FlexFactor Finals Showcase Student Innovation
December 21, 2017 by Donovan Lazaro | Blog
On December 7th I had the pleasure of being a panel judge for the inaugural FlexFactor Finals. An initiative spun out of the NextFlex advanced manufacturing institute in North San Jose, FlexFactor is a month-long program that exposes high school students to the world of…
Continue ReadingSTOREFRONT ASSISTANCE GRANTS
December 20, 2017 by Elisabeth Handler | Blog
As part of making Downtown San Jose more attractive and walkable, grants are available to small businesses interested in upgrading their sidewalk visuals. There are two kinds of grants – vacant storefront grants that provide reduced permit costs, and existing stor…
Continue ReadingDOWNTOWN FOOD AND DRINK OPTIONS EXPANDED IN 2017
December 19, 2017 by Elisabeth Handler | Blog
Guest Blogpost contributed by Nate LeBlanc, Business Development Manager, San Jose Downtown Association 2017 was a year of strong growth for cafés and restaurants in Downtown San Jose, marked by the opening of some great new places. I’m going to highlight some stando…
Continue ReadingCOHESITY OPENS IN SAN JOSE
December 12, 2017 by Elisabeth Handler | Blog
Downtown San José was showing its best side on Dec. 11. As night fell, the lights from Christmas in the Park blinked on, and more than a hundred tech workers, real estate professionals, elected officials, philanthropists and City employees gathered on the eighth floor …
Continue Reading25 Ways to Attract a Student Talent Pipeline into Manufacturing
November 20, 2017 by Elisabeth Handler | Blog
By Alyssa Lynch, Superintendent of Metropolitan Education District Businesses are feeling the painful effects from the lack of well-trained people in the trades. There is a nationwide skills gap to fill 5.7 million job openings. Since the 1960s, vocational education pro…
Continue ReadingWanted – Boring Walls!
October 30, 2017 by Nathan Donato-Weinstein | Blog
From their offices at WeWork in Downtown San Jose, the growing number of employees at SprayPrinter have a fantastic view of Silicon Valley’s urban center. But for them, the increasing number of buildings here is something besides a nice view. It’s inventory. The com…
Continue ReadingHOW SAN JOSE’S KIKA USES EMOJIS TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD
October 26, 2017 by Nathan Donato-Weinstein | Blog
Inside the downtown San Jose offices of Kika Tech, the first thing you notice are the emoji pillows. They’re all manner of happy faces: Ecstatically laughing. Smirky. Sad-faced. So-angry-it-looks-like-it-will-pop. Kika knows a thing or two about these cultural icons o…
Continue ReadingSan Jose – the best fit for Amazon HQ2
October 19, 2017 by Nathan Donato-Weinstein | Blog
Take a look at Amazon’s wish list for locating “HQ2” – its second headquarters – and it’s clear that San Jose checks the boxes: A welcoming business climate? Got that. Highly educated workforce? In spades. Arts and culture? Allow me to show you our SoFA arts…
Continue ReadingFuture of Retail — “hunters,” “experiencers” and “fitness buffs”
September 25, 2017 by Nathan Donato-Weinstein | Blog
The retail industry’s uncertain prognosis received yet another jolt in September with news that Toys R Us was filing for bankruptcy. But Bay Area retail experts are finding ways to thrive in this brave new world that’s been rocked by online shopping. “It’s a…
Continue ReadingNEXTFLEX SPONSORS “SHARK TANK” CHALLENGE FOR SAN JOSE AREA HIGH SCHOOL ENTREPRENEURS
June 20, 2017 by Donovan Lazaro | Blog
Earlier this month I sat on a panel for FlexFactor at Willow Glen High School. A class of about 30 AP Biology students broken up into small teams gave “Shark Tank” style pitches about devices and products they designed, utilizing flexible circuit technology. Applica…
Continue ReadingBoutique Urban Gym opens in historic Downtown building
June 16, 2017 by Donovan Lazaro | Blog
When you see the rows of treadmills and gym equipment in the window of the historic Sperry Flour building on North 3rd Street, do not mistake what you are seeing for run-of-the-mill heath club. Indeed, there are people on stair climbers and squatting with barbells as in…
Continue ReadingUPDATE – WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH BART’S EXTENSION INTO SILICON VALLEY?
June 15, 2017 by Nathan Donato-Weinstein | Blog
BART Silicon Valley – the extension of Bay Area Rapid Transit into Santa Clara County — continues to move forward. On Wednesday, June 14, VTA invited community partners to get an up-close and personal look at the progress. In short, things are moving along. Fo…
Continue ReadingBentek – Advanced Power is Here to Stay
May 16, 2017 by Tina Kapoor | Blog
Solar energy has always been a “hot” discussion topic. Recent estimates by the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that utility-scale solar generation capacity will grow at a faster pace any other form of energy source. Fortunately, in Silicon Valley, many …
Continue ReadingManufacturing Series: Here’s what’s driving Velodyne LiDAR’s big San Jose plans
April 27, 2017 by Nathan Donato-Weinstein | Blog
You might not know the name Velodyne LiDar Inc., but there’s a good chance the technology the company pioneered will radically change the way you get around in the not-too-distant future. And a new factory it’s establishing in south San Jose will help accelerate tha…
Continue ReadingTECH LEGEND BELIEVES SILICON VALLEY IS “SACRED SPACE”
April 17, 2017 by Nathan Donato-Weinstein | Blog
When Ray Zinn set off to start his own semiconductor company in 1978, he did the obvious thing: Met with VCs on Sand Hill Road. It wasn’t a fit. “It was clear that VCs had a different view of how to run a company,” Zinn recalled recently. “I want…
Continue ReadingManufacturing Series: SurfaceInk, the brains behind the gadget
March 16, 2017 by Nathan Donato-Weinstein | Blog
Perched in a display case inside the downtown San José office of SurfaceInk is a hit parade of consumer electronics: Palm devices, Apple iPhones, Amazon Kindles, and enough routers, printers – even a few toys – to stock a Fry’s megastore. They’ve all been she…
Continue ReadingManufacturing Series: Velodyne LiDAR Drives into San José
February 27, 2017 by Nathan Donato-Weinstein | Blog
You might not know the name Velodyne LiDar Inc., but there’s a good chance the technology the company pioneered will radically change the way you get around in the not-too-distant future. And a new factory it’s establishing in South San José will help accelerate th…
Continue ReadingAC Hotel Opens in San Jose
February 7, 2017 by Nathan Donato-Weinstein | Blog
If you have tried to get a weekday room in Silicon Valley over the last couple of years, you’ll know the following rules: Book early. Cast a wide net. And be prepared to pay up. But now a little rain has fallen on the long drought of hotel construction in downtown San…
Continue ReadingWoman-Owned Naprotek Is Electronics Manufacturing Success Story
December 22, 2016 by Donovan Lazaro | Blog
The Bay Area has long been the epicenter for advanced electronics manufacturing. Predominantly concentrated in the San Jose metro, the industry is buoyed through its proximity to both incumbent and up-and-coming hardware companies, decades of intellectual capital…
Continue ReadingSVMR panel: Manufacturing training available, but where are the students?
December 13, 2016 by Donovan Lazaro | Blog
Last week OED hosted Silicon Valley Manufacturing Roundtable 2016. One of the panels was planned to highlight the need of Silicon Valley companies for trained manufacturing workers . The panel consisted of Michael Chissell, who runs training programs for San Jose-base…
Continue ReadingWhen is local manufacturing right for hardware startups?
December 13, 2016 by Nathan Donato-Weinstein | Blog
Local manufacturing is a hot topic these days. So it’s no surprise it took center stage at a recent convening of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Roundtable held at Samsung Semiconductor USA in North San Jose. As moderator, I had a chance to engage with four emerging …
Continue ReadingSan Jose is Key to Bay Area’s Manufacturing Ecosystem
December 2, 2016 by Donovan Lazaro | Blog
It is unusual for the mayors of the Bay Area’s four largest cities to appear together publicly. However, On November 17, San Jose’s Mayor Liccardo was joined by his counterparts from San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont to support local manufacturing at the Inaugur…
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