Mark Your Calendar: Startup Grind’s SoCal Regional Conference on Sept. 27

Startup Grind, the global tech-networking powerhouse known for its intimate fireside chats with startup luminaries and tech industry icons, is coming to Southern California. The SoCal Regional Conference will take place on September 27 at the Skirball Cultural Center, located in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air, overlooking Stone Canyon, Santa Monica Mountains and the Bel Air Lake.

More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the event, which will host more than 50 speakers, who are expected to share lessons and stories they’ve gained from leading the charge in technology, film, entertainment and media. Local speakers include founders of successful Silicon Beach-based startups such as Leura Fine of online interior design service Laurel & Wolf, and Gunnar Lovelace of Thrive Market, the organic food online shopping giant. Troy Carter, Hollywood’s celebrated music manager, investor, and guest at ABC’s Shark Tank, is one of the star speakers. In partnership with Cross Culture Ventures and Smashd Labs, Carter’s entertainment company Atom Factory has invested in such blockbuster startups as Uber, Warby Parker and Spotify. All of the speakers are expected to inspire conversations that will shed light on investing and building companies — particularly in Silicon Beach, the fast-growing launching pad of startups including Tinder, Snapchat, and Dollar Shave Club, recently acquired by Unilever.

Startup Grind began in a small room in Palo Alto, CA, in March, 2011, when Derek Andersen, the company’s founder and CEO, organized an event with a few fellow “startup grinders” to explore best practices and learnings from each participant’s entrepreneurial endeavors. Unlike other conferences that charge high fees and keep attendees at a distance from high-profile executives, Startup Grind began with the idea of making conference sessions more intimate and speakers more accessible. In only five years, the organization has grown into a worldwide network with 200 chapters, spanning 85 countries and a membership of more than 400,000 entrepreneurs. Just a month ago, Startup Grind successfully hosted its first-ever European conference, which received wide coverage in the tech press. Startup Grind is also the exclusive event partner of Google for Entrepreneurs, Google’s initiative to support communities of entrepreneurs around the world.

Startups with fewer than 20 employees and less than $3 million in funding can apply to be featured in the SoCal Regional Conference’s Startup Showcase. For conference attendance, register for early-bird tickets here.