The Best of The Best

Name: The Best of The Best
Start: 2026-10-21T09:30:00.000-07:00
End: 2026-10-21T14:30:00.000-07:00
Location: Irvine, California

Hosted by Steve Gilison & 4 others

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Irvine, California

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About Event

Join us for the 2nd Annual Best of the Best, an annual collaboration between TCA Venture Group and the Alliance for SoCal Innovation. This is a premier startup pitch showcase bringing together top tech and medtech founders with leading investors from Southern California.

We will feature pitches from 13 innovative startups (4 Tech + 9 MedTech), plus a VC panel discussion and plenty of time to network with peers in the ecosystem.

Whether you’re an investor scouting the next big thing or a community member eager to connect, this is your chance to plug into the heart of SoCal tech and medtech innovation.

Update: we are now the Orange County qualifier showcase for the Startup World Cup 2026 competition. The Startup World Cup is a series of global startup conferences and pitch competitions powered by Pegasus Tech Ventures, featuring 100+ regional events across 60+ countries. These events lead to the 2026 Startup World Cup Grand Finale, where winning startups from each regional event will compete for a $1M prize! The Grand Finale is being held in San Francisco on November 6th, 2026.

Agenda:

9:45 AM Check-in & Networking
10:30 AM Welcome
10:40 AM Morning Pitch Session – Tech Startups (Seed/Series A)
11:30 AM VC Panel Discussion
12:15 PM Lunch Break
1:00 PM Afternoon Pitch Session 1 – Medtech Startups (Seed/Series A)
2:00 PM Afternoon Pitch Session 2 – First Look SoCal MedTech Showcase (Pre-Seed/Seed)
2:45 PM Networking
3:30 PM Program Concludes

The Morning Pitch Session includes the following companies:

Kumio
Simulation Theory
Summit Tech Lab
Sporty

The Afternoon Pitch Session includes the following companies:

MedTech Startup Showcase

Asayena, Inc.
Third Element Bio
RaiCare
Vytala

First Look SoCal MedTech Showcase:

OnVagus, Inc.
Arogya Biotechnologies
SoundDose
FlexBioTech, Inc.

Investor Panelists

Ibrahim Elshamy, Partner at Gunderson Dettmer (moderator)
Jasmine Jiang, Investor at Sunstone Management
JC Ruffalo, Partner and Fund Manager at The Cove Fund
Jay Goss, General Partner at Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health

The event will also provide time to network over tasty food and beverages provided by our sponsors.

This event is co-organized by the Alliance for SoCal Innovation and the TCA Venture Group

The SoCal Venture Pipeline is sponsored by Gunderson Dettmer, Sunstone Management and KPPB, LLP.

SOCAL VENTURE PIPELINE SPONSORS