Technology Events in Santa Cruz

Ever wanted to create your own startup? Learn the fundamentals from the VP of Collaboration AI at Cisco, Chris Rowen. This talk distills key lessons from Chris Rowen’s Startup Bootcamp, drawing on his experience founding and leading multiple successful startups and working closely with early-stage teams across technology domains. The session covers the essential realities of startups: why people start them, how to discover product-market fit, and the challenges of turning ideas into real products that customers value. It explores how founders engage customers, navigate venture funding, and build teams and cultures that can execute under uncertainty. A special emphasis is placed on AI startups—where rapid technical progress is creating new opportunities, but also new risks. Rather than treating AI as a shortcut, this talk focuses on sound startup fundamentals, practical judgment, and how AI profoundly changes the economics of experimentation, iteration, scaling, and ultimately of the entire software ecosystem.