How Tech Expanded From Silicon Valley to Bubblegum Alley
- 6 years ago
How Tech Expanded From Silicon Valley to Bubblegum Alley
Since the center’s inception in 2010, Cal Poly students
and graduates have started 75 companies and generated more than $150 million in venture capital funding, said Tod Nelson, the center’s executive director.
The SLO HotHouse has proved so energizing that when a building across the street
that was once home to a bread bakery was up for lease, the university jumped at the chance to transform it into the Cal Poly Lofts, 32 apartments rented exclusively to the center’s students.
Erected on the former campus softball field, the tech park will be expanded to include four more facilities
over 10 years, said Jim Dunning, the director of economic development and technology transfer at Cal Poly.
To date, more than 7,800 tech employees work in San Luis Obispo County, an increase of more than
20 percent in the last five years, according to the California Center for Jobs and the Economy.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — San Luis Obispo has a reputation for being a sleepy town in central California known for its laid-back charm.
One firm, the 125-employee iFixit, wanted to stay close to Cal Poly to attract fresh talent,
so it moved into a vacated car dealership and renovated the 17,000 square feet of space.
Since the center’s inception in 2010, Cal Poly students
and graduates have started 75 companies and generated more than $150 million in venture capital funding, said Tod Nelson, the center’s executive director.
The SLO HotHouse has proved so energizing that when a building across the street
that was once home to a bread bakery was up for lease, the university jumped at the chance to transform it into the Cal Poly Lofts, 32 apartments rented exclusively to the center’s students.
Erected on the former campus softball field, the tech park will be expanded to include four more facilities
over 10 years, said Jim Dunning, the director of economic development and technology transfer at Cal Poly.
To date, more than 7,800 tech employees work in San Luis Obispo County, an increase of more than
20 percent in the last five years, according to the California Center for Jobs and the Economy.
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — San Luis Obispo has a reputation for being a sleepy town in central California known for its laid-back charm.
One firm, the 125-employee iFixit, wanted to stay close to Cal Poly to attract fresh talent,
so it moved into a vacated car dealership and renovated the 17,000 square feet of space.