To say the least, it was a smashing success. In fact, this year’s event was heralded as one of the largest and most robust SDSW events to date. A big part of that success was due to the strong cohort of sponsors and partners that helped make the event epic: The Port of San Diego, Holonis, Zeeto Media, Ashford University, The Irvine Company, Ideator, and The City of San Diego. Because of them SDSW was able to provide attendees with a vast array of casual and social events spread all across Downtown San Diego. As expected, some of the biggest influencers in the local San Diego ecosystem showed up, and at the center of it all was none other than EvoNexus. I can’t say enough awesome things about the work they do for San Diego: their staff volunteered their time to coordinate speakers, develop topics, and open their downtown office as a venue for a lot of the events. Perhaps one of the coolest parts of the entire week was when David Brown and Marc Nager addressed an eager crowd about their recent news. Techstars officially acquired UP Global and all of their programs, like Startup Week, and San Diego was the first city to host an event after the news. They addressed the acquisition directly, answering the overwhelming concern that startup ecosystems would be negatively impacted because of the change in UP Global’s nonprofit status: With that issue put to bed, the two transitioned the conversation to a more personal level, offering their advice and mentorship for the audience. In essence they were Startup Week’s mission incarnate in that moment. After all, the whole goal of this event was to celebrate the entrepreneurial community in San Diego while also bringing everyone together in an inspiring way. That’s exactly what Brown, Nager, UP Global, Techstars, EvoNexus, and the whole city were able to accomplish together. At the risk of sounding like a broken record player, it was incredibly inspiring. To sum it up: if you’re not paying attention to San Diego, this year’s SDSW should be a message that speaks to the error of your ways – we’re absolutely killing it these days. I love this city. Image Credit: Fabrice Gould’s Twitter page
