Digest #13

Thanks,

Sara Isenberg, Curator, producer, editor

Santa Cruz Tech Beat: http://santacruztechbeat.com

City of Santa Cruz Economic Development

Sara Isenberg Web Consulting & Project Management

News:

John MCafee breaks silence: announces new start-up in Santa Cruz (Rebecca Costa interview)

"He is presently looking for a 'mansion, or group of houses' in the Santa Cruz area to launch his new start-up. The proximity to Silicon Valley, reverse commute, availability of scientists and engineers, were all cited as ideal conditions for a rapid lift-off." Listen to full audio at Costa Report. [Editorial note: That's a succinct description of why tech companies should start up in Santa Cruz.]

Santa Cruz Chamber plans local Oct 27 & 28 Community Leadership Visit

"Join 75 county leaders on a Community Leadership Visit (CLV)... We'll have the unique opportunity to visit "home" from the point of view of outsiders, exploring the innovations and inspirations that characterize and identify Santa Cruz as a brand known around the world."

UC Santa Cruz engineers showcase breakthroughs at Oct 17 Research Review Day
"This event provides an overview of exciting and innovative research that our faculty and graduate students are doing in several areas as we develop technology for a changing world," said Art Ramirez, dean of UCSC's Baskin School of Engineering. Along with an intimate review of UCSC projects, the public event will feature three keynote addresses from Silicon Valley tech experts. Register here (free).

Ian Stock muses on chocolate, co-working, and the NextSpace Effect "People with different skills and ideas meet while they work in NextSpace, put their complementary talents together (the NextSpace Effect) and boom: something significant and worthwhile often happens. This not an occasional event. It happens to everyone here."

David Gensler and NextSpace's Jeremy Neuner: Why a tricked out Silicon Valley campus isn't enough to lure top talent "I was doing a one-year fellowship at the Aspen Institute. Gervais Tompkin runs a practice at Gensler and was doing some work at Plantronics in Santa Cruz, so he was one of my mentors. During a check-in one day, he's like, 'Hey, David Gensler wants to talk to you.' I was like, 'The David Gensler?'"

Co-working meets daycare: How NextKids aims to narrow the work/life gap
"Rothschild, a San Francisco resident, set out to create a childcare business that encourages interaction between parents and kids throughout the workday. After some initial research and more than 150 scouting trips to potential partner locations, she zeroed in on Santa Cruz-based co-working startup NextSpace."

Gensler-designed Plantronics building fuses suburban campus and off-site work spaces

"The scene may seem de rigueur for Silicon Valley given the publicity around campus projects at Facebook or Google. But the model is different for Plantronics, which designs and produces communication devices like headsets."

Plantronics launches RIG headset + mixer for gamers

"RIG Headset + Mixer is truly unique as the first gaming headset developed with mobile at its core, which allows for seamless calls, side game chat, music, and a variety of other second screen uses. For gamers, RIG connects their game life with their real life," said Chuck Frizelle, Head of Plantronics Gaming.

Watch: Civinomics launches Indigogo campaign to create paradigm shift in civic engagement
"Our main vision at Civinomics is to create a paradigm shift in civic engagement. How are we trying to do this? Well, we offer a platform where citizens can collaborate on local issues that are important to them in a crowd-sourced environment."

Ecometrics talks on "Big Data and the New Metrics for Sustainable Business" on Thu Oct 24, 12 noon
How can information technology and big data help us innovate for a more sustainable future? This talk will overview the business case for incorporating sustainability as a core value and why accurate environmental data should be considered just as important as financial data when making strategic decisions.

Noteworthy, but not brand new

Adeo Ressi's thoughts on start-up funding at a TechRaising Meetup
On July 11th, 2013 Adeo Ressi from the Founders Institute came to a TechRaising Meetup. Ressi was asked what he thought about how hard it is for a startup to get funding. "Funding, it has nothing to do with the idea. It has a little bit to do with the team and a little bit to do with the traction. But really, at the end of the day, funding is a grind."