Tacos and Tech Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Building Together: Growing San Diego's Startup Scene Podcast Mar 28, 2025

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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.

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

This Week in San Diego Tech - March 27, 2025 Mar 27, 2025

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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 News

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 for UCSD & SDSU

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

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

This Week in San Diego Tech - March 20, 2025 Mar 20, 2025

Show notes

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-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.

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

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

Building Together: Growing San Diego's Startup Scene Podcast Feb 26, 2025

Show notes

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

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

Building Together: Growing San Diego’s Startup Scene on the Tacos & Tech Podcast Feb 18, 2025

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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 Jonah and Hussein are shaping San Diego’s startup scene—one event at a 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

Scaling Impact: Scot Chisholm on Evolving from Founder to Leader Feb 05, 2025

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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

🔗 The article Scot mentions getting good PR during the hard times

🔗 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.

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

This Week in San Diego Tech - January 30 Jan 30, 2025

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

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

AND Jonah Peake, runs The Social Coyote & the Career Coyote newsletters , promoting events and jobs in the San Diego tech ecosystem.

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!

1/30/2025

Fred’s trip debrief

Dent AI debrief

Any SD Super Bowl ad sighting predictions?

Fundings:

Biosapien $7m seed

Take on 2025 already - new administration, opportunities for SD

Iridia sends crypto wallet to the moon

Viasat contract

Northrop contract

Passing the torch at Biocom

Howlin’ Jobs! By Career Coyote

Top clicked jobs and companies

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

North County Startup Mixer breaks 200!

Founders Institute San Diego applications due this Sunday - Feb 2

Feb Founders Hike - Feb 7

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

This Week in San Diego Tech - January 24, 2025 Jan 24, 2025

Show notes

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-host in this episode is guest host Jonah Peake, who previously co-hosted with me and runs The Social Coyote newsletter, promoting events in the San Diego tech ecosystem.

Before we dive in, we wanted to ask our listeners and SD Tech fans 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.

1/24/2025

TechCon SoCal debrief

Future of Healthcare debrief

Fundings

AskTuring Seed $1M

Deep Vector Seed $1.5M

Xilo Series A $7.2M

Sonocharge Energy $23.5M

Netradyne Series D $90M

Biggest deal of 2024 - Vuori

Biggest VC fund raise of 2024 - Neos and StepStone

Howlin’ Jobs! By Career Coyote

Top clicked jobs and companies

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

Carlsbad Life Action Tech/Sports and Active Lifestyle Gathering - Feb 4

North County SD Startup Mixer

San Diego Cyber Group Meetup

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

This Week in San Diego Tech - January 16, 2025 Jan 16, 2025

Show notes

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-host in this episode is guest host Jonah Peake, who previously co-hosted with me and runs The Social Coyote newsletter, promoting events in the San Diego tech ecosystem.

1/16/2025

Sending love to our friends and family in LA

The Career Coyote!

Carlsbad revives commercial flights

Fundings

Timberlyne Therapeutics $180M Series A

Light Horse Therapeutics $62M Series A

Rybodyn $4M PreSeed

CES Announcements

Qualcomm - a lot of diverse chip use cases and AI ecosystem building

Illumina & Nvidia collab!

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

TechCon SoCal Preview - Jan 17 & 18

The Future of Healthcare - Jan 22

Carlsbad Life In Action Fashionphile - Feb 4

How to Angel Invest? - Feb 6

SD Founders Hike - Feb 7

From the Pack:- Product Roundtable Lunch- AI + Indie Hackers Happy Hour!- Dent:AI Startup Showcase Reception

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

Energizing the Carlsbad & North County Startup Scene Jan 14, 2025

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Tacos and Tech Podcast – Episode with Alexandra Renee Poelstra of Startup Grind Carlsbad

🎙️ Guest: Alexandra Renee Poelstra, Chapter Director of Startup Grind Carlsbad

📅 Episode Date: January 13, 2025

📍 Event Mentioned: Startup Grind Carlsbad - SG Global Pitch Battle Carlsbad (Neal will be a pitch judge)

🔗 Links:

• Alexandra Renee Poelstra on LinkedIn

• Startup Grind Carlsbad

• SG Global Pitch Battle - Carlsbad Event This Tuesday Jan. 14

• Global Pitch Battle Info

• Startup Grind San Diego - Neal’s Past Interview

Episode Overview:

In this episode of the Tacos and Tech Podcast, Neal sits down with Alexandra Renee Poelstra, the dynamic Chapter Director of Startup Grind Carlsbad, to discuss the exciting return of Startup Grind events in Carlsbad. Alexandra shares insights into how Startup Grind is reigniting the local entrepreneurial spirit and dives into details about their upcoming SG Global Pitch Battle Carlsbad event, where Neal will be serving as a pitch judge.

They talk about the role Startup Grind plays in fostering startup communities globally and locally and how the Carlsbad chapter plans to support founders in the region. Alexandra also shares her own journey into entrepreneurship and community building.

Neal reflects on his own past experience being interviewed by Startup Grind San Diego, bringing the conversation full circle as he now returns to the community in a new role supporting emerging founders.

Topics Covered:

• Alexandra’s journey into the startup world and Startup Grind

• Reviving Startup Grind Carlsbad after a hiatus

• Details about the SG Global Pitch Battle Carlsbad and how founders can get involved

• The importance of community in supporting founders

• Neal’s previous experience as a guest on Startup Grind San Diego and now serving as a pitch judge

Upcoming Event Details:

📅 Event: SG Global Pitch Battle - Carlsbad

📍 Location: Event Link - Jan. 14

📝 Pitch Application Form: Apply Here

Also mentioned Carlsbad Life In Action event on Feb. 4

Connect with Startup Grind Carlsbad:

🌐 Startup Grind Carlsbad Website

📲 Follow Alexandra on LinkedIn

Thank You to Our Partners:

This episode is brought to you by Fresh Brewed Tech, serving up tech insights with a side of San Diego flavor, for everyone to savor.

Subscribe & Review:

Enjoyed this episode? Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review the Tacos and Tech Podcast on your favorite streaming platform!

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

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