Live from the Innovation Stage: Burbank Startup Pitch Fest 2025
Release Date: 08/06/2025
This Week on San Diego Tech News – Oct 9, 2025
Tacos and Tech Podcast
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...
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Fintech, Forecasts, and Stocktoberfest: A Conversation of Social Leverage
Tacos and Tech Podcast
In this episode of the Tacos & Tech Podcast, we sit down with , Managing Partner at , to unpack the future of fintech, the evolving landscape of wealth tech, and what it means to build and invest with long-term conviction. Matt shares his journey from hedge funds and quant trading to early-stage venture capital, with stops at Bloomberg, WorldQuant, and Third Point before joining Social Leverage. We talk about the firm’s investing thesis, from Robinhood and Alpaca to the social side of investing with Stocktwits and the upcoming Stocktoberfest event in San Diego. From deep dives on...
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How Natilus is Designing the Future of Cargo and Passenger Planes from the Ground Up
Tacos and Tech Podcast
In this episode of the Tacos & Tech Podcast, host Neal Bloom sits down with , co-founder and CEO of , the San Diego-based aerospace company reinventing air freight and passenger travel with next-gen aircraft. With over $39 billion in orders and a growing footprint in South County, Natilus is bringing cutting-edge manufacturing back to San Diego. Aleksey shares his journey from growing up near a Soviet airfield to becoming an aerodynamicist at Piper and Kratos. He walks us through the founding story of Natilus, early pivots from seaplanes to blended wing bodies, and how customer...
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This Week in San Diego Tech – Sep 19, 2025
Tacos and Tech Podcast
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! 9/19...
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Navigating Regulation and Startup Investing
Tacos and Tech Podcast
This week on Tacos & Tech, Neal sits down with - lawyer, founder, and angel investor - whose journey from trading floors to startup boardrooms brings a rare blend of Wall Street experience and founder empathy. Rose shares how her legal career evolved from the capital markets and energy sectors to launching her own firm, Rose Bowlus Law, where she now advises early-stage startups and funds. They talk legal tech, Web3, fintech moats, and what founders often overlook when raising capital. Plus, Rose unpacks her growing role as an investor, how she’s empowering other lawyers...
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From Failed Kickstarter to Exit with ShredLights’ Eric Birkemeier
Tacos and Tech Podcast
In this episode of the Tacos & Tech Podcast, host Neal Bloom sits down with , founder of ShredLights and now part of Meepo Electric Skateboards. Eric’s story is a wild ride - from 3D-printing in the SDSU ZIP Launchpad and selling Jordans out of thrift stores, to building a niche hardware company and ultimately exiting to a global electric skateboard brand. They unpack how Eric turned an early failed Kickstarter into a business with over $1M+ in revenue (with zero ad spend!), the importance of discovering product-market fit through real customer feedback, and the emotional rollercoaster...
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The Return of a North County Builder
Tacos and Tech Podcast
This week on Tacos & Tech, Neal sits down with Drew Wilson, longtime North County founder, designer, engineer, and community builder. From launching products solo to landing a GoDaddy acquisition, Drew’s track record speaks for itself. Now he’s back with a new company, Opacity, and relaunching his beloved creative conference, ValioCon, right in the heart of Oceanside. In this episode, Drew shares his journey from early design days and Flash websites to building Plasso, navigating acquisition, and diving headfirst into GenAI-powered product development. He also gives us...
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This Week in San Diego Tech – Aug 22, 2025
Tacos and Tech Podcast
Listen & subscribe on , , , and Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News! I’m from , building and investing in community. 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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Investing in the Freedom Stack with Larsen Jensen of Harpoon Ventures
Tacos and Tech Podcast
In this episode of the Tacos & Tech Podcast, Neal Bloom sits down with former Olympian, Navy SEAL, and now Managing Partner of Harpoon Ventures, an early-stage venture firm backing founders building in the national interest. Larsen shares the journey from serving Team USA to launching a venture fund focused on what he calls the Freedom Stack - critical technologies like AI, autonomy, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing that shape not just industry, but national security and global stability. They explore how Harpoon was early to the intersection of tech and geopolitics, why San...
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This Week in San Diego Tech – Aug 15, 2025
Tacos and Tech Podcast
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! Aug 15 ...
info_outlineIn this special episode of the podcast, host Neal Bloom takes us inside the Burbank Startup Pitch Fest - an exciting evening of innovation, capital, and community hosted in partnership with the City of Burbank and Rising Tide Partners.
We kick things off with a welcome from Burbank’s Economic Development team, highlighting why the city is fast becoming a tech and media hub. Neal then moderates a candid conversation with early-stage investors Amy Harmon (Innovent Capital) and Ben Kahan (Pegasus Angel Accelerator) about today’s venture landscape - from what they look for in a pre-seed deal to how AI and founder-market fit are shaping startup success.
Then, five founders take the stage to pitch their startups:
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KATSHID: A frictionless, passwordless biometric identity platform
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Geri Gadgets: Sensory tools supporting cognitive wellness in dementia and neurodivergent populations
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Blip Industries: Drone-powered logistics, imaging, and defense systems
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Health-e-Habits: Digital wellness programming helping families build mindful relationships with tech
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Aspivix (Winner): A modern, non-traumatic alternative to the gynecological tenaculum, improving IUD and reproductive care
From pitch insights to early-stage investing frameworks, this episode is packed with startup wisdom and a strong dose of real talk from the entrepreneurial front lines.
Recorded live at Burbank Startup Pitch Fest 2025.