San Diego has long been hailed as the home of tech startups. Undeniably, it has become the hotspot for entrepreneurs looking to lay the next big thing's foundation.
When it comes to setting up startups, many businesses are leaving Silicon Valley to favor other startup-friendly global cities.
San Diego encompasses the benefits over other cities: its affordability to live in the United States, competitive marketplace, and availability of dynamic mobile app developers in the local talent ecosystem.
In San Diego, being a tech startup, you need to rub elbows with enormous talent. In this city, inspiration seems to grow on trees. So, let’s hop into the following before diving into the world of tech city San Diego:
- An overview of the San Diego tech scene
- Reasons Behind San Diego Becoming the Tech Startup Hub
- Some booming names of tech startups in San Diego
An Overview of San Diego Tech Scene
It should come as no surprise that San Diego continues to nurture the fastest-growing tech startups. Thanks to growing markets, robust talent pipelines, and big exits. This city has already proved that you don’t need a metro city to launch a successful startup.
CBRE mentioned the name of San Diego as the 6th fastest-growing US city for software and tech professionals.
It is now the sixth-fastest growing technology job market as IT companies have huge potential in the city’s educated and tech-savvy labor pool.
Search engine goliath Google opened a 60,000 square feet office in 2016 and other big tech companies like Apple, Amazon, and Walmart Labs.
Simply put, the San Diego tech scene has a long way to go. Every business is relocating to San Diego, which could be a tech haven tomorrow.
Here’s why San Diego has become the city of tech startups.
1. Supportive Startup Community
San Diego has become synonymous with technology, invention, and tech startups. It has become the hotspot of the best talent and offering the most exciting opportunities. The city has been recognized for fostering a collaborative and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem rooted in community, collaboration, and giving back.
Startup San Diego, the startup community in San Diego, comprises high-powered investors, veteran business leaders, and passionate entrepreneurs. It’s welcoming! Since San Diego startups are eager to grow and develop the entrepreneurial spirit in the city they love, community members are happy to introduce startups to their contacts, provide advice, and invite them to events and succeed.
During the entire year, large events are happening, such as the San Diego Angel Conference, UCSD Ignite, and Hera Venture Summit. Moreover, there are also meetups and events every week for every niche group of founders and techies. It means that tech startups can quickly build up a support network in San Diego.
2. Freedom to make early mistakes
San Diego is a great place for tech startups in terms of growth. Being an entrepreneur, if you look at some of the well-known startup founders, then you will likely know that the vast majority of them experienced some mistakes as they built their companies. Undeniably, there are several failed startups before landing on something that worked.
Even though there is room for mistakes in highly competitive places like Silicon Valley, there’s hardly any room for an entrepreneur to make mistakes and grow from them.
Since San Diego is not considered a central “tech hub,” it leaves entrepreneurs with the opportunity to test freely without added pressure or fear of the industry.
The ability to make mistakes, fail, and bounce back, coupled with a community atmosphere, makes it easy for startup founders to feel comfortable in their skin and explore limitless boundaries.
3. Innovative Incubators
The tech city, San Diego, possesses plenty of incubators and accelerators where startups can grow their businesses. In general, incubators support startups who are in the early stages of establishing their businesses. This is especially helpful when they have a great idea or talent to bring something new into a respective marketplace. However, they don’t have the business model or support to transform into reality.
There are a few successful incubator names in San Diego: Hera Hub, Hera Labs, LabFellows, EvoNexus, LabFellows, and BioLabs San Diego.
Apart from incubators, accelerators are designed to assist with growth for startups, which already have a clear vision, business model, and traction. The main goal of incubators and accelerators is to help businesses grow through investor fundings and mentorships.
Both incubators and accelerators do exist and are thriving in San Diego. For instance, Ad Astra, a female-focused accelerator, provides guaranteed funding in completing a program.
Not only this, here’s another one. Wireless Health Hub is an accelerator, which focuses on businesses in the wireless health industry.
We’d also like to mention plenty of co-working spaces that San Diego has. These co-working spaces have been sprouting across the city to accommodate the growing number of startups who are launching and migrating to the sunshine city.
4. Affordable office space
This is also a factor that naturally attracts tech startups. That’s why San Diego has become the most-refined city that possesses such affordable characteristics. In San Diego, the average real estate price is approximately $300 per square foot, which is affordable than San Jose, around $400 per square foot. The lower overhead costs are crucial for tech startups, particularly those in the pre-funding stage. However, Silicon Valley is itself out of this marketplace, and it has become the beneficiary of San Diego.
5. Better Quality of life
It’s not a joke! Silicon Beach offers a better quality of life than the Bay Area. San Diego possesses two distinct advantages as a new startup city: a nice place to live, and it’s only a 1-hr flight to San Francisco.
San Diego city is all about fewer traffic jams, the right weather conditions, and some apparent benefits. Not only this, but affordable rents are also a critical factor in attracting young graduates to a city.
Some Booming Names of Tech Startups in San Diego
1. Arista MD
Founded in 2013, Arista MD is an eConsult platform, which empowers PCPs (Primary Care Providers) to improve specialty care access and patient outcomes, lessen cost-of-care and increase provider satisfaction. A Telehealth solution provider enhances the patient’s referral process significantly and allows greater access to high-quality care.
Designed to integrate into workflows seamlessly, the Arista, MD tech platform allows payers and providers to quickly and affordably launch specialist eConsults using their specialists or certified panel of experts.
It also partners with healthcare stakeholders to ensure that their success in the transition to value-based care.
2. Measurabl
Founded in 2013, Measurabl has become the world’s fastest-growing sustainability startup. It is recognized as one of the best ESG software for commercial real estate. Its automatic tools make it easy for more than 6 million square feet of commercial property across 67 countries to collect sustainability data, analyze and accurately report performance.
3. AttackIQ
Founded in 2013, AttackIQ is a leader in the emerging market of continuous security validation. This San Diego-based tech startup is also honored in 2020 as one of the best tech startups in San Diego.
This industry’s platform enables red and blue teams to test their security controls and staff's effectiveness. It also supports the MITRE ATT&CK, a curated knowledge base and model for cyber advisory behavior used to plan security improvements and verify security defences work as expected.
In Conclusion
All we can say is that every business involves risks. It’s rare to find the perfect solution without making any sacrifices along the way.
If you are in tech or are an owner of a tech startup, you don’t need a Valley. San Diego can take your startup from the shadows to the spotlight.