Get Involved - San Diego Startup Week

Thank You to Our San Diego Startup Week Sponsors!

Growth & IPO

Series A

Seed & Angel

Expo at San Diego Startup Week

Get your brand in front of hundreds of Founders, Investors, Developers, and startup professionals. This is your chance to showcase your startup, service or product.

Last Year’s Exhibitors

Aligned investment interests for bootstrapped founders of seed strapping companies. Title sponsor of the Seed Strapping Mini Conf on Oct 10th.

Data Science Alliance (DSA) is a San Diego–based nonprofit 501(c)(3) building a responsible data science and AI ecosystem through education, community, and innovation. We empower startups and changemakers with our Responsible Data Science (RDS) Framework—a practical guide to help teams design and deploy ethical, transparent, and trustworthy AI. We also partner with nonprofits and community organizations to put data to work for social good. Learn more at datasciencealliance.org.

DIP Studio is a San Diego–based product design lab that helps startups and global brands turn “what if” ideas into market-ready products. Our team blends industrial design, branding, and manufacturing support under one roof, guiding founders from napkin sketches to store shelves. At San Diego Startup Week, attendees can expect us to bring the creative energy of our Little Italy studio into the community. We’ll share behind-the-scenes stories, hands-on tools, and honest lessons from helping entrepreneurs launch products into Costco, Best Buy, and beyond. Whether you’re a first-time founder or scaling your next venture, we’re here to demystify the product journey and show how design can be both practical and transformative.

Downtown Works is San Diego’s premier coworking community built for entrepreneurs, startups, and teams ready to scale. With vibrant spaces in Little Italy, Carlsbad, Pacific Beach, and Mission Valley, we provide more than just desks and WiFi. Our members gain access to premium amenities, inspiring events, curated networking, and a community that sparks growth. Whether you’re bootstrapping your first venture or leading a late-stage startup, Downtown Works is where ambition meets connection.

Dr. Bronner’s is the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America. As a family-owned business since 1948, we are excited to share how we have sustainably scaled over time all while operating with a high level of ethics. We also are looking forward to highlighting how we are way more than just a personal care product brand. We sell product in order for us to spread love and unity in the world and we do that through fighting for social justice/fair wages, caring for the earth’s ecosystems, donating money/products to nonprofits, and more!

Gaudio Growth Partners is the backbone for growing companies. We provide fractional CFO & COO leadership, backed by a team that executes finance, operations, and HR support. We bring order to chaos, align people and systems, and give founders the confidence to scale.

Hera Hub is a spa-inspired coworking space and business accelerator empowering women to launch and grow successful businesses. Founded in 2011, the Certified Benefit Corporation, has supported over 14,000 entrepreneurs across the country.

Kiln Rancho Bernardo is a design-forward coworking and flex office community built for innovation and connection. We create an environment that grows with your business through premium amenities, flexible memberships, and beautifully curated event spaces. Whether you’re developing a startup, leading a team, or hosting an event, Kiln offers the perfect space to work, create, and connect.

SDSU Division of Research and Innovation is building a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship on campus and at the SDSU Mission Valley Innovation District. Accelerating new technologies from the lab to market, SDSU students, staff, faculty and alumni are transforming ideas into impact.

The SDSU San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC) provides angel investors with educational resources, professional development opportunities, and connections within the startup ecosystem. By fostering informed investment practices, SDAC contributes to the growth of the innovation community. The program features workshops, learning sessions, and networking events specifically tailored for early-stage investors. Participants work together to establish an investment fund focused on early-stage startups, creating opportunities to engage with emerging companies and entrepreneurs.

SDSU’s entrepreneurial ecosystem includes the ZIP Launchpad (https://ziplaunchpad.sdsu.edu/), Lavin (https://lavincenter.sdsu.edu/), and Entrepreneur Society where students, staff and faculty access incubator resources, funding, speaker events, cohorts, and competitions to transform ideas into launched companies.

Visit three startups launching out of SDSU’s Startup Incubator, ZIP Launchpad. Uniexchange, a resale marketplace for students, SipSecure, a auto-sealing can lid, and Her Sports San Diego, a media outlet featuring women’s pro sports.

Strateyo provides financial planning services for founders running (technology) startups. This includes financial modeling, budgeting, forecasting, resource planning, profitability analyses, and support with debt or equity raises.

TAP, Inc. delivers patented technologies for multi-asset payments and investing on blockchain. The mission of TAP is to deliver autonomous, 1-Tap solutions across payments, investing, and beyond, enabling seamless control with minimal friction. https://tap.inc The TAP Wallet provides secure storage and transfer of digital assets. https://tapwallet.com The TAP Registry is a blockchain-based system for verifying asset authenticity, ownership, and transfer. https://tap.inc SocialTrader is an AI and Robo-RIA investment platform for stocks, digital assets, real-world assets, and prediction markets, all in one interface. TAP is building the digital future of payments and investing across multiple asset classes.

Meet the robots powering tomorrow’s science. Tecan helps startups and innovators automate the repetitive, time-consuming parts of research from sample handling to workflow management with solutions like our Fluent® platform and our newest innovation, Veya®, making automation easier than ever. Whether you are scaling your first experiment or running high-throughput workflows, we bring robotics, reliability, and simplicity together so you can focus on discoveries that change the world.

Techstars San Diego Powered by SDSU is a global pre-seed accelerator program. For startups around the world, from any industry interested in tapping into one of the top ten startup ecosystems in North America, the accelerator provides an incredible investor, mentor, alumni, and talent network to help founders do more faster.

Introducing Sunflower: a sleek and intuitive air quality sensor design to improve your physical and cognitive health.

The Program Labs helps organizations design and operate entrepreneurship programs that drive economic impact. Many nonprofits and foundations want to support entrepreneurs and need a framework to build programs that create lasting impact. We specialize in designing accelerators, resource centers, and training programs that connect entrepreneurs to the broader ecosystem they need to succeed. Whether you run a foundation looking to launch an entrepreneurship initiative, or you’re a nonprofit that wants to better support local businesses, we help you build programs that work from day one.

Host an event during San Diego Startup Week!

Host an independently run event and become an official part of San Diego Startup Week, happening November 2-6, 2026. From mixers and workshops to meetups and something entirely new, SDSW puts you at the center of the region’s startup scene.

Whether you’re a seasoned organizer or hosting for the first time, you’ll get the platform to reach 5,000+ founders, talent, investors, operators, changemakers, and the people building everything in between.

Guidelines & Criteria to Host an Event

To be added to the official San Diego Startup Week Calendar, your submission must be approved and meet the following criteria, including:

Affordability. The event must be free or modestly priced (we recommend $50 or less per attendee) to remain accessible to San Diego’s startup community. We encourage organizers to leverage Eventship’s sponsorship marketplace to help offset venue and catering costs and keep entry low or free. Events with substantial added costs (e.g., full-day programming, professional facilitation) may request an exception during submission review.
Timing. The event must take place between November 2–6, 2026.
Relevance. The event has a startup community, resource, awareness, or educational-related focus.
Location. The event serves the regional startup community by being located in San Diego County or Tijuana, Mexico.
Conduct. The event meets participant expectations for high standards of integrity and respectful behavior. Fraudulent activity, harmful conduct, or any form of harassment will not be tolerated.

Logistics & Ownership

The host organizer is responsible for all aspects of the event, including venue, sponsors, food, speakers, and any other logistical needs.
The host organizer has full control over their guest list and attendance count.
While we strongly encourage events to be open to everyone, we understand this may not always be feasible due to specific goals, costs, or venue limitations.

Premier Exposure

For premier exposure opportunities and elevated visibility during San Diego Startup Week, contact Startup San Diego Executive Director Lisa Barnhouse at [email protected].

Approval Process

All events are approved at the discretion of Startup San Diego’s Board. The approval process can take 5–7 business days.

Participate in the Pitch Tournament: Lightweight Intercollegiate

Apply to pitch at the San Diego Startup Week 2026 Lightweight Intercollegiate Pitch Competition & Tournament! Top startups from local colleges and universities, selected in partnership with J.P. Morgan, will compete for growth catalyst prizes to take their startup to the next level.

Lightweight Intercollegiate Eligibility Criteria:

Active Student at a San Diego County college or university.
Student participant in a campus entrepreneurship support organization (e.g., incubator, accelerator, mentorship program, club, course, bootcamp, etc.).

Timeline:

Application Deadline: Monday, Sept 28, at 11:59 PM
Application Review: Sept 30 – Oct 14
Applicant Status Notification: Oct 16

Competition date:

Friday, Nov 6 @ SDSU Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center

Participate in the Pitch Tournament: Founders Fight Club

Apply to pitch at the San Diego Startup Week 2026 Founder’s Fight Club: Heavyweight Pitch Competition & Tournament! Eight of San Diego’s top early-stage startups, selected in partnership with J.P. Morgan, will compete for growth catalyst prizes to take their startup to the next level.

Founders Fight Club Requirements:
- Pre-seed+ funding.
- Have revenue or customers, or both
- Company must be doing business in San Diego OR looking to expand business in the San Diego region.
Timeline
- Application Deadline: Monday, Sept 28, at 11:59 PM
- Application Review: Sept 30 – Oct 14
- Applicant Status Notification: Oct 16
Competition date:
- Friday, Nov 6 @ SDSU Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center

Volunteer at San Diego Startup Week

Be at the center of all things startups…

Startup San Diego, a California non profit 501(c)(3) entity, is a local, grass roots, volunteer-based group of entrepreneurs, mentors and investors who have created a simple platform to grow the greater San Diego startup community.

Want to be the face of SD’s startup scene? Want to score yourself a free ticket for San Diego Startup Week? Now is your chance to get involved!

Volunteers will get a chance to:

Meet incredible founders and community partners
Attend 1st Mondays and San Diego Startup Week for free
Get an exclusive Startup San Diego T-Shirt & other swag
Be part of an amazing startup community

Become a Sponsor

Sponsorship Levels

IPO

$30,000

GROWTH

$15,000

SERIES A

$10,000

SEED

$5,500

ANGEL

$2,750