WERE YOU GONNA GET STARTED WITH
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THAT? JOHN? COUNCIL MEMBER GRO HERE.[Approval of Minutes ]
CHAIR PALIS.OUR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM OUR LAST MEETING.
AND, UM, I, I SEE THAT COUNCILMAN ROCHA ACTUALLY HAS THEM IN FRONT OF HER.
ALL IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES.
UM, ALEX, WHAT DO WE GOT? THANKS.
ACTUALLY, THE FIRST ITEM I THINK IS GONNA BE FROM OUR CITY CLERK.
AND OUR CITY CLERK HAD INFORMED ME THAT THERE WAS A, UH, SOMEBODY NAMED RONNIE WILSON WHO WANTED TO SPEAK AND OUR CITIZENS TO BE HEARD.
PORTION OF THIS MEETING IS RONNIE WILSON HERE NOT SEEING ANY ROSS.
[Briefing and Possible Action on the following items ]
OKAY.THIS ONE IS A BRIEFING AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION BOARD VACANCY.
AND SO I'LL LET UH, YOU GUYS TELL ABOUT THE BOARD AND WHAT IT IS.
SO, UM, ACTUALLY, BRENDA HICKS SORENSON, OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, WILL BE GIVING JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, UM, IN ADVANCE OF CONSIDERATION OF SOME APPLICANTS FOR A VACANCY THAT WE HAVE ON THE BOARD.
SO, WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO BRENDA.
I'M IN CHARGE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HERE FOR THE CITY.
UH, SO THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, OTHERWISE FONDLY AFFECTIONATE OR FONDLY REFERRED TO AS S A E D C, IS A NONPROFIT CORPORATION THAT ASSISTS THE CITY IN PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
IT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2010 AND THUS FAR HAS INVESTED OVER $14 MILLION IN 12 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
IT HOLDS EQUITY IN 24 STARTUP COMPANIES AND ALSO CREATED THE SAN ANTONIO MILITARY MEDICAL INNOVATION FUND.
WE DO HAVE A BRIEFING AND MORE DETAIL ON BOTH S A E D C AND SAMMY.
UM, LATER ON THE AGENDA, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS COMPRISED OF SEVEN MEMBERS.
YOU'LL SEE THAT THE MAYOR IS THE PRESIDENT.
OUR CITY MANAGER IS THE SECRETARY.
TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE BOARD MEMBERS, AS WELL AS IN THREE CITIZENS AT LARGE.
THE CITIZEN MEMBERS ARE APPOINTED BY THE SAN ANTONIO CITY COUNCIL EVERY TWO YEARS.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE ONE CITIZEN AT LARGE POSITION THAT IS VACANT.
THIS WAS POSTED AND WE RECEIVED 18 APPLICATIONS FOR THE POSITION 16 OF WHICH WERE DEEMED ELIGIBLE.
UH, AT THE LAST MEETING, E W D C FORMED A SUBCOMMITTEE TO REVIEW THOSE APPLICATIONS.
THAT SUBCOMMITTEE MET ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST TO REVIEW THOSE AND RECOMMENDED FIVE APPLICANTS BE MOVED FORWARD FOR CONSIDERATION.
SINCE THAT TIME, WE DID HAVE ONE INDIVIDUAL WITHDRAW OF THEIR APPLICATION.
SO, UH, TODAY THE FOUR MEMBERS WHO ARE AVAILABLE FOR CONSIDERATION, UH, ARE SANDRA YASO.
I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE, THOUGH, THAT SHE HAD A, UM, CONFLICT THAT CAME UP EARLIER TODAY AND IS NOT ABLE TO BE HERE, UH, BUT DID PROVIDE A STATEMENT THAT THE CLERK DOES HAVE.
UH, WITH US IS ERICA MO, CARL, ERIC NALAN.
UH, HE DOES GO BY ERIC AND THEN JOSE PADILLA.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO ALEX.
I THINK WE CAN ACTUALLY MOVE INTO THE INTERVIEW PORTIONS FOR THE APPLICANTS.
SO, UM, WHAT, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS, FIRST MAKE SURE THAT MY COUNCIL MEMBERS DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AS FAR AS THE, WHAT YOU JUST PRESENTED BEFORE WE TALK TO OUR, OUR, OUR CANDIDATES.
AND THEY, THEY MIGHT NOT, BUT COUNCILMAN GRO, YOU, YOU OKAY TO PROCEED OR DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BEFORE WE JUMP INTO INTERVIEWS? COUNCILMAN ROCHA.
COUNCILMAN CASTILLO? YOU'RE GOOD.
SO OUR, OUR FIRST CANDIDATE WAS, OKAY, OUR FIRST CARE CANDIDATE WILL BE ERIC.
AND SO IF THE OTHER TWO CANDIDATES CAN FOLLOW VALERIE, SHE WILL PROCEED.
SO WE'RE GONNA KICK YOU OUT, RIGHT.
UH, AND, UH, WE WILL, WE'LL CALL YOU IN ONE BY ONE.
ALRIGHT, SIR, YOU'RE INVITED TO THE PODIUM AND, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU, WE, WE'VE DONE THIS IN A COUPLE OF WAYS IN THE PAST.
UH, ONE, WE LET YOU MAKE JUST A, A VERY BRIEF INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT.
TELL US WHO YOU ARE, WHY YOU WANNA DO THIS, WHAT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT YOU WANNA GET OUT OF IT, WHAT YOU THINK YOU CAN BRING TO THE TABLE.
UH, AND THEN WE ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS.
[00:05:01]
UH, YOU OKAY WITH IT DOING IT THAT WAY? ABSOLUTELY.ALRIGHT, WELL THEN, UM, IF YOUR MIC IS ON, UH, GO AHEAD.
TWO MINUTES, RIGHT FOR YOUR OPENING STATEMENT.
UM, SO, UH, MY NAME IS CARL ERIC NALAN.
UH, AND LIKE MANY SAN ANTONIANS, UH, OR MANY NEW SANTON, I'M ACTUALLY NOT ORIGINALLY FROM SAN ANTONIO.
UH, I CAME HERE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO IN SEARCH OF OPPORTUNITY AND IN SEARCH OF A GOOD EDUCATION.
AND I'M VERY HAPPY TO SAY THAT I HAVE RECEIVED PLENTY OF BOTH.
SINCE THEN, SINCE I'VE PUT DOWN ROOTS HERE, THIS COMMUNITY HAS HELPED ME TO GET A BACHELOR'S DEGREE, THREE MASTER'S DEGREES, UH, WHICH IS MORE MASTER'S DEGREES THAN I PERSONALLY RECOMMEND, UH, TO ANYONE.
UM, AND THIS COMMUNITY HAS HELPED ME GET THE JOB OF MY DREAMS AT SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE.
CURRENTLY, I'M A MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION ANALYST FOR THE COLLEGE, UH, ALONG WITH AN ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR IN URBAN PLANNING AND HUMAN RESOURCES.
MY SPECIALTIES ARE RESEARCH, DESIGN, PROGRAM EVALUATION, AND HOW THESE INTERSECT WITH THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT AND ITS PEOPLE.
SAN ANTONIO HAS BEEN GOOD TO ME, AND I THINK IT'S TIME THAT I GAVE BACK TO THE CITY AND THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE HELPED ME SO MUCH.
UH, WHEN I LEARNED THAT THERE WAS A POSITION OPEN ON THE BOARD, UH, OF THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, I SAW AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO APPLY THE SKILLS THAT I'VE LEARNED HERE IN SAN ANTONIO FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE OF SAN ANTONIO.
IT'S DIFFICULT FOR ME TO IMAGINE SOMETHING QUITE SO IMPORTANT AS IMPROVING THE LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS GREAT CITY, WHICH IS REALLY WHAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS ALL ABOUT, IN MY OPINION.
AND IN THAT SPIRIT, I'D LIKE TO OFFER MYSELF AND MY SKILLS TO THIS COMMITTEE, TO THIS COUNCIL IN WHATEVER CAPACITY YOU FEEL IS APPROPRIATE.
I THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND FOR YOUR VALUABLE TIME.
COUNCILMAN VILLAGRANDE, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR CANDIDATE? UH, YES.
SO, IN TERMS OF WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND, UM, MOVING THIS FORWARD, WHERE, WHERE DO YOU SEE, UM, WHERE DO YOU SEE THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION'S ROLE IN HOUSING? THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, HOUSING, UH, AS WE ALL KNOW, IS A HUGE ISSUE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF COVID AND SO MANY OTHER THINGS.
UH, THERE'S, THERE'S DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS THAT I THINK THAT THE, A CORPORATION COULD GO IN THAT, IN THAT SENSE.
ONE IS THE DIRECT PROVISIONING OF HOUSING, WHICH THE CITY AND WHICH HOUSING AGENCIES, UH, SAHA ALREADY HAS FAMILIARITY WITH.
UM, ANOTHER COULD BE, UH, GRANTS FOR RENT, WHICH IS, UH, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR TO SECTION EIGHT, BUT, UM, IN A WAY THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS LESS BOUND BY THE BUREAUCRACY THAT SURROUNDS SECTION EIGHT.
UM, I PERSONALLY THINK THAT THE DIRECT DISTRIBUTION OF CASH, UM, TO PEOPLE TO USE AS THEY SEE FIT, UH, IS TO APPLY TOWARDS THEIR, THEIR HOUSING OR TO OTHER ANCILLARY THINGS SURROUNDING HOUSING.
I TEND TO THINK THAT THAT'S MORE EFFICIENT THAN, UM, TRYING TO GET THE CITY, YOU KNOW, TO BUILD HOUSING AND TO UPKEEP IT AND, AND KEEP IT GOING AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE CORPORATION, UH, LOOK INTO, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REDISTRIBUTION OF, OF GRANTS TOWARDS PEOPLE AND HOUSING.
COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA? YES.
UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN, IN, UH, THE, IN SERVING OUR COMMUNITY.
CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT, REGARDING THE TEXAS TRIANGLE AND IN PARTICULAR, WHAT WE CAN DO TO GET SOME MORE BUSINESS INSTEAD OF HAVING TO GO TO THE OTHER MAJOR CITIES? IN MY EXPERIENCE, UM, WHEN BUSINESSES LOOK AT A, A CITY OR A REGION, WHAT THEY'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR IS, YOU KNOW, DO, DOES EVERYTHING THAT THEY, IS EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED THERE.
AND WHEN I LOOK AT SAN ANTONIO, I THINK, WELL, WHAT DO WE NEED TO ATTRACT BUSINESSES? WHAT DO WE NEED TO ATTRACT, UH, MORE BUSINESS? AND I THINK IT'S PEOPLE.
I THINK OUR PEOPLE ARE THE GREATEST RESOURCE THAT WE HAVE.
UM, ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT SAN ANTONIO IS THAT WE ARE A COLLEGE TOWN, AND I THINK THAT WE PRODUCE ENOUGH GRADUATES, WE PRODUCE ENOUGH, UH, EXPERIENCED PEOPLE THAT WE CAN BECOME A, A MAGNET FOR BUSINESSES, REALLY BASED ON THE STRENGTH OF OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.
[00:10:01]
I THINK THAT IT WOULD BE GREAT IF ONE DAY PEOPLE COULD LOOK AT THE, THE TEXAS TRIANGLE AND THEY COULD SAY, YOU KNOW, OUT OF THOSE, THOSE URBAN AREAS, IT'S SAN ANTONIO THAT REALLY PRODUCES, YOU KNOW, THE MOST HIGH QUALITY GRADUATES.UM, AND I THINK THAT WOULD GO A LONG WAY TOWARDS THAT.
UH, THANK YOU FOR APPLYING TO SERVE ON THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, YOU ANSWERED ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD, BUT I'LL GO AHEAD AND ASK IT ANYWAY.
UH, TWO KEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES ARE ONE RIGHT RETRAIN, RETAINING THAT LOCAL TALENT FROM OUR UNIVERSITIES, AND ALSO CREATING A PIPELINE FROM OUR UNIVERSITIES INTO THE GROWING SECTORS.
UH, IS THIS A PRIORITY FOR YOU? AND HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THIS PIPELINE IMPROVED? WELL, IT'S DEFINITELY A PRIORITY.
UM, I THINK THAT, UH, AT, I THINK WE'RE ON OUR WAY TO DOING A GREAT JOB NOW.
'CAUSE I KNOW, YOU KNOW, U T S A MY ALMA MATER HAS, UH, RECENTLY, UH, THEY'VE, THEY JUST BROKE GROUND ON THE DIGITAL, UH, I CALL IT THE DIGITAL FORTRESS BUILDING, BUT YOU KNOW, WHERE THE, THE NATIONAL SECURITY COMPLEX IS GOING TO BE CREATED.
I THINK WE'VE ALREADY MADE STRIDES IN CONNECTING OUR GRADUATES WITH THE AGENCIES AND THE CORPORATIONS THAT THEY'RE GOING TO WORK FOR IN THE FUTURE.
I THINK WE JUST NEED TO KEEP UP THAT CADENCE.
UM, AT SAN ANTONIO COLLEGE, AT ALAMO COLLEGES, WE, UH, ARE BUSY CREATING PIPELINES INTO, UM, THE WORKFORCE DIRECTLY.
WE HAVE NEW MICROCREDENTIALS COMING UP WHERE PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO TAKE A COUPLE CLASSES AND THEN THEY HAVE A CREDENTIAL THAT SAYS, I CAN PROGRAM, OR, YOU KNOW, I CAN DESIGN WEBSITES AND THEY'RE READY TO GO.
AND WE ALREADY HAVE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH, UM, WITH CUSTOMERS, WITH BUSINESSES AND THINGS.
SO, UH, MORE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING,
AND HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WE CAN INTEGRATE OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS INTO THIS PROCESS? THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION.
UH, WE, I KNOW AT ALAMO COLLEGES RIGHT NOW, WE ARE WORKING FEVERISHLY, UH, TO GET, UH, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ENROLLED IN COLLEGE RIGHT NOW, UM, WHILE THEY'RE IN HIGH SCHOOL, UM, TO GET THEM COMPLETED WITH THEIR ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE WHILE THEY'RE IN HIGH SCHOOL.
AND I THINK IF THEY CAN GET MICRO-CREDENTIALS WHILE THEY'RE IN HIGH SCHOOL, THAT WOULD JUST BE FANTASTIC.
IF THEY COULD JUST LEAVE, IF THEY COULD JUST GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL WITH A CERTIFICATE IN COMPUTER PROGRAMMING READY TO GO AT ANY OF THE COMPANIES AROUND HERE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE A MAJOR BOON FOR COMPANIES LOOKING TO SET UP SHOP.
THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
WHAT EXPERIENCE DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE THAT CAN HELP, UH, IMPROVE THE ECONOMIC AND WORK WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE? THE GREAT PART ABOUT, UH, BEING A, A DATA SCIENTIST OR A DATA ANALYST IS THAT INSTEAD OF BEGINNING WITH DATA, WHICH IS WHAT PEOPLE THINK YOU DO, YOU ACTUALLY REALLY HAVE TO BEGIN WITH QUESTIONS.
AND I THINK THAT THE BEST SKILL THAT I HAVE, OR THAT I COULD REALLY BRING TO THE TABLE IS THE ABILITY TO ASK QUESTIONS.
THE FIRST QUESTION BEING, WHAT DO WE WANT SAN ANTONIO TO LOOK LIKE FIVE YEARS, 10 YEARS, 25 YEARS, A HUNDRED YEARS? IF WE CAN EVEN THINK THAT LONG, UM, IT'S THE ABILITY TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX, TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, HOW ARE WE GOING TO SET OURSELVES APART FROM THE TEXAS TRIANGLE? WHICH I DIDN'T COME UP WITH THAT QUESTION Y'ALL DID, AND THAT'S A GREAT ONE TO RECOGNIZE.
GOOD QUESTIONS WHEN THEY COME UP TO ME.
THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL I HAVE.
UM, I UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THE BASIC OUTLINE OF THE CORPORATION, OF THE, UH, THE MILITARY MEDICAL, UM, MILITARY MEDICAL PROJECT.
UM, I THINK THAT, UH, IT'S, THERE'S A LOT TO
I WAS LOOKING INTO IT AND I GOT KIND OF OVERWHELMED WITH ALL THE POWERPOINT SLIDES.
UM, BUT, UH, UH, I THINK THAT, UM, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S SOMETHING THAT SEEMS TO BE WORKING.
I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT Y'ALL HAD EQUITY IN, UH, STARTUPS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, WHICH I THINK IS GREAT.
I, I, I, I GUESS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT IS ARE, ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH ANY OF THE DEALS THEMSELVES THAT WE'VE DONE OVER THE PAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS? ARE, DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A, A BIG FOCUS ON BIOTECH RESEARCH AND THEN THE,
[00:15:01]
THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF MILITARY MEDICAL, UH, SCIENCE? THAT'S WHAT I GATHER, YES.YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS YOU'RE GETTING INTO HERE.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE WALKING INTO THIS EYES WIDE OPEN.
DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OF US? UH, THE ONLY QUESTION I HAVE IS, UH, AND THIS MAY BE A LITTLE PRESUMPTUOUS, BUT, UH, RELATED TO THE WEEKLY DAYTIME TIME COMMITMENT, UM, IF ONLY BECAUSE I'M A STAFF MEMBER AT ALAMO COLLEGES AND I'M NOT GRANTED ANY KIND OF RELEASE TIME, UH, FOR VOLUNTEER WORK, UM, IF THERE IS A DAILY TIME COMMITMENT, THAT'S FINE.
I'LL JUST NEED TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY HOURS A WEEK AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
ALEX LOPEZ HAS THE ANSWER FOR YOU.
THERE ISN'T A STANDING, UM, TIME COMMITMENT.
THE, THE, THE MOST TIME COMMITMENT IS, IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACTUAL BOARD MEETINGS, WHICH WE TYPICALLY COORDINATE WITH THE DIFFERENT MEMBERS, UM, TO, TO FIND AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO DO SO.
SO WE, WE WORK AROUND YOUR CALENDARS.
I, I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
THAT, UH, THE, UH, WE'RE GONNA ASK YOU TO STEP OUT INTO THE SOUNDPROOF OUTDOORS, UH, WHILE WE CALL IN OUR NEXT CANDIDATE.
UM, WE'LL, WE'LL BE GOING TO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THEN MAKING A DECISION.
HI, UH, WE'RE ASKING ALL CANDIDATES TO GIVE US A TWO MINUTE INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT.
UM, TAKE THAT IN WHICHEVER DIRECTION YOU'D LIKE.
UH, MOST PEOPLE WILL TELL US WHY THEY WANT TO DO THIS AND WHAT THEY'RE EXPECTING TO GET OUT OF IT, AND, UM, WHY WE SHOULD ASK YOU TO SERVE.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR ABOUT FIVE QUESTIONS AFTER THAT.
IS IT OKAY IF I REMOVE MY MASK FROM THE DISTANCE? OKAY.
UM, I AM A NATIVE SAN ANTONIAN.
I'VE LIVED HERE SINCE ROUGHLY 1984.
UM, WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL HERE, WENT TO COLLEGE AT TECH, AND THEN LAW SCHOOL AT ST.
UM, I'VE HAD A, A LAW PRACTICE, A COM, UH, A LITIGATION FIRM, UH, FOR ABOUT 17 YEARS.
I'VE DONE A LOT OF PROBATE WORK AND AM A CERTIFIED GUARDIAN AD LITEM.
SO, UM, I'VE HAD A LOT OF APPOINTMENTS WITH CATHOLIC CHARITY SERVICES AND THROUGH BEXAR COUNTY.
AND WHAT I DO WITH THAT IS WE GO INTO LOW INCOME HOUSES AND PEOPLE WHO CANNOT AFFORD TO GET GUARDIANSHIPS.
THEY'RE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THE DISABLED CHILD AND THEIR FAMILY, AND THEY JUST CAN'T AFFORD TO GET THROUGH THE PROCESS.
UM, SO I HELP FACILITATE THAT.
IT'S BEEN EXTREMELY REWARDING.
IT BRINGS ME THE GREATEST JOY IN LIFE.
I'M IN NATIONAL CHARITY LEAGUE WITH MY DAUGHTERS, AND NOW WE DO THAT, UH, AS A FAMILY, AND IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL.
UM, I'VE BEEN VERY LUCKY IN MY CAREER.
I FEEL VERY BLESSED THAT I GOT TO WORK AS A DIRECTOR AT CHILD SAFE.
SO I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR.
I'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK AS A, AS A PRIVATE BUSINESS OWNER.
WE'VE ALSO JUST FILED WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE, AND I HAVE A NEW MINORITY OWNED BUSINESS, UM, AS A WOMAN.
AND WE ARE, IT IS CALLED TEXAS PRO DOCS, AND WE HAVE SEVERAL BUSINESSES SIGNED ON.
OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE 50 EMPLOYEES IN FIVE YEARS, AND WE WILL BE DOING MASS VOLUME, LEGAL DOC PREP.
UM, AND SO EQUITY AND INCLUSION OBVIOUSLY IS GONNA BE A BIG GOAL OF MINE.
I'VE SEEN HOW THAT HELPS OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, I ALSO, UM, HAVE JUST BEEN APPOINTED AS A PART-TIME MENTAL HEALTH COURT JUDGE, UH, WHICH HAS BEEN, UM, EXTREMELY
SO I ACTUALLY GET, UH, I'VE BEEN IN TRAINING AND I'LL BE ACTUALLY, UM, UH, UH, SWORN IN ON DECEMBER 3RD, AND I'LL START RIGHT AFTER THAT.
THANK YOU FOR THANK FOR YOUR SERVICE.
UM, COUNCILWOMAN VRAN IS GONNA START OFF THE ROUND OF QUESTIONINGS.
I'M GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP, UH, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS, SHOULD BE THE PRIORITY FOR THE S A S A E D C, UH, TO PROMOTE THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN PROJECTS? WELL, WHAT I
[00:20:01]
CAN SAY IS I'VE SEEN, UM, LIKE I SAID, THROUGH, UM, THOSE, THE SERVICE WORK THAT I'VE DONE, AND WE, I GO INTO THE HOMES OF PEOPLE THAT ARE IN, UH, LOW INCOME AREAS, AND WE SEE THAT THEY'RE HARDWORKING PEOPLE AND THEY JUST NEED THE OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED.SO I THINK IF YOU CAN MARKET AND GET THAT, THAT MESSAGING OUT THERE, ALSO, I NOTICED IN YOUR IMPACT REPORT THAT PART OF YOUR GOAL IS TO WORK WITH VETERANS.
UM, I, I FEEL LIKE, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, MOST OF MY FAMILY, UH, THE, ALL THE MEN IN MY FAMILY WERE MILITARY.
AND EVEN SOME OF THE WOMEN WERE CIVIL SERVICE IN THE MILITARY.
AND SO I KNOW THE P T S D THAT THESE FAMILIES GO THROUGH AND THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISISES THAT THEY GO THROUGH.
AND IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY CAN'T OVERCOME, THEY CAN, AND YOU CAN GET THEM FULL HEALING.
AND PART OF WHAT GIVES THEM THE HEALING IS GIVING THEM PURPOSE AND ALLOWING THEM TO HAVE A JOB THAT BRINGS THEM, THAT JOY THAT THEY GET TO SERVE AND BE A CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF OUR SOCIETY AND OUR COMMUNITY.
ALL THAT DOES REWARD THE COMMUNITY AND THE PERSON THAT YOU'VE HELPED.
COUNCILMAN ADRIANA ROCHA GARCIA.
UM, MS. FER APPLYING, MY QUESTION IS IN REGARD TO ENTREPRENEURIAL AND STARTUP COMMUNITIES SPECIFICALLY, HOW COULD YOU BE AN ADVOCATE FOR THEM WITH YOUR EXPERIENCE? WELL, I COULD BE AN ADVOCATE AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND SOMEONE WHO HAS STARTED TWO BUSINESSES.
ONE OF THEM IS JUST BEING LAUNCHED.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU THE OTHER BUSINESS THAT I'VE BEEN RUNNING FOR THE LAST 17 YEARS HAS BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL.
AND, UM, WE UNDERSTAND THE PITFALLS.
WE UNDERSTAND HOW, UH, YOU NEED TO GIVE TAX BREAKS TO SMALL BUSINESSES BECAUSE THEY CAN PAY IT FORWARD TO THEIR EMPLOYEES.
HEALTHCARE IS EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE, AND WE MAKE SURE THAT OUR EMPLOYEES HAVE FULL BENEFITS.
BUT WE ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT IF YOU WANNA EMPLOY ON A MASS SCALE, YOU NEED TO WORK WITH THE CITY AND GET GRANTS AND TO THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES SO THAT THEY CAN PROVIDE THOSE BENEFITS TO THEIR EMPLOYEES.
I'M, I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN OFFLINE WHAT A MENTAL HEALTHCARE JUDGE ENTAILS.
UM, BUT MY QUESTION IS, UH, TWO KEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES ARE, ONE, RETAINING THAT UNIVERSITY AND LOCAL TALENT AS WELL AS, UH, CREATING A PIPELINE INTO GROWING SECTORS.
WOULD THIS BE A PRIORITY FOR YOU? AND HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO IMPROVE THAT PIPELINE? SURE.
I WOULD LOVE TO IMPROVE THAT PIPELINE BY FINDING SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS OWNERS AND HAVING REGULAR MEETINGS AND GETTING THEM TO BRAINSTORM WITH ONE ANOTHER AND FINDING OUT WHAT, WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE HAD THAT MADE YOUR BUSINESS THRIVE AND SUCCESSFUL? HOW DID YOU BRING PE BUSINESS INTO OUR COMMUNITY? AND, UM, WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS THAT YOU'VE HAD AND THE HURDLES.
SO WE CAN GET IN FRONT OF THOSE AND REMOVE THOSE BARRIERS FOR OTHER BUSINESSES THAT ARE TRYING TO START AND BRING BUSINESS INTO SAN ANTONIO.
UH, HOW CAN WE BETTER IN INCLUDE OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE PIPELINE, UH, UH, INTO THE, THE LOCAL BUSINESSES? SURE.
YOU CAN WORK WITH THEIR P T A AND YOU CAN ALSO WORK WITH THEIR CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND THEIR COUNSELORS, BECAUSE THEY HAVE PROGRAMS THAT HELP GET PEOPLE INTO THE WORKFORCE.
AND I THINK ALSO WE REALLY NEED TO, UM, PUT SOME FOCUS ONTO VOCATIONAL SKILLS.
THOSE HAVE BEEN REALLY MINIMIZED IN RECENT YEARS, AND THE VOCATIONAL SKILLS ARE HIGH PAYING JOBS, AND THEY'RE SUCCESSFUL JOBS, AND THEY'RE HONORABLE JOBS.
AND WE NEED TO LET CHILDREN KNOW THAT, THAT THESE ARE JOBS THAT ARE NOBLE AND THEY'RE WORTHY, AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A TRADITIONAL COLLEGE PATH TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN LIFE.
AND I REALLY THINK WE NEED TO MARKET THAT TOWARDS OUR COMMUNITY'S CHILDREN.
UH, MS. MO, PART OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ECONOMIC WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE IS TO TRY AND FIND INVESTMENTS COMPANIES THAT WANT TO COME INTO SAN ANTONIO, UH, THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY PARTNER WITH.
THERE ARE SOME BUSINESSES WE, WE HOLD AN EQUITY IN.
WHERE DO YOU THINK YOUR EXPERIENCE OR YOUR KNOWLEDGE CAN COME IN TO HELP YOU IN THOSE KINDS OF DECISIONS? WELL, SO I'VE HAD, AS I WAS SAYING, IN MY PAST CAREER, I'VE HAD, UM, A VERY FORTUNATE OPPORTUNITIES TO MEET WITH BUSINESS PEOPLE.
PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD LARGE BUSINESSES WHO'VE BROUGHT THOSE, UH, BUSINESSES IN TOWN, PEOPLE LIKE GRAHAM WESTON, AND, YOU KNOW, THESE PEOPLE WHO HAVE DEEP POCKETS AND CONNECTIONS AND CAN BRING THOSE KIND OF BUSINESSES INTO SAN ANTONIO.
I'D LIKE TO REACH OUT TO THOSE PEOPLE AND SEE WHAT THEY CAN DO TO HELP US, UH, GET BUSINESS IN.
SO WHEN SOMEONE, UM, YOU KNOW, A BIG TECH COMPANY IS BIDDING AROUND THAT WILL PULL ALL OF OUR RESOURCES TOGETHER AND FIND OUT HOW WE
[00:25:01]
CAN GET THEM TO SAN ANTONIO OVER ONE OF THE OTHER CITIES IN, IN TEXAS.UM, THE, TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE APPLYING FOR THIS, UH, GROUP'S BOARD.
HA, HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK INTO THE PROJECTS THAT THEY'VE WORKED ON OVER THE PAST YEAR OR TWO AND, AND THE FLAVOR OF THE PROJECTS? AND DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS YOU'RE GETTING YOURSELF INTO
UH, I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
WE'RE GONNA INVITE YOU TO STEP OUTSIDE AND WE'RE GONNA INTERVIEW ANOTHER CANDIDATE.
AND THE FINAL CANDIDATE, JOSE PADILLA, IS ON HIS WIFE.
UH, WITH, UH, A TWO MINUTE OPENING, UM, AND JUST GENERAL COMMENTS ABOUT WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE, WHAT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH, WHAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU.
AND THEN ONCE THOSE TWO MINUTES ARE UP, WE'RE GONNA START WITH, UH, SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
IS IT OKAY TO TAKE OFF MY MASK? YEAH, SURE.
UH, SO, UH, MY NAME'S JOSE PADILLA.
I WENT TO HARVARD UNDERGRAD PENN FOR LAW SCHOOL.
I'VE BEEN AN ATTORNEY FOR OVER 21 YEARS.
UM, I STARTED MY OWN LAW FIRM HERE IN SAN ANTONIO TWO YEARS AGO, FOCUSED EXCLUSIVELY ON VENTURE CAPITAL.
SO MY CLIENTS ARE ALL STARTUP COMPANIES OR INVESTORS THAT INVEST IN THEM.
I, UM, IN THE PAST TWO YEARS, MY, I STARTED OFF AS A SOLO ATTORNEY.
UH, I'VE DONE CLOSINGS AND OVER 61 INVESTMENTS, TOTALING ABOUT $290 MILLION.
UM, I ALSO DO ANGEL INVESTING AS WELL, AND, UH, HAVE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN THE SPACE.
I'M ALSO, UH, HAVE A YOUNG FAMILY, FOUR KIDS.
UM, OLDEST IS, WE LOVE RAISING THEM HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, I'M THE SON OF HONDURAN IMMIGRANTS.
UH, I WAS THE FIRST IN MY FAMILY, NOT JUST TO FINISH HIGH SCHOOL, BUT REALLY THE FIRST IN MY FAMILY TO BE LITERATE.
AND, UH, SO I FEEL BLESSED, WHICH IS WHY I WANNA BE ABLE TO GIVE BACK AND, UH, SERVE ON, ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.
AND, UH, I ALSO CURRENTLY DO MENTORSHIP AT, UH, THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM FOR TRINITY UNIVERSITY, FOR, UH, UT'S HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER, UH, TEXAS RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATIONS, VELOCITY, TX ACCELERATOR, AND, UM, THE GEEKDOM FUND.
YOU KNOW, BASICALLY ANYTHING I CAN GET MY HANDS ON HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
I'M TRYING TO DO MY PART TO, TO HELP, UH, WITH THE VENTURE CAPITAL COMMUNITY.
UM, I HAVE ALSO, UH, AM INVOLVED, UH, MY PRACTICE IS ACTUALLY NATIONAL, SO I'M INVOLVED IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES IN ARKANSAS AND NEVADA AS WELL.
AND, UM, WHAT ELSE? UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I'M FAMILIAR WITH KIND OF GETTING RETURN ON INVESTMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITH COMPANIES TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, MY JOB, MY DAY JOB IS REPRESENTING A LOT OF COMPANIES WHO ARE TRYING TO GET INVESTMENT FUNDS.
SO I'M FAMILIAR WITH THAT PROCESS.
AND, UM, WHAT ELSE ABOUT ME? OH, I, I ALSO EXPERIENCED, UH, 10 YEARS AGO, UH, I WORKED FOR A BILLION DOLLAR COMPANY AND I WAS IN THEIR COMMITTEE TO DECIDE WHERE TO MOVE.
I WAS IN DC AT THE TIME, AND THEY DECIDED TO MOVE TO TEXAS.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'M IN, I WAS IN THAT PROCESS OF DECIDING WHERE TO DO IT.
WE'RE GONNA START OFF WITH MY COLLEAGUE, COUNCILMAN GERRAN.
YOU MENTIONED YOU WORKED WITH STARTUPS.
SO, UH, MY QUESTION IS, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE THEY'RE FACING RIGHT NOW, AND HOW DO YOU THINK THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CAN HELP? SO, THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FOR SAN ANTONIO STARTUPS IS THE ACCESS TO CAPITAL THERE.
THE SAN ANTONIO MARKET DOES NOT GET THE ATTENTION THAT REALLY IT DESERVES IN TEXAS.
UM, MOST VENTURE CAPITALISTS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING, UH, IT'S AUSTIN AND IF NOT AUSTIN, DALLAS, AND HOUSTON.
I, I HAVE ONE CLIENT THAT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST, UH, UH, SEED INVESTMENT FUNDS IN AUSTIN.
THEY ONLY INVEST IN TEXAS COMPANIES.
THEY HAVE, UH, 30 PORTFOLIO COMPANIES, ZERO IN SAN ANTONIO AND ANTONIO.
AND, YOU KNOW, I, I CONSTANTLY TRY TO SHOW THEM SAN ANTONIO COMPANIES, AND THEY'RE TELLING ME THEY, THEY JUST DON'T, YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T FOCUS, THEY DON'T HEAR TOO MUCH GOING ON, WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? SO THERE'S A LOT OF EFFORTS TRYING TO DO THAT.
I THINK THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE CAN HELP, UM, THOSE EFFORTS GOING ON, LIKE GROUPS LIKE VELOCITY, TX AND OTHERS, AND THE UNIVERSITIES, UM, TO
[00:30:01]
HELP THEM CONNECT WITH VENTURE CAPITALISTS OUTSIDE OF SAN ANTONIO.I THINK THAT'S THE BIGGEST THING IS THERE'S A LOT OF EFFORTS WITH GETTING LOCAL INVESTORS, BUT WE REALLY NEED ATTENTION FROM INVESTORS AROUND TEXAS AND AROUND THE COUNTRY.
I WAS, UM, IMPRESSED WITH YOUR SERVICE AS A MENTOR FOR ACCELERATORS VENTURE WELLNESS CHALLENGE AND WEWORK.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THAT.
YOU ADDRESSED SOMETHING THAT I WAS GONNA ASK, AND IT WAS IN PARTICULAR HOW, UM, YOU WOULD PLAN TO BRING IN A WIDER STRATEGY TO CAPITALIZE ON THE TEXAS TRIANGLE, BUT PARTICULARLY TO GET SOME MORE BUSINESS IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT MAYBE YOU WOULD DO IN YOUR TERM.
YEAH, SO WHAT I WOULD DO IS, UH, I THINK THERE'S SOMETHING, THERE'S A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY HERE IN THERE.
THERE'S CITY EFFORTS TO HELP THIS, UM, TO KNOW THAT THERE'S REALLY A CITYWIDE STRATEGY TO HELP.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE A POSITIVE THING WHEN YOU'RE TALK, IF I WERE TO BE TALKING TO INVESTORS IN OTHER PLACES TO SAY, HEY, THE CITY IS HERE IS WELCOMING, AND THEY'RE REALLY TRYING TO HELP.
THERE ARE OTHER PLACES WHERE THERE ARE EFFORTS TO DO IT, BUT, UH, IT'S MUCH MORE PRIVATELY LED.
AND, AND WHILE THIS NEEDS TO BE KIND OF LED PRIVATELY, THE FACT THAT THERE'S CITY SUPPORT IS, IS VERY HELPFUL.
AND, UH, AND I THINK A LOT OF IT IS REALLY MORE ABOUT MAKING INTRODUCTIONS AND PUTTING PEOPLE TOGETHER, BECAUSE THERE ARE A LOT OF PIECES HERE.
UM, LIKE I'M, I'M WORKING WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE INVOLVED IN CYBERSECURITY.
I MEAN, THE CYBERSECURITY FOR THE, YOU KNOW, US ARMED FORCES THERE, IT'S BASED HERE.
UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF, UM, WHAT'S CALLED CISO'S, CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICERS IN THE, UM, SAN ANTONIO AREA.
THINGS I DIDN'T KNOW, I, I, I KNEW A COUPLE AND THEN I TALKED TO THEM, THEY'RE LIKE, OH YEAH, WE MEET ON A, YOU KNOW, MONTHLY BASIS AND THERE'S LIKE 10 OR 20 OF THEM.
AND TO DEVELOP, THAT'S ONE AREA THAT YOU COULD DEVELOP IN SAN ANTONIO THAT YOU HAVE THESE RESOURCES AND YOU HAVE THESE PEOPLE HERE.
THE THING IS, SOME OF THEM DON'T KNOW WHAT VENTURE CAPITAL IS, OR THEY KIND OF SCARED OFF ABOUT IT.
AND THEN THOSE IN VENTURE CAPITAL DON'T KNOW THAT THOSE RESOURCES EXIST.
LIKE, I, MY, UH, LIKE I HAVE ANOTHER, UH, INVESTOR CLIENT THAT INVESTED IN CYBERSECURITY, AND IT'S A COMPANY AND AUSTIN, AND I'M LIKE, THAT COMPANY SHOULD BE IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, 'CAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE HIRING PEOPLE FROM SAN ANTONIO.
THEY JUST HIRE THEM THERE AND MOVE THEM TO AUSTIN.
UM, AND THERE'S SO MANY MORE REASONS WHY THEY SHOULD BE STAYING HERE.
COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UH, TWO KEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES ARE TO RETAIN THAT LOCAL TALENT AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, UH, AND CREATING A PIPELINE INTO THESE GROWING SECTORS.
WOULD THIS BE A PRIORITY FOR YOU? AND HOW WOULD YOU IMPROVE THAT PIPELINE? YES, IT'S DEFINITELY A PRIORITY.
I MEAN, SO FOR ME, WHETHER OR NOT I'M ON THE BOARD, IT IS WHAT I DO FOR A LIVING.
THE MORE COMPANIES, THE MORE LOCAL PEOPLE THERE ARE THAT ARE, THAT ARE STARTING COMPANIES THAT ARE LOOKING FOR INVESTMENT, THOSE ARE PEOPLE THAT, UH, THAT CAN BE CLIENTS OF MINE.
SO, UM, I I, IT IS A PRIORITY FOR ME.
I, I DO THAT ON A DAILY BASIS.
I TRY TO, I, I DO A LOT OF VOLUNTEER BECAUSE I WANT TO EDUCATE PEOPLE HERE ON WHAT THEY NEED TO DO SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT A REASON WHY THERE AREN'T, SO THAT THERE'S NO REASON OR EXCUSE WHY THERE AREN'T STARTUPS HERE, BECAUSE THAT PEOPLE KNOW, HEY, THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.
UM, AND, AND, AND, UH, SO, SO THAT'S KIND OF, WOULD BE MY PRIORITY, UM, THINGS TO DO.
I THINK A LOT OF IT IS EDUCATION AND ACCESS.
UM, THERE'S, WE, WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT THE OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS DON'T, AND THEY'RE GETTING A LOT OF ATTENTION.
WE SHOULD BE, WE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO THE SAME.
AND, UH, AND, AND I SEE THAT WHEN I'M WORKING WITH THOSE IN OTHER STATES AS WELL.
SO I SEE A LOT OF DIFFERENT, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT STRATEGIES MM-HMM.
UM, AND FOR ME, I'M THINKING, WELL, WHAT WE HAVE, WHAT OTHERS DON'T IS ALREADY, WE'RE ALREADY A LARGE CITY.
WE ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF RESOURCES.
WE, WE ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE TALENT THAT'S AVAILABLE THERE.
I THINK IT'S JUST NOT THE EXPERIENCE.
HOW CAN WE BETTER INCLUDE OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LOCAL JOB CREATION STRATEGIES SO THAT THEY KNOW THAT THERE'S A PATHWAY TO A JOB HERE? WELL, ONE THING I LOVED WAS, UH, VELOCITY TX, UH, JUST LAST WEEK AND TWO WEEK AND THREE WEEKS BEFORE THAT, UH, THEY WERE WORKING WITH HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE EAST SAN ANTONIO AREA, AND THEY HAD THESE STEM KIND OF CONTESTS THERE.
AND THEN THEY HAD A, UM, LIKE A COMPETITION.
I THINK, UH, TRINITY ALSO HAS A COMPETITION FOR STUDENT LED STARTUPS.
UM, I THINK WE NEED TO DO MORE OF THOSE THINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, I GUESS NOT JUST IN EAST SANTOR, BUT IN ALL THESE DIFFERENT AREAS.
UM, AND I THINK, UH, ANOTHER THING THAT I'M ACTIVE IN IS IN, UH, HELPING UNDERREPRESENTED FOUNDERS.
UM, I'M INVOLVED WITH DIFFERENT INITIATIVES AROUND THE COUNTRY, UH, RELATED TO THAT.
AND SO, UM, AND, AND I THINK A LOT OF IT, AGAIN, GOES TO EDUCATION.
I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S THE KEY TO THAT, MY BACKGROUND.
AND I THINK IT'S THE KEY TO, UM, TO DEVELOPING THE, THE ECONOMY HERE IS REALLY LETTING PEOPLE KNOW WHEN THERE'S GENERAL WORD EDUCATION.
BUT A LOT OF IT IS JUST TELLING PEOPLE, HEY, THIS IS WHAT VENTURE CAPITAL IS.
AND BREAK IT DOWN WHAT I DO ALL THE TIME FOR
[00:35:01]
MY CLIENTS, WHICH IS, THIS IS HOW YOU START UP A COMPANY AND IT'S REALLY NOT THAT HARD.UM, ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS I DO, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, TO START UP A COMPANY, TO, YOU HAVE TO BE A DELAWARE CORPORATION.
UH, THAT'S JUST KIND OF WHAT YOU DO IN THE INDUSTRY.
MOST OF MY COMPETITORS WILL CHARGE FIVE TO $10,000 TO DO THAT.
AND WHY? BECAUSE IT IS JUST SUPER EASY AND PEOPLE MAKE IT SEEM LIKE IT'S MYSTICAL AND DIFFICULT WHEN IT'S NOT.
AND THAT'S WHAT I HOPE TO, YOU KNOW, HELP THE CITY TO KIND OF DO FOR THOSE TO SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS ISN'T REALLY, VENTURE CAPITALISM IS DISTANT, IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S FOR SILICON VALLEY ONLY.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE IN OUR BACKYARD AND BY AND BY ANYONE.
UM, THANK YOU MR. PADILLA FOR APPLYING.
I'M, UH, I'M VERY IMPRESSED WITH WHAT YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED AND WHAT YOU'VE EXPRESSED, UH, AS YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU HOW YOU WOULD HANDLE THE CHALLENGE BETWEEN WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING, UH, WHICH IS TRYING TO HELP BUSINESSES MOVE, GET STARTED, ET CETERA.
AND ALSO THE CITY'S ROLE IN, YOU KNOW, BRINGING IN COMPANIES AND IN MANY CASES, INVESTING THEM, THEM.
I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE'S SOME CONFLICTS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE TO DEAL WITH.
SO HOW DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT BE DEALING WITH THAT? WELL, CONFLICTS, CONFLICT OF INTEREST IS PART AND PARCEL OF BEING AN ATTORNEY.
I MEAN, I, YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO COM, UH, COMPARTMENTALIZE.
UM, I INVE, UH, I'LL REPRESENT, WHEN I REPRESENT A, A CLIENT, A LOT OF TIMES IT'S A COMPANY, WELL, THE COMPANY'S COMPOSED OF INDIVIDUALS, AND SOMETIMES THERE'S TWO, THREE INDIVIDUALS, AND I GOTTA TELL THEM I'M REPRESENTING THE COMPANY, NOT YOU AS INDIVIDUALS.
AND THE SAME THING WHEN I'M, WHEN I WOULD BE, IF I WOULD BE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE CITY, I, I WOULD, I WOULD KNOW WHEN IT'S TIME TO, YOU KNOW, RECUSE MYSELF WHEN THERE ARE TIMES WHEN, YEAH, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ME, UH, TO DO MY DAY JOB THAT, UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY CONFLICTS AND THAT, UH, OR, OR I DEAL WITH THEM IN A WAY THAT'S ETHICAL.
SO THAT, UM, BECAUSE IF PEOPLE CAN'T TRUST ME, I CAN'T DO MY JOB AND I WON'T BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, SERVE ON THE BOARD AND HELP THE CITY OUT EITHER.
I, I, I, I'M, I ASSUME YOU KNOW, OR MAYBE YOU DON'T, HA HAVE YOU LOOKED INTO THE DEALS THAT THE E D C HAS DONE IN THE PAST? ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE, UH, GENERALLY FLAVOR OF THOSE DEALS? GENERALLY? NOT IN THE SPECIFIC DEALS.
HAVE YOU BROUGHT ANY DEALS TO THE E D C? NO.
UM, AND ALEX, DO WE INVITE EVERYBODY BACK IN OR ARE WE GOING TO EXEC NOW? RIGHT.
UM, NOW CHAIR, IF I MAY, WE HAD, UH, TWO OTHER APPLICANTS THAT I WANT TO, IN THE RECORD NOTE THAT COURTNEY SCHACK, WHO WAS ON THE MEMO, WITHDREW HER APPLICATION.
AND THEN WE HAD SANDRA HASSO WHO PROVIDED A WRITTEN STATEMENT, WHICH I CAN READ INTO THE RECORD, OR I PRESENTED IT TO ALL OF YOU, AND I CAN JUST ENTER IT TO THE RI WRITTEN RECORD, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU PREFER.
I, I, I'M OKAY WITH READING IT, BUT I, I WANNA MAKE SURE IF, IF, HOLD ON.
UH, UH, DO YOU WANT IT READ OR ARE YOU OKAY WITH READING IT YOURSELF? IT, I READ IT.
WE'LL JUST, IF YOU JUST MAKE IT PART OF THE RECORD, WE'LL PUT IT IN IN THE WRITTEN RECORD THEN.
UM, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE TIME IS NOW 2 41 ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD.
THIS COMMITTEE WILL NOW MEET IN EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CONSULT WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND TO DELIBERATE OR DISCUSS LEGAL ISSUES RELATED TO, UM, THE ATTORNEY-CLIENT MATTERS UNDER CHAPTER 5 51 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE, WHICH MEANS THAT Y'ALL GOT BEAT IT.
YOU SHOULD HAVE
THANK YOU TO THE CANDIDATES, UH, WHO, WHO MADE THE TIME, WHO, UM, ASKED TO BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO VOLUNTEER, UM, AND WHO CLEARLY LOVE THE CITY AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE, ARE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE THEIR COMMUNITY.
UM, I, I LOVE THIS PROCESS OF INTERVIEWING FOLKS AND THEN DELIBERATING BEHIND Y'ALL'S BACKS.
I'M NOT ALLOWED, I WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TELL YOU WHAT WE SAID, UH, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY TELL YOU THAT EACH OF YOU GAVE US, UH, A LOT TO TALK ABOUT.
UM, AND I, I WANNA LET YOU KNOW THAT I'M PROUD OF, OF THE PROCESS IN THAT EACH OF YOU GOT YOUR, YOUR, UM, YOUR FAIR HEARING.
UM, AND WE DID, WE TALKED ABOUT EACH OF YOU, UM, A LOT.
SO, UH, WITH THAT SAID, THERE IS A MOTION, UH, THAT'S GONNA BE MADE.
[00:40:01]
SECOND, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A VOTE.UM, AND, YOU KNOW, LIKE, LIKE ALL ELECTIONS, UM, SOMEBODY WINS AND SOMEBODY DOESN'T.
BUT THE NICE THING IS, IS THAT THIS PROCESS WILL, UH, BEGIN AGAIN IN WHAT, WHEN IS IT THAT WE'RE GONNA OPEN UP APPLICATIONS AGAIN? MAY, YES.
WE'LL, WE'LL, THIS TERM WILL CONCLUDE IN MAY OF 2022.
SO WE'LL BE RESTARTING THIS PROCESS, UM, EARLY NEXT YEAR AGAIN, TO, TO REQUEST MORE APPLICATIONS.
RIGHT? AND SO EVERYBODY HAS TO RUN AGAIN, UM, AND, AND RESUBMIT.
AND SO I, I HOPE THAT IF YOU DIDN'T, UM, YOU KNOW, GET THE NOD THIS TIME THAT YOU'LL STILL SUBMIT BECAUSE THERE IS A VERY LIKELY CHANCE THAT, UM, ONE OF YOU WILL GET IT.
SO WITH THAT SAID, COUNCILMAN VIA GRANT HAS A MOTION CHAIRMAN PALIS, A MOVE THAT WE RECOMMEND ERIC MOE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF CITIZEN AT LARGE TO THE SAN ANTONIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION FOR THE REMAINDER OF A TERM TO BEGIN UPON APPROVAL BY CITY COUNCIL AND TO EXPIRE ON MAY 31ST, 2022.
WE HAVE A SECOND FROM COUNCILWOMAN ROCHA GARCIA.
UM, AND IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION, UH, BEFORE WE TAKE A VOTE ON THIS? NOPE.
WELL THEN ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UM, APPOINTING ERICA MO FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF CITIZEN AT LARGE TO THE E D C, UM, FOR A TERM TO BEGIN UPON APPROVAL TODAY AND TO EXPIRE MAY 31ST, 2022.
UM, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO, TO WORKING WITH YOU.
THANK YOU, UM, TO, UH, MR. PADILLA AND THANK YOU, ERIC, FOR COMING OUT AND, AND JOINING US TODAY.
WE'VE GOT A, UM, ANOTHER ITEM, AND I THINK IT'S A BRIEFING THIS TIME, RIGHT, ALEX? YES, SIR.
IT'S ACTUALLY MORE ABOUT THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
OH, AND, AND FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT WERE HERE FOR THIS AND YOU DON'T WANNA STICK AROUND, YOU'RE WELCOME TO TAKE OFF, UH, THE, UH, BUT IF YOU WANNA STICK AROUND, YOU'RE WELCOME TO STAY.
BRENDA HICKS SORENSON, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
THE S A E D C WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2010 AS A NONPROFIT CORPORATION WITH A FOCUS TO CREATE JOBS AND PROMOTE LONG-TERM ECONOMIC GROWTH SPECIFIC TO THE SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM.
UM, ALEX LOPEZ IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AND WE DID HAVE SOME BYLAW AMENDMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 26 TO ADDRESS THE, UM, APPOINTMENT CRITERIA FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS, AS WELL AS DESIGNATE THE MAYOR AS PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD.
UH, WE DO REQUIRE A ANNUAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL, AS WELL AS THEN ALLOW THE S A E D C BOARD TO SELECT AN ANNUAL AUDITOR.
SO AGAIN, HERE ARE THE BOARD MEMBERS.
UH, WE WILL NOW ADD OUR ADDITIONAL, UM, CITIZEN AT LARGE WITH MS. MOE AFTER THE MOST RECENT ACTION.
UH, BUT HERE ARE THE, THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS.
AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, AS WE INDICATED, THE MAYOR SERVES AS PRESIDENT.
UH, OUR CITY MANAGER SERVES AS SECRETARY.
WE HAVE TWO COUNCIL MEMBERS WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ELIAS AND COUNCIL MEMBER CABELA HDA, AS WELL AS THEN OUR, UM, THREE AT LARGE MEMBERS.
THE FISCAL YEAR 22 APPROVED BUDGET IS HIGHLIGHTED HERE.
THE CITY COUNCIL DOES APPROVE THE BUDGET, AND OUR TOTAL PROJECTED REVENUES ARE APPROXIMATELY $779,000.
UH, WE, THAT'S 200,000 FOR ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT FUNDED BY THE GENERAL FUND, 100,000 FOR THE SAM E DIRECTOR SUPPORT, WHICH IS FUNDED FROM THE CITY'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
UM, THIS FISCAL YEAR 22 BUDGET REPRESENTS THE THIRD YEAR OF A THREE YEAR COMMITMENT FOR THE THAT POSITION.
THEN WE HAVE FUNDING IN HERE FOR TEXAS BIOMED, SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND BIOBRIDGE GLOBAL TO SUPPORT THE, OR SHOULD SAY, FROM THOSE ORGANIZATIONS TO SUPPORT THE S INITIATIVES.
UM, AGAIN, THOSE TWO REFLECT THE THIRD YEAR OF A THREE YEAR COMMITMENT, AND THEN THE REMAINING REVENUES APPROXIMATELY 449,000 IS THE PROJECTED BEGINNING BALANCE AS TO EXPENSES.
THE ONLY PAYMENT THAT IS PROJECTED IN FISCAL YEAR 22 AT THIS POINT IN TIME, IS A FINAL $25,000 PAYMENT TO ALT BIONICS.
THE BUDGET ALSO INCLUDES A 4% INCREASE IN PAY AND 1% LUMP SUM PAYMENT FOR THE SAM, A DIRECTOR, CONSISTENT WITH THE CITY'S BUDGET FOR STAFFING THIS YEAR.
WE ARE ALSO HOSTING THE MILITARY MEDICAL INDUSTRY DAY IN APRIL, 2022,
[00:45:02]
UH, AT LEGAL AND AUDIT SERVICES, AS WELL AS FUNDING FOR THE SS A E D C PORTFOLIO REVIEW.UH, IT IS PROJECTED THAT WE WILL END FISCAL YEAR 22 WITH A POSITIVE BALANCE OF APPROXIMATELY 377,000.
TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SAN OR THE SAN ANTONIO, SAN ANTONIO MILITARY MEDICAL INNOVATION PROGRAM.
UH, IT WAS ENDORSED BY THE S A E D C BOARD IN OCTOBER OF 2019.
THE CONCEPT WAS TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO LOCAL EARLY STAGE COMPANIES TO STIMULATE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES DIRECTLY AIMED AT COMMERCIALIZING VALUABLE TO TOOLS NEEDED BY THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING MEDICAL CARE TO OUR SERVICE MEMBERS.
AND THEN IN DECEMBER OF 2019, THE BOARD AUTHORIZED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SAM FUND AND APPROVED THE SAM FUND GUIDELINES.
WE WILL TOUCH UPON THOSE, BUT FIRST I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE DR.
COREY LEVISON, WHO IS OUR AGAIN DIRECTOR.
HE'S IN HIS THIRD YEAR OF A THREE YEAR COMMITMENT.
UM, HIS FOCUS IS ON THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE PRODUCT, SO IMPLEMENTING THE COMMERCIALIZATION PLAN.
UM, HE ALSO HELPS THE, UH, TEAM MEMBERS ON IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES AND THE PIPELINE, SO TO SPEAK, UH, AS WELL AS THEN COLLABORATING WITH OTHER LIFE SCIENCE SECTOR PARTNERS, UH, AND THEN JUST A LOT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND DIFFERENT INITIATIVES THAT HE'S ENGAGED IN.
HE'S ALSO PROVIDING LEADERSHIP TO THE VARIOUS EVENTS, UH, THAT WE HIGHLIGHTED.
LEVISON IS GOING TO ADDRESS THE INVESTMENT CRITERION.
UM, AS BRENDA SAID, I'M COREY LEVINSON.
I'M JUST, UH, IN OCTOBER, STARTED MY THIRD YEAR OF A THREE YEAR CONTRACT WITH THE E D C AS SAN ANTONIO MILITARY MEDICAL INNOVATION DIRECTOR.
UM, I WAS BROUGHT ON BOARD REALLY TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN, CREATE COLLABORATIONS, MAKE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE ON THE MILITARY MEDICAL COMMUNITY, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY.
UH, THE TIMING REALLY COULDN'T HAVE BEEN WORSE GIVEN THE PANDEMIC, BECAUSE SO MUCH COLLABORATION RELIES ON FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTION AND NETWORKING AND PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO SORT OF VISIT WITH EACH OTHER, UM, OUTSIDE OF THEIR OWN, UH, SILOS.
AND, AND THAT REALLY DIDN'T HAPPEN AT ALL FOR THE MOST PART.
IN 2020 OR 2021, WE HAD IN, UH, 20 19 2 MILITARY MEDICAL INDUSTRY DAY MEETINGS IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND WE HAD PLANS TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL TWO IN 2020 AND 2021, AND THOSE DIDN'T HAPPEN.
SO, UH, AS BRENDA SAID, THE NEXT ONE IS CURRENTLY BEING PLANNED TO BE HELD AT THE GONZALEZ CONVENTION CENTER ON APRIL 19TH, 2022.
SO WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT RIGHT NOW.
UM, GOING BACK TO THE FUND, UM, THE IDEA HERE WAS TO BASICALLY PROVIDE, UM, SMALL INVESTMENTS FOR LOCAL COMPANIES THAT WERE WORKING ON COMMERCIALIZATION OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF THE MILITARY MEDICAL COMMUNITY.
SO THE INVESTMENT CRITERIA, UH, ARE SHOWN HERE, UH, TECHNOLOGY OR IP DIRECTED TOWARDS MILITARY, MEDICAL LIFE SCIENCE.
THERE NEEDED TO BE A CLEAR POTENTIAL FOR COMMERCIALIZATION, NOT ONLY INTO THE MILITARY, BUT INTO CIVILIAN MARKETS.
PREFERABLY, WE'D LIKE TO NOT BE THE FIRST MONEY IN, BUT FOR THERE TO BE SOME PRIOR FUNDING OR INVESTMENT.
WE WERE LOOKING LIKE ALL INVESTORS FOR AN EXPERIENCED MANAGEMENT TEAM.
UH, WE WANTED TO SEE A VIABLE BUSINESS MODEL, SOMETHING THAT MADE SENSE IN THE LONG TERM, AND A COMMITMENT FROM, IF THEY WEREN'T ALREADY IN SAN ANTONIO TO RELOCATE HERE, BUT PREFERABLY COMPANIES THAT WERE BASED HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, NEXT SLIDE, OR DO I HAVE CONTROL OF THAT? SORRY, MY APOLOGIES.
SO, UM, I GUESS ON THE LEFT HERE, YOU CAN SEE INVESTMENTS THAT WERE MADE PRIOR TO MY COMING ON BOARD.
UH, THESE WERE INVESTMENTS THAT THE E D C MADE, UH, SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2010.
UM, ON THE, ON THE RIGHT THERE IN, UH, UNDER THE YELLOW BANNER, YOU COULD SEE THE INVESTMENTS THAT ARE MADE BY, UM, THE SAN ANTONIO MILITARY MEDICAL INNOVATION FUND SINCE THE FUND WAS CREATED AT THE END OF, UH, DECEMBER IN 2019.
SO IN THE SPRING OF 2020, WE MADE THREE INVESTMENTS IN EMERGENCE, MED GATE IQ, AND RENOVO CONCEPTS.
AND THE FALL OF 2020, WE MADE A FURTHER INVESTMENT IN ALLO SENSE.
AND THEN IN THE SPRING OF 2021, WE MADE AN INVESTMENT IN A COMPANY CALLED ALT BIONICS.
UM, WE DIDN'T MAKE ANY INVESTMENTS IN THE FALL OF, OF 2021, I GUESS WE HAD A E D C BOARD OF DIRECTOR MEETING IN SEPTEMBER, AND IT WAS DECIDED THAT MEETING TO SORT OF HAVE A REVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATUS BEFORE COMMITMENT WAS MADE FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
[00:50:03]
THAT'S IT.UM, AGAIN, SO JUST TO SUMMARIZE, S A E D C WAS ESTABLISHED TO CREATE JOBS AND PROMOTE LONG-TERM ECONOMIC GROWTH SPECIFIC TO THE SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM.
UM, AND THEN C M E WAS CREATED TO PROVIDE THAT FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO THOSE COMPANIES AIMED AT COMMERCIALIZING TOOLS FOR THE MEDICAL CARE FOR SERVICE MEMBERS.
IN 2020, WE DID, WE WILL IDENTIFY THROUGH THE STRATEGIC PLAN ADDITIONAL POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES FOR S A E D C, AS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED, AND THEN IDENTIFY WHAT ROLE S A E D C SHOULD HAVE IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AGAIN, WITH A FOCUS ON JOB CREATION, INVESTMENT DOLLARS, AND LONG-TERM IMPACTS, UH, WE CURRENTLY ARE UNDERTAKING A PRELIM, UH, REVIEW OF WHAT OTHER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS, UM, ARE DOING ACROSS THE STATE.
UH, SOME OF THEM HAVE SOME, SOME PRETTY AMAZING WORK PLANS.
SO WE PLAN ON BRINGING THAT FORWARD AS PART OF THAT STRATEGIC PLANNING INITIATIVE, BUT WANTED TO AT LEAST PROVIDE WHERE WE WERE AT AS OF RIGHT NOW.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
I REMEMBER ON BOARD, UH, WE ALL CELEBRATE AND GO DO IT.
RIGHT? AND THEN COVID HAD DIFFERENT PLANS FOR YOU.
AND, UH, SO NOW, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE GOT, YOU'VE GOT, UH, YOU GOT TWO YEARS TO CATCH UP ON.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, SCRAMBLING.
'CAUSE NOW YOU, YOU PROBABLY ARE FINDING THAT THE COMPETITION AROUND THE NATION IS EVEN MORE, YOU KNOW, HUNGRY TO ALSO LAND SOME OF THESE PROJECTS AND, UM, AND DO SOME OF THIS WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
IT'S TRUE, BUT I'M, I'M ACTUALLY QUITE PROUD OF THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE.
UM, JUST MAKING THE INVESTMENTS COMPANY.
WELL, LET'S, LET'S START WITH QUESTIONS.
COUNCILMAN CASTILLO, IF YOU HAVE ANY.
UH, THANK Y'ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I THINK THESE ARE, UM, THIS IS GREAT WORK AND GREAT INVESTMENTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, BEING MILITARY CITY U S A, I THINK A LOT OF THESE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING TO CARE FOR SERVICE MEMBERS, UM, I'M NOT TOO SURE IF IT'S PART OF THE CONTRACT, BUT WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS A COMMITMENT TO HEALTH FAIRS TO DEMONSTRATE, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER PRODUCT IS THAT WE'RE INVESTING IN, RIGHT? THAT COMMUNITY KNOWS THAT THESE RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE AND THEY'RE OUT THERE.
UM, SO WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS, UM, A COMMITMENT FOR OUTREACH AND EDUCATION TO COMMUNITY ABOUT, UH, THESE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING AND HOW THEY CAN ACCESS THOSE RESOURCES.
HOW, HOW, OR ALEX, HOW, HOW WOULD WE DO THAT? I, I THINK AS FAR AS ACCESS, UM, SOME OF THESE THINGS AREN'T IN THE MARKET YET, AND I'LL ASK CORY TO KIND OF EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE OF IT.
UM, BUT I THINK, UM, SHARING MORE ABOUT THE INNOVATION CAN BE VERY EXCITING, UM, FROM AN, UH, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION PERSPECTIVE, OH, SORRY, I MOVED IT, BUT I DIDN'T TURN IT ON.
UM, TO, TO REALLY HELP EXPLAIN AND, AND GIVE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF THE TYPES OF INNOVATION THAT ARE HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY.
BECAUSE I SEE LIKE UT HEALTH AND SCIENCE CENTER, EYE TRAUMA CARE, UM, AND I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THESE LIKE TABLING OUT IN COMMUNITY, BUT THANK YOU, ALEX.
COUNCILMAN COURAGE, OR, UH, YOU WANNA UNPACK A LITTLE BIT OF THAT? YEAH.
UM, I CAN'T REALLY SPEAK TO THE INVESTMENTS THAT WERE MADE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THAT SLIDE TO THOSE THAT YOU JUST MENTIONED, BUT, AND AS ALEX SAID, THE ONES THAT WERE MADE IN SAMMY COMPANIES WERE PRETTY EARLY.
SO THEY'RE ALL STILL KIND OF IN THE PROTOTYPING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT STAGES, AND NONE OF THEM ARE REALLY SELLING ANYTHING YET.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT HAS YET TO, TO COME TO FRUITION.
THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE.
I THINK THAT OUR COMMITMENT TO WORKING WITH THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY, THE MILITARY MEDICAL COMMUNITY, IS GOING TO LEAD TO, UH, SOME GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CITY.
ONE THING I, I DIDN'T SEE, AND I'M NOT A MEMBER OF THE BOARD, SO OBVIOUSLY YOU MAY HAVE, BUT, UH, THERE WAS A LISTING OF INVESTMENTS THAT WERE MADE AND IT TALKED ABOUT ONE COMPANY THAT SHUT DOWN AND ANOTHER COMPANY THAT'S APPARENTLY HAVING SOME PROBLEMS IN THE OTHERS WE MAY STILL HAVE INVESTMENTS WITH.
HAVE WE HAD MUCH OF A RETURN ON ALL OF THOSE INVESTMENTS OVER THE YEARS? SO FAR, DO WE, OF THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE, WE ARE STILL HOLDING ONTO ALL OF THE SHARES THAT WE HAVE.
THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY PURCHASES OR, OR ANY, ANY ACTIVATION FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE.
WE DO HOLD EQUITY IN THOSE COMPANIES.
UM, AND PART OF WHAT WE DO EVERY TWO YEARS IS, UM, REVIEW OUR PORTFOLIO TO SEE WHAT, UM, THE VALUE OF THEM THOSE INVESTMENTS ARE AND WHAT THE FUTURE PROJECTIONS OF, OF THOSE, UM, INVESTMENTS ARE LOOKING FORWARD.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE STILL HOLDING ON
[00:55:01]
TO THE EQUITY THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.WELL, I GUESS THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
HOW, HOW GOOD HAS OUR INVESTMENT GROWN? UH, IS THERE REAL POTENTIAL THAT WE SEE GOING FORWARD? I KNOW IF I HAD INVESTED IN AT AND T 30 YEARS AGO AND HELD IT ALL THIS TIME, I'D BE PRETTY HAPPY WITH IT.
BUT THEN AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, SO WHAT ARE WE SEEING IN THE GROWTH AND THE SUCCESS OF THESE INVESTMENTS, EVEN IF WE HAVEN'T CASHED IN YET? AND SO I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THE COUNCIL MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET THAT KIND OF INFORMATION SOMETIME FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A DECISION THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THIS.
SO THE REVIEW IS ACTUALLY CURRENTLY TAKING PLACE.
WE ARE EXPECTED TO HAVE THAT, UH, WRAPPED UP BY THE END OF JANUARY PER THE CONTRACT.
AND SO WE'LL BE HAPPY TO AFTER WE SHARE THAT WITH THE S A D C BOARD, FORWARD THAT ON.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? YES, UH, I, UH, TELEMEDICINE, BIO BIOHEALTH, THE LIFE SCIENCE SECTOR, WHAT YOU'RE DOING, UH, UH, COREY IS, IS AMAZING.
IT IS THE FUTURE WHEN IT COMES TO THAT.
ARE YOU KEEPING TRACK OF, BECAUSE EVEN IN THIS FIELD, EVEN A UNSUCCESSFUL INVESTMENT, I FEEL MOVES THE TECHNOLOGY FORWARD.
SO YOU TRACKING ALL THAT AND, AND KIND OF KEEPING TRACK OF MAYBE THIS QUITE DIDN'T WORK, BUT WE SAW PROGRESS HERE BECAUSE SOMEBODY ELSE LEARNED FROM IT.
YEAH, I MEAN, GIVEN THAT WE'RE ONLY TWO YEARS INTO THE PROGRAM, WE REALLY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE TO HAVE THAT KIND OF A LEARNING FROM IT.
I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, OF THE FIVE COMPANIES THAT WE'VE INVESTED IN AND THE INVESTMENTS HAVE ALL TAKEN THE SAME FORM, WHICH IS A CONVERTIBLE PROMISSORY NOTE, WHICH MEANS WE'RE COMMITTING TO GIVE THEM $50,000 AND THEY'RE SIGNING AGREEMENT SAYING THEY'RE GONNA PAY INTEREST ON THAT $50,000 OVER THE TERM OF THE, THE LOAN.
AND THEN THERE'S AN OPTION SHOULD THE COMPANY MATURE TO THE POINT WHERE IT ISSUES SHARES IN THE COMPANY, ARE THE, THE DEBT THAT THEY OWE US WOULD CONVERT TO SHARES AND WE WOULD BECOME AN EQUITY HOLDER IN THE COMPANY.
SO OF THE FIVE COMPANIES WE'VE INVESTED IN ONE OF THEM RENOVO CONCEPTS, WE'VE COMPLETELY CONVERTED OUR INVESTMENT INTO SERIES A SHARES.
SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK.
AND PRESUMABLY THEY'LL CONTINUE ON THEIR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AND MARKET PRODUCTS AND SOMEDAY, YOU KNOW, OUR STOCK WILL BE WORTH MORE THAN IT WAS WHEN WE PAID FOR IT AND WE CAN REALIZE A RETURN.
AND THERE'S OTHER COMPANIES, UM, ONE OF THEM THAT'S AT UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UH, UT HEALTH, A U T S A, THAT'S VERY EARLY.
IT'S BASICALLY TWO PROFESSORS AND AN INTERN, BUT THEY HAD A PRODUCT FOR, UM, OPENING AN AIRWAY IN A, A WOUNDED SERVICE PERSON.
AND IT WAS SO OBVIOUSLY KIND OF IN LINE WITH WHAT OUR GOALS ARE THAT WE MADE THE INVESTMENT THERE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE STILL AT THE OTHER END OF IT.
THEY'RE VERY EARLY AND IT'S, THEY MAY OR MAY NOT SUCCEED.
THEY MAY OR MAY NOT SUCCEED AS A COMPANY.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, ANYTIME YOU'RE MAKING, UM, INVESTMENTS IN COMPANIES THAT ARE IN AN EARLY STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT, YOU CAN'T REALISTICALLY EXPECT ALL OF THEM TO, TO GIVE YOU A RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT.
BUT YOU HOPE FOR SOME, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE GOOD AT, AT, AT, UM, EVALUATING THEIR POTENTIAL, HOPEFULLY A A NUMBER OF THEM WILL PAN OUT FOR YOU.
SO I HOPE THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION.
AND I JUST, I JUST WANNA BE MINDFUL TO ALEX AND TO BRENDA THAT WHEN WE TELL THE STORY OF HOW SAN ANTONIO IS MOVING THIS ECONOMY FORWARD, THAT WE DEFINITELY TELL THIS STORY BECAUSE IT IS, IT IS CUTTING EDGE.
AND EVEN THOUGH WE MIGHT HAVE SOME THAT DON'T DO AS WELL AS WE'D HOPE OR WE GET TO THAT SERIES A, UM, WE, WE WILL MAKE AN, AN IMPACT IN THE INDUSTRY.
SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I LOOK, I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING MORE UPDATES.
SO, UH, WE KNOW, UH, AND, AND THERE ARE CONCRETE AN, YOU KNOW, UH, EXAMPLES OF HOW INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY THAT IS STILL VERY, VERY, VERY EXPERIMENTAL AND VERY EARLY ON.
UM, AND IN THESE LITTLE MICRO COMPANIES THAT ARE REALLY NOTHING MORE THAN TWO RESEARCHERS AND AN INTERN RIGHT? CAN SUCCEED WILDLY.
AND, AND IT'S NOT LIKE WE'RE INVENTING SOMETHING.
THIS HAS HAPPENED, RIGHT? IF YOU LOOK AT THE STENT, UH, HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, I MEAN, RICHARD, WHAT IS IT? JULIO SAYS, OUR PALMAZ AND RICHARD SHATZ, RIGHT? PATENTED THIS LITTLE WEIRD BALLOON SCAFFOLDING.
AND NOW THERE'S MILLIONS OF THESE THINGS INSTALLED IN PEOPLE'S AORTAS ALL OVER THE PLANET.
AND THESE GUYS ARE BILLIONAIRES.
JOHNSON AND JOHNSON BOUGHT IT, BUT UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER HAD A PIECE OF IT VERY MUCH THE WAY THAT WE'RE TRYING TO, AND THEY BOUGHT INTO IT BECAUSE RICHARD SHATZ AND JULIO SAYS, OUR PALMAZ HAD AN INTERN, AND THE THREE OF 'EM INVENTED THIS THING.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY GOT SOME FUNDING FROM MEDICAL SCHOOL.
UM, AND SO MY QUESTION FOR YOU IS, WHO ARE OUR OTHER COMPETITORS IN THIS SPACE LOCALLY? UM, AND WHO ARE THE FORCE MULTIPLIERS THAT ONCE, BECAUSE I SEE ONE OF THE SLIDES IS, YOU KNOW, LOCAL JOBS OR, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOTTA BE A LOCAL COMPANY.
AT WHAT POINT DO YOU HAVE THAT CONVERSATION WITH THEM? UH, YOU KNOW ABOUT, OKAY, IT'S TIME TO SET UP YOUR OFFICE HERE,
[01:00:01]
RIGHT? BECAUSE YOU'RE DOING A LOT OF RESEARCH ALL OVER THE WORLD, BUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE IS MY BRICK AND MORTAR INVESTMENT HERE? YOU WANNA TALK LITTLE BIT SPECIFICALLY OVERALL, OR YOU THINKING JUST OVERALL? OVERALL, I THINK OVERALL, WE LOOK AT THAT EARLY ON, UM, BECAUSE WE DO START OUR APPROACH TOWARDS THESE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES FROM, UM, A TRADITIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE.SO ONCE WE REALIZE THAT IT FALLS INTO THIS NICHE OF POTENTIAL PROJECTS, THAT'S WHERE WE START LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITIES HERE, RESOURCES THAT ARE GONNA BE AVAILABLE HERE.
UM, I THINK THE CHALLENGE THAT A LOT OF OUR LOCAL INNOVATORS ARE EXPERIENCING IS THE, THE LACK OF ACCESS TO CAPITAL.
SO EARLY, EARLY DOLLARS THAT WE CAN PROVIDE IN, IN THE FORMS OF, UM, IN THE, IN THE TYPE OF FUNDING THAT WE'VE PROVIDED, CAN HELP THEM GET INTO THAT NEXT STAGE.
UM, SO I, I GUESS I'M SAYING THAT THERE, THERE MAY NOT BE A LOT OF COMPETITION, UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A LOT OF RESOURCES TO FUND THIS TYPE OF, OF WORK THAT'S HAPPENING SO EARLY ON, THE, THE, THIS FUNDING TENDS TO BE OUTSIDE OF OUR, OF OUR REGION.
YEAH, THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADD TO THAT IS, I MEAN, YOU HAVE ALAMO ANGELS IN TOWN, WHICH MAKES THESE KINDS OF INVESTMENTS, SORT OF THESE SCALES OF INVESTMENTS.
AND THEN THERE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE OF VENTURE FIRMS IN SAN ANTONIO, BUT NOT, NOT ON THE SCALE THAT YOU SEE IN OTHER CITIES.
SO, I MEAN, I'M HOPING NOW THAT CAPITAL FACTORY HAS PUT A FOOTPRINT IN TOWN OUT OF PORT SAN ANTONIO, YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS MIGHT BE THE THIN END OF A WEDGE, AND MAYBE THAT WILL INCREASE AWARENESS OF ALL THE GREAT THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON HERE AND SORT OF WAKE PEOPLE UP TO THE FACT THAT THERE ARE REALLY PROMISING TECHNOLOGIES HERE.
YOU KNOW, WE HAD, UH, RALPH JOHNSTON, WHO'S, UH, A LOCAL ENTREPRENEUR.
HE WAS AN ENTREPRENEUR IN RESIDENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY, AND HE CAME OUTTA BOSTON.
HE CAME DOWN HERE TO BE A MENTOR AT U T SS A AND AFTER HE SAW WHAT HE SAW, HE BOUGHT A HOUSE IN DIGNITY HILL AND STARTED A COMPANY.
AND HE SAID, YOU KNOW, PLACES LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, PALO ALTO AND, AND BOSTON, THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES, IT'S REALLY HARD TO FIND A NUGGET.
SO HE GOT EXCITED ABOUT WHAT HE SAW HERE AND SET UP A COMPANY.
SO I'M HOPING THAT THE WORD WILL SLOWLY START TO GET OUT, THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A FERTILE GROUND FOR, FOR STARTING UP COMPANIES AND, AND BUILDING THINGS, SO.
UM, I THINK THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF THIS BRIEFING, AND WE'VE GOT ONE MORE ON THE TOPIC OF LAUNCH SA, RIGHT? THAT IS CORRECT.
UM, I THINK JANIE BARRETA IS ACTUALLY GONNA INTRODUCE THIS, UM, BEGIN, UH, THIS ITEM.
AND THEN WE'LL ALSO BE HEARING FROM RYAN SALTZ WITH LAUNCH SA.
I THINK THIS MAY BE JANIE'S FIRST VISIT, UH, BEHIND THE PODIUM, MY FIRST OUTING IN OUR, IN OUR NEW CITY HALL, RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT.
IT'S MY FIRST OUTING THAT'S WAS SO EXCITED.
WELCOME TO BE ABLE TO COME AND BE WITH YOU.
JANIE BARRETA, UH, PRESIDENT, C E O OF LIFTFUND, AND I WAS TALKING TO THE FOLKS THAT WERE BEING INTERVIEWED TODAY, AND GUESS WHAT, LIFTFUND IS STILL NOT KNOWN IN THIS COMMUNITY.
NONE OF THEM KNEW THAT LIFTFUND EXISTED.
SO WE'VE GOT, I, I APPRECIATE THE, THE, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TODAY, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WORK THAT WE DID TOGETHER, UH, BETWEEN THE CITY AND, AND LIFTFUND.
WE, WE, YOU, WE COLLECTIVELY PUT OUT $43 MILLION IN GRANTS LAST YEAR.
AND THINK OF ALL THE, YOU KNOW, HUNDREDS OF SMALL BUSINESSES THAT YOU ALL HAVE HELPED, AND THEY CONTINUE TO CALL ON US AND SAY THANK YOU FOR, UH, THE INITIATIVES THAT YOU ALL PUT TOGETHER.
AND THEN FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, YOU'VE ALSO BEEN HELPING US WITH THE IN, UH, INTEREST BUYDOWN PROGRAM.
SO YOU, ALL, THE MONEY FROM THE INTEREST BUY DOWN PROGRAM HAS HELPED 161 SMALL BUSINESSES IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO, I MEAN, THOSE ARE A LOT OF NUMBERS, RIGHT? THAT'S OVER $3 MILLION IN SMALL LOANS THAT DID NOT GET, THAT COULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN INTO THE HANDS OF OTHER PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT BANKABLE FOR WHATEVER REASON.
SO WE HAVE THAT TERRIBLE BUSINESS MODEL, RIGHT? WE WANNA LOSE OUR BEST CUSTOMERS, WE WANT 'EM TO GRADUATE AND, AND TO GO INTO THE BUSINESSES.
AND SO THE REASON WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT IS BECAUSE OF PROGRAMS LIKE LAUNCH SA AND RYAN SAS, OUR DIRECTOR, HAS JUST BEEN DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB OF BEING ABLE TO HELP THESE SMALL BUSINESSES.
AND, UH, HE'LL ALSO INTRODUCE THE OTHER TEAM MEMBERS THAT ARE HERE FROM, FROM LIFT FUND.
BUT I WANT YOU ALL TO REMEMBER US, RIGHT? WE MAKE, WE HAVE ACCESS TO CAPITAL, NOT VENTURE CAPITAL, BUT WE HAVE ACCESS TO CAPITAL FROM A THOUSAND DOLLARS UP TO A HALF A MILLION DOLLARS IN OUR 5 0 4 PROGRAM.
WE HAVE $10 MILLION WITH THE PROGRAMS WITH S B A, AND NOW WE'RE ABOUT TO VENTURE INTO C R E, WHICH MEANS COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE.
SO WE HAVE NOT BEEN DOING THAT BEFORE, BUT BECAUSE OF THE NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY, WE ARE NOW GONNA BE WORKING WITH FOLKS THAT WANNA BUY STRIP CENTERS OR WANNA ENCOURAGE THAT.
THIS IS OUR FIRST INITIATIVE GOING OUT THAT, SO WE'VE HIRED SOME EXPERTS TO DO C R E, AND THEN ALSO WE'RE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON S B I C, A SMALL BUSINESS, UM, INVESTMENT CORPORATION WITH THE HELP OF THE SS B A AND A GROUP OUT OF HOUSTON.
THOSE ARE GONNA BE FOR LARGER BUSINESSES, EBITDA A MILLION DOLLARS OR HIGHER.
[01:05:01]
AND SO LIFTFUND IS NO LONGER JUST A MICRO LENDER.WE ARE A MICRO AND SMALL BUSINESS LENDER THAT REALLY WANTS TO HELP THE WHOLE ECOSYSTEM THAT WE HAVE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO THAT IS NOT BEING HELPED BY ANYBODY ELSE.
SO CAPITAL IS OUR MAIN, UH, ACCESS TO CAPITAL IS WHAT WE DO, IS WHAT WE DO.
BUT WE NEED THIS, OH, I NEED TO MENTION ALL OUR LOANS ARE AT 9%.
I KNOW WHEN WE'VE TALKED BEFORE, UH, TO OUR CITY COUNCIL PEOPLE, YOU ASK, WHAT ARE THE INTEREST RATES? ALL OUR, ALL OUR LOANS ARE AT 9% FIXED.
SO WE ARE, AND WE ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO THAT AS WE TRY TO GET THESE DOLLARS OUT.
BECAUSE OF THE HELP OF MCKINSEY SCOTT, BY THE WAY, I PRAY FOR HER EVERY SINGLE DAY, UH, BECAUSE SHE WAS ABLE TO GIVE US THAT WONDERFUL GRANT LAST YEAR FOR BE ABLE TO DO THAT, RIGHT? SO WE WERE ABLE TO LOWER THE INTEREST RATES BECAUSE OF THE GRANT THAT WE HAD GOTTEN IN.
SO WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO FIX THESE THINGS IN, IN THE NOT-FOR-PROFIT WORLD.
AND SO, I, IT'S NOT LOST ON ME THAT THIS GREAT PARTNERSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH THE CITY, UH, IS JUST, IT'S JUST IMMENSE.
AND, AND AS YOU KNOW, WE WORK IN MANY, MANY, MANY CITIES ACROSS OUR COUNTRY.
WE'RE IN 15 STATES NOW, BUT TO SUTTON DOES DRUG, THE, THE, THE, THE, THE PARTNERSHIP WE HAVE HERE IN SAN ANTONIO IS VERY, VERY STRONG.
AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND THE REASON WE CAN DO ALL THIS IS BECAUSE OF RYAN SALTZ AND HIS TEAM THAT IS ABLE TO PUT THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TOGETHER.
SO, RYAN, I PITCH IT ON TO YOU.
UH, AND THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, HAVING ME HERE.
I LOVE HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS AND SPECIFICALLY THE WORK THAT WE DO AT LAUNCH SA.
I'M ALSO HAPPY TO JUST RECOGNIZE ONE OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS HERE, JODY NEWMAN, UH, WHO'S BEEN WITH US SINCE THE BEGINNING, AND SHE DEFINITELY IS THE CHIEF MENTOR FOR US IN MANY SENSES.
AND, UH,
YEAH, WE'LL DEFINITELY HAVE TO, TO GO DO THAT NOW THAT YOU CAN, UH, GO OUT IN PUBLIC AND THE BARS AREN'T CLOSED.
SO, UM, I ALSO WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE MARGARET AND ALIA.
UH, SHE'S THE NEW WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER DIRECTOR FOR LIFTFUND, AND SHE, THE WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER, UH, IS A COOPERATOR WITHIN THE LAUNCHES, SAY, SPACE WHEN WE ARE OPEN, UH, TO THE PUBLIC.
SO, BRIEFLY, I WANNA START BY, UH, TALKING A LITTLE BIT TO LAUNCH SA.
AND SO WE ARE A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND LIFTFUND.
UH, WE WERE FOUNDED IN 2014 AS CAFE COMMERCE, AND WE REBRANDED TO LAUNCH SA TO, UH, BETTER RELATE TO THE CONSTITUENTS THAT WE SERVE IN 2016.
SO THE IDEA WAS THAT WE'RE NOT A CAFE, UH, BUT WE DO SERVE UP BUSINESS.
UH, AND THE IDEA IS THAT YOU LAUNCH FROM HERE, SO THAT THAT WAS A BETTER ARTICULATION.
UM, SO WHAT EXACTLY, UH, IS LAUNCHES SA HERE TO DO? SO, AT, UM, THE FORMATION OF LAUNCHES SA WAS FROM CONVERSATIONS DEVELOPED THROUGH THE SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCACY COMMITTEE, UH, BACK WHEN, UH, FORMER MAYOR CASTRO, UH, WAS INVOLVED.
UM, WE EXIST AS THE ONLY FREE AND ACCESSIBLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, AND WE'RE HERE FOR ENTREPRENEURS TO GET THAT DIRECTION.
SO WE DO SEE A LOT OF FOLKS THAT ARE AT THE CRADLE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
THEY, THEY HAVE IDEAS, THEY DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GO.
AND SO WHAT WE PROVIDE AT THE ESSENCE IS THAT DIRECTION, UH, THE EDUCATION, THE MENTORSHIP OF WHICH WE HAVE, UH, NOT JUST JODY, WE ACTUALLY HAVE OVER 200, 250 MENTORS INVOLVED IN OUR COMMUNITY, PROVIDING THEIR SUPPORT FOR FREE.
AND, UH, I REALLY HAVE TO HARP ON THAT.
WE ARE DEVELOPING A COMMUNITY AS ENTREPRENEURS DO INHERENTLY FEEL ALONE.
AND WITH COMMUNITY, WITH THE PEOPLE THAT YOU CAN ASK QUESTIONS TO, WE ARE ABLE TO FIND BETTER SUCCESS AND SUSTAINING THEIR BUSINESSES LONG TERM.
UM, SO, UH, WE'RE REPRESENTED BY A NUMBER OF, UH, DIVERSE AND EXPERIENCED MINDS HERE.
THIS IS JUST A, A BRIEF VERSION OF OUR BOARD.
WE ARE CURRENTLY ALSO CONTINUING TO SOLICIT ADVOCATES AND OTHER, UM, FOLKS THAT CAN PROVIDE DIVERSITY OF PERSPECTIVE, UH, DIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE FROM, UH, VARIOUS PARTS OF SAN ANTONIO.
AS YOU KNOW, IT'S A VERY LARGE CITY, UM, BECAUSE WE WANT TO, UH, BE ABLE TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE CITIZENS THAT WE HAVE.
OUR, UH, SCOPE IS TO SUPPORT ANY ENTREPRENEUR IN SAN ANTONIO, AND THAT IS A VERY LARGE SCOPE.
AND SO WE CAN ONLY DO IT WITH THE SUPPORT OF OUR ADVOCATES, OUR MENTORS, AND OUR COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
SO, UM, THE PEOPLE THAT WE SERVE, I MEAN, THEY'RE MAIN STREET BUSINESSES FOR THE MOST PART.
UH, OUR SERVICES HAVE NO INDUSTRY SPECIFICITY, BUT WE CAN ACTUALLY, UH, SUPPORT ALL INDUSTRIES IN ALL STAGES.
UM, AS PART OF THAT, UM, WE, SINCE OPENING IN 2014, WE'VE SERVED, UH, OVER 14,500 PEOPLE UNIQUELY IN DISCOVERING THEIR BUSINESSES AND DISCOVERING THEIR BUSINESS IDEAS.
UH, AND WE'VE ALSO HAD A REACH OF ABOUT 36,000 IN, IN TERMS OF SUPPORT OF THOSE AFFECTED BY OUR SERVICES.
AND THAT CAN BE THROUGH EVENTS, UH, OF WHICH WE MANAGE A NUMBER AND THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE HAVE WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IN PROVIDING, UH, SERVICES AND SUPPORT
[01:10:01]
AND EDUCATION.UM, IN TERMS OF THE, THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE SINCE COVID, AND SO IT'S BEEN A MINUTE SINCE WE'VE BEEN HERE TO TALK ABOUT IT.
LAUNCHES, SAY SPECIFICALLY, UM, COVID MARKED A DISTINCT SHIFT IN THE ABILITY FOR US TO SUPPORT FOLKS IN PERSON.
UM, AT, I BELIEVE IT WAS AROUND MARCH OF 2020, WE WERE, UH, UNFORTUNATELY CLOSE TO THE PUBLIC, UH, DUE TO COVID RESTRICTIONS.
UH, SINCE THEN, OUR SPACE HAS BEEN UTILIZED BY A FEW DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS FROM THE CITY, UH, TO SUPPORT NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOUSING ASSISTANCE.
UM, AND SO WE HAVEN'T HAD THE ABILITY TO, UH, PARTICIPATE AND PROVIDE ONE OF THE BREAD AND BUTTER OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE, WHICH IS THAT PERSONALIZED SUPPORT FOR THOSE THAT NEED THAT HANDHOLDING AND UNDERSTANDING WHERE TO GO NEXT AND HOW TO GET THERE.
UM, WE SAW REQUESTS DURING THIS TIME FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT THROUGH GRANTS AND LOANS, AND I'LL TALK A A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW WE'VE SERVED THROUGH THAT.
UH, THE INCREASED NEED FOR MARKETING AND DIGITAL VISIBILITY, THIS IS A, A MAJOR ONE.
SAN ANTONIO HAS HAD SOME STRUGGLES IN, IN, UM, BUSINESSES GETTING ONLINE AND REMAINING RELEVANT AND BEING VISIBLE, UH, EVEN TODAY IT'S STILL AN ISSUE ISSUE.
UM, AND THEN WE'VE ALSO HAD A NUMBER OF CLIENTS THAT HAVE CALLED AND HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON BECAUSE THEY'RE FROM UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS AND THEY'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SHIFT AND, AND IF THEY CAN EVEN REMAIN OPEN.
UM, THIS YEAR WE WENT A HUNDRED PERCENT VIRTUAL.
WE OFFERED, UH, ACCESS TO OUR SERVICES VIA PHONE, ZOOM, UH, OUR ACCELERATOR PROGRAMS. UM, AND THEN WE ALSO OPENED A NEW, OR STARTED A NEW MINORITY BUSINESS ACCELERATOR PROGRAM FOR RESILIENCY THROUGH COVID IN PARTNERSHIP WITH U S A A.
UM, AND WHEN AND WHERE SAFE, WE DID MEET WITH CLIENTS IN PERSON.
UM, I MET WITH A NUMBER OF CLIENTS IN PERSON AT BASICALLY ALL HOURS OF THE DAY, UH, WEEKENDS INCLUDED TO SUPPORT THEIR, THEIR GROWTH AND THEIR JUST ABILITY TO STAY OPEN AND BE RELEVANT.
UM, IN TERMS OF WHERE WE'RE GOING, UM, WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO DO IS TO, UH, REINTRODUCE OURSELF BACK INTO THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, UM, IN Q ONE AND Q TWO, UM, OR BETWEEN Q ONE AND Q TWO OF 2022.
UH, SINCE TRANSITIONING TO REMOTE WORK, WE'VE SEEN OUR COMMUNITY LACK THE ABILITY TO HAVE THAT COMMUNITY, HAVE THAT PHYSICAL INTERACTION.
AND THIS HAS BEEN, UM, A TRUE DETRIMENT TO, UH, THE BUSINESS SUPPORT SERVICES THAT EXIST IN SAN ANTONIO AS A WHOLE.
AND WHILE WE, UM, DID WORK, UH, WITH A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS TO PROVIDE IT, THE PHYSICALITY AND THE IN-PERSON TOUCHES, UM, LACKING, HAVE CREATED, UM, SORT OF A, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REENGAGE AND REIGNITE A COMMUNITY IN 22.
UM, SO WE'RE FOCUSED ON, UH, REALLY LEARNING FROM THE LESSONS THAT WE'VE SAW SEEN IN THE PANDEMIC.
UM, WE WANT TO PROVIDE MORE SUPPORT FOR DIGITAL BUSINESS LITERACY, UH, CONTINUE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, RESILIENCY AND, AND LEARNING AND RESILIENCY AND GROWTH THROUGH OUR HELM PROGRAM, AND EXPAND THE REACH OF OUR, UM, OUR FOOD PROGRAM, BREAK FAST AND LAUNCH TO MORE THROUGH A, A DIGITAL, UM, DEVELOPMENT THAT WE HAVE THERE.
SO, UM, IN TERMS OF, UH, THE SUPPORT THAT WE OFFER, AS I MENTIONED, NOTHING WE DO IS, UH, DONE ALONE.
UH, IN FACT, IT REQUIRES ALL OF THE PARTNERS THAT WE HAVE IN AGGREGATE IN THE COMMUNITY TO SERVE, UH, THE COMMUNITY.
I CLAIM TO KNOW, I CLAIM TO SAY THAT WE, WE KNOW NOTHING EXCEPT WHO TO TALK TO.
AND SO, UH, ALL THE PEOPLE HERE ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF, OF A SLIVER OF WHO TO TALK TO IN SAN ANTONIO.
UM, WE AGGREGATE THE RESOURCES AND KNOWLEDGE IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO IF YOU'RE UNSURE ABOUT WHERE TO GO, UM, WE'RE THE GUY THAT KNOWS A GUY AND WE CAN CONNECT YOU.
UM, WHETHER THAT'S JUST AN EAR TO LISTEN TO OR, OR A DESIRE TO FIND A COMMUNITY THAT YOU RELATE TO.
SO IT TAKE, IT TAKES A VILLAGE, AND WE'RE SORT OF THE, THE STEWARDS OF THAT VILLAGE AND, AND HELPING PEOPLE GET CONNECTED.
UM, WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC, WE ASSISTED, UH, WITH THE COVID RESILIENCY OUTREACH PROGRAM AND SUPPORTED, UH, OVER 600 BUSINESSES DIRECTLY THROUGH REFERRALS.
UM, AND THAT PROGRAM WAS WITH PROSPER WEST, SOUTH SIDE FIRST CENTRAL SAN ANTONIO AND SAGE.
UM, BETWEEN, UH, 2020 AND 2021, WE SUPPORTED, UH, 96 BUSINESSES TO RECEIVE $1.8 MILLION IN SUPPORT.
UH, AND THAT WAS, THAT WAS IN 2020 AND 2021.
WE SUPPORTED, UH, 48 BUSINESSES WITH OVER $1.2 MILLION OF SUPPORT.
AND THAT WAS DIVERSIFIED THROUGH LOANS AND GRANT PROGRAMS THAT EXISTED, UH, AT THE TIMES.
UH, AND THEN AGAIN, WE INCREASED OUR PARTNERSHIP ABILITY THROUGH, UM,
[01:15:02]
UH, AGREEMENTS WITH, UM, OTHER EDCS, AS WELL AS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WITH ORGANIZATIONS LIKE U S A A TO LAUNCH THE, UH, HELM PROGRAM FOR BUSINESS RESILIENCY DURING COVID.UM, THE PROGRAMMING THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY AND HAVE BEEN CONTINUOUSLY ITERATING AND DEVELOPING ON, UM, WE HAVE OUR BREAKFA AND LAUNCH PROGRAM, WHICH HAS BEEN TRANSFORMATIVE FOR THE SAN ANTONIO FOOD COMMUNITY, UH, MANY OF WHICH, UH, MANY OF, MANY OF THE, UH, OPERATORS OF THOSE FOOD BUSINESSES HAVE ACTUALLY FOUND SOME SUCCESS DURING COVID AND EXPANDED THEIR OPERATIONS.
UM, DURING THAT TIME, WE'VE SEEN THEM FIND THE TRUE RESILIENCY THAT WE'VE HOPED THAT THEY WOULD THROUGH THE EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO BUILD ON.
AND, UH, AS PART OF THAT, WE WANTED TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP COMMUNITIES, UH, WHERE THOSE THAT ARE UNDERSERVED, WERE NOT ABLE TO FIND COMMUNITIES.
SO THAT'S HOW WE, UH, LAUNCHED THE HELM PROGRAM WITH U S A A.
AND THAT WAS SPECIFICALLY FOR BUSINESSES THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN IN OPERATION, BUT WE'RE STRUGGLING TO OVERCOME THE ISSUES PRESENTED BY THIS NEW, UH, PANDEMIC ENVIRONMENT.
UM, WE, UH, HAVE ALWAYS DEVELOPED PROGRAM BASED ON NEED, UH, AND BASED ON GAPS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
SO WE'VE, UM, MADE AN EFFORT TO RECOGNIZE WHAT DOESN'T EXIST DURING THIS, UH, CURRENT TIME, AND THEN ALSO DEVELOP IDEAS THAT MOVE INTO 2022 TO SUPPORT THE GROWTH OF OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY, UH, OVERALL.
SO, JUST QUICKLY, UH, WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE NOTICED IN SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO SUPPORT DURING THIS TIME.
UH, THERE IS A DIGITAL DIVIDE, UM, AND IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THAT PEOPLE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO INTERNET, UH, FOR OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY, OFTENTIMES IT'S, THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT.
UM, AND SO THAT RELATES TO BEING VISIBLE JUST ON GOOGLE, SHOWING YOUR HOURS, HAVING A WEBSITE, UH, HAVING SOCIAL MEDIA AND KEEPING IT UP TO DATE, OR HAVING ALL OF THE FACTORS ALIGN ACROSS THEM.
SO WE'VE SUPPORTED, UH, ENTREPRENEURS THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE CURRICULUM AS WELL AS ONE-ON-ONE, UH, TO AID THEM IN BEING VISIBLE.
AND WE LOOK TO EXPAND THAT IN 22.
UM, THE INABILITY FOR THOSE TO CONNECT IN PERSON.
UH, AS I MENTIONED, ENTREPRENEURS ARE ALONE IN MANY SENSES.
THIS INCREASED, UH, THE SORT OF, UM, HOPELESSNESS THAT YOU, THE LONELINESS AND HOPELESSNESS THAT, UH, BUSINESS OWNERS FELT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE THEIR COMMUNITY TO GO BACK TO, UH, IN PERSON.
AND, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT THOSE PERSONAL TOUCHPOINTS, UH, FOR MANY, IT FELT INSURMOUNTABLE.
UH, AND THEN THERE WERE A NUMBER OF UNCONTROLLABLE FACTORS IN THE MARKET WHERE SOLUTIONS JUST DIDN'T EXIST.
UM, SO OVERCOMING THAT AND THINKING THROUGH NEW SOLUTIONS, OR JUST RELATING WITH THEM THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE HERE FOR YOU AND WE WILL DO WHAT WE CAN TO SUPPORT YOU, UM, IN, IN WHATEVER WAY THAT WE CAN.
NOT ALL, NOT ALL QUESTIONS HAVE ANSWERS FOR BUSINESS OWNERS.
AND THEN, UH, THE SHIFTING CONSUMER INTEREST AND ACCESSIBILITY.
SO AS PEOPLE WENT ONLINE, UH, IF YOU WERE HEAVILY RELIANT ON FOOT TRAFFIC, UH, WE HAD TO HELP YOU SHIFT TOWARDS, UH, NEW METHODS AND MODES OF, OF STILL BEING RELEVANT TO YOUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND SO WE DID THIS THROUGH ALL OF THE PROGRAMS THAT I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, AND ARE LOOKING TO EXPAND ON SOME OF THOSE IDEAS IN 22.
UH, SO WE'RE, WE'RE EXCITED TO MOVE INTO 22, REIGNITE OUR COMMUNITY BACK INTO AN IN-PERSON, UM, IN-PERSON EXPERIENCE, AS WELL AS, SO PROVIDING THAT DIGITAL EXPERIENCE.
UM, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT WILL HELP STEWARD THE COMMUNITY, UH, WHERE WE CAN'T BE AND PROVIDE RESOURCES TO OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS OF THE KNOWLEDGE BASE THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED OVER SEVEN YEARS IS OUR LAUNCH PLATFORM.
SO DEVELOPED, UH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH IRIS AND, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH FUNDING, THROUGH THE CARES ACT.
UH, WE HAVE, UM, TAKEN OUR KNOWLEDGE BASE, TAKEN THE RESOURCES AND THE RESOURCE MAPS THAT EXIST ABOUT WHAT IS OFFERED IN SAN ANTONIO.
AND WE'VE DEVELOPED A LOGIC AROUND IT TO WHERE, AS A BUSINESS OWNER, YOU CAN INTAKE YOURSELF AND IMMEDIATELY GET RELEVANT, UH, CURATED RESPONSES AND CONNECTIONS TO PARTNERS THAT EXIST IN THE COMMUNITY.
UH, THIS IS A BRAND NEW PLATFORM.
UH, THE IDEA IS THAT IT WILL HELP, UH, ALLEVIATE THE NEED FOR SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO KNOW INHERENTLY WHAT'S GOING ON, BECAUSE IT'S ALL HERE.
ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS ENTER THE SPECIFIC FACTORS OF DEMOGRAPHICS, GEOGRAPHICS, UH, AND, UH, COMPONENTS RELATING TO INDUSTRY OR THE VISION OF THE ENTREPRENEUR, AND WE CAN IMMEDIATELY GET CURATED RESPONSES FOR IT.
UM, AND SO WE ARE HOPING TO FULLY LAUNCH THIS AT THE BEGINNING OF 22, UH, STARTING WITH 80 PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE'VE, UH, TRADITIONALLY WORKED WITH.
AND THEN IDEALLY EXPANDING THAT TO THE 180 THAT REPRESENTS REGIONAL AND STATEWIDE PARTNERS THAT SUPPORT VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF BUSINESS GROWTH,
[01:20:01]
UM, ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY.UM, SO I LOOK AT THAT AS THE FUTURE OF ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, AND REALLY MAKING IT AVAILABLE AT THE FINGERTIPS AND NOT DEPENDENT INHERENTLY ON, UH, WHO CAN MEET WITH YOU AT THE MOMENT.
UH, BUT IT DOES DEFINITELY FOCUS US IN ON BEING, UM, BEING A PART OF THE MORE NUANCED COMPONENTS, THE STUFF THAT CAN'T BE ADDRESSED BY, UH, THE LOGIC BASE THAT WE'VE DONE, AND REALLY SUPPORTING CONNECTING PEOPLE TO FOLKS THAT HAVE THE ANSWERS, OUR MENTORSHIP COMMUNITY, AND HELPING THEM OVERCOME ON MORE SPECIFIC LEVELS.
UM, SO, UH, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE NORMALLY LOCATED IN THE DOWNTOWN CENTRAL LIBRARY ON THE FIRST FLOOR.
WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO BE THERE FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF, UH, BUT WE LOOK FORWARD TO COMING BACK.
THIS IS THE VIBRANCY THAT YOU'LL EXPECT IF YOU DO COME IN.
UM, AND SO WE, WE, I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH.
I REALLY WANT TO GO BACK INTO THE LIBRARY.
UM, UH, OUR PARTNERSHIP IN THE LIBRARY IS NOT ONLY JUST WITH THE LIBRARY AND THE RESOURCES THEY HAVE THERE, UH, IT'S A PLACE THAT IS EXTREMELY ACCESSIBLE, HAS, UH, PARKING, UM, AVAILABLE FOR UP TO TWO HOURS FOR FREE.
UM, IT HAS, YOU KNOW, FREE ACCESS TO INTERNET AND A NUMBER OF OTHER, UM, COMPONENTS THAT ARE USEFUL TO BUSINESS OWNERS.
BUT WE ALSO HAVE PARTNERS ON SITE.
UH, WE'VE HAD, UM, THE WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER WITH US SINCE, UH, THE VERY BEGINNING, AND THAT'S A FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP WITH LA FUND.
SO WE'RE UTILIZING, UH, OUR RESOURCES IN OUR PARTNERSHIPS TO SUPPORT ENTREPRENEURS AT BROADER LEVELS.
IT'S ALSO BEEN A PLACE THAT NUMEROUS, UH, COMMUNITIES CAN COME IN AND MEET AND SHARE IT INSIDE ADVICE, UH, AND EDUCATION.
UM, WE'VE ALSO HAD THE SCORE PROGRAM IN SAN ANTONIO, HAVE A SATELLITE OFFICE THERE, AND WE'VE HOSTED, UH, NUMEROUS EVENTS FROM U SS O, UH, VELOCITY, UM, MANY OTHER PARTNERS AS WELL WITHIN THAT SPACE TO, TO GROW THE KNOWLEDGE AND INCREASE THE, UM, OPPORTUNITY FOR OTHERS.
UM, SO QUICKLY, I JUST WANTED TO, UH, END ON, OR BASICALLY END ON SOME OF THE TESTIMONIALS.
SO, UM, WE'VE SERVED, UH, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ENTREPRENEURS DURING THIS TIME.
UM, IT'S BEEN A DIFFERENT TYPE OF SERVICE, BUT IN SOME CASES IT'S BEEN INCREDIBLY, UH, REWARDING IN A DIFFERENT WAY.
I'M NOT NECESSARILY HELPING SEE YOU GROW, BECAUSE THAT WAS MAYBE WHAT I THOUGHT WE WOULD DO BEFOREHAND, BUT I'M SEEING YOU STAY OPEN, WHICH I THINK IS JUST A COMPLETELY
UM, IT WAS THE, THE DAY BEFORE VETERANS' DAY, UH, JACKIE CASTILE, SHE IS A, A VETERAN.
SHE'S GONE THROUGH OUR BREAK FAST AND LAUNCH PROGRAM.
SHE WAS ALSO, UH, A MEMBER OF OUR HELM PROGRAM DURING THIS TIME.
UH, AND SHE LAUNCHED HER BUSINESS DURING, UH, COVID, OR RATHER, A FEW MONTHS BEFORE COVID, I OFFICIALLY CLOSED EVERYONE DOWN, AND IT'S CALLED, UH, JACKED POTATO.
AND SHE SAID, I'VE REACHED OUT TO MULTIPLE LOCAL PROGRAMS THAT HAVE SERVED, UH, THE NEEDS OF THEIR TOWNS.
THEY WERE ALL GREAT, BUT LAUNCHES SA WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND.
THEY ASSISTED MANY OF US FROM BEGINNING TO END.
THEY STILL REACH OUT AND INQUIRE ABOUT OUR PROGRESS.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT I WOULD'VE SURVIVED MY FIRST YEAR WITHOUT LAUNCH SA THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC.
UM, THAT TO ME IS MORE REWARDING THAN SEEING SOMEBODY EXPAND BECAUSE I, I HELP THEM KEEP THEIR LIVELIHOOD.
UM, AND THAT IS, UH, WHAT YOU ARE GETTING BY SUPPORTING THIS EFFORT THROUGH LAUNCH SA.
I'D LOVE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF I MIGHT.
UM, DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME YOU PRESENTED TO ME AND SOME OF THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND HOW TERRIBLE THAT WENT FOR YOU? I, UH, I DON'T THINK I COULD FIND OUT.
YEAH, SERIOUSLY, IT DID, AND THEN WE MET AFTERWARDS AND, AND I GOTTA TELL YOU WHAT, WHAT YOU'VE PRESENTED TODAY IS JUST A COMPLETE 180.
AND, AND I, I LOVE WHAT YOU'VE SHOWN US.
THE, JUST THE METRICS ARE REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND, UH, I'M PROUD OF YOU GUYS, AND I'M PROUD OF, I'M PROUD OF THE INVESTMENT THAT WE'VE MADE IN BOTH LAUNCH AND IN LIFT OVER OVER THE YEARS.
UH, JOHN, COURAGE, YOU GOT ANY QUESTIONS, COUNCILMAN? NOT, NOT, NOT REALLY QUESTIONS, BUT JUST COMMENTS.
I, I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO WALK THROUGH BEFORE THE PANDEMIC AND SAW THE WORK THAT WAS GOING ON, AND, UH, I SAW THAT LADY WHO WAS OUT THERE, UH, ADVOCATING AND, AND BEING A TUTOR FOR SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE.
AND, UH, IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THAT YOU'RE READY TO GET GEARED BACK UP AND CONTINUE DOING THE WORK THAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING LAST FEW YEARS.
AND I'M VERY SUPPORTIVE OF IT TOO.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
COUNCILMAN BIRAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? CAN YOU BRING UP THE, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, RYAN.
[01:25:01]
FOR BEING HERE.UM, CAN YOU BRING UP THE PRESENTATION OF THE STATS FROM 2020 TO 2021? UH, DANG, HOW ABOUT THAT RIGHT THERE? OH MY GOODNESS.
UH, SO WHAT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, AND YOU PROBABLY HAVE THIS AND PROBABLY DIDN'T THINK, OH, WE SHOULD PUT THAT UP THERE.
UM, BECAUSE I, AND THIS IS DISTRICT THREE, THEY WORK WELL INTO THEIR SEVENTIES AND SOMETIMES THEIR EIGHTIES.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT THING WHEN WE TALK ABOUT OUR SENIORS AND OUR SENIOR COMMUNITY.
AND THEN, I KNOW THIS IS AN OPTIONAL, BUT ANYBODY I IDENTIFYING AS SOMEONE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES AND DOING THAT, THAT'S KEY TOO.
BECAUSE AS WE MOVE TO BE, UH, INCLUSIVE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE IDENTIFY THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE REACHING OUT AND DOING WORK THAT'S SPECIFIC TO THAT.
'CAUSE I LOVE MORGAN'S WONDERLAND, BUT I KNOW IT'S NOT JUST MORGAN'S WONDERLAND THAT DOES THAT, AND I KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO YOU GUYS FOR HELP.
SO IF WE COULD GET SOME OF THAT INFORMATION, WHEN, WHEN YOU PRESENT AN UPDATE, I THINK, UH, WE NEED TO BE REALLY GOOD ABOUT TELLING THE STORY AND TELL THE WHOLE STORY.
AND THAT'S SENIORS AND THOSE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES.
YOU'VE GOT THE WOMEN, YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING THERE.
BUT THAT'S WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE OUR VETERANS.
SO, UM, BUT I THINK IT, IT'S GONNA BE DIFFICULT AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND I THINK WHEN YOU COME AND GIVE US OUR BRIEFINGS, JUST TO BE REALLY CLEAR ABOUT WHERE WE'RE, WHERE WE'RE HEADED, ESPECIALLY WITH OUR, UM, OUR RESTAURANT INDUSTRY, OUR BAR INDUSTRY, AND OUR ARTIST AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
BECAUSE THE BI, THOSE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT DO THAT WORK ARE NO, ARE STILL FEELING IT UNTIL WE GET OUR, UH, TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY BACK TO FULL.
SO, THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, AND THANKS FOR ALL YOU'RE DOING FOR SMALL BUSINESS.
CAN YOU REMIND ME WHERE YOUR SHARED WORKSPACES, UH, THE SHARED WORKSPACE THAT WE HAVE IS LOCATED IN THE CENTRAL LIBRARY ON THE FIRST FLOOR? UH, WE, WE, UM, HAVE ABOUT, I THINK IT'S 7,500 SQUARE FEET AT THIS POINT, UM, THAT REPRESENTS, UH, CONFERENCE ROOM TWO TRAINING ROOMS, FOUR OFFICE, WELL, FIVE OFFICES, EXCUSE ME.
UM, AND YEAH, IT'S A, IT'S A VERY OPEN WORKSPACE.
UH, AND I'M SORRY, I, I, I REALIZED THAT'S YOUR OFFICE.
I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU PARTNERED WITH GEEKDOM FOR THEIR SHARED SPACE AS WELL.
UH, I, I SAW GEEKDOM AS A PARTNER.
SO, SO WE WORK WITH GEEKDOM A LOT MORE ON THE EDUCATION SIDE OF THINGS.
UH, AGAIN, UM, WE LOOK TO UNDERSTAND THE VISION OF THE CLIENT.
AND SO IF SPACE IS A NECESSITY FOR THEM, THEN WE HAVE A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WILL MAKE, UH, THAT ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE WORKSPACES THAT EXIST IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO WE, WE WORK WITH A LOT OF THE EDCS AND, AND ORGANIZATIONS LIKE GEEKDOM MORE ON THE EDUCATION SIDE AS THEY, THEY'RE MAYBE MORE ON THE OUTREACH OR THE, UH, ADVOCACY SIDE.
SO FOR THE OUTREACH AND ADVOCACY, THAT'S KIND OF WHERE I WAS GOING.
UM, THEY HAVE A PODCAST MM-HMM.
AND IF NOT, THEN I THINK THAT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO, TO PARTNER WITH THEM AND REACH OUT.
I'LL DEFINITELY, I THINK, UH, IN THE PAST SOMETHING MAY HAVE HAPPENED, BUT IT HAS BEEN A, BEEN A WHILE.
I, I'VE HEARD A LOT ABOUT THE PODCAST.
I'M HAPPY TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION.
I WAS JUST WITH THEM LAST WEEK, SO.
UH, THANK YOU CHAIR, JANIE AND RYAN FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, ON SLIDE FOUR, WHERE Y'ALL HAVE UNIQUE WALK-INS, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? I KNOW FOR US AT THE CONSTITUENT SERVICES OFFICE, OUR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS ARE CALLING US ABOUT COMMERCIAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE 'CAUSE THEY'VE BEEN IMPACTED BY COVID MM-HMM.
SO, UM, THE STOREFRONT FRONT GRANT ASSISTANCE, UM, DO YOU TRACK, UM, WHAT THOSE UNIQUE WALK-INS ARE? AND HAVE Y'ALL HAD FOLKS REACH OUT ABOUT COMMERCIAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE AS WELL AS STOREFRONT GRANTS? SO, DURING, DURING THE PANDEMIC, UM, WE HEAVILY LEANED AND SUPPORTED ON, UM, OUR PARTNERS THAT HAD THE ABILITY TO ACCESS AND RELATE TO THE SPECIFIC AREAS THEY REPRESENT, SUCH AS CENTRO, SAGE, PROSPER, WEST AND SOUTH SIDE FIRST.
UM, THEY HAD DONE A VERY LARGE EFFORT IN OUTREACH, UM, THAT WAS SUPPORTED BY THE CITY.
AND SO OUR SERVICE TO THEM WAS IN SUPPORTING THE REQUEST THAT THEY HAD, UH, POST CONTACT.
AND SO THAT 602 OUTREACH REFERRALS REPRESENTS THE SERVICE THAT WE HAD TO THOSE THAT, UM, THAT WERE BASED ON THAT.
[01:30:01]
UNIQUE WALK-IN NUMBER IS REPRESENTATIVE OF SERVICE TO, UH, THOSE THAT COME INTO OUR CENTER.HOWEVER, THAT'S OBVIOUSLY, PEOPLE WEREN'T WALKING IN LAST YEAR AND A HALF.
SO, UH, IT'S REALLY MORE REPRESENTATIVE OF UNIQUE CLIENT SERVED.
UM, SO THAT WOULD REPRESENT THOSE THAT HAVE WALKED IN, THOSE THAT HAVE RECEIVED SERVICE ONLINE, THROUGH PHONE, THROUGH EMAIL, UH, OR THROUGH VARIOUS OTHER FORMS OF EDUCATION THAT WE PROVIDE.
SO IN TERMS OF THE, THE, THE ASSISTANCE THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, IF THOSE FOLKS CAME TO US DIRECTLY AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT THEY NEEDED OR REPRESENTED THEY WERE STRUGGLING WITH, THEN WE DID MAKE THE CONNECTIONS TO THE AVAILABLE STOREFRONT GRANTS AND PROGRAMS AS SUCH.
UH, BUT ON THE, ON THE OTHER SIDE, IF THEY CAME THROUGH A PARTNER OR REFERRAL, OFTENTIMES IT WAS THROUGH ONE OF THOSE PROGRAMS THAT OFFERS THOSE STOREFRONT GRANTS AND SUPPORT.
SO THEY, THEY LIKELY GOT THAT SERVICE THERE, AND THEN THEY RECEIVED SERVICE FROM US ON THE ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT THEY NEEDED.
UM, BUT I, I, I GUESS MY QUESTION WAS, IF Y'ALL, UM, COLLECT THE DATA OF WHAT THOSE UNIQUE WALK-INS ARE AND WOULD HAVE, LIKE THE PERCENTAGE OF, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY ARE REFERRALS, HOW MANY, UM, ARE FOR STARTUP, HOW MANY FOR GRANTS? UH, YES.
SO WE DO, I, I DON'T HAVE IT WITH ME AT THE MOMENT, BUT THAT IS, UH, REPORTED THROUGH OUR QUARTERLY REPORTS.
I JUST ASK COUNCILWOMAN THAT, THAT, OH, THAT AS YOU ALL ARE LOOKING AT THE ARPA MONEY AND SO ON, IN TERMS OF SPECIFICALLY, UH, HELPING THEM WITH THEIR RENTS, UH, I THINK THAT THAT IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT AND NOT NECESSARILY MAKE SOMEBODY THAT WENT THROUGH LAUNCH, BUT I KNOW SPECIFICALLY OF A WOMAN WHO, YOU KNOW, JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE BUSINESS AND COULD NO LONGER PAY HER RENT AND HAD TO SHUT DOWN.
SO IF WE COULD COME UP WITH SOME KIND OF PLAN ON MOVING FORWARD AND HOW WE, BECAUSE I THINK THE, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAM, YOU'RE, YOU, YOU'VE GOT GREAT STAFF HERE WHO WAS ABLE TO PUT THE CRITERIA TOGETHER FOR THE GRANTS AND SO ON, AND THAT WE ADMINISTERED.
SO TO COME UP WITH A CRITERIA ON HOW YOU WOULD WANT THOSE ARPA DOLLARS TO GO FOR RENTAL SPECIFICALLY AND HELP THESE SMALL BUSINESSES, BECAUSE IT'S A WIN-WIN SITUATION, RIGHT? THEY WANNA STAY OPEN.
THE LANDLORD WANTS TO KEEP THEM, BUT YOU KNOW, IF THEY CAN'T, THEY CAN'T.
SO IT'S, IT'S WIN-WIN ALL THE WAY AROUND.
WITH THAT BEING SAID, WOULD YOU ALL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION AMOUNT FOR COMMERCIAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE? YES.
UH, MY, MY QUESTION, MY REQUEST IS THAT, UH, TWO, UH, IS TWOFOLD.
ONE, UM, THAT FEEL FREE TO ROPE ME IN, UH, AND I'M, I GOT NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF YOUNG LAWYERS CALLING ME ALL DAY LONG ASKING ME HOW CAN I HELP? HOW CAN I HELP? HOW CAN I HELP? AND SO IF, IF YOU GUYS NEED YOUNG LAWYERS INTERESTED IN, YOU KNOW, GIVING OUT FREE ADVICE, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, I'M HAPPY TO, HAPPY TO SEND THEM YOUR WAY.
THE OTHER THING TOO IS, YOU KNOW, THE SAME, MANY OF THESE PEOPLE I'VE DISCOVERED OVER THE YEARS DON'T HAVE WILLS OR ESTATES MM-HMM.
AND THAT CAN OFTENTIMES BE A VERY BIG PROBLEM TO THEIR SMALL BUSINESSES.
UM, IF THEY DON'T HAVE THOSE, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU GUYS ARE PROVIDING THEM? UM, SO THAT'S DEFINITELY A PART OF SORT OF THE, THE BUSINESS TRANSITIONING, UM, SUPPORT THAT WE CAN OFFER.
BUT NORMALLY WE WOULD REFER IT OUT IF SOMEBODY WAS REQUESTING THAT TYPE OF INSIGHT.
UH, WE DO UTILIZE, UH, LAWYERS, ACCOUNTANTS, AND A NUMBER OF OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, UH, AS MENTORS.
AND THEY PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF FULL SCOPE, ALTHOUGH WE DON'T GET INVOLVED WITH IF THERE'S A TRANSACTION THAT THEY DO FOR THE CLIENT.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF YOUNG LAWYERS, PARTICULARLY THROUGH THE SAN I'M SORRY, UH, THE TEXAS YOUNG LAWYERS ASSOCIATION, THE SAN ANTONIO YOUNG LAWYERS ASSOCIATION, UH, ST.
THEY DO FREE WILLS IN ESTATES, CLINICS, UM, WHERE THEY'LL JUST GIVE AWAY THOSE DOCUMENTS.
'CAUSE MOST OF THE DOCUMENTS FOR CERTAIN FOLKS THAT DON'T HAVE POLO HORSES OR OIL WELLS OR JETS OR WHATEVER, I MEAN, IT'S PRETTY THE SAME DOCUMENT EVERY TIME.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, THE NAME AND, YOU KNOW, INSTRUCTIONS TO THE FAMILY ON WHAT SHOULD BE DONE.
TRADITIONALLY, WHAT WE'VE DONE, UH, WE'VE ACTUALLY PARTNERED WITH LAWYERS TO, UH, PROVIDE, UM, FREE FILINGS FOR LLCS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
WE'VE DONE THAT, UH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER AND ST.
MARY'S, UH, LAW SCHOOL OR, OR CENTER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE, I BELIEVE IT WAS.
UM, SO WE'VE DONE THAT QUARTERLY, I BELIEVE IT WAS QUARTERLY, UH, UP UNTIL THE PANDEMIC.
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS AN ISSUE.
BUT IN TERMS OF THE SPECIFICS YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT, WE HAVEN'T SPECIFICALLY PROVIDED EDUCATION TO THAT OTHER THAN REFERRAL.
SO I, I, I'D, I'D ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THAT.
AND MAYBE OFFLINE WE HAVE A CONVERSATION.
YEAH, I, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA AND I SEE A WORKSHOP HAPPENING JUST FOR THAT.
UH, I ALSO WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT WE GOT A SMALL GRANT FROM THE INSURANCE INSTITUTE,
[01:35:01]
THE NATIONAL INSURANCE INSTITUTE.A LOT OF SMALL BUSINESSES FORGET THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE INSURANCE.
AND SO WHAT THEY'RE, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS PROVIDING INSURANCE TO SMALL BUSINESSES THROUGH A GRANT FOR ONE YEAR.
AND THAT WAY AFTER THE YEAR, THEN THEY CAN DECIDE WHETHER THEY'RE GONNA RENEW IT OR NOT.
AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY'S GONNA PROVIDE THE FINANCIAL EDUCATION TO SAY, YOU KNOW, TO THEM TO KEEP THAT INSURANCE.
AND THEN, UM, I ALSO WANTED TO SAY THAT IF YOU'RE WANTING TO SHOP LOCAL, UH, WWW.LIFTFUND.COM, MARKETPLACE, SAN ANTONIO AND EVERYTHING POPS UP.
SO WE HAVE, THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE'VE LEARNED OVER THE COVID IS THAT LAST YEAR WE DID IT AND PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE WEBSITES.
SO THAT'S WHAT THE TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING ON ALL YEAR TO GET THEIR WEBSITES IN PLACE.
AND JUST TO HIT LOCAL SAN ANTONIO, YOU CAN GET EVERYTHING FROM FURNITURE TO FOOD TO CLOTHING.
AND JUST TO ADD, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT ON THE LEGAL END, UM, JANIE, YOU SAID A WORKSHOP THAT IS WHAT WE ARE GONNA HAVE IN PLACE, THE WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER FOR 2022.
WE'RE GONNA SCHEDULE ABOUT THREE OF THOSE WORKSHOPS.
AND YES, MANNY, I WILL BE DRAWING YOU IN OKAY.
ALONG WITH YOUR TALENTS AND EVERYTHING, BECAUSE IT IS VERY IMPORTANT.
AND WE'RE GONNA HAVE KIND OF LIKE A LEGAL, KIND OF IN AND OUT CLINIC OF PEOPLE CAN COME IN FOR Q AND A AND TYPE SESSIONS.
BUT THAT IS IN THE WORKS FOR 2022 FROM THE WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER AS WELL.
AND THEN THE SECOND REQUEST I HAD, THANK YOU, MARGARET.
AND, UM, UH, THE SECOND REQUEST I HAD IS, UH, TALKING TO OUR ASIAN COMMUNITY ON, AND, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THEM ARE, ARE IN MY DISTRICT, AND YET THEY'RE BUSINESSES ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, TERRY, AND THEY'RE IN YOUR BUS, THEY'RE IN YOUR DISTRICT.
THEY'RE IN YOUR DISTRICT, YOUR DISTRICT, YOUR DISTRICT.
AND SO, UM, WHEN I TALK TO A LOT OF 'EM, I'VE, I'VE COME TO REALIZE THAT THEY'RE SO PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE AND SUSCEPTIBLE TO SCAMS. UM, AND, YOU KNOW, JUST BAD PEOPLE PREY ON THEM.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, NOBODY'S REALLY TELL TALKING TO THEM.
AND I'M TALKING ABOUT PAKISTANI FAMILIES, SYRIAN FAMILIES, RIGHT.
UM, AND SO I'M, UH, I'M INTERESTED IN SEEING IF YOU GUYS MIGHT COME OUT TO THE NORTH SIDE TO TALK TO WHERE THESE FAMILIES LIVE.
UM, SO WE CAN TELL THEM, LOOK, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GET AN L L C THAT MANAGES AN L L C JUST 'CAUSE YOUR ACCOUNTANT WANTED TO SELL YOU TO, YOU KNOW, ENTITIES.
AND I MEAN, WE'VE GOT PROFESSIONALS HERE, FLEECING SOME OF THESE PEOPLE.
AND SO, UM, AND, AND THEN JUST CONNECT THEM WITH YOU.
AND THE NICE THING ABOUT THIS COMMUNITY IS THAT IF ONE OF THEM ACTUALLY FALLS IN LOVE WITH YOU, THEY WILL BRING THEIR FRIENDS KICKING AND SCREAMING TO YOU OVER AND OVER, AND THEN THEY'RE JUST SOME OF THE MOST LOYAL, UM, LOYAL FOLKS THAT YOU'LL EVER MEET.
AS A, AS SOMEBODY THAT'S ACTUALLY HALF PAKISTANI, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE MINDSET.
UM, IT'S VERY RARE THAT FOLKS FROM THAT COMMUNITY TEND TO REACH OUT OF THEIR OWN ACCORD.
USUALLY SOMEBODY HAS TO DRAG THEM SOMEWHERE.
UM, AND, UH, WE HAVE MADE SOME INROADS, SPECIFICALLY MULTI-GENERATIONAL, UM, ASIAN FOOD BUSINESSES.
I WAS ALSO INTERVIEWING A POTENTIAL BOARD MEMBER YESTERDAY THAT POSSIBLY COULD HAVE IN INSIGHTS AND, AND EXPERTISE AND, AND FOCUS IN ON THAT CORE AUDIENCE.
WE HAVE WORKED WITH THE ASIAN, UH, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LOCALLY BEFORE.
UM, AND THEN WE, UH, HAVE ALSO WORKED WITH ORGANIZATIONS LIKE CULTURAL LINGUA, UH, WHICH IS, UM, FOCUSED ON ENTREPRENEURS, UM, UH, IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS AND REFUGEE ENTREPRENEURS, UM, THAT ARE COMING INTO SAN ANTONIO.
AND THE CENTER FOR REFUGEE SERVICES.
I REALIZE IT'S NOT WONDERFUL HOLISTIC OF EVERYTHING, BUT, UM, WE, UM, IT IS SOMETHING DEFINITELY THAT I SEE IS A GAP, UM, AND WE ARE LOOKING TO ADDRESS IT, UH, IDEALLY WITH INCLUSION OF, UM, SOMEBODY THAT HAS KEEN INSIGHTS TO THAT.
BUT HAPPILY, IF YOU GREAT, HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT ME TO DO IN YOUR DISTRICT, I'M HAPPY TO SHOW UP AND DO IT.
WELL, IT WAS NICE SEEING YOU ALL.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THE TIME.
ALEX, WE'VE GOT ONE MORE ITEM WE DO.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE TIMING WISE, I MEAN, IT WILL, I, I MEAN, IF YOU CAN SORT OF DO IT AT 1.2 SPEED AS OPPOSED TO 1.0 SPEED.
OR 1.3 SPEED LIKE I DO IN MY AUDIO BOOKS.
UH,
SO THIS LAST ITEM IS AN UPDATE ON OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
IT'S BEEN A, IT'S BEEN A COUPLE OF OF MONTHS NOW SINCE WE'VE SHARED SOME OF THE STATISTICS.
AND SO MIKE RAMSEY'S HERE TO, TO GIVE US THAT UPDATE.
HOW YOU DOING, COUNCILMAN PAL? I'LL BE VERY BRIEF.
UM, OUR TRAIN FOR JOBS PROGRAM IS STILL GOING, TAKING ENROLLMENT THROUGH THE END OF THIS YEAR, DECEMBER 31ST BEFORE WE TRANSITION AND SUNSET THAT PROGRAM.
UM, WE HAVE A FEW, UH, NEXT SLIDE.
WE DID A SURVEY OF SOME OF OUR PARTICIPANTS WITHIN THE PROGRAM.
HERE'S SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT THEY GAVE.
UM, YOU GUYS WERE, PROVIDED US IN ADVANCE.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE WENT POINT OUT,
[01:40:01]
UM, IS THAT, UH, FROM, UH, THE TRAINING FROM ALAMO COLLEGES, UM, RICARDO ABETA, UM, SAID THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND THE PROGRAM TO FRIENDS OR FAMILY, BECAUSE THESE ARE SOME EXCELLENT PROGRAMS OFFERS OFFERED, WHICH ENABLES INDIVIDUALS TO OBTAIN AN IN-DEMAND PROFESSIONAL LICENSE AND CERTIFICATION.UM, SO WE'RE GETTING VERY GOOD FEEDBACK FOR PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM, UM, THAT ARE MAKING THEIR WAY THROUGH NEXT SLIDE.
AND SOME OF OUR STATS, THEY'RE 8,800, OVER 8,800 PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM TO DATE.
UM, 69% OVERWHELMINGLY FEMALE, UM, WOMEN, 31% MEN, UM, 66% HISPANIC, UM, 16% AFRICAN AMERICAN, UM, AND SO FORTH AND SO ON.
UM, ONE OF THE, THE KEY THINGS THAT WE'VE SEEN IS 5% OVER 55.
UM, SO I KNOW THAT THAT'S A ANOTHER FOCUS POINT FOR OUR COMMUNITY, IS MAKING SURE THAT EVERYBODY HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE.
OUR LARGEST DEMOGRAPHIC AGE-WISE IS 21 TO 34 IS OUR BIGGEST GROUP AT 34%.
UM, TRAINED FOR JOBS, UM, EDUCATION LEVEL.
OUR LARGEST GROUP, 38% HAS A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA, 37%, SOME COLLEGE, NO DEGREE.
UM, BUT 13, UH, I'M SORRY, 16%.
SO A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE POPULATION OF THOSE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM.
AND 7% ARE PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, 60% LIVING AT OR BELOW THE POVERTY LEVEL.
UM, 42% COME FROM HOSPITALITY AND RETAIL, OR ARE RE-SKILLING 7% FORMERLY INCARCERATED IN 3% OF OUR VETERAN POPULATION.
UM, FOR THE INDIVIDUALS WHO MAKE IT THROUGH, UM, THE INTAKE PROCESS AND COMMIT TO GOING INTO A TRAINING PROGRAM, 96% OF THEM ARE RETAINED, WHICH IS PHENOMENAL.
UM, I THINK THE STIPEND UP TO FOUR 50, UM, PER WEEK, THAT $15 AN HOUR WHILE THEY'RE IN TRAINING HELPS CONTRIBUTE TO THAT.
BUT THAT IS A PHENOMENAL NUMBER OF 96% OF PEOPLE, UM, UH, STAYING WITHIN THEIR TRAINING PROGRAMS. NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO THE CURRENT STATE, UM, OF TRAINING, THERE'S OVER 4,200 INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE IN TRAINING RIGHT NOW.
OUR CONTRACTED TARGET IS 6,200.
UM, WE'VE GOT ABOUT 5,000 PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE PIPELINE RIGHT NOW.
AND SO AS WE CONTINUE THROUGH, THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, WE'RE VERY CONFIDENT THAT WE'LL GET THAT SIXTY TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY ONE IN TRAINING PROGRAMS BEFORE THE PROGRAM SUNSETS.
UM, THERE'S A BREAKDOWN OF WHAT PROGRAMS THEY'RE IN.
UM, A PRETTY, UH, YOU KNOW, GOOD SPLIT.
48% IN SHORT TERM, 34% IN LONG TERM TRAINING.
OUR COURSE, OUR HEAVIEST AREAS, MEDICAL, UM, FOLLOWED, UM, YOU KNOW, BY OF COURSE, IT AND BUSINESS AND THEN MANUFACTURING LOGISTICS.
SO THOSE ARE THE AREAS THAT INDIVIDUALS ARE SELF-SELECTING AND BEING GUIDED TO BY THEIR CASE MANAGERS.
UH, 795 INDIVIDUALS HAVE OBTAINED JOBS, UH, THROUGH THE PROGRAM.
UM, YOU CAN SEE, UM, THERE, UH, THAT THE MEDICAL FIELD IS LEADING THE WAY, YOU KNOW, AT 30% OF INDIVIDUALS OBTAINING POSITIONS IN THAT AREA.
UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO HELP TO BRIDGE THAT GAP FOR PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE COMPLETED AND, UH, GET THEM CONNECTED INTO JOBS.
WE'VE HOSTED THREE TRAIN THE TRAINER SESSIONS, UH, FOR SA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SA WORKS.
UM, WITHIN OUR PRIORITY INDUSTRY SECTORS, WE HAD UT HEALTH, UM, AS WELL AS OUR CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HR.
UM, PRESENT, UM, TO PARTICIPANTS.
WE'VE HAD H E B FORMER NAVISTAR, UM, AS WELL AS CREDIT HUMAN AND ERNST YOUNG.
UM, THUS FAR, JUST TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PARTICIPANTS AND THE EMPLOYERS.
UM, WE'VE HOSTED TWO, UH, TRAIN FOR JOBS, JOB FAIRS.
UM, WE HAD OVER 115 ATTENDEES COME OUT TO THOSE JOB FAIRS.
THE ONES THAT WE KNOW ABOUT, THAT WE'VE HEARD ABOUT SO FAR HAVE BEEN 20 JOB OFFERS THAT HAVE BEEN, UM, OBTAINED THROUGH THOSE JOB FAIRS AND MANY OTHERS THAT ARE STILL PENDING.
UM, WE ALSO PROMOTED THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT JOB FAIR, AND WSA RED, WHITE AND YOU TO ALL OF OUR TRAINING FOR JOBS PARTICIPANTS.
UH, MORE QUOTES FROM OUR STUDENTS.
UM, A RESTORE EDUCATION GRADUATES SAID THAT THEY LOVED EVERYTHING THE ORGANIZATION WAS ABLE TO ASSIST THEM WITH, TOOK A BOOKKEEPING CLASS, RETAINED THEIR G E D, NOW, AN EMPLOYEE WITH RESTORE EDUCATION AND STARTING COLLEGE IN THE SPRING, WHICH WAS THEIR ULTIMATE GOAL.
UM, SO WE, SO WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, OUR PARTNERS ARE DOING WITH THIS PROGRAM.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO PRESS FORWARD, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE WHO SIGNED UP RECEIVES A FAVORABLE OUTCOME.
I, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT MICHAEL CAME OUT TO BROOKS AND DID A PRESENTATION.
UH, SO I'D SEEN THIS BEFORE FOR, UM, MY, UM, MY BUSINESSES ON BROOKS.
I FELT LIKE THEY WERE HOPEFUL THEY WANTED TO REACH OUT.
THEY WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR FUTURE PROGRAM.
UM, I WANT TO TALK, MICHAEL, AS SOON AS WE GET THROUGH THE THANKSGIVING BREAK ABOUT, UH, REALLY ADDRESSING KIND OF, KIND OF THOSE UPSTREAM ISSUES MM-HMM.
'CAUSE I DID HAVE SOMEONE COME AND TALK ABOUT HOW, UH, AND ALEX WAS THERE, TALK ABOUT HOW THIS WASN'T WORKING, BUT AS HE TOLD HIS STORY, I WAS LIKE, THERE'S MORE THERE.
AND WE MIGHT HAVE TO GO A LITTLE DEEPER.
SO, UM, YOU ARE, YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT WE DON'T WORK IN A VACUUM.
[01:45:01]
UH, SIGNIFICANT TRAUMA, UM, OR, AND PROBLEMS THAT WE MAY NEED TO GET THEM INTO OUR METRO HEALTH, INTO OTHER AGENCIES TO KIND OF HELP THEM HIT THAT, UH, MOVE THAT NEEDLE A LITTLE FORWARD.SO, UH, I WANNA TALK MORE ABOUT THAT, BUT I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE SUCCESS THIS HAS HAD SO FAR, AND I'M LOOKING TOWARDS NEXT YEAR AND FINISHING OUT THIS YEAR STRONG.
I APPRECIATE THE, THE PRESENTATION 795 OF 4,292, IS THAT CORRECT? OH, THAT'S CORRECT.
SO WE'RE AT ABOUT 18.5% PLACEMENT OF THOSE THAT ARE IN TRAINING STILL THAT 4,000.
UM, DO WE HAVE, UH, DO YOU HAVE A PROJECTION ON, IS THERE GONNA BE A SLOW DOWN WITH THE HIRING WITH THE HOLIDAYS COMING UP? SHOULD THERE BE A PICKUP? WHAT'S THE FORECAST? I DON'T THINK HIRING IS GONNA SLOW DOWN AT ALL.
UM, AS YOU DRIVE AROUND TOWN, EVERYBODY'S GOT HELP, WANTED SIGNS UP EVERYWHERE.
AND THAT HOURLY RAISE KEEPS CREEPING UP AND UP AND UP AS THEY TRY TO DRAW PEOPLE INTO THOSE VACANCIES THAT EXIST.
OUR AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURERS ARE DYING FOR TALENT, AND THEY'VE GOT GOOD HIGH QUALITY JOBS PAYING 17, 18, $19 AN HOUR TO START.
AND, UM, SO I, THERE'S A HUGE NEED RIGHT NOW FOR EMPLOYERS.
OF COURSE, A SEASONAL HIRING OF INDIVIDUALS LIKE AMAZON, U P S, FEDEX, THAT'S GONNA SLOW DOWN, UM, SOME OF OUR RETAIL SHOPS OR IF THEIR SEASONAL HIRING WILL, YOU KNOW, START TO RECEDE.
UM, BUT I THINK THERE'S ENOUGH MOMENTUM FROM THE OTHER EMPLOYERS, ENOUGH VACANCIES THAT CURRENTLY EXIST THAT PEOPLE HAVE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE.
ONE THING THAT I HAD, AND I'VE HEARD THIS FROM A FEW PEOPLE, AND THEY'RE JUST, UM, KIND OF JUST SHOCKED AT WHERE IS THE TALENT OR WHY CAN'T I HIRE PEOPLE? AND THIS IS FROM SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS TO CORPORATIONS, RIGHT? YEP.
AND I'VE HEARD IT AGAIN AND AGAIN, AND I'VE NEVER HEARD A GOOD THEORY AS TO WHY THAT IS UNTIL TODAY.
AND SOMEBODY, UM, POINTED OUT THAT SOME OF THESE PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE BEEN WORKING TOO, OR SOMETIMES EVEN THREE JOBS.
AND NOW THAT THERE IS, UM, A HIGHER SALARY, IF YOU WILL, THAT THAT IS BEING OFFERED BY DIFFERENT AGENCIES, ET CETERA, THAT MAYBE THAT'S WHY, UH, SO, SO LIKE, MAYBE LIKE TWO TO ONE RATIO, RIGHT? THAT'S A GOOD TWO JOBS.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE HEARD THAT THEORY.
IT MAKES SENSE THOUGH, YOU KNOW, AS YOU THINK ABOUT IT.
AND I THINK IT'S PROBABLY A COMBINATION OF A LOT OF THINGS.
I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A BIG FACTOR IN IT.
I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE ENTERED A GIG ECONOMY AND STARTED THEIR OWN BUSINESSES.
WE TALKED ABOUT SMALL BUSINESSES TODAY AND HAVE SEVERAL MICRO ENTERPRISES IS A TERM THAT I KEEP HEARING WHERE THEY'RE FINDING THESE SIDE HUSTLES THAT THEY'RE PUTTING TOGETHER AND MAKING THAT EQUATE TO THE AMOUNT OF INCOME THEY WERE, UH, THEY WERE EARNING ON THE JOB.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S PROBABLY A COMBINATION OF THINGS.
I THINK PEOPLE HAVE REJECTED, YOU KNOW, LOW WAGE, UM, POSITIONS, AND THEY'VE JUST, THEY'RE FIGURING OUT ANOTHER WAY.
AND AS THAT HOURLY RATE CREEPS UP, THAT'S PROBABLY A HUGE CONTRIBUTOR TO IT.
I WAS JUST, AGAIN, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT I ACTUALLY HEARD SOMEONE THAT KIND OF MADE SENSE.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION WITH THE, THE 795 PLACEMENTS THAT WE'VE HAD.
IS THERE DATA THAT CAN BE SHARED WITH COUNCIL ON THE STARTING WAGE OF EACH OF THOSE PLACEMENTS AS WELL AS THE MAX WAGE OF THOSE PLACEMENTS? YEAH, SO WE CAN GET THAT FOR YOU.
I KNOW THE AVERAGE WAGE IS $15 AN HOUR, BUT I CAN GET THE FLOOR AND THE CEILING SO YOU CAN SEE THE WHOLE RANGE.
UM, AND, UH, THIS MAY BE A QUESTION FOR ALEX.
I KNOW THE 2021 COVID RESIDENCY, UH, REPORT SHOWED THAT 42% OF THE WORKFORCE FUNDING HAD BEEN SPENT.
DO WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE AT WITH THAT FUNDING? WE CAN ACTUALLY, I THINK MIKE HAS SOME OF THOSE STATISTICS, BUT WE CAN SEND THOSE TO YOU.
I, I DON'T KNOW, I DON'T THINK WE PUT 'EM ON A SLIDE, BUT WE CAN SEND THEM TO YOU AS WELL.
YEAH, I JUST WANNA REMIND MYSELF AND I GUESS ALL OF US, WHEN DID WE KICK OFF THE ACTUAL PROGRAM TO START BRINGING PEOPLE IN, PUTTING 'EM INTO TRAINING, ET CETERA? IT'S BEEN A LITTLE OVER A YEAR.
OUR FIRST PARTICIPANT SIGNED UP SEPTEMBER 15TH.
UM, SO A YEAR AND A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
AND, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THERE WAS SOME EXPECTATIONS, AND I CERTAINLY HAD EXPECTATIONS, UH, THAT I'M CONCERNED THAT THE PROGRAM HASN'T MET.
AND, AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE'VE TRIED IT.
I, I'M SURE THAT YOU AND EVERYBODY IN THE STAFF HAS WORKED VERY HARD.
UH, I I JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND, UH, EIGHT OR 900 JOBS AFTER A YEAR.
AND EXPECTATIONS THAT WERE ORIGINALLY TALKED ABOUT WHERE THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE OUTTA WORK AND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE NEEDED TO GET SOME KIND OF TRAINING SO THEY COULD GET A JOB.
AND I THINK IT WAS LIKE A JOB RIGHT AWAY.
AND HERE WE ARE A YEAR LATER AND, YOU KNOW, 800 PEOPLE HAVE FOUND A JOB THROUGH OUR PROGRAM AND WHAT WE'VE INVESTED IN IT.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT MORE IT WOULD TAKE.
UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE IN THE
[01:50:01]
PIPELINE.I DON'T KNOW WE EVER THOUGHT THIS MIGHT BE A TWO OR THREE YEAR PROGRAM 'CAUSE WE'VE DEVELOPED ANOTHER PROGRAM TO BE MORE LONG TERM.
DO YOU THINK THAT SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE EITHER IN THIS PIPELINE OR, UH, HAVE, HAVE CONSIDERED IT MAYBE GOING INTO THE NEWER, MORE LONG TRAINING PROGRAM WE'VE GOT GOING POSSIBLY.
UM, BUT I THINK THE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE PROGRAM NOW ARE HOPING THAT THEY GET THAT JOB ONCE THEY FINISH THEIR TRAINING.
UM, THAT'S WHAT I HOPE HAPPENS WITH THE INDIVIDUALS, THE 4,000 PLUS THAT ARE IN TRAINING RIGHT NOW.
THAT ONCE THEY FINISH, THEY GAIN EMPLOYMENT AND THEY GET TO WORK.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I, MY HOPE IS HOW MANY HAVE COMPLETED OUR TRAINING IN A A YEAR? UM, IT'S A LITTLE OVER.
UM, AMY, UH, CAN YOU PULL THAT NUMBER FOR ME? I WON'T SAY A LITTLE OVER 1500, BUT I WANNA GIVE YOU THE EXACT NUMBER.
UM, WE'VE HAD A LITTLE DRUM ROLL, PLEASE.
I'M LOOKING AT ALL THE SUBCATEGORIES, BUT I'M TRYING TO FIND THE TOTAL.
I WAS GONNA SAY 1500, BUT THAT'S THE EXACT NUMBER.
UH, AND SO THAT MEANS THAT ABOUT 60% OF 'EM HAVE FOUND A JOB AND ABOUT 40% OF 'EM STILL HAVEN'T OUTTA THE ONES WE'VE BEEN TRAINED.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST A CONCERN.
UH, I HOPE TO SEE BETTER NUMBERS AND BETTER RESULTS OVER TIME.
UH, I, I KNOW THAT WE BROUGHT YOU IN TO DO SOME VERY, VERY HEAVY LIFTING.
UH, CLEARLY IT'S HEAVY AND CLEARLY YOU'RE LIFTING.
UH, AND, UH, I, I'M PROUD OF YOU GUYS.
SO, WITH THAT, UH, I, I DO WANT TO TELL YOU I GOT A HAIRCUT, UH, ABOUT A WEEK OR TWO AGO.
AND, UM, SHE WANTS TO, SHE AND HER HUSBAND HAVE BEEN SAVING UP FOR THAT TRAINING.
RIGHT? AND I WAS THINKING TO HER, I WAS TELLING HER MAYBE NOT.
LET ME, WHY DON'T YOU CHECK IN WITH ME NEXT WEEK AND I MIGHT BE ABLE TO DIRECT YOU, UH, TO A PLACE WHERE YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO THAT TRAINING AND NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT OUT OF POCKET.
AND, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, YOU'RE PAYING TAXES.
UH, BY REINVESTING THOSE TAXES IN YOU.
DID I LIE? UM, YOU DIDN'T LIE.
SO, CITIZEN OF SAN ANTONIO ELIGIBLE TO WORK IN THE US AND NEGATIVELY IMPACTED FINANCIALLY BY COVID.
SO IF SHE CHECKS ALL THREE OF THOSE BOXES, THEN YES, THE CITY MAY BE ABLE TO HELP YOU CHANGE.
BUT THAT CAREER CHOICE, WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT TELLING PEOPLE.
UH, COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE IS YES.
HEALTHCARE IS A, A GROWING SECTOR.
IT'S ONE OF OUR PRIORITY SECTORS.
SO HEALTHCARE ABSOLUTELY QUALIFIES.
IT'S MORE SO HER INDIVIDUAL SITUATION.
THAT WOULD BE, IT'S CERTAIN, MANY FACTORS.
I MIGHT SEND YOU THE LADY WHO CUTS MY HAIR.
THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF ANOTHER, UH, E W D C MEETING.
I WANT TO END ON A HIGH NOTE BY TELLING, UM, YOU THAT I APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU AND WHAT YOU BRING TO, TO THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, AND MY THANKSGIVING IS GOING TO, UM, INCLUDE THOUGHTS OF APPRECIATION FOR ALL OF YOU, UM, FOR MY COUNCIL MEMBERS, ALEX, YOU AND YOUR TEAM, AND FOR THE PEOPLE WHO VOLUNTEER, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UH, LIKE YOU AND COREY FOR OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR PARTNERS.
AND THEN FOR ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN THAT HAVE TO SIT HERE AND LISTEN TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ASK QUESTIONS, STAFFERS, AND PARTICULARLY THE POOR GUY THAT HAS TO KEEP WALKING UP HERE AND CLICKING MY MIC.
AND DEBBIE, FOR, UH, HAVING TO WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING WE SAY AND, AND REMEMBER TO DO ALL THE THINGS.
I, I APPRECIATE YOU ALL VERY MUCH.
I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A VERY NICE THANKSGIVING.