Last week’s fires were scary. My heart goes out to those who lost their homes and a huge shout out to the absolute HERO firefighters who work tirelessly to keep us all safe.
You know who aren’t heroes? The product managers who decided to incorporate ads into every Alexa device. They deserve public shaming. HomePods won’t integrate with Sonos, so I decided to try out Alexa devices and, uh, I’m very disappointed.
Anyone hacked an open source alternative together?
In much more exciting news, it’s the first ever OC Tech Week! This will be a monster Tech:OC edition, complete with nearly two dozen events and a profile of a local voice analytics software CEO (Peter!). Come out and support the OC tech ecosystem.
👋 Hi, I’m Taylor, a tech founder in Dana Point. I started Tech:OC to follow the local tech scene after moving here from NYC. Reply with OC tech news, events, or with the name of an OC founder we should profile!
🗓️ Upcoming OC Tech Events
Mon, Oct 19 · Construction + real estate coffee meet-up for OC Tech Week (Kelly Stephens, EyeOn Automations) - I’ll be there!
8:30 am - 10:00 am · Coffee Nature, Costa Mesa
Mon, Oct 19 · AI for social impact founders' roundtable lunch with Innov8social (OC Tech Week)
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm · Herb & Ranch, UCI Research Park, Irvine
Mon, Oct 19 · OC Tech Week opening ceremony at the Sunstone Stage with a "Moonshots" keynote from Don DiCostanzo, founder of Pedego Electric Bikes and CEO of The Ticket 500
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm · Sunstone Venture and Innovation Center, Irvine
Tue, Oct 20 · From AI experimentation to AI adoption: a hands-on workshop for founders and leaders, hosted by Paradigm Systems with TCVN and led by At Their Side CEO Emily Woodman-Nance (OC Tech Week)
10:30 am - 12:00 pm · The Ticket 500, Newport Beach
Tue, Oct 20 · Trust Identity Protocol for creators, journalists, authors, and researchers: launch and hands-on with The AI Lab (OC Tech Week)
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm · EvoNexus, Irvine
Tue, Oct 20 · Startup pitch fest with Startup Steroid, SGC Angels, and Sunstone: 10 early-stage startups pitch a four-judge panel, 3 minutes each plus Q&A (OC Tech Week)
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm · 18881 Von Karman Ave, Irvine
Tue, Oct 20 · OCXD Halloween meetup: design your worst nightmare, an AI and product design challenge
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm · 200 Spectrum Center Dr, Irvine
Tue, Oct 20 · OC Tech Week AI townhall with Orange County AI: submit and vote on questions for the experts
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm · The Ticket 500, Newport Beach
Wed, Oct 21 · OC Tech Week innovation yacht reception with PeachScore: execs, VCs, and family offices, plus five startup pitches
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm · Newport Beach Harbor
Wed, Oct 21 · OC AI builders lightning hackathon: build something with AI in 50 minutes, then 5-minute demos, with Vivek Haldar and Nebius (OC Tech Week)
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm · EvoNexus, Irvine
Wed, Oct 21 · Founders at Sunset with Stripe x Capitalista: OC founder roundtable with the Stripe Newport Beach community
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm · HanaHaus, Newport Beach
Thu, Oct 22 · OC C-Suite Tech Week celebration at the Pendry: executive happy hour for OC founders, investors, and tech leaders, with a book signing by host Anne Tammel (OC Tech Week)
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm · Pendry, Newport Beach
Thu, Oct 22 · From hype to real world: AI in manufacturing and enterprise panel (GABA x Orange County AI)
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm · Ticket 500, Newport Beach
Fri, Oct 23 · Founder Beach Walk: walk to the end of Newport Pier with rotating founder conversations (OC Tech Week)
9:30 am - 11:30 am · Ticket 500, Newport Beach
Fri, Oct 23 · Coast & Capital: OC Tech Week founders and funders mixer with Sunstone
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm · Orange County
Fri, Oct 23 · The marketing agency intelligence era: AAF Orange County panel on building AI-powered agencies, with COR founder Mo Johmani, The Theo Collective's Stephanie Theodoropoulos, and John Elston (OC Tech Week)
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm · The Ticket 500, Newport Beach
Fri, Oct 23 · The women behind hypergrowth with Tech Coast Venture Network (OC Tech Week)
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm · EvoNexus, Irvine
Fri, Oct 23 · Claude for cybersecurity: live walkthrough from the creator of HexStrike AI, plus early access to the next release (OC Tech Week)
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm · Witte Hall, Newport Beach
Tue, Oct 27 · AI Tinkerers OC at Centercode HQ: builder-only demo night, by application
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm · Centercode HQ, Mission Viejo
Thu, Oct 29 · Irvine AI meetup #6 for experienced AI engineers: shipping real products with Claude Cowork, hosted by PlanetDDS's Team Artemis
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm · iQ Smart Center, Irvine
Thu, Oct 29 · EvoNexus Irvine weekly GenAI meetup with Josh Righetti from Anduril on AI, free and open to the public
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm · EvoNexus, Irvine
👋 Tech:OC Profile: Peter Bannister of Mova AI
What do you do?
We analyze millions of phone calls, texts, and emails, and provide analytics and coaching to enable our customers to truly understand what is said, why, and how to improve their low performing agents.
What's something you've built, here or before, that you're proud of?
The team at Mova - we’ve got an amazing group of people who are leveraging state of the art techniques to build and scale a company.
What would you never hand over to AI?
Ooh, tough one, with the right safeguards in place, probably nothing...
Who/what in OC has been unusually helpful in building the business, and how?
My neighbors, friends, and other soccer moms and dads - Orange County is awash with amazing people who’ve been where I am now, and their advice and networking is second to none. It’s a great place to be an entrepreneur.
Where do you meet other founders or tech people in OC?
The kids’ soccer games and other unexpected social occasions.
What's a great spot in OC for a coffee or happy hour?
Got to be Young’s Beach Shack at Salt Creek beach - fantastic view of my favorite beach!
Know an OC founder who should be next? Just reply with their name and company.
📡 OC Tech and Fun News
Fountain Valley builder Vinh Luu introduced HD Parking Lot, his free app for photo and voice progress updates on home remodels, at an LA Tech Week founder and investor night in Santa Monica on Oct 15, after building it day by day from his coffee shop "second office" (Vinh Luu / X, event recap)
Anduril opens an employee tender offer that values the defense tech company at roughly $90B, up from its current $61B (OCBJ / CNBC)
Virginia cybersecurity firm GuidePoint Security opens a new Irvine office (GuidePoint Security / X)
UCI's ANTrepreneur Center opens the Santora Pitch Lab, a pitch-training space for student founders (UCI ANTrepreneur Center)
Artsy one: The 37th Newport Beach Film Festival runs Oct 15-22, the largest international cinema event in SoCal with over 56k attendees and 40+ nonprofit partners (Splash Magazines)
🚗 Worth the Drive
Tue, Oct 20 · Founders Live San Diego: five founders give 99-second pitches and the audience votes on the winner, with city leader Rob Gaudio (Connect's Idea Week 2026)
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm · WestPac Wealth Partners, San Diego
Wed, Oct 21 · Revelo tech leader premium series: invite-only night at the Lakers vs. Warriors game for CTOs, VPs of engineering and AI, and other senior tech leaders
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm · Los Angeles
Thu, Oct 22 · Product + tech: healthy tension in the age of AI, from PMA.LA, the 2,000+ member Product Managers Association of Los Angeles
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm · BLANKSPACES Santa Monica Downtown, Santa Monica
Sat, Oct 24 · AI Film Summit Los Angeles 2026 from the Tyrannus Foundation: filmmakers on using AI for real-world production, distribution, and revenue
1:00 pm - 6:00 pm · City Club LA, Los Angeles
I use Wispr Flow every day instead of Siri Dictation, which is awful
Leave Granola and get up to 12 months free of Wispr Flow Notetaker + Dictation
If you have paid time left on an individual Granola plan, we'll match it with a Wispr Flow subscription that includes Notetaker and dictation, and add bonus time, up to 12 months total. Sign in or create a Wispr account and submit proof of your plan to check eligibility.
Until next week,
Taylor Trusty @ Tech:OC