Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, OCT 8 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.
Events
Show up, meet the people building the same hard thing.
Everything we run is open to the county's hard tech community. Most of it is free.
Monthly
Robotics & Hard Tech Founders Meetup
An informal monthly gathering of founders, engineers, and researchers working on physical products. Short demos, real problems, no pitch deck required.
Idea Fab Labs makerspace, the Wrigley Building, 2801 Mission Street, Santa Cruz
See meetup dates2026 series
Sector trainings
Working sessions on the parts of hard tech that are genuinely different, regulatory pathways, manufacturing readiness, non-dilutive funding, and technical commercialization. A biotech commercialization session is scheduled for 2026.
See trainingsCalendar
Upcoming
Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, NOV 12 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.
Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, DEC 10 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.
Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, JAN 14 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.
Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, FEB 11 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.
Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, MAR 11 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.
Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, APR 8 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.
Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, MAY 13 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.
Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, JUN 10 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.
Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, JUL 8 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.
Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, AUG 12 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.
Also available
General business training from the SBDC
Everything above is hard tech. The SBDC also runs a much wider programme for every kind of small business in the county, bookkeeping, marketing, hiring, licensing, AI tools, business plans. Not hardware-specific, but free, and often exactly what you need at the point you need it.
These are run by the Santa Cruz SBDC rather than by us, so the schedule lives on their site and stays current there. Same funding, same advisors, no cost.
Archive
Past events
Pitch / Demo DayFree for Norcal SBDC clients
SF Tech Week & TechCrunch Week Amplify: Pitch to Investors
Tue, SEP 22 · 9:00 AM PT
Online, then San Francisco and Palo Alto
A free SBDC pitch program, run with Enrichers and led locally by Santa Cruz SBDC advisor Sebastien Torre. Four online “Perfect Your Pitch” sessions, then pitch to investors in San Francisco and Palo Alto. Applications close September 21.
TrainingFree
Nucleate Venture Fellows Showcase
Mon, SEP 21 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Bakar Labs, UC Berkeley
Nucleate Venture Fellows from UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley present their landscaping of startups across the UC system. Free, open to students, faculty, founders, investors and guests, with a networking reception.
TrainingFree
TFG 4-Part Founder Series
Thu, SEP 17 · 12:00 PM PT
Online
99% of startups never raise venture funding. A good idea and a smart team usually aren't enough. This four-part series covers the essential work to complete before you start raising, customer validation, the path to MVP, SBIR/STTR funding, and go-to-market strategy.
Founders MeetupFree
HardTech & Robotics Founders Meetup
Thu, SEP 10 · 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PT
Idea Fab Labs
Monthly working session for people building physical things. Bring the prototype, the problem, or both.