INNOVATION NEWS

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Doug Erickson Doug Erickson

SmartBins: New Santa Cruz Startup Has Solution for Global Warming

In 2007 David Conway was working as a dive instructor and surfing in Indonesia and Australia. He was shocked when he realized there was as much plastic trash floating in the clear tropical waters as there were fish. “It really affected me. I grew up in the ocean in California...we spent a lot of time on the water surfing and fishing.

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Doug Erickson Doug Erickson

Machine Learning MeetUp

Machine learning (ML) is a practice in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) that provides systems the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed. Cheap and available computing power along with volumes of data has enabled this field to grow over the past decade.

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Hometown Hero - A conversation with Santa Cruz Works’ founder Bob Cagle

“I love my town,” he began, and then told the story of the two episodes in his life when he took jobs that required him to commute to the valley. He described getting on the road before his son awoke and returning after his bedtime. “I think my wife felt like a single mom,” he said. “I want other people who live here to have the opportunity that I have. I love my town, I love my job, and I want them to have the opportunity to work where they live.”

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Kate Roberts: Joining Forces

Kate Roberts, who joined the Santa Cruz Works board of directors in July, seems to embody the organization’s powerful new direction. At her day job as president of the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP), Roberts is working on some of the issues that lie at the core of SCW’s mission.

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Doug Erickson Doug Erickson

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…

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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.

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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.  

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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.

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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.

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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.

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