California Bulletin #54
California’s ERTC Crackdown Has Begun
#SPOTLIGHT
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AI Workforces Are Already Here—and California Is the Test Lab
California startups are quietly replacing up to 30% of internal processes with AI agents. It’s not just customer support bots—think internal tools automating product QA, marketing ops, and even cold outreach.
One SF-based fintech just reduced their GTM team from 9 to 4 after deploying a GPT-4-tuned internal growth agent. Another DTC health brand in Venice now runs weekly ad optimizations with no human in the loop.
If you’re not already testing AI to offload work, you’re burning time and budget. The edge isn’t just about who builds AI tools—it’s about who uses them first and smartest.
→ Consider this your green light: review the repetitive work your team does and test one internal agent for it this week.
🚨Red Flag Alert
California’s ERTC Crackdown Has Begun
The California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) has joined the IRS in cracking down on questionable Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) claims. On April 15, the FTB released new audit protocols aligned with IRS guidance—targeting businesses that worked with aggressive “credit mills.”
If you claimed the ERTC, especially via a third-party advisor, double-check your eligibility and documentation now. The IRS has already initiated over 12,000 audits nationally, and California businesses are squarely in the spotlight.
⚠️ Pro Tip: Founders should prepare for audits even if you didn’t intentionally overclaim. A legitimate credit with bad documentation could still land you penalties.
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📂 Founder Resource
The Right Way to Fire Bad Clients Without Burning Bridges
Letting go of a high-maintenance or late-paying client? This article from Harvard Business Review walks through the psychology, scripts, and timing to make client breakups smooth—and sometimes even turn them into referrals.
🔗 Read it here → How to End Client Relationships Gracefully
Data Drop / Opportunity Signal
California’s Small Business Grant Surge: $180M Now Active
Several city and county-level COVID recovery and workforce grants are quietly re-opening with updated eligibility:
Los Angeles County: Relaunched Economic Opportunity Grants—up to $25K for businesses with <20 employees. Deadline: May 8
Oakland: New Resilient Business Fund accepting applications this week for storefront-based businesses
Rural CA: California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) quietly issued new funding for underserved regions—$5K–$15K grants, rolling deadlines
→ Want us to track these weekly and deliver them in one place? That’s what our Grant Navigator Sheet does for Premium members.
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