Santa Cruz Works News — Updates on Events, Community Stories & Local Innovation

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Malina Long 7/7/26 Malina Long 7/7/26

Santa Cruz Works Members Get Additional $3.2M in Perks

Santa Cruz Works members now get access to $3.2M+ in additional startup perks through Startup Science, adding 45+ vendor discounts on top of SCW’s existing $1M+ member benefits.

Neil Erickson 4/6/26 Neil Erickson 4/6/26

Santa Cruz Works Work-Life Survey, Plus a Free Community Giveaway

Santa Cruz Works is inviting members and partners to complete a short survey to help shape future programs, events, benefits, and community offerings. Everyone who participates will be entered into a free giveaway featuring gifts from sponsors including UpperCrust, Merge4, Laili, Pleasure Pizza, Big Basin Vineyards, Humble Sea, and Chaminade Resort and Spa, with winners announced on May 7.

October 9, 2026

Ross Blocher, Training Project Manager at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Joins 3DE Club Advisory Board

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Ross Blocher, a Santa Cruz County–raised animation veteran who once memorized 3,200 digits of pi, joins 3DE Club’s Advisory Board to mentor Gen Alpha students at the intersection of creativity, technology, and storytelling.

October 8, 2026

October 2026 New Tech Photos

A big thank you to everyone who came out to Santa Cruz Works New Tech last night at River Row. It was a great evening of networking, conversation and big ideas from four companies tackling very different problems

Guy Kawasaki and Bill Reichert Bring "Tough Love" to Startup World Cup Santa Cruz

Chief Evangelist for Canva, and former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki joins longtime partner Bill Reichert of Pegasus Tech Ventures for a fireside chat at Startup World Cup Santa Cruz Regional, October 17 at The Catalyst.

The Boring Billions: Why Santa Cruz Ventures Just Backed Farmblox

Santa Cruz Ventures adds Farmblox to its portfolio — a Santa Cruz–headquartered farm automation company that began in maple syrup and now guards California irrigation pumps against a copper theft epidemic.

October 7, 2026

How to Run User Research on a Startup Budget

Santa Cruz local Kelea Liscio has spent 12 years leading UX research strategy, from helping teams take products from 0-1, to helping newly launched features grow to millions of users. She'll share the two questions that matter most at every stage of product development at the CEO Works Luncheon on October 28th.

October 6, 2026

Clean Oceans International Is Hiring a Paid Intern

Help protect the ocean while building real marketing experience in a paid, hybrid internship with Clean Oceans International.

UCSC, Santa Cruz, and Water: The Deal Was Made a Long Time Ago

Santa Cruz promised UCSC water in the 1960s to win the campus, and an appeals court has upheld that deal. The real question isn't whether UCSC gets water. It's how growth can use less.

October 5, 2026

Santa Cruz's Next Economic Opportunity May Already Live Here

Santa Cruz County's greatest economic asset isn't something we need to attract. It's already here: a workforce more educated than California's. The opportunity now is building local jobs worthy of it.