According to the Kauffman Index, Los Angeles is the 3rd ranked U.S. city in terms of startup activity, behind only San Francisco and New York. This should come as no suprise, as the city is fast becoming an international hub for startups across the entertainment, advertising, fashion, cleantech, biotech, fintech, and even space industries.
One of the biggest benefits for aspiring entrepreneurs in "Silicon Beach" is the vast number of startup-related events in the area. At these many events, experienced CEOs, founders, and investors in Southern California share their experiences and knowledge with the next generation of startups.
In the blog post below, we’ve listed plenty of startup events and groups in the greater Los Angeles area for every stage of your startup, whether you’re testing your idea, looking to learn new skills, meet potential co-founders, find investors, or just meet new and interesting people.
Inspirational Startup Events
The are many inspirational startup events and Meetups in Los Angeles, where you hear interesting stories from experienced entrepreneurs and begin to meet others in the Los Angeles startup community. The great thing about these events is that they are open to the public and very welcoming to newcomers.
- Founder Institute events:
- How to Acquire Your First Customers with Actionable SEO Strategies : 10:00am, Apr 24, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/339060
- Founder Institute Online Information Session: https://FI.co/infosession
- What is Entrepreneur DNA? Insights from 15 Years of Social Science Research: 10:00am, Apr 29, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/342854
- Co-Founders Connect: Find a Business Partner Online: 5:00pm, May 01, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/338049
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas (Interactive Online Event): 10:00am, May 08, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/339354
- Startup Founders’ Guide to Building an Effective Go-To-Market Strategy: 10:00am, May 15, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/342707
- How to Build a Fundable Start-up Brand: 10:00am, May 20, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/338789
- FI Veteran and SoCal Graduation w/ Kelly Perdew, VC at Moonshots Capital: 10:00am, May 21, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/343030
- Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder: 5:00pm, May 22, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/340352
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 5:00pm, May 27, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/339399
- How to Quickly Establish Safe, Reliable, and Compliant AI Startups: 10:00am, May 29, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/340148
- What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur? Insights from 15 Years of Research: 10:00am, Jun 03, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/343447
- Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with a Venture Capitalist: 5:00pm, Jun 05, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/340971
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 5:00pm, Jun 10, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/339721
- Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder: 10:00am, Jun 12, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/339776
- Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 10:00am, Jun 17, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/339918
- How to Turn your Value Proposition into a Product Market Fit: 10:00am, Jun 24, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/341452
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 10:00am, Jun 26, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/339832
- Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder: 5:00pm, Jul 01, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/340229
- How Founders Beat Anxiety for Peak Performance : 10:00am, Jul 03, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/341949
- How to Acquire your First 100 B2C Customers: 10:00am, Jul 08, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/344415
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 5:00pm, Jul 15, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/341246
- Startup Fundraising Q&A: Meet Investors from the FI Venture Network: 10:00am, Jul 17, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/341343
- What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur? Insights from 15 Years of Research: 5:00pm, Jul 22, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/343958
- How to Build a Personal Brand: The Startup Founders Guide to Thought Leadership: 10:00am, Jul 24, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/343146
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas : 10:00am, Jul 29, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/341666
- Ask an Investor Anything: Q&A with a Venture Capitalist: 5:00pm, Aug 26, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/341803
- Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder: 5:00pm, Sep 02, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/343246
- What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur? Insights from 15 Years of Research: 5:00pm, Sep 09, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/344211
- Startup Fundraising Q&A: Meet Investors from the FI Venture Network: 10:00am, Sep 16, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/342363
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 10:00am, Sep 23, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/343552
- Co-Founder Networking: Find a Business Partner: 10:00am, Sep 25, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/344303
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 10:00am, Oct 02, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/342049
- Startup Fundraising Q&A: Meet Investors from the FI Venture Network: 5:00pm, Oct 14, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/342451
- How to Come Up with Great Startup Ideas: 5:00pm, Oct 23, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/344509
- What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur? Insights from 15 Years of Research: 10:00am, Oct 30, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/344603
- Employee to Entrepreneur: How to Make the Transition to Startup Founder : 10:00am, Nov 04, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/343340
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 5:00pm, Nov 06, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/342152
- Startup Fundraising Q&A: Meet Investors from the FI Venture Network: 10:00am, Nov 27, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/342545
- Startup Pitch Practice: Share Your Idea and Get Expert Feedback: 10:00am, Dec 02, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/342252
- Startup Fundraising Q&A: Meet Investors from the FI Venture Network: 5:00pm, Dec 23, 2024 (America/Los_Angeles): https://FI.co/e/342630
- CoInvent
- Downtown LA Startups
- Entrepreneur Startup Support Community of LA
- LA Entrepreneurs & Startups
- LA Startup Community
- LA Startup Nights
- LA Tech
- LA Tech Happy Hour
- Latino Startups & Entrepreneurs
- Los Angeles Young Entrepreneur Meetup
- Startup Product LA
- Startup Socials
- Startup Weekend LA
- Startups and Stilettos
- TechBeer
Best Practices Startup Events
Los Angeles is home to a plethora of beginner knowledge-sharing events. These events are each focused on specific topics related to building a business, and feature expert speakers that share their best practices, tips for success, and pitfalls to avoid. Most of these events are free, but some may charge a small ticket fee that is definitely worth the investment.
- DTLA Tech Morning Coffee Mixer
- iOS Developers & Entrepreneurs Meetup
- LA Launch
- NELA UX
- NEXT LA
- Santa Monica Creative Entrepreneurs & Startups Meetup
- Santa Monica Gamification
- Startup Founder 101 LA
- Startup Grind LA
- Startup Mind LA
- Startup Saturdays Los Angeles
- Startup Uncensored
- The Startup Toolbox
- Startup Workshops
Events to Network and Form a Team in Los Angeles
When you're ready to start building a team, it's time to attend events, talk about your startup project, and meet people that share your interests in Los Angeles. While attending any of the events listed in this post can help you meet potential team members, the events below are especially useful:
- CoFounders LA
- CoFoundersLab
- The Entrepreneur Connection
- The Entrepreneurs’ Organization
- Founders Forum
- Founders Network
- FounderDating
- Founding Moms' Exchange LA
- Women Founders Network
Builder-Focused Events and Hackathons in Los Angeles
If you have a technical skillset, or are looking to network and learn from people that have a technical skillset, then it is worth looking into the maker-focused events in Los Angeles. These include hackathons, technical Meetups, and other communities that foster people building products.
- AEC Hackathon 2.3 SoCal
- AT&T Mobile App Hackathon Los Angeles
- AngelHack Los Angeles 2015
- Causathon
- Code for the Kingdom LA 2015
- Code for Los Angeles
- CodeDay LA
- Comcast NBCUniversal Hackathon Los Angeles
- Hack for LA
- Hackathon by General Assembly
- Hollywood Hack Day
- Indie Dev Club Showcase & Hack Night
- LA Hacks 2015
- ProtoHack Los Angeles
- Sense360 iOS Hackathon
- Water Hackathon
- Women Who Code
Investor Networking Events in Los Angeles
If you already have a team and/or product, then you might be ready to start networking with investors in Los Angeles. There are many events in Los Angeles that gather angel investors (affluent people that invest their personal capital in early-stage startups or entrepreneurs, and generally provide only a small one-time investment to help the business grow), angel investor groups (networks, or syndicates, of angel investors who pool their resources together to invest more money than would typically be issued with a private angel investment), and venture capital firms (large institutional funds that provide large amounts of funding for later stage companies with impressive and proven growth), like the ones listed below.
- Angel Launch
- CAIA Los Angeles
- CEO Space LA
- Caltech Entrepreneurs Forum
- Investors + Entrepreneurs
- Keiretsu Forum
- LA Web Ventures
- Larta Institute
- Los Angeles Investors Network
- Los Angeles Venture Association
- Pasadena Angels
- Schmoozd
- Social Venture Partners
- Southern California Investment Forum
- Space Angels Network
- Startup Angels LA
- Women's Investment Network
Are you looking for expert guidance and feedback to build a startup in Los Angeles?
The Founder Institute is an idea-stage accelerator that works with solo-entrepreneurs, and teams, during the earliest stages of building a business. Through an intensive 3.5 month program, FI participants build their business through a proven structured process, and receive feedback and assistance from over 30+ successful entrepreneurs and investors in Los Angeles. Upon completing the program, Graduates join a global network of entrepreneurs and receive ongoing help to get funding and build their business. FI Graduates have raised over $1.75BN in funding, and are building some of the world's fastest growing companies.
Learn more about the Founder Institute at FI.co, join a free startup event in Los Angeles, or apply to build a startup in Los Angeles today.
