Founder's Journey: Tell Your Story

Tell Your Story is the second session in Greater Irvine Chamber’s August Founder's Journey Workshop Series, focused on turning a startup concept into a pitch narrative investors, customers, and collaborators can follow. Thursday, August 20, 2026, 4:00-6:00 PM at the Greater Irvine Chamber, 36 Executive Park, Suite 100. Scott Fox, CEO of OC Startup Council, and Lisa Thomas of Main Street Marketing Partners lead the teaching block on clarity, value proposition, and confidence in the story behind the business. It sits after the August 13 Ideation to Action workshop and before a later systems session; workshops may be attended individually.

Greater Irvine Chamber hosts the series with OC Startup Council as a practical Orange County founder track for aspiring and early-stage builders. Scott Fox brings the startup-council seat; Lisa Thomas brings marketing and narrative craft. Executive Park is chamber programming south of the 405, useful if your network already lives in Irvine rather than Venice or downtown Los Angeles. You do not need to have attended the prior Thursday to get value from the pitch workshop, though stacking both sessions can help if your idea is still early.

Orange County founders who need a sharper story before investor or customer conversations belong in a chamber workshop more than a bar pitch night. Arrive with a one-sentence problem and a clear sense of who you are pitching to. Skip if you want investor demo density, a paid deal-community tasting, or a pan-Asian membership reconnect; those are different rooms. The 4:00-4:30 check-in is the networking window; the rest is workshop. A virtual August 27 systems session closes the series if you want the full Founder's Journey arc.

Pricing matches the series: free for Greater Irvine Chamber members, $10 for OC Startup Council members or presenter clients with verification, and $25 for non-members. Register on the chamber calendar, bring whatever verification the $10 rate requires, and confirm Suite 100 check-in notes before you drive. Non-members should still use the official registration path rather than assuming a walk-up seat at Executive Park.