How a third-generation builder turned a storage-unit startup into a national infrastructure powerhouse—and what's next for tech's invisible backbone.

Floyd Auten, COO and co-founder of TechNet Partners, joins Neal for an episode that digs deep into the literal and figurative foundations of tech. From punchdowns in high school to powering stadiums and data centers across the country, Floyd shares how his family legacy in electrical work turned into a career designing the infrastructure that keeps the digital world running.

They talk about life safety systems, the rise of AI tools in design, the Padres' Wi-Fi network, and how Floyd's team at TechNet is scaling services across all 50 states.

Floyd also shares what it meant to win the Top Tech Award in 2024—and why he's excited to help spotlight other behind-the-scenes innovators this year.

• [2:00] Floyd's start: lessons from his grandfather's Navy electrician days

• [5:30] How TechNet grew from a storage-unit office to 300+ employees

• [9:00] Life safety tech: upgrading USC's 911 system and keeping infrastructure resilient

• [12:30] Data center growth + designing for sustainability

• [17:00] From Padres Wi-Fi to MLB partnerships and stadium-scale solutions

• [21:00] Floyd's long-running partnership with Cox Business

• [26:30] Winning a Top Tech Award and inspiring the next wave of tech leaders

• [29:00] Advice for founders and future tech leaders: love the work, and find mentors

• [33:00] 🌮 Taco Talk: Floyd's go-to spot is TJ Tacos in Escondido

Floyd was recognized at the 2024 Top Tech Awards - and now he's helping select the next generation of unsung tech heroes.

👉 Know someone making tech magic happen behind the scenes?

Nominations are now open for the 2025 Top Tech Awards!

Submit yours before May 2 at toptechawards.com

• Floyd Auten on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/floyd-auten-rcdd-364a4410

• TechNet Partners: technetpartners.com

• Top Tech Awards Nomination: toptechawards.com

• TJ Tacos: Yelp link

Meet Jeff Fenster, a serial entrepreneur, problem solver, and relationship builder who's scaled multiple businesses by identifying problems worth solving - and assembling the right team to tackle them.

Inspired early on by A Shark Never Sleeps, Jeff set out to become a sports agent, only to pivot right after law school and dive into entrepreneurship. His first venture began with a bold move - calling his employer's bluff and walking out to start his own company, only to face a major hiccup when payroll checks were accidentally sent to clients.

Through trial, error, and big wins, Jeff has honed his entrepreneurial philosophy:

"If you can live in your greatness, success is guaranteed."

That philosophy was put to the test when he dreamed up what would become Everbowl. Despite critics pointing out he wasn't a chef - and that most restaurants fail - Jeff saw the opportunity. Why? Because business owners, not chefs, build successful restaurant brands. From that insight, he coined:

"Experience is the most overrated prerequisite to starting a company."

From the lessons of building Everbowl, Jeff launched his latest venture - WeBuild - a company that helps others bring their physical business ideas to life by streamlining construction and buildouts.

Jeff also shares insights weekly on his podcast, The Jeff Fenster Show, where he interviews top performers, athletes, entrepreneurs, and creators about what makes them great.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How Jeff approaches building multiple businesses at once

• The role of self-awareness in entrepreneurial success

• His 5 core principles for life and business

• His latest book, Relationship Capital, which dives into the power of networking, mentorship, and building value through people

• Business relationships with names like Neil Patel, Drew Brees, Shaq, and the GoFundMe founders

• Why he believes investing in people is the ultimate multiplier

• His new venture, WeBuild, and what he's solving next

• And the power of storytelling through The Jeff Fenster Show

Plus, we get into tacos (of course):

Jeff's favorite taco spot: Casero Taqueria

His taco order: The al pastor, shrimp, and whatever the weekly special is.

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News!

I'm Neal Bloom from Fresh Brewed Tech, the Tacos and Tech Podcast, and Interlock Capital.

My co-hosts 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.

April 4, 2025

• Padres 7-0, Dodgers 8-0 in their starts

• Fred's Q1 report

• Class of 2025 Cool Companies

• Fundings:

  • Thatch AI

• Global M&A data

  • Red markets because of tariffs

• Qualcomm acquisition news: Acquires Gen AI company & rumored to be considering acquiring UK semiconductor company

• Cymbiotika ranks 10 fast-growing companies

• Leadership changes

  • Blender CEO Steps up

  • Shield AI New CEO

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

• 1st Mondays SSD April 7

• 1 Million Cups April 16

• Connect Summer Social June 3

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

Join us for a roundtable with three longtime builders of San Diego's startup scene:

Jonah Peake of The Social Coyote and The Career Coyote Hussein Yahfoufi of Startup Beach Neal Bloom of Fresh Brewed Tech and Interlock Capital Designing Events That Actually Build Community

In this episode, we dive into the elements that actually make an event meaningful—from location and check-in experience to dress code and follow-up community building.

We also talk about the growing energy around co-working gatherings and the potential for turning pop-up events into permanent spaces that foster connection, creativity, and collisions. 🔥 Episode Highlights:

• What it would look like to convene the region's top CEOs—and lessons learned from the OC CEO Leadership Alliance

• The evolution from North County Startup Mixer to San Diego County Startup Mixer

• How events like March Mingle, Indie Hackers, Launchpad San Diego Founders & Investors, and 1 Million Cups are shaping the ecosystem

• Why details like venue vibe, entrance flow, and even what people wear can set the tone for true connection

Whether you're an event host, startup founder, or just love showing up to meet great people, this episode is packed with insights on how we can all keep building together.

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News!

I'm Neal Bloom from Fresh Brewed Tech, the Tacos and Tech Podcast, and Interlock Capital.

My co-hosts 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.

3/27

We recorded this week's pod live on LinkedIn Live here. What did you think?

Neal speaking at Escondido City Council in support of the new AgX Hub

NCAA update

Pura Vida sold for $1m

23&Me bankruptcy

Events.com buying spree

Natalie Rocha leaving the UT for NYT Fellowship

Entos Pharmaceuticals Expands in Canada

Natilus 250,000 sq. ft. facility

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

Marching Mingle - March 26

StartupSD Co Working Day - March 28

Bootstrappers Event April 1

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News!

I'm Neal Bloom from Fresh Brewed Tech, the Tacos and Tech Podcast, and Interlock Capital.

My co-hosts 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.

Follow Fred on LinkedIn and X

Follow Neal on LinkedIn and X

On with the show!

3/20

UCSD/SDSU Basketball in the brackets!

Exits:

Gretel acquired by NVIDIA

Wiz acquired by Google

Poppi acquired by Pepsi

ServiceNow - made an acquisition

Fundings:

Trust & Will Series C

Occuspace Raises $6M

Tiderock AI

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

Dev & Data Night x CTO Talks - March 20

SD Startup Mixer - March 24

SD Hardware Meetup - March 25

Marching Mingle - March 26

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News!

I'm Neal Bloom from Fresh Brewed Tech, the Tacos and Tech Podcast, and Interlock Capital.

My co-hosts 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.

In this episode we talk about:

Top Funding and Ecosystem News from Fred's Business of San Diego newsletter

San Diego publicly traded life science companies had a 86% increase performance in 2024 compared to 10-20% in SF & Boston - Fred's post about this

Recent fundraises

First IPO in SD of 2025!

Acquisitions

New venture fund from the Prebys Foundation and leadership changes at Connect

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

Debrief - defense tech dinner & pre-sneak of San Diego Defense Day

Founder Build Days on March 19 & 20

Dev & Data Night x CTO Talks on March 20

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

In Part Two of this roundtable discussion, we go deeper into why tech ecosystem builders Jonah Peake of The Social Coyote and The Career Coyote and Hussein Yahfoufi of Startup Beach, are building their platforms.

We discuss their founder journeys, the problems they each saw worth solving, and how the local startup ecosystem looks different—and better—thanks to their solutions.

Highlights:

• Celebrating The Career Coyote's exciting milestone: the platform's first successful job placement and its first unsubscribe (a true marker of success!).

• How the "Coyote Super Pack" is making networking events more impactful and intentional.

• Why community-focused platforms, like Startup Beach and The Social Coyote, are crucial for founders, job seekers, and investors to thrive.

Upcoming Events Mentioned:

February's North County Mixer - Feb 26

Pack of One: Solopreneurs, Remote from HQ, and Han-Solos - March 6

March SD Founders Hike - March 7

Help shape our community: fill out this short survey and tell us what events you think San Diego still needs!

Other links referenced on the pod:

• Invest Like the Best podcast with Marc Andreessen

• SDx

• Arta Finance

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

In this special roundtable episode, we dive into the power of in-person events in building and strengthening the San Diego startup ecosystem. I'm joined by two of my ecosystem-building besties: Jonah Peake of The Social Coyote and The Career Coyote and Hussein Yahfoufi of Startup Beach. Together, we discuss why community-driven events are essential, how they fuel startup growth, and what it takes to build a thriving local network.

Jonah Peake has been a driving force in centralizing and curating San Diego's startup events through his Social Coyote newsletter. His passion for making connections easy has led him to compile the "Who You Need to Know in San Diego" list and build a resource hub for founders, job seekers, and ecosystem players.

Hussein Yahfoufi saw a gap in the local event landscape and built Startup Beach, a platform that makes it easier for organizers and attendees to discover, share, and engage with events. The platform just hit 100 live events and recently launched the Asks & Offers feature to help the community better support one another.

Links & Resources Mentioned:

📌 Jonah's Who You Need to Know in San Diego List: LinkedIn Post

📌 Startup Beach – Your hub for local startup events: Website

📌 Startup Beach Asks & Offers – A new way to connect: Check it out!

Action Item!

What events don't exist in San Diego but should? Let's make them happen! Submit your event ideas here: Event Ideas Form

🎧 Tune in to hear how we're building together as Jonah and Hussein are shaping San Diego's startup scene—one event at a time!

Listen & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms.

In this episode of the Tacos & Tech Podcast, Neal Bloom sits down with Scot Chisholm, the founder of Highland and co-founder of Classy, to discuss what it truly takes to scale leadership alongside a growing company. After leading Classy from a small startup to its acquisition by GoFundMe, Scot saw firsthand that scaling a company is only possible if you scale its leaders.

That insight led to the creation of Highland—a community-driven leadership experience designed for high-growth founders to navigate the challenges of leadership, build better teams, and sustain long-term success. Scot shares the key inflection points in his own journey, the biggest lessons learned, and how founders can avoid the leadership pitfalls that stall growth.

🔥 In This Episode, We Cover:

• The hardest challenges Scot faced as a founder and how they shaped his leadership.

• Why scaling a company is impossible without scaling leadership.

• How Highland is redefining leadership development for high-growth founders.

• The "Founder Mode vs. Leader Mode" framework and how to transition effectively.

• The mindset shift from running a company to empowering teams to run it with you.

• And of course, his favorite taco spots! 🌮

🚀 Resources & Mentions:

🔗 Scot Chisholm's Website

🔗 Classy

🔗 Highland

🔗 How to Scale Your Company in Founder Mode

🔗 Previous Tacos & Tech Episode with Scot Chisholm

🌮 Tune in to hear how Scot turned leadership challenges into a playbook for growth—and why Highland is the community every founder needs.