SAN ANTONIO –
San Antonio's entrepreneurial footprint is growing as more startup companies flock to the Alamo City. The city's second annual Startup Week kicked off Friday, opening up discussion and innovation, not only to entrepreneurs but to the entire community.
"I grew up in San Antonio. I don't have a college degree, and Rackspace gave me a career. I'm just so proud to see startups all over the place here that are creating jobs and creating opportunities like the one I received at Rackspace," said Lorenzo Gomez III, Geekdom CEO.
Gomez believes the limitless opportunities startups offer have brought an enormous new community to San Antonio.
Geekdom's tech startups have raised more than $7 million of venture capital and created almost 700 jobs in just five years. Gomez thinks those numbers are just a jumping-off point.
"Tech is affecting everything, so whether you own a bakery or a barber shop, you know, you need to be on social media. You need to have a web presence. So I think that the knowledge we're going to bring is consumable for everybody, no matter what job you're in," Gomez said.
That is why this year's annual entrepreneur celebration, Startup Week, aims to include everyone from the community.
"There's going to be an explosion of panels, of talks, fireside chats and I think that's what's going to be special is that people get to come and learn from the best of the best that we have in San Antonio," Gomez said.
The number of events and venues are doubling in size this year, allowing people to truly see and understand the heart of San Antonio's growing entrepreneurial culture.
"I think that's what's so magnetic and so special about what's going on here is that we're creating the startup scene for who's here, not for who we want to attract. And that's something that most cities won't be able to replicate," Gomez said.
To register for any of the Startup Week events, visit https://sanantonio.startupweek.co.
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