SoCal Venture Pipeline

Founders based in Southern California who are preparing to raise their first round of institutional Seed or Series A funding within the next 6 to 12 months are eligible. We cater to various tech industry verticals. 

Key indicators include a minimum raised through angel funding, product market presence, customer traction, a dedicated team, and a scalable business model. Specific requirements vary for Seed and Series A stages as detailed below. 

Founders: Here’s a helpful guide we wrote to explain the different funding stages to help you determine which round you should be raising.

These are guidelines and not strict criteria since every startup is a little different:

1. Have ideally raised at least $250K through angel funding and/or friends and family
   1. If not, product in market and demonstrated customer traction and potentially early revenue generation
   2. Proof of Value Proposition: Annual Run Rate (ARR) sales of $100K or more (ideally) and/or at least 100 customer discovery interviews
2. Dedicated team of 2 or more
3. Have articulated a compelling market opportunity and identified target customer segments, and early customer validation (e.g. pilots, etc.), for example
   1. MVP built and in use by customers
   2. Proof of a growing customer prospect pipeline
   3. Identified Key Performance Indicators
4. Raising institutional seed capital of $1M or more with a scalable business model and a Series A raise planned in next 12-24 months.
5. Based in Southern California

These are guidelines and not strict criteria since every startup is a little different:

1. Have raised $500K angel or seed investment
2. Dedicated team of 5 or more
3. Product in the market
4. Demonstrated accelerating market traction (e.g. revenue, customers, or users)
   1. Annual Run Rate (ARR) sales of $2M or more (ideally)
   2. What makes you the winner in this market?
5. Raising institutional Series A capital of $4M or more
6. Based in Southern California

Yes! Our program service area is from Santa Barbara down to San Diego and from the beach to Riverside (and everywhere in between). Basically these 7 counties: Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernadino, Orange, San Diego.

No, there is no cost to apply and we do not take equity in exchange for our services. Our sponsors and a federal grant cover the operational expenses of the program.

We are supported by generous sponsors, a federal grant and a transfer from our general fund to cover the operational expenses of the program. The Catalyst Fund, over time, will generate management fees that will close the remaining gap of operating this program. Given the tight linkage between the SVP program and the Catalyst Fund, accepted companies will be required to offer the Fund co-investment opportunities when they secure a qualified lead investor.

The SoCal Venture Pipeline is able to keep operating expenses lean, in part, by relying on local ecosystem leaders who volunteer their time to help great companies access funding. Our community leaders and committees work closely with founders and know what it takes to get VC funding.

Applications are first reviewed by Alliance staff, followed by evaluation and feedback from our Evaluation Committee to narrow down the applicants to the top five startups. The top five startups that month get to live pitch to the Selection Committee who then make the final decision.

Our team, in partnership with our Evaluation and Selection Committees, created an investment pitch checklist to help founders make sure their pitch deck has the key elements that investors look for. 

Once accepted, we want to get to know you and better understand your business and current fundraising progress so we can find the right investors for you. Once we have a game plan, you’ll receive strategic introductions to VCs, guidance on pitching and presenting your startup, and access to our network of resources and mentors.

Our program partner has built a national VC syndicate of over 200 active investors (and growing) from all around the country, mostly located in California.

This will vary on how many investors are interested in your field, technology, and market size and traction. We try to make at least three but that is not guaranteed.

We aim to provide a status of your application within 30 days of applying to the program. The Selection Committee meets monthly to make final decisions, but the committee may not be able to review all applications submitted in the previous month. If a final determination is not reached at the conclusion of the Selection Committee deliberations, we will notify you of the delay and provide updated guidance.

If not selected, we provide feedback and referrals to resources to address areas needing improvement. We encourage founders to reapply after further development.

Absolutely! We welcome reapplications from startups that have achieved new milestones or overcome previous challenges.

We maintain high standards of integrity and transparency. Any potential conflicts of interest with committee members or founders must be disclosed to the Alliance.

Your application data is strictly used for evaluation purposes within the SoCal Venture Pipeline program and is not sold or shared externally. We are committed to maintaining confidentiality and data security.

Yes, we launched the Catalyst Fund so that the Alliance can invest directly in the startups we accept into the SVP program. Learn more about the Catalyst Fund here.

The Catalyst Fund is a venture fund led by the Alliance for SoCal Innovation and managed by the co-General Partner, Pasadena Private Financial Group (PPFG). The fund exclusively invests in companies already accepted into the SoCal Venture Pipeline program who are raising their first institutional check at the seed or series A level.