(Photo by Yifan Zhang)

Nearly 200 entrepreneurs, investors and students attended the SoCal Innovation Forum that covered the trends in IT, entertainment and healthcare in Southern California at the University of California, Irvine last Saturday. 

“Health IT and Entertainment IT are two emerging industries in Southern California, which brings great opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors,” said Wayne Huang, managing director at Ventana Global and vice president of TEEC. 

The one-day event was co-organized by non-profit PlusYoou, Chinese Association for Science and Technology-San Diego (CAST-SD), US-China Association of High-level Professionals (UCAHP), and Tsinghua Entrepreneur & Executive Club (TEEC). 

“The goal of the event is to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern California and bridge resources in Silicon Beach and Silicon Valley,” said Henry Shi, CEO of PlusYoou. 

The forum sparked discussions and thoughts on entrepreneurship, the landscape of the rising Silicon Beach and the opportunities and challenges of China-US investments. 

“Because of China’s five-year plan, we believe we can be a major contributor to the technology and innovation growth of China,” said Thomas O. Gephart, founder and managing partner of Ventana Global. “We see incredible co-operation between the two countries.”

PlusYoou CEO Henry Shi speaks at SoCal Innovation Forum. (Photo by Yifan Zhang)

“We’ll definitely be seeing more Chinese content in Hollywood films, it’s just starting now,” said Janet Yang, president of Janet Yang Productions and president of the Manifest Film Company. “There is such a strong desire on both sides to make it work, and a lot of good minds are being put to use in this area.”

In the closed session of business plan pitches, eight teams presented their ideas and products to angel investors and venture capitalists from Silicon Valley and Southern California. 

“It’s good to see so many young entrepreneurs, thinking new ideas and potentially starting innovated companies, especially in Southern California,” said Alfred Chu, partner of IPV Capital and board of director of Tiandi Energy. “I’m always impressed by entrepreneurs. It takes a lot of guts, hard work, lots of sweat labor with very resources to get anything started.”

Reach Senior Staff Reporter Gracie Zheng here.