Holy cow, raise the roof, and batten down the hatches! There has been a veritable deluge of press lately about NextSpace members. If you need any further proof that NextSpace is full talented people with amazing ideas who are committed to putting Santa Cruz on the map as a hub for innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship, well, read on:
The boys from 12seconds.tv (http://12seconds NULL.tv) graced the cover of last week’s Good Times (http://www NULL.gtweekly NULL.com/20090520426926/good-times/covers/the-war-on-solitude) magazine. The article focuses on the meteoric rise of 12seconds. But it also tells the story of how this homegrown Santa Cruz company has relied on community, collaboration, and a ton of hard work to create the world’s coolest social media company.
UserVoice (http://uservoice NULL.com) got some great press in the Wall Street Journal (http://blogs NULL.wsj NULL.com/venturecapital/2009/05/19/newly-funded-uservoice-makes-sense-of-beta-feedback/) recently. Why? Because they just closed an $800,000 angel investment round. ‘Nuff said.
As you may have heard, the economy isn’t doing so hot these days. Small cities like Santa Cruz are getting especially hard hit, leaving our fair seaside town with an $8 million budget shortfall. Literally overnight, NextSpace members Shane and Peter, Inc (http://shaneandpeter NULL.com)., put together an interactive website (http://budget NULL.santacruzcityca NULL.gov/) (with the help of the newly-funded guys from UserVoice (http://uservoice NULL.com)) to help local citizens understand the scope of the crisis. But here’s the cool part: citizens can use the site to suggest ways to close the gap, giving elected leaders immediate, aggregated feedback on what their constituents think. Check out the Sentinel article here (http://www NULL.santacruzsentinel NULL.com/ci_12440194). Attention governments of all sizes: small, agile innovators might be your best bet for solving our current financial mess.
Economy got you down? NextSpace members Sean Tario and Nick Sobrak-Seaton are here to cheer you up. Sean and Nick with the help of fellow ‘spacers Ryan Coonerty and the team at Parachute Creative (http://parachutecreative NULL.com/) just launched a campaign called Santa Cruz Makes Me Happy (http://happysantacruz NULL.com/). You can read the press here (http://www NULL.santacruzsentinel NULL.com/ci_12450509). Sure, this site might sound a little fluffy. But attitude is everything in life. And with so many amazing attributes and so many talented people, it’s hard not to feel just a little cheerful here in Surf City.
NextSpace member Sun McNamee was profiled in a recent article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel (http://www NULL.santacruzsentinel NULL.com/ci_12286963). A filmmaker, editor, and designer, Sun is a part of Awake Media (http://awakemedia NULL.net). Most impressive is her affiliation with Youth Empowering Youth, where she mentors high school girls in the making of short documentary films and teaches them the power of media.
The Sentinel also profiled (http://www NULL.santacruzsentinel NULL.com/ci_12450508) NextSpace member Rich Mundell from Udutu (http://udutu NULL.com). An e-learning company based in British Columbia and Santa Cruz, Udutu boasts some big clients like Microsoft and the United Nations. Which means Udutu does a nice job of validating the NextSpace mission of making Santa Cruz a hub for providing products, services, and solutions for the global marketplace.
Then there’s the heartbreakingly wonderful story of NextSpace member Dave Wardle and his daughter Sofia. Dave took a sabbatical from Critical Networks to create the Sofia Maze (http://www NULL.sofiamaze NULL.com/), an interactive game to honor the memory of his daughter, who recently passed away from a rare disease called histiocytosis. Dave’s efforts garnered plenty of press and attention. This clip (http://www NULL.ksbw NULL.com/news/19275421/detail NULL.html) from local NBC affiliate KSBW does a nice job of telling Dave and Sofia’s touching story.
Last, but certainly not least, is a profile of the Q-Mamas from Quiddities (http://quiddities NULL.com/). The headline of the article (http://www NULL.santacruzsentinel NULL.com/ci_12080200) in the Sentinel perfectly captures the spirit of Quiddities, the spirit of NextSpace, and the spirit of this community: Santa Cruz Tech Company Thrives on Collaboration. That just about sums it up.
Whew, okay, that’s quite a round-up. Whenever people ask us about the early success of NextSpace, we’re always quick to give the credit back to our members. They’re the ones on the front lines of innovation and entrepreneurship. And this deluge of press is proof of their hard work and effort. Things are happening in Santa Cruz, folks. Come on down, check it out, and get on board.