Online Event

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Speaker bio’s

Carmen Palafox | 2045 Ventures

2045 Ventures-PCH is a pre-seed fund backing frontier technology founders across Southern California. We invest in deeptech, critical resources, and bioeconomy companies emerging from the region’s universities, research institutions, and operator networks. Our team brings experience in public markets, startup operations, and venture investing from SAP.iO, SpaceX, Kubera Ventures, and MiLA Capital.

Steven Sarfati | Tech Coast Angels

Steven Sarfati is a strategic sales and marketing executive and entrepreneur with 30+ years of experience, based in Los Angeles. He is associated with Tech Coast Angels (now TCA Venture Group), one of the largest and most active U.S. angel networks, which invests in early-stage companies across Southern California and provides mentoring and capital to founders.

Howard Ko | Morpheus Ventures

Howard is a Partner at Morpheus Ventures, a Los Angeles early-stage technology VC firm. He serves as Board Director of Pulse Space, Applied Atomics, and Ingenious.Build, and Board Observer at xLight, Morpheus Space, and Rugged Robotics. Previously at Mission Ventures, he focused on software, wireless, and semiconductors. At Salomon Smith Barney, he worked on over $3B in financings and M&A.

David Mandel | Emerging Ventures Capital

David Mandel is Managing Partner of Emerging Ventures Capital, investing $100k–$500k in seed-stage, capital-efficient B2B tech startups. A former “super angel” with 500+ personal investments, he built and exited four insurance/finance businesses over 28 years using systems thinking and math expertise. He is active in angel groups, frequently judges pitch events, and focuses on execution-driven founders.