Arta Finance (formerly Arbo Works)

Joined Arta Finance via the acquisition of Money Minx to be part of the founding product team.

Founding Team | Product

Startup Beach

Hosting startup events in San Diego and enabling event hosts to use a matchmaking algorithm to make sure they attendees always come out with at least two new business connections.

Founder

Techstars

Mentor

GPT Hacks

GPT Hacks is my weekly newsletter, where I share tips, resources, and deep dives on how to leverage AI to grow and streamline your business. Over 9,400 startup founders and entrepreneurs get my AI tips, join them 👉 https://www.gpthacks.com/subscribe.

Money Minx

Founded Money Minx to help investors track all of their Investments, Alts, Crypto, and more in one place. Exited to Arta Finance

eCapital Corp.

eCapital is an industry leader in the freight factoring space. We service and help keep thousands of truckings companies stay on the road moving freight that makes our every day lives possible. 
As CIO and Head of Strategic Initiatives I am responsible for all things IT and Technology used by our employees, customers and partners.

CIO and Head of Strategic Initiatives

My team delivers the simplest factoring experience to the transportation industry, from owner operators to large fleets. We do this through the technology and products we build combined with customer-focused service.

Chief Experience Officer (CXO)

Responsible for the product and technology vision, roadmap and development of the company.

VP Product & Technology / CTO

appsplit

- Founded AppSplit: Positioned as one of the earliest crowdfunding platforms, timed to take advantage of the beginnings of the AppStore and Google Play.

- Innovative Mechanism: Created a network for developers to offer discounts, ownership, and rewards to investors interested in app ownership.

- Media Coverage: Featured in leading tech and fintech publications like TechCrunch and The Next Web.

- Successful Exit: Led the company to a successful acquisition by an investment group.

DiamPrice

- Launched DiamPrice: Developed the industry's first mobile app dedicated to the evaluation of loose diamonds, as well as gold, silver, and platinum jewelry.
- Target Audience: Primarily designed for industry professionals seeking accurate, real-time appraisals.
- Market Disruption: Introduced a first-of-its-kind tool that revolutionized the traditional appraisal process, offering a digital solution in a predominantly manual industry.
- Successful Exit: Sold the business to a private equity group.

OneRoof Energy, Inc.

LPL Financial

Managed team of project managers, established project management best practices and lead delivery of large projects.

Assistant Vice President Program Management

Developed test strategies and lead teams of QA engineers on projects.

Lead QA Engineer

Developed requirements and research for products.

Senior Product Analyst

Stuff I am currently focused on:

#1 Bring new financial advisory products to market at Arta Finance. 

#2 Build a startup ecosystem in San Diego via Startup Beach and mentoring for TechStars San Diego & Anywhere. 

#3 Help others with AI via GPT Hacks. 

#4 Help my youngest develop his soccer skills, my second work on her basketball game and my oldest shine like his sax.

#5 Spend more time with my awesome wife doing fun things in San Diego and around the world.

Hussein Yahfoufi

Stoked for two things... and a bonus!

First, my good friend Ryan Berman packed out Barnes & Noble, Inc. last night and sold out his new book Headamentals.

Second, this was the first book signing hosted on Eventship. Excited to see more authors, creators, and communities using the platform for events like this.

And on a personal note, my amazing wife Jessica Yahfoufi is getting close to releasing her new novel. Stay tuned for that launch party! 💃

Founder, Eventship • Helping event hosts grow everywhere • Host of San Diego’s Startup Mixer

We are going to be live!

Join me, Jonah Peake 🐺 and Neal Bloom🎩 for a live recorded discussion about scaling how we help the community connect with each other and making intros that move the needle. 

You might just make it as a guest on Neal’s Tacos and Tech podcast!

Open article: Scaling Connection: Turning Networking Into a Parallel Sport by eventship.com

Scaling Connection: Turning Networking Into a Parallel Sport

What do you get when you have 200 incredible founders, investors and people working hard to help us all grow at the same place and at the same time?

Great connections, business deals, investments, new jobs and a great ol' time. Especially when you also add in our authentic tacos made by hand on site courtesy of Isaac Pollock, CFP® and Robert Goodyear.

See you there!

Emily Kramer's ecosystem strategy in today's Lenny's Newsletter is brilliant, but I have a different take on one point which is worth unpacking.


You don't get tired of events the same way you do as flooded email inboxes if the events are done right. The problem isn’t too many events, it’s too many of the wrong ones.

With over one thousand events behind me, I can tell you what makes a great event and how events are actually a growth node in your ecosystem flywheel not something people get tired from.

1. Events have to be from trusted hosts (think innovation hubs, accelerators, community leaders, founders, etc).

2. The right people have to be at the event, the attendee list must be curated and focused on the right groups for that event.

3. Sponsors of the event must be true ecosystem partners, not just logos on a wall. e.g. Isaac Pollock, CFP® is the taco guy for my mixer, not just our banker. He is part of the community and cares about it.

4. The event must be designed for connection, not attendance. This is what Neal Bloom🎩, Jonah Peake 🐺 and I talked about in our LinkedIn Live last week. It's also the reason why Eventship invests heavily in our matchmaking AI.

When you get those right, events aren’t fatiguing or tiring. They’re energizing. They are the ecosystem.

When you attend the right event, meet the right person, and the right sponsor supports it, that event becomes a node that strengthens the whole network.

Hussein Yahfoufi’s North County Startup Mixer — every month keeps getting better and better. 😎

Thank you to this month’s sponsors!!!
Isaac Pollock, CFP® 
Kimberly Drozdoff 
Emily D. 
Tyler Hastings 

See you next month 😎

Neal Bloom

Systems Engineer/Product Manager (Acquired)

Interlock Capital

The Power of Our Network of founders, investors, and subject matter experts FIND, EVALUATE, FUND, and SUPPORT the best companies. This increases our odds of success. You can invest with us, through our venture fund or deal-by-deal in our angel investor syndicate.

Managing Partner

Rising Tide Partners

Strategy consulting. We help for profits, non-profits, and governments reach their 'customer' through unique campaign strategies.

Upcycle and Company

Sustainable soil and fertilizer
Representing NuFund Venture Group on the board and an investor/advisor since 2020

Board Member

Fresh Brewed Tech

Building innovative communities through blogs, podcasts, events, and all other forms of media.

FreshBrewedTech.com for San Diego tech news 
FreshSqueezedTech.com for Orange County tech news
FreshCoastTech.com for Santa Barbara & Central Coast tech news

Have a tip, announcement, or interested in sponsoring? 
Email techos@freshbrewedtech.com

Hired, Inc.

Hired is a two sided marketplace for the best tech talent.

- I focused on new geographic expansion, strategic business development, and marketing/brand strategy.

Strategic Marketing Manager - DemandGen (Acquired)

Portfolium (Acquired by Instructure)

Co-founded an education technology company in the enterprise talent acquisition and higher education learning management system and outcomes space. Led K-12 & university sales and implementation

An EvoNexus incubator portfolio company

Co-Founder, Board Director

Aerojet Rocketdyne

- Product manager for large-scale rocket engine manufacturing, testing, and launching of engineered systems.
- Manager of integration between between contract owner-NASA, field sites, suppliers, and contract leads Boeing & USA Space.  
- Data analysis and anomaly lead for space shuttle main engine tests and launches.

Pratt & Whitney is a subsidiary of Fortune 50 United Technologies (UTC)

BAE Systems

- Implemented mechanical, test, and electrical engineering on multiple projects simultaneously on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
- Successfully completed and presented projects to the US Army TACOM which led to a contract for new field products.
- Developed a new product through rapid prototyping for a concept vehicle to be shown at the AUSA Show in Washington, D.C.
- Utilized project management experience to communicate between shop workers, planners, designers, and engineering managers.

Mechanical Engineer Intern

If we haven't met yet, personalize your LinkedIn invite.

With over 15 years of experience in the tech sector, I am passionate about investing in and supporting innovative companies that impact communities and solve real-world problems. As a Managing Partner at Interlock Capital, I help find, evaluate, fund, and support the best technology companies through our venture fund and angel investor syndicate.

I also leverage my entrepreneurial background and media expertise to create and grow tech ecosystems in Southern California. I am the CEO of Rising Tide Partners, a strategic consultancy that helps governments and special districts communicate through community building and public outreach. 

Fresh Brewed Tech is a tech news community that covers the latest trends, events, and stories in tech ecosystems. The Tacos and Tech Podcast publishes 1-2 episodes per week about exactly what it sounds like.

Previously, I co-founded Portfolium, an online portfolio platform that connects students and professionals with employers, which was acquired by Instructure in 2019. I helped Hired.com and other education tech and talent tech platforms scale to impact millions of job seekers.
I also worked as a systems engineer and product manager at Pratt & Whitney/Aerojet Rocketdyne, where I launched 84 astronauts into space while working on the Space Shuttle program and the future Artemis program.

I hold an MBA from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UC San Diego.

I am always looking for new opportunities to connect, collaborate, and learn from other investors, entrepreneurs, and leaders in communities. If you are interested in investing with us, joining our community, or sharing your story, please reach out to me with a personal message. I look forward to hearing from you.

Our community of founders, investors, and subject matter experts FIND, EVALUATE, FUND, and SUPPORT the best companies. This increases our odds of success. You can invest with us, through our venture fund or deal-by-deal in our angel investor syndicate.

Neal Bloom🎩

It's SD Founder Hike week this Friday! Come join us for our hike of local founders connecting and cleaning our beach.
Tribe Coffee Culture also will be on hand for some liquid love too! 

https://lnkd.in/gqthgJWk

Investing in community. Building the future. Rising the tide.

Yesterday, Jonah Peake 🐺 , Hussein Yahfoufi, and I teamed up to host something special -
Scaling Connection: Turning Networking into a Parallel Sport.

We’ve all seen how powerful it can be when a community doesn’t just network, but connects with intention — when one intro sparks a ripple of collaboration, trust, and momentum across an ecosystem.

During the session, we explored:
💡 What makes a great connection - quality and context over quantity
⚙️ How to prepare before an event, connect with purpose during, and follow up after
🌊 How to scale connecting beyond a few “super connectors” so it becomes a community-wide skill

The conversation was electric - full of stories, frameworks, and shared energy from founders, event organizers, and ecosystem builders.

If you missed it, the recording and recap are now live:

https://lnkd.in/gh9QpYM9

taplio

The Battle

Hussein Yahfoufi

Neal Bloom🎩

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreHussein Yahfoufi's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreNeal Bloom🎩's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Hussein Yahfoufi

Neal Bloom🎩

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Hussein Yahfoufi's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreNeal Bloom🎩's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreHussein Yahfoufi's LinkedIn Performance