Plug-In Lunch and Learns are designed to help cultivate the next generation of founders and entrepreneurs in Los Angeles. Our meetings and workshops take place in South LA and around Los Angeles at leading VC firms, corporations, entertainment, and digital media studios . If you’d like to be a featured presenter at one our programs, please get in touch by providing the information below. We’ll review and get in touch if we think we can help.
Sign up here to present and or be featured in a future session!
Here’s what folks are saying:
I’ve enjoyed participating in Derek Smith’s lunch and learn series via Plug in South LA. For me, it’s a great opportunity to contribute to the growing entrepreneurial fabric of Los Angeles and to connect with emerging entrepreneurs and underrepresented founders in an open dialogue about their businesses. I learned a lot in my first lunch and learn experience and look forward to participating again in the future.
Cody Simms, Techstars
The lunch and learn series gives entrepreneurs a chance to workshop their vision with a hand-picked group of insightful founders and venture professionals without the added pressure of a formal pitch. Its particularly helpful for minority founders because we often lack the organic networks in tech that provide opportunities for open discussion and informal feedback. In an arena where access is the prime mover, there is tremendous value in the rare opportunity to just be heard.
Jibril Jackson, Founder of HYVE
I had a wonderful time being open and vulnerable in a safe place during the Lunch & Learn Series. I was nervous at first because It’s not always easy pitching your business to experts, but the program made it safe and conducive. Everyone with a great idea and business plan would be lucky to be apart of this opportunity!
Jeff Boodie, Founder of JobSnap
I love that the lunch and learn provides founders the opportunity to deep dive into challenges with other well established entrepreneurs and investors. The feedback and recommendations I was given was an invaluable source of information that I could not have gotten from anywhere else. Apart from my learnings I was also very empowered as a black female founder; this experience made me apart of a larger community, one that changed my lack of resources and has exceleratored my ability to build key relationships with VC’s and founders alike.
Brittney Carter, Founder of QUE-UE
As a VC I typically don’t have the time to give every founder I speak with as much in-depth, actionable feedback as I would like, but the Lunch & Learn series solves this through a dedicated working session. It creates an intimate environment where early stage investors and successful entrepreneurs can provide guidance to the founders who need it most. Many of the founders have made progress by turning their ideas into real products, but the Lunch and Learn series is designed to strategically take that business to the next level.
Austin Clements, TenOneTen Ventures