Salinas AgTech Meetup: WG Innovation Center & a Day in the Life of an AgTech Entrepreneur
Posted on January 19, 2017 16:14 PM by WGCIT
January 17, 2017 · 6:00 PM at CSUMB Salinas City Center
The AgTech Salinas Meetup group gathered Tuesday, January 17th, for pizza, beer, and an insightful agtech discussion. As a prelude to the one-year anniversary celebration of the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology in Salinas, the Salinas AgTech Meetup showcased how the Innovation Center is contributing to a vibrant agtech movement in our region. All three of the featured speakers are resident startups in the Innovation Center: Dr. John Skardon of Tailwater Systems, Nathan Dorn of Food Origins, and Patrick Zelaya of HeavyConnect. They each shared their Day in the Life experiences and then participated in a panel discussion with questions from the audience. This was one of the Center’s highest attended meetups–a testament to the fabulous speakers that represented the Innovation Center.
Dr. Skardon said that the “pizza and beer” format of the Salinas AgTech Meetup reminded him of how he started the last two startups he was involved in (prior to starting Tailwater Systems). Nathan Dorn called the Salinas AgTech Meetup community a “support group” for him personally and professionally. Patrick Zelaya joked that the Salinas AgTech Meetups helped him put his business in perspective; on any given day it can be difficult for an agtech entrepreneur to assess if they are succeeding or struggling, or both!