Innovation City: Does Sacramento Have What It Takes To Be One?

[UPDATE: I’ve added a few video clips from the event]

From grassroots community members, to the Mayor and City Hall, to local business leaders, Sacramento is staking its claim as an innovation hub. Scores in the Sacramento innovation ecosystem gathered last night at CLARA auditorium for a panel discussion to discuss if Sacramento has what it takes to become an innovation hub in a collaborative event hosted by California Groundbreakers and Comstock’s Magazine:”Innovation City: Does Sacramento Have What It Takes To Be One?”

Panelist Crystal Strait, flanked by Vaibhav Nadgauda and Alona Jennings responds to a question from Vanessa Richardson.

The evening was hosted and moderated by Vanessa Richardson, who announced early on that the evening’s discussion would be available as a podcast episode on the California Groundbreakers website. So, if you weren’t able to attend, keep an eye on their website and social media channels (Twitter, Facebook) for that.

Before kicking off the panel discussion, Mayor Darrell Steinberg addressed the audience, describing his hopes and plans for jump-starting innovation in Sacramento.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s Introductory Remarks

The panelists for the evening included:

Brian Collins, chief advisor to the accelerator program at I/O Labs
Alona Jennings, co-founder of Operation Innovate
Vaibhav Nadgauda, managing partner at Moneta Ventures
Clay Nutting, food- and arts-focused entrepreneur
Crystal Strait, senior advisor to Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg
Eric Ullrich, co-founder and chief operating officer of Hacker Lab

After introducing the panelists, moderator Vanessa Richardson dove right into the panel discussion, asking questions of the panel such as:

What is the Mayor’s Office for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the intent of the RAILS program and plans for 2017.
What is a ‘Fab City,’ and what are Hacker Lab’s plans for 2017.
Where is Moneta Ventures placing its financial bets here in Sacramento.
How does Sacramento rank in terms of funding and talent.
What are I/O Labs’ plans, it’s mission and agenda.
Training Sacramento’s youth in STEM and STEAM.
The role of arts and food in Sacramento’s innovation and creative economy.

Following are a few video excerpts from the evening. The full podcast of the evening will be available on the California Groundbreakers website.

Panelist Introductions

Alona Jennings Talks about Operation Innovate

Brian Collins Talks about I/O Labs’ Plans

It was a great evening filled with insights from leaders in Sacramento’s innovation ecosystem and just the latest example of how the Sacramento startup and innovation community is coming together to transform Sacramento into an innovation and creative economy.