Tony Lam

118 VCs (one hundred eighteen!) are gathering in San Diego next week - to meet with 30 SD startups. But it's so MUCH bigger than just those 30 co's. It brings VCs back - when they see quality companies. It helps those who are next-in-line and adjacent. It enables us to send deal flow all year 'round. It attracts talent and other companies. It inspires entrepreneurship. Connect is working for SD. Together, we're building the best damn innovation ecosystem on the planet. Year over year. Five.Ten.Thirty.

263

25 Comments

Refco, one of the largest family-owned operations in the Salinas Valley, cultivates thousands of acres of vegetables and vineyards. The Refco family is always mindful of leveraging technology to enhance efficiency, profitability, and produce top-quality crops. By implementing the PET-Tiger system, Refco operations will better accomplish and maximize labor productivity in the fields, processing facilities, and vineyards. The use of smart devices and clocks for individuals and crews, along with customized payroll computations that incentivize employees, ensures optimal workforce management. Managers in the field and office receive special real-time notifications with maps on production and efficiency, as well as detailed cost analysis, enabling informed decision-making and improved operational outcomes. www.PET-Tiger.com #scale #inventory #pettiger #payroll #smartphones #productivity #incentives #computation #FLC #paperless #production #Realtime #biometrics #kiosk #onboarding #compliance #HR #transparency #harvesting #efficiency #H2A #costaccounting #clocks #compensation #GPS #workforce #packing #sickpay #vacationpay #piecepay

5

Check out the top technology roles our Maris Consulting Group clients hired for in Q2 of this year. Does your team need technology support in the second half of 2024 or beyond? Learn more about our high-impact technology staffing solutions at mariscg.com. #techhiring #bayarea #boston #tech #hiringtrends

5

Fast food operators rushing to use AI in the wake of minimum wage hikes In the wake of the new $20 an hour minimum wage for industry workers, quick-service restaurants in California are accelerating and expanding their use of technology. With AI coming on to the scene in a big way, the state is emerging as ground zero for what many analysts see as the next big thing in the world of fast food and drinks. https://lnkd.in/g4qHbZ2M

1

It was a good week teaching a class on product development and scaling products to market with Sarah Masoni and David Zarling at Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network and Oregon State University. I received many good questions and a chance to deliver my co-manufacturer scorecard. Larry Dalton Mike Kotelko Jeff Ball Pearse Dolan Howard Yong Kelly Long Michelle Ball UBI Meat - Experts in Quality Assurance Mark Leavitt Amie Peck Sandra Vijn Bas Timmers Janus Solutions Corp. Myles Immerkar Derrick Ash Norm Adams #productdevelopment #meat #meatprocessing #meatproduction #agrimarketing #foodbranding #buylocal #supplychainmanagement #productdevelopment #salesandmarketing

21

3 Comments

Hot off the press! Edition 2 of Food Chain Digest magazine is here! This edition's key topics include: ➡️ The Great Digital Transformation ➡️ 2024 Top Food Chain Technology ➡️ Generative AI in Action: Food Chain Applications ➡️ Recruiting and Retaining Talent ➡️ Advice from Baseball Great Cal Ripken ➡️ And more! Download for FREE today to stay on top of key issues and emerging trends in the #foodchain industry: https://hubs.la/Q02BCd_20 #foodshippers #foodlogistics #supplychain

11

It's been just over 1️⃣ week since Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board completed Phase One of their implementation with EasyVista. We're excited to share a few excerpts from our conversation with Deputy CIO Jillian Murphy about what's next for WASLCB and their IT in 2024 - and beyond! Read the interview below ⬇ 🔶 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙇𝘾𝘽 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙛𝙛? One benefit that employees will see Day 1 is a business-friendly IT service catalog. We worked closely with members of the Lead Support Team on the initial design and can’t thank them enough for their time and input. We will enhance the service catalog as we progress in our implementation, and leverage feedback we receive to improve it as well. An IT service catalog is used to clearly communicate what technology services are available to requesters. For it to be meaningful, it’s important that the information is concise, accurate, and presented in a way that makes sense to them. 🔶 𝙒𝘼𝙎𝙇𝘾𝘽 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣? This is a strategic initiative planned as part of the 2022-2026 IT Strategic Plan, under Goal 2 – Communication and Collaboration. Replacing our current IT Service Management solution ensures that the agency remains in compliance with statewide security policy. And, it will alleviate a lot of pain points experienced by users today. 🔶 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙡? For me, it’s the improved user experience and what we’re going to be working closely with staff to design next, which is all about improving the employee onboarding/offboarding process! 💻 Like our partnership with WASLCB, FMX is proud to work closely with organizations to understand their goals and help them 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥 them. Learn more about our ITSM solutions and integrations today: www.fmxsolutions.com #ITSM #ESM #ServiceManagement #ITImplementation George Williams Tia Holcomb

22

1 Comment

Our 2024 Q1 insights report is here! This past quarter has seen fairly stable trends, with few major changes. We have observed: -Delivery licenses are still on the downtrend, with no indication of changing -Large license conversion continues, with some previously failed megafarm cultivation spaces in Lake County being re-licensed. -Manufacturing is very stable, speaking to a balanced supply and demand. We're excited to see what changes come to the market this year! What has the past quarter for your cannabis business been like? Are these trends affecting you? We would love to hear your perspective. #cannabiseducation #cannabisindustry #respecttheorigins

4

5 Comments

👋 WEBINAR ALERT! Join us tomorrow for a deep dive into the data, to better understand the evolving buying habits of cannabis consumers across the State of California. We're so excited to be joined by Amanda Reiman PhD MSW, Chief Knowledge Officer of New Frontier Data, who will share her insights on the market today and where its headed. 👉 RSVP here: bit.ly/catrends

9

1 Comment

Congratulations on your ‘Next Play’. I love this phrase, ‘Next Play’. I was first exposed to this term when working onsite at LinkedIn in Sunnyvale as a contractor in 2016. The CEO at the time, Jeff Weiner, used this phrase, and many other amazing terms/concepts that I have incorporated into Kognitiv Inc. since then. The idea is simple, celebrate your people when they are on the way OUT, and not just on the way IN. When someone leaves LinkedIn there are Next Play parties for that person, almost like a retirement party, and people celebrate all that person did for them, and the organization while they were there. I LOVE THIS. How you treat people on the way out says WAY more about you as an organization than how you treat new hires. Everyone is excited about a new hire, that's easy. But being happy for someone on the way out is much more rare. I use the word rare vs hard for a reason. I could say it's hard, but it's not hard, it's easy to be nice to someone. Unfortunately what happens is people's pride gets in the way, and they end up ‘mad’ at the person, or the organization they are going to for ‘taking them’. This is, of course, not the right way to handle the situation. It's okay to be mad at yourself, or your own organization for not doing better, for not being the place this person wants to work. Good, be mad at yourself, do not be mad at the person leaving. Why did they leave? Learn from it and do better. In fact, you should thank them for making your company a better organization. Last Friday I interviewed a gentleman, and I asked a question I always ask in an interview…why Kognitiv, there are lots of Workday services organizations, why do you want to work here specifically? His answer made me incredibly proud. First, he said his leadership at his current Workday firm speaks very highly of us, and that is not the case for many others in the space. Great! I love that. Then he says he has also heard great things from Workday employees. Also Great! But then he tells me he just attended a Workday User Group, the Denver RUG, and met some EX KOGers, and those former employees said GREAT things about KOG. WOW!!! I'd say this made my day, but in reality it made my year. To me there is nothing better you can say about an organization than that. I don't even know who the former employee was, but I am very thankful for such kind words, really does mean the world to me : ) I wanted to write this post to say that if you are a business owner, manager, HR practitioner, or any other role who deals with turnover, just remember to celebrate people’s ‘Next Play’, it's far more rewarding long term than being a jerk about it.

103

8 Comments

Sageful is excited to partner with Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures, who lead our Seed Round. Check out this interview with Zachary Kushel and Michael Papay as they discuss the launch of Sagey, the AI learning transfer coach that will transform your training solutions. Learn more about Sagey: https://www.sageful.ai/ #Sagey #SagefulAI #CorporateLearning #AI4Good #BuildBetter

8

1 Comment

Google ups investment to improve Hawaiian internet infrastructure Hawaii receives major financial fillip from Google to develop critical internet infrastructure across the state, connecting to Japan and mainland US In a move that is being described as a “transformative” investment in the Pacific Island state’s digital infrastructure, Connect Kākou, Hawaii’s high-speed internet initiative, and Google have unveiled plans for the construction of a $1bn project to create new fibre-optic internet subsea cables. Connect Kākou is designed to ensure people from all walks of life in Hawaii have reliable and affordable access to high-speed internet. The state initiative believes access to quality healthcare, education, government, jobs and social connection are all dependent on reliable connections to the internet, yet nearly one in 10 households in Hawaii do not have connectivity. Read more: https://zurl.co/BN2u

1

With just 2 days left before TechCon SoCal explodes onto the scene, the excitement is palpable! This premier event brings together the brightest minds in Southern California's thriving tech ecosystem – investors, innovators, and entrepreneurs – all eager to forge connections and propel the future. One particularly anticipated session is "Winning combinations: Applying Augmented Intelligence in Life Sciences," featuring Eli Weinberg, PhD, Partner at Bain & Company. In today's world, the life sciences industry is experiencing a revolution fueled by the ever-evolving field of Augmented Intelligence (AI). This session will delve into the strategic ways AI is being leveraged to unlock groundbreaking discoveries and propel advancements in the life sciences sector. Eli Weinberg, a leading expert with a proven track record at Bain & Company, will share his insights on the most impactful combinations of AI and life sciences applications. Looking back at past TechCon SoCal conferences, one thing remains constant: the energy and innovation are contagious. Attendees leave feeling inspired and equipped with the knowledge and connections to turn their ideas into reality. This year's "Winning combinations: Applying Augmented Intelligence in Life Sciences" session promises to be no different. Be there to witness the future of life sciences unfold! OPEN Silicon Valley TIE San Diego Interlock Capital Orange County OC Startup Council The Brink SBDC EvoNexus UC San Diego SDSU College of Sciences Pismo Ventures Cross Ocean Ventures Startup Steroid - Deal Flow | SPVs | Demo Day Platform Alliance for Southern California Innovation Spark Growth Ventures SoCal Startup Day Reflect Ventures Wharton Alumni Angels NuFund Venture Group Flok Labx Ventures Mercury Pankaj Kedia Serhat Pala Neal Bloom David Saxton Cheryl K Goodman Ellen M. Chang Niraj Desai Akash Pai Sufyan Subzwari Jonah Peake 🐺 Ella Napata Stephen Silver Fred Grier Scott Fox 🦊 Atlás Blake Eric Eide #TechconSoCal2024 #IndustryExperts #TechConference #InnovationSummit #TechTalks #startupsteroid #innovations #technologynews #networking #artificialintelligence #digitalhealth #robotics #startups #AngelInvestors #vc #SandDiegoStartup #founders #consumertech

4

🚀 Exciting Partnership Announcement! 🚀 Flourish is thrilled to announce our partnership with Rank Really High Dispensary Marketing eCommerce platform as part of our Retail Omnichannel POS Integrations. Why This Matters to Cannabis Retailers: 1. Omnichannel Efficiency: Our collaboration ensures dispensaries can seamlessly manage sales, inventory, customer relationships, and payments through a robust retail tech stack featuring leading partners like Aeropay. 2. Enhanced Customer Experience: Rank Really High enhances online shopping, making it easier for customers to find and purchase their favorite products. 3. Data-Driven Insights: Our powerful analytics enable dispensaries to make informed decisions, boosting conversion and profitability. 4. Compliance and Security: We prioritize regulatory compliance and data security, ensuring a safe and legal shopping experience. 5. Exceptional Team Effort: The dedication and expertise of the Rank Really High team have been instrumental in achieving a smooth and successful integration. Is your retail tech stack not delivering a seamless experience? Are you still using an iFrame eComm solution with subpar SEO results? Let’s talk. #CannabisIndustry #Ecommerce #Dispensaries #POS #BrandsGrowWithFlourish #RankReallyHigh #Innovation #Partnership

22

1 Comment

Reality Engagement —— I started PHX Ventures because I want to help founders in Arizona build high-growth software companies that achieve venture scale. I can handle the good, bad, and ugly of company building. I’ve lived it. I can handle losing money. I don’t like it, but I can handle it. I can handle bad news and disappointment. Company building is a roller coaster. I can handle a changing market and new competitors. Market opportunity and market dynamism go hand in hand. I can handle co-founder breakups and key team member departures. It’s not great but it’s fairly normal. I can handle bad quarters and product problems. Stuff happens in startups. What I can’t handle is a lack of engagement with reality. Willful ignorance or disregard for data won’t make your business better. If the math of your business is telling you something is broken then it means something is broken. Let’s just fix it. And let’s fix it right now. Let's at least try. I love optimism. But I love realism even more. Broken things tend not to fix themselves. In my experience, the best founders have the highest engagement with reality. Just tell me what about your current reality is giving you angst. Tell me the problems in the business. Just tell me. Don’t sell me. Tell me. I can handle it. And maybe I can help. #founders #startups #b2b #saas

82

10 Comments

If you want to improve your dispensary customer flow, increase profit, and satisfy modern cannabis retail shoppers, then you're going to love Seed Technology: 💼 Trusted by Multi-Location Dispensaries: Our solutions are designed for scalability and reliability, trusted by industry leaders like The Artist Tree and many more. See how Seed interactive technology benefits retailers: 🕒 Decrease Time Per Transaction: Increase throughput and decrease wait times with our intuitive interfaces and organized categories. 💰 Increase Sales Lift on Featured Products: Engage customers visually with stunning product displays and dynamic content, boosting sales of featured items. 🛍️ Create a Modern Shopping Experience: From accurate and up-to-date menus to interactive features like product descriptions and recommendations, our solutions create a seamless and enjoyable shopping journey. 🤖 Reduce Staff Time of Managing Screens: With automatic updates synced with your POS and e-commerce systems, your staff can focus on what matters most – serving your customers. https://getseed.io/

13