After 20 years of building entrepreneurial ventures I have had no choice but to be a devout optimist.  Over this period I have personally been involved in over a dozen start-up ventures with two-thirds of those under the umbrella of Momentum Venture Management ( www.mvmpartners.com ), the early stage venture fund/accelerator I started 6 years ago with Matt Ridenour. I think right now it is undeniable that we are facing an extraordinary pull back across the Entrepreneurial Optimism After The challenges are overwhelming, the naysayers abound but we as entrepreneurs

Join Miramar Ventures' Bruce Hallett, Guy Kawasaki and me at VC in the OC, Oct 8th at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach. It's your last chance to register for VentureNet, Oct 7th at the Westin South Coast Plaza . Was he rooting for McCain/Palin when he named his angel group Maverick? If I had this interview to do over, I'd ask, but we do cover all things related to angel investing in Southern California, especially its newest angel group, the Maverick Angels .

One of the better opportunities here for companies to approach investors, VentureNet , recently opened up applications for the event, and it’s well worth a look by any aspiring startups looking for funding. The deadline for the event is September 11th; past participants–even those who weren’t selected to present–have told me that the best part of the event is the screening and presentation process, which is run by pretty much every major and minor VC in Southern California. The event, which is put on by the Technology Council of Southern California, allows companies to pitch what they’re doing to a panel and audience of investors.