Welcome back to the Sunstone Way.
Lots to talk about today as we get ready for Irvine Tech Week. We are one of the major sponsors, and activities start here next Wednesday, March 22.
Much of the discussion next week will undoubtedly revolve around the impact of the closure of Silicon Valley Bank. Ironically, that closure emphasizes the ongoing efforts to make Irvine a new center of technology and innovation – a large reason why Sunstone Management moved its headquarters to Irvine more than a year ago.
Tech Week was conceived long before the SVB closure on March 10. The City of Irvine started planning months ago to feature the many assets here, particularly for startups and early-stage tech companies.
Sunstone will kick things off Wednesday afternoon with a panel of start-up founders talking about how the SVB closure—and potential chilling effect on venture capital investment—may impact their businesses over the next 18 to 24 months. Panelists include:
- Vivian Shimoyama (Moderator) – Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program, Long Beach Economic Development Commissioner, Long Beach Accelerator Board
- Chris Wagner, PhD – Co-Founder & CTO, Current Surgical
- Ethan Glass – CEO & Founder, Ocra
- Leanne Linsky – Founder & CEO, Plauzzable
- Bill Beverley – Co-Founder, Co-CEO & CTO, Evolectric
- James Jones, Jr., Esq. – Co-Founder & CEO, Bump
We believe the discussion will offer concrete examples of how the Sunstone Way – Investment, Entrepreneurship, Community – works. It is helping our founders with educational and technical resources, engaging with public policy makers to both educate them about the state of the entrepreneurial world and help create programs to maintain our community’s health, and looking after the interests of our investors.
The Sunstone Way In Action
Sunstone already has begun efforts to get updates from all our founders and investors, ensuring that the impact from SVB is minimal, as well as offering assistance to respond to the past and prepare for the future. We will be adding a resources page to our website, sunstoneinvestment.com, and are planning to host a series of discussions online to facilitate peer-to-peer help going forward. That’s called supporting and furthering our community. You can also get the most recent updates and resources from Sunstone by following me and 6,000 of my closest friends on LinkedIn.
Thanks to our partnerships with educational institutions and government entities, Sunstone will continue to be the source for accurate, timely information.
There’s no denying that closure of SVB and two other banks has been a jolt to our world. We’re pleased to be able to say that the Sunstone Way has prepared us to move forward — and help our founder and investor communities to move forward — in spite of that jolt.
Join us in that journey. Make sure you don’t miss the next Sunstone Way. Sign up at http://eepurl.com/dMmV1k.
Let’s make dreams come true.
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More About Sunstone Management
Sunstone Management is a diversified private capital sponsor firm located in Southern California that invests in diverse early-stage technology entrepreneurs who seek to build great companies. We believe in the aspirational power of the American economy to attract and inspire investors and entrepreneurs from throughout the world. We deliver new and exciting opportunities for economic growth through the creation of innovative public-private partnerships, and our unique experience across government, education, and private sectors. Identified by Financial Times as one of America’s Fastest Growing Companies in 2022 & 2021.