Home to the Next Wave of Innovation.

Built by the coast and powered by connection, this is where Santa Cruz County’s brightest minds find their home. Whether you’re scaling a startup or seeking your tribe, Santa Cruz Works can help you build the future together.

Our Mission

Santa Cruz Works serves as the central hub for the region’s innovation economy, acting as a bridge between high-tech ambition and the local community. Our mission is to empower local entrepreneurs, businesses, and organizations—from early-stage ventures through mature enterprises—by providing mentorship, resources, programs, and inclusive networking opportunities that drive growth and economic well-being.

Our Vision

We envision Santa Cruz County as a vibrant hub where businesses thrive, talent flourishes, and innovation knows no bounds, creating a sustainable and collaborative community for all—so that commuting over the hill for work becomes unnecessary.

Who We Serve

Entrepreneurs

From mentorship and team building to validating ideas and accessing capital, we provide the essential resources, awesome perks, and a robust accelerator program to accelerate your startup’s journey.

Employers

From building talent pipelines and spotlighting your company to accessing paid internships, capital, and exclusive discounts, we provide the platform to share your opportunities and scale your business locally.

Community

We help both individuals and organizations expand their network through hosting collaborative events, sharing jobs and job seekers, and featuring your stories in our weekly newsletter with our growing innovation community.

See More Benefits

Our Impact

  • Empowering Entrepreneurs

    Through the Santa Cruz Accelerates program, over 50 early-stage founders have connected with local mentors, completed self-paced courses, and gained access to capital as well as a $1M+ "perks package" to help validate and scale their ideas into million dollar ventures. See our portfolio here.

  • Supporting Local Employers

    We provide local organizations and companies with direct access to share opportunities, access subsidized internships, and build their workforce pipelines ensuring businesses have the local talent they need to grow.

  • Building a Robust Network

    We host several community events throughout the year that serve as a low-barrier way for professionals, students, and curious neighbors to meet the people behind the county's most innovative companies and impactful programs.

  • Growing and Connecting Talent

    Through our jobs board, internship program, and hosting major events like Santa Cruz Launchpad, we’ve brought together hundreds of job seekers and local employers, facilitating career-defining hires and reducing the Highway 17 commute.

  • Providing Executive Support

    Through our CEO Works Luncheons, hundreds of local leaders have a space to gain advice from peers, solve business challenges together, learn new skills, stay on top of trends, and foster a collaborative rather than competitive business environment.

Community. Collaboration.

Inspiration.

Successful Santa Cruz County companies include…

Jane Technologies

Santa Cruz Bicycles

Human Genome Project

Verdagy

Jane Technologies

Cruz Foam

Ohalo Genetics

Oxford Nanopore

Versa Vascular

Unnatural Products

Capstan Medical

Netflix

Joby Aviation

Seagate

Verve Coffee

Goodles

Olipop

Prometheus Fuels

Climatize

Looker

FullPower AI

Ambient Photonics

Paystand

Future Motion

Farm-NG

Driscoll's Berries

Life Aid

Borland

MagArray

Peregrine Hydrogen

Jane Technologies Santa Cruz Bicycles Human Genome Project Verdagy Jane Technologies Cruz Foam Ohalo Genetics Oxford Nanopore Versa Vascular Unnatural Products Capstan Medical Netflix Joby Aviation Seagate Verve Coffee Goodles Olipop Prometheus Fuels Climatize Looker FullPower AI Ambient Photonics Paystand Future Motion Farm-NG Driscoll's Berries Life Aid Borland MagArray Peregrine Hydrogen

Market Size

600+

Tech businesses in Santa Cruz county per the City of SC Economic Development 2014 census.

$30B+

Market value generated by tech businesses in Santa Cruz county - excluding Netflix.

10,222+

Commuters driving the Hill every day to San Francisco. We strive to reduce the loss of productivity when commuting.

6.0

Multiplier. For every tech job, 5 more jobs are created in other local goods and services sector.

Join Our Community Today!

Become a Member