SAN DIEGO—Well it has been quite a summer here in
San Diego.
We’ve managed to avoid mass rolling blackouts, and
“June Gloom”, our yearly overcast weather, has finally left us.
As has Cliff Numark, former president and CEO of the
San Diego Regional Technology Alliance http://www.sdrta.org/!
He resigned due to family responsibilities, and is now replaced by the highly
qualified Tyler Orion. Cliff was an integral part of the San Diego scene…and
though he says he’ll visit, Los Angeles seems awfully far away. Speaking of the
SDRTA, their flagship event – The Big eSchmooze – is taking place at the Torrey
Pines Glider Port on August 23rd. If you only go to one networking
event a year, go to the eSchmooze. It’s crowded, it’s noisy, and the lines for
food and cocktails are long…but absolutely everyone will be there and you’ll
kick yourself if you aren’t!
June 1st saw the wrap party for The Girls
Project, a collaborative effort spearheaded by the San Diego Futures Foundation
http://www.sdff.org/. Becky Stawiski, head
of the SDFF, built a team of women from Techniquelle http://www.techniquelle.com/, WITI http://www.witi.org/, the SDRTA, and other area
companies. The party celebrated the creation of a brand new computer lab with
six weeks of hands-on training for the girls and the staff.
I
also got notice that we have a new neighbor. Swedish-based AU-System http://www.ausystem.com/, a leading Mobile
Internet consultancy, announced the opening of its North American subsidiary in
San Diego. The company's client list includes Ericsson, Motorola, Hyundai,
Compaq, Philips and Volvo, and its major investors include Schroder Ventures,
Ericsson, and IBM. With all of the downsizing happening lately in our town, its
nice to have a new company join the scene.
Talking about a scene, the
one that everyone thought was going to be a replay of Seattle turned out to be
nothing but a peaceful gathering of a few protestors and hordes of journalists.
I’m talking about BIO2001, one of the largest biotech/life sciences conferences
in the world. Fanned by media hype, local shopkeepers hunkered down prepared
for battle, but the protestors stayed home, the weather was great, and the
conference was a success.
Another
success was the second annual WebSanDiego.org Bonfire, taking place in Mission
Bay under the stars and a cool fireworks display by Sea World. The truth is
out…geeks CAN play sports!
Geek sports notwithstanding, one of my personal
highlights was meeting Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder of Hotmail. I was invited to
attend his presentation at one of San Diego’s most effective networking
organizations – TIE San Diego http://www.tiesandiego.org/.
I was impressed by the large turnout this group attracted, as well as the
obvious support (economical and educational) they offer their members. But back
to the charming Sabeer, who of course everyone knows as the man who negotiated
a $400 million dollar sale (for Hotmail.com) with Mr. Bill Gates of Microsoft.
Clearly, a 26-year-old kid from Bangalore “playing hardball with the world’s
richest man” is a story worth remembering! Ironically however, it was not his
experiences at the helm of Hotmail that taught him how to run a successful
business. Instead, he says it was the dismal failure of his second startup,
Arzoo.com, which taught him the most important lessons.
What I found fascinating were the stories of
mind-blowing craziness in the Seattle of 1997. In fact, the idea of Sabeer
taking Microsoft’s initial offer of $140 million and almost tripling it was
just the start in an industry ready to explode. Living in Jamaica at the time,
I was unaware that this virtual (un)reality was taking place…and I wish now
that I had been there!
Finally, I want to make sure that I mention the
upcoming entrepreneurial conference put on by the San Diego Forum for Women
Entrepreneurs (FWE) http://www.fwe.org/socal/.
Called the eSeries, it is a six-week comprehensive program for women
entrepreneurs in the high tech and life sciences industries. Only 30 women are
chosen to participate, and registration closes on August 20th, so if
you’re interested, contact Carrie Schultz right away! mailto:cschultz@san.rr.com.
Until next time!
