Huge thanks to everyone who joined Santa Cruz Works New Tech on March 4, 2026. We loved the energy and were thrilled by demos from BrandCapsule, Innovation Within, Radi8, The Host Mindset, Activity Ally, and Organoid Showdown. Click below to see event photos. Full event summary, videos, and more photos coming next week.

Photo credits: Adrian Dolastschko

Thanks to Comcast Business and Wynn Capital for supporting our innovative community.

(Readers: please tell us what you liked about the event in the Comment section below)

Radi8

Radi8 is launching in March - A completely new Social Media Command Center powered by AI Agents that research, discover, create, schedule and post content with authenticity and brand alignment. Whether you are an individual building a brand, a startup looking for customers, or an enterprise scaling engagement, Radi8 AI Agents work 24/7 to achieve your top level goals. Michael (Mash) Ashley

Steve Fortunato

Steve Fortunato is the creator of The Host Mindset™, a framework for building connection-driven teams and cultures. A sought-after keynote speaker and leadership advisor, Steve also hosts roomforty—intimate, invitation-only gatherings for 8 to 12 leaders turning Michelin Star meals into masterclasses on connection, communication, leadership, and The Host Mindset™.

Activity Ally

Activity Ally is a Santa Cruz-based platform that helps parents find, compare, and book local kids’ activities for ages 0 to 18 in one place. It connects families with coaches and program operators, replacing outdated websites, PDFs, and fragmented listings. Amelia Samuels

Innovation Within

Innovation Within is an AI-powered customer discovery platform that validates ideas before building. Teams map hypotheses, generate interview questions tied to learning goals, capture interviews, and use AI meta-analysis to convert conversations into structured insights that speed decision-making for teams. James O’Connor

BrandCapsule

BrandCapsule is a decision-intelligence platform for AI discovery. As more customers use AI chat to find products and services, BrandCapsule shows how AI systems interpret brands, determine relevance, and decide who gets included or excluded in those answers, then provides guidance on what to change and why. Toby Corey

Organoid Showdown

Organoid Showdown: Mircea Teodorescu and Ash Robbins from UC Santa Cruz’s Genomics Institute are showing that tiny lab-grown “brain organoids” can get better at a real-time control task. They connected living neural networks to electronics that both record activity and send feedback in a closed loop. As the system responds to performance, the organoids adapt, suggesting a form of learning. The work opens intriguing new paths for neurotechnology and bio-inspired computing. Ask David Haussler if Igor is preparing the lab for us.

Exhibits

Benjmark: Rebecca Benjamin, a UC Santa Cruz graduate researcher, is launching Benjmark Surf Co. to bridge surfboard craftsmanship with computational fluid dynamics. Using custom boards, tuft testing, and underwater imaging, she’s translating flow into insight and sharing the findings with the broader surf community.
3DE Club: 3D Entrepreneurs Club helps schools prepare students for an AI-driven future by making entrepreneurship hands-on and real. As AI takes over more routine jobs, students will need to strengthen the human qualities machines cannot replace: critical thinking, curiosity, judgment, and values. Through 3D printing, students create products, pitch ideas, make sales, and build real technology, business, and financial skills. It is a lemonade stand for the digital age, giving every child the opportunity to become an innovator and create value in their community.

Thank you Comcast Business and Wynn Capital for your sponsorship and community support!