OC500 2025: Letter From the Publisher

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Letter From the Editor: How To Join The OC500

It’s now my second year overseeing our editorial department’s selection of the OC500. I can say without a doubt that every member on this year’s list deserves the accolades.  

One thing you can be sure about members of the OC500—they are familiar names to our readers, who have read about them over the years in the Business Journal.  

For example, we’ve told the story about how Tim Nguyen, who grew up in a refugee camp after his family fled Vietnam, co-founded MeridianLink, which was recently sold for $2 billion. Gavin Herbert, founder of Allergan, which made Botox world famous, told everyone in a Leader Board published in January the secret to his success: hiring the best talent. We’ve told you how Vinny Smith, who runs the largest venture capital fund in Orange County, is investing more than $500 million to ride what he considers the wave of the future: surf parks.  

Yes, we enjoy puns at this publication, where we emphasize the “holy cow” nature of fascinating OC business stories and ban smarminess that you’ll find in other publications. We hope you’ll find nuggets of information about OC companies in every issue.  

People often ask how to get themselves or their bosses into the Business Journal’s annual list of the 500 most influential in Orange County.  

To start with, I paraphrase what legendary Bond King Bill Gross wrote in a Leader Board for us last year about the advice he received from a 75-year-old neighbor when he was trying to meet women for a date.  

“Bill, you first have to say hello,” advised his neighbor.  

So, say hello! 

If we don’t know you or your company, your chances of getting onto the list have significantly decreased. 

Tell us news about your company. We’re interested in CEO changes, sales increases (or decreases), acquisitions, divestitures, building purchases and innovations.  

Return our phone calls. If I hear a PR person telling our reporters that the executive is too busy, well then, we’re too busy to include them in the OC500. 

I know one company owner who sold his firm and granted only one interview—not to us. Happy to say, I cannot remember who that owner is. 

Give us tips on other newsmakers. If you recommend another business, you have vetted that company, and we appreciate the tip. 

Appearance on the list every year isn’t a given. Talk to us every year.  

Pay attention to our publication. I often receive phone calls for pitches from executives and companies. I ask the person pitching, usually a PR person, if the executive reads our publication.  

“I’m sure he/she does” isn’t a satisfactory answer. The executive must be an avid reader. A person who doesn’t read it is just looking for publicity on the cheap.  

And the PR person also must read our publication. When I hear an excuse like it’s behind a pay wall, I think, “This PR company is being paid thousands of dollars to pitch us and cannot afford a subscription? Does their client know how ill-prepared they are?”  

One of my techniques for spotting someone who’s “all talk” is to ask which recent OCBJ articles they’ve read. If they hem and haw, saying it’s been a few weeks and cannot come up with one, that person’s pitch just went down the drain.  

Another tip: those on the list without a “quotable” in your bio means we haven’t spoken to you lately; we’d like to hear from you because you are on the bubble and might not make next year’s list.  

Also, I’ve read many responses throughout this book from OC500 themselves about their most significant accomplishments and favorite books. The number of OC500 members paying attention to AI is staggering. By submitting your responses, I know you are in tune with the Orange County business community.  

If you’ve read this far, you’ll have an edge on getting into the OC500. 

To reach me, you can find my email on the penultimate page of each weekly Business Journal. 

I would say good luck. But to paraphrase Mae West, it takes more than luck to get into the OC500. 

In Memoriam:  

Parimal M. Rohit, our real estate reporter, sadly passed away at the age of 48 from a heart attack in October. 

While he worked at the Business Journal for only a year, he left a vivid impression. He loved life and being a reporter. In our special article about him in our Oct. 13 issue, our Research Director Desmond Celo put it well:

“He gave me one piece of advice that I will cherish for the rest of my life. He said, “The money, the success, the fortune and the fancy things you have do not mean anything. What matters is the way you treat others, giving love to those who need it and being there for your family, friends and loved ones.” 

RIP, my friend.  

Peter J. Brennan, Editor-in-Chief