Just Mesa'n around…

Philanthropy is not just about giving money. It’s about giving time. And that’s just what some of San Diego’s finest leaders did last week at The Basement. “Meet the Boss,” the series that brings undergrads up close and personal with local presidentes, was another home run event for the undergrad incubator. The students had prepared fantastic questions for the panel. Yes, there was great advice given. But there were also hilarious stories revealed.

Take Matt Newsome, former President of the Alumni Association. On stage, he confessed he got an “F” in college. His punishment? Orientation leader at UC San Diego. Ha! Turns out this severe chastisement was the best thing that ever happened to him. A former introvert, Matt came out of his shell and discovered the importance of social skills in life, in getting hired, and in becoming a leader. The dean who gave him his thirty lashes and harsh sentence is his lifelong mentor. Seems Matt’s hard time paid back in spades. He is now the current SVP/General Manager of the Americas at Cubic.

Some of the priceless advice thrown out on career paths, mentorship, and philanthropy by my favorite Friday morning customer, Chris Weil, had me cracking up in the back. “When I made more money than I was spending I knew I was on the right track.” Chris also spoke to the importance of soft skills, the underutilization of internships, and never-ending regulations in finance. “Make sure you’ve got a clean record,” he said with a chuckle, referring to mandatory FBI checks and fingerprinting. But my favorite line of the night was, “There’s no wrong career move until you are 35.” Whew… just made it!

Sandra Timmons threw in her two cents, adding she found herself a job with KPBS after an internship with the local media company. She joked about the importance of soft skills. “If you are a bad interviewer, you could always open up your own company like my husband.” She also stressed the importance of staying up with technology. Our fearless orientation leader chimed in, emphasizing that we should also understand how technology changes socio-economics. Damn. I don’t ever remember attending these types of events in college. Was I just spending too much time in TJ and missed out? Rhetorical question, thank you. Clearly, UC San Diego is changing the student culture to prepare our youngsters for the new work world by fostering entrepreneurship.

Did you know Tina Nova gives scholarships to women in science for summers at UCI? And not the straight A students like you’d think. Tina graciously hands scholarships to the C+ and B- women who are struggling with their grades but have the hunger and drive to take a stab at science. After the program, a young student cornered Tina. Overwhelmed with happiness and filled with inspiration, the young female student began to cry. Shit, we all were crying at one point or another during the presentation. Sandra got choked up when talking about how it is our duty to give back and Chris did too. The fulfillment he receives knowing his scholarship recipients focus their energies on school work, not student loans or jobs to make ends meet, is sincere and admirable. We’ve got confessions, jokes, tears. The drama.

Jesse Knight Jr. left quite the impression on the crowd when sharing his all time toughest interview question. “Tell me about your biggest failure and what you did to recover.” Apparently the former head of SDG&E and Sempra Energy was a deer in headlights. He would never forget the humbling lesson that failure means growth. He explained the importance of building and maintaining a strong network. His college roomies started Nike and MTV. That’s it? But what resonated most with this former Triton was his strong belief that “every student should be required to study abroad.” Oh, Jesse. Come sit by me. Global cultural exchange will be my legacy.

And there you have it. The Basement is off to a smashing start. In just a year, they have already engaged 364 Seeker Track Students and have 63 member students. This translates into 21 teams buzzing about creating their start-ups. The student-driven incubator has hosted 90+ events and activities since their launch in February of 2015. More than ninety? In just one year? Are you kidding me!? That’s an insane amount of events to coordinate and an insane amount of opportunities for students to get involved in. More than 70 alumni and external volunteers have participated in events, showing great faith in the University’s mission to change the mindsets of our emerging leaders. With the priceless support of these local experts, teams have raised more than 80K via competitions and Kickstarter. Perhaps it’s time for you to donate your time to the cause. Check out their upcoming events here and see where you can make a difference.

Come sit by me…

Rumor has it that Google is looking to set up shop here and hiring up to 400 people. The cat is out of the bag. San Diego’s got talent! And who wouldn’t want to swoop in on our amazing local talent pool post Qualcomm layoffs? Mark Bowles knew it when he was scouting talent ten years ago when living up in Silicon Valley. He found both the workforce and life style down here tán irresistible, he never left!

GoPro figured it out, setting up shop in Carlsbad, and Google is next, looking at space in Rancho Bernardo. Where do I get this insider info? A professional never reveals their source. Navid Alipour, Analytics Ventures. Woops. Did I let that slip? The man is on top of everything. Or shall I say, he’s got his fingers in several pies? For reals. Venture Capitalists are in the know about what’s hot and what’s not. His company, Analytics Ventures, not only invests in existing companies with revenue, it is actively co-founding companies. San Diego companies, that is. Alipour shares, “We don’t just invest in promising San Diego companies, we build them.” BAM! Their current portfolio includes promising businesses such as CureMetrix, SouthDoctors and CureMatch. The model, better known as the Startup Studio Model, is brilliant! This Venture Fund will be the first of its kind in San Diego.

VCs from the team include local powerhouses Blaise Barrelet, Andreas Roell, Taner Halicioglu, Kevin Hell, and George Gould, to name a few. Other big investors are jumping onboard to get in on the action. When someone like Ty Kalklosch is down to invest in Analytics Ventures latest funds, you pay attention. And when you’ve got seasoned local serial entrepreneurs and C-level execs lining up to join the party (come by the BellaV and I’ll whisper who in your ear), you stop what you are doing and call me. I’ll have my people contact his people, and will get you a date with Mr. Alipour. Let’s do this, people. Let’s build great companies in San Diego.

Upcoming events (I'll be at the fun table…)

• San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering
  Okay, this one is technically off the Mesa. But it’s also OFF THE HOOK! Biocom Institute brings us the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering. Illumina threw down some mad cash to back the festival with other groups such as Qualcomm Foundation, Viasat, Azteca 15, Cymer, Cubic, Thermo Fischer Scientific, Geek Girl, General Atomics, the San Diego Foundation… Seriously, this is just the tip of the iceberg. What a great example of SD coming together to celebrate our rich culture of innovation. Moreover, what a fantastic event for us to tap into our kids’ creativity. This really gets them thinking about STEM. Events will take place all week throughout San Diego, from Vista to Chula Vista, Mission Trails to Cabrillo, downtown to uptown City Heights. Check out the Behind the Scenes Tour at Taylor Guitars or the Innovators Lab at the New Children’s Museum. “Hacking for Health,” aimed toward high-school students, calls for teams to solve pressing public health issues. Birch Aquarium will host Ocean Exploration Monday (3/7), Wednesday (3/9) and Friday (3/11). They even have a date night for the 21+ crowd STEM lovers. High five, Biocom Insitute! Way to prepare our kiddos for the workplace of their future.
  March 5-13
• SOS Toastmasters and ResearcHERS Featuring TSRI Professor Donna Blackmond
  Dos por uno next Wednesday at TSRI. Told you they are back in a major way—scoop’s coming soon. In the meantime, check out their back-to-back events. First up is SOS Toastmasters on Wednesday afternoon at 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Immunology East Conference Room. SOS stands for “Scripps Outstanding Speakers” and that’s their mission, to give scientists the opportunity to perfect their speaking skills in order to deliver top-notch presentations. Stick around campus for a talk by Professor of Chemistry, Donna Blackmond. TSRI's new series, ResearchHERS—fantastic name by the way—kicks off at 4 p.m. in the TSRI Auditorium. Too bad they don’t have one of their Athenaeum Jazz Concerts that evening. Would be a triple threat.
  March 9, The Scripps Research Institute
• MIT Enterprise Forum—Case Study: RxSafe Push One for Valium, Two for Viagra
  MIT Enterprise Forum’s last event featuring Mark Bowles, founder of eco-ATM, and Eric Otterson from Silicon Valley Bank was a HUGE success. This month, Bowles is back. Only this time, he’s part of a “Mock Board of Directors” along with David Titus, SVP of Business Development at Cooley LLP, Lynn Fulks, senior marketing strategist with UpStart Group, and Dr. Sarah McBane, associate professor at UC San Diego and current president of the California Pharmacists Association. MIT has been bringing us fun and engaging formats that are definitely out of the box, making Wednesdays at the SCRM worthwhile! Come join the lively discussion. We promise you won’t be staring at the clock waiting for the bell to ring.
  March 9, 5-8:30 p.m., Sanford Consortium

Tags: Blogs, Life on the Mesa