April 2018 Snippets

5 min readApr 15, 2018

With April comes Spring weather and new set of remarkable member accomplishments. Read about Jeremy Gottschalk’s marketplace tech conference, Jesse (Jesus) Ayala’s new film series, Jeff Tidwell’s Next For Me newsletter, and Peter Robinson’s major grant from the NSF!

Jeremy Gottschalk

Marketplace Risk Management Conference

Jeremy Gottschalk, Founder of the Marketplace Risk Management Conference, is hosting his fifth annual conference.

Members of StartOut are invited to attend the fifth annual Marketplace Risk Management Conference, May 22, 2018, in San Francisco, CA. The conference is an annual convening of web and mobile marketplace technology companies in the sharing and gig economy. It draws founders and operators from across the country, along with thought leaders, investors, industry leading vendors, and service providers. Participants come to network, identify new trends, and learn mission-critical risk management strategies. The biggest names in the industry will be in attendance, including Airbnb, Facebook, Instacart, Lyft, Rover, TaskRabbit, Uber, Züm and many more. Plus, StartOut’s own Dan Driscoll will be there speaking on behalf of HomeAway!

To learn more about the conference and its 30+ informational sessions visit the Marketplace Risk Management Conference website.

How to Support Jeremy:

Get your tickets today!
Follow the conference on Twitter

Jesse (Jesus) Ayala

Authentically Us, Voices From the Transgender Community

StartOut Member Jesse (Jesus) Ayala is the director of the award-winning Authentically Us, Voices From the Transgender Community. The VR film series takes us into the lives of three transgender people living in northwest US, who through activism, create more prosperous futures for the community. The importance of transgender equality in the workplace/ military, the integral role transgender people play in our communities, and the fact that trans people have always existed, are some aspects the film highlights.

The groundbreaking series is the first VR series to place transgender people at center of the stories and the first VR series ever from Facebook & Oculus. The films have already premiered at SXSW and are scheduled to make their debut at Tribeca, Cannes, and more. The series was produced by Ayala’s production company Fovrth Studios in partnership with Pride Foundation and Facebook/ Oculus.

How To Support Jesse:

Attend upcoming screenings at Tribeca in NYC April 21–28 and SCAD Forward Fest in Atlanta April 19–20.
Request to host a screening by contacting Jesse on the StartOut directory.
Follow on Facebook/Instagram at @AuthenticallyUsSeries and @GoFovrth
Support their partners Pride Foundation (PrideFoundation.org)
Visit www.AuthenticallyUs.com for more information

Jeff Tidwell

Next For Me

Jeff Tidwell’s company, Next For Me, is a weekly newsletter on work & finance for the 50+ generation. After Jeff made an appearance last October on being 60 and Gay in Tech at the Tech Inclusion Summit, the company hatched. Jeff is also chronicling the creation and story of the company through a series on Forbes.

“We’re lean, mean, and growing steadily by a continuous dialog with our readers.”

The company exists because people are living & working longer and there is a disconnect in the workplace leaving older workers sidelined. Due to this there is a movement toward evolved roles for ‘Modern Elders’ and mentoring relationships are exchangeable & fluid.

Two sided sharing and learning is important to remain relevant. That’s why Jeff’s relationship with StartOut’s mentoring program has become a powerful learning tool.

“The StartOut team has been amazingly supportive with my venture through introductions & targeted sharing of our news with a true feeling of a community that supports you.

How To Support Jeff:

Visit Next For Me website
Subscribe to their Newsletter
Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Peter Robinson

Enable Biosciences Inc Awarded National Science Foundation Grant

Big news from Peter Robinson, the Chief Scientific Officer of Enable Biosciences. His company recently received the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research Phase II Grant for $750,000. This grant will allow them to commercialize innovative technology by conducting research & development work on early detection and treatment of autoimmune and infectious diseases such as HIV.

Currently, the company’s ADAP technology detects diseases through saliva and blood at a faster rate than traditional methods.

Enable Biosciences pitched to investors at last years Demo Day in San Francisco, and we are so excited for the funding success!

How To Support Peter:

Learn more about the company and their work by visiting the Enable Biosciences website
Contact Peter in the StartOut directory., if you have a medical background specializing in diseases such as HIV and would like to help.

STARTOUT HAPPENINGS COMING UP …

StartOut SF

DEMO DAY

TUE / APR 24

Wondering who will be the next Rainbow Unicorn… then don’t miss San Francisco Demo Day. LGBTQ founders from all over the country will be pitching to a panel of expert investors.

Purchase tickets HERE