Tacos and Tech Podcast

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!

2/13

Super Bowl ads worth mentioning:

Rain Drop Agency. Manscape, TurboTax/Intuit, Poppi/Pepsi (local investors)

SD Regional GDP/Economics report & event debrief

UCSD leading NASA missions

Biotech

Iambic inks $1.7B deal with Takeda

Former DermTech CEO launched a new co.

Neomorph Signed New Lease - 83,000 SFT

Tech

Natilus Raised $28M in Fresh Funding

Hauler raised $16M

Opaque raised, CEO is in SD, team is in SF

Drata Opens SF office

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

Alliance Societal Impact - Family Office Summit March 15-16

March Mingle March 25

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

New podcast series within Tacos and Tech: AI Builders Roundtable!

Neal sits down with Craig Lauer and Ross Young on a day both Anthropic and OpenAI dropped major releases to talk about what it actually looks like to build with AI right now. Ross walks through how his team at Clinically AI built an internal AI operating system using Claude Co-work - from voice-interviewing department heads to capture tribal knowledge, to running full pipeline reviews from HubSpot in natural language.

Craig shares how LaunchMate, the AI co-pilot he’s building for student founders at SDSU’s Zip Launchpad, uses persistent memory and multi-agent communication to keep founders moving. The conversation moves from tools to workflows to a surprisingly honest riff on identity - and what it means when intelligence is no longer your competitive advantage.

Key Topics Covered:

* The Anthropic 4-6 / OpenAI Codex same-day release and what it signals

* LaunchMate: AI agents with persistent memory for founders, mentors, and cohort management at SDSU Zip Launchpad

* “Tidbits” — auto-generated founder progress updates (”share without sharing”)

* Ross’s AI operating system at Clinically AI: markdown knowledge bases, Claude Co-work projects, HubSpot integration, voice-mode interviews for tribal knowledge capture

* The AI capability spectrum: chatbots → cloud agents with tool access → local agents with full computer access

* OpenClaw vs. Co-work: excitement vs. enterprise readiness and security

* Craig’s LettaBot/WhatsApp cautionary tale

* Natural language as the new programming language - and why social workers may outperform engineers at agent programming

* Processes they’ll never go back to: manual contract redlines, email triage

* Identity in the age of AI - detaching professional worth from intelligence

Links & Resources:

* Clinically AI

* SDSU Zip Launchpad

* Claude Co-work by Anthropic

* LaunchMate (in development)

Connect on LinkedIn:

* Craig Lauer

* Ross Young

* 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

In this episode of Tacos & Tech, Neal Bloom sits down with Juanny Romero, founder and CEO of Mothership Coffee Roasters, for a raw and deeply human conversation about building businesses rooted in belonging—not hustle.

Juanny shares her journey from growing up in Queens, leaving New York after 9/11 in search of agency, opening her first café in Las Vegas with no business plan during the Great Recession, and learning math from fifth-grade textbooks to keep the business alive. What started as a single café became Mothership—now an eight-figure company built around community, connection, and purpose.

The conversation explores loneliness in modern society, why baristas are “architects of meaning,” and how revenue becomes a byproduct when people feel they belong. Juanny also shares her bold next chapter: slowing down, rejecting hustle culture, and empowering 1,000 women to become millionaires by giving Mothership away like seeds.

Key Topics

* Failing forward and finding agency

* Building community as the real product

* Opening during the Great Recession

* Learning numbers to trust intuition

* Scaling without losing soul

* COVID, chaos, and creativity

* Belonging as a business advantage

* Mentorship, incentives, and boundaries

* Redefining success beyond money

Links

* Mothership Coffee Roasters

Connect on LinkedIn

* Juanny Romero

* 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!

2/9

Debrief from 2026 VC Outlook

January 2026 Funding Recap

Solve Energy IPO & Once Upon A Farm IPO

Rakuten Medical $100M Series F

Macro

Layoffs

Amazon 16,000

Traditional tech stocks are down

Illumina partners with the SD Zoo Frozen Zoo

New Dexcom CEO

Neal is back on twitter/X

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

SD Founder Hike - Feb 6

SDAC Angel Investor Knowledge Night - Feb 10

AFCEA West - Feb. 10-12

TechCon Southwest Austin - Feb. 12-13

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 episode of Tacos & Tech, Neal Bloom sits down with Cathy Pucher, Executive Director of Entrepreneurship Initiatives at San Diego State University, to trace the roots and the future of San Diego’s startup and early-stage investing ecosystem. From Cathy’s early career in semiconductor sales at Texas Instruments and front-row seat to Qualcomm’s rise, to founding the EvoNexus startup incubator and helping SDSU become a central connector for founders and investors, this conversation is a masterclass in ecosystem-building.

Together, Neal and Cathy unpack how San Diego’s culture differs from Silicon Valley, why experiential learning matters for both founders and investors, and how the San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC) has become a critical on-ramp for new angel investors while putting meaningful capital to work in local startups. The episode also marks the kick off of SDAC Fund VIII, with applications now live for both startups and aspiring angels.

Key Topics Covered

* Cathy’s journey from electrical engineering at UCSD to global semiconductor sales at Texas Instruments

* Early San Diego wireless startups and Qualcomm’s role in shaping the ecosystem

* Why San Diego’s startup culture feels fundamentally different from Silicon Valley

* The leap from big tech to startup leadership at PacketVideo

* Creating EvoNexus as a free incubator for serial entrepreneurs

* How SDSU transitioned from an “island” to an active startup ecosystem connector

* Student-led startups and the power of founder–market fit

* Why SDSU focuses on connecting founders to existing accelerators instead of duplicating them

* The evolution of local angel investing in San Diego

* How the San Diego Angel Conference trains and activates new angel investors

* What makes SDAC a “learn by doing” model for early-stage investing

* The structure, timeline, and goals of SDAC Fund VIII

* Why local capital pipelines matter for long-term ecosystem health

* How students are now being embedded directly into the angel investing process

San Diego Angel Conference (SDAC) Highlights

* Applications for startups are now open

* Startups from across the U.S. are eligible (with in-person requirements later in the process)

* Investor Knowledge & Network Event: February 10 at C3 Bank

* SDSU 2026 Angel Academy: March 6

SDSU SDAC program is designed for accredited investors who want:

• A structured way to learn early-stage investing

• Exposure to real startups and real diligence

• A peer group to learn alongside

• Deeper connection to the San Diego startup ecosystem

* Meetings kick off week of March 9th thru late May

If you’re curious, SDSU is hosting a 2026 SDAC Information Sessions:

Tuesday, February 3, 2026 at 4:00 pm

* Zoom link: https://SDSU.zoom.us/j/89569142579?jst=2

Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 12-1 pm

* Message me for the link

Links & Resources

* San Diego Angel Conference

* Lavin Entrepreneurship Center

Connect on LinkedIn

* Cathy Pucher

* 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!

1/24/2026

* Blueprint Equity new fund 3 $333M

* Seasats wins $24 million DoD award

* Trust & Will new product

* New hires at mPower and funding?

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

* 2026 VC Outlook - Jan. 29

* Farmers Open - Jan 29 - Feb 1

* AFCEA West - Feb. 10-12

* TechCon - Feb. 12-13

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

A short audio reflection I recorded after noticing where momentum actually comes from.

It’s not from more events.

It’s from proximity, repetition, and trust.

🎧 On The Radar — Episode 5

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 episode of Tacos & Tech, Neal Bloom sits down with longtime friend, founder, and self-described “Maine Melon,” Jared Ruth, founder of Ripcurrent. What starts as a walk down memory lane through San Diego’s early startup ecosystem turns into a wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship, marketing, AI, and the human moments technology should protect - not replace.

Jared shares his journey from decades in telecom and corporate innovation to building Ripcurrent, a marketing and automation agency focused on Main Street businesses. Together, Neal and Jared unpack how generative AI and no-code tools have radically lowered the barrier to building, why small businesses are both overwhelmed and empowered by tech, and how the next era of marketing isn’t about shouting louder - it’s about removing friction so humans can show up where it matters most.

Key Topics Covered

* Jared’s path from telecom and corporate innovation to founding Ripcurrent

* Early days of San Diego’s startup ecosystem, Founder Dinners, and CTO roundtables

* Building “startups inside big companies” and why that experience matters

* The moment GenAI unlocked solo building and rapid experimentation

* Vibe coding, no-code tools, and the rise of AI-native workflows

* Why small and Main Street businesses struggle with modern marketing tech

* Google Business Profiles, search, and what visibility means in an LLM-driven world

* Automation as a way to remove transactional work - not human connection

* Where AI agents help brands and where they can quietly destroy trust

* Why trust and brand moments matter more than the underlying technology

* Parallels between AI adoption and autonomous driving trust curves

* Using technology to give business owners their time - and humanity - back

* The optimism (and responsibility) that comes with building in the AI era

Links & Resources

* Ripcurrent

Connect with Jared & Neal

* Jared Ruth

* 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

A short audio reflection I recorded after noticing a familiar pattern while reading rock band autobiographies over the holidays.

It’s not about music.

It’s about how talent develops -slowly, quietly, over time.

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 and the Tacos and Tech Podcast.

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!

1/15/2026

* CES debrief

* JPM happening now

* Fundings & Acquisitions:

* Ventyx acquired by Lily for $1.2B

* Mirador Therapeutics Raises $250M Series B

* ibio $26M in Private Placement Funding

* BlueNalu Funding

* Cubic & Palantir teaming up

* Resmed gets FDA approval on AI CPAP

* Air Surgical Lands $2.6M Grant

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

TechCon Austin - Feb 12-13

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