Tacos and Tech Podcast

Neal: Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech. Every Friday at 12:30pm Pacific on Clubhouse and now we record them for you to enjoy as well. Find these episodes on Freshbrewedtech.com and favorite podcast player for Tacos and Tech Podcast

I’m Neal Bloom, entrepreneur, investor, and community builder.

Fred: I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of SD Founders substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

7/28/23:

AI news:

• Tech companies adding in GPT - Travato, SOCi
• AIxBio event debrief with PersonalAI presentation

ECommerce:

• Sunday Golf
• Sendlane - E-commerce Commerce Roundtable Event in September 18
• Steerpoint Capital acquired Escondido Mall to make it an entrepreneur-friendly mall

CoWorking:

• VentureX CoWorking opened in Scripps Ranch
• Mission CoWorking opened in Mission Valley

Events:

• Welcome to SD Virtual event - August 1
• SD Founders Hike - August 2
• 1st Mondays - August 7 AI panel
• AgTech Gathering - August 17
• Top Tech SD - September 13
• Innovation Day - September 14
• Green.org San Diego Summit - September 16 - Use code Tacos25 for a discount
• Sendlane Commerce Roundtable - September 18
• San Diego Startup Week - Oct 23-27

Neal: Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech. Every Friday at 12:30pm Pacific on Clubhouse and now we record them for you to enjoy as well. Find these episodes on Freshbrewedtech.com and favorite podcast player for Tacos and Tech Podcast. I’m Neal Bloom, entrepreneur, investor, and community builder. 

Fred: I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of SD Founders substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

7/24/23:

• Q2 VC Funding Report 

•  

  DTx Pharma acquisition and impact for local community

   

Events:

• SDx Hackathon event review

   

• SD Founders Hike August 2

   

• 1st Mondays with Startup SD August 7

   

• AgTech Gathering August 17

   

• Connect Innovation Day Sept 14

Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

• Jon gives an overview of what Vessel is [02:59]

• Jon shares how he started his first business [07:11]

• Jon recalls his first business, building an e-commerce site, and how it’s different from Vessel [12:54] 

• Jon talks about the shift from having a bad cash flow business to having a successful one, how he applied the marketing techniques he learned to his website, and “growth hacking”

• What made Jon stay as an entrepreneur even after having two successful companies already? [20:33]

• Jon talks about venture and bootstrapping and why he prefers the former [25:14]

• Jon shares his thoughts on going hardware versus software  [27:15]

• Jon talks about the founding story of Vessel [29:04]

• Jon shares how they decide what products or services to add for Vessel, and lessons he learned along the way [33:57]

• Jon talks about their recently launched 2.0, new tests, and Vessel Flex [36:11]

• What are Vessel’s future plans? [38:40]

• Jon shares his favorite taco spots, Barrio Star, Cocina De Barrio, El Agave, and King and Queen Cantina [40:45]

Follow Jon

LinkedIn

Vessel Health

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Check out our Tacos and Tech Tacos Database to learn where our local SD entrepreneurs and leaders satisfy their taco crave! 

Join us as participants intro themselves and ask where they need help from the community.

Join our bi-weekly newsletter for the latest news at https://freshbrewedtech.com/

Subscribe to Fred's Substack at https://sdfounders.substack.com/

Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

• Victoria gives an overview of what thoughtbot is [02:20]

• How did Victoria end up in the tech industry? [02:58]

• Victoria talks about her work experience in the federal area [03:54]

• Is there a lot of development agency work in the government or do they do a lot in-house? [04:40]

• Victoria shares the history of thoughtbot and how it started [05:47]

• Victoria talks about their platform guide and expanding more into their site reliability engineering space [07:08]

• Victoria shares some use cases, particularly in the need for tech in businesses [08:32]

• Victoria shares what other industries she has spent some time in since working at thoughtbot [09:14]

• What’s it like for Victoria to work and collaborate with a team remotely? [10:34]

• Victoria talks about the San Diego scene and the meetup community [12:36]

• Where does Victoria see communities going especially in a way that thoughtbot is looking at engaging developer communities? [15:28]

• Victoria shares her favorite taco spot, City Tacos [18:04]

Follow Victoria

LinkedIn | Twitter

thoughtbot

Website | LinkedIn

Check out our Tacos and Tech Tacos Database to learn where our local SD entrepreneurs and leaders satisfy their taco crave! 

Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

• Hilliard gives an overview of what Cox Mobile is [02:31]

• Hilliard shares his background and how he got into tech [03:56]

• Hilliard talks about what it’s like to launch a new product [05:49]

• Hilliard shares what it’s like testing their new product in different markets [07:05]

• Hilliard talks about his involvement in customer development, and what blueprint sessions are like [08:40]

• What are some of the new use cases Hilliard has seen months after launching Cox Mobile [09:50]

• How did launching Cox Mobile help in terms of building a better portfolio and competing with other companies in the space [10:43]

• Where does Hilliard see Cox Mobile headed in the next two years? [12:37]

• Hilliard shares the customer reception to Cox Mobile and the opportunities he sees from them [14:21]

• Hilliard shares his favorite taco spots, Aquí Me Quedo and bartaco [15:46]

Follow Hilliard

LinkedIn

Cox Mobile

Website | LinkedIn

Check out our Tacos and Tech Tacos Database to learn where our local SD entrepreneurs and leaders satisfy their taco crave! 

Neal: Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech. Every Friday at 12:30pm Pacific on Clubhouse and now we record them for you to enjoy as well. Find these episodes on Freshbrewedtech.com and favorite podcast player for Tacos and Tech Podcast. I’m Neal Bloom, entrepreneur, investor, and community builder. 

Fred: I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of SD Founders substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

6/23/23:

• Beam global - acquisition

• Kate Therapeutics - raises $51m, comes out of stealth

• Funding environment update

Events:

• AIxBioxSD June event debrief

• Evonexus Demo Day June 26

• SD Tech Hub Job Fair w/ SD Workforce Development & SD Supplier Diversity June 27

• SDx Hackathon - July 15-16

Neal: Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech. Every Friday at 12:30pm Pacific on Clubhouse and now we record them for you to enjoy as well. Find these episodes on Freshbrewedtech.com and favorite podcast player for Tacos and Tech Podcast. I’m Neal Bloom, entrepreneur, investor, and community builder. Today, we also have special guest Mike Freeman of The San Diego Union-Tribune joining us! 

Fred: I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of SD Founders substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

6/16/23:

• CEO change at Illumina

• Ex-Qualcomm leaders pick their SPAC candidate

• Stadium in Midway - Billionaire Stan Kroenke joins development effort

Events:

• Connect Summer Social Debrief

• Evonexus Demo Day - June 26

• SDxAI Hackathon - July 15-16

Neal: Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech. Every Friday at 12:30pm Pacific on Clubhouse and now we record them for you to enjoy as well. Find these episodes on Freshbrewedtech.com and favorite podcast player for Tacos and Tech Podcast

I’m Neal Bloom, entrepreneur, investor, and community builder.

Fred: I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of SD Founders substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

6/09/23:

• Mosaic Series C raise

• Debut Bio Series B raise 

Events:

• Startup San Diego AI post-event debrief

• Connect Summer Social - June 13

• Evonexus Demo Day - June 26

Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

• Masha gives an overview of what Nullspace is [02:38]

• Masha shares her background and how she ended up in the industry [04:09]

• What are some of the different kinds of products and companies Masha has worked on in the past? [06:33]

• Masha talks about how she jumped from engineering to marketing to company founder  [09:07]

• Masha shares how she got connected with IERUS Technologies [11:05]

• Masha explains what a simulation company is and what they do [12:24]

• Masha talks about the status of IERUS Technologies when she got hired as its CEO, and shares a tip when looking for a job  [13:29]

• What’s the current status of Nullspace today in terms of commercializing the technology? [15:41]

• Masha shares the current state of the market in the industry and the technologies they work on [16:48]

• What can the community do to help Nullspace get to where it’s headed in the next one to three years? [21:05]

• What does Masha do during her free time? [23:08]

• Masha talks about the non-profit, Orange County chapter of Engineers Without Borders [23:32]

• Masha shares her favorite taco spot, El Torito [25:18]

Follow Masha

LinkedIn

Nullspace

Website | LinkedIn

Check out our Tacos and Tech Tacos Database to learn where our local SD entrepreneurs and leaders satisfy their taco crave! 

Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

• Zach gives an overview of what Yembo is [02:32]

• How did Zach get into the tech world? [05:04]

• Zach talks about his previous job at Qualcomm [07:51]

• Zach shares how he got started in the startup scene [09:20]

• How did the startup community help Zach in starting a business [11:57]

• Zach gives a background on how Yembo started and how he ended up from working on signal bars to moving industry AI [13:15]

• Zach shares how long it took to start Yembo and the challenges they faced along the way [16:48]

• Zach talks about some of the real values of the Yembo AI, getting clients, and getting feedback from customers [19:54]

• Zach shares the story behind the giant screen from their trade shows [25:16]

• Where is Yembo today? [27:41]

• Zach talks about the current product usage of Yembo [28:43]

• Zach shares the evolution of tools for AI he’s been seeing today [31:16]

• Zach shares his favorite taco spot, Stars & Stripes [33:16]

Follow Zach

LinkedIn

Yembo

Website | LinkedIn

Check out our Tacos and Tech Tacos Database to learn where our local SD entrepreneurs and leaders satisfy their taco crave! 

Neal: Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech. Every Friday at 12:30pm Pacific on Clubhouse and now we record them for you to enjoy as well. Find these episodes on Freshbrewedtech.com and favorite podcast player for Tacos and Tech Podcast

I’m Neal Bloom, entrepreneur, investor, and community builder.

Fred: I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of SD Founders substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

6/02/23:

• Measurabl - $93m raise

• The TJ Tech Boom 

• George Hotz’s Tiny Corp $5.1M 

• Pureboost raises $2.8M
  
  

Events:

• 1st Mondays - 250 tickets as of Thursday

• Founders Hike - June 7

• Summer Social by Connect - June 17th

• EvoNexus Demo Day - June 30th

Subscribe to stay on top of events

Read deep dives into startups in San Diego on SD Founders Substack

Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

• Kevin gives an overview of what Tech San Diego is [02:26]

• Kevin shares the typical companies they engage with [04:03]

• Kevin shares his journey of understanding the talent needs for Tech San Diego, the talent portfolio they have, and their university talent initiative [05:55]

• Kevin talks about the issues recruiting local talent and what they’re doing about it [08:59]

• How does Tech San Diego help in transitioning university talent to the private sector? [11:49]

• What are the things Tech San Diego is currently focusing on? [13:34]

• Where does Kevin see Tech San Diego a year from now? [15:47]

• Kevin explains why they’re more focused on talents fit for technical jobs [17:08]

• Kevin shares how they make transitioning university talent to the private sector easier [18:42]

• How can a company looking for talent or students looking for jobs connect with Tech San Diego? [20:06]

• Kevin shares his favorite taco spot, a taco place in Escondido [20:55]

Follow Kevin

LinkedIn

Tech San Diego

Website | LinkedIn

Check out our Tacos and Tech Tacos Database to learn where our local SD entrepreneurs and leaders satisfy their taco crave! 

Neal: Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech. Every Friday at 12:30pm Pacific on Clubhouse and now we record them for you to enjoy as well. Find these episodes on Freshbrewedtech.com and favorite podcast player for Tacos and Tech Podcast. 

I’m Neal Bloom, entrepreneur, investor, and community builder. 

Fred: I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of SD Founders substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

For May 19, 2023:

• SD Tech Hub & next SD Tech Hub event May 23 5pm
• TuSimple leadership issues and layoffs
• SD MLS team announced

Events:

• SD Tech Hub event May 23 5pm
• The Pitch social meetup June 7
• Summer Social June 13
• Innovation Week & Petco Park Day Sept 14

Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

• Suman gives an overview of what Personal.ai is [02:45]

• How did Suman get into the tech industry? [03:25]

• Suman talks about why he decided to continue his education in the U.S. and how it helped him in building a company [04:41]

• Suman shares the original concept for Aira versus what changed and what it is today [07:34]

• Suman shares the technical and business aspect of building Personal.ai [10:33]

• What are some things that Suman learned from Aira to Personal.ai today? [14:44]

• Suman talks about Personal.ai today, the technology development and product [18:52]

• Suman gives his insights about AI and its community today, ChatGPT, and the future of AI [22:31]

• How are people going to be using Personal.ai a year from now? [27:32]

• Where and how can people make a Personal.ai account? [29:27]

• Suman shares his favorite taco spots, Las Hadas and Spitfire [30:14]

Follow Suman

LinkedIn

Personal.ai

Website | LinkedIn

Check out our Tacos and Tech Tacos Database to learn where our local SD entrepreneurs and leaders satisfy their taco crave! 

Neal: Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech. Every Friday at 12:30pm Pacific on Clubhouse and now we record them for you to enjoy as well. Find these episodes on Freshbrewedtech.com and favorite podcast player for Tacos and Tech Podcast

I’m Neal Bloom, entrepreneur, investor, and community builder.

Fred:  I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of SD Founders substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

For May 12, 2023:

• Q1 Venture Capital Report by Fred Grier
• Viasat: Launch & Merger
• Upcoming events: Summer Social by Connect

Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

• Valerie gives an overview of what San Diego NFT Friends is [02:35]

• Valerie talks about Red Rug Edutainment and what they do [03:05]

• How did Valerie get into the tech industry? [04:00]

• In what ways did winning an NFT from Gary Vaynerchuk help Valerie? [06:04]

• Valerie talks about when why she started doing her meetups [07:11]

• Valerie shares the background of the people that go to her meetups, and their engagement in the community [10:33]

• Did the San Diego NFT Convention bring more community members and exposure? [13:21]

• Valerie reflects on the accessibility and inclusivity of the Web3 community [15:48]

• Valerie shares how she’s finding unique ways to both educate and interact with people about Web3 [17:30]

• Valerie gives a little onboarding for people interested in going to the meetup, what they can expect, etc. [21:49]

• Valerie shares her favorite taco spots, Mariscos Jalisco and El Gordo [24:01]

Follow Valerie

LinkedIn

San Diego NFT Friends

Website | LinkedIn

Check out our Tacos and Tech Tacos Database to learn where our local SD entrepreneurs and leaders satisfy their taco crave! 

Neal: Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Fred Grier from Fresh Brewed Tech. Every Friday at 12:30pm Pacific on Clubhouse and now we record them for you to enjoy as well. Find these episodes on Freshbrewedtech.com and favorite podcast player for Tacos and Tech Podcast

I’m Neal Bloom, entrepreneur, investor, and community builder.

Fred: I’m Fred Grier, journalist and author of SD Founders substack. I wrote about the tech industry for the San Diego Business Journal for two years. I covered the ins-and-outs of the startup world for much of that time, breaking news on IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A.

4/28/23:

• Interlock Summit debrief, Fred’s article on it
• SD Angel Conference Winner - Limber
• Naturally San Diego Pitch Slam Winner - Root and Splendor
• The first Techstars San Diego accelerator class applications are open. Apply now!

Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

• John shares his focus within the Hospitality Network and Blueprint RF at Cox [02:29]

• How did John get into the tech industry? [03:38]

• John talks about converting buildings to ethernet in terms of age and why they differ [07:12]

• John shares how much more load there is on both the consumer and backend side of the systems and how it affects the infrastructures [09:13]

• How do new customer demands today affect the load on the system? [10:59]

• John shares what he thinks will be the next function of need going is going to be, including two-way services [12:55]

• What does success mean for Cox’s clients in terms of implementation? [14:10]

• Where do Cox and Hospitality Network play a role in the managed service on the video side? [16:20]

• John talks more about Hospitality Network and how and why it’s more casino and hotel oriented [21:41]

• How does the hospitality aspect fit into Cox’s investment strategy? [23:21]

• John shares other areas of technology he’s excited about [25:10]

• John shares his favorite taco spot, Del Taco [27:47]

• John talks about Cox’s mobile services and how customers can now get a mobile phone from Cox [27:56]

Follow John

LinkedIn

Cox Communications

LinkedIn | Website

Check out our Tacos and Tech Tacos Database to learn where our local SD entrepreneurs and leaders satisfy their taco crave! 

Listen on Apple, Google, Spotify, and other platforms.

• Eric gives an overview of what Haiku is [02:29]

• How did Eric end up in the cybersecurity and tech industry? [04:26]

• Eric talks about his working experience in Sentek [08:13]

• Eric shares how he got started with Haiku, including building his team [10:24]

• What were some of the things Eric learned from building a past company to know the right customers for Haiku? [14:45]

• Eric talks about the accessibility of getting a job and alternative career paths in cybersecurity through their program [21:26]

• Who is playing Haiku and who is it designed for? [24:14]

• On why Haiku is on desktop only and why mobile is not a great fit [26:08]

• Does Eric consider himself a gamer even before Haiku? [30:06]

• Eric shares his favorite taco spot, Me Gusta Tacos [31:59]

Follow Eric

LinkedIn

Haiku

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Check out our Tacos and Tech Tacos Database to learn where our local SD entrepreneurs and leaders satisfy their taco crave!