The map of San Diego tech

People keep calling the San Diego tech scene "intimate." Here's the theory: it's not because the work is small. It's because much of the most important work here happens quietly.

Military tech doesn't broadcast what it's doing, for obvious reasons. Biotech tends to stay heads-down until late FDA moments. And companies like Qualcomm have powered entire categories for years without needing the spotlight.

It's there. You just have to know where to look. From the outside, that can make San Diego feel understated. From the inside, it's dense, serious, and full of people doing amazing work.

The rest of the world still sees us as laid-back surf culture first, serious tech city second. We work just as hard as anyone. We just happen to have nice days more often, and the choice to take a meeting on a patio or at the beach.

San Diego tech isn't small. It's just busy building. And you don't quite realize it until you get inside.

When I got to California from Vermont, I had no job, no network, and one friend: the guy I drove here with. I found a job on Craigslist, and through a coworker landed a second one teaching surf lessons in Mission Beach.

That was the first time I used a network to find an opportunity. And it taught me something that's run under everything since: opportunities are all around us. It's usually more about noticing them than creating them.

The best way to find the interesting ones is to meet as many people as you can, learn what they're up to, understand what gets them excited, and find a way to help. That's the whole strategy behind the Coyote.

If we keep helping San Diego connect, the doors keep opening. A city is shaped by its people. Week by week, connection by connection, we're shaping this one together.