“… no time to be timid …” I heard walking into Oak Creek Golf Club in Irvine … I was late. So was the speaker. Gavin Newsom has a busy dance card as he seeks CA’s highest office. You know him as SF’s ex-mayor, may know him as Kimberly Guilfoyle’s ex, could know him as CA’s current lt. governor. He wants you to know—he’s a businessman. For 25 years, the 2018 front-runner for CA gov. has co-owned the PlumpJack Group … wines, bars, restaurants, hotels, mostly NorCal, also the vintage Melvyn’s in Palm Springs. Newsom’s selling himself as the CA Dem who will work with business—I asked the Santa Clara grad for his top two growth initiatives. He didn’t hesitate: “One, housing infrastructure. I know that sounds like a cop-out, it’s a long-term solution. But there’s things we can do now,” Newsom said. He touted changing CA tax allocation to incentivize cities to support infill development. And? “Two, transformation maps. What are your key industries? What do they need in the next five years? Design curriculum to meet the changing needs of the economy, credits for everyone 25+ to get nanodegrees.” State Treasurer John Chiang next up to visit OC …
We know the recovery is humming because GDP hit 3% in Q2, IPOs abound in OC and elsewhere, and … there’s a new slow-growth initiative. This one in Irvine (page 1) …
Aliso Viejo-based accelerator OCTANe and VC partner Visionary Ventures Fund LLC popped the gate. First quarter that the $35M ophthalmic-only fund could invest in device and drug firms; it did—five times, third-most deals in Q2 among the world’s VC funds, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ quarterly MoneyTree report.
“It was shocking, really,” Octane CEO Bill Carpou said. “And a little scary.” Carpou was referring to his fledgling fund for early-to-late-stage startups closing more healthcare deals than all but two other capital groups. There’s more. Carpou tells The Insider that VVF is adding three portfolio cos in Q3, one in OC—a late-stager working on a drug for dry eyes …
Props to Business Journal editor-at-large Rick Reiff. His “Inside OC” business and politics show added a coveted 5 p.m. Sunday night slot on PBS SoCal …
Inspiration Suggestion: kickoff this Friday Funday at Il Fornaio in Irvine at the 6th Annual Bocce Ball Invitational, 4 p.m. My colleague Carol Fox produces the FUNdraiser to raise money and awareness for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation—raised $70K last year. Carol and her foundation use all funds raised to improve quality of life, support research and seek a cure for the two inflammatory-bowel diseases that afflict one in 200 Americans. Bocce—Italian bowling? See you on Friday. Bocce17.auction-bid.org.
