From inclusive growth to San Diego: Life. Changing., many of EDC’s most high profile initiatives have a similar origin story: they started with bringing the right people around the table. Looking to spur similar programs and initiatives on the 78 Corridor, Innovate78, a program funded by the five cities along the 78 Corridor (Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, and Vista) and managed by EDC, hosted its first Innovator Dinner in March 2019.
The Innovators Dinner Series is designed to bring together a diversity of people, engaging in meaningful conversations about how we can all grow and build a more prosperous North County. Bringing together 25 individuals from every corner of the 78 corridor, the wide range of industries represented—from technology to manufacturing to brewing to life sciences—reflected the strength of the corridor.
As the event got underway, the conversation gravitated toward natural themes of mentorship, access to capital, the viability of the local talent pool and more. The idea around remote work came up as well. With North County’s strong quality of life and abundance of coworking spaces, many have noted a rise in remote employees based in North County. However, one entrepreneur at the Innovators Dinner bucked that trend. Although his company is located on the 78 corridor, many of his employees are remote, and live as far away as the Midwest.
Launched in September 2018, Defense Innovation Voucher Program (DIV) is a comprehensive business initiative designed to build resiliency in small, local defense companies and help find pathways to diversify its revenues. Since the beginning of the program, Propel San Diego partners—guided by the San Diego Regional EDC—have provided hands-on services to assist 15 San Diego-based companies.
Continuing these efforts, in Q1 2019, EDC hosted three executive education boot camps for cohort companies. Collectively, these boot camps had more than 50 people in attendance and covered topics including branding and marketing, small business contracting at SPAWAR, and cybersecurity standards.
Each session brought in regional experts and gave companies a chance to ask specific questions about their businesses. Presenters included Mark McLain the Director of Small Business Program at SPAWAR, James Sly the Vice President of the East County EDC, with organizations including California Manufacturing and Technology Consultants (CMTC), National Defense Industrial Association, Raindrop Marketing, and Seer Interactive also participating.
On May 23, five DIV companies, chosen by an independent judging panel and EDC staff, will have the opportunity to compete for a $25,000 Grand Prize at the inaugural DIV Pitchfest. Be a judge at this first-ever event, where attendees will be voting on the innovative defense company that’s most deserving of additional funding! Learn more and reserve your ticket to DIV Pitchfest here.
DIV is made possible through the generous support of presenting sponsor Booz Allen Hamilton along with Community Economic Adjustment Assistance for Reductions in Defense Industry Employment funds provided by the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment to the City of San Diego.
The Broken Token , a company that has permeated the board game market, creates custom gaming accessories and kits. While the manufacturer’s products are distributed globally, its 8,000 sq. ft. headquarters is located in Escondido. Since The Broken Token’s venture into tabletop gaming in 2013, the company has grown to 30 employees. And with more employees, comes a need for more space.
Now, the company has the potential to anchor the craft manufacturing sector in Escondido. The Broken Token is looking to expand into a larger building that would spark new life into the western edge of downtown Escondido. Additionally, the company is a key workforce development asset in North County. It provides opportunities for entry-level skill jobs where workers can develop new hands-on skills.
Through a referral from the City of Escondido, EDC guided the company through the process of applying for a $150,000 tax credit through the California Competes Tax Credit Program. Granted by the State of California, if approved, this credit will offset the company’s tax liability for the hiring of 14 new employees and investment of $350,000 over the next five years. Additionally, with the potential lease of a larger city-owned building on the horizon, EDC provided an introduction to CDC Small Business Finance, so the firm can arrange financing to complete necessary renovation on its potential future Escondido home.
Welcome to our first Board Member Spotlight. Every week, we’ll be introducing you to a new EDC board member, so you can learn about the people that are helping support and drive our organization forward. Meet Tom Turner, commercial real estate attorney turned vice president of CBRE. After a 35-year career in law, the last 25 with the firm of Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch, Tom has joined CBRE as vice president and will fill the firm’s seat on our board. We caught up with Tom to learn more about this unique career transition, and here is what we learned:
What is your “day job”?
As a member of the CBRE tenant representation team, I specialize in helping secure favorable real estate deals for law firms, technology companies, and other commercial real estate users throughout Southern California, with a focus on San Diego. I joined CBRE after a 35-year career in law, the last 25 with the firm of Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch, where I was managing partner and a trusted commercial real estate advisor to countless local companies. I am excited to step into the brokerage world and combine my real estate law insight, deal-making skills, and business perspective to create successful outcomes for my clients.
Of all the boards in San Diego, why EDC?
EDC’s board is a cross-section of executives from every part of the region, and nearly every industry, as well as nonprofit leaders and elected officials, making it possible to hear from diverse stakeholders on a broad spectrum of economic development issues. I find direct value from EDC’s work helping businesses expand their presence in the region and raising the region’s profile to attract investment. Our respective research teams partner on products like The Economic Pulse and studies such as a recent project about precision health. We’re also proud sponsors of the EDC’s Annual Dinner at SeaWorld every year –our signs are as big as billboards!
Favorite quote?
“Reject the tyranny of the ‘or.’ Embrace the genius of the ‘and.'” – Jim Collins, Good to Great.
We know San Diego is a life changing place, what was your life changing moment?
Summer Soltice of 1980, the day I married my beautiful and amazing wife Jennifer, the mother of our three wonderful kids and the best Nana our grandkids could ever hope for.
On March 7, WTC San Diego in partnership with Tendy LLC hosted a roundtable event which facilitated proactive conversations between business executives from San Diego’s innovation economy and representatives from the Consulates General of Ethiopia, South Africa, and Zambia. Discussions centered around opportunities and innovations within the healthcare, energy, infrastructure, mobility, and tourism sectors, as well as ways in which each region could grow and improve upon their economic development strategies. This event, a first of its kind here in SD, is a follow-up to a similar event organized by Tendy LLC in New York City, during UN General Assembly Week, with the goal of demystifying what it means to do business in various African countries, educating businesses and organizations on the opportunities present and growing in these nations, and facilitating a venue through which partnerships and deal flow can be established. Takeda Research, the premiere biotech-like research center for the Japan-based pharmaceutical company, hosted this event which drew attendees from local companies and organizations such as Cleantech San Diego, the City of San Diego,UC San Diego, Kaiser Permanente, FoxFury Lighting Solutions, PKL Services, IPS Group Inc, and Viasat.
In the healthcare and medical roundtable Zambia’s Honorary Consul, Robert Sichinga, noted that countries are seeking committed, long-term international partnerships. In the past, large companies have come in, conducted their study, helped a limited number of individuals from the hosting country, and departed. The hope is that in the future, these companies look for more long-lasting, sustainable, relationships to truly increase the availability and efficiency of modern medicine on the continent, while also allowing for knowledge transfer, training, and education of local populations, as well as potential job increases.
According to the Ethiopian investment agency, foreign direct investment is booming in the East African country. This is primarily a result of its increased focus on manufacturing and agriculture. As trade frameworks such as AGOA emerge and receive resounding support from African nations, countries are realizing a renewed energy and focus on inter-African trade as well as increasing their partnerships with other trading blocks to boost investments in agriculture, agri-processing, transportation infrastructure, and renewable energy.
Like anywhere else, life in Africa is not without challenges. In 2014, the World Bank estimated that nearly 600 million people were without electricity. Access to clean water and medical care also remains an issue. However, with challenges come great opportunities for innovation, change, and collaboration. The CEO of FoxFury Lighting Solutions, Mario Cugini, provided the delegates with a demonstration of how products such as its scene lights—high intensity, highly functioning LED lights which could greatly aid hospitals and operating rooms and other critical infrastructure whose efficacy is reduced by unreliable power supplies. The potential for such lighting applications is endless in sectors such as wildlife management, first responder/emergency operations, healthcare, infrastructure and construction. IPS Group, the leader in smart meter technology and implementation, was also on hand for a joint conversation with Viasat around how investments in solar energy, wireless infrastructure, and banking solutions are all imperative to taking their technology abroad.
For more information on how you can tap into business opportunities within the African continent, please contact Lucas Coleman at the World Trade Center San Diego.
The image above is from the roundtable. Pictured Back L to R: John Reeves (Viasat), Robert Sichinga (HonConZambia), Oscar Adley (PKL), Berthran Ugeh (Tendy LLC), Cem Hacioglu (West African LNG Group), David Pasquini (UK Gov’t Office SD), Erik Caldwell (City of San Diego), Blake Erickson (unaffiliated); Middle: Hilda Mwangi (WTC San Diego at time of picture), Brian Webber (IPS Group Inc), Kimberly Robling (PKL Services), Valerie Achieng (UCSD MBA Student), Mario Cugini (FoxFury); Bottom: Shakira Motan (South African Consulate Chicago), Betelehem Abera Haile (Ethiopian Consulate Los Angeles), Muktar Mohammed Ware (Ethiopian Consulate Los Angeles), Patience Onyegbule (Kaiser), Runa Tarannum ( self employed consultant)
San Diego took home some serious hardware at the California Association for Local Economic Development Aw ards of Excellence. The awards recognize outstanding contributions to the field of economic development throughout the mighty state of California.
The City of San Marcos was also recognized with the Award of Excellence – Collaborations, for its California Competes Tax Credit Collaboration with EDC. And of course, EDC didn’t leave empty-handed either, taking home the Award of Excellence – Promotions for San Diego: Life. Changing. Make sure to check out SDlifechanging.org, and give them a follow on social to learn more. Share your story using #SDlifechanging.
Duane Roth was a beloved San Diego community leader and friend. He knew San Diego was destined to do incredible things and pushed us every day to fulfill our potential. To honor his legacy, we created the Duane Roth Renaissance Award in 2014 to honor an organization whose work is creating outstanding inventions, innovations or breakthroughs that have changed and improved the world around us – the same way Duane looked to improve San Diego.
We are deeply honored to announce ResMed as the 2019 Honoree of the Duane Roth Renaissance Award, presented by Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor of UC San Diego.
ResMed was founded in San Diego in 1989 and has become a world leader in cloud-connectable medical devices and software, transforming care for people with sleep apnea, COPD and other chronic diseases. Meanwhile, its comprehensive out-of-hospital software platforms support the professionals and caregivers who help people stay healthy in their home or care setting of their choice. ResMed has quickly become the gold standard in remote and self-monitoring software, with more than eight million patients worldwide remotely monitored by clinicians. Its monitoring tools are shown to increase patients’ therapy adherence rates and clinicians’ business efficiencies.
Revenues for ResMed’s first fiscal year in 1990 were less than $1 million, and there were only 9 employees. Today, ResMed is an S&P 500 company with a market cap exceeding $10 billion and yearly revenues above $2 billion. It employs more than 6,000 people globally and operates in more than 120 countries.
Dedicating seven percent of annual revenue to research and development, ResMed is committed to advancing innovative technology in sleep and respiratory medicine, to commercializing innovative products that incorporate these technologies around the world, and exercising the highest standards of ethics and quality at all times.
Please join us at SeaWorld on May 2 to celebrate ResMed and more. Get your tickets.
Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer, Apple Vice President Kristina Raspe and regional leaders announced today that the technology company will increase its employment in San Diego by an additional 20 percent over previously announced numbers.
Apple now plans to add 1,200 employees in San Diego within the next three years, with almost 200 of those employees in place by the end of the year. As part of a nationwide expansion, Apple announced in December that it would establish a new site and job opportunities in San Diego.
“Apple has been a part of San Diego for nearly 20 years through our retail presence and small, fast-growing teams – and with this new investment we are proud to play an even greater part in the city’s future,” said Tim Cook, Apple CEO. “You don’t have to try too hard to convince people that San Diego is a great place to live, work and do business, and we’re confident our employees will have a great home among the community there.”
Apple cited San Diego’s successful efforts to diversify its economy, incubate new industries, broaden its talent pool, build partnerships between academia and the business community, and maintain a superb quality of life as reasons for its expansion to America’s Finest City.
“There isn’t a city in the U.S. that can offer the talent, infrastructure and community that San Diego can,” said Mayor Faulconer. “I invited Apple to increase its growth in San Diego, and on behalf of a grateful city we’re delighted they accepted our invitation. Apple’s inventions have literally changed the world, revolutionizing how we communicate, create, do business and learn. As Apple continues to innovate and introduce new products, we will be proud to say that San Diego is a part of it.”
Apple and Mayor Faulconer met over recent weeks to discuss the company’s growth plans.
“We were excited to announce in December that we planned to grow our presence here and add one thousand jobs, and then Mayor Faulconer and members of his team very thoughtfully and convincingly walked us through everything the San Diego region has to offer,” said Kristina Raspe, Apple Vice President of Global Real Estate and Facilities. “So we went back and sharpened our pencils and increased our investment.”
San Diego will become a principle engineering hub for Apple with new positions distributed across a number of specialty engineering fields, to include both hardware and software technologies. While Apple hasn’t yet settled on a location, plans are also underway to develop a campus that will feature hundreds of thousands of square feet of office, lab and research space.
“Apple – with its vision, its brand and its products – could make a home anywhere across the globe,” said San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation Chair Janice Brown. “By selecting San Diego, they are showing that they value a place that prioritizes a rich talent pool, inclusive economy, and commitment to changing the world for the better.”
In addition to its corporate and retail presence, Apple’s app ecosystem contributes to the San Diego economy. App developers who call San Diego home create products that reach customers around the world.
“Apple’s decision to increase the company’s presence in San Diego is a testament to the strong, talented workforce and intellectual capital we have in the region,” said Jerry Sanders, President and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “We look forward to the opportunities this investment brings for our entire region and the role San Diego will play in the future of Apple.”
Apple Fashion Valley, opened in 2001, was the company’s 21st store in the world. Apple currently employs 600 retail employees at its five stores in the region.
The company’s local teams over the years have helped support a number of organizations in San Diego, including the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, Make-A-Wish San Diego, San Diego Humane Society, American Cancer Society, Zoological Society of San Diego, Cards for Kidz NFP, Braille Institute San Diego Center, and Challenged Athletes Foundation.
This week, WTC San Diego teamed up with Elaine Harwell, senior counsel at Procopio, to host a roundtable on a topic that has generated much confusion, interest, and anxiety over the past year – data privacy.
In May 2018, the European Union’s first-of-its-kind data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), went into effect. With limited case law to aid in its interpretation, companies and regulators alike have since scrambled to ensure compliance and avoid penalties such as the $57 million fine levied on Google by France’s top data privacy agency.
The GDPR also propelled data privacy laws in other parts of the world. Last June, Governor Brown signed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) of 2018, cementing into state law many of the general tenets from Europe’s GDPR. These include the right to know what personal information is being collected and with whom it is being shared, as well as the right to have personal information deleted from company databases. GDPR and CCPA share the objectives of increasing transparency, broadening existing definitions of data processing, and encouraging business behavior that prioritizes data security. At least 24 states in the U.S. now have laws that address the data security practices of private sector entities. This is a new reality, and for companies of any size, developing and maintaining a data privacy framework needs to be a priority.
This blog post originally appeared on Innovate78’s blog. Managed by EDC, Innovate78 is the collaborative outcome of five cities – Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos and Vista – coming together with a shared vision to boost economic prosperity along the 78 Corridor.
A map of the region’s unique coworking spaces. (Courtesy of: Snazzy Maps and Rising Tide Partners) In addition to being home to many innovative companies, the 78 Corridor also houses a number of coworking spaces that contribute to the success of the local startup scene as well as the entire community.
In addition to coworking spaces, another resource available to the region is Startup78, which is an initiative of Innovate78 and San Diego Regional EDC to unite and amplify the resources available to entrepreneurs along the 78 Corridor with the goal of helping startups scale to become long-term, viable businesses that support our economy.
All five Innovate78 cities (Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, and Vista) are home to a number of coworking spaces that each boast unique offerings and amenities. Many people come to work in these spaces for the networking opportunities and oftentimes, find their other co-founder while working on separate projects. Professionals have many different spaces to choose from along the corridor, allowing them to work close to home and contribute to the local economy.
