| San Diego Business Journal

Simple Pleasures

DINING: For Burger Lounge, Product and Preparation Should Only Make It Look Easy

The acronym is K.I.S.S. Or, “keep it simple, stupid.” But, simple doesn’t necessarily mean easy. Just ask Burger Lounge’s President and CEO J. Dean Loring.

El Cajon Boulevard Takes New Direction

PROPERTY: High-Density Development Reshaping Area

Before there was Mission Valley, there was El Cajon Boulevard. It was the place to go in San Diego to shop and dine. It was the main route into the city from the east.

Active Lifestyle Helps Keep Our Economy in Shape

One of the challenges facing Bill Walton and the San Diego Sport Innovators when they spun out of Connect in 2010 was how to define the Sports and Active Lifestyle (SAL).

New Coworking Space, Incubator Set Up in UTC

STARTUPS: ThinkTank Launched First Cohort In December

Already a hub for San Diego’s startups, University City has landed a new coworking space and a new startup incubator.

Blueprint Equity Sets Its Sights on Secondary Markets

Two former Silicon Valley investors have launched a San Diego-based tech fund. Sheldon Lewis and Bobby Ocampo co-founded Blueprint Equity Partners, which focuses on investing in tech companies in secondary markets, outside of San Francisco, New York and Boston.

Brain Corp. Happy to Help Walmart Clean Up

By the end of January, retail giant Walmart will have 360 floor scrubbers powered by Brain Corp.’s AI technology. The BrainOS platform teaches commercial cleaning machines to become self-driving.

Netradyne Will Work With Hyundai

Netradyne, a San Diego-based startup that makes software for commercial fleets, will work with its longtime partner to develop HD maps for self-driving cars.

Medical Tourism Still Needs A Shot in the Arm

A medical tourism campaign touting San Diego’s hospitals, genomics companies and sunny weather is trying to find its groove.

Life Science Funding Shows Increase in Most Rounds

Financing rounds since 2013 have grown larger in San Diego life sciences. A look at annual median deal size shows an increase, from early-stage seed financing to Series A, C and D rounds. Only Series B rounds have remained flat in recent years.

Epipen Alternative to Bring Good News to Price Sensitive Users

Adamis Pharmaceuticals’ epipen alternative will launch nationally in the first quarter of next year, the company said in a recent update.

Marriott Shows Its Moxie In Pursuit Of Millennials With Opening of Moxy

Downtown San Diego has a new hotel that “flips the conventional hotel service model on its head.”

Renters Plot Their Next Moves in Tight Market

High occupancy rates and rising rents are good news for San Diego apartment investors, but the flip side of that is that a good chunk of San Diego renters are looking to move elsewhere, indicating that apartment owners might have a growing turnover.

Senior Living Co. Taps Forbes’ Program To Upgrade Its Service to Luxury Level

Kisco Senior Living doesn’t want to be the traditional, medical-facility-like convalescent home. Instead, the Carlsbad-headquartered family-owned company, with 20 locations throughout the country, hopes to be in a category with five-star hotels.

Local Owners Are Hands-On With Crafting Version of Queen Bee Market

Fun fact: Did you know that the Queen Bee Market, the bi-annual two-day shopping event that features handmade items from more than 100 local and national artisans and is held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, is owned by two San Diego-based sisters?

Title Role

Guild Mortgage’s Acquisition Strategy Goes After Companies and Talent

As the mortgage market gets more competitive and the wider economy grows more volatile, Mary Ann McGarry and her fellow investors at Guild Mortgage are taking things in stride.