Founder & Executive Director, Startup Ventura

Luke Erickson

I help people turn an early idea into something real. Most days that means sitting with founders, asking sharper questions, and clearing whatever stands in the way.

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Luke Erickson, founder and executive director of Startup Ventura
Available for advising
2025Founded Startup Ventura
$3B+Board exit value assembled
10+Years building & selling
Along the way
Luke Erickson
About

Building in the open, for people at the very start.

I grew up in Hudson, Wisconsin, where I learned early what it looks like to build something and stand behind it. I went west for school, studied business management at the University of Utah, and kept getting pulled toward the same thing: helping new ventures get off the ground.

I founded and ran One Tap, a digital financial-literacy startup, before turning my focus to Startup Ventura — a nonprofit accelerator giving early founders in Ventura County a real place to begin. A community, a room to think out loud, and people who have done it before. The hard part is rarely the idea. It is momentum, honesty, and showing up. That is the part I care about most.

Venture building Founder mentorship Community Public speaking
Read my full story
Experience

A few things I have built and led.

  1. Founder & Executive Director

    Mar 2025 — Present
    Startup Ventura · Ventura, California

    Founded a nonprofit startup accelerator for Ventura County, built in partnership with the national accelerator gener8tor. I set the strategy, stood up the programming, and assembled a board of operators whose companies carry billions in combined exit value — all to give early founders a real place to begin.

    NonprofitAccelerator

  2. Founder & Chief Executive Officer

    2022 — Mar 2025
    One Tap Inc. · Los Angeles, California

    Founded and led a digital financial-literacy platform from idea to a working business. I owned product direction, partnerships, and growth, and signed the early contracts and relationships that gave the company its footing.

    FounderFintech

  3. Account Executive & Sr. Business Development

    Nov 2024 — Mar 2026
    Popl · Ventura, California

    Sold into senior, multi-stakeholder accounts and helped scale the business-development org, roughly doubling the team through hiring and hands-on coaching. Generated $3.5M+ in qualified pipeline, closed $1M+, and repeatedly ranked the top individual contributor — including a record 81 booked demos in a single month.

    Go-to-marketSales leadership
View the full résumé
In the arena

A few moments along the way.

Luke Erickson at Nasdaq, Times Square
Popl's global rebrand · Nasdaq, Times Square
Luke Erickson with Grant Cardone
With Grant Cardone
Luke Erickson speaking
On the mic
Luke Erickson at a New West Symphony gala
New West Symphony gala
Luke Erickson at LA Tech Week
Forbes 30 Under 30 · LA Tech Week
Luke Erickson on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
On Capitol Hill · Washington, D.C.
Luke Erickson at CES, Las Vegas
CES · Las Vegas
Luke Erickson at the Leadership Institute, Washington, D.C.
Leadership Institute · Washington, D.C.
Luke Erickson at Rotary Club of Ventura
Rookie Rotarian of the Year · 2025
Luke Erickson outdoors
Off the clock
Luke Erickson at SpaceX, Hawthorne
SpaceX · Hawthorne
Luke Erickson at a Spartan Race, Angel Stadium
Spartan Race · Angel Stadium
Get in touch

Tell me what you are building.

I read every note. If you are starting something in Ventura County or beyond, I would love to hear about it.