In partnership with
☀️ Thursday’s Newport Founder Beach Walk
Last week’s walk included someone building a model to identify drownings via hotel cameras, a travel app, talks of Sri Lankan food, and much more. It’s OK to be jealous of my monster hat.
📝 When did Zelle take off?
Zelle is everywhere. Has it always been this big in CA? On the east coast Venmo reigned supreme. Here it seems no one uses Venmo. PayPal and Venmo had such a head start. Then Venmo decided to become a social network where you can see your high school friends sending their spouse $18 for his part of the chicken wings. Maybe that’s why Zelle took off.
LLM traffic converts 3× better than Google search
58% of buyers now start their research in ChatGPT or Gemini, not Google. Most startups aren't showing up there yet.
The ones that are get cited by the AI tools their buyers, investors, and future hires already use. And they convert at 3×.
Download the free AEO Playbook for Startups from HubSpot and get the exact steps to start showing up. Five minutes to read.
🗓️ Upcoming OC tech events
Southern California Agentics Meetup (link)
Tuesday, Apr 14 @ 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Irvine
AI in Production: $1B Founder, Enterprise Agents & Computer Vision (link)
Wednesday, Apr 15 @ 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Merage JCC
2026 AWS CloudHacks Hackathon at UCI (link)
Friday, Apr 17 - Sunday, Apr 19
UCI, Irvine
Driving Mobility 13 (Electrification, Infrastructure, Hydrogen Backbone, Self-Driving Vehicles, etc) (link)
Tuesday, Apr 21 @ 1:00 - 7:00 pm
UCI Beall Applied Innovation, Irvine
Survivor™ 13 AI Startup Pitch Competition (link)
Wednesday, Apr 22 @ 5:00 - 9:00 pm
The Cove at UCI, Irvine
🚗 Worth the drive
Builders and Backers Underground Mixer (link)
Tuesday, Apr 14 @ 5:00 - 8:00 pm
Marina del Rey
The Human Touch: Directing AI in Production (link)
Friday, Apr 17 @ 6:00 - 9:30 pm
The KINN, LA
🏐 Founders, Funders & Techies: Beach Volleyball Mixer (link)
Saturday, Apr 18 @ 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Sorrento Beach, Santa Monica
Tech + Trails: April 2026 Hike (link)
Saturday, Apr 18 @ 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Register for Location, LA
Hussein's April North County SD Startup Mixer (200+ founders, investors, and more) (link)
Tuesday, Apr 21 @ 5:30 – 8:00 pm
The Leucadian Bar, Encinitas
📡 OC Tech News
FlightPath3D Quadruples Operational Footprint with Move to Irvine Spectrum
Irvine-Based AWS Consultancy Caylent Buys Pronetx, a CX Transformation Firm
Aliso Viejo-Based UST Expands Global Workday Capabilities Through Acquisition of Intecrowd
Bonus: The Toll Roads Host April Guided Ecological Tours of Protected OC Sites
💡 Please reply and send me event or news tips that should be included in future editions!
Until next week,