Panel: Data is key to crowd funding success
Crowd funding isn’t really about raising money. It’s about gathering data and contact information whose long-term value far outweighs the one-time cash that comes in. A group of crowd funding experts hammered that point home at an Oct. 20 event hosted by the Central Coast MIT Enterprise Forum at UC Santa Barbara. Crowd funding, in Read More →
NextMover, GearUp take top spots at Santa Barbara Startup Weekend
A company looking to shake up the moving industry took home $55,000 and the top spot at Santa Barbara’s third Startup Weekend, one of 200 such gatherings taking place across the globe Nov. 15-17.
The event challenges budding entrepreneurs and programers to launch a startup with just 54 hours separating the concept and final product. The events have been held in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo. The execution, design and business model of the pitches were judged by Kevin O’Connor, co-founder and CEO of Summerland-based FindTheBest; Klaus Schauser, co-founder and chief strategist of AppFolio in Goleta; and Jon Funk of Ocean Road Partners, among others.
A website called NextMover took home first place for its interface that aims to provide users a cheaper alternative to moving companies. Marketing itself as “your friend with a truck,” the site connects movers with others who can get the job done and are looking to make a quick buck.
Elings named top philanthropist
A colon cancer diagnosis at age 67 prompted retired UC Santa Barbara Physics Professor Virgil Elings to underwrite the cost of free colonoscopies for residents of the South Coast who cannot afford them or don’t have insurance coverage. And that spontaneous gift to the community was honored Nov. 14 as Elings was named Philanthropist of Read More →
Clean Diesel’s Pirelli deal scuttled
Clean Diesel said Nov. 12 that it and the Italian auto parts firm had decided to cancel a project launched earlier this year that brought Clean Diesel’s catalytic converter coatings to Europe.
McGraths honored at conservation awards
Ventura County’s McGrath family took home top honors at the fourth annual Resource Conservation District awards, in a program that was bittersweet for one of the region’s top farming families. Phil McGrath, a farmer who embraced organics and the farm-to-table movement when others still focused on conventionally-grown crops and global markets, was the winner of Read More →
Paso Robles named Wine Region of the Year
Paso Robles wine country has been named Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine, beating out long-established players.
Startup Weekend returns to Santa Barbara
Startup Weekend is gearing up for its return to Santa Barbara on Nov. 15-17. The event is a three-day creative sprint that brings together technical experts, designers and business minds to create a company idea over a weekend. The idea took off with support from the Kauffman Foundation, Microsoft and Google, with local groups organizing Read More →
