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Interesting times indeed. It’s admittedly a brand new world. And we are so proud of the work that so many of our colleagues have done to pick up our friends in need. One of the reasons we love San Diego – we’ve got great humans here who will continue to work together for the greater good.
We’ve been in discussions with our constituents – tech and life science companies, investors and Silicon Valley VCs. We’re talking with large corporates and city leaders. We already see companies evolving. Connect is certainly evolving. There are challenges of course, but we also see opportunities. Big opportunities actually — we just need to execute.
We have a ton of positives here. The amount of venture funding in our region has risen dramatically in the last four years — from $1.3B, to $1.8B, to $2.5B, to $3.4B last year. That is down right ridiculous, and we’re proud of our role and everyone else who has collectively contributed to that success.
Beyond just the pure sum of dollars, it’s also noteworthy how it’s been allocated. It’s across multiple sectors — from software to hardware to drug discovery to therapeutics. It’s also been a very healthy distribution from A rounds to growth rounds. That’s a really good thing. If we execute — we are positioned to come out of this thing much better than other regions. We’re very lucky in that regard.
We believe our entrepreneurs are up to the challenge. We’ll pick up our friends hurt most by the shutdown. Our community has prospered because it’s made up of good people, who are also extremely talented. We solve hard problems — it’s what we do. We’re scrappy.
At Connect, we’re already evolving to the new reality. Our core value proposition stays the same, still centered around helping good companies get better, and connecting those companies to resources and capital. Whether you are seed stage, Series A or growth, we’re working hard to get companies to the next level.
While we might not be able to get 100 VCs to travel to San Diego in June — it doesn’t mean we can’t continue to develop and grow those relationships. We think we can actually step it up. And we will.
Let’s continue to be kind to our friends who can use a lift, and let’s keep kicking butt San Diego.
-Mike & The Connect Team