Tacos and Tech Podcast

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Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News!

I’m Neal Bloom from Rising Tide Partners.

This week, I’m flying solo on the mic to unpack a busy week in San Diego tech.

Before we dive in, we wanted to thank you and ask our listeners to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego Startup Community!

Topics Covered

Suja IPO & San Diego’s Consumer Brand Pipeline

* Suja Life IPO

* Coca-Cola’s early investment thesis

* San Diego as a premium wellness and consumer products launchpad

* Comparison to other recent San Diego consumer brand IPOs

* Why San Diego may be one of America’s best “test markets” for health & lifestyle brands

Stone Brewing, Sapporo & Maria Stipp’s Exit Track Record

* Stone Brewing acquisition news

* The evolution of San Diego’s craft brewing ecosystem

* Maria Stipp’s leadership journey across:

* EcoATM

* Lagunitas

* Stone Brewing

* Suja

* Siete Foods board involvement

* The importance of experienced operators recycling through ecosystems

Firestorm Labs Is on an Absolute Heater

* Firestorm Labs raises $82M Series B

* New $30M defense contract

* Distributed manufacturing and edge logistics

* “Factories in shipping containers”

* Why modern defense tech is increasingly about adaptability and rapid production

* Firestorm hosting the first annual Hardtech 50 Release Party

Hardtech 50 + Next Wave 30

* Why it became impossible to stop at just 50 companies

* San Diego’s growing density across:

* aerospace

* robotics

* autonomy

* semiconductors

* energy

* ocean tech

* manufacturing

* - The rise of interdisciplinary founders and “things that move atoms”

UCSD’s Deep Tech Infrastructure Push

* University of California San Diego and advanced engineering initiatives

* Supercomputing, fusion, AI infrastructure, and scientific tooling

* The importance of compute, cooling, energy, and simulation infrastructure

* The long-term impact of institutions like:

* Qualcomm

* General Atomics

* San Diego Supercomputer Center

* Navy-affiliated research

Referenced article: UCSD Guardian coverage

Scripps + San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

* Scripps Institution of Oceanography

* San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

* Conservation, climate science, oceanography, and AI converging

* Why proximity between institutions creates innovation density

Referenced article: Scripps announcement

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

Angel Academy Session 2 puts two founder-turned-investors on stage: Neal Bloom and Ashok Kamal. Both built companies, stumbled through first exits, and eventually landed on the investor side of the table. The conversation covers what actually changes when you go from pitching to writing checks — how to evaluate founders when there's nothing but a prototype, why saying no fast is a form of respect, and what most first-time angels get wrong about time horizons and portfolio construction. It's a candid, unscripted look at the operator lens that shapes how both of them deploy capital.

Key Topics

* Neal's founder-to-investor arc: aerospace to startups to fund manager

* Ashok's path from recycled-backpack startup to NuFund

* Why saying no quickly is the most respectful thing an investor can do

* Being helpful versus intrusive as a post-investment supporter

* First-check misconceptions: what new angels get wrong

* Jockey versus horse — evaluating founders when traction is thin

* NuFund's annual fund model and top-quartile performance

* How to think about projections at the earliest stages

Links & Resources

* San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC): https://sdac.sdsu.edu

* NuFund Venture Group: https://nufund.com

* SDSU ZIP Launchpad: https://ziplaunchpad.sdsu.edu

* Rising Tide Partners: https://risingtidepartners.co

Connect on LinkedIn

* Neal Bloom: linkedin.com/in/nealbbloom

* Ashok Kamal: linkedin.com/in/ashokkamal

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

Neal sits down with Paige Craig, Founder and Managing Partner at Outlander VC, the first-check fund that backs founders as early as humanly possible. Paige shares how growing up homeless, bootstrapping a defense tech company during the Iraq War, and years of studying what makes founders tick led him to build a 38-point framework for picking people - not plans. They cover physical AI, manufacturing, defense tech, and why first-time founders still get his first call. And yes, there are duck carnitas involved.

Key Topics

* Outlander’s first-check model: investing before product or metrics exist

* The 38-point founder framework: vision, intelligence, character, execution

* Why first-time founders often outperform repeat founders on a risk-adjusted basis

* Bootstrapping a defense tech company in 2003 - driving into Iraq to win contracts

* Physical AI as a 20-year defining theme

* Manufacturing and industrial automation as the next frontier

* The coming dislocation of creative talent from AI

* Defense tech investment beyond the hype cycle

Links & Resources

* Outlander

* Scale AI

* Brad Feld

Connect on LinkedIn

* Paige Craig

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

The 2026 San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC) kicks off with Angel Academy Session 1, hosted at SDSU's ZIP Launchpad. Neal Bloom walks a room of aspiring and returning angel investors through the fundamentals — what angel investing actually looks like, how the SDAC's group diligence process works, and why a portfolio approach matters more than picking one winner. With 135 startup applications on the table and a Decision Day set for May 29, the session lays out the full arc from learning to deploying capital.

Key Topics

* What angel investing is and why it's a learned muscle

* The SDAC's group diligence model: applications to investment

* Portfolio approach: deploying into 3–5 companies

* Why in-person founder pitches change the calculus

* The "Super Bowl" — May 29 Decision Day and what it means

* Fund structure: $200K–$2M raise range, SPV side vehicles

* Last year's fund: $440K deployed into three companies

Links & Resources

* San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC): https://sdangel.com

* SDSU ZIP Launchpad: https://ziplaunchpad.sdsu.edu

* Rising Tide Partners: https://risingtidepartners.co

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

In this weeks episode, I sit down with Grayson LaFrenz and Chad Lohrli, two of the co-founders of Cadre AI, the San Diego-based AI strategy and integration firm helping mid-market companies turn AI hype into P&L impact. They get into why 99 out of 100 business leaders still can’t point to measurable ROI from AI, how Cadre’s pod model mirrors the playbook Grayson used to build Power Digital into a record-setting exit, and why change management - not technology - is the real bottleneck. The taco question made an appearance.

Key Topics

* Why most companies have no real AI strategy

* Grayson’s path from Power Digital’s PE exit to Cadre AI

* Chad’s journey from hackathons and SDX to co-founding Cadre

* How Cadre’s pod system verticalizes AI delivery

* The maturity index that exposes C-suite blind spots

* Why services businesses lose operating leverage at scale

* Building reusable AI blocks across clients

* Turning call recordings into an autonomous client intelligence system

* Why change management is harder than the technology

Links & Resources

* Cadre AI

* SDx Community

* Power Digital

Connect on LinkedIn

* Grayson LaFrenz

* Chad Lohrli

* Neal Bloom

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

Episode Summary

Neal Bloom takes the stage at the 2026 San Diego Angel Conference Knowledge & Networking Event at SDSU to walk a room full of aspiring and active angel investors through the four questions he uses to evaluate early-stage companies. Using live audience exercises - pitching Uber, Airbnb, and Palantir in one sentence, debating whether Viori was a pass or a miss - he turns startup evaluation from an abstract skill into something visceral and personal. This isn’t theory. It’s how the sausage gets made when real capital is on the line.

Key Topics

* The four-question framework for evaluating startups

* Why clarity is a test of the founder, not the investor

* One-sentence pitching exercises with Uber, Airbnb, and Palantir

* Venture scale outcomes vs. good small businesses

* Salt Couture vs. Reef vs. Vuori - three paths from the same starting point

* How EBITDA, CAC, and growth get valued differently across business types

* Excitement as signal, not hype

* The calendar test: would you spend one more hour on this company?

Links & Resources

* San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC)

* SDSU Fowler College of Business

* Evo Nexus

* NuFund

* Vuori

* Rising Tide Partners

Connect on LinkedIn

* Neal Bloom

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube.

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News!

I’m Neal Bloom from Rising Tide Partners.

My co-host in this episode is Fred Grier, journalist and author of The Business of San Diego substack. He covers the ins-and-outs of the startup world including breaking news, IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A through his newsletter.

Before we dive in, we wanted to thank and ask our listeners to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego Startup Community!

April 2

Manifold Security Raised $8M

Rybodyn Raised $10 Funding

Shield AI Raises $2B

Condor Software Series A

Q1 2026 Funding Report

2026 Cool Companies

Curated Events List – For full list – check The Social Coyote

2026 SD Hardtech 50 Release Event - April 30

TechCon SoCal May 21-23

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

Blueprint Equity just closed a $333M Fund III - and they’re doubling down on a thesis that feels increasingly contrarian in today’s AI-fueled world.

In this episode, Neal sits down with Sheldon Lewis and Bobby Ocampo, co-founders and managing partners of La Jolla-based Blueprint Equity, to unpack their “early growth equity” strategy - investing in bootstrapped SaaS companies doing $1–7M in ARR and growing fast.

They share their journey from 2008 investment banking crash, near-billion-dollar exits, to building Blueprint from scratch. Along the way, they break down why they call themselves “anti-VC,” how AI is reshaping SaaS economics, and why raising less capital can actually create better founder outcomes.

If you’re building in SaaS - especially outside Silicon Valley - this is one to study.

Key Topics

* What is Early Growth Equity?

* From I Banking in 2008 to Building a Fund

* The PayLease Story

* Why They Call Themselves “Anti-VC”

* How AI Is Changing SaaS (But Not Killing It)

* Hands-On Portfolio Support

* Fund III: $333M Closed

* Why Great Companies Can Be Built Anywhere

Links & Resources

* Blueprint Equity

Connect on LinkedIn

* Sheldon Lewis

* Bobby Ocampo

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

Matt Holman, founder of Commerce Catalyst and Subscription Prescription, joins Neal to unpack what’s really happening inside modern e-commerce and subscription-driven CPG brands. From Utah’s fast-growing “Silicon Slopes” ecosystem to AI-powered personalization, Matt shares how founders are building durable revenue in a post-hype e-commerce world.

They explore the tension between acquisition and retention, why subscription is often misunderstood, and how community-driven ecosystems accelerate operator learning faster than content ever could.

In this episode, they cover:

* Why the best subscription brands win on acquisition first

* The difference between real personalization and surface-level tactics

* How AI is improving research, CX, and performance marketing

* Why e-commerce multiples compressed - and what that means for founders

* The power of Utah’s Commerce Catalyst community

* Balancing growth targets with long-term subscription LTV

Resources & Links:

* Commerce Catalyst

* Subscription Prescription

* Sign up for Matt’s Newsletter

Connect on LinkedIn

* Matt Holman

* Neal Bloom

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe

Susie Harborth joins the pod to share her journey from refugee immigrant and first-generation college student to biotech operator, ecosystem builder, and now founder-investor behind Inspirafund and Sencie.

After building early-stage life science companies, launching BioLabs in San Diego, and working across venture and banking, Susie is now placing focused bets in overlooked but meaningful spaces - starting with sleep, rest, and recovery in hospitality.

We dive into why sleep is emerging as a foundational performance lever, how design and “invisible care” shape human experience, and why Susie is building at the intersection of science, hospitality, and wellness. We also unpack her next venture concept, SuperHRO - an offboarding support platform for professionals navigating career transitions.

This episode is about investing with conviction, building from lived experience, and designing for how humans actually feel - not just how systems operate.

Key Topics

* Growing up in San Diego as a refugee immigrant and discovering venture capital during the dot-com era

* Why Susie chose to support scientists curing disease instead of becoming a doctor herself

* Building BioLabs and designing physical hubs for “maximum human collision”

* The difference between luxury and “invisible care”

* Why sleep is the most underleveraged performance tool in modern life

* The science behind circadian rhythms, REM quality, and cognitive performance

* Sleep tourism and the opportunity in hospitality wellness

* Launching Sencie and partnering with The Bower in Coronado

* Why some opportunities are too niche for traditional VC — but perfect for focused capital

* Introducing SuperHRO: rethinking HR and support during job transitions

Links & Resources

* Inspirafund - Personal investment platform backing overlooked, high-impact ideas

* Sencie - Sleep and well-being experiences for hospitality and travel

Connect On LinkedIn

* Susie Harborth

* Neal Bloom

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit risingtidepartners.substack.com/subscribe