SoCal Startup Week: Horizon @ UCLA (Consumer x Deeptech)
Southern California is home to some of the best student engineers, designers, and operators in the country — with many top startups emerging directly from its universities. The region is quickly becoming a hub for what’s next.
Horizon is where this momentum comes to life.
Join us for an afternoon of honest conversations and high-density connection with VCs, breakout operators, and the most talented builders from UCLA, USC, UCI, Caltech, LMU, UCSD, and beyond.
Whether you're deep in the trenches of building something new—or just starting to explore the world of startups—Horizon is designed to inspire and connect you.
You’ll also have the option to be considered for referrals to startup roles (at companies backed by top firms and collectively raising $100M+), funding opportunities, and warm intros through our partner network.
If you’re interested, please indicate so when you register and include as much detail as possible about your background to help us connect you to the most relevant opportunities.
12:30 PM – 1:00 PM | Check-In + Introduction Ceremony
Please plan to arrive by 12:30 PM for check in. We'll be kicking things off right at the top of the hour with opening remarks, speaker intros, and an overview of how to get the most out of Horizon.
This is also a great opportunity to meet other attendees before programming begins and grab a good seat.
🧠 1–2 PM | Deeptech Chat
Matt Kozlov — Managing Director Emeritus at Techstars
Matt has led three of the top venture accelerators in the country: Techstars LA (with JPMorgan), Techstars Healthcare (with Cedars-Sinai, UnitedHealthcare, UCI Health), and Techstars Space (with the U.S. Space Force and NASA JPL). Companies from his cohorts have raised $1B+ with a collective market cap over $15B, including Pixxel, Orbit Fab, and AppliedVR.
In this session, Matt will share how to build at the edge of science, what matters in deeptech fundraising, and how he evaluates founders pushing into hard markets.
🔥 2–3 PM | Consumer Fireside
Lester Chen — Partner at a16z, Creator Lead for Speedrun & Games
Warren Shaeffer — Partner at Pear VC, 3x consumer exits
Lester is the former Head of Gaming at YouTube, where he led one of its largest content categories and helped launch major monetization tools like Shorts, Memberships, and Superchats. Now as a partner Andreessen Horowitz, he focuses on the creator economy and next-gen platforms.
Warren is a 3x founder and now a Partner at Pear VC, where he leads consumer investments and PearX. He previously co-founded Vidme (30M+ users, acquired by Giphy) and Knowable (acquired by Medium), and was an early-stage scout for a16z.
This session will unpack what makes breakout consumer products work—and how today’s creators, platforms, and product thinkers are building what’s next.
🚀 3–4 PM | Builder Showcase
A curated exhibition of SoCal’s most promising student-founded startups.
This year’s Builder Showcase features select startups actively built by students from across the region. If you're building something bold—or want to showcase your past work in front of investors from a16z, Pear VC, Techstars, and others—you’ll have a chance to apply via our RSVP form.
Top submissions will be shared directly with our partners for potential funding, mentorship, intros and follow-ups.
Expect:
5-minute pitches + 3-minute live Q&A
VC exposure both in-room and through follow-up
A chance to represent your school as one of SoCal’s top student builders
You’ll also be able sharing what you're builder/have built, your bottlenecks, and your dream asks to receive tailored support.
Horizon is an open invite to any student excited about startups, for engineers, founders, designers, product thinkers, storytellers, and beyond. Whether you're here to learn, connect, or showcase your work, Horizon is your place.
You’ll be joining a room filled with startup recruiters, investors, and builders who are all looking to meet the next generation of standout SoCal talent.