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It’s already February and the year is in full swing. The deals keep coming and there’s a lot to be proud of locally. Some full circle fun is that in our Tech Mafia article today about the early years of Active.com, we find out Lance Armstrong was one of the first investors back in late 1997. Most recently, his new VC fund, Next Ventures, invested in Carlsbad-based PowerDot. The life cycle of investment is so long and very impactful.
In the last two weeks, I spent time in Atlanta alongside the folks at Cox Enterprises headquarters to see the local startup community. I was incredibly impressed by how much the Atlanta corporate Fortune 100’s support the community through space, investments, connection to mentors, and more. These are things we are working on to increase in San Diego, and it’s empowering to see another community do it well.
I was also fortunate to spend time in LA at the recent Upfront Ventures Summit to mingle with other investors and startup founders. There is a lot of great talk about inclusion and leveling the playing field in venture capital as well as how international and political winds will affect innovation in technology. The good energy is flowing in Southern California tech, and San Diego is more and more on other people’s radar. A small first goal for us is to get someone out of town to name a San Diego startup on their own due to word-of-mouth.
While I was in LA, San Diego startup Trust & Will founder Cody Barbo represented in Salt Lake City at Silicon Slopes. The San Diego tech gospel is spreading. Let’s keep it going!
