SD Startup Week Returns for 12th Year
Panel conversations and networking events happening across the county, ranging from Carlsbad to Tijuana.
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In San Diego — a collaborative ecosystem and nearly 300 days of sunny weather are two of many assets that have helped grow the local startup scene over the last decade.
'What makes San Diego a great place to start a company?' will be one of many topics discussed during S.D. Startup Week, which takes place this Monday, October 21st.
Now in its 12th year, the purpose of Startup Week is to “guide and connect local founders and talent to the right resources, networks, and institutions to support and enrich the ecosystem,” according to Lisa Barnhouse, executive director at Startup San Diego, who stepped into the leadership role in March 2023.
High-Level Overview
Founded in 2014, Startup San Diego is a local non-profit dedicated to growing entrepreneurship in San Diego.
The organization’s anchor event, Startup Week, is an annual gathering that hosts speaker panels, networking, one-on-one mentoring and provides a platform for people to learn about the San Diego tech and startup landscape firsthand.
The non-profit relies on 100+ volunteers to help run its 5-day biggest event of the year across the region including Downtown San Diego, North County, and Tijuana, Mexico.
S.D. Startup Week Attendance Grows
Attendance at events has increased steadily, Startup San Diego’s executive director Lisa Barnhouse told me over Zoom, adding that her team of 100+ volunteers anticipates over 1,500 people for this year’s event.
San Diego Startup Week had an impressive reputation for attracting well over 3,000 attendees annually, before the pandemic.
For context, the first annual gathering only attracted a couple hundred people when it first started back in 2013.
“Before the pandemic, the conference was held at the convention center for all five days. While setting up and remaining in one location may be operationally easier, we have found that by moving around to different host venues, we are able to showcase more of our dynamic region and highlight not just the people and program content, but the unique cities and resources themselves.”
Building Community in San Diego
Startup Week is hosted in partnership with over 25 community and business partners.
This year in particular, it is working closely with the County of San Diego, City of Carlsbad, San Diego State University, UC San Diego, as well as corporate sponsors like Aleph One and ArkusNexus.
Barnhouse acknowledged that some service providers sponsor the event to win business or meet new clients. However, she emphasized that this isn’t the event's primary purpose.
“San Diego is a great community where we support each other,” Barnhouse said. In addition to helping established companies and service providers build brand and pipeline, our goal is to provide founders with valuable resources, including types of capital and expertise available to them they didn’t even know existed in order to foster a more equitable ecosystem.”
What to Expect This Year
Irwin Mark Jacobs, the co-founder and former chairman of Qualcomm, will serve as the headline keynote speaker.
Across the border, a portion of the program also is slated to take place in Tijuana with sessions focused on networking and binational partnerships.
Similar to previous years, attendees can expect hands-on tech exhibits, one-on-one mentoring, panel discussions, pitch competitions and networking opportunities for all community members who attend.
Lastly, attendees can participate in a Downtown Crawl which includes exclusive tours of Downtown Works, Edge Wallet, ClickUp and more.
“There’s something for everyone,” said Barnhouse.
Registration details for San Diego Startup Week are available at startupsd.org.
Great article!