Daily Business Report: Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022
Six female founders selected to pitch
at Women’s Venture Summit Sept. 16-17
Companies from across the United States will complete for seed money and in-kind services at the San Diego event
Six women founders who have created innovative products ranging from a “boob inclusive” bra to therapeutic cushions designed to reduce the risk of pressure injuries, will soon be competing for cash and connections during the Women’s Fast Pitch finals.
The competition will take place on Day 2 of Women’s Venture Summit, a conference held Sept. 16-17, 2022, aimed at helping female founders gain access to capital. The two-day event is happening at the Town and Country Resort located at 500 Hotel Circle North in San Diego. Tickets are available.
Sponsored by Cooley LLP and The Impact Seat Foundation, the Women’s Fast Pitch competition made its way across five U.S. regions this summer, and will conclude in San Diego where one founder will win $10,000 in seed money, approximately $30,000 worth of in-kind business services, and exposure to a new investor network.
“We purposefully selected the Women’s Fast Pitch regions to address overlooked markets like the Midwest which received the lowest amount of VC funding in 2020,” said Raven O’Neal, CEO of Stella, the event organizer and a San Diego-based nonprofit organization that has helped more than 500 women launch and scale their businesses through courses, advisement and access-to-capital events. “Our mission is to help women get more access to funding opportunities and the Women’s Fast Pitch competition and Women’s Venture Summit are our biggest efforts to do so and have helped us connect women with more than $70 million in funding to date.”
The 2022 Women’s Fast Pitch finalists are:
Southwest: Mia Umanos of Clickvoyant San Diego
Northeast: Dana Donofree of AnaOno, Philadelphia
Southeast: Aurelia Edwards of Nailstry, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Midwest: Jessica Bussert of Wave Therapeutics, Nashville, In.
Northwest: Vlasta Schutzenhofer of Roura, Seattle, Wash.
Wildcard: Vicky Pasche of Dapper Boi, San Diego
Top Photo: Six women founders — Dana Donofree, Aurelia Edwards, Jessica Bussert, Vlasta Schutzenhofer, Mia Umanos and Vicky Pasche — are advancing to compete at the Women’s Fast Pitch finals on Day 2 of Women’s Venture Summit, a conference held Sept. 16-17, 2022 in San Diego.
Illumina clocks a stateside win in FTC antitrust
case over its acquisition of Grail
An administrative law judge ruled in Illumina’s favor Sept. 1 in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) challenge to the DNA sequencing giant’s acquisition of blood test maker Grail. The FTC filed its administrative complaint more than a year ago, in March 2021, a few months after Illumina laid out its plans to reacquire its former spinout.
At the time, the agency argued that the multibillion-dollar merger would “diminish innovation” and smother competition in the development of multi-cancer early detection tests in the U.S.
To appease the anti-competition watchdog while still continuing its quest for Grail, Illumina pledged at the time to guarantee long-term sequencing technology access to all its existing clinical oncology customers and to lower its prices by at least 40 percent within four years.
With last week’s win, the judge has shut down the FTC’s complaints and sided with Illumina, which claimed that the acquisition would in fact inspire its competitors to develop fast-moving cancer-spotting tests of their own.
Six homeowners share experiences in
building a ‘granny flat’ on their property
Snap ADU will be featured on the San Diego edition of Builder of Excellence. The program features homeowners who explain what it was like to build an accessory dwelling unit on their property. Complete with video walkthroughs and context from general contractor SnapADU, the stories weave together a picture of what a homeowner might expect when building an ADU.
Also known as a granny flat, casita or guest home, accessory dwelling units have grown dramatically in popularity over the last few years. California regulation changes have made it easier to add an ADU. Most residential properties throughout the state may add an ADU between 400-1200 sqft. Homeowners opt to add guest homes for family members or to rent out for additional income.
ADUs can be built on single family and multifamily properties. Single family properties may add one ADU and one junior ADU, which can be converted from existing space in the primary home. Multifamily properties, like a duplex, may add two ADUs.
The 30-minute show aired Sept. 4 on CBS 8, and will be rebroadcast Sept. 25 at 10:30 a.m.
Carlsbad Desalination Plant cuts energy demand to help avoid blackouts
Poseidon Resources LP and the San Diego County Water Authority are temporarily reducing water production at the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant to support statewide emergency energy conservation efforts during the extreme heat wave.
While the plant accounts for less than 1percent of peak energy demand in San Diego Gas & Electric’s service territory, Channelside and the Water Authority are committed to supporting electrical reliability while ensuring continued delivery of safe and reliable water supplies. The partners are reducing water production at the plant by about 20 percent for three days over the holiday weekend; regular water deliveries will be made from other sources.
“The partnership by the Water Authority and Channelside is another reminder of the value our investments in cutting-edge technology and water supply reliability,” said Sandra L. Kerl, general manager of the Water Authority. “Desal plant operations are nimble, so production can be ramped up and down in response to local needs. This flexibility underscores the value of regional water supply planning, which allows us to activate solutions during challenging times.”
San Diego’s Endeavor Bank ranked first in California
Endeavor Bank is ranked first in California and 15th in the nation by CB Resource, an independent company that provides consulting, risk management, and planning solutions to banks across the country.
The Bank was recognized in CB Resource’s CB Top Ten report for the second quarter of 2022. These rankings highlight Endeavor Bank as a top performer among its peer class of C-Corp banks with assets ranging between $250 and $499 million.
“Endeavor Bank is tremendously grateful to be ranked #1 in California following a successful year of growth in 2021 and into this year,” said Endeavor CEO Dan Yates. “It is because of the continued support from our employees, shareholders, clients, and community that we are able to provide local business owners with customized, consultative service that supports their unique goals and business models.”
The CB Top Ten is a community bank performance scorecard that identifies the banks in the top decile within each peer subset, which are determined by asset size and corporation type.
San Diego Imperial Counties
awarded $18.1 million K-16 grant
Together with EDC and regional partners, San Diego and Imperial Counties Community College Association secured a competitive $18.1 million state grant to support talent pipeline development. Spanning two counties, and as part of the regional effort to double the number of skilled workers by broadening and diversifying our talent pipeline, funds will support 17 school districts, 10 community colleges, as well as San Diego State University, Cal State San Marcos, and UC San Diego over four years.
American Lithium Energy awarded $10.2 million
American Lithium Energy has been granted a $10.2 million grant from the California Energy Commission. The funds will allow the Carlsbad company to build a first-of-its-kind, state-of-the-art lithium manufacturing facility in the region. The expansion, as supported by EDC, CMTC, Cleantech San Diego, city, and other regional partners, will spur further job growth and innovation in cleantech.
Arcturus awarded $63 million for vaccine tech
Arcturus Therapeutics has been awarded a $63 million government grant from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. The San Diego company will use the funds to expand its current influenza vaccine program, using its proprietary self-amplifying mRNA platform, to help in pandemic preparedness efforts.
MacKenzie Scott donates $1.1 million
to Junior Achievement of San Diego County
MacKenzie Scott, the world’s richest woman and the ex-wife of Amazon founderr Jeff Bezos, has donated $1.1 million to the Junior Achievement of San Diego County. According to officials, JA San Diego is one of 26 local programs that received a direct donation from Scott, who invested more than $38.8 million overall in the national organization and offices.
“We’re so grateful to Ms. Scott and her team for this investment in San Diego youth,” said JA San Diego Board Co-Chair and CEO of Mission Fed Credit Union, Debra Schwartz.
“This gift will allow JA San Diego to expand our services to serve more youth, in more ways, across more of San Diego County.”
San Diego’s Fair Square Medicare awarded $15 million
Fair Square Medicare, a San Diego digital insurance brokerage that helps seniors navigate complex coverage options, has raised $15 million in a new round of venture capital funding. The web-based insurance concierge said the round was led by Define Ventures, with Slow Ventures, YCombinator and angel investors also participating. It brings the total amount raised by Fair Square to $19 million.
With the money, Fair Square plans to beef up its Medicare brokerage software into a comprehensive digital health care navigation platform for seniors. New features will include help picking preferred doctors; scheduling appointments, including annual physician and dental exams; tapping into Medicare’s over-the-counter drug benefit; accessing coverage perks such as fitness club discounts; and linking with telehealth services for chronic conditions.
How to take your small business global
Looking to take your small business global? Join the Export SBDC at World Trade Center San Diego on Sept. 13 for a continuation of its introduction to Exporting series and gain key insights about exporting and accessing international customers.
