Felena Hanson is the Founder of Hera Hub , a spa-inspired, shared work space and business accelerator centered around female entrepreneurs. Felena takes us through her journey founding Hera Hub as an entrepreneur. Rewinding back to 2010, she was running a small marketing and consulting firm as well as teaching students part-time at a fashion institute. One of her prime goals at the time was to host an eco fashion show, and while searching for the perfect location, stumbled upon San Diego’s first...
Dec 15, 2020•22 min
In today’s tech driven environment, service-based businesses need access to the tech tools to help them meet customers’ needs. Roland Ligtenberg , Co-Founder and SVP of Growth and Innovation at Housecall Pro provides an overview of how his company has grown to be a leader in businesses digitization, which is especially important during the pandemic. Housecall Pro controls the scheduling, automated marketing, and invoice dispatching for all home service professionals across plumbing, electrical, ...
Dec 08, 2020•34 min
As entrepreneurship is becoming an increasingly popular career choice, the role of startup accelerator programs has become even more critical as they work to promote growth for small businesses. One such local accelerator that’s making a big impact on the San Diego startup community is Connect All at the Jacobs Center . This episode will spotlight the relationship between an entrepreneur and an accelerator program with guests Anahi Abe-Brower , founder of Worthy Picks , and Danea Ramos , Directo...
Dec 01, 2020•31 min
Given how much technology has been integrated in our daily lives, the Internet is constantly connecting us to friends and information through devices ranging from our smartphones to our laptops. However, we don’t give much thought to the vast network of infrastructures involved that allow us to take advantage of this resource. Cox Communications & Cox Business have contributed heavily towards developing that network for over six million individuals in 18 different states, and today, we chat ...
Nov 24, 2020•29 min
Influential women make powerful strides as they set forth on pursuits that value people and enrich lives. A perfect example of this is embodied by Kate Nowlan , entrepreneur and co-founder of San Diego-based GRACEDBYGRIT , a women's apparel line and mentorship program designed to help women support one another in their athletic journeys. Listen in as Neal Bloom chats with Kate about her growth as an entrepreneur, as well as challenges she has overcome as a woman in business. 2:50 Kate takes us t...
Nov 17, 2020•34 min
San Diego has fostered quite the startup scene, with bright new entrepreneurs cementing their path in today’s growing tech ecosystem. Every novel idea needs space to fully develop, and Rory Moore, co-founder and CEO of EvoNexus , was one of the leaders to make it happen, launching a non-profit incubator organized to re-energize San Diego’s early-stage startup ecosystem. Listen in as Neal Bloom chats with Rory Moore about the evolution of EvoNexus as well as his personal growth in the San Diego t...
Nov 10, 2020•47 min
Big data has become a household term as of late, and tech companies have access to heaps of information about everything from their respective industries to their customers.. While gaining access to data seems like the end game, what’s even more important than data itself is what we do with it, enter data science. Bahija Humphrey is the CEO of Data Science Alliance , a non-profit startup that was launched in early 2020. The organization is committed to advancing San Diego as a leader in data sci...
Nov 03, 2020•56 min
Small businesses everywhere are looking for an outlet to grow and expand their customer base, especially in the virtual tech environment we find ourselves in today. To assist these transitioning businesses, Alex Goode , founder & CEO of GoSite , launched this platform to help small businesses, namely service ones, transition from offline to online. Listen in as host Neal Bloom and co-host Ashok Kamal , Executive Director at Tech Coast Angels San Diego , discuss the process of bootstrapping a...
Oct 27, 2020•28 min
Whitney Houston famously sang the words “I believe the children are our future,” and The LEAGUE of Amazing Programmers proudly carries this mantra in its initiative to introduce children from grades 5 to 12 to the tech industry. The after-school Java programming course equips these children with skills that can be applicable later on in their collegiate or professional careers. Join us as Neal Bloom chats with The LEAGUE of Amazing Programmers Executive Director, Sarah Tuakli Cooper , about her ...
Oct 20, 2020•38 min
In an atmosphere as technologically savvy as today, it’s only natural to seek out new advancements and ways to build on existing products to further improve the lives of others. As a serial entrepreneur, John Burd , co-founder and previous CEO of Dexcom , and current CEO of Lysulin and Wonder Spray , is no exception, in that he started his entrepreneurial journey as early as the 70s and is still going strong to this day, with WonderSpray being his newest invention. Listen in as host, Neal Bloom,...
Oct 13, 2020•46 min
The San Diego tech scene is flourishing more than ever, with growing tech companies and a new program upskilling local talent to help keep up with the explosive growth. In this episode, Neal Bloom discusses Advancing San Diego , a talent training and placement program, and much more, with guests Kate Gallagher , Senior Manager of Economic Development at San Diego Regional EDC , and Rachel Merfalen , Director of Business Services at San Diego Workforce Partnership . 3:33 SD Workforce Partnership’...
Oct 06, 2020•48 min
Ryan Kuder is the Managing Director of Techstars Anywhere , the remote-first startup accelerator that stems from the prestigious Techstars . The accelerator was founded in 2006, and its roughly 2,000 alumni have raised a collective $10 billion in venture capital. Listen in as host, Neal Bloom, chats with Ryan Kuder about startup accelerators, entrepreneurial mentorship, and San Diego Startup Month. 4:11 As a third generation San Diegan in a tech-oriented family, Ryan had been surrounded by compu...
Sep 29, 2020•37 min
San Diego Startup Month is only a week away, and to kick off the excitement, we connected with members from the San Diego Innovation Council , Tech Coast Angels - San Diego , Connect w/ SDVG , and Startup San Diego to talk about the upcoming Inventors & Investors Pitch Competition on October 9, during SD Startup Month. They further discuss the jam-packed month of October and what our listeners can do to prepare for an event filled with engaging workshops, interactive experiences, and career ...
Sep 22, 2020•45 min
In a generation surrounded by the newest technologies and virtual communities, it is easy to overlook the creative and interactive experience associated with arts and crafts. As an enthusiast of the crafting community, founder and CEO of The Crafter’s Box , Morgan Spenla , introduced an online platform for artists from all over the world to indulge in high-quality digital workshops and purchase the tools necessary for creating crafts of all varieties. Listen in as host Neal Bloom and guest co-ho...
Sep 15, 2020•36 min
Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9Hgicyaj7VI As the virtual world around us continues to grow and expand, companies are having to dive a little deeper into how consumers feel about their brand experiences, especially since customer behavior has changed since the pandemic. Rasto Ivanic , who serves as founder & CEO of GroupSolver , sits with Neal Bloom and Ashok Kamal, Executive Director of Tech Coast Angels San Diego, and shares his insights on how businesses can make impo...
Sep 08, 2020•23 min
Did you know our host Neal worked on the Space Shuttle before he became an entrepreneur? The infinite depth and futuristic existence of outer space intrigues most everyone, especially those who find themselves fascinated with the research behind the unknown. Tech Coast Angels San Diego president Caitlin Wege is no exception, as from a young age, she found herself being amazed by the intricacies of space and the work put into researching it. In this episode, Neal and Caitlin chat about manned spa...
Sep 01, 2020•51 min
Many families have been juggling working from home while making sure their kids are on track with virtual learning. Meanwhile, healthcare providers and patients have been relying more on telemedicine. Not only is this shift in the world of work, education and healthcare a result of Covid-19, it’s sure to be more of the norm in years to come. Join host Neal Bloom as he talks with Sam Attisha and Duane Cameron , who are part of the Cox Communications & Cox Business executive team in San Diego,...
Aug 25, 2020•34 min
Josh Komenda is the Co-Founder & CEO of Veyo , an affordable rideshare program for those who rely on Medicaid and Medicare. Like Uber/Lyft, the company has a call center that runs a technology platform, but delivers a service in partnership with existing health plans. Veyo is available in the app store . When Josh’s cab-hailing startup was outshone by emerging rideshare startups, his team began looking at other opportunities in the ride-hailing market. They realized the medical transportatio...
Aug 18, 2020•35 min
Alessandra Lezama is the founder & CEO of TOOTRIS, a tech-enabled service provider that connects parents with childcare providers. As a single mother, Alessandra struggled finding proper childcare for her son, who was young at the time. He had a near-death experience that would be difficult for any mother to forget. Early in Alessandra’s career, she was a Montessori teacher who then switched over to tech, where she ultimately found her calling. Her new venture, TOOTRIS sits at the intersecti...
Aug 11, 2020•34 min
Listen in as Tech Coast Angels investors Ashok Kamal and Al Bsharah chat with host Neal Bloom about the latest happenings in San Diego tech. 4:00 Ashok Kamal provides an update on Tech Coast Angels and investing amid the pandemic, noting now is a great time for investors to find favorable deal terms. 7:32 Al, who is the VP of Product Operations at Seismic , gives insight on trends he sees in the SaaS space. Although Seismic had to dial back its hiring spree, it is still adding new members to its...
Aug 04, 2020•30 min
Brad Feld has been a venture capital investor and entrepreneur since 1987, and is one of the co-founders behind Techstars, a much-touted global accelerator for early stage startups. He has written numerous books, including 2012’s Startup Communities , which guided thousands of leaders to build startup communities in their own cities. The book was inspired by Brad’s fascination with the idea of a city or community that helps startups and entrepreneurship thrive, as well as the Boulder, Colo. star...
Jul 28, 2020•44 min
Julie Collens is the Founder and CEO of Vivid Genomics , a precision medicine company that specializes in dementia, specifically with the aim to accelerate neurodegenerative disease drug development by using genomics, big data, and machine learning. After completing her Ph.D. in population genetics at the University of Chicago, Julie used her scientific skills as an equity research analyst for a wealth management firm. In 2012, she joined Illumina , where she had a variety of roles, from product...
Jul 21, 2020•26 min
Afif Khoury is the Founder & CEO of SOCi , a local marketing platform that aims to solve and manage the complex digital workflow of large, multi-location enterprises. After earning a degree in neuroscience and physiology from UC San Diego in 1998, Afif worked in a genetics lab for a while and even had his work published in the Journal of Cell Biology . Shortly after that, he made the radical decision to go study law and business at Northwestern University, and ended up starting his first com...
Jul 14, 2020•33 min
Kim Folsom is the Founder & CEO of Founders First Capital Partners , a platform focused on growing and funding small, revenue-generating, service-based businesses that are led by diverse founders. Check out their resources and services and apply here: https://foundersfirstcapitalpartners.com/lp-v1/ A Maine native, Kim’s interest in entrepreneurship was sparked by her father, a Navy officer who wanted to start a company after his retirement. Then, as she began to sell cookies as part of her l...
Jul 07, 2020•47 min
[Talk of current happenings in the SD tech scene starts at 18:59] Alex Waters is the director of CONNECT ALL @ The Jacobs Center , a business accelerator specifically geared towards low/moderate income and diverse individuals. The program aims to support founders who create long-term jobs in the region. Listen in as Alex joins host Neal Bloom to discuss the latest tech news in San Diego. The episode kicks off with Alex discussing his work at CONNECT ALL and his entrepreneurial journey, and then ...
Jun 30, 2020•47 min
Melani Gordon is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor; she is currently the CEO of Evergreen (formerly TapHunter), and is preparing to launch her third company, a coaching business. After graduating from San Diego State University, Melani got the entrepreneurship bug from one of her professors who let her work on his MBA internet marketing projects. During her time in college, she got a job at the startup Z57, where she met her husband Flash and learned the basics of startups and sales. They...
Jun 23, 2020•36 min
The San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC) is an investing fund that helps train new angel investors, thereby unlocking more capital locally and bringing domain expertise to companies from executives-turned-angel investors. This yearlong work culminates in an annual one-day event that brings together companies and investors in order to boost the SoCal innovation ecosystem. Tune in as Mysty Rusk , Benton Moore , Amy Duncan , and Jason Scharf , angel investors and key players of the San Diego Angel Con...
Jun 16, 2020•34 min
Mike Roberts is the founder of San Diego Code School , which focuses on helping individuals prepare for careers as software developers through apprenticeships. Mike began coding when he was 12 or 13, purely as a hobby at first. After his attempt at going to college to be an accountant was unsuccessful, Mike chose to get a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree in engineering, ultimately becoming a software engineer. Then, he did everything he could to get involved in San Diego’s tech scene...
Jun 09, 2020•1 hr 8 min
Stanley Kim is the Co-Founder & CEO of WinSanTor, a biotech company focused on developing pharmaceutical solutions to peripheral neuropathy. Stanley graduated from UC Berkeley after studying genetics, but after realizing he had no desire to work in a lab or go to med school, he went to go work for a law firm and became an IP attorney. Eventually, Stanley landed an IP attorney role at San Diego’s Salk Institute , a top biology institution. There, Stanley played a pivotal role in starting nume...
Jun 02, 2020•40 min
Brook Sheehan and Rema Abedkader are the co-founders behind Cup O’ Sugar, a mobile app that allows neighbors to connect over sharing and requesting food ingredients. Single moms and close friends for nine years, Brook and Rema originally got their app idea when they were missing a vital ingredient for a recipe. Rema texted a neighbor of hers and managed to get the ingredient, leading them to question whether they could take an old-school philosophy of neighbor support and convert it to mobile te...
May 26, 2020•22 min
