On Wednesday, September 10 2008 we had our first 8 by 8 dinner - and by most accounts it rocked.  We had an evening filled with great discussion from a really diverse group, along with great food and wine provided by Tanino’s Restaurant in Westwood village (the lasagna is killer, BTW).  Our invited guest was Stuart MacFarlane, managing director of Momentum Venture Management in Pasadena.  Stu provided some great advice on getting an MBA versus sticking to an engineering degree, the deal flow he has seen in the Los Angeles area, and trends in the venture capital community at large.  Some key takeaways that I especially took interest in:

• There is a lot of opportunity for early stage and angel investors, especially in the under served LA area
• New venture models such as Y Combinator are much more appropriate for the economies of many online businesses
• Anything the SoCal Tech Group can do to network and educate a broader reach of technical entrepreneurs is a welcome endeavor!

The audience represented a diverse group of talents: RFID engineering, owner of a web startup, recent MBA grads, a PhD student in chemical engineering, and IP law.  It is my personal mission to draw forth the best techniques from successful startups and disseminate them to a wide audience.  We have seen the future of business, and it looks a lot like a startup.

We plan on doing dinners approximately once a quarter.  If you would like to attend our next dinner, simply:

• join the SoCal Tech Group (on LinkedIn or Facebook)
• email us and let us know why you are the perfect attendee of the next 8 by 8 event!  Give us you background and entrepreneurial goals.