GrowTECH FEST is the Only Entrepreneurial Conference North of Sacramento
2023 Highlight Reel
Why Attend?
Entrepreneurs
Investors
Students
Startups
2024 Keynote
Maëlle Gavet, Recent CEO of Techstars
Maëlle Gavet SPEAKER BIO: Maëlle Gavet is a dynamic and influential figure in the tech industry, known for her visionary leadership and ability to fast scale businesses. Born in France, Gavet’s career began with a flair for entrepreneurship and a passion for technology. An entrepreneur at heart she founded her first startup at the age of 16, then went on to launch 2 more.
She quickly rose to prominence, holding CEO/COO roles at major companies such as Priceline Group (largest travel group worldwide including Booking, Kayak, Open Table), Compass (largest US residential brokerage and prop tech), Ozon (Russia’s largest e-commerce platform). As the CEO of Techstars (most active pre-seed investor worldwide), she was instrumental in investing in and empowering thousands of entrepreneurs around the globe, providing them with the resources and mentorship needed to succeed.
In addition to her corporate achievements, she authored the WSJ bestseller book “Trampled by Unicorns: Big Tech’s Empathy Problem and How to Fix It,” highlighting her commitment to ethical tech practices. Gavet is celebrated for her strategic acumen and ability to drive innovation.
She has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in US Finance by Barron’s, a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, one of Fortune’s 40 Under 40, one of the Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company and was fifth among Time Magazine’s List of the Top 25 ‘Female Techpreneurs’. With a career marked by relentless drive, visionary leadership, and a dedication to ethical innovation, Maëlle Gavet continues to shape the future of technology and inspire the next generation of leaders.
2024 Icon Speakers
Maisie Jane Hurtado
Founder of Maisie Jane’s California Sunshine
Maisie Jane is a real person and not just a company ‘stage name’. She is the founder of Maisie Jane’s and plays a very active role in every aspect of the business. She is blessed with her husband, Isidro and their three daughters: Isabela, Natalia and Lilia Jane. She has a true passion for creating healthy, farm fresh products, and exploring new business opportunities. Maisie Jane is grateful for her team of wonderful employees, a loving family, and the bounty of the land surrounding her. Learn more at www.maisiejanes.com
Brita Lundberg
4th Gen Farmer + Chief Storyteller, Lundberg Family Farms
Brita Lundberg is a fourth-generation farmer and Chief Storyteller at Lundberg Family Farms, a leading grower of Regenerative Organic Certified® rice and maker of best-selling packaged rice and rice snacks. The Lundberg family began farming organically in the late 1960s and, in 2023, became the first U.S.-grown rice brand to launch Regenerative Organic Certified® rice. In her current role on Lundberg’s marketing team, Brita helps share the brand’s regenerative organic farming practices, while also educating a broader base of consumers on how regenerative organic agriculture can be a force of land-restoring, habitat-preserving, community-building wonder. NEW! Brita’s dad, Bryce Lundberg will also be joining her on stage! Learn more at www.lundberg.com.
Industry Sessions
Current State of Ai: Your Questions Answered!
Brad Ledford
Product and Technology Lead
Brad is a long-time member of Chico’s local startup and technology scene.
Most recently, Brad was the Principal Program Manager at Amazon Ads, driving the program to personalize ads on Amazon retail store. Before this, Brad held executive roles at various startups in e-commerce, higher education, and B2B SaaS and has decades of experience building effective software teams and products.
In September 2023, rather than “return to office” for Amazon in Palo Alto, Brad started Foundri, a digital product design and development agency focused on building Web and Mobile SaaS products.
Michael Coogan
Managing Partner, MC2
Panel Discussion: Riding the Funding Wave into 2025
Attendees joined an in-depth panel discussion featuring industry experts and seasoned investors, moderated by Mark Haney, CEO of HaneyBiz. The session explored various types of funding, including venture capital, traditional banking, bootstrapping, and grants. The panel helped provide actionable insights, strategies and addressed the needs of startups at all stages—from early development to scaling. Participants gained valuable knowledge to help drive their ventures forward.
Panel Speakers
Cheryl Beninga,
Co-Founder, Fourthwave Accelerator
Cheryl is a highly experienced Venture Investor in high growth organizations innovating in clean technology, mobile software, MedTech and enterprise software and services.
Managing Director of Wai-Mohala Ventures and Beninga Advisors. Co-Founder FourthWave Accelerator Program for Leading Female Founders in technology sectors providing mentorship, conscious leadership training and access to capital.
Cheryl has worked with leading technology investors including Intel Capital and GE Ventures on all stages of technology investing. Experienced at the board and operation level at all venture stages Seed round to IPO and M&A exits. Very grateful to work with many great startup teams having successful exits.
Oscar Garcia
Senior Vice President, California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce + SBDC Regional Center Director – Programa Hispano
He plays a key role in strategic business planning and development, education, technical assistance, and capital infusion for business growth and expansion.
Additionally, Oscar is a trusted leader in the small business community where he helps business owners understand and follow the path to starting and growing a successful business.
For his contributions to the business community, he has been recognized by the California House of Representatives, State Assembly, and the Senate. He was presented with the Counselor of the Year award by the SBA District Office and SCORE organization.
Chad Alderson
Digital Product & User Experience Advisor
Chad Alderson is a seasoned product leader with over 20 years of experience in product management, UX design, and digital strategy. As the Principal Product Owner at PubRocket.fm, Chad led the development of a generative AI marketing automation platform for podcast creators.
He has a deep understanding of both startup and enterprise environments, having worked at companies like DataStax and eBay. Chad is known for his expertise in creating end-to-end product strategies, managing cross-functional teams, and driving user-centered design that delivers measurable results. He also brings entrepreneurial experience as the co-founder of J’s Shotgun Spread and Barbless.co, where he grew digital brands and pioneered the integration of real-time environmental data into consumer products.
Chad holds a BS in Business, Management Information Systems from Cal State Chico and is certified in HubSpot Sales Enablement and Content Marketing. He actively consults on product development and UX strategy, helping companies scale with cutting-edge technologies like AI and UX optimization.
Sedale Turbovsky
CEO opengrants.io
Sedale Turbovsky is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for building solutions in the public sector.
He is the CEO and co-founder of OpenGrants, his fourth venture-backed startup and second in the public sector, which aims to transform the grant funding landscape by making it more accessible, equitable, and transparent. Sedale firmly believes that technology can be used as a powerful tool to democratize access to resources and opportunities, and is passionate about improving government and the citizen experience.
Prior to embarking on his entrepreneurial journey, Sedale worked as a issues management consultant supporting firms working with government and in heavily regulated environments. He has a long history of leading successful teams, raising capital, and building startups. Sedale possesses a number of valuable superpowers which include networking, capital raising, no-code development, and early stage ideation.
Sedale’s passion for solving difficult problems is evident in his work at OpenGrants. He recognizes that grant funding can be a powerful tool to support innovation and economic growth, but also acknowledges that the process of bringing change to the public sector is incredibly challenging. Apart from his work at OpenGrants, Sedale is an investor and advisor to a variety of startups. He is also heavily involved in the growing startup ecosystem in rural Northern California.
Rick Woody
Business Banking Manager, Tri Counties Bank
Rick Woody is Vice President and Business Banking Manager at Tri Counties Bank, the largest community bank in California. Rick oversees small business, business banking, and Government Guaranteed Lending (GGL) loan originations and portfolio management. He has built nationally ranked Small Business Association (SBA) and GGL programs with a specific focus on California businesses.
Rick brings a deep understanding of both conventional and government-enhancement loan programs that can be accessed by startup companies, growing or expanding companies and buying or selling companies.
A career business banker, Rick boasts over 35 years of experience in lending to businesses with national, regional and community banks. His experience lends itself to valuable insights and best practices in accessing capital in the banking industry.
Mark Haney
Moderator – CEO of Haney Biz
Mark Haney is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and media personality who has founded or funded a portfolio of 50+ Sacramento-based companies across various industries including new media, tech, consumer products, real estate, construction, transportation, distribution, and security.
Mark’s accomplishments include successfully exiting a Rocklin, CA based enterprise that maintained hundreds of employees and generated over $200M in annual revenues.
Startup Stories Challenge
Student Lighting Round
Students from around the region competed for the best business idea, bringing their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit to the stage.
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