The heat and waves aren’t the only things making headlines in San Diego this summer. A group of student entrepreneurs from UC San Diego and CSU Northridge are making their own waves with the formation of a $25 million fund to invest in both public and private companies. Triton Funds , whose advisory board includes alumni and faculty, is primarily focused on education for current students with a millennial outlook on technology and finance. Operating under the slogan “Millennial...

By Neal Bloom Going through an accelerator for mentorship and funding is an important piece of the startup ecosystem, including capital, exits, funding, and talent. We have recently seen the birth of a few new San Diego-based accelerators. And for definition's sake, we talk about accelerators as a physical place that invests cash for equity and sets a specific time period to assist in mentorship and growth. Nex Cubed ·     Trials.ai - Fall...

With San Diego Startup Week still in our rearview mirror, the organization has been working on fostering this celebration of local entrepreneurship all year. I am very excited to announce that Jarrod Russell has accepted Startup San Diego’s offer to become Executive Director to lead our year-round efforts in helping more founders take the leap and build solid San Diego tech companies. Please send Jarrod a note of congratulations here and let him know how you want to help boost our...

The heat and waves aren’t the only things making headlines in San Diego this summer. A group of student entrepreneurs from UC San Diego and CSU Northridge are making their own waves with the formation of a $25 million fund to invest in both public and private companies. Triton Funds , whose advisory board includes alumni and faculty, is primarily focused on education for current students with a millennial outlook on technology and finance. Operating under the slogan “Millennial...

We would like to dedicate this issue to Bruce Bigelow , who recently passed after a brief illness. He was a stellar journalist and a champion of the local tech and science community with a flair for a good story. Bruce’s longstanding coverage of the San Diego tech ecosystem was unparalleled, and his recent thesis of Big Bio Meets Big Data will be his legacy in identifying what San Diego will be known for going forward. The Xconomy team has created a place to share memories and we...

San Diego tech companies have a long history of putting their heads down and building successful and innovative companies. Our newsletter, The Local Buzz, will highlight the amazing companies that have planted roots in San Diego, and how they have built a strong and supportive ecosystem around themselves. Please join us as we embark on showcasing what it’s like to build great tech companies in paradise (that, and tacos). We look forward to working with our eclectic tech community in...

If you missed Part 1, Click Here! The flywheel of a startup ecosystem gets moving when entrepreneurs & their companies succeed and put their successes back into the community through capital, experienced talent, and start new companies. San Diego has strong momentum with all of the acquisitions that have happened over the last year. Sample of Tech Exits (most acquisition prices were not disclosed) ·     Venovate/Keystone Capital - Acquired by Coinbase in June 2018 · ...

As we have been discussing recently, advancements in local capital, acquisitions, and funded companies are driving the tech ecosystem momentum in San Diego. Another ingredient is the availability and access to relevant talent. San Diego has a large tech workforce, highlighted in the 2016 Software Study by the EDC & Michael Combs including over 40,000 software-related jobs. UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering is the largest engineering school on the west coast by enrollment and...

As we saw in Parts One & Two, momentum is building in the San Diego community as new venture capital firms bring capital to the region and experienced entrepreneurs and their companies have successful exits. Our next point of study is the acceleration of capital raises in early and late stage rounds. San Diego companies are raising capital both locally and throughout the country from top venture firms. Below is a sample of both early & late stage funding rounds for tech...

Beyond our great weather & lifestyle, San Diego tech companies have a lot to be excited about. I am so pumped on the momentum, I recently left Hired to start my own marketing and employer-branding agency to continue to help grow great local companies. Reach out if I can be of service to your business. With my time, I am going to highlight what San Diego tech has been building and where it’s going Our Venture Funding The last year has seen strong growth in our business...