Watch Our Startup Pitch Showcase Featuring Diverse and Underrepresented Founders in LA

Annie Burford

Annie Burford is dot.LA's director of events. She's an event marketing pro with over ten years of experience producing innovative corporate events, activations and summits for tech startups to Fortune 500 companies. Annie has produced over 200 programs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City working most recently for a China-based investment bank heading the CEC Capital Tech & Media Summit, formally the Siemer Summit.

Watch Our Startup Pitch Showcase Featuring Diverse and Underrepresented Founders in LA


Bank of America

Unarmed

When Tony Rice II was 17, he was pulled over by the police, who pointed a gun at his head. He said his first reaction was to look over at his younger brother in the passenger's seat, terrified.

Years later, he was pulled over again and this time the officer asked him if he was on parole.

"Unfortunately, situations like this happen too often to people that look like me," Rice, who is Black, said. "And a part of me thinks I'm lucky because others weren't."


Rice told his story about what led him to found a company that developed a platform for government agencies to file and track complaints or compliments about police officers during dot.LA's most recent Startup Pitch Showcase Thursday that highlighted startups that have diverse and underrepresented leaders. Rice was joined by executives from three other startups, Kilo, Gleam Network and StartupStarter.

The startups were offered advice from judges Redonna Carpenter Woods, senior vice president and market executive at Bank of America, Ajay Relan, partner at Slauson & Co. and Camden McRae, co-founder and investor at Industrious Ventures about how to develop their pitch in the hope of getting funding. But the stars of the show was the startups themselves.

Rice said government entities, including police oversight agencies, can use the Unarmed platform on their websites for citizens to file complaints or compliments about police officers. The cases then enter into a dashboard where officials manage the case. Citizens are also able to track their case through the system.

"This is the real deal not just for people that look like you and I, but this is for the safety and wellness for everyone," Carpenter Woods said.

Rice is seeking $500,000 in funding to hire full-time employees.

Kilo

Amanda Bender, founder of Kilo, said it was her experience as a therapist and her relationships with male friends that led her to develop an app for men to track their emotional fitness. While she said the market is flooded with apps that focus on physical fitness, there is a lack of apps focused on mental health for men that speak directly to them.

"We've specifically designed Kilo for its core audience," Bender said. "We've created an app to transform men into happier and healthier humans."

The app, which is still in development, uses nine markers, like sleep, motivation, mood, workout and libido, where a user rates each marker to increase their own self-awareness and to receive personalized insights.

The company is seeking $600,000 in funding to hire full-time staff.

The judges were interested in how Kilo would market to men who might not be open to improving their mental health.

GLEAM Network

GLEAM Network is a nonprofit, volunteer organization that mentors and offers leadership training to underserved communities in the restaurant and foodservice industry.

Founded nine months ago by Sanjiv Razdan, former COO of Sweetgreen, GLEAM has ambitions to scale quickly and grow globally.

"The demand for our services is even greater than we anticipated and what's stopping us from global growth is funding," GLEAM's Rosemary Staltare said.

GLEAM is seeking $150,000 to fund a new technology platform that will help match mentors with mentees. With that money, it hopes to expand the number of mentees it works with to 500.

StartupStarter

Jose Barrera, founder and CEO of StartupStarter, sees opportunity with his social network for startups. All businesses are now internet businesses, he said.

"This is true whether you're trying to launch a mining company or a high-tech startup, the same principles apply that is you have to attract customers, convert customers, pay your employees, basically you have to open your computer, enter the grid," Barerra added.

The network has different membership levels for founders, service providers and investors.

Its goal is to democratize entrepreneurship through efficiency and convenience.

StartupStarter has begun working with startups because there is a single model, however Barrera also sees the business expanding to other verticals like restaurants because every business needs to know how to build a better website, for example.

Barrera is seeking $1.3 million in funding to develop a mobile app to expand to millions of users and to hire marketing staff.

About the Companies:

Unarmed is a technology company serving the public sector. Our mission is to create a safer world for all civilians. Our vision is to be the global leader in civilian-focused solutions. Our subscription-based, software as a service (SaaS) platform consists of an online portal where civilians can prepare, file and track their compliments and complaints ("cases") about law enforcement. Those cases then seamlessly flow into a dashboard, where oversight officials are able to manage the case until it is closed.

StartupStarter is a professional network for startups and the communities that support them. We are a collective of founders, investors, subject matter experts and service providers on a mission to make launching and scaling a successful business accessible to anyone. We're united by the idea that every business is now an internet business, and we strive to give the most user-centric and efficient experience by providing our members with the innovative resources, products, services or connections that best meet their needs.

GLEAM Network is a volunteer network whose purpose is to provide mentorship and leadership development to the underserved and underrepresented community in the restaurant and foodservice industry. With a bold vision to be a truly global and the most effective mentoring network in the industry, our organization provides low / no cost access to all programs, including executive leadership training, 1:1 mentoring and biweekly learning circles helmed by the industry's most inspiring leaders. At GLEAM we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to learn from engaging with others and to build expertise in leading effectively.

Kilo is an app for men who want to be their best selves, an app to track emotional fitness with powerful data like quality of mood, energy, libido, relationships and sleep on a daily basis to unlock actionable insights and cultivate growth in order to improve happiness and mental health. Building better hu[man]s.

About the Judges:

Redonna Carpenter Woods

Redonna Carpenter Woods, senior vice president and market executive at Bank of America

Redonna Carpenter Woods, Senior Vice President & Market Executive at Bank of America​

As the SVP & market executive for the L.A. coastal market of commercial business banking, Redonna leads a team of financial professionals who deliver strategic, integrated financial guidance and solutions to companies with $5 million to $50 million in annual revenue.

Redonna has enjoyed a career in banking that spans over 35 years. She joined Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2011. Prior to that time she held key leadership positions in SBA Lending, Consumer and Commercial Banking.

Redonna is the Executive Sponsor for Greater LA LEAD for Women and Multicultural Women Ready to Lead. She is also a member of the Black Professional Group (BPG), Power of 10, and the Black Executive Leadership Team (BELT). Redonna is an active volunteer in her community and has served in many leadership roles and as a member of several nonprofit boards. A few of these organizations include: The Wellness Community – Valley/Ventura, Moorpark College Foundation, Conejo/Las Virgeness Future Foundation, and United Way of Ventura County, Big Brother/Big Sister - Ventura County and YMCA, Thousand Oaks/Conejo Valley. Redonna is a current board member for Discovery Cube, LA and Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Ajay Relan

Ajay Relan, partner at Slauson & Co.

Ajay Relan, Partner at Slauson & Co.

Ajay is an investor, entrepreneur, and community builder. Prior to Slauson & Co., Ajay was a founding partner at Queensbridge Venture Partners. With a keen focus on brand building and storytelling, Ajay's passion lies in identifying trends and engineering culturally relevant brands.

A lifelong Angeleno, Ajay has established a business portfolio grounded in community. His most recent collaboration, Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen, has become a staple, facilitating productivity and collaboration in diverse neighborhoods across Los Angeles.

In 2012, Ajay founded #HashtagLunchbag, a nonprofit program who's supporting feeding 150-plus cities around the globe. He went on to establish the Living Through Giving Foundation, a platform empowering the creation of programs engaging diverse groups of people to contribute to various causes in their local communities.

Camden McRae

Camden McRae , co-founder and investor at Industrious Ventures

​Camden McRae, Co-Founder and Investor at Industrious Ventures

Camden McRae is a co-founder and investor at Industrious Ventures, an early-stage fund focused on industry transformation. He currently serves on the Executive Committee for BLCK VC, as well as the Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs of Southern California. Camden co-founded a company that led him to become a Fellow at Lightspeed Venture Partners and he later worked as a Fellow at Alchemist Accelerator. Most recently, Camden was a principal at Noname Ventures. He received a BA in psychology from Harvard University and a JD from Stanford Law School.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/annieburford
annie@dot.la
LA Tech Week 2025: Sunday’s Event Lineup

Here's the Sunday, October 19th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

ARTS DISTRICT

3:00 PM

BEL AIR

3:00 PM – 7:00 PM

BURBANK

6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

CULVER CITY

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

4:30 PM – 7:30 PM

INGLEWOOD

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

  • Spinovation: The Future Is Femme, The Future is Frequency: See Details Here
    Sonder Impact, Black Women Spin, Sip & Sonder

KOREATOWN

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

MARINA DEL REY

12:00 PM

  • Sunday Tech Brunch
    Sawubona

MID CITY

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • Women in Cleantech Hike and Network: See Details Here
    Women in Cleantech and Sustainability

SANTA MONICA

9:00 AM

10:00 AM

3:45 PM

4:00 PM – 7:30 PM

  • OFF THE HOOK Santa Monica Seafood Festival: See Details Here
    Spin PR Group, City of Santa Monica, Tech St.

6:00 PM

7:00 PM

  • Pritam: A Musical Legend - Live in Concert: See Details Here
    American South Asian Network

7:00 PM

  • Building AI workflow editor in React with Workflow Builder SDK: See Details Here
    Workflow Builder

7:00 PM

8:00 PM

  • Unlock Apple's Corporate Advantage for your Startup!: See Details Here
    iStore by St. Moritz

TOPANGA CANYON

3:00 PM

  • Dreamore Hike and Picnic: LA Tech Week: *Invite Only*
    Dreamore

VENICE

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

  • Coffee, Walk, and Schmooze: See Details Here
    JFE (Jews For Entrepreneurship) Network

VIRTUAL (LA)

10:00 AM

  • Level Up with LinkedIn: A Student’s Guide to Networking & Opportunities (Virtual Event): See Details Here
    FIMAC

10:00 AM

WEST ADAMS

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Enjoy LA Tech Week 2025!

Download the dot.LA App


LA Tech Week 2025: Saturday’s Event Lineup

Here's the Saturday, October 18th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

BEVERLY HILLS

2:00 PM

CENTURY CITY

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

CULVER CITY

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

1:00 PM

DTLA

7:00 PM

  • {MiniMax x Nakid x SkyPortalx}: TECH/MOTION/MUSIC/ART: See Details Here
    MiniMax (Hailuo AI)

10:00 PM – 2:00 AM

EL SEGUNDO

10:00 AM

  • Venture on the Green: *Invite Only*
    BLCK VC

4:00 PM

INGLEWOOD

7:00 PM

  • Valar Atomics, Durin and Discipulus Ventures - Night With A Nuclear Reactor: See Details Here
    Valar Atomics, Durin, Discipulus Ventures

MARINA DEL REY

8:30 AM

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

5:00 PM

  • LOST iN Sunset Sail: Navigating the Tides of the Creator Economy & Media: See Details Here
    LOST iN

PASADENA

9:00 AM

PLAYA VISTA

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

SANTA MONICA

7:00 AM

9:00 AM

  • Pedal & Network: Tech Cyclists @ LA Tech Week 🚵: See Details Here
    Instafill.ai

9:30 AM

  • Getty Center Guided Tour & (Optional) Photography Scavenger Hunt: See Details Here
    NEW MOON Impact Productions

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

11:00 AM – 2:15 PM

12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

1:30 PM

  • Self-Defense in Court and the Streets: See Details Here
    Santa Monica Striking, Luri Inc.

2:00 PM

  • SMARTUP 500: THE FIRST AT TECH WEEK LA - Launching the world’s first Startup Ranking: See Details Here
    Smart Times

2:00 PM

  • NLPs (No Lame Panels) The Creator X Founder Rooftop Party: See Details Here
    Startup Village, Sanctuary

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

4:00 PM – 6:30 PM

  • Just Do It?: Helping Founders Perform Like Olympians: See Details Here
    Elite Psychology Group

5:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

  • The Future of Hospitality: Poetry, Provenance & Passports: See Details Here
    Villa Kitchen, Airble, We Speak Dance, Techstars San Francisco

7:00 PM

  • 🚀 Investor x Founder Open Mic Pitches: See Details Here
    Feathr, Los Angeles Fun Events

7:00 PM

  • Life is a Pitch - LA Edition: *Invite Only*
    DeepMyst

TOPANGA CANYON

5:00 PM – 8:30 PM

  • Walk&Jam: Use AI to make art while hiking Topanga Canyon: See Details Here
    Formhaus llc, Wonderland Immersive Design

TORRANCE

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

  • Crunches & Conversations Presented by The Differentials and KIS Training Studios: See Details Here
    The Differentials, KIS Training Studios

VENICE

1:00 PM – 4:30 PM

  • Beyond the Language Barrier: Exploring AI's Next Frontier: See Details Here
    Medusa AI

VENICE BEACH

8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

  • SŨRFED Club @ Venice Beach: Founders, Creators, Investors share the waves: See Details Here
    SŨRFED Club, Go Vitamins

WEST ADAMS

9:30 AM – 10:45 AM

  • Funders Shaping Democracy, AI & Media: See Details Here
    New Media Ventures, New Rising Ventures

WEST HOLLYWOOD

4:00 PM

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

9:30 PM

  • Vibe Check Comedy Show, Tech Week Edition! @ Hollywood Improv: See Details Here
    Vibe Check Comedy

For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Enjoy LA Tech Week 2025!

Download the dot.LA App


LA Tech Week 2025: Friday’s Event Lineup

Here's the Friday, October 17th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

ARTS DISTRICT

8:30 AM – 12:00 PM

  • Power Day: Ideas, Pitches, Connections: See Details Here
    Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)

6:00 PM

  • WEB3 GAMING IS DEAD - Happy Hour: See Details Here
    Plassa Capital, Yee-Haw Monster Trucks

BEVERLY HILLS

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

4:00 PM

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

  • So you went viral, Now what? (pt II): See Details Here
    Verci, Study Fetch, TechSpace

8:00 PM

  • Private Pool: GP x LP x FO: *Invite Only*
    Visionlist Commons , Bay Area Innovest

BRENTWOOD

8:00 AM

  • Founders & Investors Hike: See Details Here
    Salehpour Legal, Technology Founders of America

CARSON

11:45 AM

  • Lightspeed x SVB Porsche Experience: *Invite Only*
    Lightspeed Venture Partners, SVB

CULVER CITY

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

11:00 AM

1:00 PM

  • Surf Parks & Wave Pools: From Doja Cat to Mark Zuckerberg: See Details Here
    Surflytics

8:00 PM – 12:00 AM

EL SEGUNDO

11:30 AM – 2:00 PM

5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

HOLLYWOOD

10:00 AM

  • AI, Revenue, and Reality: How Fortune 500s Work With Startups That Ship: See Details Here
    Sunrise AI, OpenTable

12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

  • Unplugged: LA Tech Week Recharge Experience with TAY × Checked Out: See Details Here
    TAY Fitness, Checked Out

9:00 PM

INGLEWOOD

8:00 AM

  • TCSI Presents: Caffeine & Connections: See Details Here
    The Cyber Security Intellects Nonprofit

LONG BEACH

7:00 AM

MALIBU

10:00 AM

  • Great Leaders Podcast & Profiles: See Details Here
    NEW MOON Impact Productions, Origin Studios

12:30 PM

MARINA DEL REY

9:00 AM

  • Keeping Your Freedom as a Founder: Real Talk on Funding: See Details Here
    Lighter Capital

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

  • D-Wave Research Day & Hackathon!: See Details Here
    USC Information Sciences Institute, D-Wave

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

  • The Sky is Not the Limit: All About Aerospace: See Details Here
    Sunstone Management, USC Viterbi Startup Garage

PASADENA

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

11:30 AM – 1:30 PM

  • Deep Tech Entrepreneurship Pillars of Pasadena Tech: See Details Here
    Innovate Pasadena, Pasadena SBDC, City of Pasadena

PLAYA VISTA

9:00 AM

12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

  • Vision to Venture - AI Media Showcase powered by Google AI: See Details Here
    Google

SANTA MONICA

7:00 AM – 8:30 AM

  • Signal Run : RTC x Wildwood VC: See Details Here
    Run Tech Club, Wildwood Ventures

7:30 AM

8:45 AM – 10:45 AM

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • Slash Burn Rates & Scale Your Startup: See Details Here
    Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA)

9:00 AM

  • Driving a Digital Ecology Relay: What is at Stake: See Details Here
    The PORT GLOBAL, GLOBAL PORTAL INSTITUTE

9:30 AM – 11:30 AM

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

  • The Enduring Value of Inclusive Capital: See Details Here
    Founders Registry. Nervana

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

10:30 AM

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

  • Advisors to Investors Lunch: Venture Capital for enterprise leaders: See Details Here
    Collinear Capital, Worlds

12:00 PM

  • Powerhouse Capital & a16z speedrun Investor Lunch Mixer: See Details Here
    Powerhouse Capital, a16z, speedrun

2:00 PM

  • Where Robotics Meets Heart - Embedding Family Values in a Future with AI: See Details Here
    Trove, Puerto Rico Blockchain Association, MindfulBytes

2:00 PM

3:00 PM

3:00 PM

3:00 PM

  • Workshop: Create An Enterprise Chatbot and Unlock the 70% of Data Data You’re Not Using: See Details Here
    Aparavi

4:00 PM

5:00 PM – 10:00 PM

5:30 PM

5:30 PM – 9:30 PM

6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

  • USC Alumni Founders & Investors: See Details Here
    USC Alumni Entrepreneurship Network, Techstars

6:00 PM

  • Social Currency Series/Greenlit presents PitchPop: See Details Here
    Social Currency Series, Greenlit

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

6:30 PM

6:30 PM – 10:00 PM

6:30 PM

  • Lets get the LA Bioeconomy brewing: See Details Here
    Founders, Friends & Fermentation, Saku Biosciences

7:00 PM – 11:30 PM

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

7:00 PM

7:00 PM

  • Liquid Equity 2: The Premiere Gathering for Founders, Creator
    Coeus Collective

7:00 PM

7:00 PM

  • For the Love of Tech | Speed Dating for Tech Professionals: See Details Here
    Feathr, Los Angeles Fun Events

7:00 PM

SOUTH LA

3:00 PM

TORRANCE

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • The Future of Space & Security Panel: See Details Here
    Northwood Space, Anduril Industries, Impulse Space, Astranis

VENICE

9:00 AM – 10:45 AM

9:00 AM – 11:30 AM

11:00 AM

11:30 AM – 2:30 PM

12:30 PM

  • Creative Partners: Human + AI Storytelling: See Details Here
    Othelia, Primordial Soup

2:00 PM – 3:45 PM

5:00 PM

  • EarthHouse: Critical Minerals, Mobility & Modern Power: See Details Here
    The Strategye Group, Alpha Sierra One

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

6:00 PM

  • Pizza+Soda: *Invite Only*
    Schmoozd , The KINN

7:00 PM

VENICE BEACH

2:00 PM – 6:30 PM

5:00 PM

8:30 PM – 2:00 AM

VIRTUAL (LA)

2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

3:00 PM

  • Government of Alberta: ProcurementAsCode // Done in 60 Seconds: See Details Here
    Government of Alberta

4:00 PM

  • Stop Hitting Yourself 🥊: See Details Here
    Stop Hitting Yourself, HOWDY, Company Policy, Snowbird Global

WEST HOLLYWOOD

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

6:00 PM

WESTSIDE

5:00 PM

5:30 PM – 8:30 PM


For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Enjoy LA Tech Week 2025!

Download the dot.LA App


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