From Cables to Cloud: Floyd Auten’s Top Tech Journey of Innovation
Release Date: 04/16/2025
The Future of Pool Care
Tacos and Tech Podcast
In this episode of the Tacos & Tech Podcast, host Neal Bloom chats with , Founder and CEO of Cabana. A longtime builder in the home services space, Jeremy is now focused on modernizing the pool care industry, one of the largest yet most overlooked service sectors in the U.S. Jeremy shares how his product and marketing background led him to build Cabana with a blend of operational efficiency, software tooling, and local team empowerment. He dives into his strategy around vertical SaaS, customer experience, and the importance of trust and taste when scaling service-based businesses. Key...
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This Week in San Diego Tech - June 27, 2025
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Listen & subscribe on , , , and Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News! I’m from and the . My co-host in this episode is , journalist and author of substack. He covers the ins-and-outs of the startup world including breaking news, IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A through his newsletter. Before we dive in, we wanted to thank and ask our listeners to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego Startup Community! June 27 Dr...
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Building Intentional Capital for B2B SaaS
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In this episode of the Tacos & Tech Podcast, host Neal Bloom chats with , Co-Founder and Managing Partner at . Andrew brings decades of investing experience - from public markets to private software equity - to the table. He shares how his journey from the East Coast to San Diego led to launching a new kind of early growth equity firm focused on bootstrapped or lightly funded B2B SaaS companies. Andrew unpacks his investment strategy, discusses founder-alignment, thesis-driven sourcing, and how Channel Equity delivers capital with intention. Plus, he reflects on the power of long-term...
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This Week in San Diego Tech
Tacos and Tech Podcast
Listen & subscribe on , , , and Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News! I’m from , the , and . My co-host in this episode is , journalist and author of substack. He covers the ins-and-outs of the startup world including breaking news, IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A through his newsletter. Before we dive in, we wanted to thank and ask our listeners to help us grow the show, leave a review and share with one other person who should be more plugged in with the SD Tech Scene. Thank you for the support and for helping us build the San Diego...
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Building the Future of Sports + Entertainment, One Stadium at a Time
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What does it take to design a flawless fan experience for 75,000 people on game day, and millions more watching from home? In this episode, Neal Bloom sits down with Vikrant Bodalia, Vice President of Technology Operations at Allegiant Stadium, to unpack the strategy, innovation, and pressure behind the world's biggest live events. From Super Bowl infrastructure to facial-recognition ticketing, Vikrant shares how he reverse engineers every event from the fan perspective first. With a career that spans NBA, NHL, NFL, and the rapid rise of Las Vegas as a sports tech capital, Vikrant offers a...
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Rewiring Real Estate from the Inside Out
Tacos and Tech Podcast
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This Week in San Diego Tech - June 6, 2025
Tacos and Tech Podcast
Listen & subscribe on , , , and Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News! I’m from , the , and . My co-hosts in this episode is , journalist and author of substack. He covers the ins-and-outs of the startup world including breaking news, IPOs, fundraising rounds, and M&A through his newsletter. June 6 Tech News We recorded this week’s pod live on LinkedIn here. What did you think? Flock Freight raised $60M Series E RevenueCat raised $50M Series B (co-founder based in SD) BioLink: $100M Series C Hyatt Therapeutics: $65M Series A ClearPoint Neuro: $110M...
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Tacos and Tech Podcast
Episode Summary: In this episode of the, Neal Bloom chats with Jesse Taylor, Senior Manager of Identity and Middleware Services at UNLV. Jesse shares his journey from early exposure to technology with Atari and Apple II to becoming a technical leader in higher education. They discuss the evolution of technology, the role of AI in augmenting human capabilities, and Jesse’s approach to authentic leadership and team development. Jesse also highlights his work in identity management at UNLV, his involvement in the Las Vegas tech community, and his recognition as a Top Tech Vegas award recipient....
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Building San Diego's Product Management Community
Tacos and Tech Podcast
Dive into San Diego's evolving product management landscape with as she announces the inaugural Product Management Summit. Learn how the local tech ecosystem has matured and why bringing world-class product leadership to San Diego matters. Key Topics: • San Diego Product Management Summit (June 5-6) • Evolution from Intuit leadership to Product Rebels • Building Product Tank's 2,500+ member community • Customer-centric product development methodologies • San Diego's maturing tech ecosystem Links & Resources: Connect with Vidya: LinkedIn: Connect with Neal:...
info_outlineHow a third-generation builder turned a storage-unit startup into a national infrastructure powerhouse—and what’s next for tech’s invisible backbone.
Floyd Auten, COO and co-founder of TechNet Partners, joins Neal for an episode that digs deep into the literal and figurative foundations of tech. From punchdowns in high school to powering stadiums and data centers across the country, Floyd shares how his family legacy in electrical work turned into a career designing the infrastructure that keeps the digital world running.
They talk about life safety systems, the rise of AI tools in design, the Padres’ Wi-Fi network, and how Floyd’s team at TechNet is scaling services across all 50 states.
Floyd also shares what it meant to win the Top Tech Award in 2024—and why he’s excited to help spotlight other behind-the-scenes innovators this year.
🔑 Key Takeaways & Timestamps:
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[2:00] Floyd’s start: lessons from his grandfather’s Navy electrician days
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[5:30] How TechNet grew from a storage-unit office to 300+ employees
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[9:00] Life safety tech: upgrading USC’s 911 system and keeping infrastructure resilient
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[12:30] Data center growth + designing for sustainability
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[17:00] From Padres Wi-Fi to MLB partnerships and stadium-scale solutions
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[21:00] Floyd’s long-running partnership with Cox Business
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[26:30] Winning a Top Tech Award and inspiring the next wave of tech leaders
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[29:00] Advice for founders and future tech leaders: love the work, and find mentors
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[33:00] 🌮 Taco Talk: Floyd’s go-to spot is TJ Tacos in Escondido
🏆 Top Tech Awards:
Floyd was recognized at the 2024 Top Tech Awards - and now he’s helping select the next generation of unsung tech heroes.
👉 Know someone making tech magic happen behind the scenes?
Nominations are now open for the 2025 Top Tech Awards!
Submit yours before May 2 at toptechawards.com
🔗 Links:
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Floyd Auten on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/floyd-auten-rcdd-364a4410
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TechNet Partners: technetpartners.com
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Top Tech Awards Nomination: toptechawards.com
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TJ Tacos: Yelp link