Community Corner

Entrepreneurs Flock To Redwood City

Written by Angela Swartz

Entrepreneurs and spectators will coalesce in Redwood City Thursday for the fourth annual Startup Conference.

The conference will occupy the Fox Theatre, while a free fair will take place in the Historic Courthouse Square. Organizers expect more than 2,000 people to attend.

The conference highlights include learning how to pitch to venture capitalists, finding co-founders, packaging a product to optimize press coverage and more.

The conference moved out of Mountain View last year because they outgrew their old space.  Caroline Raynaud, Co-Founder of the Startup Conference, started the event with her husband, who has been involved with startups for a while. She herself does nonprofit work.  

“We found that there weren’t too many conferences for early stage entrepreneurs,” Raynaud said. “Ours is a lower cost than many other conferences you see.”  County staff and elected officials are also involved in the events.  

“San Mateo County has always been home to entrepreneurs who have changed the world through their innovations and their technological breakthroughs,” said San Mateo County Historical Association President Mitch Postel in a press release. “This exhibit aims to document those Entrepreneurs and the companies they built.”  

Entrepreneurs will participate in an elevator pitch competition. Some of them will continue to an afternoon investor panel.   David Canepa, Vice Mayor of Daly City, helps organize the event and serves on the San Mateo County Historical Association Board of Directors.  

“These future entrepreneurs could be the next Gordon Moore from Intel or Thomas Siebel from Siebel Systems,” Canepa said. “What we’re trying to do with the fair and competition is really showcase their talents; it’s great opportunity for parents to bring kids to seeing cutting edge products.”  

In fact, in the San Mateo County History Museum’s Entrepreneurship gallery exhibit chronicles some of the entrepreneurs who made San Mateo County known around the world for advances in such fields as finance, high tech and biotech.  

General admission tickets are $169 presale and $250 at the door. Students can attend for $65, while entrepreneurs pay $149 presale and $199 at the event.   The event starts at 9 a.m. and goes til 7 p.m. 



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