Changes

So as everyone laments the fact that San Diego loses another corporate HQ, AMCC Press Release, I was quoted (Union Tribune Article) commenting on it, I told them that while any loss is bad, the workforce should stay intact. It is one thing to move the CEO and CFO's to the valley, it is quite another to move the engineers and key R&D folks, many of whom I am sure are very fond of San Diego.

San Diego needs to get used to the idea that it is not a Corp. HQ town. And that is not all bad!! San Diego should celebrate the innovation that takes place in San Diego and the hundreds of small technology startups that dot our landscape. I would even make the argument that when these companies get bought up, people that cash out turn around and invest in other San Diego startups. We have seen it at HNC Software, MP3.com, Ipivot and a host of other 'cash outs'. From my point of view as executive director, I have benefited from these spinouts as many of them have joined AeA i.e. HNC offshoot ID Analytics and Ipivot offshoot Tarari as well as countless others.

Speaking of AMCC, Tom Tullie, past president of AMCC recently landed the top job at Path 1 Networks. I had met the Chairman of Path 1 Networks , Fred Cary a few years ago while we were on a lobbying trip to Washington DC on stock options. Qualcomm had very generously donated the use of their corporate jet and Path 1, AMCC, Cymer and a few other folks made the trip. I talked to Fred about their technology and sounded very promising, even back than. Picking up Tom Tullie was quite a coup for them.

Politics

So, we have a new Mayor !!!!! I spent quite a bit of time with our Mayor Elect during the recent campaign. Mayor Elect Jerry Sanders spent an inordinate amount of time in Sorrento Valley and other tech clusters. I had told Jerry that he was due an honorary protect protector for spending so much time around tech companies. I also hosted a tech fundraiser (under my own name, not AeA!) with a few of my tech CEO friends, which introduced Mayor Sanders to even more tech executives. Jerry also showed up at the annual AeA High Tech Awards where he mingled with even more tech executives.

It could be argued that the time Candidate Jerry Sanders spent with tech companies was not equal with the fundraising efforts of the tech industry. Jerry Sanders was not a self funded candidate, he relied on extensive fundraising for his successful candidacy. The fact that he took time to understand the tech industry bodes well for our industry. Mayor Elect Sanders genuinely seemed to understand the importance of the tech industry as an economic driver. The reality is - he did not have to. The tech industry, has historically been apathetic in the local political scene. However this is starting to change. Technology Executives are waking up to the realization that they must be part of the process, and yes this means supporting candidates by participating in fundraising.

Several issues of critical importance to the tech industry will be decided in City Hall, Co-location, linkage fees, additional streamlining of permitting and other regulatory issues will all benefit from a more engaged tech community.

200 tech companies coming to San Diego

The AeA Classic (Financial Investor Conference) is coming to San Diego this year. AeA has held this event annually for over 30 years! Most of the recognizable tech companies have made their way through the Classic!! It is for public tech companies over 100M in market cap. Around 700-800 investors typically attend this event. Most of the San Diego public companies typically attend. Amazing how many Tech CEO's/CFO's are in one city at the same time probably rivals some of the big trade conferences for senior attendance. My national folks host this so not much for me to do. I try and make sure the local companies that are attending are happy with thier participation.

Investor Relations - My Take
I have always felt that Investor Relations is much more sales/Marketing than many folks are willing to admit. When I was running the Potomac Council for AeA years ago, there was one year that 24 new companies were attending the Classic, late 90's when IPO's were as easy to come by as new Starbucks. A few of the companies were looking to standout, after some brainstorming, they decided to 'rent' food carts at the AeA Classic to promote thier companies, so one company had a 'Ben & Jerry' ice cream cart and the other had a Ms. Fields Cookie Cart, these two companies had higher attendance at thier individual presentations - and this resulted in more instituitional investors and higher stock price!!!!

Most Investor Relations appear to be reactive rather than proactive - I wonder what would happen if a very aggressive IR function was enabled at some of these companies, marketing pieces, telemarketing, all professional - just a more marketing spin to perhaps the number one job of most companies 'increasing shareholder value'

I also was taught (Doug Poretz, who should still have an IR firm in Northern Virginia!) that companies need to tell a story and that story will have an arc it is not always positive but you need to get investors hooked into the 'story' of the company and than listen to your narrative and also believe there will be a happy ending.

More later.....

I Blog

Part of my job as Executive Director of the AeA is to understand the regional tech climate in San Diego. This includes keeping up on new technologies as well as the tech landscape of San Diego. This blog will be an attempt to document that.