News Highlights
We don’t only report the news, we make the news. Our news highlights and archive here.
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Santa Cruz Works Supercharges the Board
Today Santa Cruz Works announces two new board members and a set of new officers charged with making it faster and easier for local businesses and talent to connect with the tech community. Since merging with the Santa Cruz New Tech Meetup in July, Santa Cruz Works now…
How Blockchains Are Disrupting the Payments Industry (In a Good Way)
One company taking on the challenge is Paystand, which provides a more efficient way for companies to move capital. Its payments platform is building a new underlying infrastructure, one that can support unlimited financial transactions for a fixed monthly cost.
SellHound App Launches to Deliver One-Tap Selling on Popular Secondhand Marketplaces
SellHound today launched its smartphone app that lets anyone snap a few photos of an item and create an optimized eBay listing with a single tap - no typing necessary. The new app enables sellers to easily list countless items with professional descriptions and expert pricing.
Bonnie Lipscomb of Santa Cruz EDO on New Business, Housing, and What Matters to Local Entrepreneurs
Those of us who live and work in Santa Cruz are here for a reason. When you ask a resident why they moved here, the answer is rarely as simple as “for a job.” That’s not to say that people don’t move here for job opportunities, but more often than not, those of us who have set down roots did so with intention. We chose Santa Cruz
Support the Next Generation of Tech Workers by Supporting NEST Flight Conference
The NEST Flight conference will provide career inspiration, education and professional connections to over 300 college age youth from under-served communities.
Why We Kept the Original Netflix DVDs in a Safe (In Scotts Valley)
Even in 1998, a few months after we launched the site, there wasn’t really much to automate. Our first warehouse was an old walk-in safe that happened to come with our first office in Scotts Valley. And with less than a thousand DVD titles available, and a busy day consisting of twenty to thirty shipments, it wasn’t too hard to stay organized.
Supporting Every Musician’s Bottom Line
If you or anyone you know has ever dreamt of “making it big” as a successful musician, then you’re well aware of the trials and tribulations artists face when building their music careers. From navigating shady industry types who promise the world to signing bad record deals, the path to success can be ridden with landmines.
Jacob Martinez: How Digital NEST Helps Youth Take Flight
When Jacob Martinez was a kid in school, his family moved from Los Angeles, California to Dallas, Texas. Real estate was a lot cheaper in Dallas, so they were able to move into a well-off neighborhood, where young people had support and opportunities like Jacob had never imagined.
Designing, Branding, and Creating Community
Ted Holladay, who has run the design and branding firm Studio Holladay in Santa Cruz for more than a decade, has a number of highly developed skills that all get put to use in his work.
Building #OpenIndustry: The Story Behind Paystand’s New Logo
Our new logo marks a significant change in our company evolution and is the result of a comprehensive exploration of our brand. It gave us an opportunity to look deeply at who we are, what we stand for, and where we’re headed as a company.
Intellectual Property: The Fuel of Creativity
Pat Reilly, patent attorney and founder of IP Society, took an interesting path through a couple of careers and many countries before launching his private practice in Santa Cruz 20 years ago.
Berdels + Santa Cruz Fiber
Back in the winter, Cruzio Internet connected Berdels to their lightning-fast, fiber-optic network.
Another Win for the Santa Cruz Tech Community
Jane Technologies, Inc. announced $21M in Series B funding. Santa Cruz Works talked with Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Socrates Rosenfeld. Jane provides an online cannabis marketplace. Full details at: PRNewswire. SCW caught Socrates just before he boarded a flight to his next business meeting.
Santa Cruz Works Accelerator Company - Jane Technologies, Inc. Announces $21 Million in Series B Funding
Jane Technologies, Inc., a retail software company that created the first and largest online cannabis marketplace, has announced it has secured $21 million in Series B funding, one of the largest capital raises by a cannabis technology platform.
O'Neill Sea Odyssey + CruzHacks
Check out the story behind the app made at CruzHacks for O'Neill Sea Odyssey to find an easier way for the students to collect data from what they see on the trip and add it to the website. Watch the video below.
How To Ride The New Onewheel Pint
Pint is insanely fun and intuitive and with an understanding of the basics, anyone can get going in minutes. Learning to Onewheel is not hard, the board does most of the work for you.
Want to be a Better Social Media Marketer? Listen to These 13 Podcasts
Social media is constantly evolving, making today an exciting time to work in marketing. This can also mean that you sometimes feel as if you're falling behind on your general social media knowledge and education.
Why a Visualization is Worth a Thousand Data Points
In the age of big data, visualization is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal as an analyst or data enthusiast. It can so drastically affect the way we interpret and understand information that it may seem like magic; when, in fact, it works so well because of the way the brain processes large amounts of information.
Crowd Machine Celebrates Growth of Crowd Academy with New Enhancements
Crowd Academy has over 1,300 registered “Cadets” from over 88 countries and celebrates its first cohort of graduates, referred to as “The Digital Disruptors,” for their entrepreneurial spirit and determination.

