Why Software Companies Love San Diego

Skrinak: “In many ways San Diego reminds me of San Francisco in the early ’90s: youthful, energetic, bursting with potential but with a view to the long term.”

SAN DIEGO—There’s a great environment for seed and venture funding here, which is a huge draw for start-ups, so the commercial real estate industry shouldn’t be shy about welcoming them, GoPro ‘s software architect Kris Skrinak tells GlobeSt.com. Skrinak recently spoke on a panel at an event held by San Diego Regional EDC highlighting a newly released economic-impact study on San Diego’s software industry. Among other things, the study revealed that the software industry has a $12.2-billion impact on San Diego’s economy , providing more than 100,000 jobs in the region. We spoke exclusively with Skrinak, whose action-camera company is housed in the newly redeveloped make building in Carlsbad, about the study’s implications and ways the commercial real estate industry can utilize its results to their full advantage. GlobeSt.com: What are the implications of the San Diego Regional EDC’s most-recent software-development-study results for the commercial real estate industry and your company? Skrinak: I can’t speak as a real estate professional; however, as an entrepreneur and senior engineer for more than 20 years I can say that the study validates an observation I’ve made about San Diego for years: It’s a great place to start a software company and build it to success. There are many reasons GoPro stayed in San Diego and in particular grew its software organization here. People who live here love living here. They stay in their jobs. They don’t spend half their time looking for the “next big thing” as in other parts of the state and US. They want to raise their families here and provide their children with one of the best educational and athletic environment in the world. It’s California with all its benefits and few of Silicon Valley’s disadvantages. In many ways San Diego reminds me of San Francisco in the early ’90s: youthful, energetic, bursting with potential but with a view to the long term.

make, the redeveloped Carlsbad Flower Market, is an ideal setting for innovative software companies like GoPro.

GlobeSt.com: How can CRE owners and developers utilize these results to their full advantage? Skrinak: Don’t be shy about accepting startups. As the study supports, there’s a great environment for seed and venture funding here and an even better for mergers and acquisitions . The unknown startup you host today is likely to be major Fortune 500 tenants in a few short years. GoPro’s a great example. GoPro lives in in the former Carlsbad Flower Market: a warehouse renovated to an ideal work environment. There’s a phenomenal gym with huge bay doors, hundreds of standup/sitdown work areas where coders, designers and managers can think creatively and work productively. We have surfboard and mountain bike storage. It’s a five-minute walk to a killer beach and outdoor showers when you come back to the office. It’s an incomparable place to spend your day, let alone pursue your dreams. Out-of-town visitors leave the site breathless raving that if they could they would live and work in San Diego.