A Note From Rocco Pendola About 'TheBeach Meets TheStreet'

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Of all the spaces I follow, I focus, almost primarily, on tech, Internet, the intersection of old and new media, which begets social media, and retail, particularly as it pertains to the above-mentioned areas.

I cover these sectors because I find them most exciting.

There's a related area that doesn't get enough coverage: The startup scene. While some of what the media produces (e.g., CNBC's "Squawk on the Verge") hits the right spot, most of it doesn't do much for me. That doesn't mean it's not "good" or otherwise valuable; it's just not what I am looking for as a reader.

That's why we're doing "TheBeach Meets TheStreet." To fill that void.

Seventy-five percent of TheBeach will consist of interviews with startup founders and CEOs.

While we'll focus on Silicon Beach in Southern California, we'll venture elsewhere occasionally. In fact, the first episode, which airs Tuesday, Feb. 12, originates from the Oakland, Calif. headquarters of Pandora (P) Internet Radio, where I will discuss entrepreneurship, leadership and startup culture with co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Tim Westergren.

About a quarter of what we do will include names such as Westergren. In fact, we have other huge names lined up -- as well as promising irons in the fire -- for 2013.

No matter who we're talking to, we will attempt to humanize them, asking the questions that get into the process of launching and "being" a startup. We'll dig into what motivates a person to be a serial entrepreneur.

This clip from the segment we taped with Capsule co-founder and CEO Cyrus Farudi captures what we're going after:

I will do my best to not refer to what we do on TheBeach as an "interview," because that's not what it is. It's a casual conversation that any one of us could have if we set up a meeting with Farudi or Westergren or ran into one of them at a bar.

And we're not putting up any fronts. Jibing with the natural instinct of many of my guests, I will dress down for TheBeach. We're using iPhones, iPads and FlipCams to shoot and iMovie to edit. We're sitting around a table talking about startups. No frills. There's no need for any. This isn't 1999.

And, when I refer to "we," I mean me and Manoj Rao of Media 11:11. The idea was Manoj's. We developed it together.

TheStreet has a YouTube page set up where you can see all of my videos, including these weekly hits focusing on the startup scene.

If you run a startup that has secured angel or venture funding, feel free to contact me on Twitter -- @Rocco_TheStreet -- to see if you would make a good fit for the show.

Follow @rocco_thestreet

--Written by Rocco Pendola in Santa Monica, Calif.

Rocco Pendola is TheStreet's Director of Social Media. Pendola's daily contributions to TheStreet frequently appear on CNBC and at various top online properties, such as Forbes.