SAN DIEGO, CA–(San Diego Daily Transcript, Dec. 8th, 2014) – Keep the focus on San Diego and the area’s many assets, advised Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. co-founder Rory Moore.
“We will never be Silicon Valley,” said Moore, who has invested in and co-founded several technology companies and a pro bono incubator. “Silicon Valley was the perfect storm. There’s no place like it anywhere in the world. It hasn’t been repeated anywhere in the world, and it can’t be repeated.”
Instead, he said, use what’s available in San Diego — the people, education, talent, resources and capital — to create a unique technology and biotechnology sector. And stop lamenting the loss of manufacturing jobs.
“We’ve just got to get over that,” said Moore, whose Peregrine Semiconductor (Nasdaq: PSMI) is one of the world’s leading providers of radio frequency integrated circuits for wireless communications.
“Where we add value here is creating companies with new inventions, new technology. …We have to keep the scientists here that we attract from other countries.”
Moore was one of four speakers at last week’s Institute of Real Estate Management’s symposium, which focused on the impact of San Diego’s mega-industries.
The four pillars of technology, biotechnology, military and tourism were remarkably resilient during the recession, said moderator Roger Hedgecock, former San Diego mayor and conservative talk radio host.
“We are at last moving more into the recovery mode than we have been,” Hedgecock said. Executives on the panel spoke about how their industries are spurring economic growth in the region.
Moore is the CEO of CommNexus, a nonprofit technology industry association that launched a pro bono business incubator, EvoNexus, with three locations. Moore said more than 1,000 jobs have been created as part of the 73 still-active companies that went through the program. Companies raise an average of about $7 million in funding.
Graduates of EvoNexus have leased more than 100,000 square feet of office space since the incubator began. More companies create more jobs requiring more office space, Moore said.
“Please keep in mind that these startups that come through incubators in San Diego don’t need a lot of capital to start. You are also an investor. I know many of you are very successful. Consider recycling some of your money in tech, not just real estate,” Moore said.
