, Ph.D., Chief Innovation Officer, UCI, Executive Director, Beall Applied Innovation

Jeffrey  Ball, President and CEO, Orange County Business Council

Dominic McClure, Vice President, Real Estate Portfolio Management, ocV!be

Bryan Starr, President and CEO, Greater Irvine Chamber

EXPERIENCE

Networking Break

PANEL

Intrapreneurship in Orange County

Intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a large organization. How are companies in Orange County and beyond facilitating intrapreneurship at their companies?

Carolyn Stephens, Ph.D.,  Managing Director, Enterprise Collaborations Group (Moderator)

Derek Clinton, Head of Corporate Innovation, Hatch Labs, Pacific Life

Paul Kagoo, Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Western Digital

Joe Lige, Head of Enterprise Data Partnership, Experian Marketing Services

FIRESIDE CHAT

Fireside Chat with Marc Bell, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO of Terran Orbital

Marc will discuss Terran Orbital’s rapid expansion in both the government and commercial sectors of satellite manufacturing and the balancing act this requires. He will also discuss the expansion of facilities in California.

Elizabeth Reynolds, Managing Director, Starburst USA (Moderator)

EXPERIENCE

Networking Lunch

PANEL

Eric Morgan, Vice President, Community Affairs, FivePoint Introduces:

Irvine Ecosystem Accelerating Electrification of 2-Wheel Mobility

Clean and sustainable communities require innovative technology and infrastructure along with policies that can keep pace. This panel of key influencers from the City of Irvine, battery technology, OEM and policy will focus on the rapidly growing 2-wheel mobility segment. The panelists will address their roles within this growth and its influences on building sustainable communities.

Scott Kitcher, President & CEO, Sustain SoCal (Moderator)

LeGrand Crewse, Co-Founder & CEO, Super73

Mayor Farrah N. Khan, Mayor, City of Irvine

Paul Martin, Senior Project Manager, Mark Thomas

Yednesh Parnaik, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, EV Battery Technology, Enevate Corporation

PANEL

Orange County Success Story: Kofax’s Multi-Billion Dollar 2022 Exit

Hear how Kofax, a global B2B enterprise software company headquartered in Irvine, positioned itself for a successful exit in the midst of an otherwise challenging 2022 economic environment. Chris will share bets the company placed to prepare for the exit and provide a behind-the-scenes look at the six-month ‘roadshow’ and how investors inevitably came to an agreement on a multi-billion dollar price tag.

Chris Huff, Chief Growth Officer, Kofax

PANEL

Linda DiMario, Director of Community Engagement, Octane Introduces:

Finding the Innovator or Founder in You!

Feature a panel of women tech innovators and founders who will share their experiences, inspirations, challenges, and recommendations.

Azadeh Nasibi, Vice President, Business Development, Strategy and Region Led Markets, Medtronic (Moderator)

Nazli Azimi, Founder, Bioniz Therapeutics

Michele Bodda, President, Experian Housing, Verification Solutions and Employer Services, Experian North America

Tammy Cooper, CEO/CFO-Corporate, Technologent

Cynthia West, Incoming Director of the Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics, Chapman University

EXPERIENCE

Networking Break

PANEL 

Start-Ups in Orange County 

Panel featuring some of the fastest-growing start-ups in Orange County. What is the best part of being based in Orange County? What are their challenges?

Pace McCaskill, Shareholder, Stradling (Moderator)

Russ Garcia, CEO, Menlo Micro

Eric Jensen, CEO of ICEYE

Mike Leblanc, Founder, President, COO, Cobalt Robotics

PANEL 

Old Fashioned Customer Revenue as a Growth Platform

Now more than ever, building sustainable, predictable customer revenue streams provides early-stage companies with the opportunity to control their destiny.

Bill Carpou, CEO, Octane (Moderator)

Dean Stoecker, Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Alteryx

Sean Crafts, Partner & CEO, BLDG

Closing Remarks

EXPERIENCE

Reception

Join Octane staff and the attendees of the Tech Innovation Forum as we gather and celebrate the ecosystem in Orange County. This is an opportunity to network and reconnect with colleagues or meet new ones in the wonderful patio at AV Irvine.

EXPERIENCE

Registration Opens

EXPERIENCE

Networking & Breakfast

EXPERIENCE

Capital & Growth Breakfast Presented by Knobbe Martens

Private-Invite Only

PANEL

OC Economic Forecast and National/Global Innovation Landscape

As the Chief Economic Advisor to both Orange County Business Council (OCBC) and the Draper Hero Institute (DHI), Dr. Wallace Walrod brings a simultaneously local and global economic perspective. A recognized expert on the Orange County economy, Dr. Walrod will summarize the current state of the county economy and identify the most important trends for its short- and long-term future; his forecast will identify both challenges and opportunities. Dr. Walrod will place Orange County’s economic situation in a national and global context, drawing on his work with the DHI in assessing national and global level innovation ecosystems for entrepreneurs and investors through the Draper Innovation Index US (DII US) and the Draper Innovation Index Global (DII Global). He will provide insights regarding how Orange County can compete in a truly global economy.  

Dr. Wallace Walrod, Chief Economic Advisor, OCBC

PANEL

Raising Capital in 2023

2023 is likely to be a bit more challenging than what many start-up founders experienced in 2021 and Q1 and 2 of 2022. According to Pitchbook, Q1 saw the lowest capital raised since 2017 and a 73% drop relative to 2022. 2023 is off to a slow start. Hear from our panelists of investors on what they see for 2023 and beyond.

Mike Hill,  Managing Director, Octane Capital Markets (Moderator)

Sandip A. Bhagat, Chief Investment Officer, WhittierTrust

John Hutchinson, Vice President, Investment Banking, J.P. Morgan

Lisa Walker, President, Tech Coast Angels Orange County

Jeff Wallace, Co-Founder, Silicon Valley in Your Pocket

PANEL 

Capital & Growth Companies Showcase Presented by K&L Gates

These innovative companies have an opportunity to present their products and underlying business models to the entire Tech Innovation Forum audience. In recent years, Octane has added a competitive component to the presentations. A panel of investors will judge the presentations for quality and likelihood of success in attracting investment funding.

7 companies will be featured – View the Companies Here!

Spencer Hamer, Partner, K&L Gates (Emcess)

Judges:

Ibrahim El-Sayed, Regional Business Manager, Softeq

Lisa Walker, President, Tech Coast Angels OC

EXPERIENCE

Announce Capital & Growth Winner

EXPERIENCE

Brunch with the Experts

Brunch with Experts is a unique opportunity for valuable networking that provides attendees with direct access to leaders and experts in the tech innovation community. Participants can engage in one-on-one conversations with C-level executives, entrepreneurs, and experts in their field, and gain insights into their experiences, strategies, and successes. Each expert will have two (2) 35-minute sessions, and registered guests can sign up for two sessions on a first-come, first-served basis! Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to connect with some of the most influential and knowledgeable experts in the industry.

Please see Brunch with Experts tab for a list of experts and sign up.