Sacramento really is becoming one of the top places for start-ups, technological firms and more. not only are they starting there, they are also succeeding and thriving.

One example is the SupportPay CEO and founder, Sheri Atwood who was recently ranked #5 in the “50 Women in Tech Dominating Silicon Valley. ” Her beginnings were humble. She began her journey while assembling an expense report for Symantec. During this she began wondering how it could possibly be used to benefit the problem she was encountering with child support. At that point she left her position at the firm (where she was a Vice President), learned how to code and began developing her app. Within less than 12 months she had her first 100 users and was able to identify the features that were most needed along with an ideal price point.

Very soon, Atwood realized that there were a lot of divorcees who would gladly pay if they could get their childhood affairs automated by a program. Unfortunately, other VC’s with her were doubtful about this so set a standard monthly price of $9.99. This pushed back the program, with funds decreasing. Atwood then realized she needed an investor. Luckily it seemed that at just that point she was in the right place at the right time. Two of Silicon’s most established players Marc Benioff and Tim Draper put up the $100k investment. Since that moment, SupportPay has managed to raise $4m and are now in Sacramento!