First Look SoCal 2023

The First Look SoCal Innovation Showcase is an annual conference celebrating the best very early-stage startups commercializing deep tech and life science breakthroughs from SoCal’s top research institutions. 

The primary goal is to connect founders with investors, mentors, and executives with invaluable subject matter expertise to provide credible guidance and pre-seed/seed stage funding crucial to making the often-perilous journey from lab to market.

Thank you to everyone who participated and attended this year!!

Read the recap blog about why this was the best First Look SoCal yet.

ICYMI, check out the full recordings for both fabulous keynotes and all of the startup pitches below.

Browse the complete Photo Gallery for pics of the day; a few samples are below.

The event registration website has all of the agenda details including speaker bios and information.

Event Videos

Startup Fast Pitch Presentations (3 mins) + Judge Q&A (9 mins)

Videos posted in order of appearance. Some startups requested we not post the videos of their pitch.

Sponsors

Here’s what some of the startup presenters had to say about their experience in 2022

“Great place to network and meet other entrepreneurs/investors in tech”

“I like the judging panel asking questions. And great attendance”

“The number of people and companies was just right. Resist the temptation to make it larger. Invaluable opportunity to connect with people directly during breaks, etc.”

“It was a great opportunity to get more pitch practice and meet investors”

EVENT AND PRESENTATION FORMAT

Each startup presented a 3-minute quick pitch followed by 9 minutes of Q&A led by a panel of leading investors and subject matter experts. Celebrate and connect with investors at the cocktail reception.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Teams were selected based on factors such as potential for disruption, novelty of the innovation/discovery, size of the commercial opportunity, and/or overall potential for impact.