San Diego Tech Week: Innovation Day, Techstars, and Top Tech Awards
Recap of one San Diego's busiest Tech Weeks. Plus, upcoming SD Founder event, and sponsorship opportunities.
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Before I get into the event recap, a few housekeeping items for SD Founders readers:
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It was one of the biggest “San Diego Tech Week” in recent history, where the attendees in the audience somehow rivaled that of the stage.
For veterans of the SD startup ecosystem, it was somewhat of a homecoming last week with big-named tech events taking place in Coronado, Downtown and Del Mar.
In particular, the events recognized current and past trailblazers in the region as well as highlighted the next generation of startup builders.
San Diego-based organizations Connect, Techstars San Diego and Cox, events were among the most important events held last week, as they all play an integral role in pushing San Diego’s innovation economy forward.
Please enjoy this recap.
High-Level Overview
Connect San Diego’s Innovation Day gathered 3,000 community members and venture capitalists, and students at Petco Park.
Techstars San Diego unveiled its first-ever cohort of twelve companies in partnership with San Diego State University.
Top Tech Awards brought together 700-plus attendees and recognized heroes in the local tech industry including top execs at Measurabl and NuVasive.
Innovation Day @ Petco Park
In previous years, “you’d be lucky to get 100 people to an SD tech-related event,” Mike Krenn, President and CEO of Connect San Diego, told me at a coffee shop a month before Innovation Day.
This year, Connect saw more than 3,000 attend its annual event, with hundreds of companies showcasing their products in booths across Petco Park.
Trust and Will’s CEO Cody Barbo, Drata CEO Adam Markowitz, and SOCi CEO Afif Khoury were among the high-profile tech founders in attendance.
Top VC firms such as Lightspeed, Fika Ventures, Wonder Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners, Harpoon Ventures, Booz Allen Ventures, and Qualcomm Ventures, were in attendance too.
In addition, San Diego-based medical device startup Healcisio, won first-place at NuFund Venture Group’s QuickPitch competition, receiving $7,500 in startup funding from the John G. Watson Foundation.
“The community came together. Together we took over a major league ballpark. We had tech, life sciences, cleantech, defense, all the universities, we had diversity, researchers, and talent from Mexico. This doesn't happen anywhere else in the country” said Mike Krenn, President and CEO at Connect with San Diego Venture Group.
“It’s not about being the biggest. It's about how we build the best and inclusive ecosystem on the planet. San Diego has a unique opportunity because of the breadth of our ecosystem. We are San Diego,” he said.
Techstars San Diego @ SDSU
Techstars San Diego, a prestigious startup accelerator program, has officially welcomed twelve companies into its inaugural program.
The selected startups will participate in Techstars San Diego’s 13 week program that focuses on helping founders reach product-market fit.
The companies include Airbuild, Babba, Cargo Shot, CoBroker AI, Craitor, General Folders, Mosqitter, Nevemind, Oblio, Remix, Site Bionics, and Steno. Learn more about the companies here.
Mentors include Andy Ballester, co-founder of GoFundMe, Caitlin Wege, managing partner at MooDoos Investments, Neal Bloom, managing partner at Interlock Capital, and Allison Long Pettine at Ridge Group Investments.
Techstars San Diego, powered by San Diego State University, is managed by Ryan Kuder, a former executive of EcoATM and board member of Startup San Diego.
“After a rigorous selection process, we selected the top companies based on their understanding of customer pain, ability to execute quickly,” said Ryan Kuder, managing director at Techstars San Diego.
Top Tech Awards @ Del Mar
The top tech awards which began in San Diego in 2008, is an annual celebration for tech leaders and innovators who are making an impact in San Diego and beyond.
The event, held at The Sound in Del Mar Fairgrounds, brought together CEOs, executives, and tech employees from all industries.
Honorees this year included Lance Onken, chief technology officer for Measurabl, and Prerna Mayor, director of global operational systems for NuVasive.
“The Top Tech Awards honor outstanding information technology executives nominated by peers and clients,” said Matt Ellis, co-founder and chief executive at Measurabl, who raised a $93M Series D round in May this year.
“Measurabl Co-Founder and CTO, Lance Onken, won the Top Large Private Company category. Super deserving and very proud of this extraordinary accomplishment and his work delivering transparency and sustainability to the real estate industry globally,” Ellis wrote on LinkedIn.
Full list of honorees include:
Nimer Saikaly, Ciprus Consulting – Top Tech Executive of the Year
Shawn Granen, USS MIDWAY – Cox Business Exemplary Award
DeWayne Cossey, Vista Unified School District – Education Category
Ryan Kari, MagCanica – Future of Tech Award
Maria Callander, City of Carlsbad – Government Category
Rob Honma, Santa Fe Christian Schools – Nonprofit Category
John Rolando, Spectral Labs Inc. – Private Small Business Category
Lance Onken, Measurabl – Private Large Business Category
Prerna Mayor, NuVasive Inc. – Public Large Business Category
David Penalva, HelioVolta – Startup
Thoughts on SD
Dozens of investors have told me they are spending more time in S.D. since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Some are living here part-time now and believe the city’s tech ecosystem is gaining momentum.
Google and Apple have a growing presence here, making it a compelling hub for tech workers. The life science industry is also here with big names like Illumina. Not to mention apparel giant Vuori Clothing, which is now valued at $4 billion.
The startup scene was already quite large before the pandemic. Flock Freight, Seismic, and Tealium (don’t forget North County), are all based in the region. Up-and-comers like Manscaped, JuneShine and Deion Sanders’ Blenders Eyewear are counted among the locals.
However, not everyone is bullish on S.D. A number of venture capitalists at an Interlock Capital summit in Encinitas had a friendly debate whether San Diego was a good place to start a serious company like enterprise software.
The numbers tell a different perspective. In 2021, San Diego had a record breaking year with $9.4 billion invested — becoming one of the fastest growing tech hubs in the U.S. alongside Seattle, Washington DC, Denver, and Austin.
According to CB Insights, $4.8 was invested in S.D.-area startups last year; not nearly as much as the $75 billion that went to Silicon Valley but still competing closely to the much-talked about tech scene in Miami, which drew $5.5 billion in 2022.
Yet all can agree San Diego is a great place to hold a tech conference and host company retreats. The weather is amazing and it makes it easier to network.
Overall, it was great to see everyone back in person at events and see familiar faces back in action.